Wouldn't It Be Lovely?

Today I had a lovely day. 

I suppose lovely is in the eye of the beholder, though.  Because to some (or even to most), my day today might seem odd...lonely...boring.  But for me, right now, this very day, it was charming, delightful, splendid and lovely.

I woke up early, stopped by Starbucks, and went to Bliss for a massage that I received for Christmas.  Bliss is, well, quite blissful...big comfy robes, little trays of cheese and crackers, and of course the fabulous, relaxing 75 minute massage.  It was heaven.  After my morning at the spa, I ventured out to the streets of Soho.  I bought a masquerade mask for my New Year's Eve party tonight (a theme, not a frivolous accessory).  I went to Sephora.

As I walked around downtown, snow flurries were falling all around me.  Lovely little flurries.  I put sunglasses on to keep them out of my eyes, but otherwise, the snow was just light enough to be enjoyable, but just heavy enough to look magical.  I wandered down Prince Street and stumbled into a little independent bookstore, McNally Jackson.  McNally Jackson is how I envision heaven.  Actually, a snowy morning with coffee and a massage and McNally Jackson is exactly how I envision heaven.  This is most likely not accurate, but it's the best my earthly mind can do.  Anyhow, I explored through the two stories of books, picked up Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers and the February issue of Vanity Fair, bought a chocolate croissant and a(nother) cup of coffee, and settled in on a wooden bench in the corner, right by the window.  I read.  I people watched.  I looked out the street at the snow.  

I continued my unplanned tour of Soho for most of the rest of the day, aided by my puffy coat and iPod.  (I made an On-The-Go playlist with what I consider to be snowy day in New York City songs...you know, songs by sad, mellow people like Mat Kearney, Damien Rice and Patty Griffin.)  I got my bangs cut.  I even went to see Doubt by myself at the Angelika, which is probably my favorite theater in the whole city.  And I wandered over to the Village, where I eventually decided I was cold enough to end my journey and get on the 1 train.

And now I'm back at my apartment, which I have just realized I will have all to myself for the next four days.  FOUR DAYS.  I do not think I have been in my apartment by myself more than four minutes since I moved in in June, so the thought of being here alone for four days (and four days that I do not have to work to boot!) is blowing. my. mind.

As I said already, today was a lovely day, and I think it was loveliest because it came at just the right time.  A time when I was tired from a month of travel and festivities and busyness.  A time when I needed to rest and recoup.  A time when I wanted to reflect on the previous year and look ahead to the new one.  And time when I'm flitting in and out of love with New York City and needed to be reminded of my love for her, the wonder of her, and the almost tangible companion that she has been, and continues to be, to me.

And with my lovely, quiet, snowy, solitary New York City day behind me, I am now ready to celebrate tonight with dear friends and ring the new year in.  I know 2009 will be full of fun memories, times with family and friends, laughter, sunshine, love and joy.  I am optimistic.  I have a good feeling.  

Because if the last day of '08 is any indication of the forecast for '09, I just know it will be 

lovely.  

Because We're Resilient

Reasons to Love New York, No. 59 -

Because We're Resilient

by Kurt Andersen

As the economic sky seems to be falling, and we each and all hunker down to survive as best we can, I think New Yorkers really do and will derive some consolation from our very physical togetherness.  The terror, I think, is mitigated by the fact that we live in crowds, packed into apartment buildings and shoulder to shoulder every day on the streets and in the subways...

Plus, we are by our nature armored to survive adversity.  We choose to live in this difficult place, subjecting ourselves to levels of inconvenience and harshness and expense that Americans elsewhere consider insane.  New Yorkers self-select for pluck and toughness, since life in the city in the best of times can amount to a kind of Outward Bound experience.  We've also chosen to live in a place that has serious seasons, weeks on end each year of cold and slush or hideous heat, rather than in some perpetually balmy Laguna Del This or Playa Del That; just as February makes us savor June all the more, imagine how much more you'll appreciate 2011 after you've survived 2009...

In other words, New Yorkers are preternaturally resilient.  And that's not just romantic, self-flattering I Y  NY bull****...New Yorkers!  Cue the Gloria Gaynor.

