NOT THE TYPICAL EASTER

This Easter was not my typical Easter, yet great all the same. Nathan headed out west for work and some time with the fam, while I stayed in the city and brunched with some friends. Kiki, Brett, Steph and I ventured to Nero for some delicious eats. After that, off to the Hotel Gansevoort roof top lounge for afternoon mimosas overlooking the Hudson River. Good times. Happy Easter!

COMMENTS PLEASE...

So... I was adding a new feature to my blog tonight called "What's on my Nightstand," when I decided that I would do a little blog maintenance and check up on my settings. I had never visited the tab behind-the-scenes on my blog called "Comments" which I guess dictates what types of comments are left on my blog. What I found was, it had automatically checked the statement reading "allow comments only from people with Google accounts." Yuck! What is that all about? Never fear. I have unchecked the box and now anyone can comment - Google account or no Google account. Sorry for any inconvenience. Comment on.

HOME SWEET HOME

Only in New York would you see a charming house atop a highrise building...

THE CHRISTIE'S INCIDENT

Okay. So on Monday night my boss, Sean, arranged for four members of the PureOlogy crew to attend a “tasting” at Christie’s. Christie’s, the world renown art business and fine arts auction house, sits comfortably in Rockefeller Plaza in a state-of-the art facility which reeks of old money and rare art. Sean is friends with the Manager in charge of catering and events, who is interested in doing events with L’Oreal in the future. Steph, representing the Education Department, and Kiki, Sean and myself representing US Marketing, made our way into the building and upstairs past the latest exhibit of Japanese kimonos.

Once inside the tasting room we were greeted by our host who ever-so-graciously took our coats and offered us a drink. His recommendation: Christie’s signature drink, an absinth and green apple martini. Sounded delicious, we were in. When our host returned with our cocktails we dove into conversation about the types of events L’Oreal typically hosts and our potential fit with Christie's. Next came the fun part... the tasting.

Mushroom crostini, roasted vegetable wraps, and decadent kobe beef sliders circulated the room on silver trays while an elegantly dressed table staged huge platters of divine looking delectables. We made our way over to the main table where we came face to face with pepper-crusted seared ahi with a myriad of sauces, a chilled seafood platter filled with scallops, shrimp, oysters, and calamari as well as a few choice salad varieties.

I set my absinth and green apple martini glass down on the table and proceeded to pick up an appetizer plate and serving spoon. I arranged a delightful sampling of food on my little plate. Suddenly, I heard Sean yell, “Cath, your drink!” Oh dear. I looked down to see that the cocktail napkin that was only seconds before clinging to the condensation of my martini, was in full flames from the tea light candles adorning the table. With both hands already occupied, I dumbly froze, unable to react. I stood in shock as my napkin ignited into a ball of fire below me.

Luckily, Sean, with his cat-like reflexes came to the rescue. Like a magician, he made a grab for the ball of fire, quickly smothering it in the palm of his hands. Surprisingly enough the entire incident went relatively unnoticed. Our host, Sean’s friend, did not seem too concerned once all were out of immediate danger. He was merely thankful that the sprinkler system did not go off. Can you imagine? I can see the headlines now. “Hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars-worth of art and Japanese kimonos destroyed at a tasting event at Christie’s Auction House on Monday, when a potential client accidentally set fire to her napkin on a decorative candle.” Yikes.

The incident was quickly forgotten by most, but somehow, I don’t think my co-workers will ever let me live it down. “Cathi, we can’t take you anywhere!” Some things never change.

SMALL FISH, BIG POND

Somewhere in Chinatown.

SURVEY SAYS...

My sister sent me this little survey via email. I have probably received this or a similar version of it at least 20 times in my life and I can never seem to deny filling it out. There is just something about sharing the little details of life that captures me every time. It would be interesting to see how my answers have changed over the years. Here's my latest...

1. What is your occupation? Sr. Marketing Manager, PureOlogy
2. What color are your socks right now? I'm wearing tights like I have been everyday since November. They are black (totally boring), however I do own a pair of hot pink sparkley stirrup tights from American Apparel that are quite fun. I wear them undercover for extra warmth when I wear jeans or pants.
3. What are you listening to right now? Bus farts
4. What was the last thing that you ate? A super yummy salad
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Only in emergencies and in foreign countries
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Yellow
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Nathan
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Absolutely
9. How old are you today? 30 & a 1/2
10. Favorite drink? Chardonnay
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Basketball
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Every 3 months or so
13. Do you have any pets? Cats - Bruce & Walter
14. Favorite food? Sushi, garbanzo beans, Mexican, jalapeno poppers (can't decide)
15. Last movie you watched? It's My Party (I don't recommend it)
16. What do you do to vent anger? Run, make a lists
17. Favorite Day of the year? Any day off
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Big Wheels, Barbies, Fischer Price Little People Set, blocks, any sort of toy for the pool
19. What is your favorite, fall or spring? spring
20. Hugs or kisses? Both
21. Cherry or Blueberry? Cherry, definitely
25. Current living arrangements? With Nathan, Bruce and Walter in NYC
26. When was the last time you cried? Tuesday, February 26th (bad day at work)
27. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes, purses, hair dryer, extra toilet paper, belts, a dresser, Dove soap (basically a little of everything that I don't want out)
31. What inspires you? Art, books, magazines, traveling, nature
32. What are you afraid of? Missing out, getting bad news
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Spicy veggie burgers with cheese, please
35. Favorite cat breed? The nice kind???
36. Number of keys on your key ring? 3 + my gym card & a compass
37. How many years at your current job? 6+
38. Favorite day of the week? Definitely Saturday
39. How many states have you lived in? 3
40. Today's date and time: March 4th, 8:40 pm
41. When was the last time you laughed, and why? I am sure I laughed at some point today, but the most memorable laugh was last night. I went to dinner with Josh Levine and some colleagues and he walked into a wall while on his blackberry.
42. What's the greatest gift you give to the world? Laughter... and I recycle.

