Wowzer. There is nothing that makes you wish you went to the gym in the morning more than facing a rainy, mid 40's afternoon run around the reservoir in Central Park. The old- not training for the triathlon- me might have just bagged the whole thing and went to the Muffin Cafe for a biscotti and decaf iced latte (the favorite, if very rare afternoon treat)-- but the new me is driven by the brutal images of a four mile beach run. Motivation was lower than low, but I suited up and hit the pavement. Pleasant surpise was that what I believed to be was a slightly superfluous purchase of a SUPER cute
all weather running jacket turned out to be clutch in this moment. Nothing sillier than running in a hooded rain jacket, but I made it work.
The important thing I need to remember about all weather outdoor activity is that it is almost always enjoyable once you get out there. It was so beautiful yesterday, so green and it felt wonderful to get outside. No to mention that you feel like a navy seal running in the absolute pouring rain- which by the way it was only doing WHILST I was running- of course.
These pics were taken through the zip lock bag that was holding my iPhone. Effective!
Turns out sometimes you don't have time to write about life. No shock there. But this week, there is time!
Yesterday was one of those days- got to the subway, realized I had left my unlimited card in the pocket of my Botanical Gardens jacket- ugh. Purchase a single use metrocard. E train comes. Another E train comes. E train again. and finally, another E train. I get on it, even though I am actually waiting for a C train- it appears it is flat out never coming. Get off at 42nd to transfer, see A train pulling away. Run into trainer from my gym I have been avoiding. Ugh. Another E train. Finally! A -C train. Take it two stops up, one more to go! Conductor informs me we will be skipping JUST my stop, 72nd street, all other local stops will be made. At this point I contemplate swearing and kicking the train as it pulls out of the station. Refrain, barely. Eventually, a train that is going where I am headed arrives and takes me there but by this time I am so pissed at the MTA the thrill of arrival is gone. Run down 73rd WITH bright yellow (empty) suitcase that I have been hauling in hopes of hitting TJ's later--to make it to the gym in time. My favorite spinning instructor sprained her ankle (possibly kicking an uncooperative train?!?) so we have some random lady. Overall, not great.
I managed to shake it off, and wandering the aisles of Trader Joe's I decided that the perfect response to the morning commute chaos was scones. I have thinking about trying to bake scones for a while now and recently purchased "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman- (on the iPad!!!- which by the way, is EVERYTHING I thought it would be and I am still love love loving it)- sure enough, Scones are included in "everything".
Surprisingly they came out just as they should- they are great! I added in cinnamon and raisins (no currents at TJ's). To be honest I like my scones with a super crunchy outside and more crumble-y inside- these are very flaky and moist- so I am thinking of tweaking just for personal preference- but not sure how one tweaks- any thoughts are welcome.
The great thing about cooking in a kitchen that is not yours is that you discover things you did not know you had! Mark Bittman told me to put everything in a food processor, don't have one-- but wait! I do! Throw everything in the processor. Cannot figure out how to work it. Fast forward 10 minutes, take everything back out of the food processor and throw it back in the corner from whence it came- that thing is like a freaking cryptex- never cracked it.
Monday, May 2, 2011
SG and I went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens yesterday for the Cherry Blossom Festival. The gardens were beautiful- PACKED- but beautiful. The entire five borough population descended to wander around pristine-ly manicured nature. Amidst the crowds there were people dressed up in bizarr-o costumes- ninjas, sexy cats...etc, your guess is as good as mine...
The idea of moving into an apartment and staying there for more than 8-10 months is completely foreign to me. For the past 8 years, since I moved to college, I have been hauling my belongings back and forth across state lines. During college, I moved each year so I went back and forth from Poughkeepsie four times, then I moved home to CT, then I moved to BK, then I moved all my stuff home and lived in the East Village for a month, before living in LA for a month, then I moved to Harlem, then I moved all my stuff home to CT and wandered around NYC for a month with my essential belongings in a granny cart that I usually used for groceries, (shout out to LM for hosting me on her couch for many a night) then I moved to Soho! Hopefully this summer I will skip the "double move" as I like to call it, which involves moving all of my stuff back home to CT in the gap between apartments. Unfortunately, this rolling stone has gathered a lot of moss...and one tempurpedic mattress (that is a-mazing) that is like moving a dead horse.
