Must Keep Smelling Flowers

Exactly what I must do... Keep smelling flowers, keep seeing sunshine (as I pull my blinds up to literally soak up some of the day's last rays).

Last night, Seth was up late, being loud enough to keep me from peaceful sleep... I was cranky with him... but I forgot, until now, that I shouldn't have been. Yesterday, after work, he was so wonderful to bring fresh flowers home for me. And not only are these ones beautiful yellow, but they smell Amazing! You know those amazing ones that you can smell even when you are feet away? That's what he got me!

I was thinking about taking them to work, and I might just have to start doing that... taking fresh flowers. I have to find a plastic vase this weekend and then I'll have to get some more of these same beautiful yellow flowers to fill it. I think they might come in hand for more things than one: 1. The people I work with sometimes have issues with stinking up the room for a few moments... and as my husband says, it's not good to keep it in... but really? Does it have to be at the expense of the other 28 of us who share the space?? :) and 2. Some people I work with are not pleasant, and I know I am not either 100% of the time... I get tired, bogged down, exhausted, and frustrated... but being a broken record and repeating the same thing over and over and over again is a waste of my time and isn't getting issues resolved. Today, suggesting a solution got me in the hot seat of getting yelled at in front of colleagues... This is exactly the time where I need to shove my face in flowers and let the sweet smell take me away! (Instead I shoved my face into my paperwork... Not as sweet...)

Anyway, despite my moments where I needed flowers the most, I am at least thankful that in this moment, I am feeling a little less down and a little more happy. I'm feeling very exhausted but think I might have enough energy to tackle the dishes so my husband doesn't have to do them when he gets home (even though he offered... he really is sweet isn't he?) and I can get dinner started (yummy tortilla soup!!!)

Hope you are all having sweet weeks!

Open

Spotted in Soho.

On the G to Williamsburg

The G train has started running at our stop since we've moved to this side of the neighborhood. Usually it doesn't make a difference in our regular schedules (the G train is the only train that never runs through Manhattan... It goes from Brooklyn up into Queens and back.) But as far as wanting to head to the neighborhoods in North Brooklyn, including Greenpoint and Williamsburg, it is definitely having an impact for the better! Last week, we were in Williamsburg to go bowling with some friends. Seth and I met there early for dinner and wondered around the neighborhood towards the river to sneak a quick peek at the city through the fence and overgrown weeds.


I used Yelp.com to find dinner... And was very happy with the place we ended up at. Jimmy's Diner was just the kind of food I was looking for... Great atmosphere, super friendly server (one of those who's happiness lifts your own spirits), and Amazing fried pickles!


See our shadows... Me on the left and Seth on the right. And if you click on the photo and enlarge it, you should get a better view of the Empire State Building burning red in the background.

This was the first time I've been bowling since I've moved to NYC. I liked this place, and even more because I was taking turns with my husband (we were with a large group of people), I didn't have to completely pay attention OR take responsibility for the lowest score of the group :)

Building

A Happy Monday

Off work today! A perfect Monday for Me :) Not so much for my husband, who had to head off to work while I stood on the corner waving farewell, knowing I'd be able to relax* all day. (*By relax, I mean sit at home working all day on paper work... but I do get to take internet breaks whenever I choose! And lucky me, I get to do the laundry!)

This last weekend, Seth and I went to a New York wedding. Our first since we moved here. We were honored that our friends would invite us to celebrate with them on their special day. We met them almost a year ago for the first time (on Halloween), but didn't get to really know them until our New Year's Vermont trip. Their wedding reception was absolutely wonderful and much fancier than any (Midwestern) wedding I'd been to before. When we arrived, we were sent to relax in a courtyard with drinks from the cash bar and sushi appetizers. (raw salmon and tuna, yummmm... and rolls that included cream cheese, yummmm!)

As the dining room became available, we made our way to our table. With large eyes and watering mouths, we sat down to our own table of amazing-ness. The table was filled with plates of fantastic food. I have to say, Seth and I were not completely aware of what we were even eating, other than the fact that all of it tasted divine. We had our own server at our table to serve us food from the platters and plates that filled our table. Of course there were bottles of wine, vodka, and whiskey for shots and drinks. One shot of vodka after the strong, strong vodka drink I'd had over appetizers, and I knew I was done with the shots (even though it was a Russian wedding, and shots of vodka were being take quite frequently).

