cultivating spontaenity

That may seem like an oxymoron, for the very word "cultivating" assumes a certain level of premeditation. However, I have always been a planner and that's the way things go with me. Still, I am trying to welcome spontaneity these days, because, as my sister Hannah and I were discussing on Friday: spontaneity is the essence of real living.

And so it went: on Friday evening after work, I was stealing a few quiet moments on the front porch reading my book, having a drink, trying to decompress before the start of the weekend. Colin was somewhere with friends. Hannah and Isaac stopped by on their way to other things. We were chatting and such. When all of a sudden a very shiny Mercedes pulled in rather abruptly into the driveway of the apartment building across the street.

"Ooh," I said, "he's going to scrape bottom." (Every car that pulls into that drive scrapes bottom, as I've discovered sitting on this porch.) And sure enough, his shiny new car scraped bottom quite nicely. "Oh no! We all moaned." Soon after that another very nice shiny car pulled up to the drive, only this one was a mint-condition convertible from the 50s with pristine white-walled tires. He was about to pull in just as abruptly when we moaned, "No! Don't do it!" loud enough for him to hear. He slammed on the breaks and inched his way past the potholes relatively unscathed.

When the two men got out of their cars, they were looking over at us kind of funny. Questioning all the ruckus I suppose. "We just didn't want you to scrape bottom with that nice car," we explained from our perch on the porch. Turns out they were friends and the one in the antique car owns the apartment building there. So they were using the lot as free parking for a night out on the town. The older Mercedes gentleman pulled something from his pocket and started waving it towards us.

"I have two extra tickets to the Arturo Sandoval concert tonight at the Flynn and I'll sell them to you dirt cheap." (It was the opening night of the jazz festival and in my new not-plan-anything mode, we hadn't gotten tickets to any of the sure-to-be-amazing shows in town.) Hannah and I looked at each other, said, "Sorry Isaac," and then, "We'll take them!" to our new best friends across the street.

We quickly made the transaction in the middle of the street. Then ditched Isaac to run inside and freshen up. The show started in less than 30 minutes, but we were ready in 15. Hannah and I walked down to the Flynn giddy at the thought of our good luck. But getting to go to that show, we realized, was more than a spontaneous piece of luck . It was providence.

Even though I didn't know his name or music, I quickly discovered that Arturo Sandoval is a jazz trumpet icon from Cuba; he was a protege of Dizzy Gillespie way back when. This was going to be good!

As I watched and listened with awe to the width and breadth of his talent (he's also a renowned classical pianist) and the talent of his band members, I was thinking to myself, I don't think I've ever been in the presence of such greatness and so much talent and awesome movement. I was moved.

Sitting there in the dim lighting of the concert hall, I had the same sort of surreal feeling you get when you get off the airplane in another country, another language, another timeline. When a few hours before you were at home, drinking coffee, watching T.V. or whatever. It's exhilarating and unbelievably freeing.

An hour before I was on my porch waiting for the possibilities of the night to unfold. And that is how they unfolded: spontaneously and spectacularly.

nyc yippeee

The last time I was in New York was over a year ago to celebrate Mark and Kathleen's engagement. Over a year! They're married now. Now we're married too. We went back down to New York last weekend for another engagement party—this time for Spencer and Courtney.

I love going down to New York to see Courtney & Spence. They always show us a good time and bring us to some tasty restaurants.

On Friday night, we got in to the city and went for a late dinner at The Redhead. It's this tiny little gastropub in the East Village specializing in southern comfort food. We got snacks at the bar while we waited for a table: bacon peanut brittle (yes, believe it!), house-made potato chips and french onion dip. For dinner, I got a green goddess salad with fresh spring asparagus and peas. Then the most amazing shrimp and grits I've ever had, albeit a tad salty (Oh well, a little swell in the feet won't hurt, I reckon.) Colin got fried chicken and cornbread. Spence and Court got burgers.

And we all shared a taste of the buffalo-style sweetbreads. Tasted just like chicken! Mmm. I actually liked it.

Saturday morning for brunch, we went to The Breslin at the Ace Hotel. Another gastropub kind of meal, but with more of a Brit style. It was super excellent. Get this: segmented grapefruit with ginger sugar and mint. Grilled 3-cheese sandwich with ham and toad-in-the-whole egg. (That's what Spencer & Colin got. Insane.) I got yummy poached egg atop curried lentils. Can't remember what Court got.

