I have not been home in 8 and a half months and for that entire time I have been in NYC with out one day of rest from the excessive horns and noise.  I am privileged to live in New York but its a place you definitely need a break from.

I cannot sleep.

Its like I am in 4th grade and tomorrow is my 10th birthday party.  As if I am excited about the breaking of the pinata, getting new toys, the games….but also I am nervous because I hope my classmates like the party and I hope they all show up.  After weeks of planning and sending out corny birthday party reminders, its the night before and I am restless.

Well I just feel giddy and nervous for the long flight alone and happy all at once!

I have many things planned and will blog all about TX.  It feels so foreign now since I have been away for so long.  I feel I will be amazed by the fact my washer and dryer is in my house, people do not honk, I can actually walk around the state without bumping into people, there are deers in the street, and there is grass and shrubbery everywhere, and the mailmen actually drive cars to every house instead of walking their mail cart.

I love NY but TX is sooo much easier.  I will be sleeping to 11am instead of waking at 7 every morning because of Mr. Trashman.

I am in love with the thought of a 2 week change and I love TEXAS!

whoop, yee-haw, What-a-burger, BBQ, shootin guns, and fishin…….

peace ya’ll

I’ll have to get back to you in…

I loved the colors together in the painting by Richard Phillips called White Cube
2009 Oil on Canvas

Black and white themed gallery

Crooked shelf with trinkets and empty frames

tons of frames
Mickalene Thomas
mixed media of 8 panels
named Photomontage 2009

All ages were fascinated and photographed the still moments
Michael Portnoy
mixed media
The Instrument 2009

Cow, Lion, Hawk, Duck

Blah

Amy photographing this illusion
Anthony James
Wall Mounted Birch Box 2009

Yoon, Jeongmee
Ethan and His Blue Things

Yoon, Jeongmee
Kara-Dayeon and Her Pink Things

Clay face cut and shaped

Styrofoam on walls

People enjoying the Ronald Feidman Fine Arts Collection

Anna Maria Maiolino
Walking Through Eggs

Katie admiring the painting made of different colors of puffy paint

Yes I believe, NO i don’t

Gilles Barbier
In the soup, a cheddar fondue and three nightmares, speech bubbles (tenant and owners), isolated segments (the infinite assassin) and bananas 2010

Katie and the big flowers

Katie, Amy, & Charlotte with the Big Apple!

Rob Wynne
Kissing Seahorses
print on canvas with glitter and hand sewn pearls

Amy taking photos

Revolving mirrors

Francis Celentano
Elliptical Kinetic Painting in yellow and violet

Our usual mirror pics

They had a photo booth at the party

Balloons were everywhere

Julia Allison has been the Editor of Star Magazine. She has also written for amNewYork & Time Out New York as a dating columnist.

Julia Allison is one of the 4 bloggers for Nonsociety.com

Randi Zuckerberg is the sister of the creator of Facebook. Her and Julia had a joint bi-coastal birthday celebration (Friday night in NYC, Saturday night in SF).

The Cereal Killa’s graffiti wall mural

I liked the orange hair piece with the black and white painting

Behind the scenes at an artist’s loft…I wonder what this will turn out to be?

A bright gallery

At the Boiler Room title “Miniature War in Iraq…and Now Afghanistan” The research and project started in March 2007 and was not shown to the public till February 2010. An Arabic-speaking research team set out to best capture this war getting information from Iraq Bloggers, the New York Times, the US Military etc.. On the wall hung pictures of different toy men from Iraq/Afghanistan and US Soldiers. There was also a movie playing along with the main huge display that I photographed. You cannot see the detail in the picture, but there are many soldiers and civilians carefully places by the research they studied.

Some of the group at another gallery

This was the only exhibit at this gallery…wax and tire tracks

Asian men in a bubble on a mountain

Precisely placed pins and confetti

The cute German Beer Garden we went to after the miles of walking from gallery to gallery!

