Frances Ha (!)

Have you guys seen Frances Ha? I don't remember ever liking a movie's beginning and end so much, but absolutely hating the middle. I soldiered on through the parts that I found intolerable though because I really wanted to see how things turned out, and thankfully, I was rewarded by the movie gods (in case anyone is wondering, that scene at the dinner party right before she impulsively decides to go to Paris was superbly painful, although that was obviously the point).

Loves:

• It's shot in black and white. Every scene looked beautiful. It's nostalgic and reminiscent of movies from the 1960's and 1970's in the best way possible.
• The relationship between Frances and Sophie is amazing. It's co-dependent, at least on Frances' end, it's deep, it's personal, and they're closer than if they were actually a romantic couple. These are friendships that women really have in real life, and these are relationships worth exploring.
• Frances Ha is messy, and unapologetically so. Even though things settle a bit at the end, nothing is tied up completely, and I love that.

Ehhhs:

•  I've already cited the crazy awkwardness of Frances but my major ehhh is that I'm not sure she would really act like that and still have friends/acquaintances. Her social interactions go beyond awkward to unacceptable at some points. There's a point when she's walking with one of her friends (Grace Gummer) and she starts 'play-fighting' with her, which really just means punching the crap out her even when told to stop several times. It's off-putting and a little unbelievable.

I read somewhere that Greta Gerwig was in every scene of the movie. She's truly what made the movie special; her actions are delicate and fully-loaded. Thanks to Netflix for finally streaming a movie that I've been dying to see. xo

Week-in-Review: Polar Vortex Edition

I think this will be forever remembered as the week of the polar vortex. Eh, it sounds a lot more exciting than it actually was, which was merely a really freaking cold week. We kept our heat on for four days straight (!) and our complex had signs on the door warning of frozen pipes so we let our kitchen faucet drip for a few nights too. Oh, and my car squeals like a piglet in pain when it's below 30 degrees so the sound it makes at 3 degrees is a real treat.

For some reason, I feel compelled to do a round-up reminiscent of those awesome early 2000's music compilations. Without further ado, welcome to Now This Is What I Call the Highs and Lows of a Long Cold Week, Volume 413.

High: We finished watching the second season of Episodes and seriously, I love that show. It's so witty and the acting is great, although I don't think I can ever look at Joey Tribianni the same way.

Low: Man, were people crabby or what? I had doors slammed in my face in the lobby of my office building several times, my co-workers were cranky-pants, and don't even get me started on the rudeness of everyone in the Target this afternoon.  Lighten up, it's January, 2014. Try to recite a mantra or something.

High: Last weekend's quick stop into Anthropologie resulted in me falling in love with the 50% off clearance table and emerging with a fancy apron, a cheese cookbook and a little blue butter dish. Serious scores.

Low: Yesterday morning in the cold, Anthony and I had to jump his car twice. Luckily, he only needed a new battery but what a way to start the day.  His poor jeep looked so sad in the snow and fog.

High: So far, I'm kind of sticking to my 'keep it organized' goal for the new year. We dropped off several boxes to Goodwill earlier and I'm de-cluttering our apartment slowly. Also, I've been drinking lots of water with fresh-squeezed lemon juice and trying to really believe in the revitalizing power of citris.

Low: We ran out of everything this week: baggies, tissues, peanut butter, celery, bread crumbs, foil, etc. These are things that I always keep stocked. How random and rather inconvenient.

I hope you're all having great weekends. Happy Saturday night! xo


In honor of the news that New York Transit/MTA is planning to phase-out metro cards, here's a shot I took a few months ago of the back of my metro card. More poetry, please.

Weekend Reads

 

 

Short weeks always seem like the longest weeks, no? Yesterday, my day started with logging in to pay my credit card and finding a bunch of fraudulent charges in my account. I was less than pleased, especially when I was told my credit card had to be cancelled. Perhaps that's just the price I have to pay for living in a technology-driven world (I ironically state as I blog about this incident).

Anyway, today I had to put on a cardigan on my way to work because it was a bit chilly and that made me happy. And I'm gearing up for a bachelorette party tomorrow that's entitled "Sex on the Table: Aphrodisiac Cooking."  As long as they don't feed me raw oysters, I'm set.