[NY Mag, discovered thanks to a very special NY Lady]

Emmanuel

"O come, O come, Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel."

Israel.  You.  Me.  Lonely.  Mourning.  Captive.  Imprisoned.  Hopeless.  Exiled.  Afraid.  Alone.  Desperate.  Weary.

Emmanuel.  God with us.  He is here!  The creator of the universe has been born as a baby.  The sovereign Lord has become man.  The Son of God has appeared.

Ransom.  Prisoners no more.  Released.  Free.  Our debt, He has come to pay.  Our freedom, He has come to secure.  Our pain, He has taken upon Himself.  The death we deserve, He will bear on the cross.

Rejoice.  Rejoice!  God was with us, in our darkest hour.  In our deepest time of need.  The Son of God became man to rescue all mankind.

Rejoice.  Rejoice!  God is with us, even now.  He is present at this very moment, and He is alive in the hearts of those who trust in Him.

Rejoice.  Rejoice!  God will be with us.  For he has ransomed us from sin and paid our debt, that we might live forever, rejoicing in Him.  In Christ, our Emmanuel.

It's Christmastime in the City (Part C)

Dear Jessica -

I had such a fun visit with you this week!  Now that your trip is complete, I think it best to do a quick review of our to-do list successes.

• Meet Jamie's roommates Check.
• See the tree at Rockefeller Check plus.  Perhaps you should have specified, though, that you wanted to GET ENGAGED at the tree at Rockefeller.



• Ice skate (at least observe...I'm not the most coordinated person without ice skates) Observation, check.



• See White Christmas on Broadway (Check! Thursday night, 8:00!) Check!

• See The Rockette's Christmas Spectacular (Uncheck...unless someone wants to donate a ticket to me...preferably Wednesday, Dec. 17 @ 2:00) Check, thanks to your sweet boyfriend fiance who made it happen.  



• Run into John Mayer walking down the street Uncheck. We did see Katie Holmes, though - that counts for something!



• Go back to JM's apartment and do some holiday baking Semi-check...we baked cookies and brownies at mine, but not John Mayer's!  
• Go to another taping of The View...I have no tickets, but there are standby the morning of...crossing my fingers! The only other uncheck.  But at least you decreased your degree of separation from Elisabeth Hasselbeck thanks to Emily's church nursery story!
• Window shop! And I mean strictly window...I'm attempting to travel without checking a bag again mainly because I want to be unable to buy anything! I could buy another suitcase for the way back...Better yet, maybe window shopping isn't the best idea. Check. Well, to be more specific, uncheck on the "strictly window shopping," but check on successful shopping and borrowing (rather than buying) another suitcase for the way back.
• Make another video with Jamie...her wheels are already turning. This one is gonna be good, y'all I know it's up for debate on whether my video or Cal's is better, but either way, I'd say we've got two great videos of MATT PROPOSING. (I can't stop with the CAPS!)
• Find a Harley-Davidson store to get my step-dad a location shirt to add to his collection (shhh...part of his Christmas present!) Check.
• Visit the Brooklyn Tabernacle and see a performance by their amazing choir (Check! Friday night!) Check.
• Eat at fabulous places for brunch and dinner Burger Joint, Carmine's, Lombardi's, Popover Cafe, Saigon Grill...checks galore on the food front.
• Bake in Jamie's super cute kitchen Check!
• Get ambushed by a makeover show that whisks me away for the afternoon, gives me a new look for winter, $5,000 shopping spree and unlimited flights to NYC for 2009 so I can visit Jamie anytime I want to!  While this Christmas miracle didn't come true, I'd say the one you got instead is a million, zillion times better!  :)

It was a perfect, snowy, romantic, fun, cold, joyful happy weekend!  Love to Jess and Matt!

Save me the middle of your Oreo

This past weekend, my dear friend Lindsey got married. Lindsey and I have been friends since we were in 2nd grade, when we bonded over a cartwheel-in-church incident. She is one of my best friends in the whole wide world, and I cannot imagine my life without her!

At the rehearsal dinner, I shared a song that Lindsey and I sang together in chapel when we were in 3rd grade -

"Why would you give your last cookie away?

