A bit about the perfect weekend

Well Sil has really put her mark on the blog this weekend, so i guess it is my turn to get involved!

my Memorial day weekend was spent like this:

pizza party at work

jitney to the beach

a trip through town

iced tea and macaroni and cheese (just a snack)

21st birthday party

beirut & hamburgers

beer on the porch



great sleeps

driving with the windows down, sunroof open

no traffic

more iced tea and some bacon and eggs

chats by the pool

incredible views




new t-shirts

loosing beirut

winning beirut

freezing cold dips in the pool

dancing by the pool

the best sunset I’ve ever seen



amazing dinner

corn on the bbq is the best

crazy game of cranium

i acted out being a beaver




more amazing sleeps

delicious homemade breakfast

i made the bacon




drive out to Montauk

stop for ice cream (first of the summer)



climb the lighthouse - 137 steps up, 137 down, great for my pedometer

watch the boats go by


margaritas

new england clam chowder

a trip to Lunch

lobster rolls on a picnic table

another BBQ

coronas and great company




more amazing sleeps

wake up for breakfast with the midgets

"I’m not a midget I’m just short"

new cozy sweatshirts

umbrella fort on the beach

shandys and curly fries



lobster roll, buffalo wings, an ill advised burger

pina coladas, coronas

and shandys to go

lazy train back to the city

its nice to be back

Our first photo story...

This is a story of biking the "harder but scenic" route to New Jersey Memorial Day weekend, the GW bridge, sore bottoms, soccer tennis with a hose and plastic ball, Bubba burgers and Mauritian burgers, the loudest, most awful European club music coming from over the bushes, a few too many Bud Lights and drinking card games, never too many chocolate chip cookies, the easier 9W route (!), and photo retouching.
Everybody's smiling, sunshine day.

A bit about streamers

I just got streamers!! My borrowed bike is now the proud owner of red, yellow, and sparkly clear streamers. She is pimped out, super stylin', and turned more than a few heads on our way home. Bonus points: the streamers only cost $5.41 (including tax). Best $5 bucks I've spent in a long time.

Okay, I'm going to get off the blog and off the computer now to actually go hang out with animate things, like friends...and for once today, I'm leaving the bike (and the red, yellow, and sparkly clear streamers) at home.

I like bikes. Or, a bit about biking in Manhattan

Can you hear that? It’s the sound of my heart racing. My adrenaline is at an all time high. I didn’t jump out of a plane (never going to happen) or drive a racecar (not much more likely). I just rode a bicycle through the streets of Manhattan for the first time. Oh, and the front brakes don’t work.

I’m going off on a bike trip with some friends tomorrow for the long weekend. We are biking to Jersey across the George Washington Bridge, leaving at 9am to take the “harder but scenic route.” The packing list emailed to the crew today from my friend the organizer whose parent’s house we’re staying at: helmet, an extra pair of underwear, and a smile. Yes, this too will be blogged about.

But for now back to my adrenaline. Following a killer morning workout at Equinox and an hour-long body melting massage (Jack the Masseuse to me: “Your back really is a mess. Take it easy on yourself.”), I literally put myself right into mid-day Manhattan traffic, which I guess wasn’t exactly following Jack the Masseuse’s advice. My boss lent me her old bike for my weekend getaway (May is also National Bike Month, so she was happy to contribute indirectly to the cause) and my supervisor lent me her helmet (clearly they both take good care of me) so I went to the office, which is conveniently across the street from the gym, to gather my adventure supplies. Did I mention we are closed today for a four-day long weekend? Fridays off to ride your borrowed bike are heavenly.


(She needs a helmet!)

So, picture this: I am quite a sight as I hop on the bike in my moderately cute outfit - tight jeans (yeah, sort of forgot I’d be biking when I packed my post-gym bag), gray tank, silver chuck tailors, backpack and awesome helmet (it even has a brim to keep out sun, flying debris and oncoming pigeons). The gears are clicking all over the place as I try to get accustomed to the bike. I did ride it around the office to try it out yesterday, with my helmet on for safety – those FedEx boxes can be hazards! – but nothing could have prepared me for the bustling streets of New York City.

I figured that I should probably bike on 1st Avenue to go up town, completely forgetting of course that 1st Ave. has a huge hill built into it. And once you’ve huffed and puffed up the hill, you then have to go down. Speeding, with honking cars on your left and illegally parked trucks in the bus lane on your right, and no front breaks. Hopefully my mom has stopped reading our blog by now.

I thought I was playing it safe going this way, as there were nice big green signs with bikes on them directing me this way. Then you get on 1st and the signs disappear for a while…was I supposed to cross the FDR to get on the running/bike path which then stops way before the 30s even end? But thankfully, soon after I pass the UN (more on that portion of the trip below), I see another green sign! Yes, someone, somewhere does still care about us bikers – like how after one ride on one day, I’ve proclaimed myself a city biker? The people who care, however, are not drivers. Jerkfaces. Now, I’m more than just a biker. I’m a two-wheeled hater of anything with four-wheels, and I’m ready to stand up and fight for biker rights! Viva bicicletas! Especially when that next green sign I see directs me away from 1st Ave (I live off 1st!) and over to Sutton Place, which turns into York. While it is a more picturesque 20 blocks to my apartment with a view of the River, and I do feel much safer on the quieter avenue, I am totally miffed that we bikers must take the detour and the gas-guzzlers get the luxury of convenience. Tsk, tsk city planners. And, while we’re at it, city planners, the bike lane lines on York are totally faded so no one can tell it is the bike route, especially if they’ve missed the last green sign that was 30 streets back.