In the meantime, I'm going to keep thinking about a visit to Bantam Bagels to try these amazing-looking bagel ball concoctions. Four of them equal a whole bagel. Let's just grab an entire box and eat a casual breakfast in the park one Sunday.

And now, some of my favorite links from the week. Have a lovely weekend! xo

• The new panda at the National Zoo is a girl. How cute is she going to look with little bows in her fur? Cute enough to make me want to jump on a train and visit, that's for sure.

• Splitsider featured comedy in television and movies for the fall. I'm really excited for some of these. 

•  I've been pinning recipes like it's my job. The one I can't wait to try: Jalapeno Cheddar Parmesan Cornbread

•  I want all of the products featured in this DailyCandy slideshow about drugstore beauty must-haves. I wish CVS let you try things out before you buy them though.

• Once is going to be at the Shubert in New Haven next year. I predict now that we will wait way too long to purchase tickets but will then snag really good, inexpensive ones last-minute. Optimism is my friend sometimes.

Photo of bagel balls courtesy of Bantam Bagels

Finding the Humor

There's definitely some humor in the fact that I took a humor writing class this weekend. Could you really learn how to be funny? Even after this 7-hour Gotham Writer's Intensive, I remain relatively unconvinced but it's never a bad thing to learn new techniques and to practice with some writing prompts and to surround yourself with other writers.

My biggest issue is that my humor is dry and subtle, benignly snarky perhaps. This doesn't usually translate well on the page for me but I really loved the hand-outs and suggested readings that structured the class. The instructor, Ryan, was really low-key, informative and focused mostly on contemporary writers, which I appreciated. These are the people who are currently shaping and re-shaping the literary world; these are the people who are doing readings all around the city.  We talked a bit about Sloane Crosley, one of my favorites, and we read Lorrie Moore's famous How to Become a Writer, which reminded me of how much I love Lorrie Moore, which was then followed with a strong urge to read Birds of America again.

All in all, the class could have easily been condensed into four or five hours. However, I did leave with a bunch of ideas for short stories and essays, including a romance/adventure revolving around pieces of IKEA furniture that fall in love because, let's be honest, bookcases deserve to find love too. 

I think my new plan of action is to just write. I just need to get the words on the paper (or screen, my technology-loving friends) and then revise until there is some semblance of a humor essay in front of me.  In any event, there are plenty of worse ways I could have spent a beautiful Sunday in August than learning about writing on the Upper East Side.



Photo taken at corner of Lexington and 72nd Street.

Weekend Recap: Fireworks, Birthdays and Extreme Heat

Fireworks, birthdays and heat are three words that truly describe this weekend.

Thursday was spent celebrating my best friend's birthday, her fiance's birthday and, of course, America's birthday. How adorable is this red, white and blue pom-pom garland?

Could Charlie the Mastiff be any cuter? He's actually trying to hide behind this bush.

Spotted at Target: Pillsbury Key Lime box cake mix. This was one impulse buy I couldn't pass up.

Saturday was my birthday and we met friends in the city for brunch. Afterward, we all headed up to MoMA to see the Rain Room exhibit, but the museum was super crowded and we were only able to observe from an area off to the side.  The effect of the rain falling from the ceiling is amazing, creating tiny prisms with every drop. There are sensors above that shut off the water when someone is below just that area so basically, you are standing in the rain but aren't getting wet. What a wonderful concept with an almost magical result, although I would never have waited two hours to actually experience the exhibit myself.

(Note to MoMA: you should seriously consider limiting the amount of time visitors have in the Rain Room. There was a group of ten people just standing there for twenty minutes talking about dinner plans. The rest of the time they were taking and re-taking pictures on their iPhones. The same group was there when we went in and was still there when we left. Everyone deserves a chance but without limits, people take advantage.  That is all.)

I will readily admit that these photos truly don't do justice to the beauty of the rain and the rainbow effect as the spotlight hits the sheets of water.