We shopped around for a bit to walk off brunch. Walked through a farmer's market. Courtney left us to get ready for the party. It was hot and sunny—even in mid-March. I had to strip down to a tank top.

Lots of walking. Visited the Burton store in SoHo so Col could flex his muscles. Grabbed some Cuban coffee on the way home—iced cafe con leche. Papa would've loved it.

Then it was time to get ready!

We dolled ourselves up and headed to Gemma at the Bowery Hotel for the engagement party dinner. The others were there when we arrived. Everybody looked so pretty and dapper and ready for a good time. Couples were seated opposite each other. Very proper. We decided to get tons of little plates and pass them around. Perhaps I was distracted by the company and conversation, but I can't really remember much of what I ate. The one thing I do remember was the chicken pate, which was very good. And the atmosphere was lovely.

After dinner, we went to the Bowery Electric for the party. When we arrived, there were buckets with champagne all set out in a private room. There were cute little napkins printed with Spencer and Courtney's names. There were other guests too. We danced and danced and danced. Spencer's sister earned the official title of Breeze, rightfully so. I couldn't live up to that performance. Everything else went off pretty much without a hitch with some excitement mixed in: the prom queen bachelorette entourage crashing our party, a late-night excursion up to the rooftop, some karate kicks, a few cuts and scratches, and a purse full of hot sauce:


(I can't believe that's the only photo that came out from the entire weekend.)

Woke up the next morning. Grabbed some bagels, some hot coffee. And it was time to go. Already. Boo! We'll have to go back again real soon. Love you guys.

date night tostones

Col and I went out on a limb last night for date night and, forgetting that it was St. Patrick's Day, decided to check out a new restaurant in town, Duino Duende. It's new small restaurant next door to the Radio Bean that serves street food from around the world. We didn't have a reservation, but come on, it was just a Wednesday night. Well, wouldn't you know, the wait for a table was 40 minutes. We decided to wait.

But it didn't feel like a wait at all. We went over to Radio Bean to hear some funky avant garde jazz music and have a drink. We were very relaxed; we chatted about the day. It was lovely.

Finally, we were seated at a window table (so the wait was worth it!) and guess what was on the menu? Tostones! Papa makes these for us—they're plaintains that are sliced into chips, fried, squished and fried again. Well, let me tell you, Papa, yours are great, but the ones at Duino Duende will give you a run for your money. We ordered some for an app and they came with a smoky aioli dipping sauce that was out of this world.

For dinner, Col got the ceviche, which he liked. I got the Korean noodle soup, which was so spicy that my nose started running and I started sweating. But I powered through and finished the whole thing. Dinner for two, plus beer, was just $32. Not bad!

Really, though, I would go back any night of the week just for the tostones.

my best girls

My friend Kim just sent me this picture from last night. My sisters threw me the most amazing bachelorette dinner party with all my Burlington girls. I was on a cloud the entire night.



We all dressed up to the nines. Emi brought out her fine china and crystal. Emi & Hannah prepared a 5-course gourmet meal and each course was paired with a wine from a different country/girlfriend. It was very, very special. I feel so lucky. Love to all my girls. xoxo

at the drive-in

I don't know how long Sunset Drive-in in Colchester, Vermont has been around, but I'm willing to guess that it looks a lot like it did back when it first opened—the only difference being the movies they play. Everything—from the man at the ticket booth bearing a strong resemblance to Richard Keil to the fake wood-paneling at the concession stand and 70s funk background music during intermission—seems to be stuck in a time warp. And who would want it to be any different? That's just part of the charm.

Colin and I went to the drive-in for our date night on Thursday. The place has four big screens and plays 2 different movies on each screen (for $8 a person, that's a steal!). So we had a lot of options, but in the end opted for Screen 1, which was playing Pixar's Up at dusk, followed by Star Trek late-nite. We got there a little early, so we hung out by the swings till sunset and then hit the concession stand before hopping back in the car and tuning in to 94.1 on the radio.

Up started around 9 p.m. I had no idea what to expect since I hadn't seen any trailers for it. 10 minutes into it, Colin and I were both crying, but then just a few minutes later we were laughing and then crying again. We both loved it. The illustrations were fabulous—the use of colors and scale were so inspiring.

After Up, I was a little nervous that our car battery was going to die, so we turned the car on for a minute to recharge.