A couple nights ago SG and I wandered around Craig's List and Street Easy to see what was out there in the rental world. I have to say it was encouraging. I was ready to move back into an apartment the size of a postage stamp that had a beautiful view of someone's else's apartment (the fishbowl effect). Much to our surprise, it seems like we may get to live somewhere nice! This realization got me fired up about decorating! We are going with an ocean/beach theme- though I drew the line when SG suggested we mount fishing rods on the walls. Ha. Here are some ideas below that I am pulling together!
We hope to work in some lobster traps, lures (I know, just go with it) and big glass vases filled with sand and shells. This apartment is either going to be GREAT or look like the beach after a big storm, hopefully it tends towards the former.
I love these shells lining the wall. I would consider nailing some 2 X 4's to the walls and displaying beach-y paraphernalia.
I LOVE this Ikea arm chair, there is also a couch that goes with it. And, the cover is machine washable, which is key.
For the couch, and armchair, I was thinking a fun assortment of sea themed pillows. I will most likely make these myself, but some inspiration is below.
I love both these shelves-- again, planning on making them- which will involve roping my dad in for some time on the CNC machine, but I think its doable.
I am not sure where this bench fits in, but I have to admit I like it. Possibly as an end table?
Taking care of my girls two days a week has turned out to be one of my favorite parts of my routine. I flashback to the day I did not get into my dream grad school. I walked downtown to pick them up, crying the whole way. Ha, this in itself was a sight, being as it was St. Patrick's Day and I was pushing myself through 70 blocks of drunk green idiots. Somehow, despite feeling like I would never laugh again, their energy and happiness was infectious. By the end of the evening, I smiled again.
Fast forward two years and shock! life went on. Today T really got to the heart of life's big questions. While standing at the cheese display at Gourmage (Gourmet Garage), munching on her second helping of the sample, she looked up at me and said: "Vinia, I am not sure whether I want to be a fashion designer, or a paleontologist..."
While I sit here, trying to grow out my mullet, I too ponder these important questions. By the way, SG recently sent me this photo, entitled: "Your Haircut!". Bumma.
Irritating. My Blog is telling me that I have no picture storage left and that I have to buy more on Picassa. That is certainly no happening. Any advice?
Inspired by my fabulous sister MM, I have registered for the Block Island Triathlon! I have always wanted to do a triathlon, but a few things have been holding me back:
I HATE competition. That feeling of your stomach flipping right before you take off, don't like it. This is why I was never a good competitor, just trying to beat someone else makes me nervous and unhappy, while most people respond to this by pushing themselves, I respond to this by stressing out and slowing down.
I have always been a terrible biker, an ok runner, and a great swimmer, so the ratio of swim:run:bike has always turned me off...I can swim for miles, but up until recently I could barely scale small hills on a bike and running is just pretty miserable all around.
These factors aside, I am also tired of working out just for the hell of it and I am hoping that a good motivator will put a spring in my step!
Not sure how to train for this baby, so please, if anyone has any tips they would like to share, send them my way.
Wrote this a week ago- in the middle, spilled milk on the track-pad, hence the delay. Ha, the computer had to take a little vacation at the Mac Store...
When I started this blog I hoped it would make me pause and appreciate all the fun stuff that happens throughout daily life. It has been hit and miss. Today, as I was rocketing up out of the subway, I lamented the fact that life seems so busy lately. The weeks fly by, running from one day to the next, and the weekends, the oasis of relaxation to look forward to, always end up being more of a mirage. With all this in mind, I know for certain that it only gets busier from here. And this is not a bad thing, being busy with fun and interesting things is great and do not misinterpret, I am not complaining. I just want to find away to enjoy the busy life as it is happening, and find the balance between productivity and relaxation during the down moments. These are all just thoughts- but wandering back through the volume of photos that I have amassed since the camera purchase, I picked out these to remind me of the fun times this year that can get lost in the mess. I am reminding myself that so far, things are the best yet! ( there, blog success)
the days of taking blurry pics in the bathroom at Jo's
What the hell have I been doing in my absence you ask? Well, not a lot, but one very important activity occurred. After arriving home from CT two weekends ago, I stared into the closet.
