Rom-Com in Real Life

I have this friend.

(Now, normally when this is said, everyone thinks you're actually talking about yourself. As you will come to see, this is not the case. But for undisclosed/semi- obvious reasons, I am choosing to withhold the names of those involved to protect the innocent.)

This friend tends to live a life that resembles a Romantic Comedy. She can't really help it. It just happens to her. And as we emailed back and forth this week, it really felt like I was watching an Amy Adams/Anne Hathaway/Kate Hudson movie.

Here's a cut from this week's "screenplay", shall we say...

CAST:
Pretty Girl Next Door (PGND)- my Rom-Com friend
Kryptonite - the coffeeshop boy that makes her weak in the knees

Interior - a hip coffeeshop littered with large library tables and beautiful people. PGND sits alone with her laptop, a journal and a cup of coffee.

She types an email:


"At Hip Coffeeshop. Kryptonite is working. The crazy part of me wants to give my waitress (the one walking around the lobby area) a note to hand him with my number.

Please tell me this is a bad idea.
xo

me"


...10 minutes later....PGND has not moved from her post. She types EMAIL #2:


"Facts:

He's dreamy.

We sometimes make eye contact.

I know he recognizes me, as when said eye contact occurs there is definite recognition in his look.

The few times we have talked he remembers things.

He is softspoken in that manly way that I love.

I think he pays attention to me without paying attention to me, if that makes sense.

He's cute with or without facial hair, which is shocking to me.

He is my Kryptonite.

He is not married (no ring.)


TBD:

Is he single?

What is his name?

Does he think I'm pretty?

Does he think I'm weird?

Does every girl find him dreamy?

How much of my precious paycheck am I willing to spend trying to find out the answers to all of the above?

xo
me"


FINAL SCENE - In reponse to my asking if I can share the Rom-Com-ness of her life with the blogsophere...


"You have my permission.

You may also post a Craigslist Missed Connection for me, if you'd like...because we are WELL aware of my luck with Missed Connections.

Or call up Hip Coffeeshop and tell them that their handsome, blondish, soft-spoken Barista wearing a striped shirt and brown tie is missing out on the love of his life who is currently sitting at a library table experiencing a massive caffeine buzz."



She is fun to know, this Rom-Com friend. And for those of you who know me and my circle of friends, I'm positive that her identity has not remotely been concealed. Sorry. I tried. Hopefully I will continue to hold the rights to the fascinating life of PGND so that I can share more from the screenplay that is her life. If she'll let me.

Happy Friday!

A Good Time Was Had By All

A couple of our favorite shots from last night... it was BIG fun. Easy, relaxed, and different groups of people gelling together naturally. Exactly what I wanted.

Alison in Kory's HUGE glasses (I think at least half the table tried them on)


Classic


More to come in the next few days...

I'm as Old as Jesus

Today is my Jesus Birthday. I'm now as old as He ever was. And my life isn't nearly as good or as bad as His was. Which I think is right about where you want to be.

(Can I say that out loud? Well, I just did.)

It's bizarre that I moved to NYC when I was 24. 24?? Really? In some ways that seems a lifetime ago, and in other ways, just a few years ago. It's wild.

In my dream world, I would reflect on lo, these 9 years as a New Yorker and share many favorite stories. But sadly, there's too much going on at work today and I don't have time.

Geoff did send me this amazing bouquet today at work though.


I love the heart that is formed at the top. It is amazing.

Maybe I’ve told this story already, so if you get bored, feel free to move along. I have a very strong memory of one of my mom’s friends telling me something that stuck with me for years. (Mom, I don’t know why I think it was Mary Alice Blake, because that would have made me a freshman in high school at the oldest, but I do). She was telling the story of a friend’s daughter who had just gotten engaged. In her entire life, she’d never been given a dozen red roses. And she prayed throughout her life that God would give her a sign, that the person she was supposed to marry would give her a dozen roses. And her fiancé did shortly before he proposed. And that’s how she knew he was the right one. Well, my romantic little teenage heart just ate that right up and remembered it for years. And as I got older, I semi-started to make my own version of that prayer. For some reason, I always wanted to be sent flowers at work. So I thought, maybe that could sorta be my sign. And sure enough… Geoff was the first man to ever send me flowers at work. I’m just sayin’… I know that is cheesy as hell, and I apologize but…I’m just sayin’.

