running it out.

This weekend can't come soon enough! We are headed to NYC tomorrow to celebrate my father-in-law's 70th birthday. He is running the marathon on Sunday. Amazing, right?

We can't wait to be back east for crisp fall weather and to be surrounded by sarcastic, no bullshit new yorkers...hope you have an equally awesome weekend - and here a quick links in case you are interested....

• Tartine Manufactory is now open for ice cream - we can't wait to go taste it out!

• Audrey Gelman is at it again and I can't decide what I think of her latest foray -- want to grab coffee and talk it out with me?!

• I am loving all over this JCrew coat - pretty much anything tweed gets me every time. 

• Water Wars in Central Asia.... this is a fascinating quick read (Hat tip to Ben)

• We are a couple weeks out from that last debate and hopefully we are all recovered and ready to dominate this coming Tuesday - but this NYTimes Late Term Abortion piece is worth your read. 

• Hillary's website error page is phenomenal. 

weddingness.

How was your long weekend?! Ben and I got back late last night from Italy and I am going into full cleanse and recovery mode for the next week! For anyone planning to go to Italy in the near future, I will be sure to post some recommendations (especially restaurants) in the next couple of days. But before that, right before we left, we were up in NYC for a very close friend's wedding. It was small and charming and beautiful. They had the wedding and reception at Haven's Kitchen in Chelsea. We stayed in an airbnb in an awesome location just a couple blocks away (here is the link in case you are looking for a place to stay). We also went for a great run along the west side...

And got a fantastic brunch at The Standard Grill in the meatpacking district...followed by a walk on the high line!

We happened upon the Gansevoort Market which is phenomenal...and we would highly recommend for a snack/lunch...

And not pictured is a lovely mother's day brunch with Ben's parents on Sunday morning and some stops into some of our favorite haunts (Third Rail Coffee and Fish's Eddy).

The wedding was wonderful and it was so good to see friends and to have a spring weekend in the city...here are some photo highlights!

humans.

Do you all ever look at Humans of New York? I just love them. I forget about it and then every once in a while when I need a little pick-me up I scroll through for a couple minutes. For those who aren't already familiar, the photographer started taking pictures of people on the streets of NY in 2010 and it has just grown from there. It is amazing - I laugh at so many - people can be really funny on the spot. But also when reading through them, you get a sense of the myriad of challenges that people are facing and living through. It really is amazing. I have no idea what I would say if he stopped me. What do you think you would say?!

Here is just a quick sampling of a couple that I loved today!

lbj.

Truth be told, I have never been a big Broadway person. While living in NYC, I only went to a handful of shows including one I went to with a guy I was dating. The show had gotten great reviews (I can't for the life of me remember what it was called - it was something about the electricity or the evolution of tv). People loved it. I fell asleep 15 minutes in. All this is to say, it has got to be something really good to get me to see it...which brings me to All the Way.  Have any of you seen it? 

Eric, a colleague at work, raved to me about it a couple weeks ago. But then, Lauren didn't love it. It is all about LBJ and as you know, I love me some LBJ (click here for a previous post and great New Yorker piece). Apparently, Bryan Cranston is convincing and impressive. I really want to see it - I think Broadway meets political history may just be my speed...

Thoughts? Anyone want to join Ben and I on a hot date in NYC to see a Broadway show?!

holiday wrap-up.

In the last ten days, I have been to Michigan twice, Uhauled from Ann Arbor to DC, celebrated Ben's Juris Doctor, visited Denver for Christmas, made a pit-stop in Westchester, a day in NYC, and amtraked it back to DC. We are back in DC after a whirlwind couple of weeks and here were some (not all) of the highlights...

Packing up the UHaul during snowstorm Electra was a joy!

Post loading up the Uhaul, we feasted on indian food with Emmy, Aaron and Brittany. 

The drive was actually enjoyable and we are all moved in. Ben graduated last week and it was a full weekend of celebrating.

We ate at Mani and of course went over to the Washtenaw Dairy for a last, glorious donut.

We also ate dinner at The Grange with friends and family, a great cocktail party at Vinology Wine Bar, a run around the Big House, and final packing and move-out. We bid adieu to the University of Michigan and jumped to Denver to see my folks. This of course including brunch at Luciles with my Mom (beignets were ordered!). We also went to Thump for coffee downtown...

We headed to a new place in LoHi with Dad and Charlotte for dinner, the Old Major. It is pork heavy and very cool - and the first place that I have been that hands you an ipad with the drinks menu.

We lucked out with great weather. Ben and I ran every morning around Wash Park and battled the altitude...

We also went to Jelly for breakfast with Scott (I had mentioned it way back in April in this post on Denver spots).  They had quite the sampling of jelly donuts.

We also went out to the RiNo District to check out The Source. It is basically Denver's version of Union Market and we wanted to check it out! The space is still very much in formation but has a couple cool looking restaurants...

The Leas had us over for Christmas dinner leftovers. We played drinking games in the kitchen like any good adult dinner party would do...

