Sweet Blog O'Mine

v. 2.0

  • ‘Tis the Season

    Well, I made it through the double-header Thanksgiving, and I suddenly feel like the holiday season is upon me with a vengance.  Holiday parties and events, shopping, making gifts (of both the knitted and chocolate varieties), putting together all the holiday tips for the doormen, and just my general busy social life — it’s a little overwhelming.  This week, for example, I already have plans every single night — a birthday dinner (not mine), dinner plans (seafood, mmm), a restaurant opening, a work event and the first of the holiday parties, then Friday (free) night at the new MoMA.  Whew.  At the same time, I’m also trying to reorganize my finances and get a decent amount of sleep and exercise.  Not sure I’ll succeed on all fronts.

    Is anyone else starting to feel the onslaught of the holidays setting in, or is it just me?

  • Giving Thanks

    I’m recovering from Thanksgiving, take one, with Mom’s side of the family today, and off for Thanksgiving, take two, with Dad’s side of the family tomorrow.  Enjoy the weekend, everyone, and have a happy Thanksgiving!

  • Another “Only in New York” Moment

    Gotta love it when U2 rides down Seventh Avenue right past your office on the back of a flatbed truck.   Yes, they’re blurry — too much adrenalin pumping to hold the camera steady!

    Bono1_1

    Bono2

  • Early to Bed, Early to Rise

    That’s tonight’s motto.  Although I didn’t overdo it at all this weekend, I’m feeling a cold coming on, and I do not want to be sick for Thanksgiving.  That would be so like me — to get sick for my time off.  So, I’m taking some preventative measures. 

    126_2607

    This weekend was great, and very social.  I had about a dozen women over on Friday night for a fur-and-feather-themed cocktail party.  I was a little concerned about space, so I didn’t invite quite as many people as I wanted to, but I think that I could certainly fit more in the next time, and it was such a success that is definitely going to be a next time!  Everyone really enjoyed having a girls-only night, although when the conversation turned to Star Wars at one point, we realized how un-girly we were being.  But being the non-girly girl that I am, that’s exactly why I get along so well with them.  Saturday I went to a cocktail party at my Mom’s apartment, and got to spend some time with my family (prep for Thanksgiving) and then on to Tien’s party in Greenpoint.  Today I made pancakes for brunch with Rob and then headed downtown for wine and cheese at Katie’s.  And now — laundry and writing.  All this sniffling is somewhat distracting, however, so I think I’m going to end up reading or watching TV with a cup of hot tea and then going to bed early, so I can work out in the morning.  Wish me luck — I’m not good at going to bed early, no matter how much I want to.  I can always find something to distract me . . .

  • Welcome to New York!

    125_2577

    A special shout-out today to Euan, a longtime Sweet Blog o’ Mine reader, who came all the way to New York from Scotland just to see me.  Well, not really.  He’s here on vacation and we decided it would be a great opportunity to meet in person.  Welcome to New York, Euan — enjoy the rest of your holiday!

  • Rants o’ Mine, Take Two

    So we all know how challenging simply walking down the street in New York City can be, right?  So why do people feel the need to make it more difficult by not only offering flyers to me, but literally shoving their entire arm in my direct path, forcing me to swerve wildly in order to avoid being knocked in the stomach?  Even on the days I take the subway to work, when I’m only walking a few blocks on either end, I am accosted no less than 3 or 4 times during those blocks.  First, the Metro and A.M. News folks, who are by far the most polite.  They never use the full-arm approach, and when you mutter, "no, thank you," they’ll even tell you to have a nice day.  Upon exiting the subway, however, I leave the polite news territory and enter the land of the menu people.  These folks act as if they’re out to get me, viciously thrusting menus at me, with absolutely no regard for my personal space.   Drives me absolutely batshit.  There are at least two of them every day, in the two blocks between my subway and work.  And finally, as an extra added bonus, there’s the fur guys.  I work in the fur district, where all the wholesale furriers hang out, and as a result, in addition to the news and menu people, I’m often bombarded with flyers for fur sales.  Do I look like I wear fur?  The only fur I own is so faux that I feel guilty about the teddy bears who have died so I can have cool fuzzy green shoes and a fluffy silver coat.  But real fur?  No thanks.  And regardless, there’s no need to shove that much paper at me before I’ve even come close to having coffee.  I’m surprised I haven’t throttled someone yet — some of you have seen me before coffee — not a pretty sight.