Finally, in order to cool off after spending the entire day at my grandparents' sweltering house, Anthony and I celebrated my birthday by sitting in our air-conditioned bedroom eating Crumbs cupcakes and watching Friends reruns. It was a perfect ending to one of the best birthdays that I've celebrated in the last ten years or so.

This photo below is from Wednesday night's fireworks display in Stratford. The bursts are always so beautiful in the sky but I can never fully capture that with a camera. This gives you a pretty good idea of the show though.

I hope you all had wonderful, relaxing, patriotic, popsicle-filled weekends. xo

Weekend Reading

Welcome to the holiday weekend, my friends! Most people had today off and celebrated with a four-day weekend, but I was at work, answering emails in my extremely quiet office.  The last few days have been so humid so we're doing our best to stay cool with our little air conditioner in our bedroom. Plus, my birthday is tomorrow, and it's one of my least favorite days of the year.  Our plan is to head into the city and just have a nice day in empty Manhattan. I have high hopes for the year ahead; then again, I try to be optimistic as possible. And if you're looking for some reading material, below are links to some of my favorite things this week. xo


Design Crush shared this unbelievable round-up featuring 108 recipes for ice creams and sorbets. I've never made ice cream before but if anything is going to make me try, it's this collection. Nom nom.

I want to make a gazillion of these Instagram-Poloroid magnets, cover our fridge with them and then hand them out to all of our friends.

This recipe for buttermilk cornbread looks great but the accompanying bacon-lime-chili butter looks even better.

This whale sprinkler is beyond kickass. I wish we had a backyard.

All twenty-five of these books are being added to my must-read list. What are you reading right now?




Photo courtesy of Gray Malin, who's aerial photos of parks in New York and Chicago are breathtaking; via honestlywtf

Night Out

Last weekend, we were finally able to visit Murray's Cheese Bar. There couldn't have been a better place to duck into for dinner on a cold, rainy night.

There was no way that I was could possibly eat at this restaurant without ordering a cheese plate.  Anthony wouldn't let me take a photo of the plate before we devoured it but as you can see from the remains, or lack thereof, it was delicious. I even had a bite of the charcuterie selection, which was some kind of thinly-sliced cured ham. I so wish I had written down the names of cheeses that we enjoyed (I so want that slate slab, by the way).

 

For entrees, we ordered the macaroni and cheese and the grilled cheese which came with a small bowl of tomato soup. I could eat an entire pot of the macaroni and cheese, no joke.

So overall, Murray's Cheese Bar was totally worth the wait. The staff was awesome (one of the dudes even brought over this amazing sriracha-type sauce for us which we tried on everything we ordered), and the vibe was super chill. The best part is that afterward we were able to walk two doors down and visit Murray's Cheese, which is one of my favorite places in the city. I want to buy a pound of every cheese in the cases and a box of every type of crackers on the shelves.

And how could we walk by Amy's Bread without stopping in? My orange sugar cookie was so good that I think it should be the official snack of my summer.

What a great night out, if I do say so myself. xo

Sprawling Art

When in New York, I always try to take a walk through Madison Square Park. I love how many different things are packed into this space.  There's a really cool playground along the north edge and at the south edge, there's always a snaking line for the Shake Shack. In between the two are paved paths, families with toddling children, lots of dogs, plenty of benches and always some kind of art installation. It's just such a friendly patch in the middle of the bustling Flatiron district.

The giant pieces that are display now are so beautiful and cheerful. The artist intricately wove thick painted nautical rope to form giant waves.  Don't they look like they belong in a Dr. Seuss book? So perfect for summer.

Sidenote: Does anyone know what kind of flowers these are? I love that they are basically large pompoms balancing on top of a tall, thin stem. If I'm ever lucky enough to have a yard of my own, I'm definitely planting some. xo

Reasons to be Happy

 

When I read that Jenna Fischer was going to be in Neil LaBute's 'Reasons to be Happy' after the Office finished filming, I went online and bought tickets. The play sounded great, and honestly, I'd go and see Ms. Fischer in anything. (Have you watched The Giant Mechanical Man with her and Chris Messina? It's streaming on Netflix right now and so worth it). Plus, the Lucille Lortel Theater is in the West Village so we were able to get an awesome dinner at Murray's Cheese Bar before the show (more on that later).

