IN LIKE A LION, OUT LIKE A LAMB

Today is March 2nd, and you know what they say...March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. It has not stopped snowing since 8:00 last night. They are expecting almost a foot in the city! Today is the first day in five years that New York City school have been shut down. Too bad we have to go to work... Here are some photos in front of our apartment this morning. Brrr...

SNOW?!?

Snow is in the forecast for tonight. Brrr...

BARRACK-AHAM LINCOLN

Somewhere on the Lower Eastside.

FASHION WEEK '08

Redken, PureOlogy's sister brand, is heavily involved in Fashion Week and this year I was lucky enough to score a ticket to the Carmen Marc Valvo Show. Here are some pics from the tents at Bryant Park.

CHOCOLATE

I don't even really like chocolate. So why when the lady at the counter offered me a Hershey kiss, did I not just say, "no thanks." Instead, I stashed it in my purse and said, "Thanks! I'll save it for later ;)" Well, over a week later I stuck my hand in that very purse to find a sticky sweet, messy mess smooshed into the lining. Gross. It is one kiss I will regret.

A WING AND A PRAYER

Apparently the little sparrow did not have a prayer left when he managed to fly down the 6 story shaft between our building and the building next to ours, through the 12 inch window that opens to our shower and into our apartment. Little did he know Apt. #3 is home to two bored cats, who have fond memories of prowling their former neighborhood of Newport Beach, hunting and chasing his very species. I am not sure how the entire scenario went down, but from amount of feathers covering the apartment floor when I returned from work last night, it could not have been pretty. At first I thought it maybe they ripped a pillow or a stuffed kitty toy, but then I saw the little sparrow with no wings and no head tragically lying on the floor. Bruce and Walter sat proudly, thrilled with their kill. It is quite possible that yesterday marked the most exciting day for Bruce and Walter since moving to New York. So unfortunate for the poor pájaro.

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER (VACATION?)

It is the day after Labor Day and the summer is officially over. Thankfully L’Oreal gives us an extra day off to celebrate the Holiday so I am enjoying a Tuesday completely to myself. So…I have a spare moment to update my blog, which I realized I have not done since June (yikes). So if I have any loyal readers left, I apologize for having gone so long without a post and for the fact this post is so long.

It funny that although the weather is still glorious, you can definitely tell that fall is in the air. For one, about two weeks ago the extra thick issues of Vogue, Elle and InStyle arrived on my desk at work. These issues weighed three times as much as the August issue signaling fall was here. Secondly, there is not a store window in town not displaying scarves and hats, which seems ridiculous given the still 85 degree weather. Lastly, on our way to beach on Sunday we spotted a few rogue red leaves mixed into the green. A little premature to say the least. At first I was sad to see an end to my favorite season, but looking back I have to say, we had a great summer in the city and I can be happy that we ended on a positive note.

So what did we do that made the summer so amazing? Well, I kicked off the summer on Memorial Day weekend in L.B.I. (Long Beach Island, NJ). We rented a beach house right on the sand called “The Sea Wolf.” We spent three long days BBQing, playing on the sand and attempting to swim in the freezing ocean. I joined my two girlfriends, Steph and Constantina with their significant others, along with about 4 other of Steph’s boyfriend’s friends from M.I.T. Everyone got along fabulously and we vowed to do it again next year. We will see.
View from the Sea Wolf

Constantina and I

Rupa, Alonso, Constantina & Christian

Cathi, Constantina & Steph

We also had visitors to show around New York. Meagan came at the very end of May for one of the first nice weekends of the year. We ventured to a explored the city, lunched in the park, went to a Yankee Game, bike road to Brooklyn for some frozen mojitos at the Havana Outpost, and then on to a wine and cheese at our friend Jeb’s apartment in Williamsburg. Al D and his wife were visiting from California as well, so we had a fun little crew.

Lunching in the park

Haylee, Meagan, Me, Nathan

Yankee Game

Riding to Brooklyn - Megan (in front), Haylee (in back)
In late June Donnell came for a quick visit for work so we were able to snag some time with her at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Barbuto. It was good to catch up, but wish we have had more time.

