Motorcade

This is an old update...trying to clean my pictures off my camera and get them all posted!  I got to witness the Presidential Motorcade back in October...or maybe it was September.  Whenever the UN Summit was.  This is an event that occurs every year around the same time and dignitaries from all over the world come to New York City for it.  The East side of the city in mid-town is always a bit chaotic during the Summit because the UN is over there and all these high profile people are staying in that area.  You often hear people complaining about the traffic during that time because entire streets are shut down when someone of super importance is being transported from one location to another.  I had never really witnessed this as I don't go to the mid-town East area that often.  This year, I was on the hunt for a book I was having trouble finding.  Through an online search, I found it at a Borders on Park Avenue, which put me in mid-town East.  As I left the store, I noticed that Park Ave had been shut down and there were cops at every intersection and in between.  I have no idea how many cops it took to pull of Obama's little jaunt from the Upper East Side (where I think he was dining) to mid-town where he was staying.  It was a lot and probably cost us a pretty penny if you think about it.  Now I'm not trying to bash Obama for that, just saying that it is pretty crazy that it took what must have been hundreds of police officers just to get our president a couple of miles down the road.  Anyway, at the time I got there I didn't know who was coming...it could have been a President of any other country, but I kind of assumed it was Obama.  It was a pretty huge operation.  They were still allowing people to cross over Park on foot and that was the way I needed to go.  About 1/2 way through the intersection (it's a wide street for Manhattan) I was by a cop and he discreetly whispered to me "You might want to hang around for a bit.  The President is coming through"!  I thought it was cute that he bothered to let me know.  And, of course, I did hang around for a bit.  We waited a while and it all happened so fast once the motorcade came through.  It was still fun and exciting though!

Carrie Underwood

So, I'm going to the Carrie Underwood concert on Monday (courtesy of the NHL).  It's Mindy's birthday week and she really wanted to go to this and I was able to get the tickets, so it's perfect.  I like Carrie Underwood, but am brushing up on her music a bit.  Last night, I downloaded a new song and I've added it to this page just to get in the spirit.  The song is "How Great Thou Art".  Carrie Underwood + Gospel music?  Yes, please.  I doubt she'll sing it at the concert, but I'd love if she did!

Sister Visit!

My sister got to come visit a couple of weeks ago (and she's coming back in a couple more)! It was totally last minute, but both she and my mom had said they wanted to come for the Junior League Home Tour. The Junior League, however, didn't post the date until about 10 days before the event! So, I called Beth and left a message and didn't really expect her to come the next weekend (especially when she was still in the middle of trying to figure out how to get them all here for Thanksgiving). Amazingly, she didn't have much on the calendar for that weekend, had some miles she could use for the flight, and Brian was up for keeping the 3 boys (which was an even greater sacrifice this go around since my parents were still going to be in France and unavailable to help out)! I am so glad Beth was able to come...we had a great time!

Beth flew in on Friday morning and came straight to my office so she could check out the tennis shoes (yes, tennis shoes...not sneakers) at the NHL store. I have been wearing Reeboks ever since we opened the store...I actually really like the look and the feel of them and with an employee discount of 50%, you just can't beat the prices! We grabbed lunch at Hale & Hearty...good soup! Then, she was on her way for an afternoon of solo shopping while I finished out the work day. After work, I met Beth in SoHo where we went to a cocktail party for the Home Tour. This was awesome because it was the first time we were able to get the home addresses and maps the night before the tour, allowing us to be at the 1st house as soon as houses opened and plan out our whole day ahead of time. It was the first time I was able to see every home on the tour without running out of time, so the cocktail party is key in my book! It was actually a nice party, too with drinks and yummy appetizers. We hung out there for a while trying the bites and reviewing the descriptions of the homes for the next day.

From the party, we walked over to the Lower East Side to eat dinner at Freemans. Freemans is so cool and I can't wait to go back! It is located at the back of a dark, graffiti filled alley. It looks like you're walking into nothing and then lights and a beautiful space appear! It feels more like a home on the inside and the decor is very cool...rustic (think deer heads). Since this was such a last minute trip, we didn't really have time to make reservations anywhere and if you want to eat anywhere good in New York, you have to have reservations or expect a wait. After a very short wait, we lucked into 2 seats at the bar (where they off their full menu)! This ended up being totally fine. We loved it! The food was great. We split their infamous prunes, stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon, a yummy salad, and beer cheese fondue. Yum!

Freemans Alley

 Inside Freemans

On our way home, we stopped in Sugar Sweet Sunshine bakery and picked up some cupcakes to take home. Their pumpkin cupcake at this time of year is to-die-for!

When we got home that evening, Beth said it was the best day of her life! I am pretty sure she was being overly dramatic, but she really loved having her afternoon to explore alone and I can relate to that.

