{ let the pirates go first }

I'm pretty sure I'm a real New Yorker now...

I was on my way to work this morning...the usual apartment to subway to work

and on my way out of the subway, there was a gaggle of pirates, yes

real pirates, blocking the stairs that I needed to walk up to get out.

I started to walk through them when some guy yelled at me and told me that

I needed to wait for the pirates.  What???  I was rushed as I usually am in the

mornings and just wanted to get to work.  20 hot pirates and all I could think

about was getting to work??? What's wrong with me?  Am I turning into the girl that doesn't

stop to smell the pirates??? I won't be doing that anytime soon, but next time, I'll let the pirates go first.

{ always... }

always a good idea...always.

{ perfectly still & calm }

I woke up this morning to the sun peering through the shades and 

only the sounds of a few cars on the road...ahh, life outside New York City. 

Sometimes I forget how still and calm the rest of the world is. 

I love mornings when you wake up and realize you don't have to get out of bed

because you took the day off.  

It felt somewhat like that the morning after Irene...

church was cancelled and the city was eerily quiet.

Too quiet for the city that never sleeps but sleep is a good thing

and I'm ready for a few days of new england gorgeousness.

I've got my camera & white jeans all packed and ready....

happy labor day weekend city lovers!

{ vegas on the rocks }

I never thought I'd say that I miss Vegas but I miss Vegas...

the last time I was there, I was moving from the west coast and didn't know when I'd be back

so almost six years later, I saw a whole new side of Vegas that I'd never seen before...
there's something magical and normal (not my normal) about the suburbs

like anywhere, it's really about the people you're with and my people are the best

but in Vegas there are cute neighborhoods and great local restaurants

and you can have turtles named beastie in your backyard

and there is lots of space and if you feel like putting on your heels you can head down to the lights

it's like a little mini everything...more like a fabrication of everything

but there are still shows { Celine! } and restaurants and all of that stuff...

and when you really need to get away from the city lights you can take a little drive...

red rock canyon is GORGEOUS...I'm definitely not going to let another six years go by.

{ snowballs for dinner }

temp and I met for a walk after work for some storytelling & exploring...

one of my favorite things to do in the city.

Christopher was where we started because it's always a good place to begin

we sat in a little park with a fountain and then made our way to a much bigger fountain

and maybe temp decided it was the night to dance in the fountain and then we walked some more

and came across this lovely little shop called Imperial Woodpecker Snowballs

and it was oh so perfect and oh so lovely and we sat and ate snowballs for dinner...so delicious!

The sky was getting dark so we decided to make our way home and outside the subway

it was downpouring and we forgot our umbrellas but sometimes it's fun to just go for it

so we ran as fast as we could...screaming through the rain and still got drenched but it was worth it.

{ so much love new york }

I love new york but sometimes I wonder why I live here....but just when I'm having one of those moments when I've had it with the crowds and the smells and the stairs and the cockroaches...new york reminds me how much I love it.  I get to watch movies with Marilyn Monroe in Bryant Park and take the ferry across to Staten Island to see Lady Liberty anytime I want and watch the sunset along the river, and eat the best tacos I've ever had and I get to explore new neighborhoods and go to the MOMA after work and then and go to a baseball game at a cool stadium with fireworks and shake shack and I get to be a New Yorker and go to brunch and governors island to ride bikes and relax and I get to hang out on the Brooklyn Bridge and then walk to Brooklyn and eat the most amazing ice cream sandwich ever and I get to look up and realize I'm at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, at a hip hop festival and then Busta Rhymes shows up unexpectedly and then Kanye...yes, THAT Kanye...and I sort of feel like I'm in a dream but it's too real and feels too good to be a dream and I realize that I LIVE here.  This is my LIFE and it feels oh so good.  So much love New York, so much LOVE. And the thing is, the story doesn't end here...there was Williamsburg and the perfect time of day and the best street music and dinner at an outdoor garden with my favorites and then ice cream and a birthday barbeque on my roof and whiffle ball along the river and then........................

my life is so good, and yes, I'm grateful, and yes I know how lucky I am.

{ coming to america }

I had everything I could have ever wished for this year on the Fourth of July...

well, except for fireworks but I don't think there's anything else that I missed.
country music and friends and the pool and fruit salad and whiffle ball and brunch and bikes and baseball and corn on the cob, a BBQ and a cute crab shack on the river and traffic and heat and flags and pancakes and ice cream and sparklers and the real deal washington DC monuments...it felt so good to be in America.

I was in Australia once for the Fourth and they had a Yankee Day celebration complete

with fried chicken, corn on the cob and apple pie...it was a lovely night but nothing feels better than
being home, seeing the stars & stripes that I love and listening to Lee Greenwood on the radio.