A roaring good time

Last night we celebrated Kathy's birthday at B Bar and then headed over to the Midtown Pregnancy Support Center benefit where the theme was '20's and you had to dress like the fine flapper or dashing dapper that you are. What fun!

Randomosity

This morning I had to run out and get coffee for one of our guys here. Luckily there is a Starbucks on every corner in Midtown because the head honchos at Starbucks know that it is very wise to place as many as one can in Midtown to fuel up all those weary souls who are slaving away at their desks in chains.

I don't drink coffee. Or rather, I don't drink it on a regular basis. I cannot remember the last time I had coffee aside from the sip of a friend's this past weekend just to confirm that I'm still not a fan. For this very reason I don't usually set foot in Starbucks, so when I do it's all very confusing. People in a huge rush, in & out the door, the line is so long, yelling to the bar, handing over $4, yelling of the pick-up, gah! It's too much! I'm also a fan of small, medium and large measurements. For some reason I always forget the venti, tall, grande scale and that also adds to the confusion. And when I have two orders, forget it. I have to write them down.



What else is new... what else is new...



Oh, as previously blogged- I have since seen the same guy getting dressed on the street. If this continues, we'll have to come up with a name for him, blog world, and we can make up his life story and get to the bottom of why his Mother never taught him how to properly get dressed.

Today is my roommates birthday! Happy 26 years of life, Katharoo!! I asked Kathy what kind of birthday cake she wanted and she said a Texas Sheet Cake. The last time I made a TSC was for Al's bday a few years ago. It is a pretty easy cake... made from scratch with 3 sticks of butter. Yeah, real good for ya.

In other news, we're getting ready for trick-or-treating in our building. Hoorah! Yes, this is pure money for kids. They don't have to run from house to house but can easily go from apt to apt in 1/2 the time. Oh NYC little ones, you have it made. I used to love trick-or-treating growing up - it's so much fun for kids. I remember when N&A would look in amazement that they could dress up, knock on a door and someone would actually give them candy! I think one year we had Halloween candy in the house til February.

Ok, question of the day:
If you were (or are) in NYC and could get tickets to see a show, what show would it be?

Ode to Al

So, T-2 days til Allison comes to visit. Hooray!

We have high and lofty plans for this weekend. She will start it off by riding the good 'ol Chinatown bus- a quality 5.5 hours of togetherness with interesting people and the occasional expired tapioca pudding smell. We will then enjoy the festivities in the City... Halloween on a Friday night in New York City. Oh boy. Not sure if we'll make it down to the parade, but it's sure to be crazy.

Saturday we will be getting up super early. Like 5am, folks. Yes. The dream of SNL tickets always trumps sleep. We're hoping half the people who would be in line anyway are still hungover from the night before. But we'll be there bright & early to get the impossibly hard to come by tix to SNL. Ben Affleck is hosting. Enough said.

If we don't get them, we'll then head over to the Today show and wave to our parents on tv and anyone else who is up that early. Afterwards we'll try and get tickets for Letterman. If that fails, we'll try lottery for a Broadway show and if three strikes we're out happens... there's always TKTS.

I can't wait! What fun it is when your best friend (and Bride-to-be) comes to visit!



I'll leave you with a few of my favorite 'Carrie & Allison in NYC' pictures:

And I think this one pretty much sums it up.

Blogging is the new Facebook

Well hello everyone!

The title is true, at least for me. Ever since Facebook forced everyone to switch over to their "new and improved" layout, I've been on strike (sorta). It's taken me a long while to get used to it... wish I could have a little chat with Mark Zuckerberg. So until I can come to full grips with the new Fbook, I'll post all my pictures on this beautiful and fabulous blog. Lucky you.

The weekend was so much fun and very relaxing. On Saturday we went for a nature walk near Brendan's house and then threw the frisbee around. I can now catch a frisbee using alligator hands but I think it will be a while til I'm ready for Ultimate. Saturday night, we all piled in the car and headed to Boston! We walked down Mulberry Rd. and enjoyed a delicious Mexican dinner on a side street. Afterwards we headed to Mike's Pastries where we tasted some of Boston's finest cannoli's and other such treats. After seeing beautiful foliage, walking around in fresh air, getting lots of sleep, enjoying delicious meals made by Sully's Mom.... I think it's safe to say we returned happy & refreshed New Yorkers.