All of a sudden a commercial for the concession stand came on. This is where that 70s funk music came from that I mentioned before. They wanted us to go buy hot dogs and popcorn and then in the next instance there were pictures of roses blooming and then candy and then shots of clouds in the sky moving very fast (the 70s funk music was playing the whole time in the background). At that point we both looked at each other and laughed out loud. What the heck? That was so weird.

Well, we did go back to the concession stand, so I guess it worked. And since it was such a nice night out, we decided to get Chesters ice cream cookie sandwiches. Mmmmm!

At this point, it was really late out and we both had to work in the morning, but Colin was determined to stay for Star Trek. I'm so glad we did, even though we didn't get home until 1:30 a.m. We both loved the movie. I forgot that I used to watch the old T.V. episodes on the Sci Fi network. I forgot how much I loved that old Sci Fi stuff. Before seeing the movie, I had this idea in my head that it was going to be some over-produced blockbuster garbage. And while it did border on that genre, there were a lot of nostalgic throw-backs and even some story-lines that made you have to think a little bit. I would highly recommend both of the movies!

And I would highly recommend the Sunset Drive-in. It's funny, that the next day on public radio, there was an opinion piece about drive-ins in Vermont. There used to be more than 20 in the state and now there are only 4. We're so lucky to have one in our backyard. So we have to support it! Bring your friends, bring your kids. Go to the drive-in this summer!

david byrne on the green

Last night, David Byrne performed live on the green at Shelburne Museum. A bunch of us went with our blankets and picnic dinner and hats and sweaters and umbrellas (though we didn't need them after all).

At dusk, David Bryne and his band and dancers came on stage and performed an amazing show. The first half was his new material—a collaboration with Brian Eno. The second half was all Talking Heads. It was Sapphire's first rock show and she loved every minute. When "Burning Down the House" came on she start laughing and chatting and pumping her legs. Everyone was going crazy, dancing and singing and clapping and shouting. By the time the show was over, the crowd was so riled up, we clapped and clapped and cheered. The band came back for 4 encores! And for one of them David Byrne and all of his back-up singers came out wearing white tutus on top of their suits.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the evening (and here are some more):

29

That is my number now. I'm totally cool with it. I like how it feels. Not so hyped up as birthdays past, but real and genuine and reliable. Maybe that's why yesterday was so great. I didn't hype it up, I didn't have unruly expectations. But Colin and I both took the day off work and that in itself was amazing.

We slept in (till 10!)—that never ever happens. We drank coffee in bed. We got up slowly and got ready to go into town. It was sunny and in the 60s—that also never happens on my birthday. My parents had arrived in town and we met for lunch at Magnolia, our new favorite brunch/lunch spot. Kevin and Sapphire joined us too (Emi was working).

My birthday lunch: coconut oatmeal pancakes with maple syrup and homemade strawberry jam and my first iced coffee of the season. Oh boy, it was good! I can't remember what everybody else got but they all enjoyed it. Sapphie was very well behaved and in very good spirits. She let us all hold her and pass her around and just kept giggling and cooing like a good little girl! Mummy and Colin were trying to stick spoons on their noses. Mummy finally got it. Then I said, "Mummy, What would Granny say to this behavior?" And she put her spoon down.




After lunch, we walked around a bit and did some shopping. Then we went home to rest up for dinner at our favorite Trattoria Delia. Mummy and Papa treated us all to a lovely birthday dinner there. I got what I always get: wood-grilled smoked mozzarella on a bed of arugula, grilled tomatoes, eggplant and zucchini. Then for dinner the orecchiette with fried tomato sauce. Nobody got dessert—we were all so full! But we did finish off with some espressos and cappuccinos. Em and Kev gave me a birthday present: an adorable little jersey dress with bell sleeves and a funky peacock print on the front. I think I might wear it tonight! More on that later... Here are some pictures from dinner. You wouldn't know it from the pics, but Colin and Sapphire were there too. Col was behind the camera and Sapphie was sleeping like the little angel she is in her carrier.






Now it's Saturday (love long weekends!) and we're getting ready to go to the farmers' market. Then Col and I are heading out of town for a romantic getaway—first to dinner at the Simon Pearce restaurant in Queechee, then for an overnight stay at the Woodstock Inn. What a lucky girl I am!

a weekend with the boy

Col's leaving for a big trip to Canada & Asia tomorrow. So we stockpiled this past weekend with quality moments together—enough to keep us going for the next three weeks when two oceans and a gazillion time zones separate our physical selves.

