Real Time at the Met

The opera that is. So far, we're doing great!

Crafts.... end results

Here is the "Boo!" Banner that I made the other night (out of four hideous orange napkins that I got at the VNA Rummage Sale.... )







And lots of ghosts made out of left over fleece!

Tonight's Craft

Because we can't even go one frickin evening without crafting.

Tonight we're sewing on gold buttons to embellish a pair of black pants for Miss B. to wear tomorrow to the Opera. Pictures to follow!

What Did We Do Today?

8am-- physical therapy. (I was a bit loopy from lack of sleep... what else is new). Forgot my wallet, had to sneak back into the house (so as not to wake the baby) by emailing the Husband (who luckily for me... unluckily for him) was awake and on the computer doing work.

11am-- Music Class!

12pm-- Post Office

12:15pm Leave Post Office, realizing wallet is in car.

Then we went to Panera and met up with the Husband for lunch (note: Miss B.'s bagel sailed off our tray and hit the deck. Husband had to come to the rescue when he arrived and buy second bagel-- couldn't risk having to carry tray around anymore to go back and get it myself (i.e. try balancing a drink, sippy cup, salad, soup and hand-holding toddler... you get the picture).

Then we went to the Post Office. Again. (This time, with money). Helped older woman figure out how to use the APC while awaiting Postal Employee to come and empty the APC Receptacle.

Then: Whole Foods. Pumpkins. Need we say more?

Then: Wegman's. Party Food. Pigs in Blankets, apples with caramel dip, yada, yada, yada.

Then: Home and trying to reorganize shelving unit while simultaneously keeping Miss B. occupied and making Tuscan White Bean Soup.

Then: Bathe baby, shower, eat dinner.

Then: Make a midnight run (okay, an 8pm run) to Party Fair to get helium for party balloons. Party Fair is your Halloween Headquarters.

Then: Home to get baby ready for sleepy time.

Then: make cupcakes, straighten lower level/party level, decorate (who knew one needs a talent for using fake spider webbing?) How often is it that you find yourself tieing fleece ghosts to trees in your front yard at 11pm?

Yeah. I need sleep.

New Bumper, Get My Car Fixed, It's Your Birthday!

So, I've been driving around town (somewhat stealthily to not be noticed) in the bright cherry red HHR for the past two days. Ugh. I called up BMW this morning and left a message for John in the Body Shop to check on the status of the wagon.

I got a call back this afternoon and what ho! $300.99 from Geico to "repair" my bumper? Yeah. Let's call in a supplement people. Turns out that once BMW got the bumper cover off of the car they realized that it was too damaged to be repaired. (YES!) So much for that "adjuster" who basically tried to tell me that my car was a) a piece of crap and b) I shouldn't be bothered by the "scratch" that was on the bumper cover. And let's not forget about her supervisor who wanted to convince me that bumpers serve no actual purpose-- they're purely decorative.

ANYWAY. Thanks to the folks at BMW who took the time to actually look at my car and make a reasonable determination. Even bigger kudos to them for dealing directly with Geico, so I didn't have to get into an argument with anyone!

They think that the wagon may be ready tomorrow, or if not then, Friday. Then it's on to take it into the actual service department to confirm that there was no other actual damage from the accident (i.e. alignment, etc.)

Oh, and further on the complaint front, can I just say? The top speed of the HHR is totally like 60. Anything above that and I swear it starts to shimmy.

Rosa Mexicano!

Love it! Miss B. and I went to Rosa Mexicano in Hackensack the other night for dinner-- it was really cool and we had a great time!

Then we hit up The Shops at Riverside Square. While their vacancy rate seemed disturbingly high, the mix of remaining shops was really nice. There's a Bloomingdale's and a Saks as anchors and then there's Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Wolford, J. Crew, Gap/GapKids/BabyGap, Hannah Andersson, Petite Bateau, etc., etc. and great restaurants including a Houston's!

Speaking of shopping, am I the only one who is totally excited about the upcoming Stella McCartney line for GapKids? I saw giant ads for it above the Lincoln Tunnel last week and am counting down the days until it unveils!

Transformers 2

Okay, this is like one of the worst movies we've seen in a while. So many technical inconsistencies it's amazing. But the
Obama swipe was pretty unexpected (and funny). Ps. the Husband just exclaimed: "That's not Orion's Belt!" (ah, the technical inaccuracies continue).... to quote Husband again: "WTF?"

Let's all brush up on our Graham Hancock, shall we?