Ready for the hike.

The leaves were beautiful!

Here we are in Boston for dinner! It was a windy night!

Here we go, here we go

I tend to travel all at once. And for some reason it usually happens three weekends in a row (last winter, this fall). I didn't take any actual vacations this summer... but these past few weekends have been fun to get out and away from NYC. This weekend I'm headed to NH w/ friends.

As I was packing my bags, yet again... I realized that after this weekend I'll be a homebody. The next time I'll leave is for Christmas, which will be here before we know it. But til then, I'm so looking forward to leisurely weekends watching movies, going to museums and hanging out w/ friends.

Last night my roomie Katiebug and I went over to our old roomie, Mirabelle's apt (I clearly enjoy giving my closest friends nicknames) for tacos. Her boyfriend Chris wasn't home but we were greeted with the latest addition to their clan: a cute beagle puppy named Parker. Miriam & Chris are his current foster family as they went through an agency that picks up abandoned dogs in the City, gives them to foster families until they can find a permanent home for them.

Well Parker is the cutest thing ever. The poor thing is traumatized, though. On Sunday they found him tied up to a tree in Harlem and had been there for 24 hours. Aw Aw. Now Mirabelle & Chris have this adorable dog... but from what she tells me: he's a lot of work. They have to take the dog out every now and then to... you know. And then they have to pick it up. Ew. People say you get over that pretty quickly, but I think it would take me a while. Mir was so worried about him being home while she's at work, that she decided to put him into doggie day care. Yes, there is such a thing. So she called around and found a place but poor little Parker cannot be accepted until he is interviewed. Yes folks, an interview for a dog to go to doggie day care. What a yuppy UES puppy! (Mir also got him a dog tshirt that says: Bark for Barack... too cute).

I am so thankful it's the weekend. It's been the craziest week at work which is an entirely crazy & long story that I have no energy to tell. Blah. But Halloween is right around the corner as is the Election. My, my.

Well hope everyone out there has a wonderful weekend. See yall next week.

It's come down to this

Well, folks, as previously mentioned: I hate lotion. With a passion.

Today I noticed that my hands are lookin a little dry. I then looked over at that forgotten bottle of lotion sitting on my desk. Haven't had to use it since last winter. Hmm...

I now have a plan. Since I'm working at my desk all day I have decided to schedule my moisturizing sessions of the day. I will now schedule 'Apply lotion' to my Outlook calender. Once, maybe twice a day I will receive annoying reminders pop up reminding me to put on lotion. A preemptive move, if you will.

Call me crazy? I know! I am! Who schedules lotion applications?!

From the mouths of babes

I've never really liked that saying, but it just fits for what I'm about to tell you.

I was once a nanny, and I'll expound more upon that later... but these two stories came to mind and I just had to share. (Or for my sake, write them down before I forget).

Story 1:
Setting- Long Island, NY at home. Must have been Spring 2006. Nicholas was 2 and Alec was 11 months.

I was cleaning up the kitchen and probably an art project that covered the kitchen in paint and goo, while my little ones sat at their little child sized table in their child sized chairs eating a snack. They each had a small bowl: goldfish for Alec and pretzel fish for Nicholas. Well Nicholas being the older child, finishes his fish and then goes in for the catch: Alec's fish. Alec then screams for the 4329th time that day. I come over to investigate and this is what happens:

C: "Alec, babe, what's wrong?"

A: Still screaming and is now slamming his bowl on the table.

C: "Nicholas, did you take Alec's goldfish?"

N: "Yes! Yes I did. And I meant to. I did it on purpose."


(What shocking but refreshing honesty! Got a good laugh out of that.)


Story 2:
Setting- Long Island, NY at home. Fall 2006: Nicholas is 2, Alec is 15 months (give or take)

I'm making dinner, folding laundry and probably helping Alec color. I used to be a maniac at multi-tasking and could do a million more things in a day than I do now. So while I'm making probably grilled chicken, broccoli and couscous, the only things they would actually eat at the time, Nicholas runs to the front door because he saw the neighbors cat.

