Celebrity round-up.

Remember those trivial (but entertaining!) posts from years ago recounting my latest New York celebrity sighting(s)? Welllll after a recent flurry of star-studded activity, I thought I'd bring that back to the blog! The sightings of late: 

1. Taylor Lautner doing his own stunts on the set of his new movie in Riverside Park. Miles was not happy that Taylor and his friends were blocking off his play area. We may or may not be in the background (look for the redhead pushing a cute kid in a bright, blue stroller!). As I was cluelessly crossing the street, a crew member waved at me frantically to hurry up because they were filming. Fun :)
2. Seinfeld's mom (aka Liz Sheridan)! She was sitting on a park beach in Riverside Park. Classic New York character in the very neighborhood in which her TV son resided. Dan, a huge Seinfeld fan, was there to witness it. We considered that to be a pretty good one.

3. Mae Whitman walking right past us in Central Park. She carries herself and dresses exactly like her character on Parenthood (a favorite show of ours) and was immediately recognizable. She is TINY!! As in super skinny and petite. Another good one in our book.  

4. Okay folks...this is the REALLY big one. Are you ready? I exchanged pleasantries with......Kathleen Turner!! I actually didn't know it was her until I heard her speak and once she did I quietly breathed out an ohmygooooshhhh! into Miles' ear, since he was attached to me in the ergo carrier. We shared a narrow aisle at the market and she smiled at me and Miles as I tried to squeeze past her. Didn't click who she was. Then we tried to move past each other once again and she said, "Excuse me, I just need to squeeze past you here," in that unique, husky voice of hers and I suddenly realized that it was Chandler's dad behind me!! I stalked her a little after that to be sure. Yup. It was her.

Other unreported, random sightings in the last 2 years: Caroline Rhea, who I see EVERYWHERE. Seriously, have seen her at least 9 or 10 times in my neighborhood. We must be neighbors. And, last year, Woody Harrelson! We made eye contact as he passed me in a vegan restaurant on the Upper East Side. My face was frozen in that 'oh my gosh, that's someone famous' face, and Dan was very confused, seeing only my face, not Mr. Harrelson directly behind him. Ha :) And Dan's big celeb sightings of late: Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Bobby Flay!

The end.  

2 things

Okay, so adjusting back to "normal life" has been a little tougher than I expected, leaving me and my blogging inspiration a bit blah and lifeless. I *do* plan on sharing wedding photos and tidbits on here, but first need to talk about two (2) things: 1. the lovely, cool Fall weather we've returned to, which, initially felt abrupt and confusing (when we left NYC it was still summer) but I quickly got over that when I remembered oh, yes...FALL! I looove New York in the Fall! (And my fun scarves and chunky sweaters that go with it). And 2. there's been another celebrity sighting, folks. Long in coming, if you ask me. Dan sees celebs on a regular basis now (most recently: Dustin Hoffman, Alan Alda and Howard Stern), but I have had a serious dry spell over the last year or so (remember Katie and Suri? Yep, it's been that long).

Soooo...the latest sighting to add to the ol' list?? Mr. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire himself, REGIS PHILBIN! That's right. Mr. Philbin, Dan and I all journeyed down two flights in an elevator together at our neighborhood gym (which is quite an intimate thing, you know. So much stink and sweat. Such a small, small space) (oh and YES! I go to the gym now, it's true!). I didn't get a good look, but was about 90% sure it was him (I had to sneak sideway glances in the mirror since he was behind me). But we did a little digging when we got home and our googling confirmed that yes, he does go to that gym and yes, he did have some affiliation with the university displayed on his (sweaty) t-shirt.

Now, you might be wondering, why even take the time to seek out such frivolous, meaningless information? And does it really matter, anyway? Well, no. Probably not. But now I can put him on the list. Officially. (And let's face it, my list needs all the help it can get). Plus you have to admit, it's pretty dang impressive/inspiring that he's in his seventies and still working out. Right? I mean, did you know that before you read this post? You heard it here first, folks. Breaking news. That's all I'm sayin'...