By the time we left Denver, it was the homestretch! On Saturday, we headed into the city with Ben's parents to shop sales and go to dinner. We ended up at this awesome bar in SoHo, Mother's Ruin. I absolutely loved it and the bartender made me what was quite possibly the best drink I have had in years.

We had a fantastic meal at Rubirosa. Salads, pastas, and pizza to boot - we highly recommend it.

Not pictured but most importantly, we enjoyed family time with my Mom and Dad, a lot of sleep, a visit with Ben's grandmother, a shiva in Westchester for a family friend, many episodes of Friday Night Lights, watching Michigan football with Timmy, dinner with Timmy and Amanda, and so much more. Hope you had a wonderful holiday week!

citified.

My Dad sent this link yesterday, American Cities a Century Ago, and I was totally captivated by the pictures. I don't know why but they are so interesting! Here are just a couple...

Philadelphia

New York, New York - City Hall

Washington DC

rainy day.

Big news for all of you in NY. The 'Rain Room' is coming to MOMA next month! I am so jealous. It was in London last year and it is really cool, you have to go and report back. You can walk through these rooms of rain but never get wet. The sensors are such that the water stops as you walk through but you can be standing in the middle of the room with water pouring down. Tell me you aren't intrigued!

subscribed.

*Note - I guess the bus internet wasn't as reliable as I thought. So this is going up a day late!

Happy Weekend! I am en route with Em up to NYC for a quick jaunt up north. Kate and Doug's engagement party is tonight and it looks to be a beautiful weekend in the city. And to top it off, Em brought magazines and catalogue galore with her...she has hands-down the best magazine/catalogue selection in the District!

reviewed.

You gotta go read this NYTimes Restaurant Review for Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square, it is really quite the entertaining read...it sounds so bad it almost makes you want to go for the experience!

spa butterfly.

Speaking of passing on the love, here is my big give today, and I promise you won't go wrong. Let me first give you some context.

During the 2008 campaign, I worked in the GrayBar building attached to Grand Central. There were many days when the only time I got outside was the one block I walked to and from my apartment and the subway. Because the GrayBar is attached to Grand Central, I would go straight into the office and wouldn't get out of work until 11 or 12 at night. But, once a week for 40 minutes, I would escape outside and across the street to Spa Butterfly.

Spa Butterfly is hands down, no question, absolutely the best manicure I have ever gotten. In my life.  More specifically, Shirley, is your go-to woman. I love Shirley. To this day when I go to New York for a visit, I head uptown to Spa Butterfly and Shirley greets me. We talk about her son, about her mother and family in China, and of course we talk about the crazy ultra-rich east side women that come in to get their nails done.

Spa Butterfly is big inside. Really nicely designed. Quiet but busy. All the staff in there are great (Shirley is obviously the best though). Yes, the manicure and pedicure is a touch more expensive, but every bit of it is worth it. Spa Butterfly is on my mind because Emily was in NYC this week and she went and loved it. See! I am telling you.

So, there you go. The next time you are in NYC, do yourself a favor and head up there. I recommend during the day when it isn't as busy. But, you can always make an appointment. And if you go, ask for Shirley and tell her I say hi! 

the last leg.

This is the last of our upstate recap! We left Saratoga and headed south back to Westchester. We drove the back-roads. We stopped at an antique store where I bought two teacups for $5 (more on that later!). We crossed the Hudson and drove down through Rhinebeck and Hyde Park. We stopped at the Roosevelt Library and Museum to take a quick look at the view from the back of the house. Hyde Park reminds me of my Mom, she took me here years ago and we wandered the grounds.

We moved on just down the road to the Culinary Institute of America where we stopped to grab a bite in their cafe. We ended up at the Apple Pie Bakery Cafe and got some grilled cheese and a turkey sandwich. But we also got this Julie Child special with a chocolate mousse, chocolate covered rice krispies and a cream. So good!

We headed to Briarcliff from there and met up with Timmy for a take-out dinner at his house. And, Dodger, Timmy and Amanda's amazing dog came along for the ride and some fresh air to pick up the food!

 

Our last day was spent in the city with Pete and Claire (recently married...see here!). We took the train to Harlem and then got off and made our way over to see their great upper west side apartment. We then immediately headed to Sal and Carmine for a slice of pizza. Ben has been talking about this pizza for years and I can say, it did live up to the hype.

After, we decided to walk through Central Park and over to the MET to finally see the Tomas Saraceno exhibit on the roof, Cloud City. 

From the MET, we wandered downtown and ended up at Buvette (where Maddie had found months ago).We loved it in there! Beautiful little West Village spot...we recommend it!

And finally, we capped the day with dinner at Locanda Verde. This has been a long time in coming to get here for dinner and it was fantastic!  Our drinks were great, the food was spot on, the inside is very cool but laid back, and we thoroughly enjoyed!

After a quick drink and a run through Grand Central for the train back up north, we were walked out and ready to return to the District!