We often saw this little kitty roam around our yard and I'm actually so very sad to say that I can't remember his name. Nicholas was still at the sweet age when he was fascinated with animals as he stood there gazing at the really fat cat. I came over and hollered for Alec to join us. We all sat there looking at the cat and I then saw this as an opportunity to teach my little ones about animals, nature... nevermind the couscous that is probably drying out.

As I'm talking I then make mention that the sun has gone down and that it's now dusk outside. Nicholas asks what dusk is and I explain. Moment of silence after I do and then these poetic and profound words come out of Nicholas' mouth:

N: "Cat, you are in dusk."

Oh golly, if only I could now post a voice recording of how he actually said it. I swear it was the most meaningful and thought through declaration. He put two and two together. What a love! Oh how my heart melted. Nicholas was the most teachable child. "Cat, deep breath... you are IN dusk". Gah. So Shakespearean. So sweet.

And there you have it. As I remember such special moments I'll be sure to document them for you, blog world. I mean, who can resist such cuteness.

Oh, you know

It's been a bit chilly on my way to work. My roomie told me it's going to be a really cold winter and that we're supposed to have a ton of snow in December. I even heard that there were flurries yesterday in NYC. I'm ready. Bring it. I can handle the cold & snow in the next few months. But I'm sure once Jan & Feb roll around I'll be dreaming of Springtime lilies and daffodils. My sister Ginna hates the month of February. This is a true fact about her.

So back to my early morning walks, for the past two mornings I've noticed this one particular guy out on the street. He's dressed in a suit & dress shirt but every morning he's been putting on his tie right there on the street using a window as a mirror. It baffles me. Why does he do this? Does he have a problem with buttoning his top collar and wearing a tie so much that he has to do it right before work as to leave as little time w/ it on as possible? Does he not own a mirror? I don't know.

I walk past many well dressed men every day and I have come to the conclusion that a tie has to either be on and tied or not worn at all. None of this tie just hanging around your neck untied business. It made me laugh when I saw it at first. But then today I walked past the kid again and turned around just to be sure. Sure enough he was popping his collar and doing the loop da loop thing w/ his tie -getting dressed right there on the street. Never would I ever. The only getting dressed I've ever done is switch out my oh so comfortable shoes to work shoes. Ah, the things you see in New York.

So we have less than two weeks before the election. Wow. Wasn't it just yesterday I was anxiously awaiting the Iowa caucus?! I've watched a lot of media coverage this past year. Kinda crazy it's now coming down to the wire. I'm ready for a new President. I'm excited about what is to come.

In other news, I'm headed to NH this weekend with friends to hopefully view the majestic beauty that is Autumn foliage. We'll go on a hike, make lots of yummy food, go to Boston Saturday night and just spend time together. I'm looking forward to it.

Allison is coming next weekend and I can't wait (I'll miss you Ginna-win, but we'll have our weekend soon!). We're going to celebrate Halloween and then maybe go to a museum, eat a cupcake, perhaps see a show, get a good NYC brunch and then see one of my favorite spectator events: the NYC marathon. I seriously cry every time. It's amazing to watch thousands of people cheer on the tired and weary runners... people they don't even know. "Yeah, Bob! You can do it. Go Sue- run hard!" It's awesome. I usually watch in Central Park... where they're running the last few miles before the finish line. One guy, last year, ran right past me and a few others and w/ deep breaths said, "I hate this. This sucks so much." I'm sure it does, buddy. I'm sure it does. But you know that it was such an incredible feeling to cross that finish line and probably worth it. Maybe one day I'll try. But I don't think my 3 miles at the JKO reservoir a few times a week will be very good training for a 26.2 mile race. Hmm...

Ok, back to work. Have a great day :D

I've got nothin, so I'll leave you with this:

Refreshed

What a fun & relaxing weekend with my family!

Since I've been traveling ALL day, I'm going to leave you with these two cousin pics from the wedding (in our truest form, I must add) and I'll write more when I don't have 100 emails to catch up on, a thousand things to do, a 10pm bedtime (I'm trying!) and a long to-do list at work. Aahh, welcome back. But it is good to be back. NYC skyline at dusk is quite the greeting. Goodnight!