All that happened in just 10 blocks.

And as it is happening, this entire inner monologue, pretty much everything you’re reading above and below (if you’re still reading, that is), is running through my head. I even thought to myself wouldn’t it be great if I had a small tape recorder (people still use those, right?) affixed onto the handlebars so I could say all this out loud as it was happening. Then I could transcribe into the blog, or even include an audio link. The experience would be even more amusing and there would be the honks and yells and sirens and dogs barking that would really make our reader feel like they were there. I mean, don’t you want to dodge exploded fire hydrants and downed power lines, too?

Every block and turn is a new adventure (or you might say danger) in itself. Here were just a few of mine this afternoon:
1. Dodging Fluffy or Muffy the white French Poodle with pink ribbons and her similarly attired, oblivious owner as they crossed the street at a molasses-like pace
2. Another biker who swerved out of the way for a car who then moved for a truck who then moved for an ambulance
3. The Casanova construction workers. Because I am simply a living, breathing woman in Manhattan. I think my helmet’s pretty sexy, too, boys.
4. The 15-foot water pipe carried by said construction workers
5. The Free Tibet protest outside the UN
6. The armed guards with those clear plastic shields outside the UN
7. Three NYPD vans and five huge white Asian tour buses outside the UN
8. The old man with the green bowler hat that waved his cane at me hello
9. The old woman with the green house dress that shook her cane at me (think she meant get out of the way)
10. The bottleneck of other bikers who also were too afraid for their lives and the road-raged drives stuck in traffic and had to bike on the sidewalk for the stretch past the Mobil station at 59th and 1st


How come you never notice this much when you’re walking? That would be a much safer way. Yeah, I know, who wants to play it safe all the time?

I believe I have now developed a new camaraderie with the bike delivery guys and I’ve also come to the realization that I need a basket on my borrowed bike. I’m hoping that my boss might like to lend me her bike for the whole summer. I’ll even get the front brake fixed, and get those fun streamer thingies for the handlebars. I’d like pink, orange and white. Or blue. Ooh and a basket.




So while Suze walks around the world for 4 months, I plan to bike Manhattan (ooh and the BK too) and take my own tour of this mini-world – Little Italy, Chinatown, Spanish Harlem, where else should I go??



In the meantime, I’m off (via bike, of course) to a bike shop downtown near Spring St. I don’t know why I had to pick this bike shop specifically, especially since that means biking all the way downtown with one working break, and no reflective light. (Did I forget to mention that it somehow just flew off the bike with no warning about three blocks from home?)

I’ve walked by this bike shop many times, though I still don’t know the name. Maybe I should bike by it to figure that out. The shop is tiny and overflowing with all sorts of bikes. It just looks like a place I want to take my borrowed bike with WD-40 greased on the windows and bike repairman who always have one pant leg rolled up. I’ll let you know how it goes and what color streamers I get…as long as I make it there in one piece.

a bit about global fitness initiatives

I am walking around the world, without leaving the city. Well at least not leaving the city very often.


Our company is participating in a Global Fitness Thinger that involves wearing a pedometer and walking as much as possible for the next 4 months. Yep, 4 months.

So last week we got a backpack full of gear to help us on our walk - a water bottle, socks, 2 pedometers, a hat and a mouse pad. Now keep in mind, we aren't actually walking around the world - just too and from work with an occasional walk around the block at lunch thrown in there. but still, we needed a water bottle and special socks. oh and a mountaineering backpack. i wasn't this prepared for our planned 21 mile hike in Hawaii!

So you walk and walk and walk, and your pedometer keeps track of your steps and each morning we log them in and they show us where we have walked. The weird thing is they have this website to log on to and all week they have been telling us about the weather in Valpairso, Chile, and how we should bring a raincoat because its rainy and maybe an extra pair of socks (not included in the pack) and then they sent us emails about flying in and the locals being confused as to what was going on. Oh and they have all the foods we should try and words we can use if we get lost and need to find The Batharooma

Except, that I am reading this at my desk. and i know where the bathroom is, and i'm not flying anywhere. and I wore flip flops to walk this morning, and its not raining.

Oh and i'm in New York, not Chile.

so I don't really get the whole thing - but we are all excited about it for now - we are walking around in circles while having conversations with colleagues and making plans to take walks at lunch and we can walk home each night and catch up on our days.

but i have a feeling that one morning I'm going to be wearing a dress (no where to place pedometer without looking like you have a hip tumor), and I'm going to want to eat lunch at my desk, or in the kitchen, and I'm going to have plans to drink heavily after work that night and then I'll be hung-over in the morning and more focused on getting out of bed and getting to a bacon and egg on a roll sandwich then how many steps I've taken and all of a sudden I've fallen off the wagon and while other teams are marching across Nigeria, I am stuck in Cape Town, unable to find a bathroom and without my extra pair of socks.

I bit about real simple cooking

So Sil and I used to live together - to start back at the beginning, we lived in the same dorm, during a semester we did in DC. 2 years later Sil graduated and i needed a new roommate - so in she moved to our Murray Hill 2 bedroom, converted to 3 and we had a fabulous year of wine and cheese on the balcony, snow storms, bachelor party adventures and more shenanigans then either of us care to fully remember.

