The Head and The Heart

Hit Play. Then read. It'll be like a little soundtrack. 

Zach and I went to see The Head and The Heart at Terminal 5 last week. Twas a Sunday evening show and had us out till after midnight, and was worth every minute of it. They put on a great show and have an infectious energy and gratefulness about them.  It felt as if we were at a gigantic backyard show at a friend's house who we haven't seen in awhile. And as if the hosts were genuinely happy that everyone came over to their house. The paper lanterns and trees on their set may have helped create that vibe. Or when they had both of their opening bands join them onstage for an everybody all together now rendition of Lost in My Mind. 

Terminal 5

Merch.

They also played a few new songs, which I am really excited to listen to again. From what I remember, less folky, but similar sound. Until next time, guys! Thanks for swinging by!

Yoga Party

Clare has been teaching yoga for almost a year now and I finally got to take her class. She has led mini yoga sessions when we get together for family things, but last night I got to see her in her element. It was perfect.

I went to her 8:00 candle lit Hot Power Fusion class at Core Power Yoga on S. Colorado Blvd (go if you are a Denverite!). We had gone to breweries in Fort Collins earlier in the day and despite trying to rehydrate throughout the evening, I was sluggish and lacking motivation to do anything that takes effort.

Flight of saisons at Funkwerks. Maybe not the best choice
before hot yoga, but there are only so many hours in the day!

In teaching, we often talk about meeting students where they are and then building from there, which is exactly what Clare did. It was a crazy, windy, Wednesday and people were coming from their busy workday. 45 people to be exact. The class was packed with people jonesing for their daily dose of Clare. She greeted the class, acknowledged that we were all feeling a little "on edge" and started a slow, methodical class. The beginning of the class is a familiar sequence of hot yoga poses, and the familiarity was a great way to start.

As the heat in the room built, so did the music and before long we were moving through a Warrior 2 sequence to La Roux. Everyone had officially ditched their day and was now in a fun, sweaty, almost dance party space. Needless to say, class wasn't your typical (boring) meditative class. It was a workout. It was hard. It was loud. And it was satisfying. It was a yoga party :) And the icing on the cake was the mini back massage I got while flopped on my stomach during the lotus series.

We ended in savasana with Radiohead's All I Need and relished the satisfaction of making it through a challenging class. People were all smiles, thanks and namaste as they went back out into the world. And that's really the point of a yoga class, isn't it?

Oh the places you'll go!

My senior year at 'Cuse, I lived with 7 of my best gal pals. Though the estrogen was suffocating at times, the year together in that house solidified friendships that have become like a family here in NYC. I moved here after college without really skipping a beat, but that super smooth transition was because I  have this network of highly entertaining pals, always ready to explore a new part of town or snuggle up with the remote and a bottle of vino. 

Friends. Fam. Party Planners Extraordinaire. 

Unfortunately for us/exciting for her, Joey flew the NYC coop and moved to LA this week. So we threw her a party. A really awesome party at her Aunt Madeline's bakery. Complete with a fancy bartender, all of her favorite foods, and of course, a pinata. 

You thought there wouldn't be balloons and pinata
debris worn as hats? You thought wrong.

Evonne made a NYC vs. LA bracket, which was central to the evening's entertainment. 

The Lakers beat out Central Park in the final round. Bullshit if you ask me. 

Awesome cookies by Aunt Madeline @ Duane Park Patisserie

Ballsy move to pack up and ship off across the country, but it is the "get up and make it happen" in her that got us to Vegas, that had me puddle jumping over to Maui last year, and that I'm sure will drive her to awesomeness. 

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own.  And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

-Mr. Seuss

Get it, girl. Miss you. Be nice. Have fun. See you soon. 

Hiking the AT

Zach and I spent last week hiking the Appalachian Trail from Killington, VT to Hanover, NH with our friend, Kelsey, who I met on the farm last year in Hawaii. She has been hiking the trail since Georgia and is en route to Katahdin in Maine. It BLOWS my mind that she has been hiking every day since March. We did it for five days and it totally kicked our butts. In a good way. 

Our plan was to start hiking in Killington and meet up with Kelsey somewhere along the way. Since there is only one trail, we would eventually run into each other.

Day 1 (2 miles)

Mom and Dad dropped us at the Inn at the Long Trail in Killington around 4pm. My Osprey pack started leaking water before we even got on the trail. The first 1/2 mile was a steep, muddy incline to the Appalachian Trail. Once we hit the AT, our route flattened out for a few minutes and I could look at stuff while we walked, without thinking about my butt muscles that apparently I never use. I got lost in thoughts of moss and bird calls and before long was walking sideways down a slippery, muddy descent. Very hard on the knees. I forgot that we were hiking mountains, which are not flat.