Heels, tea & AC

So this "warning/heads-up/just so you know", is more for my male readers and to narrow it down even more, the male guys in NYC. Everyone walks in NYC and most walk with ease and the only things they have to watch out for is doggie poo (ew), puddles and the sometimes ever-present cockroaches (double ew).

However, I now have one more thing to add to the mix: the little grates above the subway... you know what I'm talking about. If you ever watch the way people walk on the streets of NY (and yes I do spend hours studying foot traffic patterns), most try to walk around the grates onto the hard pavement. I do the same.

But now I have to say that it is crucial, especially during the workweek, to let all of those in HIGH HEELS have the better, flat pavement. It's ok. You can walk over the grate. You can do it! I know, I know, sometimes I, too, feel like it will "break" and I'll fall through or my dear & precious cell phone will slip from my hands to it's death. But really, it's quite painful and embarassing to walk along and have the: err heel is stuck, foot in pain, can I get it out/will my shoe be ruined situation. So yeah just one more thing to add to your list of things to be aware of while walking around NYC.


So... after getting to work this morning at 7am (I pulled a Pamela!), finishing a huge presentation, helping set up a mtng, confirming that a guest's tie does look good and reassuring him that it does in fact go with his "outfit", cleaning up the meeting and leaving at 7pm... I am officially now on vacation. Oh how I love thee, little 'Out of Office Assistant' on Outlook. Holler.

This all means that I get to sleep in in the morning, catch the Chinatown bus and head to DC... meet up with Allison to "visit" (Al we're turning into our Moms! :D) and then hop in the car w/ Gin and head to the great state of North Carolina all the while stopping along the way at Chick-fil-A for sweet tea. Oh yes indeed.

Happy Vacation to me!

Sidenote, I'm now watching post debate coverage and let's just make it known that I think Anderson Cooper is hott.

Classic

Towards the end of my phone conversation w/ Allison tonight:


C: "Yada Yada, long day at work, yada, absolutely love your china pattern, yada, yada, gotta start packing, yada."

Al: "Ok, have a good night!"

C: "And give that Ginna girl a big hug for me."

Al: "Alright."


Short pause


C: "Are you?"

Al: "Nope."



This will most likely be funny to no one else, but it was one of those things that got me so tickled tonight. We always say "give ___ a hug, tell ___ hello" but of course who really gives so and so a hug or hello? Not us.

Can't wait to see Gin & Al this Thursday. Let the countdown begin!

Family- both near & far

As I get ready for my trip & time home in North Carolina, all I can think about is my Mama!! We talk most every day and she is the most wonderful Mother anyone could have. I miss her so much and can't wait to give her a huge hug and sit and talk "on the porch". Can't wait.

But as I miss home/life in NC, I have been so blessed with a wonderful "family" here. What dear friends they are. Tonight we celebrated Matt's bday (hi MJ!). We surprised him and then had dinner & carved pumpkins. Such a fun & special night. I am so thankful for amazing friends and good times together. Here are a few pictures from our bday shindig:







Can you guess which one is mine? ;)






My sweet friends.

Cape Cod & MV Trip

My good friend Tammy & I headed to New England for a girls weekend/Columbus Day trip!

We stopped at an antique show.

We traveled to the tip of Cape Cod to Provincetown. This is me enjoying a lobster roll. Mmm.

Seriously thinking about living on this boat one day. How fun would it be to be a fisherwoman?! I could sail the seas and catch lobsters. Ok, well maybe just for a week or two.

Here we are in P-town.

Buoys.

Gah, I just love this picture. On the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. Forget catching fish, I'd be just fine on this sailboat!

Enjoying MV!

We rented bikes and biked 18 miles along the beach of the Eastern part of MV- it was beautiful!

What a fun trip!

Where the Party's At

Answers

1. I do have a broken finger. It's been broken ever since the 2nd grade when my Dr. thought it would be more trouble than it's worth to fix it. Something like that. Most of the time it never bothers me but I can't bend it or have people look at it or hold my hand because it's so sensitive. Oh and manicures are sometimes a problem, too.