As a Christmas present that year Silvie got me a year long subscription to Real Simple magazine and immediately i was hooked. Granted Real Simple is more geared towards the suburban housewife freezing meals so her poor inept husband and soccer/lacrosse/karate/oboe playing kids will have a home cooked meal each night then me, the then new to NYC, then totally single, then incapable of boiling water correctly to make pasta. But i loved it. my new years resolution was to learn to be more domestic and I took on the challenge the same way i take on a big cup of pudding. aggressively.

So the point of all of this - i actually have become a pretty ok cook - i love to do it, and love to try new recipes out, especially since Real Simple had the ingenious idea to give their dishes fancy sounding names, but still make them relatively easy to cook with nothing requiring Marsala wine or 14 different pans. (i have a very teeny stove)

I am going to post some of my delicious finds for you! all 4 of you! So I can feel like I am contributing to the blog, without actually writing anything spectacularly funny.

So here is my dinner from last night - I am writing it by memory, not by recipe, so if it doesn't work don't hate me.

Pepper Tuna with Oven Fries and Lemon Spinach

Purchase:
Tuna steak - we got 1 from Agata and Valentina - it was HUGE, so we felt like 1 was ok - but decide on how hungry you are before you purchase - this works for lunch the next day too (i just ate it) so if you want more tuna that's ok too.

Salt & Pepper - if you actually have to purchase this, maybe you should stick to toast. i like sea salt, just an FYI

1 lemon

a few potatoes - i got 3 but that was too many for the 2 of us. Also, i learned you should wash taters REALLY well and dry them REALLY well too. no idea why - but do it!

spinach

olive oil

1 shallot

that's it! amazing right!

To do:

-Heat your oven to 400 degrees

- cut up potatoes (i do them more like chips, then fries - flat and round) and toss in a big bowl with salt, pepper and olive oil (as much as you like - more olive oil makes them more crispy and easier to get off the baking sheet)

- lay potatoes on baking sheet and cook - this takes 40 minutes, so do it first so you aren't waiting for them in the middle of the rest of your dinner. (this happens to me a lot)

- when potatoes only need about 15 more minutes put the tuna on a plate and coat both sides with salt and pepper. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan (i use a grill pan, but you can use whatever pan you like)

- when the oil is hot hot hot (can you feel it) put the tuna on the pan. cook for 2 minutes on each side. (note, do not go and watch the Yankees 2nd inning when they are already losing 8-0, it will make you cook the tuna too long) did you know - Tuna, unlike other fish, continues cooking after you take it off the heat. Fact of the Day from EBJ

- In a separate pan, take another 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cut up the shallots into circles and cook em all up for about 2 minutes, then put the spinach in the pan. Get more spinach then you think you will eat, it gets super tiny when cooked.

- put the tuna and spinach on a plate (don't forget to take potatoes out of the oven) put them on the plate too.

-Spritz some lemon on the spinach - and you're done.

If you want to be fancy, you can put a lemon wedge on the plate as well.

The whole situation takes about 1 hour - but if you don't do the potatoes, and instead maybe a nice rice pilaf, or a pasta dish - it will make it shorter.

Enjoy!

Coming up tomorrow - I am walking around the world for the next 4 months. details to come.

A bit about me, a bit about you!

A few burning questions i'm sure you've all been dying to find the answers to! Also known as Suze is still not feeling well and is finding it difficult to write something witty!

Sil - put your answers below mine!

I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments.. what is it?
SUZE:
1. Produce: grapefruit! (ruby red)
2. Bakery: rainbow cookies!
3. Meat: filet mignon
4. Frozen: ice cream!
5. Dairy: chocolate pudding swirl! (technically in the dairy section)

SIL:
1. Produce: carrots (who doesn't want to see in the dark) and blueberries (super food!) Did you really think I could pick just one??
2. Bakery: cake. cupcakes. and, cookie cake. (all in the cake family so it's like choosing just one.) did i say cake?
3. Meat: tofu. or wild alaskan salmon.
4. Frozen: skinny cow.
5. Dairy: skinny cow. no, fresh mozerella.

Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what's in your bag?
SUZ:
1. flip flops
2. a bathing suit
3. a comfy sweatshirt
4. another bathing suit (options are important)
5. a sarong (can be used as a blanket too!)
(lets hope this weekend getaway is to a beach!)

SIL: (pls note, directions say 3 yet there are 5 answer spaces. tricky, suze.)
1. my ridiculously cool orange and purple nike running shoes. (my boss even bought herself a pair! but you shouldn't. cause then you'd be biting my steeze. have to let the boss do it.)
2. cute jeans
3. cambridge athletics t-shirt from freshman year of high school
4. a dress that can be worn for weekend or night
5. spandex (can be worn for running or under the dress if it is cold - look at that versatility)

If I was to listen in on your conversations throughout the day, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?
SUZ:
1. I can haz?
2. To be honest
3. Literally
4. Best/funniest/worst thing ever
5. Jerkface

SIL:
1. really?
2. thanks
3. i think...
4. how's it goin'?
5. i'm hungry.

So, what 3 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you probably wouldn't be in the best mood?
Suz:
1. brushing my teeth ( i have stinky morning breath - too much information?)
2. wearing clothing to work (naked is fine at home, but work, not so much)
3. looking at icanhazcheeseburger. It makes me giggle out loud

Sil:
1. talking to my mama (well, almost every day)
2. something active, even just walking (endorphins are my drug of choice. wow, that sounds lame.)
3. checking my blackberry (if i miss something, the reprecussions definitely don't put me in the best mood.)


