Furniture Rehab

Unlike our move up to NYC when we moved our stuff ourselves (read: Brian moved our stuff), for our move back to Austin we hired an evil moving company that I wouldn't recommend to my arch nemesis or any of the girls who were mean to me in 6th grade.

As is usual with moving companies they charged by the pound so we got rid of every piece of furniture we didn't truly love. And then we got home to Austin and nowhere to sit, put books, or store clothes.

So...I've been on the hunt for Amy Winehouse furniture: pieces that have done some hard living so no one else wants them anymore. I'm thinking with some intense rehab their good qualities can really shine through and they might even go on to have a successful career.

Project 1: Faux Bamboo Etagere

After looking at photos like these, I'd been wanting this style book shelf for months. Online they were all $1500+ which is silly business. Then one day I was having a half-hearted romp through craigslist and found one in Tarrytown for $45!! I went to pick it up and felt kinda guilty taking it from the nice lady. But not guilty enough to say anything. You can see I tacked on the paint colors I was considering. Ultimately, I've decided on a shiny black lacquer. And I'm smart enough to not do this project myself. I found a guy who will do it for $350 which seems like some expensive lipstick for a $45 pig but I think I'll be happier if I let a pro do handle this one.

Project 2: Fancy Arm Chair

I found this chair at the Home Consignment Center. It was $100 which was the high end of the chairs I was looking at, but it's in great condition and will only take 3/4ths to 1 yard of fabric to recover. Of course my current fave fabric is the most expensive one I've looked at. Why does that always happen?

Project 3: Dresser for our bedroom

This fine specimen was actually given to us by Brian's mom from a friend of hers. (Ignore the tree shadows across it.) Unfortunately, the wood grain/stain didn't really "go" in our boudoir where we're doing kind of a shades of blue thing. Originally, I wanted to bluewash it but talked myself down from that kind of bold statement and instead we spent last weekend whitewashing it. It was my first time to undertake such a task but I think it went well.

Stay tuned for my follow up post where I unveil all of my "after" pictures. It might be awhile until they're all done but I've got a hard stop on March 27th (peanut's due date). There's nothing like a hurricane of life change to motivate you to get a few things done.

Big Mushy Post About Brian

Brian and I just returned from a 10 day trip to London. Our trip was a last hurrah of sorts. Both a farewell to life in the northeast and life without kiddos. The following are a few of my favorite pics that I snapped of Brian. I think they all encapsulate perfectly why I'm so lucky to have him. (Sorry if that last bit made you wanna barf.)

At the Tower of London....

I am the one who reads the trashy King Henry VIII novels.
I am the one who wanted to see all of the sparkly crown jewels.
Brian is the one who had already been to the Tower but went again so I could see where Ann Boleyn had her head chopped off.

Having lunch in St. James Park...

I am an incredibly indecisive orderer. Brian always offers to order my second choice and split it with me so I can try both. Then, when I like his better, he lets me have the rest.

At a pub in Covent Garden...

I had to work for an hour before we met my family for dinner. Brian sat patiently while I worked, offering helpful suggestions when I needed them, and letting me steal sips of his beer so I wouldn't feel guilty for having one of my own.

And my favorite of all, outside Buckingham Palace...

Brian will simply do anything in the world to make me laugh. Anything. We noticed that with his map, camera, and back pack (of which was full of my stuff) he looked like the quintessential American tourist. To my delight he did not argue when I asked him to pose as such.

Adios Park Slope

How do I say goodbye to what we had?
(I'll miss you, rooftop)
The good times that made us laugh
(Like when I woke Brian up at 3am, certain there was a rat in the living room. After a 10-minute face off we turned on the lights and it was Casey's ball.)
Outweigh the bad.
(Crazy landlord? What crazy landlord?)

I thought we'd get to see forever
(Not true, I always new Brian had me on a 2 year time limit.)
But forever's gone away
(Well, technically it's just moving back to Austin)
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

I don't know where this road is going to lead
(First to the Upper West Side for a few months, a long trip to London, and then home at last.)
All I know is where we've been
(A trip to Europe with me, my two best girlfriends and sweet, patient Brian all sharing the same room.)
And what we've been through.
(Nine and a half years of Team: Brian, Claire, and Casey.)

If we get to see tomorrow
(Well that's morbid.)
I hope it's worth all the wait
(I sure hope Brian thinks all this waiting on me to get NYC out of my system was worth it.)
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

And I'll take with me the memories
(My Dad showing Brian how to do a "real" push up in our tiny apartment during Brooklyn Thanksgiving 2009.)
To be my sunshine after the rain
(Sunshine after the snow is more like it. So. Much. Snow.)
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

Our NYC home as empty as it was when we found it.

