SHE’S HERE!!!!!! February 27, 2009

julie k repass has arrived in nyc.
not just in nyc, but in my very
own apartment.

we’ve spent the last solid hour
laughing and talking and laughing
some more.

happy
happy
happy

i’ve missed her so.

her big blue eyes,
her hilarious vocabulary,
her interesting stories,
her sweet and contagious giggle.

she is fantastic and i am so excited
to introduce her to my nyc family.

confession:
we just might have matching
pj’s that are so embarrassing:
red bloomer type shorts with
white hearts.

i will dream happy dreams with
her next to me tonight.

let the countdown begin February 23, 2009

guess what happens in only two days

MY BELOVED JULIE COMES TO TOWN!

  

o, happy day!!!

do you know why she’s coming?

FOR MY BIRTHDAY

do you know which birthday i am celebrating?

MY 30TH BIRTHDAY!!

and how do you think i feel about this?

EVER SO EXCITED!!!

do you feel like we are on sesame street?
me too.

i can’t wait for her to arrive.
we are going to have the best
weekend.  and everything we
do will be fueled by one happy
underlying theme:
b
i
r
t
h
d
a
y
s

while we are counting things down
let’s not stop with julie.

*7 days until i am no longer in my 20’s
*two days until my interview at montefiore
children’s hospital
*5 days until i go to the ballet
*4 days until i say goodbye to my brilliant
and fun friends, sean and erica.
*8 days until i leave for my birthday ski
trip with meghan, brianne, and maren!
*12 hours until i use the pumpkin soap
julia gave me this morning for the start
of my birthday countdown.
(from lush…amazing!!!)
*36 days until my gotham fellowship
application is due. (i’ll tell you more about
this later)
*two days until lent begins

i could go on, but will stop here.
what are you looking forward to
this week?

 

 

this blog post is sponsored
by the letter B and the number 7.

did you know? February 23, 2009

…that i love grocery stores
and markets?

i enjoy them more than the average
shopper.  i don’t know why.
i can’t understand it fully myself.

many of you already know that my
favorite store in the city is

whole foods

today i was wondering around near
midtown and i came across a market.

it was clean and shiny and beautiful.
so i went in for a stroll.

there was a delicious-looking prepared
foods section, a colorful produce
section with bright fresh fruits
and vegetables perfectly stacked on
top of one another. the isles were
small and the shelves tall. 
on the refrigeration isle were rows of
meats and cheese on one side. the
other side held the chips and crackers,
but the shelves on that side cut inward
like a closet  every few feet.
(difficult to explain. like nothing i’d seen
before. very good use of space)

this store has all the products of a suburban
supermarket with the look and feel
of a small nyc market.  a lovely combo!

AND there were cash registers at both
sides of the store.  brilliant!

i purchased a few things and stuffed them
in my gym bag.  my fellowship group
will be thanking 57th street market
on wednesday when they devour the
ghirardelli caramel brownies i came home
with.

what is it about grocery stores/markets?
i just can’t put my finger on it, but they
tickle my senses in quite a delightful way.
my eyes grow wide and i walk around in a
happily dazed state, drinking in all the
variety…

…like the cates children in toys r us

…like my mom in lush

…like kari jo in paper presentation

…like brianne in barnes and noble

…like nancy in a great antique store

…like______ in _______
( fill in the blank for me)

thanks for following directions rebekah.
(see comments for some filled in blanks.)

classic February 23, 2009

i spent last night  feeling and thinking:

“i love new york!”

okay, okay, okay,
i often think and feel this,
so last night was just another
classic night in the city.

new york truly is a romantic
city.

my roommate, julia, and i walked
at sunset from our apt. through
central park.  the air was crisp
and c o l d. we bundled up in
our jackets, scarves, and gloves.

we met some friends at the ice skating
rink in the southeast end of the park.

we sat by the ice watching our friends
glide over the ice while being
serenaded by billie holiday, bing crosby,
ella fitzgerald, michael buble, harry
connick jr, and other classics.  the lights
of the new york sky scrapers glittered
against the darkening night sky.

it was dreamy…so dreamy.

