Sweet Blog O'Mine

Category: Fun

  • Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures

    Tonight, it’s all about the pictures. I just returned from a relaxing, food and fun-filled beach weekend on Fire Island, thanks to my friend Carrie. Now, I’ve always shied away from share houses — images of frat-partyesque Hamptons houses come to mind. And although there were bunk beds, and not everyone did their fair share of the dishes, the house in Kismet was mellow, the people were friendly, fun, interesting, and best of all, they loved to cook and eat. Dinner upon our arrival was spicy sausages and cajun catfish on the grill, cocktail hour on Saturday included fresh peach margaritas, and Saturday’s dinner was a pork loin, roasted on the rotisserie, rubbed with fresh herbs, garlic, and olive oil, accompanied by stuffed portabello mushrooms with pesto and roasted potatoes. Mmm. I had a very relaxing weekend, and enjoyed being out at the beach, despite the torrential downpours on Saturday. You can see the pictures here. If you’re from the house and have stopped by to see the pictures, leave a comment or send me an email. Thanks again to everyone!

    dune

    And also for your enjoyment, pictures from the Party in my Panties. You can see them here.

  • He’s Gonna Have One Hell of a Hangover

    From my friend Rob this morning: “I would get along with this bear.” Perhaps we should invite him to join the wine club society?

  • A Picture is Worth . . .

    Because I know that’s what you really want, anyway. The fun part about going out with bloggers, even if it’s just a casual night out for wings, is that whatever silly, goofy thing you do, it’s all over the internet the next day.

    2004_08_0095

    The wings per person consumption chart.

    2004_08_0096_r1

    Some of the lovely ladies who blog.

    And Joe, I love, love, love the chart.

  • There’s a Party in my Panties!

    And you’re all invited! Join me for “There’s a Party in my Panties!” — an evening of cocktails and vintage lingerie at the Tainted Lady Lounge. Tainted Lady Lounge, 318 Grand Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Thursday, August 19, 2004, 8:00 PM. Sponsored by Hottpants, Nichelle Newsletter, and the Vicar’s Vice. Click here to RSVP and I’ll see you there.

  • Weekend Update

    First of all, wanted to share two articles this week in NYC press that piqued my interest. First, the Village Voice’s Butt Seriously, identifying “white girls with big butts” as the new “in” look. Well that’s a relief. For me, it’s sure cheaper than buying a trendy poncho or one of those maternity-looking tops that seem to be all the rage — I’ve already got one handy. Second, Newsday’s Open Door Policy on doormen hooking up their single tenants. Now, I tip my doormen as much as I can reasonably afford, and I certainly don’t have them pimping for me. Note to self: try to save more cash for holiday tips.

    Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting my “outer” at Lindsay’s blackout anniversary party. He seems to be a pretty nice, laid back guy, despite the goth makeup (he was sort of tricked into wearing goth makeup, actually — some degree of confusion about whether or not it was a costume party. The hostess had a fantastic blonde wig that she wanted to wear . . .). You can see his photo gallery from the party here — and yes, I’m wearing a pink prom dress (the one from New Year’s Eve).

    Today, I’m off to Blues, BBQ & Fireworks to snarf some ribs. Check out Gothamist Food tomorrow for the full report.

    UPDATE: I forgot to mention two more highlights of the weekend, which I wanted to include, at least for posterity’s sake. First, I had dinner at my baby brother’s new crib in Brooklyn — he cooked a kick-ass salmon with a pecan crust (need that recipe). Second, I had a surprise out-of-town visitor who took me to the Lebowskifest at the Knitting Factory. Now, I felt like a bit of a fraud, as I have only seen The Big Lebowski once, but I had a great time nonetheless, with drunk guys (there was about a 4-to-1 male/female ratio) quoting lines all around me. Definitely need to rent that one again soon.

  • It’s a Small World After All

    Friday night, for the second time in a week, I ventured to the Upper West Side. For those of you who know me, you realize that this is somewhat of a big deal — I’m one of those annoying people who rarely goes out above 14th Street, and would sooner haul out to Brooklyn than uptown for whatever reason. Earlier this week I had dinner with two law school friends whom I hadn’t seen (at least together) in ages. Last night, I had dinner with my friend Eric. Eric and I were walking down the street and lo and behold I bump into one of the aforementioned friends and his girlfriend. Jon was stunned that I was on the UWS twice in a week, and Eric commented that virtually every time he’s with me, we run into someone I know. It’s true — I run into people I know all the time. I don’t know if it’s because I just know a lot of people or because I’ve been here for over a decade. [A brief digression — Jon volunteered to organize a trip up to the Blue Hill at Stone Barns, since he has a car — just wanted to memorialize that in writing . . .]

    As the evening progressed, I kept running into more and more people. Some of it was planned — after dinner I headed to the Magician on the Lower East Side to meet a friend for a drink. He was there with another blogger I had met earlier in the week. Some of it was less planned — on my way to the bar, I ran into my neighbor, whose band was playing at Luna Lounge — so I had to run over and see the set. When I returned to the bar, I bumped into one of the Speed Sisters, who had tapped my shoulder inadvertently, thinking I was someone else.