Like anyone addicted to something, Brian is having me detox on the Upper West Side for 2 months so that I don't have NYC withdrawals when we move back to Austin.

We've begrudgingly traded Prospect Park for Central Park. There are an equal number of squirrels and tourists. Casey has her eye on the former.

Our sublet is literally a block from a famous Magnolia bakery. They don't have cupcakes in Austin so I better eat a lot while I'm here.

The view from Riverside Park where the boats dock on the Hudson River near 79th St. There's a great outdoor restaurant out on the water. I went, ate a hamburger, and felt like I was sitting beside Lake Travis.

Steve Keene Field Day

A few Sundays ago it was pouring rain as we made our way to the Steve Keene art gallery in Williamsburg. When we got there we found these amazing pieces of art painted on unique shapes of cut wood. The artist was there hosting a birthday party for his daughter in the back of the gallery. When we finished compiling our selections, we timidly asked him how much it would cost to take all of our babies home. His answer was...."Um, how about $10?"

It felt like highway robbery. We had heard his philosophy was "original art for the masses" but this was pretty ridiculous. Here are some close ups of my particular faves.

Niagra

Pony Express

Mozart

So the way Steve Keene operates is that he pins up all of the wood on a long easel. He then goes through and paints a dozen of the same painting. On the first pass, he'll do the sky on all of them. Then he'll go back and paint another element all the way down the assembly line. He's got the process down and while each painting isn't the ONLY one in existence, it's one of about a dozen or so which is still pretty awesome if you ask me. Brian and I love his folk art style and already have our eye on a set of four Johnny Cash paintings that's listed on ebay for $40 (for the set!).

See for yourself at his website.

From there you can access the ebay store.

The Great Gatsby Boat Tour

I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything…Sophisticated - God, I'm sophisticated. -- Daisy Buchanan

Yesterday, my ladies and I traveled out to Long Island's Manhasset Bay for the Great Gatsby Boat Tour. Our tour guide, Eleanor, was dressed in 1920's garb and struggled to stay in character as she read from her print out of the Fitzgerald wikipedia page.

She pointed out West Egg ("the new money") and East Egg ("the old money") and the various yacht clubs and mansions that had been there since the 20s. We had fun speculating which may have been the Gatsby house and which may have been the Buchanan house. Sadly, it was the middle of the day so there was no blinking green light for us to pine after.

We saw an enormous historic home under construction and according to Eleanor, the workers recently uncovered a speak easy in the basement. Do I have to wait until booze is illegal again to build a bar in basement? I sure hope not.

It was a beautiful day and I think I accidentally learned a few things!

Punch me if I ever call it "the Vineyard"

Last year for Brian's birthday we went to Shelter Island, the laid back alternative to the Hamptons. It was as lovely and unpretentious as promised. So this year, when I got a tip from a co-worker that Martha's Vineyard was a prime location for fly fishing I was torn. Brian likes fly fishing a lot. But fanciness, not so much. Would Martha and her vineyard be too snooty for the likes of us?

The answer was no. I mean, there was some showiness afoot, but nothing overt or bothersome. Mostly we found cute little seaside towns with great food, shopping, and lots of beaches.

This was the ferry ride over when we were still a little suspect.

We stayed at a wonderful B&B in the town of Oak Bluffs. They were very nice to Casey so she asked me to take this picture.

Casey loves swimming at the beach. Actually, she loves standing in the water and staring at you until you throw a stick that she can swim after and decide at the last minute not to retrieve.

A boy and his dog.

We miss having a porch.

On Saturday night we had a grocery store picnic in the tradition of the Watkins family.

Sunday we took a bus to nearby Edgartown, passing over the bridge that was in the movie "Jaws." And then we got in the water. Eeek.

I will let you all guess whether or not Brian said "Ahoy matey" while posing for this picture.

All of the houses on Martha's Vineyard are beautiful

and so many of them are lined with overgrowing hydrangeas.

One of the most popular attractions in Oak Bluffs is the colony of "gingerbread houses" built after the civil war by Methodists who would come here for annual tent revivals. Apparently, they got tired of setting up their tents and taking them down each time. I bet the wives just threatened to check into a pricey hotel and so the husbands started building.

The funny thing was, the houses were about 85% the size of a normal house. At first glance you were like, "okay, this is just a bunch of houses." And then you get closer and you're like, "wait a tick, did I just grow a foot?"

Other notable highlights were:

• the arcade where we spent an hour bringing the median age up to 13. Brian is really good at the punching bag and I am amazing at the dancing game.
• an old movie theater where we saw Inception after a few drinks. Bad idea. I had no idea there was any sort of cliffhanger ending until we got home.
• an amazing fight we saw between a young Russian couple on the beach that involved the girl taking off her flip flops to hit her boyfriend with them, grabbing his sunglasses off his head and breaking them apart, and tearing his shirt in half as he tried to walk away. But the most impressive part was when he came back and started apologizing to her. Then they started making out. It was delightful beach theater.