THUNDER CAT & LITTLE RAIL AND THE GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE

This past weekend Nathan and I decided to venture beyond our state borders for a romantic getaway in Vermont. Vermont, the green mountain state, is the second least populated state in our nation (only second to Wyoming) and home of Ben & Jerry's, Vermont teddy bears, maple syrup and all things moose. There are actually moose crossing signs on most of the major roads.

We left Manhattan around 5:00 pm on Friday prepared for the 4 hour plus drive ahead of us. We headed North on the New York State Thruway and past some exciting points of interest including Saratoga, NY, where the there was a major American victory in the Revolutionary War and even towns called Sicksville and Coxsackie, which we found to be hilarious (Always nice to know that our 8th grade sense of humor is still in tact). By the time we hit Albany we were experiencing some major weather. Snow was falling, and falling fast. Albany was a ghost town with an eerie green/grey light cast over the city and Gothic looking chapels mixed in amongst a smattering of sky-scrapers. We were tempted to take a picture but were scared to pull over for fear that Gotham City vampires would claim us as their own. Scary!

We continued on, crossing the border into Vermont where we were overcome by a serendipitous feeling of peace. Snow silently fell onto fields and rooftops of quaint houses spaced widely apart along the road. Each house emitted a warm glow from within, illuminating the windows and the icicles hanging down from the front porches. Vermont is truly the kind of place pictured on decorative plates, calendars and place mats depicting winter scenes in the country. We followed a slow train of careful drivers along the 2-lane road until we reached the turn off for Stratton - our ultimate destination. We didn't stop for dinner, for fear the roads would close from too much snow. All in all the drive took us 5 hours - not too shabby considering the elements. We arrived hungry, but happy.



Nathan booked us a package deal at the Lift Line Lodge which included 4 lift tickets and a two-nights-stay at what must have been "the original motel of Stratton." From the outside it had that alpine-Swiss look much like the Mammoth Mountain Inn that I remember staying at as a kid. From this inside it looked like the Copper Penny Motel in Fresno, where the fam stayed for one of Adrienne's cross country meets. Minimal, a little on the gross side, but with clean-sheets and a hot shower. Sort of like camping, but with a heater and hot water. For the price, though, it was just right.



We unloaded and headed out for pizza in Stratton Village where we listened to the jammings of "DJ Joe Bell spinning every Friday in the bar." With our bellies full of pizza we slept well, excited for a full day of snowboarding the next day. We awoke Saturday morning to even more snow. It had not let up in over 12 hours! We got in gear early and made our way to the mountain where we met up with our snowboarding alter egos: Thunder Cat and Little Rail Ellis. In the lift line we heard rumors of it being a "powder day." And that it was. We spent the morning charging the eastside of the mountain. We found a fun little run that was nicely groomed and fairly uncrowded. We lapped the same run up and down until our stomachs growled and we headed in for cold beers and chili bowls.

With our bellies full we tried the west side of the mountain where we truly saw what they meant by "powder day." I guess when it is a "powder day" they do not groom the snow. The run we had lapped all morning was apparently one of the only ones they did groom. Hmmm. This made for a very frustrated Thunder Cat. I found myself struggling between humongous moguls that my dad would have called "Volkswagens," falling left and right into huge poofs of powder. My legs ached and all I could think about was going one-turn-at-a-time to make my way to the bottom of the tracked-out powder pits. Nate patiently watched offering words of encouragement. That is until he said, "Better get some speed, it looks like there's a long flat at the bottom!"

Little Rail whizzed by me and out of sight. Finally out of the moguls, I too, gained some good speed. I was flying down the flats when a fellow boarder slammed into me from the side. Ouchhh... I brushed myself off, told him to watch it in a not-so-nice tone, at which point he asked me for my phone number. Jerk. Nice pick-up manuever. I scooted my way through the flats, until I eventually found Little Rail at the lift line. The after lunch run was a confidence killer and we decided to call it a day. It was then that I decided tht Thunder Cat is a snowboarding princess who only likes to snowboard on groomed snow - who knew?

The next day groomed snow is exactly what we got. The entire mountain had gone to the groomers and Stratton was ours for the taking. The locals were saying it was the best snow Stratton had seen in five years, and it was sensational. So much fun. We boarded until about 1:00 then packed up for a long drive back to the city. We hope to get in one more shredding adventure before the season ends. Till next time. - Thunder Cat & Little Rail Ellis signing off.