Super Sunday!

It's really lovely when you can turn a day around. I woke up this morning and felt very...yuck. Mi esposo is finishing the wiring of his cousin's house, so Uma + I were home alone. Unfortunately neither one of us could sleep well. She kept waking up and looking at the door and I couldn't wait to wake up from my few restless hours of sleep.

I did wake up in time to listen to one of my favorite shows on NPR, The Infinite Mind. It's an incredible show that explores the science and psychology of our minds. Well..today's show was on HOARDING AND CLUTTER.

If you've been over to our apartment the last few months, the connection is not lost on you.

I obviously don't suffer from OCD (despite loving the show Monk). I did, however find a few troublesome traits, that I decided to work on - immediately.

I started to organize my workspace - my fabrics and leathers, patterns and cording. Not so bad, actually. The real issue will be working on my papers. Remember when I mentioned that I recently found a packing list from the 1990s? Well, that's not really gonna work for me anymore. On the show, author and feng shui expert Denise Linn, outlined a few steps to decluttering you life. You know what I think?
Shit, I have a lot of work to do.

Anyway, I did have a great business meeting with our financial advisor guru and we're furiously working on our website. In the meantime, the Holiday Cards are up on our etsy site.



I love them, they're the Mid-Century Holiday series. I took this picture on the fly, so it doesn't even begin to do the cards justice.

I also gave Uma a much needed bath. Right now, she's wrapped up in her towel on her "cloud" as mi esposo calls her bed. Cute.

It's actually nice to have some time to blog and work. The past few weekends were a bit of a whirlwind. We went last Friday to see one of the lovely and talented Anne Akiko Meyers perform at Lincoln Center. Any time we can see Anne play, we try to make it - we're always emotionally drained and awed after her performances. As a special treat, her sister and our best friend Toni (I only have a few best friends, but they're worth their weight in gold) was in town from Colorado!

The next night we went to see Maurice play at the Makor (part of the 92nd Street Y). As usual he killed it. My father and his girlfriend joined us. The show was funky - heck I even got up to dance. Yes, it was after my Citron + tonic and it was darn good!

Even yesterday, Laura + I checked out Casino Royale. The new James Bond film - as a fan and a critic...I loved it!

So, I'm happy to have a home-y Sunday. Working and writing and maybe even working out (if I can drag myself down to Crunch).

Have a great Sunday darlings!

Things You Should Know About New York....(or some simple NY rules)

Let me start with this: today was rainy in New York. Now in the rain, New Yorkers kind of lose their shit. I was in a taxi with our friend Miss Felicia and this guy is furiously waving his arms. When he stormed towards my side of the taxi I realized that the poor guy had no idea that we were inside the cab. After almost reaching for the door, he finally saw us and backed away from the taxi.

Hmmm....I thought, a lot of people don't know how to tell if a taxi is occupied. Well, that's something every New Yorker should know. And if you're not from NY but you're still in our city, you should listen up too.

How To Tell If A Taxi Is Occupied
The next time you see a yellow cab, look at the roof. Do you see that small structure perched on the roof (not the silly billboard ad)?




Okay, if you look carefully you'll notice that there's a number - that's the taxi cab number. (NY insider knowledge: It matches the license plate)
Do you see the words on either side of that number? They say "OFF DUTY".

When the cab number is illuminated, that means the taxi is available. Flail your arms, keep it straight up, whistle or if you're really cool give the taxi a cursory nod and hail the taxi with a flick of your two fingers.

When the "OFF DUTY" is illuminated....well, that cab's off duty darling. You can still try to hail it, maybe the driver will have pity on you and give you a lift if your destination is on the way to their base.

When no lights are illuminated, someone is in the passenger seat.
FIND ANOTHER CAB!

Subway etiquette
This is so simple. If you're on the subway platform waiting for the train and the doors open step aside.

Just like an elevator, you should let those who are exiting, exit. Once they're out, you can enter.

If you refuse to step aside, please don't get upset or cry out when someone knocks past you so they can get off the darn train.
(PS - To the woman I practically ran over - hey you should've stepped aside, lady. I know I left a bruise...sorry)

Downtown? Uptown?
As a young girl traveling from Queens to Manhattan to go to high school, I had no idea what was "uptown" or "downtown". My only concern was whether the subway went to Queens or to Manhattan. We occasionally went to Coney Island, but that was a whole other can of worms.

I remember the day that I figured out the difference between "uptown" and "downtown." It was like learning some foreign language that I refused to accept. Like Spanglish to mi esposo. (Why couldn't everything be labeled 'to queens' or 'to stuyvesant'?)

Well if you haven't figured it out, most of the streets in Manhattan are in numerical order. If you're traveling to a street with a lower number (from 59th Street to 3rd Street) you're going downtown.

If you're heading from Beard Papa's on 8th street to La Maison du Chocolat on 49th Street, you're going uptown.

To New Yorkers and those who obviously know this - lots of people don't, so give them a hand.

