Thursday, May 31, 2007

airport adventures


First of all I have to apologize for this post being so long. But I promise it is worth reading.Our trip to Utah was great, once we landed in Salt Lake that is...things all started off fine, Dan and I left work early last Friday to head to the airport to catch our flight. The sun was shining, the weather was balmy, and we were ready for a fun weekend. Then the weirdness started. Right after Dan met me at work, we began trying to hail a cab. We had figured things would be a little tough with memorial day weekend,and we had planned time for extra traffic because of the holiday too. What we hadn't planned on was not being able to get a taxi at all. We scoured Madison avenue in search of an available cab with not one to be found. after about 5 minutes we decided to head over a block or so and try our luck there. By the time we made it to the corner of park avenue and 59 a total of 9 off duty cabs had stopped, asked us where we wanted to go, and then refused to take us when we said JFK (which I later found out illegal but what can you do anyway). In all this time, we hadn't even seen one normal regular AVAILABLE cab. Dan and I had been trying on separate corners to increase our chances when finally he hailed me over and I jumped in the cab relieved as we sped away to JFK, or so I thought...Once in the cab and speeding toward the queensboro bridge, Dan informed me that the nice cab driver had a agreed to help us and explained that since it was 4:00 and the cab drivers had a shift change at 5, it would be difficult to get anyone to take us to JFK, but he would take us to Laguardia and we could get another cab there to JFK. "what" I screamed, "Dan you just got totally scammed, are you crazy? Why would you get into a cab with someone who agreed to take you somewhere completely different than you actually asked him to go?" At this point I assumed Dan had failed to acquire any street smarts during our time living in NY and I was preparing a lecture on how not everyone can be trusted and in a big city like NY you have to look out for yourself or people will take advantage of you. Well the joke was on me, and although it was a round about way to get to the airport we actually needed to go to, we got a cab at Laguardia no problem and it probably only cost us and extra 10 minutes, and an extra 10 dollars. So the moral of the story is, if you are ever having a terrible time getting a cab to JFK, see if they'll take you to the taxi stand at LaGuardia, it's the next best thing.

You would think this had been enough of an adventure for one day, but no, the extraordinary events were not over yet. We got through security in only ten minutes (that must be some sort of a record for JFK on memorial day weekend) and headed to out gate to wait for the flight to board. While we were seated waiting to get on the plane, extraordinary event # 2 occured. Dan and I looked at each other in disbelief to see if we really were seeing what we thought we were seeing when a live bird flew right over our heads in the airport terminal, I am sure the poor thing was very confused looking at the windows all around and trying to figure out how to get back outside, but it was pretty amazing, it reminded me of the part in the movie You've Got Mail when Kathleen Kelley(Meg Ryan) is talking about the time she saw a butterfly on the subway. It just made us feel kind of special to witness something out of the ordinary like that.

But the funniest part of the adventure was still to come. First I should probably explain that because Dan and I had purchased our tickets separately, since I wasn't sure if I was going to stay longer in Utah, we were not assigned seats next to each other on the flight. No big deal, we had thought about trying to get reassigned, but our flight was full so the chances looked slim. We figured we would just wait until we were on board and if we needed to we could ask someone to switch. So with that in mind we boarded the plane. Little did I know I was headed right toward extraordinary event # 3.My assigned seat about 12 rows behind Dan and I should've guessed something was weird when the guy next to me only waited about 30 seconds to strike up a conversation with me (in his defense I was wearing a really cute outfit and having a fabulous hair day). We started out with the usual banter, oh this plane is really full, where are you from, what are you doing on this flight, etc. Well, since I was trying to be polite and friendly, (I figured this slightly balding middle aged man who is probably my father's age was probably just lonely)I reciprocated. He started to tell me about how his wife died of cancer two years ago, and he had four kids, and lived somewhere near salt lake but didn't tell me exactly which part (looking back this should have been a red flag) and my heart kind of went out to the lonely overly friendly guy who was now telling me his life story a mere five minutes into our five hour flight together. Eventually I got around to asking him what he was doing on the flight from NY to SLC. I must admit I was a little surprised at the response I got when he said he was returning from Russia, I raised an eyebrow when I asked what part, and he mentioned some obscure Russian location I could only imagine since I had never heard of it.
"well what were you doing there?" I asked.

"Well," he said, "I went to meet a girl I met through our church on the Internet to see if we want to get married, you know, basically a mail order bride kind of deal."

"Oh!" I said stunned and a little shocked, "well how did it go?"

