List Love

I am a huge fan of lists--so much in fact that my sister has said that I will love the book List Your Self. Apparently this is a book that offers list-making prompts that guide the list-makers towards some sort of self discovery.  Cheesy, yes, but she's right--I will probably love it!

There's something about the month of August that makes me take time to re-evaluate where I am in my life, where I am going, and then, the more aspirational, where I want to end up.  Ever since I was in twelfth grade I have been making goal lists at the close of every summer.  The contents of the August goal list at that age included silly things like "learn to kayak," "learn how to put on liquid eyeliner," and the ubiquitous eleventh grade goal of "be famous--" odd because I have zero desire to be famous at this point in my life. Nevertheless, the ritualistic goal-list-making has been a tradition that I have not only kept, but I feel really helps me to guide a life that perhaps, at times, might seem a little haphazard.  Anecdotal evidence of this: last year when I had an interview for a job, (which I was offered so I guess the comment wasn't meant to be quite as awful as it sounded) the person interviewing me said with a quizzical look: "Wow. Theater. Dance. Media Studies. Film. English. Education. Human Rights. Women and Gender Studies. You seem a little...unfocused."  I remember leaving and obsessing over her use of this word.  It sounded so negative. The way I saw it, I was just interested in a lot of things and liked to pursue a wide variety of interests.  That said, all of the many odd things that I have embarked upon have helped to shape who I am today and I have my (quite focused, thank you very much) goal lists to thank for that.

So why am I rambling on about lists? Well, it is the end of August and thus time once again for my goal list to be made.  This morning, after a visit to a favorite coffee shop for a croissant and a latte, I sat down to engage in my annual tradition.  On the list this August are a variety of pursuits that remind me how very similar I am to the person who first began making these lists back in high school, while all at once confirming just how different I am, and how much I have grown up.  While my lists are always private, here is a sneak peak at some of the goals for this year...

• Travel to Spain, Portugal, Nepal, Tibet, and Sweden. (I guess I better hope that the cost of airfare declines a little...)

All images from this post via...

• Do twenty (consecutive) pull-ups on the jungle gym in the park by my house. (This is one I have been working on, but I have a long way to go!)
• Start (and finish) writing the book that has been churning around in my brain for the past year.

Here's to making goals, and, even better, to accomplishing them! Happy list making!
  

Sad Mac

Remember that episode of Sex and the City when Carrie's Mac computer crashes and all that her screen will reveal is a "sad Mac?"  Immortalized in television history is the mantra that you must back up your work!  Too bad I don't make it my business to take advice from HBO television series...

Yes, today I write to you from a PC because my computer, or "MacMan" as I affectionately like to call him, is off with the geniuses at the Apple store.  I hope that they have good bedside manner and let him down easy if it is terminal.  Here's hoping that they can save him though as he is too young to die.  Oh, and too expensive! Not to mention that his timing is terrible since school and work start next week. Cross your fingers that MacMan makes it through unscathed...

In the meantime, to counter your sadness (felt in solidarity, of course), here are some happy images from my lovely stroll through Central Park today followed by a sneak peak at heaven on Earth...If MacMan doesn't make it, I hope that this is his final resting place...

And a little piece of heaven on the Upper East Side...

Happy Reading and, in lieu of flowers, please send macaroons to "MacMan," care of Sarah.

Hint of Fall

Today was the most beautiful day and, with the slight chill in the air, I began to dream of fall. It's that end-of-the-summer feeling that I face reluctantly, but also embrace anticipating the flood of favorite seasonal things to come.  As I walked around New York City today, sweaters, boots and skinny jeans adorned the mannequins in store windows, gerbera daisies in autumnal colors lined sidewalk markets, and I noticed an abundance of warm lattes and cappuccinos as opposed to the usual iced fare.  While I am certain there will still be some much appreciated warm days to come, today was a beautiful glimpse towards fall.

Via The Daily Decorator Blog

As I meandered through the city on my daytime walk today, I wandered into a bookstore to browse the latest selection of book titles.  One book that I started reading in the shop and think that I am going to really love is: The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe by Andrew O'Hagan.  First of all, the central character is a dog--and a terrier at that.  Second, at least judging by the first chapter, the prose is beautiful and engaging.  This is sure to be a great early fall read!

And the perfect fall setting to indulge in the perfect fall book? How about The Captain Fairfield Inn of Kennebunkport, Maine?  With a delicious New England inspired breakfast menu, a gorgeous setting to observe the changing leaves, and a fireplace and claw-foot tub to add ambience to your reading, Maine might just be the perfect fall destination...

Via...

Via Pinterest 

Happy Reading!

The Hurricane That Wasn't...

