Telefon Douche

I think I grew up with one of these when I was a kid but they are so much better as an adult. they are everywhere in europe now. ooh-la-la.

Bloody Hell

London is loving me right now because I brought super warm weather. It's Indian Summer here now. Sooooo nice to be wandering around. I really stepped in it. I'm living in the celebrity neighborhood. The equivalent of the West Village I think from what I can gather. It's so stinkin' cute and lovely to walk around at night and see the insides of the houses, the artwork, the design, etc. I had great Lebanese food Thursday night and today we went to see Westminster Abbey and Big Ben and walk around Green Park. It was quite a bit of exploring (total new thing).

Tonight we are heading to Notting Hill to meet my Hugh Grant. Hope the bookshoppe is open. Darting off to Geneva on Monday and will be going to a hockey game Friday thanks to Fred. can't wait. I'm gonna be loud fer sure.

Photos to come!

A Quickie

So it's been some time since I blogged and I still don't have a ton to say (or moreso the time to say it) but I wanted to share some quick thoughts (or photos) before I head to London and Geneva tomorrow night for three weeks.

For those that know me, I have been extremely lucky finding gems in the discarded items we toss to the curb each week on "big pickup day." This past week was one of those lucky streaks and I found the below piece of wood furniture only a half block from my apartment. I love that something like this is hundreds of dollars in a Crate & Barrel catalog or Pottery Barn but I get to tell people, "Oh, that old thing. Found it in the garbage. Isn't it great?" And funny enough, it fit perfectly at the end of my new roomie's bed so now she has a place to display her things in a fun way. My home decor is based on the old phrase, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."



My new thing recently was taking a photo of my family home, the home I lived in since birth. For some reason, I had never done that and it gave me a totally different perspective on the place. Number one, it's so quaint and cute. But Dad, if you're reading this, it looks like someone dropped a bowl of blueberries on the roof and I think there's a lot of dirt on the siding near the garden. Otherwise, the gardens up front are gorgeous. Well done Mom! Beautiful choices in greenery.



This one is simply to continue my series of sleeping persons on the NYC subway. She was my latest victim. On the F train coming home from work.



The below photo is from a dinner I had recently at Brick Cafe in Astoria with Serge, the gentleman that went to Thailand to volunteer for MaryKnoll and never came back. He graciously gave me all the info I wanted on what it will be like there when I teach English for 3 months in Chang Mai (sp?) Can't wait. Thanks Serge for a lovely evening. Can't wait to have some Thai food with you in Bangkok. Oh wait, it would just be called "food" there, right?



On Mondays and Tuesdays, I get to look out on this view from my Design Department desk. It's awesome. This day in particular it looked like Armageddon but the photo itself almost looks fake because of the way the light was hitting the steel on the Manhattan Bridge.

Macy's Round Two

Strangely enough, I've lived in NYC for 13 years now and grew up only in Westchester fer gosh sakes, yet I never went to Macy's until recently to find a gift for a friend that I saw in InStyle magazine. But tonight I went again, and this time, not to shop, but to learn how to cook Asian cuisine, or at least to eat some. Akhtar Nawab, chef and owner of Elettaria, was the guest chef this evening at the De Gustibus Cooking School located on the 8th Floor at Macy's, right between coats and bathing suits.



I've never taken a class like this before. It was a new thing for me. It was enjoyable and I met a bunch of nice people who also took the class. If you are able to attend such a thing, it's a unique experience because you get to ask the chef how to prepare things, those steps that everyone watching cooking shows never gets to ask the person doing it with such ease. For them, it's such routine but for us laypeople, it's totally foreign at times. I got to ask the very complicated question of what the difference between a pressure cooker and a slow cooker was. I know, I know. You already know the answer. But I didn't know, really! Since you're judging me, Google it yourself suckas!



One of the most enjoyable parts was the host. She was a spitfire and delightful to listen to as she shooshed folks that were chatting and asked great questions at the perfect times. In defense of the chatty cats, there was quite a bit of alcohol served, so I can understand. But she was a hoot and a half. I liked the vibe in the room.