We are going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it'll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?
Suz:
1. PENGUINS
2. PENGUINS
3. Spectacled Eiders

Sil:
1. anything from the ocean that makes me feel like i'm actually at the aquarium
2. chimpanzees (watch the nat geo special that shows how awesomely smart they are!)
3. giraffes

You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on t.v. of your choice. You can pick between 4, so what are you deciding between?
Suz:
1. Law and Order
2. Law and Order SVU
3. Law and Order CI
4. 30 Rock

Sil:
1. american gladiators. (needs no explanation)
2. locked up abroad (you'd get to travel somewhere exotic!! albeit to also to the airport and jail.)
3. south park (is that even possible? really, it is a smart, topical show)
4. sex and the city (are quasi-cliche, shows that no longer film allowed?)

You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?
Suz:
1. Ben and Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie
2. Haagan Daaz Chocolate with rainbow sprinkles
3. Coffee

Sil: ice cream gives me a belly ache - how bout frozen yogurt (milk not cream!)
1. black raspberry chocolate chip
2. rainbow sorbet (not exactly frozen yogurt)
3. chocolate and vanilla non-fat swirl
(man, that's kind of a gross triple dipper, huh?)


Somebody stole your purse…in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what's in there?

Suz:
1. bberry
2. lippy
3. some form of Reeses something for EBJ
4. monies
5. flip flops for walking to work

Sil: who stole my purse?? watch out, i take shadow boxing.
1. bberry (god, we're addicted, suze)
2. cell phone
3. mi walleta
4. mi cameraera
5. formerly frozen veggie burger patty, the economist, a wheel of cheese, gold heels, checkbook, bberry, cell phone and all the rest (one long night at the bar following one long night at the office...don't ask. or do, if you want to die laughing. really.)

You are at a job fair, and asked what areas you are interested in pursuing a career in. Let's pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 4 careers would be fun for you?
Suz:
1. Katie Couric (while at Today)
2. Brian Williams
3. David Gregory
4. a penguin feeder at the Central Park Zoo
5. Mama Rose in Gypsy on Broadway

Sil: this is a hard one...
1. master sommelier
2. master florist (or just a regular florist would suffice)
3. bill bryson. (funniest. travel. writer. ever.)
4. mia hamm (some dreams never die.)
5. president.

I bet you all feel MUCH more informed.

A bit about Wine Bars (Likely to be followed later this summer by A lot about Wine Bars)

Similar to mid-day margaritas or vineyard tastings, finding a new wonderful new wine bar can be a most pleasing and fulfilling experience. And there are few better things than experiencing the find on a damp, rainy, windy New York City Friday night (especially when it has rained at least the past three Fridays in a row…)
I decided that wine bars were a new interest (my Facebook page says so – it must be true) even before Eric Asimov’s Dining In feature in The Times last month, thank you, and as such, they must become important parts of my blog adventures for the months ahead. It is also true that many of these said wine bars are downtown – in SoHo and the East Village, where my favorite did previously reside. Possibly until now.

It is possible that I have a new favorite, and (gasp) it is on the Upper East Side. Felice, which is still fairly new, offers more than 100 Italian wines and “classic Italian dishes from Sant Ambroeus chef, Simone Parisotto” (thank you, nymag.com). It is cute, cozy, comfortable and my two friends and I (yes, I was the third wheel) spent almost four hours there on Friday evening, even after I was 15 minutes late! By the time we has eaten artichoke hearts, ricotta, drank two bottles of burgundy, laughed ‘til our stomachs hurt, and were ready to again face the weather, our candle had sufficiently burned down, that kind of burn with the dripped wax layered on all sides, evoking the feel of being in an Italian restaurant movie setting, the ones with a red and white checkered table cloth and just one plate of spaghetti and meatballs for two. Good thing my friend had protected the flame from the gust of wind each time the door opened ensuring our candle would reach Lady and The Tramp status. So much ambiance I can barely stand it.



Here are my prerequisites for the perfect wine bar.
Also, in an effort to generate comments on our blog (Sad that this is a mission I have taken on with great fervor? Heck, you can comment on that, too if you want!), I’d love to know what your prereqs are.

1. Wine bottles visible anywhere you look throughout the space. It adds that ambiance, and helps to remind me that (thank god) I am not somewhere like…Dorian’s.
2. Candles on every table – I want the romantic vibe…even when I am the third wheel.
3. Small plates. Preferably with cheese. And bread. And more cheese.
4. A menu that teaches me something. For example: Fatta in casa means “made in house.” I like it. Fatta. I also learned just now that Felice is actually pronounced fay-LEE-chay (thanks again, nymag.com).
5. The wine never stops flowing.

I will only experience wine bars, and now fay-LEE-chay, with people I truly enjoy. As is current par for the course, I won’t reveal the names of my wine bar compatriots, but I am sending them an email asking them if they’d be interested in making it our new neighborhood staple (not that I had an old one, except for Suze and my spot, delicious coffee shop Beanocchios). 64th and 1st is nicely smack dab in the middle of our apartments. It was only our first date, for my new couple friends and I, (and us with Felice wine bar), but that is how much fun we had…and how much wine we drank. Even in the rain, a good wine bar cures all.