    Okay.  Today’s rant is now over.

  • Just for Fun

    First, a fun article in the NYT about the perils of dating bloggers,something I have not yet done, courtesy of This Fish Needs A Bicycle (who has been on my Reads o’ Mine for ages).  Second, yesterday was a great day, thanks to The Chocolate Show, D’Artagnan’s black truffle butter, some absolutely spectacular catfish tacos and tomatilla salsa that I made, wine club, and post-wine club festivities with fellow wine club folks, Joe, and Matt, among others.  A special shout out to Rob, who spent a huge chuck of the day an evening with me, which was extra special because it was his birthday.  For an old man (hardly) he certainly managed to stay out until the wee hours.  Today?  Much needed recovery.

    Catfishtacos

  • At Least There’s Still Some Good News

    I may be depressed about most things I read in the news lately, but this gave me a smile.  Big-Bottomed Mannequins Boost Profile in New York. Guess I’ll be stopping by Macy’s for some new jeans on my way home to show off my bootyliciousness. [via Gothamist]

  • Welcome to Hell

    This article, describing Rev. Jerry Fallwell’s plan for an “evangelical revolution,” made me gasp out loud when I saw it. To carry out his revolution, he has formed the “Faith and Values Coalition,” a group whose mission is “to lobby for anti-abortion conservatives to fill openings on the Supreme Court and lower courts, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, and the election of another “George Bush-type” conservative in 2008.”

    Fabulous. Now please excuse me while I go throw up.

  • Visiting Another Blue State: the San Fran Report

    Jenn and I had both stayed up late to watch election returns last Tuesday night, so when we met super-early on Wednesday morning, we were both incredibly cranky and depressed, hoping that the worst was not yet inevitable.  During our flight over Jesusland (as the map that’s been going around now calls it), our pilot announced that Kerry was planning his concession later that afternoon.  Fuck.  At least we were on vacation.

    Our goals for our trip were to see friends, catch up on sleep, and relax, and I had the additional goal, as I always do, to find fantastic, cheap, local fare.  We succeeded on all fronts.  Between my SF Mates dinner at Tao Cafe (thanks again to the Chowhounds), to dim sum at Ton Kiang, from hitting happy hour at Nectar, a sleek and comfortable wine bar, to happy hour at trendy-wendy Lime, from sushi on boats at Warakubune to small plates at Three Seasons to modern Chinese at Firecracker, and the grand finale at the Ferry Building Farmers’ Market (where else can you have sweet, fresh oysters at 10 AM?!), I was definitely grateful for the hills and a travel companion who liked to walk as much as I did.

    Without going into too much detail (or I’ll never catch up), it was great to see Hinman, Leslie, Spike, Mindy, Joe, Jon, Eric, Bill, Adam, Arielle, David R., Stephen, Sid, and Seth — I was thrilled that I was able to spend at least a little bit of time with so many people and some quality time with a few folks I hadn’t seen in way too long.  Thanks particularly to Eric and Bill for their incredible hospitality and to my cousin Matt for letting me crash at his home away from home.

    Baybridge
    (yes, it’s the Bay Bridge, not the Golden Gate, but this is the view I had while eating those oysters I mentioned.  Nice, huh?)

    Can’t say I’m ready to move quite yet, but I had a great trip — and although I still have a great deal of recovery to do from the election, I’m glad I started down the road with friends and like-minded blue-staters.  It certainly softened the blow.  You can see the rest of the pictures here.