Anyway, back to birthday-related things...tonight is just a small dinner with some friends. Something low key and easy and that will provide many opportunities for sangria. Just as it should be.


PS- My office just did this. Not the best for my waistline, but DANG does it look good!!


PPS - This day keeps getting better...Just after cake, our Executive Director brought her dog Rusty in for a visit. Please! (He also was really into the cake)

Inspiration, Thy Name is iPhone App

I'm no technology wizard, but when Geoff got the newer version of the iPhone, I inherited his old one. And I usually only download Apps that are free, as I am a cheap bastard thrifty. But this one was worth $1.99 if it brought my mojo back.

The Hipstamatic Camera App takes photos that somehow look like they were taken with just that. I somehow missed out on this apparently beloved toy camera when it came out in 1982 (thank you, google for educating me about it). But I am loving it now. It makes anything look interesting. I mean look at this picture of my desk.


And the bathroom sink at work...


Cool, right? More snapshots of my day yesterday...

Auditions...


From my walk back to the office...





Apparently there are different lenses and films you can switch to for different effects. I haven't even tried those yet. What fun! I'm probably super late to the party on this App, but just incase you hadn't heard of it....now you can share the joy. TOTALLY worth the $1.99. And coming from me, you know that means something.

Blogger's Block

I have it.

I really do. There's no use denying it anymore.

Blogger's block + extremely busy work nonsense = I just can't.

Thought of something great to write about yesterday but there was no time and I wanted to do it justice. Hopefully I will get to it soon.

But on top of that, I'm lacking a little in inspiration, to be honest..... I've been living a little more in the real world than the blogsophere the last few weeks. Which is good for living in the moment, but not as good for three months (or years) from now when I won't remember the wonderful and monumental talk Geoff and I had on Monday night because I didn't write about it here. There's something to be said for the blog-as-history aspect to this whole thing.

And for that reason, lets hope that work chills out soon. And that I get my mojo back.

Hey Ma - Guess What I Did Last Night?

Yup. You go to a rock star party, you end up doing crazy rock star things. Like getting a tatoo.
Of course, given the degree of rock star in my blood, this one obviously lasts 3-5 days.

Last night was the opening of American Idiot on Broadway. It was pretty stinkin' awesome.

The cast at curtain call. Billie Jo Armstrong (Greenday) in all black on the right


At the party there was a grafiti artist making a mural on the stage all night at Roseland. Which was amazing. I swiped this picture from my friend Quinn's Facebook album.


I bought a special "rock" outfit. Which was basically all black with a studded belt and big ole earings. Big hair and smoky eyes too. Naturally.

Me and Jillian, one of my co-workers


Oh, and in addition to the grafiti artist, there was a drag queen DJ dressed as a majorette. Or something. Makes for a good party.


I took a bunch more pictures on Jillian's camera, (since I'm an idiot, no pun intended, and forgot mine) so more pictures may be forthcoming if her little point & shoot got anything good.

The show was great, the party was great and I got home at 2am.

On a Tuesday.

That's right. Rock Star.

El Weekend

FRIDAY NIGHT: Drive to CT. Briefly glimpse niece & nephew as they are sleeping. Marvel at the cuteness.

SATURDAY: Shoot wedding north of Hartford. Leave Geoff to finish off the reception on his own while I attempted to make my way to a mall to buy an outfit for the opening night of American Idiot. Get lost both ways. Succeed in buying an outfit that is far more rock and roll than I actually am. Drive home with Geoff. Order in. Fall asleep watching The September Issue.

SUNDAY: Get to 34th Street & 8th Ave by 1030am. Meet best friend from HS (Tiffany) who is in town for the weekend. Take her to brunch at Good. Talk. Reminisce. Laugh. Learn from said high school BFF that Greenwich Village and the West Village are two different locations. Refuse to fully believe it. Wander BOTH Villages. Take picture for Mom.


Get on a train to Brooklyn. Purchase some vino. Arrive Alison's apt for her first cookout of the year. Feel slightly low energy, anti-social & turtle-ish, but revive quickly at the suggestion of Bloody Marys. Purchase world's best Bloody Mary mix, olives, pickles (YUM!) and return to attempt and recreate Clay's special Bloody Marys that first rocked the world last summer. Basically succeed.

Talk with Alison. Make veggie kebabs on her adorable back deck.


Enjoy time with friends, despite the chill in the air.