Nathan and Donnella
Then in July, the Lyman’s came for a visit. It happened to be the hottest weekend of the summer, but we managed all the same. Too hot for clothes, little Milo became the hit of the Village with his precious baby rolls of pudge – no one could resist the naked baby boy. We picnicked in the park, shopped and splurged on a fabulous Italian dinner at little outdoor café. Before we knew it, the weekend was through and we sadly had to say goodbye to our dear friends. It was not goodbye for long, however, because we were able to see the Lyman’s again Fourth of July weekend.

Eric, Dion and Milo

Naked baby - Milo was a hit.
We flew out west to help host a surprise party for my mom and dad’s 60th Birthdays, my mom’s retirement and their anniversary. We had a Mexican Fiesta in their honor, and it was so fun seeing all their friends and family. Adrienne stole the show with the slide show she prepared by scanning in over 300 photos from the time they began dating to 2008! I will have to link into her site and download some for the blog. A trip down memory lane!

While we were in LA we were able to sneak up to Santa Barbara to visit our college buddies. The first night we went up to Lompoc to visit the Dudley’s. It was the first time I had been to their house and absolutely loved it. I could see why Nate wanted to stay there as long as possible when he visited there before moving to the NYC. The have an expansive Spanish-style hacienda equipped with white stucco walls and red tile roof. There is even a wall in their garden that was part of the original mission. Very cool. We BBQ’d some fish and ate in the dining room (like adults) and just caught up. Truly a highlight of the trip! The next day we took off for a full beach day at Hammond's Beach with Santa Barbara’s next generation. What I mean by the next generation is there has been influx of babies amongst our friends in Santa Barbara since we moved (mostly baby boys, so far). We arrived to find a row of new mommies and daddies with precious cargo in toe. The waves were perfect for long boarding, so we all caught some waves, and even played a little smashball. Before too long however, the babies had to go home and go to bed, so little by little we packed up and departed before the fireworks. Things have certainly changed since our post college day Fourth of July’s! Meagan graciously lent us her apartment so Nate and I ate Mexican and fell asleep early watching movies. Sunday morning was brunch at the Lyman’s. We spent some more quality time with little Milo and Wyatt over waffles and fruit. Yum. Sadly though, it was time to go before noon and off we went to my mom and dads to prepare for the party.

The Dudley's backyard.

Hammond's on the 4th

Nathan, Drew, Eric, Dion, Jess
We were back in California, however, in August for Lynn and Justin’s wedding in Orange County. We stayed with our friend’s, the Teter’s, and had a blast celebrating their wedding with them. Lynn made a beautiful bride and the wedding was gorgeous. The ceremony took place at Lynn's church overlooking Dana Point and the reception followed in Trabuco Canyon. So much fun catcing up with our buddies from the OC.

Nate, Me, Ryan and Jackie Hart at the Rehearsal

Lynn and Justin - The Chenards'

Katherine, Josh, Wormo, Alex, Nathan, Me, Justin C., Justin A., Teter, Jana, Ryan, Jackie

The Hart's and the Ellis'

Katherine & Cathi
So what did we do while were in town? Well every weekend there was always something to do. We saw some great bands including Death Cab for Cutie, Cold War Kids, Elvis Perkins, Wolf Parade, Yo La Tengo, and even Bon Jovi in Central Park. Bon Jovi was an experience itself. He played all the hits, even those songs you forgot he even sang like ‘Little Runaway' and 'Living on a Prayer.' It was like juniour high all over again. We had terrible seats (at the way back of the lawn) and could barely make out the ant-sized Jon Bon on stage, but what a blast! We sang a long with the rest of the NYC residents the bridge-and-tunnel peeps ("bridge-and-tunnel" = people from outside of Manhattan to come in to party via bridge or tunnel).