Friday night we finished up season one of Mad Men (holy cow!) but Colin in true form, fell asleep and missed the last (and most crucial) episode. So I gave him a recap on the way to the Stowe the next day. Saturday was my best snowboarding day this winter so far. We spent the entire day at the mountain. The conditions were wonderful—I made it my mission to find secret pockets of powder and we scored a few hidden runs that no one else had found. Col said he likes that I go fast when there's powder. I just can't help myself!

When we got back to town we picked up a gazillion flatbreads and salads from American Flatbread and brought them over to Em & Kev's for dinner. Their friends Christina and Brian were up visiting for the weekend with their kids. Sapphie was sleeping pretty much the whole time. I practically fell asleep at the dinner table. I was so tired from all that riding!

Yesterday was just the best. We were anticipating a huge storm all day. But it just never really happened in Burlington. (Meanwhile, my parents up in Newport reported well over a foot!) We cleaned our place, Colin packed and I crossed some things off my ever-growing list.

Finally, it was dinner time and we had reservations at the Bearded Frog in Shelburne. Yay! Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the Oscars, but we had the restaurant to ourselves. So we sidled up to the bar and had a lovely dinner right there: venison cigars with yummy dipping sauces; the best Waldorf salad ever with apples, bacon, cranberries and candied nuts. I had a delicious corn timbale for dinner; Col had the meatloaf with chorizo (yowza!). We finished it off with Tahitian vanilla bean creme brule. I love that place!

So what'll I do while the boy's away? Well, for one, I'm going up to my parents' house for some fun in the snow. I'm thinking I might paint another room. The hallway maybe? I'll probably read a book or two. Finish my friend's website. Hang out with some girlfriends. Go to my friend's wedding. Maybe fit some wedding planning of my own. Yup, I'll have no problem filling my days. I'll be okay!

a chili day, not chilly

Poopy left today. I was sad to see her go. What a ray of sunshine that gal is. Don't ask me where I've been for the last week and a half. I've been with HER! And the whole fam. It's been really, really nice.

So I was already kind of bummed about her leaving.

And then, luck of the draw, it was raining on the way home from work. Raining! Couple days ago, it was 15 degrees. The rain was hitting the cold snow, which caused thick snakes of fog to envelope the road, making it impossible to see. I felt like I was in one of those movies from 60s, manically driving a big heavy car, clutching the steering wheel with white knuckles, windshield wipers flinging from side to side, flinging water into the darkness. I was tense, couldn't see a thing, and the headlights from the oncoming traffic almost threw me off the road.

Well, I finally made it home alright. It was the first night in a while that it was just me and Col. Do you know what that little bugger did? He cooked me chili. An EatingWell chili with three kinds of beans! God knows how much that boy likes his meat, but he made me a vegetarian chili from scratch and even put tomatoes in it—just for me, because he knows I love them. Col hates tomatoes. The chili turned out so well. So delicious! I whipped up a quick cornbread. And we ate the fine meal in front of the T.V. watching Mad Men on DVD.

What a guy. What a night. Miss you already, Sisthowr.

street boarding

A snowy night in Burlington sure makes for great sport. As dinner time rolls around and people hunker down at home, the abandoned streets become perfectly groomed trails for skis, sleds, snowshoes and snowboards. Yes, snowboards. We tried it out last night during the snowstorm. It was so much fun!

Well, first Col, Isaac and I went up to the country club. There's a great sledding hill there and someone had built an awesome kicker. So we took turns going off the jump. I got some good air off a couple of them and even finished one landing with a sweet butter—my first one! And then I let myself fall backward into the deep dark snow.

I love lying in deep snow at night, peering up at the pink-orange sky, and letting the icy flakes pelt my skin softy.

This powder is so good for the soul.

We finally got tired climbing up the hill, so we headed home. Not before Isaac & Col decided to do donuts in the parking lot—with the windows open. When they were done and I got in the car (my stomach can't handle those jerky movements) the entire interior was covered in a layer of fresh snow. Silly boys.

Isaac and I got out at the top of Maple Street and decided to snowboard the rest of the way home. (We live about half-way down the hill.) This street boarding is a blast—the trick is to get there before the plows come through so you have plenty of base to surf on. Maple Street is probably one of the better streets to try. It's a straight shot from top to bottom and there's not so much traffic as on College and Main. Just gotta watch out for those stop signs—but don't stop or you'll be stuck! (Next time, we wanna try Cliff Street.)