Cheers…it was the 1 year anniversary of Wired New York. Thanks Edward and Andrew!

1) Reservation at MEGU at 7:45pm  http://www.megurestaurants.com/

2) Julia & Randi’s 2nd Annual NY/SF BiCoastal Birthday Bash 8:00pm-4:00am

Hosted by Julia Allison (a well-known blogger http://julia.nonsociety.com/) and Randi Zuckerberg the sister of Mark Zuckerberg (the creator of Facebook)

The Dates:

Friday, Feb 26th in New York

Saturday, Feb 27th in San Francisco

The Theme: PREPSTER PINK & WHITE

Get your outfits ready, because you know we take costumes seriously: Think polo shirts (popped!), ribbon belts, tennis skirts & Nantucket reds (or pinks, as the case may be). Headbands are strongly encouraged, as are small embroidered animals on one’s corduroy pants. Also acceptable: 80s ski sweaters in pink & white, ray-bans ala Risky Business, argyle sweater vests, pearl necklaces (the real kind, perv) and anything emblazoned with a tiny alligator or pony.

The Cause: Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Fund

The Generous Sponsors: Moet & Skyy Vodka!

Cupcakes by Melissa

The Extras: caricature artist, photo booth, and a few goodie bags for those with the best costumes

Saturday, February 27, 2010

1) National Girls & Women in Sports Day from 10:30 am–3:30 pm

Please join us for this fun-filled day of activities for girls and women–no boys allowed! We will have dance, yoga, sports clinics, workshops, arts & crafts, prizes, performances and much more.

2) Taste of 7th St. Festival from 4:30pm-7:00pm

Restaurant hop at these 5 locations trying their signature dishes

Caracas Arepa Bar – Arepa De Pabellón

Luke’s Lobster – Snack Sized Lobster Roll

Porchetta – Small Porchetta Sandwich

Butter Lane Cupcakes Choice of Two Cupcakes

Xoom – 24oz Fruit Smoothie

All info at http://scoopst.com/

3) The Standard Hotel http://www.thestandardgrill.com/ 11:00 – 4:00am

Sunday, February 28, 2010

1) Central Park Cross-Park Promenade 11:00am

You will see many surprises on this walk. A hidden bench that tells time, miniature boats powered by the wind, and a magnificent sculpture celebrating fresh water are just some of the sites on this east-to-west walk through the Park.

2) Brooklyn Flea Market in Dumbo from 11:00am–6:00pm

22 Water St at New Dock St, Dumbo, Brooklyn (brooklynflea.com)

3) Wired NY Meetup(membership required) from 3:00pm – 8:00pm

One year ago, on 28 February 2009, the first meetup of Wired New York Group took place. There were 25 meetups after that, and the group has grown to 500 members. This Sunday, 28 February 2010, join other members for the celebration of oneyear anniversary of our community!

We will meet in the afternoon and have a crawl of Williamsburg galleries. Then at 6pm we will gather at Radegast Beer Garden and will talk about past and upcoming events over excellent German beer.

We will start at Pierogi 2000 and then visit the Boiler. After that we will proceed to Grand Street and visit several galleries there.

At 6pm we will meet at Radegast Beer Garden for the anniversary celebration. Even if you cannot make it to the gallery crawl, come join us at the beer garden!

4) Sleep over at my apartment 9:00pm – 10:00 am

I will make a selection of Sushi Rolls with my own secret recipe of sauce to top it off.  Netflix movies and game night!

Monday, March 1, 2010

One of my best friends from college is in town to visit me.  I do not work Mondays because I work long hours at the hospital Tuesday – Friday.  We will go to the MET, the Guggenheim, maybe catch the Hayden Planetarium show at the Natural Museum of History, and I have one event planned for that day:

1) Craft Night at the Etsy Labs: Hat Making with Desira Pesta 4:00 pm-8:00pm

http://www.etsy.com/storque/events/come-make-hats-with-desira-pesta-at-etsy-labs-7201/

The label is = V. Eschelle-Lievel

J and I at the Valedictorian medal presentation. I sketched this dress and sewed it from scratch at 17, also wearing it to prom.

