SNUG AS A BUG

The temperature is rapidly dropping on the East Coast.  We have found one of the best ways to tote Annie E around the city while keeping her warm is inside dad's puffy North Face jacket.  Here is a pic from Halloween night.  Snug as a bug!

ITSY BITSY

Since Annabelle was about 8 weeks old we have been hitting up a mom/baby yoga class at Karma Kids Yoga.  She seems to love it and I even get a tiny bit of a workout.  One of the songs we sing in the class is the yogi version of the Itsy Bitsy Spider which I think is pretty cute.  For little ones like my nephew, Hunter, who love the traditional Itsy Bitsy Spider, this makes the perfect second verse to keep the smiles going.

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.
(climbing spider hands)
To ask the great big universe what life was all about.
(palms up at shoulders)
The stars in the sky said everything was great.
 (flicking fingers like little starbursts overhead)
So the itsy bitsy spider went OM
(namaste hands overhead)
to meditate.
(elbows on knees palms up)

ROSEBROOK MEYER

True to my love of fine stationary, I am relishing the brand new collection of wedding stationary designed by one of my West Village mommy friends, Maureen, and her business partner, Ashley.  They recently launched their website and it looks just gorgeous: rosebrookmeyer.com.  Their typography-focused designs are clean and elegant and overall just stunning.   I highly recommend to any bride-to-be!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD

Yesterday was my dad's B-Day.  Happy Birthday Dad!  Sending Papa John our love and best birthday wishes from the NYC!  Wish we could be there to celebrate.

BANANABELLE

Yesterday was the West Village Infant/Toddler Parade at Bleeker Street Playground.  Kids, and some parents too, dressed up in their Halloween digs for trick-or-treating, music, playtime, pictures and hayrides.  Annabelle was a bit too little to enjoy most of what was going on, but we had a good time putting her in her 'Bananabelle' costume and meeting up with our friends and their babies. We are looking forward to a couple more Halloween festivities next weekend so Bananabelle will be back.

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Here are the ladies con kiddos:  Wendy with Jackson (cow), Me with A. (banana), Jen with Carson (skunk), Maureen with Violet (Cat and the Hat).  The festivities were a little much for Violet.  She opted for a cat nap.

BIKE TRICKS

On our anniversary, Adrienne texted me this great photo of a girl doing a bike trick.  This very trick happen to be one of my signature bike trick maneuvers when living in Newport though I never attempted it wearing a bushel of balloons.  The traffic in New York does not allow for many bike tricks, but I like to think if was back on the Newport boardwalk the trick would come back to me.  Like riding a bike, right?

THREE YEARS AGO

Three years ago today a small group of dear family and friends gathered in Zihuatanejo, Mexico to celebrate our marriage.  Under the blazing Mexican sun we exchanged our vows, promised ourselves to one another, and began a new chapter of our lives.   So many more memories have unfolded since that favorite day, and today I love you more than ever.  Happy Anniversary Nathan!  May all the rest of our days be filled love, laughter, and happiness.  xo.

ROCK STAR

I wanted to share Annabelle's favorite new pastime - rock star.  She loves when we hold her in front of the mirror, giving her the opportunity to shake her maraca and sing into it like a microphone.  So far she only knows one song, "Aaahhhhhh", but it is a start.  Check it out. 

IN THE NEWS

Today's edition of the New York Times featured a large scale aerial view photo of our very own Abingdon Square.  The image was taken from the same perspective as out apartment's view, however we are on the third floor, so we see the the trees rather than the tree tops from our bedroom.  In this photo, however you can see our first New York apartment just across the square.  If you look to the top of the photo it is the melon colored building mid block. The article accompanying the photo is all about how living near small, parks in the city offers light, breathing room, and a sense of intimacy.  We both feel quite lucky to have landed here, remembering back to that summer in 2007 when Nathan and I spent a fast and furious weekend with a broker visiting 12 apartments in two days trying to find a place to live before we moved here.  The converted 1 bedroom on Abingdon Square was the last apartment of the 12 that we saw, just hours before our flight back to Cali.  It was small, just about 500 square feet or so, but the kitchen and bath had been remodeled and, as the article mentioned, the light was fabulous.  The park view added such charm.  We loved the greenery, the shady serenity of the the tall trees, the beautiful landscaping, and the lovely mix of people sitting on the benches that border the park. We joked it was our front yard with company over all the time. When we decided to move to a slightly larger apartment a little over a year later, we did not go far, just across the square in fact.  We loved the neighborhood, the light, and of course, the park.  The bummer part of the article is, with such great press, the rent is sure to take a hike.

ABINGDON SQUARE PARK, a 0.222-acre triangle of greenery in the West Village, is not a place that requires much time for exploration. A lap of its curving byways, around a manicured garden island, takes just a minute or two. Indeed, most everyone there on a recent sunny Saturday was partaking in the square’s main day-to-day activity: sitting on benches.

Yet that is a pleasure, devotees say, that should not be understated. For neighbors of the park it is a place to read, to sit quietly in the shade, to meet friends and in general to retreat from the busy streets just a few steps away. The advantages of life near a big park, with acres of forest and lawn, are well known and well chronicled. But living on a square like Abingdon, or any of a handful of other patches of greenery tucked in around New York, is a more intimate and private experience.  

“It’s not Central Park; it’s not Prospect Park; it’s not Battry Park,” he said. “You kind of lose yourself in those kinds of parks. In the smaller parks, you find yourself.”