DISASTER! As I have mentioned in the past, every time I turn my back, literally every unorganized item of clothing LEAPS out of my closet and wanders around on the floor until I stuff it back some where where it does not really belong. I realized, standing their staring at the disaster, that I had not worn many of these items since college- yet managed to move them, home from College, to Brooklyn, home from Brooklyn, to Harlem, home from Harlem and finally, here to SoHo. Basically, I have just been HAULING a dud wardrobe back and forth across state lines for oh, the past four years.
I have a hard time letting go of cloths in the past, but apparently I am over it. I started ripping things from the shelves, throwing them in piles in the hallway. Enter my roommate, eager to try on her favorite pieces from the rubble. She begins to put on and take off the rapid fire stream of discarded clothing shooting out the closet door...soon she asks, "how much more you got? Can I put my cloths back on??" About an hour later, she has inherited enough of my discard that she realizes she needs to start cleaning out her side...She as well has a hard time giving up on old favorites.
This was one of my favorite pieces from AZN's closet. Apparently, no, she has not been moonlighting as a magician.
As the evening went on, the pile grew.
What a gem. Somehow, when I wore this, I did not think I looked like I was in costume as Snoop Dogg.
The funny thing is that though we have enough time to clean out the closet, we apparently do not have the time to get all the rejects rounded up and donated. The pile is STILL in our hallway, waiting for transport.
Just last Friday, as I ran out the door, I reached down and grabbed a sweater from the top of the pile...haven't worn this in a million years, I thought, but I didn't have time to go dig through the closet to find the sweaters I actually wear...
In honor of spring, AKM and I went to Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. It was a little chilly, and winter coats were definitely worn, but as a result of it being early in the season, the line was short! I think its worth the trade off. (Needless to say, the pic above was not yesterday!)
Strangely enough, I am never really that full after SS, despite having just consumed a burger with "special sauce" (which SG tell's me is basically mayonnaise, which in theory I hate) and fries. Yesterday afternoon, burning calories at a rapid rate to keep warm, AKM and I were tempted to go for round two...we resisted.
It's a bummer that its snowing today. Memories of tiny burgers and yesterday's sun will have to hold me over until Spring returns.
Bad...
or is it good...
To combat yesterday's not that filling burger and fries, I am heading to Exhale Soho for some core fusion. Every once in a while they have a 10 pack of classes on GILT and I am always drawn in. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this class, its intense.
Lots of work at the ballet barre, which sounds pretty fluffy, but believe me, every muscle in your body is begging you to stop. Aside from the physical pain, its pretty comical because each class is like 10 girls and one boyfriend, who comes in thinking he is hot shit and going to dominate this girly workout. Its always amusing to watch him discover its hard as shit.
The iPad has arrived!! After spending the last week at the fedex shipping facility in Hong Kong, suddenly, overnight, it had arrived! To say I am excited would be an understatement, it is everything I thought it would be.
An important step in this process was letting go of the need to justify this purchase. Many people asked (and rightfully so), why do you need it? What are you going to use it for? At first, I tried to come up with good answers for these probing questions, which of course led to the realization that is a completely superfluous and extravagant purchase. This realization made me feel a little guilty. Obviously, I overcame this guilt, and have abandoned all attempts to justify. I am really excited and I love it. That is all the explanation I am giving.
What I really need here is help with app selection. I feel like there are so many cool apps out there, I just do not know where to look for them! Please, all 18 of you who read this blog, send me cool ideas!!
To remind myself of how excited I was with this purchase, I had it engraved with a special message:
This past week I think my sister, LM, and I were running a race for who could not update their blog for the longest. I won. Sorry. For some reason, life seems busier lately and I am still basking in the glory of my gym fire. This week, I will be better. I swear, do not give up on me yet.
Saturday morning I was on the 8:16 train to Ronkonkoma. Obviously, I was early, so I was sitting in PENN Station at 7:30 AM, working. So engrossed in fact that almost missed the train I was close to 40 minutes early for. Ha. Got the train and was passing through Hicksville before 9AM.