Well, we are still alive here in New York City! The storm was not nearly as bad as the news media made it sound, so--minus a few downed limbs, some flooding, and a lot of panicked New Yorkers rushing the grocery stores for water bottles... all's well that ends well.

After a wonderful (half) weekend spent with family (a gorgeous day at the winery) and with friends (a successful surprise dinner/night on the town), I woke early Saturday morning to get back to New York City before the subways shut down at noon.  After getting on the least crowded train from Connecticut that I have ever been on, I arrived in the city to taped-off subway entrances and a near-empty Grand Central Terminal.  Luckily I went through the exit door and jumped on the subway just in time to miss the closure of the 6 train.  The boy, the dog, and I weathered the storm just fine with wine, movies, magazines, and books.

Images from Gothamist and Huffington Post, respectively

Currently reading: To Kill a Mockingbird. The fact that I am re-reading this classic signifies the approaching start of another school year...yikes. Let's not talk about that yet!

After the "hurricane," me + boy + dog went for a walk around the 'hood and here is what we saw!

FDR Drive was so flooded that the usual traffic was absent and we were able to walk across it to the river.

Four-legged friends loved every second of their time in flooded basketball courts!

Well, with the exception of our four-legged friend...

Overall, Irene came, she played, and she went--with only minimal damage. 

Hope everyone is safe and sound...happy reading!

Friday Footnotes

According to the weather people, this is the calm before the umm... hurricane. So, here are some things that I am savoring on this lovely summer Friday before the stormy seas.
Enjoying those last, precious, fleeting days of summer.  Today, my sisters, mom and I head to the winery for some wine tasting, a delightful picnic, and vineyard views.

Mexican Food: From tacos to margaritas, there is no better way to celebrate (or, in my case, lament) the surmise of summer than by indulging in food and drinks that scream summer fiesta.

Surprises! The husband of one of my friends is surprising her tonight with, what in my opinion, is the best surprise ever...her friends! How cute is that?! Luckily, she is too busy to read my lil' old blog, so the secret is safe here... :)

Summer. Oh yes, I will be sad to see it go...

All images via Pinterest

Happy Friday! Enjoy the "calm before the storm..."

Hunker Down

So, while I actually do have some plans this weekend that will involve leaving my apartment (so excited to see some favorite friends for dinner and celebrate the birthday with the sissy!) anyone on the East coast has heard that there is a potential hurricane headed our way.  As someone who has trouble being cooped up and has a tendency to go a little stir crazy, I am already planning for Sunday just in case Hurricane Irene does, in fact, arrive.  Beyond the obvious necessities of food, water, batteries, a flashlight and wine :) , an entire day of being stuck inside means movies, books, crafts, and boardgames. No, we do not have a twelve-year-old living with us!

Via Pinterest

For movies, I am still dying to see Jane Eyre! For some reason, I didn't make it to see it in the movie theaters, so a rental is definitely in order for Sunday.

For books, I am now on the third book of the Game of Thrones series...call me nerdy all you want...they are insanely entertaining!

For crafts, I have been so inspired by Meri Meri's adorable cupcake toppers after seeing them at the oh-so-cute store Chocolate Mousse in Vancouver that I want to make my own version of cupcake toppers for Halloween. This may just be the perfect time to get a head start on that!

Lastly, for boardgames, my favorites are Cranium, Scrabble, and Monopoly; however, the only one that I have any hope of getting the boyfriend to play will be Scrabble, so it looks like the old deluxe edition is finding its way out from under the couch on Sunday.

Via Snippet and Ink

Here's hoping the electricity stays with us!

Farmers' Markets

In the September issue of Bon Appetit there is a great article about farmer's markets as the best dining scenes out there right now. As someone who loves Smorgasburg in Brooklyn, I can say that I fully agree with this assessment.  Restaurants are amazing, of course, but there is something charming about wandering through stalls of fresh produce, vegetables, flowers, baked goods, and delicious restaurant quality meals in the informal setting of a market. As a New Yorker, I am lucky to have a wide variety of amazing farmers' markets (that serve every kind of food imaginable in addition to letting shoppers browse fresh fruits and vegetables) at my fingertips.  While I am sure that the farmers' markets of other cities are probably more beautiful and surrounded by far more greenery, for me, the markets interspersed among concrete here are a chance to feel like some form of nature is not that far away.

One of my favorite times of the year is fall.  In addition to all of the seasonal activities of fall that I adore, I always feel nostalgic for the country fair I would attend every year in my hometown.  With everything from a "grease pole" where you could win a dollar if you shimmied up the entire pole (one of my crowning glories was dong this--in a dress!) to scarecrow contests, hayrides, and pumpkins for sale, the country fair was probably my first exposure to informal market food fare.  Though my palate was decidedly different back then--fried dough, anyone?--the idea was the same: samples of freshly made, delicious food that you could walk around with or plop down on the grass to eat. Love.