In addition to learning that mountains are not flat, I also discovered that all natural bug spray is a crock of shit. The mosquitos were viscous, bountiful and enough to make us hide in our tent that first night. Luckily, we were able to get some Deet from the ranger station on Day 2. 

Breffast

Kent Pond

Day 2 (8 miles)
We had a super leisurely start to the morning, enjoying life sans mosquitos. We cooked up some oatmeal for breakfast on our tiny, transformer like camp stove before hitting the trail. The trail passed Kent Pond and Thundering Falls and was littered with fun bridges and creeks. Until noon. That is when we reached Quimbly Mountain. Except that we didn't know we had reached Quimby Mountain because we didn't have any maps. So we started to hike up without knowing when it would stop. We hiked up 1,500 feet, which isn't much in terms of mountains, but it felt like we were hiking into oblivion. Why didn't we bring maps again?

At the shelter, we met an old guy who gave us an extra copy of his trail guide. This was the turning point in the trip (from holy shit this is new and hard to an adventure). I was able to see the inclines that were up ahead, determine where I could get more water and get a little peace of mind. We also left a note for Kelsey here, saying that we were on the trail and would probably run into her the next day. Zach and I set out to find some water and a spot to camp, which we found alongside a mountain stream.

Look Clare, climbers have been here!

Day 3 (12 miles)
Day 3 was the best yet. We met up with Kelsey early in the morning. She was traveling with two friends that she met on the trail, Llama Legs and Nocello. Trail names, obvs. But, am I really supposed to call you Llama Legs? Welp, I suppose if I don't know your real name, Llama legs it is. Throughout the day we ran into Cropduster, Southbutt (opposite of Northface), Leafguy, Pepper and a few other through hiker/mountain folk. Miles flew by, snack breaks happened frequently, and there was lots of catching up to do. 

Over the hills and through the woods...

Orange. Go Cuse!

My uphill haiku:
Delivering pain
My hamstrings are powerlines
Lactic acid flows.

Gorgeous vistas of Killington/Pico area

At some point in the day, we heard about a pie stand on rte 12 and picked up the pace in an attempt to catch the pie guy before closing. As we tumbled out of the woods, down the wildflower strewn mountain, across the cow pasture chock full of calves, high on pie filled anticipation, a HUGE storm rolled in. It was the kind you could smell in the air and feel in the wind, but that was such a minute detail compared to the hunger situation. We got to the door of the general store at 5:25. Closed. Just as the disappointment set in, the whole sky opened up in a torrential downpour. Thank god for the wrap around porch. We huddled by the backdoor of this stranger's store and waited out the storm. To our amazement, Mr. Pie guy came back later in the evening, opened the store for us and got us a spot in his neighbor's creepy, but very dry barn.

Crazy rain/hail storm. One of those tall trees snapped in
half right after taking this pic. 

Trail Log

Day 4 (14 miles)
Longest day this week, yet the best I've felt. The morning was hard, with lots of peaks, but each one rewarded us with great views. The trail was littered with fallen trees and branches from the storm the night before. So glad we were inside while that happened. We took a long lunch on a sunny mountain top in the middle of a huge patch of wild raspberries. It was perfection. Ended the day with a long descent through fields of flowers into the arms of a cheeseburger in town. MmMMm

Snack break. Best time of the day.
Raisins never tasted so good. 

(wo) Man down!

Wild rasberries! Om nom. 

Hand picked. Then tossed in my mouth in one swift motion :)

Day 5 (10 miles)
Knowing that we were arriving in Hanover today made our last day a piece of cake. Well that and the fact that there was only one climb and we got it over with right away. Showers and laundry in town and a ride home with Zach's mom made for a relaxing and welcome return to civilization. Kelsey, Llama legs and Nocello have 2 more states (NH and Maine) and about 400 more miles. I don't know how they do it, but they do and I have the utmost respect for them. Ya'll go ahead wit yo bad selves!

Personal Fave

Day 5: Crossing into Hanover, NH

GOOD LUCK ON THE REST OF YOUR TRIP GUYS!

Eataly

This weekend, Melissa and I went on an adventure to Eataly, Mario Batali's Italian marketplace monstrosity on 23rd street. Eataly is an eating, shopping, drinking Italian themed experience, with fresh produce, fish, mis en place, wine, pasta, glassware. You name it, they sell it. It has been on my To Do List since it opened, but the thought of crowds and the guilt of inadvertently hurting the small shops in Little Italy has kept me away. Until now. 

It is a little like if Mall of America and Little Italy had a baby. And Wegmans was the godfather of their lovechild. Huge, easy to get turned around, delicious, impeccable quality, and excellent customer service.

Center of Eataly, wine and cheese area. 

Melis found the recipe on epicurious' iPad app, which
provides a grocery shopping list that you check off as you go.
Love this!

