Rain & Blur.

green light in the rain ~ hipstamatic!
This photo is little like how my day was today: blurry and wet. I woke up with my head in a fog, completely congested, not from illness but from the chill in the air -- our apartment was FREEZING (time to crank up the heat, I guess). And the rain. Oh the rain. All day long, all day strong. Rain, rain, rain.

The audition went well, but there was a huge turnout so I sat for a looooong time in my damp shoes and jeans (again, the darn rain). I'm not sure I'm quite right for this show (I'm more of a pop/rock musical kinda gal), but we'll see. I'm just glad I went for it, didn't let the blurry wetness of the day get me down.

Another (cold) rainy Monday...

a look at the day from underneath my umbrella. again.
Ugh. And it's supposed to continue through WEDNESDAY. And it was a bad day on top of that. UGH. Contemplating a move to sunny Florida right now. Or a Caribbean Island (I hear Antigua is lovely).

Staying in and eating take-out helps erase some of the bad feelings about the day a little. So does Dancing with the Stars and red wine. However, I am supposed to be in the Village right now watching a cabaret show with friends. Feeling a little bit guilty for not going, but heading back out there into that terrible, awful stink-town weather, getting on a train, schlepping through the Village in boots and raingear and, ugh...it was really the last thing I wanted to do after such a long, hard day. And sometimes you gotta prioritize YOU, you know what I'm saying?? (ok, so i still feel bad. but at least i am dry. and relaxed :)

Also: remember this post and this post? Now you can purchase those two photos in my Etsy shop right now. Yes, that's correct, I've branched out from the bowls. Feels good. And more stuff to come....!

Just Another Tuesday.

lone umbrella at the Lincoln Center fountain
It was another rainy, cold, gross, windy, messy mess of a day. Blah. No need to repeat myself, just go here or here and you'll get the picture.

There were two surprise gifts, however, that made the day a little brighter. 1) I got to leave work early, thanks to the bosses and 2) I got two free tickets to the Opera! (again, thanks to one of my bosses who wasn't able to use his row 3 orchestra seats to Hamlet. amazing).

It was totally worth trudging through the rain to see and experience the beauty of the Metropolitan Opera House. And Hamlet? Definitely the best opera I've ever seen.

So what started out as a very gray & wet New York day turned into a very lovely and magical evening. Thanks, bosses.

Disappearing Empire.

Empire in the Clouds
Another rainy day in New York. I guess it's okay considering the amazing* weather we were spoiled with all weekend. But still, not my favorite way to start out the week (plus I am feeling a bit under the weather today, which is also not my favorite way to start out the week). On the bright side? Dancing with the Stars tonight and a new listing on Etsy.

Cheers.

*And by amazing I mean a-m-a-z-i-n-g. A perfect 10. I took lots of pictures as proof, which I do plan to post at some point this week when I have more time and my head doesn't feel like it's on the verge of imploding).

Rain, rain...(go away)

Man. Sorry this picture is so depressing, but that was THE DAY, folks. It was a dark & brooding, mother of a day. Pouring rain. High winds. Just one of those ugly, ugly umbrella-snapping kind of days. Yuck.

So today after lunch, as I sat at my desk in damp pants & soggy boots, I decided to make a list of all the little things that make me happy on rotten days like today (because it's important to remember the little things). Like:

1) my pink, flowered hat. I usually save it for special occasions (like getting engaged in London), but decided on a whim to wear it today. And it's a good thing. I reeeeally needed it. It reminds me of happier times (like getting engaged in London :)
2) this book, which I've been reading on my lunch breaks. It's been filling me up with really good things, including lots of insight & inspiration for my own artistic journey.
3) Starbucks instant coffee which has allowed me to enjoy tasty cups of coffee each morning at work now instead of the scary, bitter brew that is served in the office each day.
4) knowing that I'll be going home to a cozy apartment, an amazing & supportive husband and the Olympics. A good ending to a rotten day.

As I sit here in our living room bundled up in blankets, figure skating on in the background, my husband next to me on the couch, typing out my list of "good things," life *does* feel much better. It was a good ending, indeed.

weekend recap.

washington square arch
i am choosing to focus this post on the amazingly lovely and relaxing weekend that i had rather than the horrendously rainy & awful morning that started my week today (monsoon-like conditions here in the big apple this morning that literally snapped my super-duper, turbo "wind-proof" umbrella like a twig. not pretty, people).

so. the weekend. it was GREAT. friday night included an excellent movie and a homemade meal -- just what i needed. saturday was sleeping in and hanging out in pjs until well into the afternoon, when dan and i finally decided to go out "exploring."

this is seriously one of my favorite things to do on a free day -- just walk out the front door with no plan, no agenda, and let the city lead us. on this particular day, the city led us to the village (where the above photo was taken), chelsea & the meatpacking district (a neighborhood i really haven't explored much).

while wandering around chelsea, we stumbled upon highline park, which i've been wanting to check out, and it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. an elevated, urban park in the sky. brilliant. (can't wait to go back when the weather gets warmer). and in the meatpacking district we passed so many cool restaurants and cute streets that i had never seen before -- i felt like i was exploring a new city b/c this was unchartered territory for me.

we ended up at an excellent restaurant for dinner -- Barbuto -- which was low-key, charming & hip with amazingly good food. we had a perfect view of the open kitchen from our table, and apparently the chef is somewhat of a "name" in the food biz. even though we'd never heard of him, we snapped this picture of him preparing meals for good measure:


throughout the evening i found myself repeatedly saying to dan: "i feel so happy right now. i am just so happy." it was a good, good new york night.

sunday morning was spent lazing around, gearing up for my time in the studio to record vocals for the cast recording of "Bellevue Sketches" that afternoon. we spent 6+ hours in the studio recording and re-recording our parts & various sound effects. even though it was long and tiring, it was actually a really fun time. i loved seeing everyone again and it was inspiring to be inside such a fancy-pants NYC recording studio.

and there you have it. the weekend in a nutshell. let's hope tomorrow morning starts out better than today did.