Winter Heat

Oh MY GOSH. It's really hot in our apartment...the heat is cranking...we live in an older building, so we're on steam radiators. And someone tweaked them for the worse. It's like Philippines hot in here! Well Christmas just passed, and the holiday was a fun one. We went to my parents' place and celebrated there. Among the highlights of my gifts were the NYC restaurant grading system magnet, and the Sephora train case I got for my makeup! Christmas day Marcus and I checked out the remake of the Swedish flick "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"...and we really liked it! Then we headed home, saw Jennifer and her man Neil, and watched some movies on TV. The day after Christmas we headed to Lord and Taylor for some crazy sales on cashmere sweaters! Did you know that cashmere comes from goats and not sheep??? Today...back to work...grr...

October-November

In recent weeks a lot has been going on. Marcus' university friend, Jonas, and his fiance Mirian, stayed with us for a week. They were visiting from Brazil, and taking in the sights here. We had a great time---ate a lot of good food, went shopping, and they got to see the good old Zuccotti Park protesters for themselves. (Augh). For Halloween, we also had a good time...we ended up at a loft party in SoHo...a very good time! Last night I met up with my vet school friends. We all live in the Tri-state area, yet it's close to impossible to meet up! We had dinner at Fatty Crab, then headed over to the Meatpacking District. I had come straight from work, meaning I was wearing my scrubs and carrying around a frumpy backpack. Here's where it gets good and shameful all at the same time: We ended up in the Boom Boom Room...yes, I hung out in the Boom Boom Room in my scrubs and a backpack. I demand a do-over when I'm prepared and looking fashionably hot!

Thursday

It's kinda chilly in our apartment...the heat hasn't been turned on yet. So I am lounging in my One Piece! My in-laws gave it to me for my birthday. I just finished watching the documentary "Dark Days" about homeless people who lived in the Amtrak tunnels in Manhattan. Really good! But I never found out what happened to the pets at the end...and that bothers me. Last night was the premiere of the show "American Horror Story" on FX. And I loved it! I hope it keeps up. Meanwhile outside our apartment window the "Occupy Wall Street" protest goes on...and although I am all for expressing your right to voice your opinion, do it legally. I mean I am not condoning police violence, but I am tired of hearing about protesters breaking the law, then complaining when there are consequences. And I'm tired of hearing the beating drums and cheers from our window every night! Hmm what else, I watched the Sci-Fi flick "Equilibrium" and I really liked it!

Don't Mess with My Movie Watching Experiences!

Dammit, I just spent 36 minute on the phone (mostly on hold) with Restoration Hardware's customer service. And ended up hanging up when on hold...I couldn't take dealing with this guy anymore. All I wanted to know is when on Earth the table lamp I ordered back in July was finally going to arrive. It's been on perpetual backorder, and we've been patient. But the guy I got on the phone was completely not up to the job. I don't know if he was new or what, but he sucked, I have to say. He changed the story three times and when I asked to talk to a supervisor he couldn't do that. Anyway, I was in the midst of watching the movie "Permanent Midnight" with Ben Stiller. And even though it wasn't Oscar material, I was interested. But I had to stop because of the half hour phone call. I ended up calling back and talking with someone else who could actually help me. Augh. I just took two ibuprofens. But the lamp's cute, right?

The Flor Floor

This past weekend I took our second bedroom one step closer to being presentable. So far it's been a storage facility with unfinished floors. I installed Flor tiles wall-to-wall. And it looks good! So easy to do; I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to change up their floors and do it easily, with the ability to change it up later on. Right now Marcus is in Sweden visiting family. So I've been flying solo with Gustaf at home. I called in sick today, and I still feel crappy. But at least I wasn't at work feeling crappy. I watched this movie called "The Fourth Kind"...a mockumentary about a woman who believes her daughter and people in her town in Alaska were abducted by aliens. Sorta creepy, and entertaining, even though the storyline wasn't as tight as it could have been. Also watched the season premiere of "The Martha Stewart Show" and the pastry chef from The Dutch was on, and she made her Devil's Foodcake with Black Pepper Meringue Frosting. I don't know about the black pepper---I mean, I am sure it's delicious, and I'm sure the foodies out there would love it, or at least appreciate the juxtaposition of the pepper with the chocolate...I may bake it sometime.