No One Expects The Spanish Inquisition!

So, I've twice caught parts of "Almost the Truth" the Monty Python documentary that's been airing this week on IFC. In addition to that, I was watching part of Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl the other night and tonight's feature is Life of Brian. I want to like the Pythons and certainly many of their sketches are very funny, but I just can't get into this movie.

More From the "Why?" Files

While on our way to Music Class the other day we were walking in the plaza by the Library. It was a beautiful day, with a blue sky and high, wispy clouds.

Miss B. says: "What happened to the clouds?"

I say: "Sometimes the clouds are different shapes depending on where they are located in the atmosphere, and based on their density."

Miss B.: "Oh, right, right." (As if to say, very authoritatively, "of course!" As if she was a student of meteorology who had only momentarily forgotten the answer to her own question.)

It was cute. I guess you had to be there.

Why Not?

Many toddlers go through the "why" stage. For us we've hit the "why not" stage.

So, yesterday Miss B. and I were in the car and she was accompanied in the back seat by her life-sized Ernie doll. Ernie's got on his usual horizontal striped shirt, crazy hair, jeans and shoes.

Miss B. states: "I want take off Ernie's Shoes!"

Me: "You can't take off Ernie's shoes."

Miss B.: "Why not?"

Me: "They're sewn on!"

Miss B.: "I need scissors."

Yes, she wanted to cut off Ernie's shoes. Clearly, she's a determined problem solver.

Go Blow Your Nose!

Check this out! While the Mom and Dad were visiting, the Dad got me some really neat books at B&N, including Lexie Barnes' Sew What Bags. So, tonight, after repairing one of our sectional cushions (to paraphrase Charlton Heston: "Damn, you, Pottery Barn! Damn you to Hell!!!"....**), I used some really neat fabric scraps that I had from the quilt shop and made this:



A tissue pack holder!
It's perfect for cold and flu season, and a nice way to keep tissues in your purse or briefcase!













And it was totally simple to make!! Woo-hoo! This has "stocking stuffer" written all over it. Beware friends and relatives, you may be getting a tissue holder this holiday season.




















** Re: our Pottery Barn Issue... god forbid one washes the cushion covers, lest the zippers may come dis-attached to the actual cushion. I guess I should have known to have the cushion cover zipped during the washing process? Who knew. But, it was an easy enough repair, though I would have preferred to have spent the same fifteen minutes not repairing my couch cusions and instead doing something more fun!

A Lot of Activity!

So, sorry for the delay in posting and just lack of posts in general. Turns out October has been one busy month!

I finally joined my local Junior League and am really excited about all of the fun things to come on that front. Each year the "provisional" class of new members gets to select a provisional class project (in past years projects have included building a garden next to a local school, doing improvement work at another school, creating an annual holiday party event for local underprivileged families, etc.). At our next meeting we're going to begin the process of researching project ideas with the plan of implementing and completing our project by April. In April and May the League hosts a designer show house (which is their largest fundraising event) so there looks like there will be a lot of work to do to prepare for that-- all of which should be a lot of fun!) So far everyone I've met has been super friendly and very excited about what is in store. In addition to that, I've started taking guitar lessons through our local Music Together program. You may recall that some years ago the Husband bought me a guitar for my birthday and after a failed attempt at previous lessons said guitar had been sitting in Miss B.'s closet, falling out of tune. I had seen that Music Together has a new class for parents and though it would be fun, especially since the teacher is one that we know from when Miss B. was enrolled in the babies class. I figure start small-- I may have absolutely no talent for musical instruments whatsoever, but I figure if I can at least master children's songs I'll have some hope. (Not to mention that after my 8 week course, I can take a stab at doing birthday parties! Woo-hoo! ;) Just kidding.

Then, as if those two things weren't enough, I'm also a team member providing pro bono legal assistance to a woman from Guinea who is seeking asylum status from the INS. Can I tell you, practicing in real estate I really don't usually have much call for doing research and writing persuasive legal memorandum. Working on this matter is really bringing me back to my law school days and I'm very happy to be working with a team of folks who are litigators and who have been through the asylum process before. We expect to file our paperwork next month, with the hope of obtaining an interview for our client early next year. I'll keep you posted as to whether we are successful!