Or help me clean my room all day?

Why would you let me use your stereo?

Or save me the middle of your Oreo?

Why do you always try to be

There when I really, really need you there, to care

You're always willing to share

Love makes a friend be a friend like you

Love takes a friendship and turns it into

Something to last your whole life through

Love makes a friend be a friend like you."

I love you Lins! And you too, Bradford!

It's Christmastime in the City (Part B)

Dear Jessica -

I got your list of Things You Hope to Do in NYC for Christmas, and I am equally as excited about doing all of them with you! Please see my comments below:

• Meet Jamie's roommates Easy peasy! They can't wait to meet you too!
• See the tree at Rockefeller A definite for a Christmas visit. We will have to go at night so you can take in the full glory!
• Ice skate (at least observe...I'm not the most coordinated person without ice skates) I am totally on board with the observation idea. Ice skating...well...I'm not a very good skater. And by not very good, I mean that I fall immediately upon letting go of the side railing. Immediately.
• See White Christmas on Broadway (Check! Thursday night, 8:00!) Can't wait!
• See The Rockette's Christmas Spectacular (Uncheck...unless someone wants to donate a ticket to me...preferably Wednesday, Dec. 17 @ 2:00) I hope it works out!
• Run into John Mayer walking down the street Maybe he'll be Christmas shopping with John Krasinski?!
• Go back to JM's apartment and do some holiday baking Does this mean my apartment or John Mayer's? Because it would be super fun to bake with John Mayer!
• Go to another taping of The View...I have no tickets, but there are standby the morning of...crossing my fingers! Crossing my fingers for you, too...Elisabeth Hasselbeck and you would be BFF!
• Window shop! And I mean strictly window...I'm attempting to travel without checking a bag again mainly because I want to be unable to buy anything! I could buy another suitcase for the way back...Better yet, maybe window shopping isn't the best idea. New York Christmas windows are the best! Macy's, Saks, Lord & Taylor, Barney's...fun for hours, and the best part is there is nothing for sale in the windows, so it's less tempting! Window shopping at its finest.
• Make another video with Jamie...her wheels are already turning. This one is gonna be good, y'all I've got my handheld video camera ready. Big check.
• Find a Harley-Davidson store to get my step-dad a location shirt to add to his collection (shhh...part of his Christmas present!) Long Island City, here we come!
• Visit the Brooklyn Tabernacle and see a performance by their amazing choir (Check! Friday night!) So excited!
• Eat at fabulous places for brunch and dinner I've started a list. I'm deciding between Burger Joint and Shake Shack for your NYC burger fix for dinner; Kitchenette Uptown for brunch; Edgar's Cafe for dessert!
• Bake in Jamie's super cute kitchen So either we're doing a lot of baking, or you did, indeed, mean that you want to bake in John Mayer's kitchen above. (Which is a-okay with me!)
• Get ambushed by a makeover show that whisks me away for the afternoon, gives me a new look for winter, $5,000 shopping spree and unlimited flights to NYC for 2009 so I can visit Jamie anytime I want to! Christmas is the season for miracles!

Jingle of the Day

I just saw a commercial for Manwich, The Original Sloppy Joe Sauce.  Jingle lyrics are as follows:

You don't have to be a man to love Manwich.

You don't have to be a witch either, it's true.

WHAT?!?!  Somebody got paid to write this????????  I can't decide whether a) to laugh at the ridiculousness of it, b) to be jealous that someone somewhere is probably filthy rich for writing the stupidest thing I've ever seen, or c) to praise Manwich's marketing genius because they made a commercial that made me pause the DVR, rewind, watch a second time and then blog.

I'm inspired by the potential for option b), so here's my first foray into jingle writing:

If you love bananas (bananas, bananas!)

And you want to live in a republic (instead of a monarchy, a monarchy!)

Shop at Banana Republic (yay sweaters! and khakis!)

I really hope this shows up in Banana Republic's VP, Consumer Marketing's Inbox when his daily Google Alert comes in.  Maybe I have a new career path ahead!

Say cheese!

On Friday, Bethany and I had a joint birthday party.  It was B's real 24th birthday, while it was my faux 3-weeks premature 26th.  (In my defense, as I had to explain to about 15 people, last weekend was the only one in December that I'm in New York.)

