Revisions

I looked out the back window one morning while I was in Florida and was greeted by this beauty. She was just opening up when I first saw her but by the time I got my camera, she was blooming in all her glory. I may not be Southern by birth, but I am at heart and Magnolias rank right up there on my list of Favs. Wonder if I could plant one of those in my window box? 

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have the most amazing set of extra parents. I could not have special ordered two people who make my parents happier which in turn makes me happier. One of the benefits of this is that even my best friends from high school love hanging out with my Mom and Papa Gar. Even when I am not in town. It makes my heart warm if not a little jealous when I am away. So when I do go home to Florida, there is always a dinner party. And when the weather is nice, it is always out at Foxy’s. For the uninitiated, that would be the dock on the bayou behind their house. It’s a pretty fantastic place and this trip was no different. We had fresh (as in swimming in the Gulf that morning) shrimp,  a delicious salad, patatas bravas, a beautiful night and an excellent wine, complete with cherubs.  Good food, good wine, good friends. What more could you ask for? Won't you join us next time?

I have been working through a book on creativity the last few months, trying to let my inner artist flourish. It had been, shall we say, closeted for a while due to too much "flat on white." I have never been one to think I was a true "artist." Yes I take photos and there is art in that, but because I do not feel "gifted" at painting or drawing I always felt a little like a fraud on the creative department. It's funny too because I do have drawings from when I was younger and I have to say I think they are pretty good, so I know the ability is in there, it just has definitely not been nurtured over the years. When I visited the Brooklyn Museum a few weeks back to see the Rockwell Exhibit, I made a point of lingering in the museum after I gorged on Rockwell and found a lovely little room to sit and relax. I called it the Mushroom Forest because of the amazing  fabric sculptures that had been created. It was so quiet and calming that all I wanted to d...

My adventures with my neighbor Amanda are always fun. One night she came up and said “you have to come outside, the health food store must have remodeled and they left a bunch of stuff out on the curb. Let’s go check it out. ” Since Amanda is a student, she has been trying to be smart with her money and adding stuff to her apartment. So out we went, at midnight no less, to check out the free pile. There were glass shelves, industrial scales, some metal shelving and a lot of junk. But there was also an industrial grade cart that had just the right amount of distress and that caught Amanda’s eye. So the two of us lugged, and I do mean lugged it over to our building, down the steps and into her place. We also grabbed the glass shelves and 2 scales to make a little place to put her printer. It has worked perfectly for her apartment and the cart has turned into an ideal surface for all her school projects. Take a look. Now before you poo poo our little freegan excursion, let me add ...

So after I went on the Yankee Stadium Tour last month, I had been so excited to finally go to a game. The weather is now such that it is close to perfection for baseball so I joined my friend Jeremy for a Tuesday night game and went to my first ever Yankee Stadium experience. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It was a beautiful night, we had great seats with a stunning view of the park and the Bronx. I know, I know you don't usually hear stunning and the Bronx in the same sentence but trust me even the Bronx look beautiful dripping in golden sunlight. Oh yeah, and the Yankees beat the Royals. So yeah, I would say it was pretty close to perfect. I just still haven't fully committed to being a full fledged, card carrying, jersey wearing fan. Although, even if I do become a fan you will be hard pressed to catch me in a jersey. Just saying. It really is a beauty of a stadium And the Yankees WON!

Are you sensing a theme here? May seems to have lots of multi part posts, in case you weren't sensing. Ok so film #2 for me was The Swell Season . You guessed it, a documentary. It followed Glen Hansard  and  Marketa Irglova  after they made  Once  and how they dealt with fame and touring and relationship. I loved Once so it was very interesting to me to see more of this relationship and how it evolved and eventually (Spoiler alert) came to an end. I give it a two thumbs up.  Film number 3 was another Doc (odd right?) called  Bombay Beach . It is a little town out near the Salton Sea  in California and the film follows 3 story lines of people who live out there. It is a fascinating area. I went with some girlfriends a few years ago. You can see the pics here . It is desolate and abandoned and graffiti covered and eerie and quite barren and yet beautiful when you look at it through creative eyes. The director Alma Har'el  did a stunning j...

I started taking advantage of film festivals starting 2 years ago while I was still in Ca. I am drawn to Documentary Films and Foreign Films so I was excited to see a good variety of films when I started investigating Tribeca's. As a newbie New Yorker I want to make sure to take advantage of everything I possibly can. So I made my list, checked it twice and jumped online when tickets were available to purchase on April 12. My first film was on the 21st and it was a doozy. The Kings of Leon Story called Talihina Sky . What a fascinating story. I love them but obviously was late to the game as I only knew of their latest album. Apparently they are HUGE in Europe. And now quite obviously they are HUGE here too. It was a great doc and I highly recommend you check it out if you have the chance. Director Stephen C Mitchell and  Producer Casey McGrath Three of the Kings were there and yes they are as handsome as you think.

Ready for more fun! I met Matt for lunch at Katz's Deli. THE Katz's deli, you know, of When Harry Met Sally fame. Crazy enough after almost a year here I still hadn't been. I had walked past it numerous times but just hadn't jumped. Matt wanted pastrami so we met up and got some pastrami and now I am kinda tweaked I waited so  long. Wow, was it good. Juicy, tender, flavorful. YUM. We grabbed a table and ended up chatting  with our table mate who was quintessential New Yorker and yet it was his first time at Katz's as well. Matt seemed to be the only veteran. I did NOT have what she was having unfortunately The pickles were FANTastic! Matt and the Wall of Fame Very popular joint! Our get out of jail free card. Well maybe more like 20 bucks.  We decided to make our way toward the Guggenheim but not before a little more lower Manhattan meandering. We stopped into the Morrison Hotel Gallery which had an exhibit of rock photos by Lynn Goldsmith but no photos w...

Exhausted but ready for more fun. Coney Island bound. Camera in tow. As usual. We met up with Derik in the afternoon and went to a really cool Asian restaurant he had seen on Anthony Bourdain's show. It was called. Sakagura. It's a little underground place on 55th. Definitely check it out if you like Japanese treats. This was just one of the yummy things we tried.