Adding to the List...

After a serious dry spell in New York Celebrity Sightings, I now have a new one to add to the list (and it's a big one, ladies and gents):

Who: Katie Holmes and Baby Suri
When: Earlier tonight, around 9:30
Where: Coming out of Make, a paint-your-own pottery place in my neighborhood. Before they came out, we noticed that the windows were covered with paper and the door was guarded by two body guards (probably to keep out the crazy paparazzi who were slinking around like a pack of wolves outside the store -- which is what tipped us off that *something* was about to happen). Mother and daughter walked from the store, to their SUV, stopping briefly to pose for pictures. And that was that. The paparazzi were big jerks and practically hit the poor kid in the head with their clunky cameras while elbowing each other for The Perfect Shot. All I could think about was how miserable it would be to live like that -- to have to deal with that circus every time you wanted to do something "normal." Ridiculous.
NY Celebrity sightings to date: (7) Katie/Suri, Natalie Portman, Geraldo, Star Jones, Dave Chappelle, Diane Sawyer, Celia Weston.

*magic*

i know, i know....where have i BEEN? how awkward to leave us hanging on that Xanadu post for so many weeks, eh?

i keep starting entries...and then i'm like {{snore}} who cares?!? meaning, there hasn't been much to report.

until NOW that is.......!!!

so you know how sometimes i like to write (complain) about my inability to spot celebrities in this city that is literally crawling with movie stars and A-listers?

(let's recap. i have seen: a) Celia Weston two (2) times, once in the crosswalk of 3rd Avenue and 85th and then again at Filene's Basement, b) Diane Sawyer one (1) time on Waverly Place in the Village, c) Dave Chapelle one (1) time at the Fifth Avenue Apple store, and d) Star Jones two (2) times in the elevator of my office building.)

ladies and gents...we can now add to that list {{drum roll please}}....NATALIE PORTMAN!!

this is, i feel, my biggest and most significant sighting yet. not only is Natalie (we're on a first name basis now) one of my favorite actresses, but i spotted her all by myself (which is unusual for me, the Oblivious New Yorker) and it was a very "normal" everyday kind of moment, which made it all the more surreal. she was standing literally about 1 foot behind my beau in the middle of Starbucks, by herself, fishing something out of her bag. right there!! right in front of me!! i knew it was her within 2 seconds, stopped talking mid-sentence (my mouth was probably hanging open) and then proceeded to squeeze the life out of my beau's leg in attempt to clue him into the fact that there was a mega-star standing RIGHT BEHIND HIM. and the coolest part was, no one even noticed! she was just a normal person in a Starbucks on a Saturday afternoon. no big deal. i loved it! she then left the Starbucks, met up with some (unrecognizable) guy on the sidewalk in front of our window, put on jumbo movie-star sunglasses and strolled down Lexington Avenue without turning ONE head. she was just like any other New Yorker. blendin' in with the masses. strollin' along.

a few things to note about Natalie: she is VERY small. she was not glammed up at all, looked pretty natural and average, and yet is still strikingly beautiful in person. she is VERY small.

my beau and i then went to see The Other Boleyn Girl this afternoon and it was all just quite surreal. there she was, my new friend, up on the big screen.