We weren't the only ones with this bright idea of riding down the street. One guy was trying to snowboard down the sidewalk (too tight!). And we saw a group of about 7 skiiers and riders getting towed around on the back of a jeep. They had rigged up this system where each person had their own rope and handle attached to the car. It kind of looked like a backwards dog sled. Those kids were crazy though and I'm surprised they didn't get hit by a car or get their skis run over by one of the wheels.

Isaac tried to copy them and hold on to the back of Col's car for some speed, but he ended up getting stuck and blocking my path. I fell in the street.

All in all, it was super fun. I can't believe we haven't done this before! And the sledding hill is definitely the place to go in a pinch. Yay snow!

In the end, we met up with Kim and finished off the night with a late-night dinner at the Daily Planet. It seems to be our go-to spot on snowy nights.

Highly recommend the eve we just had. It was one to remember.
xoxo

noodle time

There's a new noodle shop on Church Street. Colin and I are going to try it out—tonight we're going to get take-out noodles for dinner. That's what we're doing for date night. Did I tell you Thursday is date night? Tonight it's noodles. And maybe some nice wine.

I'm just waiting for Col to get home from work so we can order the noodles. La ti da. Twiddling my thumbs. Waiting for noodles. La ti da.

december 31 and ready

Two years ago at this time, Colin and I were getting ready to storm the Champs Elysées in Paris for an all-out New Year's celebration in the city. It was exhilarating—and I don't normally enjoy New Year's Eve—with the thousands of people drinking Champagne in the street, toasting the Bonne Année, speaking different languages, falling into nearby cafés and restaurants for a late-night meal. I'll never forget that gigantic crème brûlée we had that burned for almost as long as Mummy's figgy pudding. We were determined to have a good time (and we did). The party wasn't so much a focus on our accomplishments of the past year, but an enjoyment of the thrilling moment and excitement of what was to come. Our relationship was on the cusp of a great thing...

Now, two years older—and a little wiser—I'm feeling much more determined to reflect on the milestones of the past year, for they are great indeed:

• Colin got a promotion and is working his dream job at Burton; I'm working my dream job at EatingWell
  
• I snowboarded off a jump in the mini-park at Stowe—and landed it perfectly
• We took a trip to England; Colin met the English cousins, aunties and uncles
• Colin's sister Jill got married
• Colin and I bought our first place together, a home we absolutely adore
• My sister Hannah moved to Portland
• Au Lait lost three pounds—that's a lot for a cat
  
• Mama Sonia—my last living grandparent—passed away. One of the last things she said to me was, "this is part of your education." Indeed is was.
  
• Our parents—the Walls and the Algers—met for the first time up in Vermont; we had dinner at Trattoria Delia
  
• Colin and I got engaged; he proposed under a tree at the Christmas tree farm
  
• My sister Emma gave birth to a beautiful baby girl; I became an auntie

This year, we're celebrating New Year's in our new home. And we are ready to celebrate with gratitude and anticipation for the year ahead.

nyc, home

Just got home from a weekend in New York. We went down for a send-off for Mark & Kathleen—a sort of bon voyage to new adventures in England and congrats on the engagement all wrapped up in one fun weekend blitz. Highlights: another fabulous Moroccan brunch with Courtney at cafe Mogador; NY Firefighters save the day (and the apartment next door); a lovely bottle of white wine from the little shop around the corner; an out-of-this world Italian dinner at Aurora in SoHo; late-night dancing at Lit (that place never lets us down); and of course a 3 a.m. slice of the best white pizza ever. I want to tell you all about it and post pictures, but I'm just so tired right now. Gotta go to bed. Loveyoubye

36 hours in Burlington, Vermont

The New York Times ran a travel story on Burlington, Vermont this weekend and the article was number 5 in the top ten most popular last time I checked. Read the story here.

I thought the writer did an okay job of hitting some cool sites. Lake Champlain Chocolates. Check. Radio Bean. Check. Flatbread. Check. Although I can't believe they went to L'Amante instead of Trattoria for good Italian. And, okay, I'm kind of sick of metropolitan journalists claiming that Burlington style is inspired by Birkenstocks. It's so cliché at this point, and frankly not true at all. Plus, do people really care that much about Nectar's—the birthplace of Phish?