To come – Suze and Sil get back on the tram, take on a fighting salad green, bash heads with something called BAM, babysit for two kids, then three kids, learn to Wii and almost kidnap a new puppy.

I wasn't planning to post today, as i really haven't done anything all that interesting, and then I remembered that the whole point of the blog was to record our adventures - even the small ones.

so a bit about b-boys, escargot and rain rain rain...

Last night I was running early (shocker) to meet EBJ for mojitos downtown - i stumbled upon a bunch of guys with spray paint, markers and trucker hats - and obviously what makes more sense then a monogramed trucker hat! I got EBJ a hat with his initials monogrammed on it.

I will note, the men who do this do not call it monogramming, they call it 'tagging' but i do not tag things, i monogram.

So EBJ has a hat.

We rolled into L'Orange Bleu for a mojito, but when it hit our lips we knew we weren't going anywhere fast. We moved outside and ordered an assortment of yummies - escargot in little pots, duck foie gras, oysters, and circle calamari, as opposed to the blah calamari.

3 mojitos later we headed home, where we planned on having 1 glass of wine.

2 bottles later, i was practicing karate with EBJ's roommate and he was modeling his rapper outfit for a party he is going to this weekend - the outfit consists of a blinged out brown cap with thug sticker still attached, the coolest jeans in the history of jeans and a brown shirt with "Obey the Power" written on it. oh and bling. i took photos and made him take the outfit off - i really couldn't handle the agressiveness of his ensemble.

To come this weekend - Sil and Suze take care of 2 children and a dog. Hilarity ensues when Suze, a Jetta driver, tries to back out of the driveway in the tank (also known as a suburban) while 1 child shrieks, a dog barks and Sil refuses to let Suze listen to her country.

Back to camp!

Ok my turn, just a few days late(r).

While my weekend didn’t take me on a grand treasure hunt, I too drank plenty of wine, ate a delicious home-cooked meal (or four), played, and spent hours finding something.

I found my way back to camp.

Have you ever gone back to visit somewhere that held a most special place in your heart? On the way there that nervous excitement takes over, with just a few little butterflies aflutter in your stomach and you wonder how you’re actually going to feel when you finally get there. To top it off, I’d been keeping this trip a secret as it was a surprise. This being the second surprise secret I’d had to keep in just the past few weeks, I was itching to just make it happen already. (As you can tell, I like to talk so these have been a real challenge!)

The surprise was a special birthday dinner for a very dear old friend, one of my best from growing up. J was turning 25, and after a number of years having lost touch, about a year ago we ran into each other while home for the holidays and she started a pen pal relationship. In this day of clogged e-mail in-boxes, text messages, and yes, even blogging, there’s something almost sacred about writing a letter. Try it, really. You might like it. And then receiving that letter back in your little NYC apartment mailbox, well that just makes your whole night. Like tonight.

So, J’s mom, P, is the owner/director of camp and wanted to put together an intimate dinner for J’s closest friends from back in the day that she’s now back in touch with (a pen palling extraordinaire she is!) P emailed weeks ago to see if we’d be able to come, and following an elaborate adventure to get there (Friday train – ok the luxurious Acela to which I tend to treat myself – to Boston, mama picks me up late night from South Station, sleepover/sleep in, and -day solo drive all the way up to Maine, Belgrade Lakes to be exact), I arrive. A few hours and one stiff back later (but worth it), I roll into camp. And, it looks the same, except P’s house has been gorgeously re-modeled, there is a towering climbing wall (it must be as tall as my apartment building!) and a goat pen in the works. There were no goats when we were kids and these are going to be petting goats. They also happen to be meat goats. Don't tell the little camp girls that this summer...
But soon, I see the shacks we used to live in during those carefree summers when what mattered was aiming the rifles at the target, not the horses trotting past, and how fast you could eat saltines and whistle during the 4th of July relay race. I was better at blowing bubble gum after eating peanut butter. I learned to windsurf and kayak and once I got a 50 at riflery, all five bullets (okay, blanks) hitting the bull’s-eye, not the horse. Clearly I still ride on those coattails, and did you know, I’m actually a member of the NRA? Ahh yes, a story for another day.




J is there when I arrive, hanging out in the house with her fiancé (she at least is all growed up), P, P’s husband, the dogs, and the new (like six days ago) addition to J’s family – an amazing little spunky Boston Terrier named Parker. I am in love. I walk in – surprise? J looks like she’s seen a ghost, and I don’t think its because she’s blinded by my gold Adidas kicks (J actually tells me later they are pretty sweet, thank you). It has been many months, but really, since we spent QT together? Years. So, we catch up, and drink wine and eat cheese and it is like things have never changed. We chat about our dwellings (she actually lives in a real house in NH!), our jobs (I do silly things like host boxing press conferences and pretend its promoting an island), and, when J’s man leaves the room, we chat about boys. And the ring. Of course. We all feast some more (good thing we took the dogs for a walk all over camp earlier!) and lament as we watch the Celtics look dumb in the playoffs against Lebron and the Cavs. It's good to be in New England.

Tipsy to bed following P’s homemade cupcakes with Splenda-infused frosting (surprisingly good) and I believe almost an entire watermelon (it’s just water right?), and as I drift into satisfied and satiated sleep with a happy, still surprised old, yet new, best friend in the next room, there are few places I’d rather be.