maybe i shouldn't spend so much time and energy blogging about such "trivial" things. but the truth is, it *really* brightened my day! b/c maybe i'm tired of feeling like a jaded New Yorker lately (i haven't been here long enough to be jaded!!). but between all the political drama, tragedies and just the everyday little annoyances, it's hard NOT to feel jaded sometimes. and Lord knows i'm beyond tired of the endless gray winter days (February and March are the toughest months to get through, in my opinion). so maybe i just need a little reminder every now and again that i DO love this city. that i AM incredibly lucky to get to experience life here. because i do. and i am. but sometimes i get tired. and sometimes i forget. so throwing a Natalie Portman my way every once in awhile doesn't hurt as a reminder to my city-wearied bones that I GET TO LIVE IN NEW YORK!! where, yes, the frustrations and stress freely flow on a daily basis, but so does the *magic*....and if you know me at all, you know that i l-o-v-e magic. so i don't necessarily look at this as trivial, but more like a little gift of New York magic....something to give me that extra boost in these final, dragging days of winter until (glorious!) spring arrives. actually, i got quite a few "boosts" this weekend: sunshine and mild temperatures, a romantic stroll through the Village, lots of movie rentals & relaxation and, overall, just another dreamy NY weekend with my beau (who makes everything feel a little more *magical*).

ah yes....i am ready. ready to face another Monday. ready to dive into a new work week. ready for the Day Job. ready to face New York, in all its glory and severity....let's DO this.

*The Celebs*

If you enjoy partaking in the occasional celebrity stalking (and who doesn't really?) I highly recommend checking out this site: daily updates on WHO has been seen WHERE in NYC. It is amazing to me that there are SO MANY of them just walking around out there -- right outside my office building, in my neighborhood, etc...I mean, according to this site, the streets of New York are absolutely teeming with celebrities! And not just the little ones -- I am talking about the big guys: like the Jolie-Pitts and their clan of children (who apparently have been hanging out in my neighborhood lately) and Bono, who, as my friend informed me yesterday, lives in New York (which, because I am oblivious, I did not know). And then she casually added, "Yea, I saw him last week." WHAAA--??!! Seriously, where have I been?! 'Come ON, Katie. OPEN those eyes. LOOK ALIVE LOOK ALIVE.' (That's what I have to tell myself when I am walking down the streets of New York in my own little la-la land).

My latest celebrity excitement: I have now seen that lady from K-PAX -- Celia Weston -- TWICE within the last year, in two completely different parts of the city. I think that is kind of c-r-a-z-y. First sighting: August of '06, in the crosswalk of Third Avenue and 85th Street. She was going into a video store. I exclaimed to my friends (probably too loudly), "Hey!! That's that K-PAX lady!!" They were not impressed. They kept walking. Second sighting: August of '07, at Filene's Basement, in Union Square. She walked right past me, pretty slowly, so I got a good look at her face and I'm 99.7% sure it was her. What are the odds, right? It's like we are friends now.

on a roll!

TWO celebrity sightings in ONE week!! that's gotta be some kind of record or something! (for me -- definitely). even though i kind of mooched this one, which tends to be my "way" (maybe one day i will actually see and recognize a celeb all by myself)...

Who: Dave Chapelle
When: earlier tonight, around midnight
Where: Fifth Avenue Apple store. i had heard that the celebs sometimes "hang" there, but didn't believe it b/c it's always so crammed with people/tourists. i guess the trick is to go VERY late on the sunday night of a holiday weekend.
Celebrity sightings to date: (2)

Celebrity (non) Sightings

So apparently, on my way to lunch today, I walked right past Wesley Snipes **WITHOUT NOTICING** because I am "The Oblivious One" (although I somehow managed to notice the man on the street mouthing to his wife "W-E-S-L-E-Y...S-N-I-P-E-S!!" which is how I was clued into what was happening. Her response: "Wha-a-a-t?" along with a blank stare. I am that wife.) ::sigh:: This is my curse. I live in a city full of celebrities, but am too wrapped up in my own happenings to notice. Today it was chatting with a friend on the ol' cell phone while swiftly and wildly dodging bodies (Wesley) so as to get to Bryant Park as quickly as possible in order to make the most out of my rapidly diminishing lunch hour. Truth be told though, if I had run right into the man, I'm not sure I would have recognized Mr. Snipes (please don't tell him I said so)...

Celebrity sightings to date: (1)
Who: Diane Sawyer
When: Last Sunday, May 20th
Where: Waverly and Bank, Greenwich Village