"Actually, it was wonderful. And a soon as I can get together a solid prenuptial agreement in case all she wants is a greencard, I am going to ask her to be my wife!"
Now you can probably imagine my amazement at this point, I really didn't know what to say or how to respond, but luckily I didn't have to because he proceeded to tell me all about his future fiancee, and pretty much every minuscule detail of his trip in Russia, including what they ate for various meals, where they took walks, and the floor plan of Russian wife's apartment. Oh and lets not forget the fist fight he got in with some Russian thug who was hitting on Russian girl. Anyway, I was speechless, and trying to figure out how I could strategically avoid spending what were sure to be the longest 5 hours of my life in conversation with this guy. The word "ipod" quickly sprang to mind and I dug it out of my purse hoping the visible headphones would subdue our conversation and protect me from any further details of this guys life. Sadly no avail, I placed the headphones on but he just kept on talking. Cell phone I thought, that will do it. I mentioned I had some messages to check before the flight but that didn't shut him up either, he just kept on talking right through my voice mails as I struggled to differentiate between his words and the words coming out of my phone. Okay I thought, it's okay, if I need to I can just tell him I am going to sleep, but he's probably just excited to tell someone about his trip and his potential fiancee. So I listened a little longer trying the best I could to summon every ounce of politeness in my body. After all, this was just a nice lonely man who needed a friendly ear right? Well after a couple more minutes of hearing about Russia and how great Russian food is, he startled me by asking,
"So do you need a ride home, or a place to stay when we get to Salt Lake? I would be happy to help you, we could even grab dinner on the way if you want?"

Can we say CREEPY! Apparently he didn't notice my wedding ring or the fact that I am young enough to be his daughter. Poor Russian Girl, does she know what she is getting into? I briskly replied that I actually had family picking me up and I was on this flight with my very strong very athletic husband who was seated only a few rows up. He seemed a bit surprised but shook it off. and proceeded to ask me if I had any children, or if I was planning to have children any time soon (is this any of his business?) Anyway, I had my cue and mentioned I had to go check on something, at which time i ran up to Dan and cried, Help me! Luckily, someone missed the plane (too bad we ended up taxiing on the runway for 1 1/2 hours) and there was a seat right next to Dan who was sitting in the exit row (score) and I happily plunked down into it! You are rescued from creeping balding guy I thought to myself.

The best part of it all was that when it was time to deboard the plane, Dan looked back and said, "It was the balding guy in the plaid shirt wasn't it?

"How did you know?" I asked

"I can just tell, he fits the type!"

more airport adventures to be continued.....

Coney Island

I love these old photographs of Coney Island! They make Coney island look so much classier than it really is! Dan and I want to go there on the fourth of July to see the oh so disgusting but intriguing Nathan's hot dog eating contest. How is it really possible for a human to ingest 53.75 hot dogs in 12 minutes? Sick.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Tag, you are it!

I have so many stories to blog I don't know where to begin! But in the meantime, Maere has tagged me so I thought I would let you in on a few little known things about me....

1. If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be fruit. Any kind, I don't care, but I am obsessed with fruit! Watermelon is my current favorite.

2. My favorite movies come from two genres, Old School Musicals (think South Pacific, Oklahoma) and Cheesy 80's teen movies (Say anything, better off dead, sixteen candles, girls just want to have fun)

3. The first time I met Dan (5 years before we started dating) I wrote about how cute I thought he was in my journal.

4. I would love to live in Europe

5. I took 5 years of French and 2 years of Italian and I can barely speak either

6. Dan and I watch at least 1 episode of friends every day (thank you DVR!) and even though we have seen them all about 100 times, they are still always funny!

7. I had my front tooth knocked out a couple of years ago (Dan's says it was one of the funniest moments of his life!)

8. If I could be on one reality t.v. show, it would be the Amazing Race!

And now I choose to tag:
Nicole
Suzi
Jill
Erin
Brynn
Jessie

Friday, May 25, 2007

Homeward bound

Dan and I are headed home this weekend and can't wait to meet our new little niece Amanda! Our visit is sure to be jam packed and full of fun! We'll be sure to include time for multiple trips to Cafe Rio and plenty of time with our nieces and nephews!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

More from J. Crew

J.Crew just added a bunch of new stuff online. IT was in stores last week and I was loving all the red white and blue and nautical themes! Here are a couple of my faves, although I have to say a lot of this stuff is cuter in person, so go to the store and check it out yourself!

Love love love this cashmere tank with the shoulder ties!


I think this would be adorable paired with a navy blue cardigan! I love the stripes and it would be nice and cool for those hot summer days on the way. One of the girls I work with at J.Crew wore a similar shirt belted, and it was so cute on her!

Although I would probably never wear these, I think they are pretty cute and fun and I am sure it is only a matter of time before I see some Upper East Side Hampton's bound socialite sporting them.

Remember my post about Nantucket? Well if I was one of those socialites who also summered in Nantucket, I'd think this skirt was to die for, however, I just don't think it quite works in Manhattan


The prints on these french market tee-shirts are super cute. Better in person though for sure!