As we enjoyed our food, our waiter came around asking if we'd like a clean plate. He removed our plates (even though we still had food) and replaced them with clean plates, in which he started filling with more food. We ate and ate while we celebrated with our friends and their families. The food was beyond amazing. The reception decorations were beautiful and perfect (fall themed!). The live music was amazing - there were multiple different singers. And to top it off, the bride and groom were so lucky to have various guests share musical performances for them as well!

Oooo and the desserts! I didn't even realize the dessert area had opened until Seth arrived back at the table with a plate filled of sweets!

The bride and groom were so incredibly happy and explained to us how fast it was going by. I can relate completely! The whole experience is absolutely amazing, one that I know I didn't wish to go any faster! How amazing would it be if we could take celebrations like these and make time stop, so we could just enjoy and enjoy and celebrate and celebrate!

The rest of our weekend was kind of the norm... We had brunch with a couple of our good friends, Pete and Christina. We spent hours and hours and hours watching episodes of the Wire (we seriously watched a whole season within 24 hours... oooops!) This morning I went to the coop, which was quite pleasant because it was not busy At all. I'm excited about dinners this week... Switching things up a bit and making a few new things (Our dinner list includes: Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Pizza, Tortilla soup, French Onion Soup, Frittata, and Two-Bean Tamale Pie... I just have to decide which to make tonight...)

Oooo and today, I made an exciting purchase. Usually when I see things I want to buy, I think about it and think about it until I forget that I even wanted to buy it. This was a different story. As soon as I saw it, I clicked and bought it!! Check out my purchase to celebrate the fall HERE. And if you love it, you should check out some of the other ones she has that are similar!! I cannot wait for it to arrive!

Love This Bridge

You are probably not surprised to see this bridge being the one I'm declaring my love for. This photo was actually taken a couple weeks ago when Seth's brother and father were visiting New York. We had dinner at this amazing place called Rice in Dumbo (one of my favorites right now... the vegetarian meatballs are unbelievable!!)

I'm surprised how good this photo turned out... I have the basic 18-55 mm and the cement steps were my substitute to a tri-pod. PS: Jac, you can be spotted laying on the beach taking in the beauty of our city! :)

Night Filming

Lately, it seems like we've been stumbling onto lots of various filmings. Recently, while in Williamsburg for dinner, we came upon this one taking place at this diner. We asked what they were filming and the guy outside told us a commercial... The lighting is interesting. There were even lights shining onto the buildings across the street from the diner.

music and photo

I considered putting this post on my photo blog, but decided I'd put it here... I'm in love with photos that aren't so clear lately. (Those of you who follow my photo blog know this...) I like the way they make me feel... poetic, dream-like, not so perfect (isn't wonderful to find beauty in imperfections?) I like the way the light is captured and the way it fades to darkness, all within the image. Seeing the light in the darkness is something I want to have in all aspects of my life (even when things are incredibly challenging...) And lately, I feel like I'm making progress in loving the imperfections (with more than just photos, but with life in general). My next steps... to laugh more.

One more thing... I also want to share a song, one that I'm loving lately, especially the beginning few lines. Push play on the right hand side for a listen to Ryan Adams - Crossed Out Name.

What Goes Around...

Spotted in Soho.

Saturday Morning Brunch in Soho

As I mentioned before, we were able to squeeze some family time in this weekend with Seth's sister visiting. Saturday morning, we met in Soho for brunch at the Cupping Room Cafe. Just thinking about brunch makes my mouth water! My favorite meal of the week!!

We wondered around for a bit afterward and came upon this ladder park. I walked over to get a few photos, despite the smell that seemed to be filling the air from where I was standing. Interesting right? These panels here seemed to move side ways, or at least some of them did...

Funny Glasses

Last night, after dinner in Dumbo, we headed towards the water to show Seth's sister the beautiful view of the bridges. While we were admiring, a group of girls asked us to take a photo of them with the city as their background. They laughed as they put on funny glasses, calling them "Japanese toys". We laughed at how funny the girls looked with them on. After the photo was snapped, they offered us the glasses for our own photos! Of course, we laughed even harder looking at each other with these ridiculously funny glasses.

I think I want to get my own pair of them. Don't we look good???