I thought the Nylon Magazine review from last November did a better job of describing the city from the street rather than 1000 feet up, like this one does. (If you were a New Yorker visiting the city for the weekend, would you really want to spend your time at the Echo Aquarium? I think not.) Still, it's nice to know the city I love so much is getting some good attention.

my favorite fall weekend

When you spend weeks looking forward to something, when you put all of your extra energy in total anticipation of the thing—be it holiday, party, wedding or whatever—if you do it right, you can sometimes let the momentum of that much-anticipated event carry you through another few days, even after all the people are gone and the candles are out.

You can live on the leftovers of smoked salmon and capers; finish half-empty bottles of fine wine; nibble on sweets from the fridge. It's as though the party lives on in spirit, glowing with fresh memories, reluctant to burn out. It isn't until you pour that last glass of wine and the last sticky drop drips into your cup, when your kitchen returns to normalcy and the linens are all washed, that you realize the party really is over. It could be a very sad thing indeed if you let your guard down.

Without exaggeration I can say that this past weekend was one of those moments; it was one of the most-anticipated and most amazing weekends I've had in a long time. As I sip on the very last glass from the very last bottle of wine, I would like to spend the next few moments remembering and sharing, instead of feeling blue that it's all over.

As I mentioned before, my sister Hannah flew in on Thursday night last week. She got in pretty late, but we had some catching up to do and a party to plan—a baby shower for our sister Emma—so we didn't waste much time sleeping. Isaac came over to hang out and we made to-do lists.

Finally, we did sleep and when we woke up, we got right to work (I took the day off work). We had to get all our shopping in before we met my parents for lunch at Leunig's. Friday was a blur. We mixed, baked, cooked, ate... went to Emi & Kev's for dinner. Auntie Lucy and Uncle John were there. And then it was Saturday—the day of the party.

The shower really was a great success. My mom made some beautiful arrangements for the apartment. The weather was beautiful. The food was good. All the guests were in great spirits. There were 17 in all, I think. And the guest of honor—our sister Emma—was thoroughly spoiled with gifts and attention. Some people lingered late into the afternoon. Then they were gone and Hannah, Mummy and I had to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. I was especially proud of the carrot cake and the make-your-own tea station (that was the party favor). Emi got lots of nice prezzies. I gave her a set of Peter Rabbit books. My dad made a bookshelf to put them in. My mom made woolly socks, pants and sweater for the baby. Hannah made a stuffed dog out of one of Papa Roger's old shirts.






We practically fell into bed for a long nap.

Later in the evening, we had a family dinner at the Bearded Frog in Shelburne. The food was amazing. I think the highlight was when Kevin ordered the County Fair for dessert—caramel apples, fried dough and maple cotton candy all served up on a plate.


Hannah and I kept on going: we met up with some friends down at 1/2 bar. It was so fun! We danced a lot. Steve was there and he gave me a copy of his new album as a thank you for dealing with annoying Isaac for the cover shoot. It's really, really good.

Sunday was just as fabulous as the two prior days. Those of us ambitious folks got up very early and went to church. Not me or Hannah though—we needed sleep! Then we all met for brunch at Shelburne farms and then apple picking at Shelburne orchards. The weekend came to a close with a lovely dinner with family and a few friends at our place once again. (This time Hannah cooked—she made yummy pizzas out of all the leftover food! Mummy made an apple crumble.)


I think it's unusual for so many great people to be all in the same place at once, all in the same frame of mind, all wanting to love and be loved, to enjoy life and give joy to others. Yes, we had a lot of good food and good parties, but in the end—and I know I'm going to sound cliche for saying this—it's the people who made it absolutely fabulous.


Here are a bunch more photos from the weekend.

Oh, and I promised I would post links to recipes from the weekend. Here are some of the best:

Sweet Potato Ravioli
Tomato-Basil Skewers
EatingWell's Carrot Cake
Vegetable Satay

xoxo

buffalo shuffle

Did I mention we went to Buffalo? That's where I've been the last several days. It was Mindy and Bobby's wedding and so we decided to take a long weekend and explore.

We headed out on Thursday morning early—Em, Kev, Col and I. Met up with Brett and Elisa before hitting the road. They had lil Zo Zo too. Stopped over in Utica at Brett's parents' house for an amazing Mediterranean lunch. Finally arrived in downtown Buffalo around 6 p.m. Most of the hotel rooms had hot tubs right in the middle of the room with a waterfall and everything. We were so busy, we didn't use it much though.