I got the greatest thank you note from J today (see Suze, there was totally a good reason I waited until tonight to blog!). Boy does she have nice stationary – she has other “adult” things too like those sticky return address labels with fiancé and her name on them together – but the smiley face and “THANK YOU” in caps block letters made it feel just like a letter we’d write to each other when I had left camp following first session and J was still there through August. There was no smuggled in candy, however. Hint, hint J, for next letter!

I plan to go back to camp more now, or at least get to NH to go camp-ing with J. We can pretend we’re going for our Junior Maine Guide certification and building an intricate Liu with pine trees, brush, sticks and bark to shield an exposed behind in nature, once again. Then she’ll come here in fall or winter, and we’ll make some NYC adventure memories. With wine and food and dancing and shopping and boys (just kidding J’s finance!)…and once again, we’ll find our way back and it will feel like no time has passed at all.

A bit about wine tasting

Part 2 of my weekend went a little like this...

After picking up more t-g margaritas, chips and salsa, EBJ and i were off to the Jitney (a overpriced 'luxury' bus that takes you out to 'the hamptons' when its off season and the trains aren't running as often as they should). EBJ slept for a bit and i read my new book - "The Last Lecture".

My momma picked us up at the Jitney stop and we headed home to cook dinner - She is off to Santa Fe and The Grand Canyon for 2 weeks (Sil - maybe Momma Breff should write the 'Travel blog'). EBJ made a fire, and I cooked flounder, mashed potatoes (for the first time!), asparagus and made a salad. then we drank far too much wine and looked at embarrassing photos from my childhood. I was a skinny kid, with big pink glasses - quite a looker.

Sunday was adventure day! we had big plans to get up early (for some reason EBJ thought i was waking him up at 8am...um its the weekend and we are at the beach you is crazy!) - we slept in, toured the compound and checked out the chickens.

Yes, you heard it right, our neighbors got chickens. Now i don't really live in the 'suburbs' per say - but we don't live in the country either - and chickens running around are not the norm here. Apparently our neighbor received a bunch of chickens as a gift, which entertains me because who gives chickens as a gift? They came with a coop too - but no chicken wire (ha!). So for the first few weeks they liked to sun bathe on the other neighbors back porch - this led to a bit of an uproar and they now live fenced in. i don't know if they produce eggs (can all chickens? i should google this) but i do know that around 9am they buck buck backaw. and you can get them to do a call and repeat out my window - so that was entertaining.

We finally made it down to the beach for a photo shoot and then we were on our way - Wine Tasting here we come. We went to one i can't pronounce let alone try to spell - but the only thing they had going for them was a pretty barn so we were off to Pellegrini - we had some wine and soup crackers and then one thing led to another and EBJ had not only joined a wine club but purchased 16 bottles of wine. After loading it all in the trunk we were off to the next stop. We came upon a 'petting zoo' that i had been to but couldn't remember where it was, and it appeared there! so we purchased our feed and went about feeding an assortment of chickens, ducks, goats, 2 mini horses, a turkey, 4 bebe geese and a pig. 1 horse was nice, the other was a jerk - kicking the turkey and head butting the goats - we found out later we could have actually gone in the pen, but I don't think we could have made it out of there alive.

Next we were on to Raphael Vineyard - they are famous for their reds, so we bought a white. Then to Martha Clara which was overun with monsters - so we got some sausage type food and mustard and drank until we couldn't hear their shrill little voices.

Later we headed back to the city - EBJ pointed this out, but as much fun as i have at the beach, and as much as i enjoying getting out of the city - there really is nothing like coming over the bridge and seeing the Chrysler building and all the apartments lit up - getting away is nice, but coming home is better.

I Dare Ya

Well I'm home sick today - after an eventful weekend my body decided to give out on me so I'm posting from bed.

Saturday EBJ and I decided to partake in Urban Dare a sort of day-long Amazing Race in NYC. You have to compete in teams of two and answer clues to map out your travel route - fastest teams win a prize (and a silver plate we found out later).

EBJ and I are both quite competitive people, in things that matter - like Zogsports Charity Co-ed Touch Football or who can get ready faster in the morning - but a race? No way we were in it for fun and drinking

In no way is Urban Dare meant to be a bar crawl - but it was a lovely Saturday and when you pass PJ Clarkes its almost blasphamous (hard word) to not imbibe.

We completly entertained the day drinkers and got some funny looks as we walked from clue to clue. We saw the Love Wall on Park Ave, did a wheelbarrow race next to Alexander Hamilton. I learned something new about EBJ (he can't blow bubbles) and danced a jig in Grand Central Station with whipped cream on my face.

Did you know the MS in MSNBC stands for Microsoft and that The Matrix was Keanu Reeves highest grossing film? (I still think Pointbreak should have counted)

We found ribbon stores and bell ringers and Ralph from the honeymooners, fell in love with 2 dogs and had to-go margaritas.

We finished in 4 hours 49 minutes - 2 hours and 49 minutes after the winners - but we weren't sore losers, we just headed back to the to-go margarita place to drown our sorrows with tequila.

To come tomorrow: a bit about a wine tasting

A bit about Jury Duty - Part #2, or is it #3?

The Big JD (pretend I posted this on Friday)
Day #2

11:30am
Did you know that in New York City, jury duty is a full two-day commitment? I did not know this, and going into it my strategy was to deny, deny, deny to my co-worker who had just done her service (yes, two days) in New Jersey. Different states, lovely co-worker, I said earlier this week. Friday I’ll be in the office. We can talk about this on Friday when I’m here. I will see you on Friday.