Another way to wear the dress tying it in the back instead of the scarf look.

I met Pamela Dennis and showed her some of the hair pieces I created. In two weeks when she returns from traveling for her line I will be her assistant intern on the days that I do not work at the hospital! She said she might try to put my hair pieces in Bergdorf Goodman! I sold my last hair piece to a client that requested a special piece to match an outfit. I used the finest quality of jewels and silks and sold it for &115.00. I want to post pics but want my ideas to stay original.

Pamela rocks! Check her out>>> http://www.pameladennis.com/

The hippest celebrities wear her fine gowns! She is giving me her lavish left over trimmings and Swarovski crystals etc for my hair peices. I am going with her on Saturday March 6th to represent her brand at Bergdorf Goodman. She also has her designs at Barneys, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Harrods, and only the other finest.

Here are my ratings:

Service: 9.5
I got 3 wine pairings with my 3 courses. Every time I finished each glass, they brought my next within seconds! It was very busy, yet they managed to make me and my guests feel attended to. The best service I ever had. They explained each meal while bringing out my selections and had my wine pairings on paper describing each of the origins.
Food: The main course was a 9.5, near perfection!
The other courses were generously portioned and fresh, as MEGU ships in their produce from Japan.
Decor: 8
Very elegant and perfect for the most exquisite and impressive date

Sauteed scallops with foie gras sauce
A good portion for an appetizer with a sauce that made me want to lick the plate!

Crispy “Kanzuri” shrimp
Very crunchy and juicy because it was fresh

Saki pairing that came with a paper listing the history of each

Kobe Beef “Kagero” Steak
I dreamed of this the morning after, I dreamed of this today. I have to go back.

Chef’s Omakase Sushi & Roll
The sushi was alright, but I was distracted by the Kobe Beef.

New York Cheesecake with my 3rd dessert wine Fox Run Port NV
Simple but good

The Buddha ice sculpture and floating rose petals were so beautiful to stare at while dining.

Marvelous decor and modern illusional art

This man let us borrow his inner tube. I could not get a picture of the hill we were about to fly down, but it was definitely steep with many hills. There were at least 80 people sledding down, which made it very difficult and dangerous for collisions. The first time Crista and I went down the hill, we almost hit a man walking his dog. He heard our shouts and dashed out of the way just in time.

Crista was amazed at all the snowballs and wanted a picture.

Someone made a tiny family of snowmen

This was the most peaceful moment both Crista and I have ever had. The snow was untouched and far from the path. We did not hear the city horns and yells. The snow fell so softly and the light made it glisten.

The most impressive snowman I have ever seen. It had eyebrows, hair, and chubby cheeks! I love discovering the creations people make after it snows.

Days later you still can enjoy the snowmen.

The next day Crista surprised me at work on my lunch break with food! We then walked to Central Park and ate it sitting at the Bethesda Fountain.

The beautiful over hanging trees

BUTTERSCOTCH PANNA COTTA – crunchy meringue and curried gelé

SPICED COCONUT CAKE – spiked coconut cream, huckleberries and blackberry sorbet
A GaGa inspired cake

So I took this GaGa pic

Then we got hooked up:
I have been to David Burke’s Townhouse a handful of times and had just gone that week as well. They acknowledged that and brought out tiny treats for my friends and I to enjoy and admire.

Earlier I noticed the menu had changed and I was sad that the Citrus Panna Cotta was not on the list. I made a comment asking if it could be made and the waiter said it was only a temporary menu item. Then as a finale dish, they brought us each another free dessert. It was the one I had asked for; a gift from the chef they said! We were so full of sugar that night and enjoyed every minute of the detectable samples and jumped in a cab off to the ballet!

Outside Lincoln Center