Door of the Day

This one comes from my friend Sam, who spotted it presumably somewhere in Old Town Alexandria, texted me about the knocker, and then sent me the photo in an email simply titled "Dooooooooor."  My friends, they get me, you know?

The People I Saw, the Meals I Ate

I've mentioned here before that one of my very best besties, a lady named Laura, lives and works in New York City.  So, I try to find a weekend once a year or so to drag my carcass up to her and let myself be entertained by the city (not to say that I only see her once a year--her parents still live a half a mile from mine, after all).  This year, I bribed my boss with the promise of the tackiest souvenir I could find him and took the Friday before MLK Day (not to be confused with MILK Day) off to give myself lots and lots of New York time.  Laura requested a blog devoted to our experiences, so I am providing.  She gave up half her bed for the weekend, after all.

In the past, my New York weekends have been about seeing museums and finding photobooths (spending time with Laura goes without saying).  I still love museums and photobooths, but this visit was more about seeing awesome people and eating great things.

Friday: Spent most of it on the bus, in the seat with the broken outlet.  I watched an old animated Tintin movie I rented from iTunes, praying my laptop battery would hold.  I finished with 10 minutes to spare.  Once in the city, Laur and I sped off to Brooklyn to a book release party I was determined to attend (we're in the above photo, sort of behind that other dude).  
People Seen: A Ton, including Yuko, Anath, Conrad, and John.  
Meals Eaten: Carrot Ginger Soup at Alchemy (A)
Bodega Kitty: Yes

Saturday: the theme was walking and photobooths.  Mostly walking.  Searched for a mug, sadly in vain, then hogged the photobooth in the Ace Hotel for awhile.  Were madly impressed by the place.  Walked a million miles to linger over brunch with good friends, then walked a million more for pie and more photostrips.  Happily took the train to Union Square to peek into Books of Wonder, then took in a flick.

People Seen: Peter, Jordan, A Bunch of Kid's Publishing Folks, Simon Pegg

Meals Eaten: Croque Monsieur and Mimosa at Le Parisien  (A+), Michigan Sour Cherry Pie at Bubby's (A)

Photobooths: Two

Souvenir Mugs: :(

Sunday: the theme was books and scones.  Scooted down to Harlem for an early brunch with an awesome Twitter friend, visited with her pups, then accidentally got off at the wrong stop for the Met, so we walked across Central Park (a first for me).  Tried to see several special exhibitions at the Met, couldn't find all but two (lots of galleries were closed, cutting off our routes across the 2nd floor).  Hopped over to Alice's Tea Cup for a Mad Hatter Tea.  Ended the evening at the Strand.

People Seen: Pamela, Chip, Ringo (pups are people, too), somebody's suit-of-armor boyfriend

Meals Eaten: Blackberry Cherry Pancakes at Kitchenette (B+), Curried Chicken Salad & Cucumber Watercress sandwiches (C & A), Tomato-Basil, Mixed Berry, & Buttermilk scones (A+, B+, & A), Lemon Tart (A+), and Trafalgar Square Tea (A) at Alice's Tea Cup

Books: 18 Miles

Scones: So Many

Monday was spent on the bus, with a functioning outlet, watching Jane Eyre and eating leftover Alice's cookies.  Since then, I have apparently been attempting to recreate the weekend, mostly through scones.  My tomato-basil effort turned out weird, my buttermilk (using the Alice's recipe) are better.

All in all, a very successful weekend!  Thanks for the food, art, books, folks, and pretty little flurries, New York!

Los Angeles Love Affair

During my year as a VISTA, I rented 500 Days of Summer and watched it, bundled up on my couch in our, cold, cold house.  I enjoyed it, for various reasons, one of which was that it was a movie that took place in Los Angeles without taking place in HOLLYWOOD.  I've never been to LA (or California at all), and I absolutely loved seeing the city portrayed on the screen in that way.  I mentioned as much to my friend and fellow VISTA who happened to be from LA herself.  The following conversation ensued:

Jamie: You know, I used to blog about that.

Me: About what?

Jamie: About all of the awesome stuff in LA that isn't Hollywood.

And then we dragged out my laptop and spent forever oo-ing and ah-ing over her past posts.  Even better than seeing a city through the lens of a movie camera is discovering it through the words of someone who loves it dearly.  And so it was with great pleasure that I discovered that Jamie, back at home in California, has restarted the blog, Los Angeles Love Affair.  She specializes in the weird and fun, things that most folks have no clue are even there if they haven't spent their lives exploring it.  As Jamie is about the most adventurous person I've ever met, you can expect a LOT of fun and weird.

Do yourself a favor and get lost in Jamie's Los Angeles.  Take it from someone who's never been there: it's awesome.

veni, vidi, bibi

Whenever I visit my friends Alex and Marley (who you may recall took our portraits last year), I can reliably count on two things: there will be cupcakes, and Alex will offer me a beer.  Not only will Alex offer me a beer, he will offer me my choice of a variety of flavors I've never even heard of.  He has a knack for bringing home the good stuff.