Saturday was the big tour. We got up early and stopped by Popover Cafe for some yummy eggs and popovers before getting on the subway. We were at our first stop right at 10:30 when the houses opened. The tour was a little strange this time because there were multiple spaces that weren't actually homes...no one lived in them. They were model spaces and things like that. Granted, they were designed by some great decorators so they still made great eye-candy. But, I really like seeing homes that are lived in, so it was a bit disappointing in that regard. We started at homes in Chelsea and West Village, made our way to the Upper East Side for more tours and lunch (which is always great) and then ended up in mid-town on 5th Avenue. The 5th Avenue spaces (there were 3 in the same building) had the most incredible views of Manhattan. I couldn't concentrate on the interior design because my eyes kept wandering to the huge windows. 360-degree views that were seriously amazing. My very favorite home was a tiny townhouse in the West Village that was so old and small, but adorable. A family of 3 lives there and I almost wondered how. The kitchen was smaller than mine (but much more beautiful) and the master bedroom hardly had room to walk in. But, it was so very cute. The day ended at the new Ralph Lauren Home showroom, which was opened to the public for the first time ever. It was a very cool space and they had drinks and appetizers for us again. We were very happy with how the day went - not only did we make it to all the stops on the tour, we even had time to pop in a few stores we saw along the way. It was much more relaxed than the mad-dash to finish that I'd experienced with the 2 previous tours I've done here.

The Gift Bag for this tour was small, but awesome!

A copy of one of my favorite home decor mags

and an awesome candle courtesy of Ralph Lauren!

After the home tour, we went for dinner at Del'Anima, an Italian restaurant situated right at the Chelsea/West Village border that's been on my radar for a while. We started with some of their bruchette (ricotta - yum) and split a delicious arugula/Parmesan salad. We both had pasta for entrees and it was excellent. We stopped by Billy's on the way home for dessert. Beth saw 3 things she wanted, so we just got them all and took them home. The chocolate/peanut butter bar we got was sooooo good.

Our time on Sunday was brief, but we were able to walk to Alice's Tea Cup for brunch and then pop in a couple of stores on Columbus Avenue as well as a stroll through the flea market before Beth had to head for the airport. It was a great weekend and I think we were both so glad she came.

I seriously can't wait until Beth comes back in a couple of weeks and brings my entire family with her!! They're coming for a quite a while (the women and kids will be here for TEN days!) and we have a serious schedule of events.

Catalina Island

When I was deciding whether I would make the trip to LA or not, I knew I would want to stay longer than my friends. I just couldn't bear the thought of 12 hours worth of flying (6 each way) or the cost of the flight in exchange for only 2 days there. Especially since California was somewhere I've been wanting to go back to anyway. So, I began trying to think of ideas of what I could do that wouldn't be crazy expensive. I really wanted some San Diego time as it's been 5 years since my parent's moved from there and I last visited. I fell in love with that place during the 8 years they lived there and going back has been on my mind lately. My mom probably would have jumped at the chance to meet me out there for the rest of the week...if she and my dad hadn't already planned a trip to France with their cousins during that time. So, in the end, I decided a little trip to Catalina Island would suffice. I had always heard good things about it and it was something I could do without having to rent a car and I could do it in 1 day which would minimize the financial aspect and also my time alone, since I wasn't sure yet how I would like that. I've thought before about taking trips on my own because as much as I like to travel with friends, I can't deny that I love just exploring new places on my own, and the idea of setting my own schedule, choosing to see and do and eat exactly what I want, and not feeling the pressure to keep other people entertained or happy (which, maybe I shouldn't feel responsible for at all, but I do). So, this was a good little trial run.

I left our hotel very early on Monday morning. A shuttle picked me up and took me to the ferry. As I boarded the ferry, I looked into the water and saw many orange starfish! I had never seen starfish like that before and I wished my arms hadn't been full of my bags and that my camera had been easily accessible. As we pulled out of the "driveway" (I can't think of what it's really called, but where a lot of boats are parked), the water had several sea lions swimming about...so cute! I stood outside on the top deck for a while, but it was very windy and cold and rainy (for the 3rd day...I thought we were going to sunny southern California??). I went inside and snagged a seat along a big window where I could still enjoy the views. A little while later, we saw a whole school of dolphins diving through the water. I don't think I have ever seen this in person and I was so excited!! Everyone on the ferry was pretty excited and pointing and yelling at others to come over and look. It was really cool. Unfortunately, I got no pictures of any of the sealife.

The "Driveway"

There was some pretty scenery leaving the mainland

 Cute house of some sort...looked like a naval base or something

Doesn't look quite like the lighthouses of the Northeast!