Today, I am off to one of my favorite farmer's markets in New York City.  While this market does not have the same variety of food selection that Smorgasburg has, I love wandering through it just the same.  Union Square Greenmarket is filled to the brim with fresh cheeses, homemade local honeys and jams, and beautiful stems that are just waiting to cheer my apartment.  If you happen to be in the city on a Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, or Monday, this is just the thing to do! If you are looking for far more food stalls and less of the produce, try The New Amsterdam Market held on Sundays...like Pavlov's dogs, I drool thinking about Luke's Lobster (rolls) there....  If this is the new food revolution, sign me up.

All images via Pinterest! 

If you are looking for a great cookbook on farmer's market food purchases, I wouldn't know anything about that! That said, my friend who is obsessed with anything local, sustainable, organic, etc. has told me that the book Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods is not only filled with insight, but delicious seasonal recipes just ripe for those who shop at farmers' markets. 

Happy eating and reading!

Vampires and Macaroons

I have talked before about my grim fascination with post-apocalyptic fiction .  I'm not sure if it is my fear that this might actually happen or my love of transportive fiction, but, either way, I always seem to find myself drawn to this genre.  My current read is keeping me up at night; both as a result of its page turning goodness and my post-reading fear that the military is right at this very moment devising a weaponry plan with potential to go awry... Sometimes it is just fun to be a little scared which is why I would definitely recommend the novel The Passage by Jason Cronin.  The vampires in this book definitely do not resemble those of the teen Twilight series...

While the book has its issues; there are definitely better written vampire genre novels out there, many of the characters are underdeveloped, and the author really needs to take a class on "showing" as opposed to "telling" in his writing, the book is an entertaining read that effectively scares readers!

Sometimes when I am reading novels that scare me, I like to read them in a setting that is equally terrifying.  This is usually just around halloween, however.  Normally, when reading scary books, I prefer to read them in the safety and comfort of a scene that directly contradicts the subject matter.  For this particular read, I plan to eat happily colored macaroons as I finish the novel in the warm sun of Central Park after visiting a shop that is finally opening here in New York City! I have been waiting patiently for the doors to open to what is sure to be one of my new favorite places.  Too conveniently located to my apartment, and even more dangerously located in between my job and my home, I have a salivatingly (yes, I just made up a word!) bad feeling that I will see a lot of this place over the next year...Move over Magnolia...Paris is coming to town!

Even the website for Laduree is beautiful.  Their much anticipated New York City store on 70th and Madison opens this week and I can't wait to indulge! Famous for beautifully packaged macaroons in an even more beautiful setting, the color, smells, and tastes of Laduree will make the perfect antidote to a scary book.

Happy Reading!

The Roaring 20s

One of my all time favorite books, even in spite of teaching it every year to high school students who often hate it, is Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  I romanticize the 1920s, though I am aware of the flagrant presence of human rights issues that flooded the decade and also the historical economic catastrophe for which it laid the groundwork.  From the flappers to the cars, the prohibition cocktails to the music, the authors and the artists, there is something that is magical for me about the era. Woody Allen clearly shares my obsession as evidenced by his love story to the 1920s in Paris: Midnight in Paris.  I loved this film.  The premise is that Owen Wilson, who plays a man searching for his story--on many levels, as a writer, as a person--is transported each night via magical, surreal 1920s taxicab back to the era he is obsessed with-Paris of the 1920s.  A melange of minds convene at Paris in this time: writers, artists, academics and Owen Wilson is changed wholly from his visits to this bygone time--each night uncovering his story and ultimately his sense of self. This brilliant story, all told through beautiful, soulful shots of the city of lights is fantastic.

Coincidentally, this weekend turned out to be a very 20s weekend for me...after seeing and loving Midnight in Paris on Saturday night, I experienced my own sort of time travel back to New York City in the 1920s via the Governor's Island ferry.  It just so happened that this weekend was New York City's  "Jazz Age Lawn Party." Amazing. Everyone dresses in garb of the 20s, there is music and dancing, vintage cars and games, picnicking and cocktails...ahh yes...I can certainly see why it is dubbed New York City's "Best Party!" Unlike Owen Wilson's character at the end of Midnight in Paris, who realizes that there is always nostalgia for a better, simpler age, this weekend has only solidified for me that the 1920s was just, well, better! Oh, let me romanticize... 

And the icing on the 1920s cake?? The entire event was sponsored by St. Germain. I will always have a soft spot for this elderflower liqueur as I was introduced to it at exactly this time last year when I had one of my favorite New York City days with two of my favorite friends.  St. Germain and champagne cocktails now always remind me of perfect end-of-the-summer days...I guess this weekend has continued that trend! 

Happy Reading, Old Sports!