If you, like Alex, enjoy adventures in beer-tasting, than you should check out Veni, Vidi, Bibi (I Came, I Saw, I Drank), his new blog with 2 beer-drinking kindred spirits.  Three guys, drinking beer and writing about it.  Do you really need anything else in a blog?

door of the day

This is the detail from a door taken somewhere in Asia by Chris.  I knew where it was from, but then she showed me 1200 other photos from her trip and I forgot.

door of the day

This lovely thing was spotted by my Chinese sister in Vietnam.  She brought me a snow globe from Cambodia, so I've forgiven her for traversing Asia without me this summer.

door of the day

I'm so behind on these, I know!  And in the case of this beauty, it will have to be a Door of the Week.  It's totally worth it, though!  This was taken by my friend Tamar, who's another VISTA, in--believe it or not--Lewisburg, WV.  Tamar's quite well-travelled, so I assumed it came from someplace far away and exotic, but no!  She saw it and thought of my ardent love of doors, then posted it on her blog for my birthday.  What a gal!

u street girl

My good friend Catherine is profiled today in the Washingtonian.com's Blogger Beat.  It's a great interview, full of Catherine's recommendations for where to dine, drink, and shop in the U Street area--and trust me, she knows her beat.  Plus it features a positively perfect photo of the girl herself, taken by Chris Leaman.

Go on, check it out!

you have bewitched me

It was Thanksgiving 2005.  My family was in South Carolina, but I had traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to keep my best girl Laura company while she worked over the holiday.  She insisted on making an entire turkey for the two of us.  I contributed instant mashed potatoes and green bean casserole, the bottom of which was burned when it was left sitting on the stove to cool with a burner on beneath it.  When it was time to eat, we cleared a shelf on a bookcase to use as a serving area, which then collapsed under the weight of the food.  I spent 20 minutes vacuuming up stuffing while Laura wrestled with the stubborn turkey.  There's a photo of me somewhere watching the Macy's Day Parade with a pot on my head.

Night fell.  Exhausted by our foibles in the kitchen, we decided to catch a movie.  We took a bus across town to a cinema Laura had never been to because it was the only one still playing the film we wanted to see.  It was an old one, with velvet-covered seats beaten down by the years.  It had once been a single theatre-style cinema, but someone had long since split it in two.  There were gold sconces on the right wall, but not the left, which looked straight out of the 1980s.  Only half the ceiling fresco was visible.  We saw Pride and Prejudice. It was perfect.

This poster brings all of these things to mind.

via Kate, of course

door of the day

The great thing about having talented friends who know what you love is that they take photos of doors for you.  This one spotted by Marley in Albuquerque, NM while she and hubby Alex were road-tripping it after Christmas.  Lucky dogs.

photo shoot

So I showed you the photo that Marley took of my brother, the dogs, and me which turned into my parents' big surprise, but Marley took a lot of great photos that day.  Seriously, it was nearly impossible to choose which one to use.  So here are some of the other shots from our morning in Remington.  The above photo was the runner-up for the big print, but in the end we decided we wanted the dogs to be in it.

I love this one because Casey is talking to the dogs, whose leashes Marley was standing on as she snapped away.  And lastly, one of Summer in the car driving down.

o, macarons!

Oh, yes.  I have the best friends ever.  "Expect a courier," she says.  "It's a surprise," she says.  "I think I made one heck of a good choice of friends back in kindergarten," says I.

meet gloria

I have, in the past, alluded to a friend of mine I've called G.  We met in grad school orientation and hit it off, our snarky, sarcastic auras meshing across the crowded room.  She has spoken, on and off, about beginning a blog, an endeavor I've heartily endorsed.  So, internet, I'm please to introduce to you my G: Gloria Evonne.

She's calling her blog Glowing Evenings, and knowing Glo, it is going to be 100 kinds of awesome.  I predict that humor, design, pottery, history, and--I'm going out on a limb here--bacon will be regular visitors.  Oh, internet, now you get Gloria, too!  I am so happy for you!

(that bacon thing--that was a lie. there's totally gonna to be a sh*t-ton of bacon on that blog)

sugar

This past weekend, I attended a mustache-themed party at the home of my good friends Alex and Marley.  I know you're dying to see photos of my mustache, but sadly there aren't any.  I printed a paper template from the mustache-on-a-stick masters, Something's Hiding in Here.  Their wooden mustaches are The Best, but I do not have one.  I paired my paper mustache with a collapsible top hat that's been in my family forever.  But this post isn't actually about mustaches.  No, it is about sugar gliders.

Alex and Marley have two of the little buggers (named Icarus and Daedalus, which I think is setting them up for some misery but that's just me) and they are ADORABLE.  They have the beadiest little eyes, there is no cure for it.

All photos snagged from Marley's blog.  You should also check out her portfolio, she is a talent behind the camera for sure as certain.