Seen: On the Streets of NYC

We are loving street photography these days....And of course, NYC provides plenty of material....


Carrying a chair home for his wife...


Pigeon walks down the street...


Taking care of her baby...


Motorcycle Man asking Vintage Chick about her cool set of wheels...


Wonder what they are looking at across the street (and i of course just love their dogs -which is actually what caught my eye in the first place)....


This guy rules...


So does this guy...


Fro-yo break...


As good a place as any...


How cool and James Dean is this guy? Geoff got this shot as we were walking past him and I think its totally amazing....


This guy on the other hand....not AS cool. No idea...


Smoke break...


Standard Bride on the street shot....


And oh the treasures you find at a...


Big money...literally


What's more fun than this?

One Whole Year

It is officially our one year anniversary today. Woohoo! It's completely bizarre to me that a YEAR, a whole YEAR has gone by. What? How?? It was so fast!

We have had a great first year, I think. We've grown a lot together and I feel like I am enjoying Geoff even more now than I did a year ago. We've had some standard first-year-of-marriage conflicts, as most do, but (thanks to Geoff) I am learning that conflict doesn't have to be scary or threatening. And we like our life together. We like to be together. Doing exciting things, or boring things. It truly doesn't matter. He makes me smile. A hug from him usually solves most problems. We are good for each other. He listens to me (at least when I tell him to). These are all good things I think.

We had a great anniversary today. The ONE day in like 2 weeks it hasn't been cold and rainy....we had a lovely outdoor brunch at Quaint, our favorite neighborhood spot. Gorgeous and lovely time on their patio just chatting over mimosas, goat cheese omelets and challah french toast. Yes please.

Then we headed home, got a little cleaned up and hopped in the car to head into the city. We would have set off on bikes, except that my chest cold hasn't fully cleared, so I was worried about my breathing, and Geoff had a 12 hour shoot yesterday, so we took the car instead. Got this cool shot from the passenger seat heading over the Queensboro Bridge....


We ended up in the West Village and just happened to park on Hudson Street in front of an open house. So.....we ventured in just for fun. And lo and behold, discovered our dream house.

OK, so most New Yorkers at one point or another, dream of owning a building with space for a shop on the first floor and an apartment to live in upstairs. Alison would have a coffee shop (featuring her amazing baked goods and perhaps with a knitting and/or live music focus, I feel), Stephen would have a restaurant, and Geoff and I would have a photography/video studio. A place to meet clients, have an office and hold photography shoots. FOUND IT!


Here is our future studio space...


How amazing is that? It was previously a children's clothing store, but before that, it was a children's bookstore. The very children's bookstore that inspired the one Meg Ryan ran in You've Got Mail. I know. So cool. And you can sort of see there's a little outdoor garden space out back. Also very cool. So picture, sort of a living room set up in the front for meeting with clients maybe...completely with flat screen TV to view film samples. And the back would be a photography studio set up. Not sure where we'd fit the actual desks and office space, but DO NOT WORRY, I will figure it out.

Then we ventured upstairs to the 2 bedroom apartment. And were not disappointed. This is our future living room/dining room space.


And get ready for my new kitchen. Look at that sunlight!!


Headed upstairs....which were narrow, but I'm not thinking about any problems with the place. We will just lose weight and shrink our furniture if it, or we, don't fit.


Second bedroom. Small, yes. But lets face it, who will really be staying in here? Alison maybe when she comes to visit from whatever whirlwind tour or film set she's been on? She's small. She can fit. A baby someday? Yes. But again, babies are small. Mom and Dad? They are used to cozy spaces. I think it will work just fine.


2nd floor bathroom. Nearly bigger than the second bedroom.


And the master.... Come on....amazing.


And the icing on the cake..... There is an outdoor terrace on the top floor. Please. Can you stand it?


So yes, you are all welcome to come over as often as you want. We will be doing much entertaining. The neighborhood is amazing. Hello, it's the West Village. And there is a Le Pain Quotidien on the opposite corner, right across the street. Restaurants, coffee shops, dry cleaning, sushi, playground, shopping....it basically has it all. The only tiny sticky part is the $3.5 million price tag. Just ever so slightly out of our budget. So, should any of you have that kind of budget floating around, go ahead and snatch this little gem up, and in lieu of a finder's fee, Geoff and I will gladly just live and work there. Sound good?

After finally tearing ourselves away from our dream house, we came upon a bazaar on Bleeker street, which apparently only happens once a year. Bought some cool magnets. It took me nearly 15 minutes to select the perfect three. In case you did not know this about me, I am slow to make decisions.


Found this awesome stand that was selling super cool hats. So we had a mini-fashion show...