MTV (Minstrel TV)

Here are a few of my latest subway music videos...

I'm not sure which I admire most- his violin playing, dance moves, or luxurious hair. Keep watching until he does the fencing moves.

Subway Opera: subterranean refinery.

Subway jam band featuring the often underused pan flute.

This wasn't shot in the subway but I had to include it. There was a piano from the piano project in McCarren Park and I shot this video on the way to one of the 4 soccer games that we've lost this season. It's funny when the guy behind him sniffs his plastic bag.

Fancy Pants Polo Match

What: Veuve Clicquot Polo Match (my very first one!)

Where: Governors Island (a tiny island half a mile from the tip of Manhattan)

Who: Me, Brian, and Prince Harry (although after seeing that red hair in person I am seriously questioning his royal paternity)

Why: I'm not sure because it was painfully hot outside

We took a ferry to Governors Island to discover grassy lawns and beautiful old military barracks from nearly 200 years as an army outpost.

There are no cars so it's the perfect place for bicycles.

Why do all horse sports require ladies to wear hats?

We sat in the free section with the rest of the peasantry. Across the field general admission was $250 and tables were as much as $50,000.

I swear that is my face lurking in the shadows. And I apologize if you are experiencing fashion deja vu. This is my only "uppity sporting event" outfit.

When you're on Governors Island with lots of green grass and wide open space it's hard to believe you're still in NYC. Until you see the view.

Walking Behind Models

A few weeks after I started working on Park Ave I noticed an oddly high number of gazelle women strolling around carrying the same black portfolios to and fro. I did some googling and it turns out my office is located precisely 325 ft from the Elite Modeling Offices.

So at least once a day I find myself walking behind a model. It's fascinating. And because they're models, and not real people, I have started doing inappropriate things like running up behind them and taking their picture without permission.

This was my first picture before I gained the confidence to get up close. Luckily, the vast amount of space between her thighs is visible from a mile away.

This one is deceptive because she looks slightly regular in the photo. I think her shoulder-to-waist ratio could be used to shush up all of those feminists who claim Barbie's measurements are unrealistic.

This is outside the Starbucks between my office and the Elite office. It is a good place to spot models ordering non-fat items in eastern european accents. This one must have just received some bad news because she was crying and studying her reflection.

This was a midwestern girl and her mother. They were smiling as they walked out so I assume her meeting went well. Maybe a 37-inch inseam would make my meetings go more smoothly.

This photo hardly relays how super tall this girl was. Her shoulder blades make me nervous. They look sharper than scissors. She shouldn't run, ever.

Most of the models I see are dressed very casually. This girl must have had an important meeting with the other 7 women who look good in white skinny jeans.

Songwriting Formula = Guitars + Park + Dog

Working on a new song in the park.

Casey thinks the second verse could use a little work.

Saturday at the Beach

I love the fact that we live merely an hour-long train ride away from the beach. This past Saturday we packed a picnic lunch, a soccer ball and a few friends and surrendered to the gravitational pull of Long Island's lovely beaches. Funny thing was, about 5,000 other New Yorker's had the exact same idea.

Looking for muscle beach? Take a left and go 2,809 miles.

You can't miss it.

Newly Developed Sandwich Addiction

I'm not really an avid sandwich lover but I recently had one that just might convert me. It was from No. 7 Subs, the new, sandwich-focused outpost of the Brooklyn restaurant, No. 7. The tiny sub shop is connected to the hip Ace Hotel at 29th St. and Broadway right near my office.

The sandwich was: roasted asparagus, goat cheese, pickled ramps, and home made bacon bits on a deliciously soft whole grain roll.

I liked it so much that I attempted to recreate it at home. It was pretty darn good, although paled in comparison to the original and quite a bit of work for a sandwich. I made chipotle mashed sweet potatoes to go with it which were delicious but too flippin' spicy. I would definitely make them again, but with just one pepper next time instead of, uh, four. I also added a little sour cream that wasn't in the recipe but made them a little creamier. (I've been trying to cook with more sweet potatoes but most of the recipes I find are sweet. This is a good savory way to cook them.)

Keeping with the sandwich trend, we had a Cuban-themed picnic in the park with our friends Joel, Kathryn and their son Jackson where we joyfully consumed Joel's amazing homemade Cuban sandwiches. Brian and I brought mojitos, plantain chips and guacamole, and the traditional Cuban dessert, sandwiches de ice cream.