We had a lovely time at Lakeside Lounge, a funny little random, off-the-radar spot that was chosen primarily for its a) live music and b) photo booth.  

The photo booth was a smashing success...enjoy! 

Cal and me.  Please note that that we were caught totally off guard by how quickly the first photo took.

Birthday girls' turn!  Once again, we were caught slightly off guard by the first photo.  We made up for it with the awesomeness of the other three.

Now for Lauren and me!  See, we finally got the idea that the first photo snaps really fast.  

The one and only love of my life...

...John Krasinski, performing in LA with Aimee Mann.

Oh Christmas Tree!

For yesterday's Tuesdays with a Twist, my roommates and I decorated a Christmas tree! When we got home from work, Hannah, Lindsay Ann and I headed down to the little 'Christmas tree lot' outside our apartment on Broadway. And by 'lot,' I mean the quintessential New York Christmas tree experience - a large row of trees lining the sidewalk, from 8' tall Fraser firs to 1' tall Douglas firs (are you picturing Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally, struggling to carry the big tree all by herself because she and Harry aren't speaking?? So sad...).

At the lot, there is a man who lives in a shed. Well, hopefully he doesn't live there, because it's getting mighty cold here at night. But the man, a Russian-or-something-like-it guy with a crazy tattoo on his neck but a very kind smile, sets up shop day in, day out, to sell his trees, along with wreaths and tree stands. Just like at a normal lot in a normal town, there is a little home base - in this case, a blue tarp covered shed that's about 6'x 6' and holds a bench and, in our little Russian man's case, a bag of peanuts. He did have a little window cut out, though, and I let myself inside the shed to pretend like I was serving hot cocoa. I think it could be a lucrative side-business for our buddy.

After comparing a few different trees and using stellar negotiating skills, we settled on a 6' tall Fraser fir + tree stand combo. Our friend wrapped the tree up, and we carried it up to our apartment, where we donned it with lights and every size and color ball imaginable. Hannah even got a star that lights up!

Hooray for Christmas, and for Tuesdays with a Twist!

Thanksgiving Happenings in Atlanta

Scene: The Dollar Store in Kennesaw

While shopping for wrapping paper at the Dollar Store in Kennesaw, my mom picked up an X-acto knife. OK, not an ‘X-acto’ knife – it was probably a ‘X-actistic’ knife…especially since it did not remotely work and we pitched it almost immediately after trying to use it at home.

My mom was still hunting around the Dollar Store for wrapping paper, so I got in line to buy the $1 X-actisize knife. When I got to the front of the line, the cashier, a girl who looked to be around 19, scanned the knife and was stopped by a loud buzz. She looked confused for a moment until having the realization, “Ooohh. You have to be 18 to buy a knife.”

I just stood there with a glazed over look, totally unaware that the cashier’s statement required any action on my part.

And she stood there and stared back at me.

Finally, after about five seconds of silence, I laughed incredulously and said, “Do you need to see ID?!” to which she replied sassily, “Uh, yeah…I mean, how old are you?”

Still laughing, but now also scrunching up my face and rolling my inner eyeballs, I said, “I’m almost TWENTY-SIX.” For some reason, I was offended, even though I supposed I’m nearing the age where being carded is a compliment.

The cashier’s jaw dropped, and I said (trying my best to be polite, but still in total disbelief), “Um, how old do you think I am? Do you really (smile) think I look SEVENTEEN?”

Not surprisingly at this point, she did. She said she thought I looked younger than she is. I could not contain my laughter, and I also could not move. Seriously, I was physically incapable of getting out my ID, because my body refused to believe that a college freshman thought I looked too young to vote when, in reality, I could run for a seat in the House. I mean, really – I wasn’t even carded at R-rated movies when I was 17, let alone at the Dollar Store.

Fortunately, my mom had joined me in line at this point, and I said, “Well, she’s actually the one buying the X-actaroni knife…surely you don’t need to card her, do you?!” I think the cashier was still skeptical of my 53 year old mother’s age qualification, but she begrudgingly obliged without an ID.