2. No, no I have never spit my gum off of the Empire St. Building! Oye! I have this huge fear I'm going to be walking along and will get hit in the head by something, someone threw off a building.

3. Semantics. Oh Dad. Ok, so I didn't actually ride my bike from Murphy to Manteo (the farther most ends of North Carolina), but it was pretty close, I think. I biked back in HS from Gboro to the beach w/ a group of friends. 265 miles, 4 days, lots of pp&j. Good times.

And there you have it!

Two Truths and a Lie

1. I have a broken finger.
2. I accidentally spit my gum off the Empire State Building.
3. I biked across North Carolina.

In the Spirit of Fall

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Fall from two years ago when I was a nanny.

This is Nicholas with the pumpkins we colored. So sweet.

Me and Alec all dressed up at preschool.

One of my all time favorite pictures of me & Alec. Gosh I love them so much.

What not to do: giggle uncontrollably

So after work I got on my cell and called Al. We had a lengthy conversation about how we hate purple lighting for weddings, the types of boots we want, how Trader Joes is awesome in so many ways and other random but necessary topics of conversation.

I walked from Grand Central area to Times Square. I stood outside the subway for a while talking to Al and listening to this street guy making the most beautiful music/beat in the world on his collection of pots, pans, empty mail containers and other various & creative non-instruments. Seriously, it's like the greatest music I've ever heard. It makes me want to dance and cry all at the same time as I watch this dude who is so passionate and so creative about his music and yet has such little material wealth (that I can tell). Those things make me happy.

So when my bride-to-be best friend & I get off the phone, I head down to catch the train. And because I have (sadly) become this person who has to be doing/talking/listening to something or someone, I put my cell in my purse and go straight for my iPod.

Rushing through the TS subway station, I then wait patiently for the 1 train. I'm headed to the UWS for a meeting at Church and surprisingly, I'm not running late. Which reminds me of what one of my guy friends said this past weekend when he came 1.5 hours late to the park: that all New Yorkers are at least 15 minutes late anywhere they go. It's true. So true. (And in his defense, I should have known not to plan a day in the park on a Sunday afternoon that would interfere w/ NFL games. Silly me.)

Ok, I'm getting off track here. (Pun intended).

So I'm waiting for the train and this is all second nature to me. Wait for the train. Get in. Hold on tight. Hold your purse even tighter. Get off. Go on your way. Done.

Well, the 1 train comes and I walk in and thankfully the subway isn't that crowded. (That's the great thing about getting on at TS- most people leave). So I find a little spot and the doors shut. I'm in my own world listening to the Goo Goo Dolls (I love them. They are probably my favorite band of all time. Holler if you want to go to a concert next summer). So I'm listening and then I happen to look up at this person who is literally right in front of me; facing me.

My mouth drops.

It's Clinton Kelly from What Not to Wear. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh I'm so close I could reach out my hand and touch him. He is standing right there. I stare at him for a while, longer than the normal amount of time you should stare at anyone in the subway. I think he sees me because I look away and yall, I couldn't stop laughing. I was like a little girl w/ my giggles. I then look right back at him and he can clearly see that I am in shock. He starts to smile and I then look away and continue on in my giggling. I did contemplate asking him if he liked my outfit... and I would have except that I had my iPod in and I'm also of the firm persuasion to let celebrities live as normal of a life as possible. I know Clint saw that I was star-struck but I didn't quite know what to do.

It totally threw me off! I mean he's in the subway. Very few famous people ride the subway (except Bloomberg, holla). I kept looking around and NO ONE noticed him, until he got off at 50th and passed right by me and this girl coming in saw him and had the same star-struckness and we then had a moment as we were excited together because no one else noticed (or cared about) Clinton Kelly. So that was definitely the most random celebrity sighting I've ever had. And yes, he was dressed quite nicely.

So tonight was really an awesome time because it was a Redeemer leaders meeting and we had a stellar talk by Dr. Tim Keller. He was talking about community and the Gospel and how our view of community is often tainted with a Western theme of individualness. He then expounded upon the true Biblical vision for community and encouraged us in many ways. I have yet to meet him. Sounds crazy, right?! I've been going to Redeemer for 3 years and have yet to meet my Pastor! Well that's what I get when I'm vying for his attention along w/ 4000 other people. But one day, one day. :D

And let me just give a shout out to my dear friend Pamela. What a great friend she is! After the meeting we got to catch up over dinner. It was one of those times when you talk like no one else is around. Like the times you look into a restaurant and see two people totally engrossed in a conversation that they don't look away or notice much else and you just know they're talking about the best things in life.