Appreciate the master chef


Enjoy the wonderful food: Gorgonzola stuffed burgers (picture at top), veggie kebabs, bacon-wrapped asparagus, roasted sweet potatoes (not pictured, as they vanished too quickly) and Guinness chocolate cake with cream cheese sour cream frosting. Die from happiness.



Laugh at the funny things that are being said.


Love this picture (and this trio) the most.


Laugh mostly at the antics that ensue



Marvel at how pretty your friends are


Laugh at how hard they laugh


Go inside when it gets too cold. Continue many discussions, both serious and fanciful. Discover that perhaps my husband is right and that we SHOULD get an iPad, as there is a bad-ass running spy game on there that is my new obsession. Finally head home. Bring the pickles with me. Fall asleep before 10pm, tired but content.

(Admit to the world that I did not take a single one of these amazing pictures, but stole them from Alison and Stephen. Which they let me do because of their great love and friendship towards me. Which I am forever grateful for.)

Sunday Morning Muffins

I made these.

Banana Blueberry Oatbran muffins.

And now...a bike ride to Brooklyn to see Alison for a late lunch.

Gosh, it's nice to have time to have a life on the weekends.


PS - Per your requests, I found the recipe on Epicurious. After reading the reviews, I substituted 1% milk for the soy milk, and wheat flour for regular flour. I used 2 bananas instead of 3 and subtracted 1/4 cup flour in order to have a full 1/2 cup of oat bran. (So 1 & 1/4 c wheat flour, 1/2 c oatbran instead of 1 & 1/2 c flour and 1/4 c oat bran) I think next time I'll add a few more blueberries and maybe some oatmeal on the tops for some texture.

And true confession: of the 12 we made, there are currently only 3 left.

Living Vicariously

So, living in a 650 square foot 1 bedroom apartment can make you really start to daydream about things. Things like a yard. A kitchen with more than 1.5 feet of counter space. Storage. Of any kind. A garage/shed so your bikes don't have to hang from a pole in your foyer. You know, things like that.

Now, there are zillions of design blogs out there and I frequent several of them. It's so fun to dream and see all the pretty-ness. Some examples of pictures that make me drool a little bit....

Can you tell why I would love a blog called House of Turquiose? Shocking. The next 3 rooms make me, as Alison says, *le sigh*. (please - i'm in absolute LOVE with this backsplash)


those chairs...


beadboard and an angled ceiling...


I'm a huge fan of Brooklyn Limestone. She chronicals her adventures in renovating one with her husband. They have done an inspiring job. And they also take amazing long weekends in fabulous foreign cities. *le sigh*, indeed. This was a door she loved in Notting Hill on their trip to London, I believe. (breaking news: I am loving gray almost as much as blue these days)


A loft that I would love to get my hands on from ...Little Green Notebook


I also go nuts for built-in bookshelves. Completely nuts. Hence my love of these I saw on Black White & Yellow


And White Kitchens? Forget about it. Possibly the ultimate *le sigh*, like these at The Inspired Room...



This is just a snippet of all the fun stuff I like to daydream about. I think I'm gonna go dream about it some more now. Might even work on my "dream" book that Geoff bought me at Michael's to put all my "inspirations" in for future reference.

*le sigh*

Not a Ton...

...has been going on. I've been not-so-feelin' the blog world lately. Not real sure why. I haven't been doing much photography or cooking...both of which can inspire a fun post. So what have we been up to?

We have joined a gym that we like.
I have discovered spin class. Holy moses.

I've also discovered that if you need motivation to run on the treadmill, just make sure you're watching that MTV show "16 and Pregnant". Holy smokes. I've seen it before, but it was such a trainwreck that I didn't even realize I was still running until the commercial came on.

We have been trading a cold back and forth.

We both lost 3 pounds this week.

My friend Andrew sent me a picture of this puppy that made me die a little. How soft does her butt look? I can't stand it.


We accidentally bought a new living room at Target two weeks ago. And by that I mean a rug and throw pillows. Totally new color scheme. And I heart it.

We shot a wedding that almost got cancelled but then didn't.

We have a hot date at H&R Block tonight.

I saw my friend Ali's Easter pictures of her kids and found my heart doing this new "yearning" thing that normally only happens with puppies. Hm. Wonder what that's about?


That's pretty much all you've missed.

Happy Weekend!