Now we're also doing planning for a big Halloween Party for Miss B. and her friends! I'm looking forward to seeing everybody, especially in costume! As a funny aside to party planning I was telling the Husband about how I read in one of my magazines Halloween party tips from Tori Spelling. Tori (or her people) recommend buying one of those plastic cauldrons and filling it with juice boxes. I liked this idea, but the Husband said that we should take it one step further and put dry ice in the cauldron.** Actually, what he said was: "We should find some place that sells dry ice." Leave it to me: I was able to tell him exactly where on Route 1 you can buy dry ice. (Why do I know this? Because I have a knack for retaining stupid information and have been driving past the dry ice place since 2004 and have a visual image in my head of their sign that advertises "dry ice") Now, I'd really be my mother's daughter if not only did I know where to buy it, but I also had a coupon for it.

** Please note that we do know that you can't have the dry ice anywhere near where kids could possibly touch it. Don't worry. We're not complete idiots.

Fabulous Giveaway at Nouveau Stitch!

Our dear friend Ellen at Nouveau Stitch is having the neatest giveaway! She has handcrafted a whole galaxy of gorgeous throwpillows and is going to give away one of her beautiful creations! Do check it out and spend some time reviewing Ellen's past posts as well so you can see all of her lovely handiwork! You'll recall earlier this summer Ellen made an amazing dress and a selection of coordinating hairbows for Miss B.-- Thanks again, Ellen!!!

File Under "People Will Buy Anything"

there's a listing for 61 pounds of buttons at Shopgoodwill.com

Wowzer!

The Mom and I went out today to go to some Open Houses (because we're nosy). We had fun driving around and at one Open House we even got free apple cider donuts from Terhune Orchards. Then we went to Barnes and Noble and Whole Foods.... then when we're on the way from WF to Best Buy, I'm stopped at a traffic light, looking to see if I can make a right hand turn and BOOM! We're rear-ended. I had seen the person who hit us-- they had been driving erratically and I had made sure to pass them (as we were on a two lane road and I was concerned that they might veer into my lane or otherwise cause some sort of accident in front of me-- It didn't even cross my mind that they'd end up behind me and then hitting me!

Unfortunately, now I feel like this partner I used to work with who couldn't move his neck-- he would always have to move his whole body. Argh. Heading to the doctor tomorrow and sending the Wagon for a check-up too.

A Steady Rain!

What a fun night!

Things started once I met up with the Husband at Nobu 57. We picked out quite a few fun items off the menu, including the little Nobu tacos.... All I can say is that they were *good*!! We got one lobster and one king crab taco. Then came the Miso soup and salad that came with the sashimi dinner. Personally, I'm not a fan of miso soup... that was until I tried Nobu's miso soup. Now I understand why people eat this stuff! After that came our rock shrimp tempura with spicy sauce and grilled octopus. Then the sashimi dinner arrived, with spicy big eye tuna roll.
Here's a picture of what we left behind. (Aka little to nothing). It was terrific!

After dinner we headed over to the Schonfeld Theater for A Steady Rain with Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman. We got there at about 10 to 8pm and the line was two theaters past our own! We were lining up all the way to Shubert Alley!

As we headed in, the Husband spotted Frank Gifford, and of course, where there's Frank, there's Kathy Lee.
Once inside, the play started promptly and it was Fantastic!!!!!!! It was an hour and a half with no intermission and the guys did fabulously. As noted below, I am usually a theater figiter, but not tonight (let's not discuss that the also-aforementioned suede pants kind of stuck like velcro to the velour theater seats, so I really couldn't move much anyway...) but I was rivited! The dialogue had its funny moments, drama and at one point the audience even gasped.

This week's New York Magazine review of the show tagged it as standard police drama fare. While some of the twists and turns in the plot may have been a little over the top, I thought the staging of the play and the acting by far made up for any plot contrivances. If you have the chance to see it, I highly recommend it! Yay! Great birthday evening out!

I'm On My Way!

Tonight's big adventure is a pre-Birthday Birthday dinner at Nobu 57 and A Steady Rain on Broadway! I'm taking the train in (currently we're at Newark Liberty Airport) and I'm meeting up with the Husband. Thanks and a big shout out to the Mom and Dad who are spending the evening with Miss B!

I'm looking forward to seeing James Bond and Wolverine stretch their acting chops right before our eyes (even if Daniel Craig's mustache is a little too Chicago-cop-authentic for). But, on a side note I am a bit worried. I've heard all the cell-phone hullabaloo surrounding this particular production. I'm not so much concerned that I might ring mid show, but I am sporting a pair of Suede Prada pants whose lining has a tendency to make a crinkling sound when I move. I'm a natural theater fidgeter so who knows how loud my pants will be during moments of key drama....