    Friday night was also my first experience meeting a new person through Dodgeball. I’ve been using it to check in when I go out, and I met up with Nichelle last night because she knew where I was, but last night one of the folks in my “friends of friends” group started text messaging me because I was nearby. On my way back to the Magician from Luna Lounge, I stoped into Pianos, where he was, and introduced myself. So it works!

    I finished the night at ‘inoteca — where I hadn’t been in a while. And even though I arrived there just after they stopped serving food, they were kind enough to serve me a little snack because I’m friendly with some of the folks who work there. All in all, a fun, social, people-filled Friday night.

    The only downside to a night like that was that it completely derailed my plans for an active Saturday. I ended up relaxing for most of the day, doing a few errands, then staying in and cooking for the evening (the picture is for Tien — I think the crust needed much more salt and I’m still not great at making it round, but it was nice and crispy). Now I’m off to fit in a quick rollerblade or run before I head up to my camp reunion, but more on that later. . .

    2004_08_0037

  • Triple Punch

    2004_08_0012_r1Last night was a triple combo — Tien’s wing night, a trip to NYC Icy, and karaoke. What else does one need, really? And this picture is really just to get back at Jake for the equally flattering shot he has up of me, which will conveniently be up for the next month while he’s off getting married. You can see the rest of the pictures here.

    Update: Ok, so he didn’t leave the picture up the whole month, but I’m so blogged out that I don’t have a whole new post for today — you’ll get to gaze at this lovely shot for a little while longer. . .

  • The Blogosphere is Smaller Than I Thought

    Had a great time at the Gothamist happy hour last night. Despite showing up somewhat late, I was able to chat with many of my fellow bloggers, some of whom I knew and some of whom I met for the first time. At one point, I was introduced to a blogger to whom I had linked in the past, not knowing who he was. When he was introduced to me by name and I saw his face, it took a moment, but then I placed him — we went to high school together waaaay back in the day. We spent a great deal of time catching up and reminiscing about who we were then and how our current lives are such an interesting contrast — I never would have pictured him the way he is today, and I’d imagine he might say the same about me. What about you? Would the people you knew in high school recognize you today, or is your current persona such a far cry from who you were then that you would be virtually unrecognizable?

    And no name-dropping, but I wanted to give a shout-out the evil group of bloggers who kept me up way past my bedtime on a school night. You know who you are. . .

  • S’mores and Other Finger Lakes Goodies

    114_1452_r1I have finished posting the pictures from this weekend, and I believe there are a few that need some explanation beyond what was written in the caption. First, a few were taken at a rest stop outside of the Poconos. This rest stop was like nothing I had seen before — it sold everything one could possibly want or need at a rest stop, from snacks to fireworks. As we debated whether or not buying our friend fireworks would break any laws, we ran into someone we knew from NYC. Small, small world. Before we left, I bought my very first taco from Taco Bell. And, although it wasn’t quite as nasty as McDonalds, as far as fast food goes, it will probably be my last. We opted out of a visit to the mobile chapel, and continued on our ride upstate.

    My first day in the Finger Lakes region was spent wine-tasting. We visited three vineyards: Lamoreaux Landing, Shalestone Vineyards, and Chateau Lafayette Reneau. I brought back two bottles, a cabernet franc and a late harvest riesling, for my upcoming wine club society meeting, where we’ll be focusing on the Finger Lakes region (convenient, no?).

    114_1475The remainder of the pictures are from Jeff’s house on the lake, where we celebrated the Fourth, had a mini luau, and had s’mores two nights in a row. This weekend I learned that s’mores, while they taste amazing, do not photograph well. They were so very tasty, chocolatey, and gooey, I promise. The final two photos are from the Big Dipper, where we stopped for barbecued chicken and milkshakes on the way home. Sure as hell beats Taco Bell any day. You can see the rest of the pictures here.

  • Fishy Fun at Coney Island

    Moby
    Was out at Coney Island for this year’s Mermaid Parade on Saturday. Strangely enough, I had never been before, despite the fact that it seemed right up my alley — you know, artsy, funky, boob-filled. So I headed out this year, and had a great time, and have since decided that I have to dress up next year so I can join in the festivities. I even ran into a few of the lovely ladies who blog while I was there!

    clamsAnd most importantly, I ate some great Coney Island boardwalk food, without overdoing it. I found a tiny taco stand tucked away between the fried dough and cotton candy vendors, and managed to have a delicious, spicy, and authentic pork taco, complete with cilantro, fresh lime, radishes, and crisp lettuce, all on a warm corn tortilla. I finished off the day with a half dozen clams on the half-shell, and their sweet brininess was sufficient to carry my Coney Island memories with me on the long F train ride home. Click here for the pictures.