Bon Jovi Concert - Jeb, Nichole, Deb, Nathan and Jen
We also managed to explore many of New York’s finest beaches and spent long days at Lido Beach in Long Island – which is a hilarious scene – and even ventured up to see what all the hoopla was about in the Hamptons and Montauk. Nate and I have our system down now to get the most of our time at the beach. We pack the cooler and our gear the night before so we are ready to go when the clock hits seven. We purchase peaches at the Farmer’s Market across from our house, just before getting on our bikes to ride to the car. We lock the bikes at the pier we park the car on and jet out across Canal St, making just one stop for coffee and bagels. Then over the Manhattan Bridge and the 495 to the beach. It takes about 45 minutes to get out there but well worth it. We then try to convince the high school girls that work the parking lot booth that we are local residents of Long Island to escape the $20 fee for non-residents, even though we still are sporting CA plates. We are 3 for 7 so far. The waves are finally picking up due to the hurricanes down south so I am sure we will have a few more beach days left in September.

Nathan and I in the Hampton's
So that’s the highlights of the summer in a nutshell. I am sure I will be better at updating the blog, come fall and winter when it is too cold to go outside. Ciao.

LIKE DOROTHY FROM OZ

A thing to love about NYC is the availability of amazing outdoor activities during the summer months. The community goes out of its way to bring people out of their stifling apartments and into open spaces for outdoor concerts, movies, art fairs and festivals. About a week ago Nathan and I headed to one of these events. Death Cab for Cutie was playing at the McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Now, when I say it is a pool, it truly is. In 1984 the humungous community pool was drained. The reuse and reconstruction of the pool remained a contentious community issue for many years, until the community came to a consensus plan in 2001. The community sought to reconstruct the facility to encompass a skate park, an indoor recreation/performance center, and a smaller pool that could be converted to a seasonal ice rink. The plan was estimated to cost $26 million and had a good chance of receiving public funding, but unfortunately, the budgetary constraints of the City post-9/11 shelved the plan and the pool remained abandoned for the next few years. The pool and the surrounding areas were left to decay, until someone had the idea of using it as a band venue.

The setup is quite interesting - a stage sits in the deep end while all of the fans plant themselves inside the pool. The nature of the upward slope to the pool’s shallow end, give all a view of the stage. Pretty brilliant actually. The once turquoise pool bottom is cracking and peeling, and weeds attempt to make their way through the concrete. The brick walls surrounding the pool even appear to be crumbling. The McCarren Park Pool has become quite an eyesore to the community and apparently this will be the last year for concerts in the pool. In April, 2007, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that reconstruction of the pool is being funded. Total budget has been announced as $50 Million. Design work is beginning in 2007, with construction slated to start by 2009.Someday soon the pool/park will again be a resource for the Brooklyn Community. Gentrification at its finest.

Nate and I arrived and found our spot on the pool bottom. We were just coming out of a ridiculous heat wave and the sun had been pounding the pavement for the majority of the day. We parked ourselves down and felt the heat permeate through our clothes from the cement, slightly burning out buns. We heard there was a chance of thunderstorms, but sat tight as the performance began. About six songs into the set, the singer commented on the lightening show that was happening behind us. We turned to see the sky crackling above us followed by loud claps of thunder. It was then that the wind picked up. Really picked up. Guarded by the walls of the pool we could not feel it, however when we looked beyond the surrounding brick walls we saw the trees bending and blowing wildly. Electricity was in the air, and the crowd began to panic.

The band exited the stage, saying it was not safe to continue playing, and the crowd began a mad rush for the single exit. Once past the brick walls, the streets were in chaos. People were running for the subway, the cars or their homes. Lightening was all around us and we had to put on our sunglasses to protect our eyes from the flying dust. Would we make it to subway before the down pour? I suddenly felt like Dorothy from Oz trying my to make my way to Auntie Em’s cellar. We descended the stairs to the safety of the subway just as the first drops began to fall. We’re not sure what to think about all this dramatic East Coast weather, but it keeps us on our toes. The next day in the paper there were claims of a small Brooklyn Tornado. Just another crazy night during the summer in NYC.

IT'S A BOY!

Congratulations to Joel and Jess who welcomed their new son, Wyatt, into the world last night.

Wyatt Jedidiah Degner
May 27th, at 8:18pm
7 lbs. 5 oz. 20" long