Win Win

This weekend was the weekend of Hurricane Irene along the Eastern seaboard of the US. So thankfully my job closed early on Saturday, in time to catch the trains back to Manhattan before the whole system was shut down. The streets were pretty desolate as the heavy winds and rain kicked in. I was supposed to meet some friends at Fatty Crab, but we had to cancel and reschedule. Marcus, Gustaf, and I made it a movie and food weekend. We watched a couple of things, including "Win Win", about a low on funds lawyer who's also a high school wrestling coach. In order to continue supporting his family, he does something a little shady, which bites him in the #ss later on. Great movie!!! So glad I watched it. Today I chose a bad one--- "The Caller". Some indie movie that was supposed to be suspensful and scary. It was bad. You know when you're watching something and you just wonder..."well if the apartment is haunted, why the hell don't they just move out???" Ya, well that was the case...We also watched the mini series "Battlestar Gallactica" with Edward James Olmos...really good! We can't wait to get the rest of the DVD discs in the mail! In the quest to kill time under the spell of having cabin fever, I did make a batch of sangria, and tried to drink some. Well, I don't drink, don't like alcohol. So I had half a glass, and asked Marcus to drink the rest. Oh well, so much for my wild night of drinking during a storm. Tomorrow the train to NJ is up and running, and I have to say, I wish it wasn't, because I'm tired and I need a little break. Oh well.

The Dutch, Flor, the Department of Health...

This past weekend Marcus and I went out to dinner and then out to a club to celebrate a friend's birthday, and it was a good time. I love staying out late, and I feel like I never do these days! Then on Sunday, my sisters and I headed over to Zarin's, an impressive upholstery fabric store in the LES. My sister found something for her apartment. We then headed over to SoHo and met up with Marcus to eat brunch at The Dutch. Marcus and I have been trying for a while to eat dinner there, but we haven't been able to get reservations. Well...the brunch was exceptional! YUMMY. That's all I have to say. On the topic of restaurants, I've been religiously cross referencing NYC's Department of Health restaurant review website...when it comes to ordering food online on Seamless, or going to a restaurant, I highly recommend it...it brings you peace, and sometimes, well...horror. Jennifer, my sister, also told me about Flor, this carpet tile design store. Before you cringe a little at the sound of carpet tile, give it a chance. We have a second bedroom that we need to sort out, and we're going to deal with the floor, well, with Flor! Check it out. It's a pretty cool concept. Today I watched "Of Gods and Men"...good flick, but very depressing. So you gotta be in the mood. I mean, who wants to hurt a monk???

It's the Best!

So now that we've moved downtown (well even more downtown) I've developed a couple of local favorites. I'm really into Financier down here....friendly people, reliable food, good seating area, and only two blocks from home. Well, there's always Seamless.com (formerly known as Seamlessweb.com). And the latest favorite is the show "Wilfred". So wrong, right, perfect, crazy, funny. Highly recommended. So hard to explain, but you'll laugh your butt off! Some not so favorites---well, Time Warner Cable. It's archaic. I miss FiOs! Augh. Otherwise Marcus and I are trying to enjoy summer, which is almost done! We're going to the beach again next week. In the meantime, trying to fight off my constant craving for chocolate, and trying to get the next week of work...

Too Much Too Little

So we moved into our new place just over a week ago! Very exciting. The place still has boxes everywhere, but it's functional. So now we are "home owners". We are now down in the Financial District. So our days off have been dedicated to trying to organize the place. Today I just spent way too much time changing the toilet seat (I'm grossed out by using the one that came with the apartment). It was a very frustrating experience. I also saw my trainer for the first time in almost three weeks, so it's good to be back in the swing of things. This week I'm meeting with Tinita and Chantima for dinner, and later this week, I'm brunching with the Cornell crew, so I'm looking forward to it!

Holy Crap Things are Hectic...

So the past few weeks we have been planning our move to our new place. We bought an apartment downtown! And it was a long, drawn out process. So now it's countdown time, and we've started packing (which sucks) and planning. Very busy. Last night Marcus and I ate dinner with Terry-a and Steve. It's been a really long time, so it was good to catch up, and bask in the horror of the latest political scandals (a la Anthony Weiner and Arnold Schwarzenegger). Today we were packing up stuff. A Shake Shack has opened up two blocks from us, so we may check that out...and what's next? I'm going to a New Kids On the Block and Backstreet Boys concert tomorrow...oh ya! Ha ha.