I was heading out to LI at the crack of dawn to be wedding date for one of oldest and bestest, the incredible tenor VBV. I can not fully disclose the circumstances of the wedding/date but let's just say I was taken aback the phrase "the wife is submissive to the husband" being thrown around without the bat of an eye. Scanning the crowd, hoping to see someone else looking as horrified as I, but no, it seemed I was the only one aware of the fact that we were indeed still in the 21st century. Leaving everything else aside, the DJ was rocking some pretty funny throwback tunes, like, Cotton Eyed Joe-- actually I am not even sure that qualifies as throwback....not sure where it fits in. Anyways, its not every day you get to Dosey Doe, so VBV and I were tearing it up ( still all before 12 PM, I know, serious). In the middle of the square dancing confusion, legs flying in all directions, VBV turns to me and shouts, TECHNICALLY, IN THE DOSEY DOE, THE ARMS ARE NOT INTERLOCKED!!!" Ha. Good to know, would not want to destroy a classic.
Spent Sunday wandering up and down the west side with ALP and his new phone, that SG insists on calling"the super computer", which can google something at the speed of light but holds a charge for about 10-15 minutes. Ha. Found this little "beach" along the west side highway, as close as we are going to get in these parts, a little pathetic, I know.
This evening, wandering around my apartment searching for the chinese take out pint container that I use as my water glass, while simultaneously compulsively turning off lights (roommate competition to lower the electricity bill every month-- its getting intense...!) I thought about bagging this entire blog effort. Actually internalizing daily life and reflecting on it every morning before work is a job in itself! Who has the time, who has the insight?! Apparently, not I. As I meandered from one room to the next searching in vain for this freaking pint container full of water, I was feeling increasingly guilty about the virtual neglect. I managed to find about 10 other glasses that I had somehow missed when collecting dishes for washing this evening, typical. and then, there it was, along with my other two pint containers that I had apparently given up for lost, another glass, and an old seltzer can that SG left to remind me of him during the week, all right there on the night stand/filing cabinet next to my bed, where I was sitting when I got up to begin my search. and where they are every night. I took a pic, and thought, well hell, I will blog about the fact that I am apparently blind. Live update, just kicked it the pint over, onto my pillow, how wet.
I would rank this week as fun. In no chronological order:
VOGUE arrived! Its better than I even expected, interesting articles, great pics. All a girl could want on a solitary Sunday evening.
An act of God occurred: A FIRE in my gym! So liberating. Burn baby, Burn. (no one besides the sauna in the locker room was hurt) How pathetic is it that it takes a disaster in my gym to get my to change my routine, but all I can say is thank you god. Running in the park was a much needed return to the outdoors, if I ever spin again it literally may be too soon.
CBC came into the big NYC for a girls night and haircut at Devachan Salon. Let me tell you her hair looks amazing!!!!! CBC has the most amazing, bestest curliest hair in the world, which unfortunately I did not inherit, but I can live vicariously and jealously... Her coming into town made my want to compulsively cook, baked a rosemary lemon chicken on Friday night, with garlic mashed and green beans, then made lattes and crepes on Saturday morning. Take that Martha. It was all bomb too, which, when I am at the helm in the kitchen, is always a small miracle. Having the day with her in the city was great, and I cannot wait for her to come in more often. Love love love love.
I woke up at 3:55 AM on Friday morning to order my iPad-- I will say I owe someone a BIG thank you for making that event possible. I am eagerly awaiting its arrival. I got it engraved, will post a pic when it arrives!!
Went back up to my old home, Haaalem-- for a movie night with BR- and saw this amazing sign. Hey baby, I want a divorce, and I got my lawyer's number off a burnt out crack den, so you will probably end up getting everything you want.
It was daylight savings so inevitably I had no idea what time it was for most of Sunday. Which is always fun, and terrifying every once in a while when you think you must have been abducted by aliens because you swear you sat down a second ago, but the clock says an hour has gone by...then you realize, you just havent changed this clock yet...which then brings you back to, is this time right or is the one you thought it was when you sat down...Pics below of varying times this evening...Who knows where the clock on the wall got the time...
Saw all four of my nephews, my niece, my mom and all three sisters, which makes any week worth living in! So even though my closet looks like hell and I still cannot shower at my gym, things are good, and the blog didnt get the chop, this week at least.
Also discovered a hysterical new Avril Lavigne song that I am loving. So embarrassing, and yet I do not seem to care... Its not not on loop right now....whoa ohhhhh what the hell.