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Funky and fresh

SO, they say wallpaper is making a comeback, and I wasn't sure I had really bought in to that whole trend, until I saw this image, which I totally robbed from someone elses blog, and now I can't remember who so I can't even give them credit! Anyway, I am digging the fresh green trellis print! The scale of the whole thing is a little intense, but I like it. I can't say I would like it in my own house, but I think it's kind of cool which prompts me to ask...Would you, could you, or do you see yourself using the fresh new wallpaper patterns, or are they just too on the edge?

love this!


Check out this adorable wallet from Banana Republic! It's a little too expensive for me, but i totally love the yellow color!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Geek Love!

Anyone else who watched the season finale of Ugly Betty will know how sweet this kiss was! I have grown to love this show because Betty is so real and hilarious and always trying to make everything around her better, but somehow messing up miserably! While I will be the first to admit this show is a little overly dramatic, the crazy characters and constant crisis is really what I love about it! I think these two are the cutest little geeky couple I have ever seen! Does anyone else love Ugly Betty as much as I do?

Friday, May 18, 2007

Happy Friday!

I really love Hydrangeas, they are one of my favorite flowers, and the blue is probably one of my favorite colors. I found these awesome photos on flickr. I love how you can just search for images of exactly what you are looking for!



Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Congratulations!

The wedding was wonderful and I don't know if I have ever seen a bride and groom as happy as Spencer and Sara were! They were so cute!


Here is a picture of us with Dan's Parents who were also in town for the wedding.



All the friends who came out to support Spencer!



The beautiful D.C. Temple! It is so pretty and so big!



Here is us in front of the Temple!


Spencer and all his buddies!




Friends!

Three of my favorite people came to visit last week and it was great to see them and hang out in NYC and D.C.
Missy, Caitlin, and Cortney stayed with us for a couple of days and then we all headed down to Spencer Henriod and Sara Pratt's wedding in D.C. We had so much fun, and if you are wondering where Dan is, he was taking all these pictures!

We had a yummy dinner at Cafe Habana. I am obsessed with their corn on the cob!


While walking over to magnolia bakery, we stumbled upon a graduation party at NYU, which we totally crashed!

We are not really sure what this creepy policeman statue was doing on a random corner in Bethesda, but we felt compelled to take a picture with him.


This picture was taken the night of the wedding dinner at the barn in Dickerson, Maryland. Aren't the fields amazing?



To send off Sara and Spencer all the guests lit sparklers and made a tunnel for them to run through! It looked so cool!
The girls had a little bit too much fun playing around with the extras after the newlyweds had left!

Fleas and the Yankees

I am trying to get caught up with all we've been up to the last couple of weeks so I am going to use more words and less pictures. This is Dan and I with Noah and Kristi at the Yankees Game. We went when the Yankees played the Seattle Mariners and the final score was something like 16-12 for the Mariners, a super high scoring game for baseball. Dan is a loyal mariners fan and though most of the time he is a yankees fan, he was cheering for Seattle by sporting his Mariners hat!!!

These next images are from a Saturday we spent at the Hell's Kitchen flea market! It was so cool to see all the "junk"


I bought some of these antique printers letters. I think they are so cool!

If I wasn't so uncoordinated, I would love to ride this bike all around the city, unfortunately given my athletic skills, that would probably result in injury!

I think these old suitcases are so cool! I love the way the vintage suitcases are used in Ron Marvin's apartment in the previous post.


I love the look of these antique doorknobs. A friend of our collects these and has a bowl full of them on their coffee table, such a cool idea!


Does anyone need a spare set of keys? I think there are plenty here!!! I love the rust!!


These gold buddhas looked so cool with the sunlight shining and reflecting on them.


Seeing these clocks inspired me to start a collection. I think they would look cool displayed on a shelf!



and this is me! I am in love with my new flip flops and i am in desperate need of a pedicure!

Inspiration!





I had to share these sweet images of interior designer Ron Marvin's San Fran Studio Apartment, it makes me think that studio living is possible. Ron Marvin worked a stylist for Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, and West Elm. I love his interiors! I guess one of his apartments is going to be featured on one of my and Dan's favorite shows, Small Space Big Style on the HGTV network. Can't wait!

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

A Good Deal!!!


I just bought two of these on jcpenney.com for only $ 39.99 each! For those of you that don't know, JC Penney has great furniture on their website and in JC Penney home stores that are similar to what you would find at Target. The best thing is that JCP carries a lot of Pottery Barn overstock and Pottery Barn knockoffs so you can definitely get the look for less. The original price for this shelf was $129, but compared to the PB price of $229, I feel like I am getting a steal at only $39.99! I will post pictures of how they look once we get them up! We've been looking for some shelving ideas for the bedroom and I think these will be perfect! Can't wait!