Disturbing, Disturbing!

Marcus and I recently went to my friend's wedding. What a great wedding! It was really done well. The ceremony, the bride's dress, the venue...the food! Holy crap what a spread! Anyway, it was a good time. I was just on gmail, and you know how Big Brother always generates those pop up ads at the top of your gmail? Well I just found this one. What's up with that!?!? Oh and today I got caught in a 15 minute torrential rainstorm while walking to catch the Path train to work...I was DRIPPING wet by the time I arrived to my job. Good times.

Good Day Out

About a week ago I got back from Stockholm, visiting the in-laws with Marcus. It was a great trip. Stockholm is beautiful, clean, and Sweden has great food and coffee...and chocolate...don't get me started. Oh, and don't forget the Scandinavian design. We got to go to Svenskt Tenn, which was design heaven, Design House Stockholm, and Design Torget. Seeing the family was good, and since my trip was brief, most of the time was concentrated on hanging out with them, which was just fine. I got to see my sister in law Mimmi's new restaurant just outside of Stockholm. It was great food. We also went to SoFo, and ate at this great restaurant called Urban Deli...yummy. I also had the pleasure of having to drive in Stockholm and dealing with the roundabout...something foreign to me. I don't like those things! Yesterday Marcus and I went to enjoy the nice weather and hung out people and pet watching in Washington Square Park. From there we walked home and stopped in a few places. It was a good day...sigh...

Gotta Plug This Joint...

This past week Marcus headed to Sweden, and I'm going to join him in a couple of days. Over the weekend was my friend Stefanie's birthday...a good time! A group of us went to Havana Alma de Cuba in the West Village for dinner, then we headed to Sutra Lounge in the East Village/Lower East Side...a lot of fun! So...like I mentioned, Marcus is out of town, and when that happens, I end up ordering off Seamless Web a LOT. My latest favorite: Toloache Taqueria's Suadero Tacos...Negra Modelo braised brisket with tomatillo salsa, with freshly made taco shells. SO SO SO good. I'm hooked! And what the hell is that sketch, you ask? It's an old sketch in a series of art that my sisters and I found at the Brimfield Antiques Show. I love it...long story short, we ended up wanting to purchase this sketch along with something else, and the seller completely flaked on us...you'd think paying a pretty penny would be enough temptation for a seller to follow through on a sale...augh.

Update

This past week was a busy one. This past Saturday I went to my friend's bachelorette party. She's also my co-worker. In the photo with me are Rachel, the girl of the hour, and next to her is Stefanie, a great friend and also my co-worker. It was fun and funny...we first started out at Cienfuegos, an East Village/Alphabet City bar, (which I'd go back to, by the way) then headed over to Lucky Cheng's. So let's just say the focus is definitely NOT on food service. It's like a bachelorette/birthday/tourist factory/venue, if you will...but the girls (the drag queens) were definitely working it. It's funny how getting groped and insulted could be considered sexual harassment, but when it's done by a drag queen, it's all in good, clean fun! I got home late, meanwhile Marcus was up in Harlem that same night for a wedding. We got up early on Sunday morning to hit up breakfast at Locanda Verde and miss the brunch crowd. I had this great homemade granola with what tasted like a mix of yogurt, ricotta and lemon. Then we went on a TV movie rampage. We were home by about 10:30AM after breakfast, so we had the time! We first watched "Marmaduke", which was innocently entertaining. We also watched "The Other Man", which was a little weird, but okay. There was another movie we watched...but I don't remember at this point. Oh, well. Today was my day off, and I went to the gym and this evening I met up with my good friends and old college roommates, Tina and Chantima. We ate at Lotus of Siam in the village. Chantima is Thai, and her family used to run a thai restaurant on the Upper East Side...she heard that the Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas was supposedly the best thai food outside of Thailand, so she was curious. The food was good, but we all agreed we need to hit up the Thai joints in Queens and they would be more satisfying and more economical. Not to mention my green papaya salad was disappointingly too sweet. C'mon, now!

I'm So Tired!