The next day, the boys had golf and the gals had plans, so I spent the morning walking around downtown Buffalo. I'd never been to Buffalo before. I was surprised to find a lot of beautiful architecture on my walk—new modern construction punctuated by decrepit brick buildings, industrial spaces, old stone churches on every block and beautiful Victorian mansions. Evidence of a golden age—a once thriving city, then falling asleep slowly, now redefining itself. Here's one of the modern buildings I saw:


The next day, we went to Niagra Falls. I don't have much to say about Niagra Falls. Even with no expectations, I didn't expect what we saw. The falls themselves were breathtaking, but I could barely see them beyond the crowds of people, tacky tourist traps and wacky black squirrels. It was like a theme park gone bad! And on the way back, we almost didn't make it across the border. But Kevin warned the officer at customs that we had to get back for a wedding. In the end, all turned out well and I'm glad we went. Now we can say we did it.


Finally, it was time for the wedding. It was a gorgeous thing. Mindy looked absolutely beautiful in her beaded Cinderella ballgown. Bobby looked absolutely smitten. The music was great; the party was a blast. Here are a bunch more pictures of downtown buffalo, tacky tourist traps, squishy babies and party snapshots. And here's Bindy:

goodbye, hello

Friday night, we hosted our first party at the new place—a goodbye party for our friend Jess. She worked with Col at Burton—has this amazing talent for textiles. But then Nike swooped her up. So she's off to Portland, Oregon, like somebody else I know and we bade her farewell with good music, happy people, friendly neighbors, a special guest and cheese curls. I guess it's lucky our chairs haven't come yet for the lounge area, cause it made a sweet dance floor for the festivities. Here's Jess:


The next day, Col and I headed up to my parents' house in Derby to see Aunt Lucy & Uncle John and attend my 10-year high school reunion (yes, just 10 years). Right outside of Newport, we passed Little John's gas station and I saw my friends Mandy and Sarah standing in the parking lot by the side of the road. I pulled in. There was a tow truck with Sarah and Joe's car on top. The car was all smashed up in the front. They had just been in an accident!

Luckily, no one was hurt—except for Rosita the car, R.I.P.—and pretty soon, we were back in the saddle and on our way to reunion. It took place at Paul's Sugar House in Derby. Hidden way back in the woods not too far from the Canadian border. We drove right past it the first time. We finally found it, but then we were nervous to go inside. We shouldn't have been. It was so much fun! So great to say hello to old friends. So interesting to see how much people have changed—or stayed the same. It's hard not to wonder, have I changed or stayed the same? Colin had a good time, too, I think.

The thing ended around 10:30, but I don't think people weren't ready to say goodbye. And so we filtered out to the parking lot and did some more chatting and catching up out there. We were so preoccupied with our conversation, that eventually we looked around us only to realize that we were the only ones left: Mandy & Ryan, Sarah and Joe, and Me and Col. Everyone else was gone! We stayed for another 20 minutes or so. Then Paul (you know, from Paul's Sugarhouse) came out and started talking to us. What a sweet old man. He had such a thick French-Canadian accent and his skin was all weathered. He told us about his business—how the 9000 maples he taps are so unpredictable, that he supplements his income with the wedding/celebration business. (Lots of people have their receptions there apparently.) He's been doing it for thirty years.

Any-who. I'm rambling now, cause I'm too tired to edit my thoughts. Here's a picture of Sarah, Mandy and Me, 10 years later, in the parking lot of Paul's Sugarhouse:


You know what? I think I can answer my own question: I don't think any of us have changed much at all (a part from the weddings and careers and new homes and new cities). And that's a good thing, I think. It's a constant we can count on...

i heart halloumi

I always dread the drive down to NYC. Mostly because I know we'll be spending just about as much time in the car as we do on the actual streets of the city. But you know what? In the end, it's always SO worth it. We drove down to stay with our friends Courtney and Spencer last Friday night and got in around 12:30. I went straight to bed and didn't wake up till after 10 the next morning. The boys had already gone surfing and were on their way back to the city by time we gals got out of bed.

Courtney and I decided that their absence was a perfect excuse to hit up Cafe Mogador next door for a Moroccan brunch. I ordered my favorite dish: poached eggs with tomatoes and halloumi cheese. Mmm, it's so good! You just can't get that kind of meal in Burlington, Vermont.