My favorite part was dessert, as always. The pineapple upside down cake, created by Elizabeth (what a lovely name), was delish. I ate it in about 2 seconds I think. So good. It was perfect. The dishes prior to dessert were extraordinary. I am always hesitant with tartar ever since Larry Santiago took me to Café Un Deux Trois before we went to see the Buddy Holly Story on Broadway in high school. I ordered the Steak Tartare because the word "steak" was the only thing I could understand on the menu. Little did I know that they'd bring me raw meat in a lump on my plate. I pretended it was what I wanted but really, I wanted to ask the waiter to take it back, slap it on the grill and get me a nice juicy burger. But Akhtar's tartare was SUPERB! I loved each bite. And then the scallops were perfect as usual and the pork was so crispy and full of yummy fat. I heart fat. Patrick was all cute being all stealth walking in here and there. Well done to the entire team. It made me want to go out and get some spices of my own. Oh wait, I have some and never use them. That must be why I just go to Elettaria instead of trying to do it myself. Much better...

There's Only One Way to Say It?

Okay, I'm just warning you but this post may come across a little "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey"-esque. So what's the deal with the strict way we refer to couples once they have coupled? In other words, I have these friends who are couples and whenever I refer to them as a couple, like "I'm going over to Heidi & Akhtar's," I never say it the other way around, "Akhtar and Heidi's." Why is that? It's Steve & Phuong, Row & Suger, Denise & Jeff, Mike & Agnes, Tom & Ag, Sunil & Steffi, the list goes on. I would never say Phuong and Steve's house. That just doesn't make sense. Do you think it has to do with who we think is the "heavy" in the relationship or is it simply whatever flows better? Because I know that many people use my combinations. I mean, who ever says, "Judith & Tommy's"? It's always Tommy & Judith's. Sit on that for a second or two and you'll see what I mean. Groundbreaking, right?

Belly Laughs

I had to share this but you've all probably seen it already. This Stride Gum commercial made me belly laugh (ya know, one of those hard belly-workout laughs). It's so unexpected. Oh gosh. Now I've ruined it. Now you're going to be waiting for the unexpected bit. Sorry. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojgi16des-U

By the way, the reason I find belly laughs so significant is that there have been few in my life. I know my most recent one with with Amy at some Indian restaurant on 6th Street and another was at Newsweek in our closet-for-an-office when I told Jennifer about Paddy, my parakeet that died in the winter and because I wanted to bury him in the yard, he just stayed in the garage until it was warm enough. So he literally was just there, for a very long viewing. RIP Paddy.

Lost in the Bronx

Considering my parents are both born and raised in the Bronx, I'm embarrassed to say after 35 years of traveling there from Westchester, and the city, I still get lost on a regular basis. This morning was more embarrassing because I had my British friends with me because Charlie, my former intern, wanted to see one of my kids that I was giving driving lessons to and so her and her beau came along for the ride and then were going to hop on the subway into Manhattan. But sure enough, it was just like Bonfire of the Vanities and we were turned around and even went down this strange narrow wooded street where I know her boyfriend was questioning why in god's name he agreed to take this detour before brunch. So when I didn't want to keep trying to find Crotona Parkway (which btw if you're ever looking for it, it's right parallel to Southern Blvd and very close to the Bronx Zoo), I stopped by a tire/body shop to ask for directions. Sure enough, the only guy working there spoke Spanish so with my knowledge of izquierda and derecho, I comprehendo'd. he he. So sure enough, I was very close and found the place and played my Driver's Ed instructor role for the day. And the Brits quickly got onto the 2 train and got the hell out of Da Bronx.

As for the driving school, we went over to City Island because I felt that might be a slow-moving community to learn in. But little did I remember from my only trip there for seafood, that each and every street is a dead end. It makes for a whole lot of 3-point turns when your pupil doesn't want to cross Main Street yet. I think it's interesting to remember what it feels like to not know how to drive. I quickly remembered when just the simple step of STEPPING on the gas is something you don't feel comfortable doing. Or remembering that you are in DRIVE and not REVERSE (sorry to the owner of that hedge in front of the last house on that street that we were up and down all day long. I'm sure it will grow back).