Whatever happens, I'll try not to invoke levels of Ralph Fiennes-like rage (like I did when Ana and I saw "Faith Healer")... I promise, I won't take any pictures! (At least not while they're acting!)

Rummage!

On Sunday, Miss B., the Mom and Dad and I hit up the Visiting Nurse Service of Somerset County's Annual Fall Rummage Sale at the fairgrounds in Far Hills, NJ. The sale is held twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring and is billed as 75,000square feet of goodies. On Sunday the sale is only open from 12:30-3:30 and we got there about 2pm. When we arrived, there were lines outside many of the tents (such as the "Vintage" tent, the "Notions/Costumes" tent, etc., etc. The sale is organized into a number of different categories, though, many items seem to bridge the gap between categories. My favorite tent, by far, was "Dry Goods". The Dry Goods tent included knitting yarn, needlepoint and all sorts of yarn-based and needlepoint type crafts, fabric and then bedding/tablecloths/napkins, etc., etc. Friday and Saturday things are as marked, but on Sunday, many of the Tents are either "half-price" (as was the case in the Book tent) or, even better, $10 per grocery bag, or $25 per garbage bag. Let me tell you, you can get a *lot* of stuff into a grocery bag. I have to take pictures of all of the needlepoint that I got, and napkins, and yarn.

Then the Mom and I hit up the "housewares" tent and got a $10 bag which included multitudes of cool vintage sandwich-plate sized china, mugs, quiche pans, ceramic molds, a Homer Laughlin gravy boat, a salt cellar, two pitchers, two vintage dinner plates.

I got a bazillion great books (including a first edition copy of William Manchester's "The Death of a President"-- which was recently the subject of an article in Vanity Fair). Books were half price, but I got more than a $10 bag's worth for a whopping $9.

Then we hit up the "Vintage" tent. There Mom got a plaid Blazer, I got a vintage camel hair coat, I got two hats (including a 1950's Mink hat from Lord & Taylor, with the original sales slip and hat box), 1950's sunglasses, a Princeton University ashtray, an Aligator handbag (made in France), a beaded handbag (made in Italy), another vintage hat, etc., etc. Our finds in the Vintage tent (including a giant vintage Detecto Infant Scale) for a total of $29. (Yes, that included the Mink hat!)

The atmosphere was a bit crazy, but I think it was worth it. Adrenaline was high, but it was bargains galore!

Long Time. No Posts

So, sorry about the dearth of posts lately. It was a bit of a wacky week. On Monday, Miss B. fell off of the couch and bumped her head. As this was the same spot on her dome which had the previous week also gotten a bump, after a run-based fall in the hallway. That resulted in a trip to the Emergency Room. (No worries, though, all's well). Then, Wednesday we ventured into the city and had another whirwind day. We met with Dave, Em, Max and our friend Eric for lunch at 40 Carrots in Bloomingdale's. Eric was in town from California on business and he was quick to point out that it had been a long 14 years since our hijinks back in college... Dave, Eric and I all lived on the same floor (which was a very small floor) during college. I was equally quick to point out that we didn't need to remind ourselves that it was 14 years!?!

After lunch, Miss B. and I did some photo shoots for the up-coming Sophie 2010 calendar. We walked from Bloomies to the Calder at 57th and Madison (running across Joan Rivers along the way). The we walked from the Calder to the Met (stopping near Barney's for a hot dog, or two). Then we walked around the Met (having goldfish crackers, surreptitiously, while perusing the Modern Art wing). Then we walked from the Met to the Guggenheim. Then, after the Guggenheim we had an ice cream sandwich, while sitting on a bench out in front of the Gugg. Then we walked back down Madison (stopping at Serafina on 79th street for a panini and a biscotti). Then Miss B. finally fell asleep, during which time I went to Tiffany's to buy a birthday present for the Mom. Then finally, it was back to the garage and a drive home.

After all of that, is it any wonder that Miss B. caught a cold? More specifically, croup. Yup, that night she awoke sounding really scary with a seal-like cough and wheezing. The next day we went to the doctor and croup was confirmed. Egads! But she is doing much better. Though of course, now I have a cold. (All of that after already having gotten my flu shot!) Geesh.

Anyhoo, now the Mom and Dad have arrived and will be visiting through the 14th. I'm sure we'll have adventures to tell.

Today we hit up the Princeton Library Book Sale and tomorrow we're going to the VNA Rummage Sale in Far Hills!