We started shopping for a delicious pasta dinner that she is making. Chicken, peaches, saffron. Amazing!

Gorgeous produce!

Must have been 18 varieties of mushrooms.

As we were waiting in line for ciabatta, we spotted two girls hanging out in the pasta aisle w/ glasses of wine in hand. Not just glasses though, they were carrying a bottle of wine, leaning against and end display of fusilli and rigatoni. Picking up dudes, we presumed. But, wait. How is it that they are carrying a full bottle of wine around the store? You can't do that at Whole Foods.... Well, apparently you can buy a bottle from the wine vendor and drink it anywhere in the store. Just pour a glass and toss the bottle in the cart. Genius! Maybe then you won't notice how expensive that hunk of Gouda is.

Mmm, yes. Samples please. 

Beautiful, but not $23 beautiful. 

Within Eataly, are multiple seating areas with seperate menus, depending on what you want to eat- fish, veggies, meat & cheese, pizza. But, you can't order pizza if you are sitting in the fish section. Wierd. Guess you have to be on the same page w/ the rest of your party. By the time we got hungry and and figured out how the sit down system works, it was 8 o'clock on Friday night. Translation, huge waits for a table. We finished our wine by the bread samples and headed home.

Would I go back? Absolutely. I want one of their delicious meat & cheese boards, or maybe a ceviche sampler. I'm thinking a fancy Tuesday afternoon this summer, when no one else is there. Would I go grocery shopping there? No. And actually, this sits well with my conscience because I don't dine in Little Italy, but I do shop and I plan to keep it that way.

RGTs = Really Good Times.

Field Trips

I just went on a Field Trip booking Frenzy. Here is whats on our schedule this spring:

March- Sony Wonder Technology Lab
April- NY Botanical Garden, NY Hall of Science
May- California Pizza Kitchen for How To Pizza Lessons, Wave Hill
June- Yankee Stadium, MOMA, Central Park, Possibly the Frying Pan for an end of year party

Field trips rule because many of my kids don't get to see their city. They know their neighborhood and they know New York City rules because I mean really, there are t-shirts that say "New York Fuckin City." How can you not have heard? But they can't tell you the really awesome things to see and do. I like to give them some things that they'll remember for awhile. I mean, in addition to being able to multiply multidigit numbers (ohh yeah)

Activities!

Today has been super productive and chock full of activities. Oh, how I love activities!

Does going to Whole Foods count as an activity? If so, thats one... Zach and I also went to our first fashion show, played dress up at Moscot, brewed beer (him), made cookies (me), and I finished up some jewelry projects that I've been working on.

Susanna Rae Fall/Winter 2011 Collection

Zach's friend's girlfriend is Susanne Rae, a designer from Brooklyn, so we had the pleasure of going to her Fall/Winter 2011 show at Lincoln Center. Woweee! Fancy fancy. Great people watching, photogs, a live band, anorexic models, and gorgeous clothes. Why are fashion shows not a regular part of my life? The theme was kind of victorian gone grunge and the gowns w/ open and racer backs and heavy on the trim were really what got me. I may have fallen in love with one white gown in particular.

Plunging V back and lots of fringe.
Let's just call it mine. 

Fashion shows are definitely something I need to do more of. How is it that I'm 26 and just getting to my first one, while this precious little munchkin is already in glittery sneaks and filming the show on an iPhone? P.S. I took the pic when her mom wasn't looking. Like a creep. 

This kid is going to do big things in life. 

Tonight we got busy with some role playing. As brewmaster and jeweler ;) I'd like to say I helped, but it was mostly Zach working on a batch of IPA, while I finished up a long overdue ring and tie pin. 

IPA grains

Brewmaster Zach

The grey and white one is the one I just finished.

I used Silver Black to oxidize the ring before setting the stone.
Brings a little funky-punky edge to it. 

Tie pin

RAWR!

Happy Valentine's Day!
(doodled in silver shavings)

CUSE

I went back to Syracuse for the 'Cuse v. Nova basketball game last weekend. The game was not blogworthy. It was fun, but we lost, which sucked. However, the adrenaline of the whole weekend was well worth the trip. I don't think that feeling of anticipation as you drive up 81, past Homer and Preble and the crazy ranting Indian Nation billboard, coming round the bend to see the tip of the Dome and the lights on Lawrinson (my freshman year dorm where I made so many of my friends) will ever fade. It is awesome and the sort of thing that could never be captured in a picture. 

Sheraton + Friends + Four Lokos = Doesn't matter
whether you win or lose, it's that we went to the game.

Real Good Times

Oh hello Hall of Languages. Looking as gray as I remember you :)

Friends

Alto Cinco = One of my top 3 restaurants ever. Note the
dready dude in the background. Chef's secret is under that hat.

Glass of Pinot and a shrimp burrito.

'Nuff said.

See you next year 'Cuse.