I woke up late today...at 8:45AM. That's late for me. It's my day off, so at least I have that going for me. This past weekend was a good one. Yesterday Marcus and I ate brunch at Elmo in Chelsea. The place is pretty laid back and even though it's in Chelsea, there's no attitude. Food-wise, it's above average and reliable, nothing absolutely spectacular, but good. Our waiter was the happiest, sweetest guy ever, too! I wish he was a friend of mine! I want to go back! Ha ha ha. Then we went to Lazzoni, a furniture store, because we're planning on buying a new couch with a chaise. We found the model we want...then we went up to Michael's, the arts and crafts store to frame a vintage poster we just got. I had a 70% coupon off and it was still really pricey! Damn, framing is no joke! We also watched "The Door in the Floor" on TV and I really liked it. It was the story of a very dysfunctional family, and a teenage boy who's hired to work for the dad in the family for the summer. Then we also watched the shameless and really amusing "Waiting...". It's the epitome of the behind the scenes at a T.G.I. Friday's type restaurant. Oh, and on Saturday night we watched "Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer". It's a documentary about Spitzer's escort service scandal and how it destroyed his political career. It was really good, I'd recommend it, and it may enlighten you on the shadiness of politics.

Show Time

Today I got my butt kicked by my trainer. Then I met up with Stephen to go to the Architectural Digest Home Show. We saw a lot of nice stuff...high end kitchens, different interpretations of the dining room, art, and a pretty cool home theater demonstration. My favorites were the fixtures by Lefroy Brooks. After, I came home and Marcus and I watched "The Sandlot", which is a movie I really like. It's cute, and it's about a group of boys growing up in a small town. Marcus cooked this great dinner that he's made before: lox over squash cakes with carrots on the side. I tried to tame my persistent urge to eat chocolate today multiple times...I won the battle, but it is never easy...

Home Sick

I called in sick today...I haven't been able to breathe reliably through my nose for the past 5 days, which is really uncomfortable. I'm starting to feel better. Well, I read something that made me a little sad...Hachiko, this dog that was alive in the 1930's in Tokyo, who met his owner at a train station every day when he came home from work. One day Hachiko showed up to the station and his owner never showed up. Apparently the dog continued to wait for his owner every day until he passed away! How heartbreaking! Augh. I can't believe what I saw on TV about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It's unbelievable how devastating the damage seems to be. On a much lighter note, see the photo? It's from Japan...I love the Japanese and I love Japan. The other day I helped my little sister Caroline move some stuff into her new Westchester apartment. It's a nice place. We were rocking out in the U-haul truck, of course.

St. Pattie's In Hoboken

Marcus and I hung out with my friend from work Stefanie this past Saturday. She lives in Hoboken, and this past Saturday Hoboken held its annual St. Pattie's Day Parade and subsequent debauchery. It was good fun, and we haven't seen that many drunk people on the street in a while. We went to Maxwell's, then ended up at a good ol' diner. I tried the Montecristo sandwich, something I had wanted to do for a while. I'm glad I did, but it's not something I think I'm going to want to eat again anytime soon. It was good, but not my thing, you know? So yesterday Marcus and I watched "The Game" on TV...it was entertaining, kind of like a practical joke gone way too far that it's not even remotely even funny anymore...and like you'd need therapy after. Then we watched the first episode of the shameless, loosely plotted Starz series, "Spartacus". It was like a soap opera, but a bigger budget: with more graphic and more unnecessary sex scenes, and over the top special effects. It was kinda funny for that reason. Today I'm going to Norma's to eat brunch with Terry-a, and later today I'm going to see my friend Jennifer, who's almost done with medical school. My cousin Norrel's in town, but unfortunately because of schedule conflicts, we can't see each other which sucks! Oh ya, in the spirit of the unfortunate exposure Charlie Sheen has been getting lately, Jimmy Fallon made a really funny spoof commercial starring as Charlie Sheen.