No Parking

Williamsburg Bridge

Seth's sister is visiting NYC for work, and of course, we are squeezing in as much family time as we can while she is here (and not busy working). The first night she got in, we met up for dinner in Williamsburg. Seth's brother suggested after dinner we walk across the Williamsburg Bridge. It was my first walk across this bridge, and I loved it. It was very different from the Brooklyn Bridge, not as many people and obviously not a popular tourist destination. There was fencing up on the sides of the walkway (which can get in the way of tourists' photos). Graffiti covered many of the surfaces surrounding us, and bikers sped past us quickly on their way home through the dark. But I loved how, despite the grunge of the bridge, I was inspired by the beauty, by my city.

My first walk across the Williamsburg Bridge.

Dear Blog,

I know I've been missing these last few weeks. I promise I haven't forgotten about you. Please keep my reader's coming back, even if there's nothing new going on your pages.... I promise to return soon with great photos to share from Labor Day weekend. I guess these photos are not only absolutely stunning, but they are also symbolic to the official end of my summer and the coming of something new, a changing in my life.

Unfortunately, blog, I am not posting those photos tonight, as I just looked at 150 other posts on other blogs (sorry, was sharing my love with the others blog, please forgive me? I'm just soooo far behind on reading blogs). And I'm really hungry. And I have lots of typing to do and some reading about what young people thought of Obama's speech on goals and the school year. And some analyzing of numbers. And hopefully in bed before 9:30 (because 5 a.m. Hurt Bad this morning).

So blog, I promise to keep in touch. Tell all my readers that I miss them, and that if any of them knows how to get a few more hours squeezed into a day, I would love to hear their secret! Also, please let them know that I am happy to be back at work after the summer off and feeling really good about everything :)

Xoxo, A

Union Square Meet Up

I love watching people come together... especially when they are doing something that I couldn't do myself, like this group of people, chanting, playing music and doing a martial arts that lacks actual physical contact (don't know the name off the top of my head this moment, and too tired to research...) Anyone know it?

Martin Loves Jen

The Boys

Spent the day with Seth and his family. He's insanely happy to have his brother in town... So much so that he won't let me even sit by him (for the weekend, my spot is Ian's spot!) It's sweet.

Piano Player

A shot from tonight... the piano player on the platform at Union Square tonight. Last weekend there was a discussion about how exactly this man got his piano down the stairs there and kept it in tune (by the way, I am so out of touch for what in tune means... I wasn't the one who brought that fact up!).

Another shot from tonight here, one I think love.

Been working all week (found a bullet hole in my work window this afternoon... hmmm...) but I think I'm looking forward to returning to work. And I'm taking the day off tomorrow to hang out with my brother-in-law and father-in-law who just flew in today from back home.

Garden Painter

Spotted this painter under the trees at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. I also so another painter or two, taking in the park, being inspired by the beauty around them. I often see people creating art when I visit the garden. I hope to visit the garden a couple weekends this fall when it isn't so terribly hot.

Friends

Pulling this from the file... Never ended up posting it in July after April and Chris visited. (Look at me... Can you guess that this photo was taken in the early morning??) Here we are waiting on our stoop for the car service to come and pick up our friends and take them off to the airport and back home to Kansas. It was so wonderful having them as our guests. We spent evenings playing cards, toured around the city, and enjoyed each others company. They stayed with us over a week, and even after so many days in our small apartment, I was terribly sad to see them go. They are definitely friends I wish we lived closer to.

Juggling Fire

Earlier this summer, while wondering through the South Street Seaport, we caught a street show of a man juggling fire, an apple, and a small sword/large knife. As if that weren't enough, he was balancing on a board and ate a bite out of the apple at three different times during the juggling performance!

I especially love coming upon good street performances. This one was definitely a great one to catch. I get pulled in... I have to get right up close and see what is going on, to become a part of the show. I sneak my way between people, getting a closer look. Sometimes I wonder if the people I am with would have stopped to watch if it weren't for me, if it weren't for the magnetic pull they seem to have on me. I can't help it. When I see one, there is nothing else I'd rather be doing than watching.

Getting his balance...

And the juggling begins...

And onto the apple biting. Amazing.

I love this moment. The expression on his face, the lines on his face from years of smiling.

This woman was with him. I didn't catch her part in the show, but I had to capture her, in her costume, watching as the juggler collected money after his performance.