not native

12.04.2008

Ways in which I'm not my mother's daughter

My mom has deemed me unfashionable for NYC. Upon a recent visit, she said, "You're in NYC for goodness sake! You should be carrying a proper bag!" I never did find a functional, elegant carryall for work, so she left me with one of hers:

Sheepishly, I actually tried to sport it to work for 2 days this week. But after furtively attempting to hide it behind my usual junk carryall,

every time I spied a coworker, like this:

I realized it just wasn't me. Sorry, mom. Once an SF canvas bag lady, always a SF canvas bag lady, I guess.

11.29.2008

Eastern Destination #4: Naples, FL

I know it's beginning to look like a pattern -- all Eastern Destination postings and not many NYC-centered ones, but I swear, I'm working on it. In any case, I am very thankful to have a boyfriend whose parents live in sunny, mild, and laid-back Naples, Florida. We didn't do much, except go to the beach,

birdwatch,

play tennis,

and watch the sun set.

Combined with cookbook reading and swimming, the whole trip suited me just fine. By the end of the week, I was ready to proclaim Naples as my own retirement city of choice. This destination is definitely worth a repeat.

(Before you get at all jealous, there was a dark side to this trip. I developed a pretty nasty pie habit -- one might say, addiction. I don't know where key lime pie has been hiding all my life, but oh man, is it good. I couldn't bring myself to document it; I think out of shame...or maybe it was just sun-induced laziness.)

11.27.2008

Grateful

...to be an aunt today! Say hello to my new nephew, Jack, who arrived yesterday morning at 9:30 AM, weighing in at a whooping 6 lbs. 5 oz!

I cannot wait to meet this adorable, little burrito of a person!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Hope you find yourself surrounded by delicious food, warmth, and good friends and family to make it all the more worthwhile. xoxo

11.18.2008

Life on...a tv set

A few weeks ago, it was "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." Last week, it was "Life on Mars." Apparently our neighborhood is prime for filming gritty, urban crime dramas.

We still don't have a tv, so I'll have to ask my resident crime drama specialist, Bee, is this show any good?? They blocked off pretty much every street in our neighborhood to film it.

Check out Harvey Keitel about to bust a motorcycle gang, ha.

I'll keep you posted on what show is filmed next!

11.10.2008

Yes, we don't!!

Have to leave the country, that is! (Were the words "heartbeat away" terrifying to anyone else? That's all I'm saying.) I know I'm a johnny-come-lately to the news, but it's still inspring, even a week later. More of a post later, but here's to being an American! :-)

10.19.2008

Eastern Destination #3: Leaf Hunting in Cold Spring, NY

I hit the jackpot this weekend because Sunday was also blissfully work-free. This left Evan and I ample time for something I've always wanted to do -- leaf hunt on the east coast! So we borrowed our friend, Justin's car, crossed the George Washington Bridge and headed north along the Hudson River on the Palisades Parkway.

Although I didn't catch too many with my camera, we spotted some gorgeously vibrant reds, yellows, oranges, and fading greens all along the way.

Passing all sorts of Stars Hollow-esque little towns, we stopped off at small farmers' market for some local Cortland apples and Bosc pears (which will go towards this dark gingerbread pear cake this week, mmm.) We kept driving north to Cold Spring, a quaint town with lots of antique shops and great views of Bear Mountain on the Hudson.

We even scored this fantastic 1950's fiberglass chair! (A perfect addition to our rather seating-challenged apartment, ahem.)

Apparently, the colors of the leaves are even brighter the further you head upstate, but we did spy some beauties along the way.

I have to say I'm liking this first eastern autumn.

First Fall Weekend

Ahh, what a difference a day makes! One thing I've learned from being in New York for almost two months is that it's very easy to work in New York. You could literally work ALL THE TIME in New York. It is, however, much harder to live. This weekend, for the first time since I started working (and excluding last weekend in San Diego), I've had my first weekend free of my ever-so-demanding crackberry, yay! Thankfully, we were also blessed with fantastic autumnal weather.