Afterwards as I was walking home, I realized it's really cold. Cold like puffy coat cold. Cold like close your windows cold. Cold like I want to snuggle wuggle with Ginna cold. Cold like I want to be in front of a fire cold.

In the end, it was a great day. Hooray for Monday. I do love Monday's.

Fun weekend

Central Park with the girls!

Happy Birthday Lara!

How to be a Hipster

Well, it's the weekend, thank goodness!!

I'm looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend spent cleaning my dirty, dirty apartment (one of our kitchen sink pipes busted... busted in terms of the pipe had a hole and leaked a ton of water on the floor and it was kinda a mess, not busted bam! water flooding my mini Williams-Sonoma kitchen, thankfully!!), so I'll be doing that and then hanging out with friends in Central Park. Aahh... it's time to cozy up on a blanket, with a book in hand, good cheese & crackers and of course: a sweater. Gone are the hot days of summer.

Sidenote: when I first moved into the City, I went to the park with my dear friends Erin & Dave (hi E!)... we met up with a few of their friends and a couple who have two children. The little 2 year old boy was taking a nap while we chit chatted and when he woke up they offered him a snack of cheese & crackers. He looked at them and then inquisitively asked, "guryere or brie?" So cute. True NYC child.

Aside from being on my hands and knees scrubbing our kitchen floor and also (still) learning how to throw a frisbee in CP... another weekend activity includes one of my friends having her birthday party at a bar on the LES (Lower East Side). The theme of the party is: dress like a hipster. How awesome is that?!?!

In our broader group of friends and over the last year we've thrown some pretty amazing parties: we had the Derby bash where we dressed in our Sunday best and sipped on Mint Juleps, had a Duke v. UNC party (I hosted that one, surprise surprise) but only those who went to either UNC or Duke or have a particular affiliation to either school wore the deemed apparel, we've had a black & white with a splash of red party for my dear friend Lizziepie... oh and there was that middle school party I didn't go to but to see Fbook pics of my friends in their orthodontic headset is classic. Needless to say, we've thrown some pretty sweet bashes.

But my friend Lara takes the cake w/ this one. What creativity! What fun!



And thanks to Wiki, we can all learn how to be a true hipster:

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Hipster


Holla, HIP-STER!

Check it out

Don't forget to watch the VP debate tonight. 9pm. Showtime. Get informed.

Chivalry is alive & well

(Or at least it was last night)



So last night I was on the subway coming home from visiting w/ friends. It was super late and I was really tired. The train finally came and I got on and found an empty spot to stand as all the seats were taken. That's cool. I can stand, I didn't have too far to go. Well, before I know it this nice man comes over to me and ushers me to where he was seated.



He gave me his seat.



It meant the world to me. A subway seat is a rarity (most times) and to give it up is a small sacrificial gift. When it happens... and it doesn't happen that often, but when it does, I am flooded with thankfulness & sometimes emotion. Does he know how much that means to me? Probably not. It wasn't the seat he gave up it was him looking around at the needs of others and valuing a perfect strangers comfort above his own.

This speaks volumes to me.

Welcome, October

A Countdown:

1 sweet day until I no longer work at Williams Sonoma

8 days til trip to Cape Cod

16 days til Jackson's wedding in NC

29 days til Al & Gin come to visit/Halloween weekend

31 days til NYC Marathon

33 days til the Presidential Election

55 days til my family comes up NYC for Thanksgiving!

62 days til Rockefeller tree lighting

84 days til Christmas in North Carolina!!

132 days til Duke beats UNC in Durham

156 days til my quarter life crisis

157 days til Duke beats UNC AGAIN ... this time in Chapel Hill

272 days til our apartment lease is over and is maybe/maybe not renewed (oh the stress)

282 days til my best friend gets married :D

27550 days til I turn 100 years old!!