It’s Friday. I’m at the courthouse. In Massachusetts, jury duty is ONE day. Just saying.
Today, Friday, jury duty is eerily quiet. People are still drying out from the rain and I once again have found myself in the front row. I've been doing a bit of work, but have little desire to do much more following a long week...

I felt a bit of weird jealousy this morning when Ms. Hawkins, the girl who sat next to me yesterday in Juror Selection Room A, got called into her trial, the medical mal-practice suit against Memorial Sloane Kettering. A woman in her mid-30s was suing two of the doctors - a cancer doctor and the reconstructive plastic surgeon - following a double mastectomy. Her cancer was cured (removed, really) and she wanted lumps put in place; that's the part of the surgery that apparently went gravely wrong and it seems her chest is a mess. They told us we'd have to see a number of graphic photos of it - maybe its best I wasn't on that one. While it would have been a difficult jury on which to sit, I'm now totally intrigued at being in a courtroom and secretly sort of want to be picked! It's already 11:30am and no cases have been called for yet.

11:45am
Oh no!
I just went to our lovely, cheery blog (much needed in this depressing, windowless “potential juror” waiting room and outside the rain and winds of lower Manhattan that earlier gobbled up my umbrella are doing little to help my mood) and...
"ACCESS DENIED!"

With this free UCS Public Access Wi-Fi in the courthouse, one can get on Gmail to check email, but Gchat is devastatingly blocked. Buzz killers. Thus, I must write my entry here in, then cut and paste into a Word document, save it and later remember to go back and upload to Traipsing Through Cherry Blossoms. Man, our judicial system never makes it easy for you do they.

Side note, I just glanced toward the back of the room and I count 1,2...6 people sleeping!

And, now, someone is snoring! And, an older woman is shushing him. Oh it is going to be a long day. I’m off to brave the rain and find that Starbucks Suze informed us all about yesterday.

a bit about mid-day margaritas

they are ALWAYS a good idea.

very delicious ones can be found at Dos Caminos on 50th and 3rd.

A bit more about...

What better, quintessential New York experience is there than this. No, Suze and I are not atop the Empire State Building (its foggy today), and this isn’t S&S brave the crowds and fake fendi hawkers on Canal St. (I hate Canal St.), or a foray through Times Sq. (I hate Time Square more).

Hint: I’m below 14th St. I went through metal detectors (and got stopped twice already – it’s only 10:30am as I write this part – for having my Blackberry on my person. This is typical Sil.) I made friends with a cop, or was that a warden. And a lawyer smiled at me.
Or was that a wink?

You guessed it (did you or are you just faking it? Like I may be in the “potential juror” interview process)
I am in Jury Duty. On Thomas St. Its like I belong here or something.

Duh, duh, duh (insert Perry Mason type courtroom music here) - this was the vision I had as I made my way alllll the way downtown on a rainy, yet muggy mid-May morning.

Suze and I both decided I should blog about the experience (at the same time, over email. We’re telepathic like that.) And, I figured what better way than to write Suze email updates throughout the day and use those as my postings. It is truly the best way to gain insight into our lives and friendship and humor (yes, we do have a little).
So, dear reader, enjoy

Without further ado, I give you:
A bit more about Jury Duty
Part 1 - 11:00am

Sil to Suze:
Hola,
So, I am here sitting in the big open room with honestly what must be 100 other "potential jurors." You would be proud of me, I sat myself right up front and center. Does this give me more of a chance of getting picked?? (Who ever said I wasn't a risk taker!)

Don't think your boy Security Mike is here...do wish I had some Suze baked homemade cookies though!
Figured I would email you some fun things so you could be an interactive part of this S "adventure" and then I'd take all the funny, moderately good parts and post them on the blog. Am I thinking, or am I thinking?

So, I just overheard that the trial is scheduled to be 12 days. Oh hell no. Quick, let's think of good excuses.
1. I'm overly god fearing (cross your fingers - and rub your cross I guess - that the case they are picking for is the suing of a church or something. I mean really, who sues God?)
2. A close friend of mine was ___(insert crime here as long as its not crazy bad.)
3. I go around thinking everyone is guilty. All the time. I mean, isn't that human nature, that by course of human nature everyone is innately bad. Was that Locke or Hobbes? (sorry, Dad. It's been a while since I studied those guys)

(I can't take credit for #3, the most creative of the bunch. I'm working with this guy from Showtime Sports who told me that was the excuse of famous sportswriter Jack Murray. Of course, that excuse comes from a writer.)

They’re talking to us now. And, I sort of have to pay attention, and maybe move from my prime seat in a second. Jury duty part #2 to follow.

Hearts and all,
S

Jury Duty Part #2 - The Interim
11:30am
From Suze to Sil:
I am writing a Jury Duty post too! We can combine them together!

My real tips – you wont get picked just because you are front and center (my first jury duty they picked out of a Bingo ball thinger B-52, B-52, you will sit on this trial for 12 days – BINGO!

Also, just be honest if you get picked and they interview you – saying you work in ‘media’ is better then ‘pr’ - although if you say both you may have a better option of not getting picked.

I love jury duty, so I am a bad person to ask about ways to get out, lets be honest

Also, I love our blog..and you. Cant wait to catch up tonight!