Love this one....

If you'll notice, in nearly every picture I have to hold the hat on my head. This is because my head is ginormous and no hats ever fit me.



I clearly do not look as good in this one. I can't actually pull off a beret. And here I am laughing at myself for trying.


Possibly the most beautiful dress I've ever seen. Definately the prettiest one at a street fair.


Come on, this would totally win a Project Runway challenge. It's gorgeous. I think that's the designer, in the yellow plaid dress in the tent.


A Friend waiting to cross the street...


Dreaming of bags....


If you look closely, you can see us posing in the reflection...


On our first real date we went to this restaurant in SoHo called KinKao. Really amazing Indian food. It has since moved locations, and the old location is now a Tapas bar, but we took a picture of it when we passed it. I like this shot, even though it's blurry...


And after KinKao on our first date, we went and sat on a bench and talked for a while. Well, we found the actual bench. I hadn't realized it was so close to where we ended up having dinner tonight, but Geoff did, so we sat and watched NYC go by. He even remembered which of three benches it was. Impressive!


After dinner at Barolo, this Italian place with a lovely outdoor garden/courtyard, we wandered over to Little Italy for some gelato....as a tribute to having been in actual Italy for our honeymoon a year ago. I wonder if Little Italy knows it doesn't actually look anything like Actual Italy?


While in Little Italy, we passed a restaurant making this boast:


So Geoff took them up on their challenge and bought one. Here, allegedly, is the best cannoli on the planet.


It of course was not. So....shame on them, I guess. For lying. And shame on us for buying into their marketing ploy.

All in all, a lovely anniversary....good food, finding our dream home, and basically a visit to Europe. Not too shabby. Happy Anniversary to us!!

Kate Day

Geoff headed off to a wedding shoot this morning in CT and I had a whole day to myself. I was telling him I was going to do so many "chick" things that I normally wouldn't take the time to do if he were here. Watch chick movies, eat chick food (which usually is catorized as anything that is not warm and/or has no meat), and just generally do "chick" things.

I made some breakfast (scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, homemade iced coffee - very chick-ish), watched a stupid chick movie with Paul Rudd & Michelle Pfieffer (dumb movie but they were both quite charming - there's something about Michelle Pfiefer's hair - I just can't stop looking at it and coveting it for my very own), waited for the exterminator, cleaned the kitchen, had a nearly two hour phone date with Becca, one of my dearest friends from college (it was excellent), then went out for a turkey sandwich on an everything bagel (one of my favorite meals, and "chick food" in geoff's mind, I'm sure, as it is a cold sandwich) and had a phone date with my mom (also lovely), got a manicure & pedicure (and hated the color I ended up with on my fingers, but what's done is done), and then just ultimately watched more chick movies. A movie marathon sort of ensued. Quite accidentally. I had all kinds of Ideas about running errands and making trips to Michaels and Bed Bath & Beyond, but by the time phone dates and lunch was done, it was nearly 5pm. So I watched, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (nearly cried three times), And Then She Found Me (Helen Hunt's directorial debut, loved it, definitely cried), Smart People (Sarah Jessica Parker & Ellen Page from Juno. Not as good as I wanted, but still enjoyable). During these movies I clearly had a "chick food" dinner…Amy's vegetarian mini burritto and chips & salsa. Yum. By this time it was nearly midnight, so I went to bed and read a little of Lauren Bacall's biography By Myself and Then Some until Geoff got home from his long shoot. Enjoyed it very much. The book, and also my Day of Chick Things.

Thursday Thoughts

I should have listened to my husband today. He told me to stay home and rest. Made me a doctor's appointment, as the cold has moved into my chest and that does not work well with asthma. But after a little extra sleep this morning, I a) woke up feeling slightly better (of course I did, because I took a few hours to REST, which, even idiots agree, is the key to actually overcoming an illness) and b) the guilt of being at home when I technically felt slightly better overcame me and I decided to go into the office. Even on a day where I knew I didn't have a ton I HAD to do. I still got sucked in to the office. Out of guilt. And have been regretting it ever since. 1) because I feel worse now than I did when I left the house and 2) I have very little to do here today. So Geoff, let me say for the record, (hoping you will like this as much as I do when you say it to me)…

"You were right, I was wrong and I am sorry."

Also, I have already eaten 1.5 bagels today. Apparently when I am sick I only want carbs. And also, I've officially learned that vegetable cream cheese is gross. It was all they had when I went for a bagel at 3pm. Yuck. I don't like it.

I'm glad other people also have a weird tongue thing with pineapple.