this is my new friend, angela.
isnt’ she pretty!

then we walked back through the
park and met some friends for dinner
at a tiny tiny
unfortunately popular
italian restaurant in our neighborhood.

the kind of italian restaurant where
the owner comes to your table to
describe the specials (which make up
half the menu) and his accent is so
thick you catch only three of the
dishes…he calls you ‘bella’ four times,
you think he might kiss you, and you
are very possibly in love by the
end of the specials.

we were basically sitting on top of
people.  sardines. the waiters had to
suck in to get the wine and pasta to
their customers.

the pasta is made fresh daily.
the owner travels to italy two
to three times a month.
the dishes are perfectly priced and
portioned.
the fire in the brick oven glowed,
illuminating the exposed brick
walls and dish-line shelves against
the back wall.

it was charming!

friends, food, and a crisp winter
evening in new york city.

ice skating in central park,
dinner at an authentic and fabulous
italian restaurant…

i  l o v e   n e w   y o r k   c i t y

homework assignment: February 20, 2009

B L O G
B L O G
B L O G

i am so sorry for my absence. 
you see, i struggle with this
thing called perfectionism.

it sometimes gets the better of
me.  i will not desclose to you the
depth and detail of this particular
sin and it’s manifestations in my life
at this moment, but know that i am
dreadfully sorry for not writing for
such a lengthy amount of time.

there has been ever so much to talk
about and i have felt unable to do it
justice, so i do not write at all.

i will try to bring that to an end.
i will start with today and move
forward.  but i reserve the right
to throw in a few
‘reflection fridays’
(kj’s idea)
in attempts to share with you some
things that have happened over
the past few months. 

so speaking of today…

i got a haircut.
well, it’s actually  M U C H
more than that.

today it only took 5 hours,
but last time i was in the salon
it took 6.5 hours.  do you know
what i could do in that amount
of time?!!  let’s take a minute to
make a short list:

in 6.5 hours i could…
*travel to europe by submarine.
(okay, i may not get all the way there,
but i’d make a good start!)
*hike half of the na pali coast
along the mountains of kauai
*make 6 batches of granola
*take 6 one hour cello lessons
*perform an appendectomy
*attend two full length operas
at the met
*travel to okc (by plane, pending
no delays or unexpected layovers
…right, brianne?) and have dinner
with my parents at tedd’s escondido.
(i’d order the chicken fajtia enchiladas
and eat lots of cheese sauce…why did
i just make myself think of that?!)
…shall i go on?

…i shall.

in 6.5 hours i could…
*compete in two (maybe 1.5…
i will be careful not overestimate my
hypothetical feats of endurance)
mini triathlons with time to
pre-race carb load.
(i’ve never carb loaded, but i
anticipate loving it!!)
*watch nadal play one epic match
against a fellow spaniard.
(did anyone see the australian open?!)
*make one trip to the brooklyn
ikea. subway then boat and back
again with a carpet and lamps…it
takes a while.
*write and address all my thank you
cards from christmas AND all
my valentines.

okay i’m done now.
but do you get my point?

where was i?
oh, yes. 
hair cut.

so this time i felt blessed by
only a 5 hour appointment.

i had  not one, but
TWO people working on
my hair. 

this pic is from the last time
i got my hair done. today it
was luna on the left and
chris, who has some pretty
fancy sleeve tatoos.

TWO!! that’s four hands on
my head and it still took
ages.  this simply attests to the
unearthly amount of hair i have
on my head.  (right mom?)
(brianne and julia you know exactly
what i’m talkin’ about!)

however, it was all worth it
because now i have shorter,
knot free hair and i’m feelin’
good!!

i heard all about luna’s mess
of a roommate/ex-boyfriend
situation and marveled at how
cheap the cost of traveling in
asia is right now. (my hair guy
jeff is from malaysia.)  it was all
very fascinating. and i got to
read most of this month’s
espn the mag. 

so, in short, it was a very good
day on many levels.

that’s all fo now.
“good night dear void.”

[a shout-out goes to whomever
can tell me what movie that last
line is from.  is that too easy??]