Oh Whatta Week

I feel like I didn't go to work much this past week...it was a pleasant change of pace. I had jury duty downtown, and I got out with no trials served after the two day minimum. So I'm glad it's over. But it was nice waking up a little later and getting home by 3:30 PM...in time for Oprah! Well, the past weekend I got my butt kicked by my trainer, and then I went to Stephen's place and met his new cat Cappuccino. A cutie and very high energy...he is going to get neutered so in the meantime I'm calling him the Arnold Schwarzenegger of cats because I can't believe this guy's reflexes and energy level! Then that night Marcus and I headed over to meet our newly born god child, Liam. It was great to see his parents, (our friends) and to meet him! Then the next day we headed to my parents' house to hang out and see my sister Caroline's new digs, a one bedroom apartment. It's a really nice, pre-war co-op. So that's exciting. Today I went to the gym and watched two really good flicks. First was "Transamerica". I liked it! And I saw a favorite of mine (I've seen it tons of times before), "The Mosquito Coast". Grr...don't want to go to work tomorrow...

Law And Order

Geez today was exhausting...I was selected for jury duty and I sat around all day...the morning was a drag, then we took lunch, and then of course I had the post-prandial food coma...as did my other possible fellow jurors. It was painful! And I have to go back tomorrow! It was so funny how exhausted I was considering how little I did. We recently watched "The Queen". I enjoyed it a lot, even though I wasn't expecting to. Marcus and I also watched that old Tom Cruise movie "Cocktail" on TV this past Sunday. Holy cheesy. It was great...

Movies Galore

The past few days things have been busy. Marcus came back from Switzerland and had a very good time skiing in Zermatt, specifically on the Matterhorn. He brought home obscenely incredible Swiss chocolate...it's so good, I've asked him to bring the majority to work and store them there and bring them home in stages so I don't devour all of it at once, since I already started. The past few days we've been watching a LOT of movies. We ended up getting someone else's Netflix movie...so I figured why not watch it before I put it back in the mail? (I didn't think it was really evil...) It was "Heist" starring Gene Hackman. We liked it, more or less. It's so funny, I can spot a David Mamet film anywhere! During the entire movie, I was saying "is this a Mamet movie?" because of the dialogue...and voila---finally at the credits, I saw it was! Then we also watched "Every Day" on Demand...it was entertaining enough. We also watched "Brooklyn's Finest" on TV...very disturbing, but a good flick. Then today I went to see my trainer and I had a great workout. Then I watched "Never Let Me Go" on Demand...a great, but seriously depressing movie. Damn.

For Better or Worse

It's been busy lately, for better and worse... so I've neglected my beloved blog. Let's see...New Year's Eve Marcus I did something a little different for us. We participated in the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run at Central Park! It was a lot of fun, and made me feel healthy...since my knees no longer allow me to run, we walked as briskly as possible. And I appreciate Marcus taking it many notches down for me (he's a marathon runner). So it probably pained him just a little to have to be walking. The next morning, New Year's Day, we ended up at Norma's, the breakfast joint at Le Parker Meridien. Yummy! Hmm...Marcus and I have put in an offer to a two bedroom co-op downtown. The owner's accepted the offer, but now we still have to sign the contract (pending the lawyer checking out everything and giving us the okay), and get approved by the board. So there are still a lot of hurdles. I'm excited, but I'm also trying not to get too emotionally invested if things fall apart. That's hard, considering I'm already pretend decorating in my mind. Some of the many hurdles we're passed have been the apartment inspections. Our inspector was excellent, and we also got the place checked out by a bed beg detecting dog. That happened today and the place passed with flying colors. We used Simon, a petite, black, mixed breed dog from Bell Environmental. This is the same place that makes the ads of Roscoe the Bed Bug Sniffing Dog. FYI, Roscoe has his own Facebook page AND a game on the iPhone! Interestingly, one of my patients, Daysee the beagle, was just sent down to one of the bed bug sniffing academies in Florida to become a professional! So exciting. I have also discovered ways to watch movies that are in theaters online. I watched "Black Swan" on movies2k and I really enjoyed it. Kind of reminded me of a Polanski film I really love called "Repulsion". Anyway, Marcus just left Geneva on business and he says it's beautiful, and there's chocolate and bakeries everywhere. He also said I'd really like it there. He's now in the Swiss Alps to ski with his friends, so that should be fun. Today I saw Terry-a and we caught up over lunch. Tomorrow I'm going to see my family, and Sunday I'm going to MoMA with my vet school friend Amy. On a sad note, a few days ago our family pet parrot Periquito died...he had gout and kidney disease and finally succumbed to it. He's been part of our family for almost 30 years, and I can still remember the day he first arrived at our house...I'm glad he's no longer suffering, but he'll be missed.