What do you consider essential knowledge for all New Yorkers?

The Traveler

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to travel. Those who know me well, know that I am a notoriously late packer. I do my best packing three hours before my car comes to whisk me off to the airport.

Everything else about my packing experience is methodical though. I recently found a typed packing list for a trip from New York City to Dusseldorf from 1992. The list was printed on fabulous handmade coffee colored paper. No detail was overlooked, from the cotton balls, to my shades of lipstick to the brands of jeans I brought along.

I love the possibilites of packing. I revel in my daydreams of where I'll be when I decide to break out my clingy, red wrap dress or whether my strappy 3-inch heels will take me through a night of dancing or will I wear them to dinner at the hotel followed by grappa.

Recently my packing has taken a turn.

Like a lot of things in life, I understand that change...happens. We don't eat the same things we ate 10 years ago - our tastes evolve. I just recently started eating brussel sprouts - thanks Anita. And even more recently, after our samba parade I ate and enjoyed beets; they used to be my arch enemy.

Well since mi esposo came into my life I've become a co-dependent packer. Maybe it's because he's so damn good at fitting four pairs of shoes, my Muji speakers and countless skirts and pants into a ridiculously small space...maybe that's why I can't pack a freakin bag all by myself anymore. Yeah maybe that's it.

Whatever the reason, like almost everything else, he excels at packing.

This summer we embarked on our first "official" vacation as a couple. No real obligations (just a really good wedding) and plenty of time to be together. Two weeks away from home and I was determined to bring only one bag.

Thankfully I found this article, which I photocopied and shrunk down to fit in my little day planner:

PACKING LIGHT
How a woman can travel with almost nothing

1. Forget tops and pants (denim aside). Bring dresses instead. Commit to a monochromatic wardrobe.

2. Limit yourself to two pairs of shoes: one pair of ballet flats (my favorites) and one pair of stacked-heel platform sandals.

3. Wear your workout sneakers on the plane...
Okay, if you know me, you know that is NEVER an option. I'm sorry but I don't believe in sneakers as part of a travel outfit. Unless you're...actually there's never ever ever ever a reason for that. Never.

4. Get Muji's jersey-covered inflatable neck pillow.

5. An MZ Wallace tote or messenger bag doubles as a carry-on and working bag Comme des Garcons' bright leather makeup bags make a good evening clutch.



6. Don't bring shampoo, conditioner or body wash- every hotel has these amenities.
Okay, I totally disagree. As a woman with curly hair, I need my own products and unless I'm staying in my own bathroom, I need to know that there's Molton Brown and Seba Med to wash up with...mmmmmm Seba Med.

7. Sleep naked. Hotels also supply bathrobes. Okay I tried sleeping in the giant fluffy robe at the last hotel we stayed in -The Fairmont in Seattle. It was okay, except I wanted total coverage so I tied the robe with the giant tie (not the most comfortable night of sleep).

8. Consolidate medications or vitamins by dispensing the right number of pills and dumping them all into a Ziploc bag. Hmmm...not too sure about that. Muji makes a perfectly functional pill case.



Overall what I got from this little list of rules, was pack light. Or more importantly, pack everything in one bag. Now that doesn't mean that I will stop carrying my slippers or Havaianas (they double as bedroom slippers in hotel rooms) or packing all my shoes in my Shoe-In shoebags. It does mean that I have streamlined my packing/traveling process.

After all isn't life about evolving?

More to come later......

Nighty night.

Remember Me?

Hello friends. That birthday weekend was out of control. I definitely slacked off for a bit. Mi esposo threw a fabulous surprise birthday party for me at our favorite Colombian rest. Bogota Bistro and it was soooo good. Lots of friends, family and more pitchers of caipirinhas than I can remember. He is the best esposo!!!

The following day my father hosted a bithday party for me with all the family. We danced, ate the best curry goat (yum) and had such a good time. Love my family!

The past weeks have been so good. Our friends from Austin (well they're transplants) came into town with their sweet sweet baby. This weekend was another whirlwind - samba class with mi esposo's Mom, last night Maurice played with Roy Hargrove's Big Band at the Jazz Gallery (hot), and today brunch at Felicia + Nigel's to watch and scream for the marathon runners (We're red We're white We're Danish dynamite!) - Nigel made that up last year when their Danish friend was running (this year her brother ran, what a family!). Finally we went to Avenue Q with 2 of our best friends for one of their birthday's followed by dinner at Havana Central.....whew!

Avenue Q was so fuckin funny. If you saw it, you know what I mean.

Well troops, gear up because it's election day on Tuesday. More on the political scandals du jour coming up in the next few days.

Movies I Want To See
Jesus Camp
Borat in America
Casino Royale
The Last King of Scotland
Volver

Movies I'd See If Someone Gave Me Free Tickets
The Departed
Running With Scissors

New York in the past 2 weeks...Pretty darn good
Nighty Night!