From Sil to Suze:
Dude!! Of course it took zero time for me to be called. I am number 4 in the first random process. Number 4. There were like 100 to start.

And, there is a guy taking his inhaler next to me. He is definitely freaking out.

K signing off now as they are staring at me. And I am in front row again!

Jury Duty Part #3
11:45am
Waiting. In the hall. Shortly we'll have to go back in the room where our fate will be determined...stay tuned.
Ooh there goes the lawyer for the defense! He looks like Sam from that game we used to play Guess Who? But without the green beret and the blond moustache; his is brunette. I like him immediately. Does that mean I won't get picked?
Ooh there he goes again.

A bit about jury duty

I know my girl Sil will have far more to speak on this category later today as she is currently sitting in lock up.

i keed i keed - she got served and is doing her civic duty by showing up at the courthouse and sitting around for a few hours with the most random bunch of people in Manhattan.

Everyone has their jury duty stories, there aren't many that are too distinct at this point - we've all heard the one about the guy with the nose hair problem, and the woman who talks to herself, and the guy who mistakenly thought this was Jury Booty and showed up ready to meet a purdy woman to git busy with in the bathroom.

But a few tips from someone who spent last January as Juror #3 on a NY State Grand Jury. I will say, it was one of the most fun times of my life.

First off, make friends with the security guards - they are stopping the possible crazies from bringing in a shiv, a gun or a tootsie pop (those things could be dangerous, yet delicious, when used in the proper way). They also provide you with a guest pass when you forget your real Big Girl Jury Pass, every. single. morning. They also look the other way when you by mistake send your Iced Venti Sugar Free Vanilla Skim Latte through the X-Ray machine, knocking it over and making a bit of a mess of the briefcase that sadly entered after you. (my sincere apologies to both the lawyer, and the defendant who probably lost their case because of a not-completely-on-lid.

Which brings us to Starbucks - anyone serving in NYC, there is no, i repeat no, Starbucks in the direct path from the 4-5-6 train to the courthouse - take a left at the steps featured prominently in Law and Order and a right at the pigeons - you'll find it. If you pass Family Court you've gone too far. Look at your drink before you leave - my aforementioned ridiculously large drink was once substituted for a Venti Milk.

Law and Order and Actual Court have absolutely nothing in common, except that Sam Waterson is in the video entitled "Why It is Important That You Miss Your Actual Day Of Accomplishing Something To Sit Here and Listen to 9,000000 Drug Cases" or something equally ridiculous. I love Law and Order, and i will admit to being partially excited about Jury Duty if only to see Elliot Stabler testify that yes, in fact, the body was found under the pipe in the deserted warehouse just as the psychic said. Instead i got to see numerous boxy pants suits and undercover cops who we were not allowed to wave too outside the courtroom. (You don't wave to 'convicted drug dealers')

If you do end up on trial, hone your baking skills - everyone likes the juror who brings homemade cookies. (except if that juror is the one who coughs up a lung every morning while drinking what looks like the same milk as yesterday) - shout out to you Mrs. Hacking Cough in the Front Row!)

Also, just accept the fact that Juror # 9 knows everything about anything and will tell you loudly about all of it. He was a cop, he knows a cop, he lives on the same street as a guy who cuts the hair of a cops step-aunts younger brother who died. He is slightly too large to sit in his chair, and likes to harrump at any opinion that is not exactly the same as his - he will like your cookies though, but will not say so.

In closing, pick a fun word as your 'memory jogger' for trials lasting more then a few days. We used 'Superman' once - as the coke packets in the trial had a superman logo, and 'Country Club' which gives you the wrong impression - country club is actually a ridiculously cheap beer (cheaper then Natty Light) that was a huge part of a trial involving a 'former' alcoholic, laundry, a knife, and 2 people who just couldn't get their stories straight.

All in all the Jury Duty experience can be a pleasant one - i actually signed up to be called again in 2, rather then 8 years - hopefully i will get on a the case when Elliot and Olivia are there, if not - Juror #9 - i'll be looking for you.

a bit about the title

A bit about our blog name...

as referenced in our first post, we spent this past Saturday on Roosevelt Island - Sil and I play on two touch football teams for a fabulous organization called Zogsports - it is a charity social league that combines playing sports, happy hours and raising money for charities you believe in.

The best part of playing on Roosevelt Island is the tram - but little did we know, the second best part is the cherry blossoms. The island was alive! with them - and we had an impromptu photo shoot with them

so we decided to start a blog, saw some cherry blossoms, and here we are. Perhaps Sil will write something more eloquent but for now, thats it.

A bit about our blog

Welcome to our blog - the idea came to us this past Saturday morning as we sat in Grand Central station eating watermelon from the market, after getting free facials at Origins upstairs. Our good friend was embarking on a year long round the world trip - South America, Greece, India and beyond, and we were just excited about our trip across the river (by tram!) to Roosevelt Island for our touch football game that afternoon.

We realized adventures can be around the world in 80 days, or up to Harlem on the subway to see the Little Red Lighthouse under the Great Gray Bridge.

We don't have to leave this island to find fun, but we will sometimes - we might spend $2 we might spend $200 (Lilly Pulitzer dresses are Suze's weakness, fabulous bags are Sil's).

We are two lucky girls with a penchant for adventure and a knack for finding ourselves in curious situations - we figured we may as well start writing them down so when we are old and gray sitting on the porch of Suze's lighthouse we can remember all our fabulous times.