The theater was tight, but in a good way. We were about ten rows back and I still felt like I could reach out and touch any of the actors on stage. Anthony and I both commented about the Nirvana songs that were playing before the show, and once the show started, we realized that Nirvana was the soundtrack, played only between the scenes and then swiftly clicked off when the lights flashed on. The music really worked perfectly with the storyline.

That mint green retro bike by the theater was adorbs. I almost took it for a ride 

around the block while we waited.

And most importantly, we really enjoyed the play. The acting was wonderful, the story true to life, and the dialogue was extremely realistic. The sets are simple and there are only four characters; at no point are they all on the stage at the same time. Jenna Fischer's character Steph is so unlike her Office role of Pam Beesly so it was really refreshing to see her in this part, complete with lots of obscenities and even a couple of scenes where she goes at her ex-husband arms-swinging.

I'm not a theater buff but I'd recommend 'Reasons to be Happy.' If you've seen it, let me know what you thought! xo

Bonus: the ushers were kind of cranky and when this fancy older couple came in, the wife immediately asked a female usher to direct her to the concession stand. Not the best idea. Apparently, there isn't a concession stand and she wasn't afraid to tell them that. Classic.

Found: Best Ice Cream Sandwich

As a short reprieve from the sideways rain yesterday, Anthony and I detoured through Madison Square Eats.  The weather deterred people from walking through the temporary food festival tents so we didn't have to fight the crowd to get to the Melt cart.  I had reservations about getting an ice cream sandwich since we were freezing but I cannot describe how delicious it was. The homemade snickerdoodle cookies were super crispy and the cinnamon ice cream was so unbelievably rich but not overly sweet. I want to go back and try all of the other flavors. This is definitely going to be a treat that I try to replicate at home this summer.

Pre-Spring Wings

Sometimes it's impossible to pass up an afternoon in New York when beer and wings are promised.

The Bowlmor in Times Square hosted a wings contest on Sunday and even though I avoid Times Square normally, Anthony and I met up with friends and enjoyed chicken and PBR in the crowded bowling alley. Even though the event was kind of a cluster (too many people, some mediocre wings), the music was banging and it was a great way to spend the end of the weekend.

It was cool pre-spring day and all I wanted to do was breathe in fresh air.  We had to stand outside in line for just a little bit and it was such a tease to be surrounded by some of the best theaters in the city. Rock of Ages was next to us with Matilda and Phantom across the street right next to the new Nora Ephron play, Lucky Guy, starring Tom Hanks. There's very little I wouldn't do for two tickets to see this production.

By the way, while we were passing through Grand Central, we stopped by the awesome exhibit celebrating the station's 100th birthday in the Vanderbilt Hall entrance way.  I just loved looking at the photos taken mid-construction, the train track blueprints and even the old subway signs. Did you know that the current midtown was once considered to be waaaay uptown? So much wonderful information about the history of one of the greatest New York City landmarks. xo

 

Eating and Walking

At the end of the summer, when autumn seemed everlasting as it lay ahead of us, I bought two tickets for a Lower East Side Food Tour for me and Anthony. After my visit to the Tenement Museum in July, I kind of fell in love with the area, plus I really like nom noms so I figured this would be the perfect weekend activity.

Fast forward to mid-December: our food tour deal expires in two weeks. The only free day we have is Sunday, December 30th, right smack in the middle of holiday festivity overload. And yes, there is a tour scheduled for that day. Amazing.

It snowed in Connecticut on Saturday night but Manhattan had limited accumulation.  (Sidenote: I love New York on Sunday mornings.  There are so few people, the streets are so quiet.  It's like everyone is sleeping just so that they can wake up late and and head out for a boozy brunch at 2pm. Perfect.) We were early so we headed to St. Patrick's to light candles then took the subway down.  I didn't count on the confused tourists at the ticket machines so we missed our train then had to wait forever for another. Translation: we arrived at Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery late and missed the first tasting.  Sad.

