– A weekend at the beach, even if it’s rainy, filled with good company, paella, sangria, games, and laughter.
– Coming home to a Fresh Direct delivery.
– Dinner at Babbo, especially with good friends.
– The octopus with chilis at Peasant wine bar. Don’t forget to sop up all the juices with their crusty bread.
– Hearing the joy in a voice mail from friends announcing the arrival of their newly adopted daughter (congrats, Eric & Bill!).
Author: Laren
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A Few of My Favorite Things
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Planet of the Exes
My friend Eliza and I were daydreaming yesterday. We were dreaming of a place to which all ex-boyfriends would disappear for about six months after a breakup. "Another city," I suggested. "Another planet — planet of the Ex-Boyfriends!" she countered. What an excellent idea. They would all be banished to the Planet of the Ex-Boyfriends so that there would be no chance of running into them. They’d still have to work (remotely — the wonders of technology), but there would be no women there (so we need not worry that they’re dating someone else so soon after the breakup), and there would be plenty of time during which they would be required to sit and reflect upon the error of their ways. After they served their time, they would be permitted to return — to find us looking fabulous and happily dating someone else.
We girls can dream, can’t we?
* Just a note if you happen to be an ex of mine and reading this — please don’t take this personally. It’s more of a hypothetical; not directed to anyone in particular. You know that I always manage to stay friends with all of you regardless . . .
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Ack!
It is such a bad feeling to wake up and notice that you forgot to set your alarm clock and that it’s over an hour later than you normally wake up. The initial panic subsides a little when you realize that a) it’s only an hour and ten minutes later than the normal time for which the alarm is set, and b) due to your nasty snooze button addiction, you usually don’t get out of bed until about 45 minutes after the thing normally goes off anyway. After a sigh of relief, you shuffle off to the shower (and even have time to write a short blog post!).
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Ain’t That the Truth
From Tanya Weineman Steel at the Epi-log:
[W]e women are tired of men who are in better shape than us and who watch their diet and exercise more than we do.
Amen, sister, couldn’t have said it better myself.
She goes on to talk about how the hottest guys in Hollywood are ones who have a few pounds on them, have a healthy relationship with food, and know how to enjoy themselves without overdoing it. There’s definitely a difference between a healthy balance and an unhealthy obsession. Wonder what Derek would think about that based on some of his recent posts? That said, I’m off for a run and then a trip to the Greenmarket. See — balance! -
Somebody
Last night, as I was walking home after having dinner with Sara, this song popped into my head. I hadn’t thought of it for years, but it is just as poignant and relevant now as it was when I first heard it over 20 years ago (yikes!). Call me cheesy, but I had to choke back tears. Of course when I sang it back at band camp, I substituted "he" for "she."
I want somebody to share
Share the rest of my life
Share my innermost thoughts
Know my intimate details
Someone who’ll stand by my side
And give me support
And in return
She’ll get my support
She will listen to me
When I want to speak
About the world we live in
And life in general
Though my views may be wrong
They may even be perverted
She’ll hear me out
And won’t easily be converted
To my way of thinking
In fact she’ll often disagree
But at the end of it all
She will understand meI want somebody who cares
For me passionately
With every thought and
With every breath
Someone who’ll help me see things
In a different light
All the things I detest
I will almost like
I don’t want to be tied
To anyone’s strings
I’m carefully trying to steer clear of
Those things
But when I’m asleep
I want somebody
Who will put their arms around me
And kiss me tenderly
Though things like this
Make me sick
In a case like this
I’ll get away with it(Thank you, Depeche Mode.)
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The Weekend in Pictures
From top to bottom: 1) The Lovely Miss Katie and her sister Jenny at he birthday dinner at ‘inoteca; 2) a dragonfly at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden; 3) we convinced Jeff to stay in town so that we wouldn’t have to drive upstate (thanks, Jeff!); 4) after drinking wine in Jenn & Carolyn’s backyard for a while, we decided to french braid each other’s hair; and 5) Jimmy and I grilled a delicious dinner up on his gorgeous and tranquil roof deck. There were a few things that didn’t make it onto the camera, including a visit with Mom & Stephen, a nap or two, a pit stop at Winnie’s for karaoke, our picnic in Prospect Park, dinner at Cubana Cafe, and drinks at Brooklyn Social.
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Mobilize
I had completely forgotten that Grant Lee Phillips was playing last night — after having some smoky barbecue at R.U.B. with my now quite pregnant friend Allison (they had ribs this time), I headed to the Knitting Factory and met Ryan for the show. His latest album, nineteeneighties, features covers of some of his (and my) favorite eighties songs. Gotta love that.
Tonight is the Lovely Miss Katie’s birthday celebration, then I’ll be sticking around for the weekend (for a relaxing change).
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Aloooooooha!
I’m back from Hawaii and am kicking myself for not scheduling a much longer trip. I stayed in Waikiki (a.k.a. tourist central) and didn’t see all that much of Oahu, although I managed to go snorkeling (saw some huge turtles) and hiking. If I go back, I’d love to go to the North Shore of Oahu, Maui, and maybe some other spots that are less built up. We also went to a luau, which was as terrifying as it sounds (think Disney-fied Hawaii), but it was so ridiculous that all you could really do was just laugh it off and drink Mai Tai’s. And in case you were wondering when you look at the pictures, we got rear-ended on our way back from the hike. We were all okay, but I documented everything for the insurance company since I happened to have my camera.Ate two fantastic meals — one at Momomo, a Japanese itzakaya where I had incredibly fresh sushi, and succulent fried baby shrimp, and the other at the Side Street Inn. I knew we were in great shape when the cab driver asked us if we really wanted to go there. "It’s local food," he said, hesitantly. "Perfect." We had simple but tasty ahi poke, beef poke laced with cilantro, a locally grown salad with a tangy red wine vinaigrette, crab and artichoke dip, and their famous pork chops and fried rice. I also think I filled my pina colada quota for the next few years. Enjoy the pictures!
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See What Happens When I Slow Down a Little?
I’ve turned into the most anal retentive packer when I have the time. When I’m rushed, I shove anything and everything into a bag, but when I have time, it’s different. I make little checkllists of everything I want to bring and all the things I need to do before I go. I go through all the tasks (water plants; suspend NYT delivery; suspend Dodgeball, etc.), and check off the boxes as I complete each one. Then I lay everything out on the bed and mix and match clothes until I’ve whittled down to a reasonable amount (lots of black and white, generally). Finally, I pack just about everything up except for my toiletries and handbag, and set everything just so. That way, when my alarm goes off at the crack of dawn (car’s coming at 6am), I don’t really have to think; just finish it up and go. I’m off to Hawaii — will check in when I return!