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

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.

Beauty, and the Use of Long Paintbrushes

I don't know much about art or art history, but like all good liberal arts college alum, I can point out a Kahlo or a Jackson Pollack.  Warhol, Picasso and Rockwell are entirely recognizable, but that's about it for me. On Sunday, my friend and I caught the last day of an amazing French Painting exhibit at the Wadsworth Museum in Hartford, and got to see unbelievable works by Manet, Renoir and Monet.  The museum itself reminded me of a smaller version of the Met, only much less crowded and way more accessible, making it difficult to resist the urge to touch Monet's Water Lilies when it was a mere half-inch from my face (yes, that Water Lilies).   

The old ladies walking behind us in the exhibit kept saying "Did you know that these artists used to paint with very long paintbrushes?  That's why they were such good painters." Now, I don't think that using long paintbrushes added to these artists' talent but it makes their work even more impressive.  It's not easy to wield those long brushes, I'm sure.  My personal favorite was Monet's The Beach at Trouville: understated beauty when viewing up-close as well as at a distance.

I loved the sweeping staircases in this museum, and the walls in just those areas were painted in bright, swirling designs.   The juxtaposition of modern and medieval styles was so fun, and the entire building felt very open and inviting with atriums and fountains at the far ends. The fact that we got free admission from the kind woman in front of us with extra tickets didn't hurt either.  All in all, a good day surrounded by beauty. xo

Not Your Average Rack (Bike Rack, that is)

Public art brings such character to a city.  In Stamford, new installations are featured yearly on the downtown streets, and in La Jolla, California, there are awesome giant cows on almost every corner, all painted different colors and designs.  In Washington DC, art has merged with function and there are some really great bike racks popping up throughout the city. 

I wonder how many people don't even realize that these are for bicycles!


Images via dcist