But it was easy to catch up and there were plenty more stops to enjoy, including a special treat of bialys and cream cheese at Kossar's Bialys, a place that the tour doesn't normally visit.  Our favorites included Katz's Deli (the pastrami is so good), The Pickle Guys (Anthony loves pickles and bought some pickled mango) and North Dumpling (we actually went back after the tour for a fast lunch of steamed pork dumplings). 

Thanks to our great tour guide who kept the group moving despite the freezing wind (most of the tastings are outside), Anthony and I had a great time. There are a few places we'd like to check out again, and it was really fun to learn more about the history of this great city. I could already go for another doughnut from Doughnut Plant.

SantaCon

  
I always manage to be in New York on the night of Santacon.  I don't know how this happens but every year on a Saturday afternoon right before Christmas as I wait on the platform for the train at whichever station I happen to be at, there are inevitably crowds of people, mostly in their early twenties, dressed as Santa or Santa's slutty lady friend, usually drunk and falling over or singing Christmas carols loudly and off-key.  I am so lucky.

This weekend wasn't as bad as it's been in the past, mainly because my friend and I stayed far away from the West Village (last December, Washington Square Park was seriously trashed in a majorly sad and wet toilet papered kind of way), but we were still able to see our share of Santacon celebrants.  There were droopy Grinches, Cindy Lou Whos, Buddy the Elfs, reindeer, and even one streetwalker-ish Mrs. Claus (there were probably more but we were distracted by the Santas walking in front of taxis and buses--seriously).

I don't think there's ever been a time when I felt so carefree that I would go walk around a city completely obliterated wearing clothes resembling lingerie and screaming at strangers in the street.  I guess I'm just not that kind of gal, but looking at this poor girl who was next to me on the ride home, I think I'm okay with that. xo

Aftermath

On Monday, while Hurricane Sandy's winds battered against the windows, I realized that Anthony had proposed exactly one year ago during that crazy October snowstorm. It was a sweet thing to remember even if we were in a less than ideal situation. We had to evacuate our apartment early Monday morning due to extreme flooding and spent two days at my brother and sister-in-law's place waiting out the storm in safety. Wise words: when authorities tell you that there are going to be twenty foot storm surges after high tide and that you need to evacuate, just leave.

After watching hours and hours of storm coverage, all I can say is that I'm thankful. Thankful that we had a dry, warm place to stay, thankful that there was minimal damage to our home and my parents' house and my grandparents' home. I keep thinking about New York City just a mere distance away. The flooding, the blackouts, the hospital evacuations--the events from the last few days have been terrifying and I'm sending all of my very best thoughts south to New York.

We're lucky that only our parking lot is flooded, and that we only lost our cable and Internet. And we were lucky to just ride the storm out together. xo

 Our parking lot and the street in front of the parking lot

Our street

The Search for New Glasses

I've been wearing glasses since I was eleven years old.  My first pair had huge round frames in a speckled pink-and-white pattern and covered the entire top half of my face.  I thought they were so cool and instead of wearing them just to see the blackboard, I wore them all the time.  This might have contributed to how horrible my vision is today. At this point, if I don't have my contacts in, I probably could not distinguish between my mother or my male boss standing in front of me.

I've had the same pair of glasses for eight years, and even though I have yearly eye exams, I actually never update the lenses.  The last time I drove with my glasses on, I decided that it was finally time to replace the old prescription.  And why not get new frames at the same time?

I've been looking at Warby Parker glasses for a while and decided to go ahead and take advantage of their try-on program.  All I did was pick five pairs that I really liked and Warby Parker sent them to me to sample for a few days.  That way, I can wear them around the apartment and see what they really look like on.  It was so exciting to receive the box in the mail.  I would highly recommend doing this.  I was really hesitant about ordering glasses online but Warby Parker does everything to make sure that you love the glasses that you wind up purchasing. 

After much consideration, I decided on Fitz in Whiskey Tortoise.  They are similar to the frames I have now but a little larger and bolder.  And finally, I can see clearly. xo

The Way Things Were

Everyone has heard of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum and, of course, MOMA, in New York City. These are all great museums and more than worth the visit, but they are only a few of the dozens of museums that call the city home.  There are so many smaller and lesser-known collections that are really fun and interesting, and that offer different experiences from a regular art or history museum.