I officially cannot listen to interns about the weather. Geoff's intern Ian told me it was humid out today and that I did not need a coat. This was false. It is cold and rainy. And I am in short sleeves and a puny little summer scarf/shawl. With my chest cold. Dang interns. They are so young and hearty. They don't know what it's like for us old, over 30 types.

I wore my hair straight for the first time in over 2 weeks and it looks weird/clearly doesn't like it. I also clearly got dressed in the dark today. I look ridiculous. But I really don’t actually care that much.

I have to go to the theatre tonight. A play I want to see, but wish I wasn't seeing it tonight. But it closes on Sunday, so what can you do?

I need some light summer reading. I emailed a list of ideas to myself, but have yet to do anything about it. And I started Anna Karenina, but it seems a little heavy and intellectual for my cold-addled brain right now. I need something mindless. Or semi-mindless at least. Some good fiction. Historical fiction is my most favorite. Nearly all the books I've been reading lately have been taking me a while to get into. Story of Edgar Sawtelle did that. And I liked it but didn't LOOOOVE it.

I think I'm getting a manicure & pedicure on Saturday and am excited about that.

An article is coming out in Vogue about Sienna Miller in which my boss is featured. He is described as a "legendary New York character". Man, oh man. For those of you who have met him you will agree…truer words were never spoken.

That is all for Thursday.

Top Ten Things I'm thinking about right now

1) I have a head cold. In the summer. It's the worst.

2) Geoff stepped on a shard of glass in the bathroom this morning at 730am and I played surgeon and got it out. It was huge.

3) We did a little rearranging of the apartment over the weekend (we refer to it as "futzing" around) and there is still a small bookcase sitting next to the stove as it has not found its new home yet.

4) We have no idea when we will be able to take a vacation this year as Geoff has a shoot nearly every weekend.

5) We watched Into the Wild this weekend and hated it. It was so full of itself. No offense Sean Penn. The only parts I liked were the scenes with other people in them.

6) I bought new dark gray pants at the Gap on Monday for $20. I love them. I might go back for a kaki pair.

7) I thought I was teaching a class tonight and then I showed up and it's next week instead. Oops. But I was so glad, as I feel like crap.

8) Pineapple makes my tounge feel funny. No idea why.

9) Alison is coming back to NYC in july!!!! I'm so excited!

10) The cable box in our bedroom shuts itself off almost every day for no reason, causing our Tivo to think it's recording a show we want, but instead, it only records an hour's worth of black screen. Also no idea why this happens.

That is all.

Cheese: Lover of my soul

I am a cheese lover. There is little else as pleasing as cheese. Cheese is perhaps God's smartest creation - at least in the world of food. And I guess technically it does not grow from the ground, so He didn't make it all by His lonesome, but I am incredibly grateful that God made some man or woman smart enough to invent it all those thousands of years ago. I didn't really ever realize the amazing combinations and healing powers of cheese until I moved to New York. Where I learned to appreciate Wine and Cheese. Cheese pairings. Manchego with chutney. Parmesan Reggiano with dates. Brie with Raspberry Preserves. Aged cheddar with carmel popcorn. Or whatever they pair with Carmel popcorn at Casellula, my favorite cheese & wine cafe in Hell's Kitchen.

Cheese (and wine) are a balm to a weary soul. Particularly to those souls who have fought the masses and the unprecedented LONG lines at Old Navy on a hot Sunday afternoon just to buy a pair of shorts for the summer. Tired, grumpy and sore of feet, having not eaten since brunch 5 hours ago , those souls made their way to their local wine & cheese bar, sat by the open window, and nearly as soon as the cheese was ordered and the pino grigio was delivered, they felt their worries and frustration slip away, to be replaced by....

cool summer breezes
incomparable people, baby and dog watching
thoughts of Italy
dreams for the future
love for one another

Yet another day saved....by wine and cheese. It shall not be the last...

Maya's Test Shoot

When we were in Connecticut for Mother's Day last month (click here for that post - which is brand new, but again, buried chronologically in the blog, as I am psycho), we basically, inadvertently shot a commercial for Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi starring our niece, Maya.

"almost...getting.... it"


"mmmmm..."


"oh yeah, that's what i'm talkin' about...diet wild cherry pepsi"


And here's the money shot. Put this girl in a magazine.


PS - I also love how it's not just "diet cherry pepsi". it's diet WILD cherry pepsi". as in, the cherries grow in the wild. yeah, i just bet they do. 'Cause soda is so natural and organic. OR, more likely, it will make YOU wild when you drink it.

Well, that is at least true of Maya.

Exciting to no one else

Our new shower caddy. We were beside ourselves with excitement. Its pretty, shiny AND it organizes things?? Love it. We know that makes us lame, and we do not care.

It's the little things.