After brunch, Courtney and I decided to go get our nails done. For $10, I just couldn't refuse. And I was so inspired by my nail color, I bought a skirt to match it from American American and wore it that very night. Here's me, waiting outside Lil Frankies for dinner in my new purple skirt and my new purple nails:

Dinner was so yummy. I had handmade beet and ricotta ravioli and a delicious Italian white wine (I don't remember the name; it was in Italian). After dinner, it was time to celebrate Courtney and Colin's birthdays. We went to a karaoke place in Little Korea. It was... a little sketchy.


The walls were covered in silver mirrors and there were white fake flowers hanging from the ceiling:

And the song list was mostly in Korean...


Still, we had a blast with tambourines and all. We finished the night on all cylinders with a late-night dance party in the basement of Lit:


Next morning, Col and I stopped in for another Middle Eastern breakfast at Cafe Orlin, before heading out of town. Short trip, but so good. Thanks Court & Spence! Hope we see you soon (and that it's for a house-warming party). xoxo

friday night, on my couch, and I don't care

I had kimchi for dinner again tonight. Before that I had three bowlfuls of Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls with 2% milk.

Colin's in Hong Kong again, and I guess that's what becomes of me when I'm on my own. I eat crap. I sit on my couch and watch back to back episodes of What Not to Wear on TLC.

To be fair, I'm exhausted and just off. It was a crazy week at work. I've slept terribly the last few nights. I did attempt to walk into town when I got home, but I forgot that it's Jazz Fest and Church Street was so crowded people kept bumping into me. And it was muggy and my armpits were sweating. I kept having these horrible visions that I was going to trip on the uneven sidewalk and fall and everyone dining at Sweetwaters was going to laugh at me.

Sometimes I like people watching. But I don't like people watching me back.

Any-who, I booked it to the bookstore, bought Persepolis for bookclub (I'm very excited to read this one!) and came straight home. But not before I ran into my co-worker and breathed my cabbage kimchi breath all over her (mortifying!).

Now I'm on my couch with Au Lait curled up next to me. I think I'll take to the bed now, with my brand new issue of Bon Appetit and my feline foot warmers and a glass of wine.

goodnight.
xoxo

café expres, a perfect date

One of my favorite things about being in Paris is the wonderful tradition of café expres (espresso). You can pop in any old place, sit with Romance at the bar, stare at fabulous people and cool your elbows on the smooth marble countertop, while you sip a little cupful of rich, fragrant coffee. It's a very romantic, European thing—to be so grandiose, so spontaneous—to make such an event of drinking a thimble-full of anything. That anybody can accomplish such a stylish, nostalgic moment for less than $2 makes it that much more appealing.

Lately, Colin and I have been making a habit—albeit spontaneous—of popping into cafes for a little restoration. In Burlington on Church Street, there are at least two good places I can think where you can experience the inexpensive luxury of espresso, elevated to an art form. But all you really need is a bar, a good atmosphere, and of course an espresso machine (there are some really wonderful restaurants in town that, sadly, do not have one).

Lake Champlain Chocolates is perfect, because not only do they serve espresso, but they also sell what is, in my mind, the best chocolate around. The two really go hand in hand (that's why in Paris and elsewhere, they always serve espresso with a chocolate-covered coffee bean or almond). It takes the edge off the dark Arabica brew. Lake Champlain Chocolates has a little bar where you can sit and enjoy your moment while watching the passersby on the street. Colin and I dropped in the other day while we were out running errands and ordered two espressos and one square of dark chocolate (to share). The entire thing cost around five dollars, but it felt much more extravagant than that.

I know I talk about Leunig's Bistro a lot, but I can't help it. We love to eat there. And while it's true that you can get a little over-the-top with the menu, some of my favorite moments there have been the simple and spontaneous ones, sitting at the bar, with just a glass of wine and Vermont cheese plate. You could just linger there all night and really feel like a neighborhood regular by the end of it (for under $10 a person). Last night, we stopped in before a movie date for some espresso and one of their amazing maple creme brulees to share—it's the best creme brulee in town, and I'm an expert.

I don't know why I'm telling you any of this. I just felt very good when I remembered these two moments. They reminded me of other espresso moments. I love that these moments are at the same time economical, romantic, and memorable. What more could you ask for in a date?