At the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side, my friend Shannon and I took an afternoon "Irish Outsiders" tour.  It's important to mention that the weather was not really cooperating with our day of exploration.  It was almost 100 degrees and extremely humid.  Our particular tour required us to walk up to the fourth floor, and the Tenements are not air-conditioned.  Despite the heat, we both learned so much and would visit again in a heartbeat to take a different tour (there are four or five to choose from and they run all day).

So what makes this museum so special? It's pretty darn authentic.  The tours take visitors through a tenement that was built in the late 1800's where real families lived in cramped 350 square foot apartments.  The rooms haven't been refurbished so that you can get a real sense of what they were like all those years ago.  This particular building was in use for at least 60 years until the early twentieth century and the living conditions were horrible: no running water, shared outhouses, no electricity, unsafe conditions and rampant disease.  There was intense discrimination against the Irish Catholics who were rushing into America, and poverty was a real problem in this overpopulated area of New York.  Just hearing from our guide, Ruth, about the trash-filled streets and the constant permeating stench provided a major reality check.

New York doesn't want to forget the past.  The city embraces its rich history by celebrating and sharing it, and that's just one more reason why I love this great place.

P.S. I just love this fan that we were given at the start of the tour.  Such a perfect gift that got a lot of use...

So Far Up

Have you ever been to the top of the Empire State Building? I always wrote it off as a tourist trap, an expensive elevator ride to the top of a very tall building, but after I spent some time up there last week, it's easy to see why it's one of the most popular attractions in New York City.

When my friend and I finally got to the 102nd floor, which is the highest level visitors can access, the view was breathtaking.  When we looked straight ahead, only the bright blue sky and clouds were in front of us.  Below, the taxis and the pedestrians and the rivers looked so small; everything seemed like it was moving in slow-motion.  Even the skyscrapers, which tower above when you walk beside them, looked like your normal, run-of-the-mill buildings.  It was beautiful.

Looking down, I felt small.  And I felt overwhelmingly human, in the best way possible.  We are all such tiny parts of this huge world.  Watching one of the greatest cities in the world from a height of 1,250 feet reminded me of that very quickly.  It's amazing what a difference perspective can make.

Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park

I can't believe how tiny the Statue of Liberty looks

The sky was just crazy gorgeous

Cheese Love

Last Sunday, Anthony and I sat in the lofted, second floor dining area at Beecher's Handmade Cheese, the awesome Seattle store/cafe that now has a location in the Flatiron district.  We've been there before and loved their grilled sandwiches so we just couldn't pass up a chance to stop in for a cup of their delicious macaroni and cheese as we passed by mid-afternoon.  It's a really cozy place with wooden benches overlooking the street along with a huge window so that you can view the live cheddar-making show below.  It's a perfect place for an after-lunch snack.

And more cheese news: Murray's Cheese just opened a restaurant right by their Bleecker Street location.  I cannot wait to sample the menu, especially the Buffalo Cheese Curds and the Ch'Mores (photo above).  Cheese is my favorite food group, for real.



Photo courtesy of New York Magazine

A Starring Sidedish

How could it be that days after Anthony took me to Mesa Grill in New York for a belated birthday dinner, I'm still thinking about the yummy side dish that we had with our meal? The small bowl of roasted corn with chipotle aioli and cheese was doused in lime and became the star for me.  Bobby Flay, I hate your competition throw-down shows, but I loved your food.

Landmark

When we were in New York on St. Patrick's Day, I regret not taking a picture of the Empire State Building, shining bright green light against the foggy sky.  The image was so striking, almost comicbook-esque.  It was a photo that any tourist would kill for (not that I necessarily consider myself a tourist, although I never can pass up an iconic NYC picture). 

While I was waiting for my friend near Herald Square this rainy weekend, I noticed that everyone was walking by and looking up.  Eventually, I did too, only to see a perfect shot of the Empire State Building masked by fog and clouds.  It was gorgeous against the sky, almost like a clip from a black-and-white movie.  Even though it was a couple of weeks late, I'm glad I finally got my picture.