First glimpse of Catalina Island

As we got closer and closer to the island, the clouds started to break a little and it seemed to get a bit warmer so I went back outside to enjoy the views upon arrival. The rest of the day was the best weather I had during my time in California, although it was still more cloudy than sunny and not really SoCal weather at all. I was just happy that my time exploring Catalina was not in the rain or cold.

 Getting closer!

I was surprised at how the little town looked so

European to me with the buildings built up into

the sides of the hills...reminded me of Greece or

what I would expect parts of Amalfi coast to look like.

 So pretty!

 Loved this unique house up on the hill

 I stayed in the town of Avalon

 I immediately noticed all the flowers upon arrival!

I was on the island by 10:15am so I dropped my things off at hotel reception and did a little wandering around and photo capturing before I could go back and check-in to my room. Catalina was really cute and I had fun exploring the little town.

Catalina Inn, my home for the day and night

 There were tons of these bright orange fishies

swimming around the ocean.

 During my parent's years in Cali, I also fell

in love with Confetti flowers.  They were

always EVERYwhere in San Diego!

 Walking the path to the famous theatre

 Pretty theatre.  If I had planned better,

I could have seen a movie and the inside

of the theatre..supposed to be gorgeous!

Just couldn't get tired of these views!

If it had been sunny & warm, I would have had to partake

in catching some rays on this incredible beach!

 Peace.

 Love.

 Me & archways :)

 Artsy.

 Cute streets with shops

 More beauty.

 Like this pic quite a bit, too.

After checking into my room, I found a place called Steve's where I got a sandwich and clam chowder for lunch. I had a fabulous view while I ate!

My lunchtime view

I walked into some shops after lunch and eventually ended up back at my hotel. I had planned to rent a bike or do a little hiking, but I was so exhausted by this point. It had been a busy week leading up to this with planning for the church party, the party itself, then the wedding weekend! I needed a nap and I took one!

After napping, I hit up a couple of the streets of shops I hadn't done yet and then I went for a run along the boardwalk. I planned to have seafood for dinner, but found that I wasn't hungry enough for a big seafood meal, so I ended up getting a slice of pizza and a salad...not exotic, I know!! But, I was happy with my choice. I did a lot of reading in my room that night, but even despite my nap I still managed to get to sleep at a decent time. The next morning, I thought I would get up early and rent a bike for an hour so I could explore some of the island away from the little town, but it was pouring rain. So, I stayed in bed and enjoyed it :) Yeah, I slept a lot during my 24 hours on Catalina Island, but R&R is partly what a vacation should be about, right? I don't regret it, although, it would have been nice to see some other parts of the island. I did get up early enough to be able to hit up one of the many breakfast spots in town. I chose the Pancake Cottage and it did not disappoint. I had some eggs, with a side of Belgian waffle topped with strawberries. I rarely get the sweet stuff for breakfast/brunch, but this just looked so amazing so I went for it and it did not disappoint. So yummy! Then it was off to catch an 11AM ferry to the shuttle to the airport!

My breakfast view.

Ferry back to the mainland

Long Beach.

I freaked out a bit when I got on the shuttle with two other people who mentioned they were flying from the Long Beach Airport. "Um, sir, you realize I am flying from LAX, right"?, I asked the driver. He knew, but when I told him my flight was in less than 2 hours, he also looked a bit panicked, but tried to play it off as though we had plenty of time. I really began to panic when I realized we were going south to the Long Beach Airport and I knew LAX was north of where we were. Their drop-off wasn't even on the way to my airport!! Anyway, after the drop off at the Long Beach Airport, we turned back north and actually did make it to LAX in time for me to make my flight. Luckily, traffic wasn't bad and the airport lines were short. I did get harassed by one of the security ladies though. I always carry-on my little rolly suitcase, my purse, and another bag with books and stuff for the plane ride. I usually don't get called out on having one extra bag..the two smaller bags easily fit under the seat in front of me. But this lady called me out and I told her that my purse could fit inside my book bag. The one other time I was asked about my 3 bags, this answer sufficed, but this lady wanted proof. Luckily, there really was ample room in my bag for my purse and it slid right in. But, now the lady was on to me. And for the first time ever in my life, I was asked to place my rolly suitcase into the little test compartment where you can check to make sure your carry-on will fit in the overhead bins on the plane. I was shocked she asked me to do this, especially after I saw that my suitcase fit right into the compartment without any effort at all. I was even more shocked when she proceeded to say "You shouldn't put stuff in the outer pocket of your suitcase. It makes it look like it won't fit". Um, okay. But, it DID fit very easily, so why does it matter (I always put my dirty clothes in the outer pocket)? Anyway, that lady was clearly a stickler for rules or was getting a high off her position of authority or something that day. I was annoyed.  But, the silver lining? Jake Gyllenhaal was there going through security as well! I actually might have never noticed him, but the security guys got a call that he was coming thru and were talking about it so I was on alert! I saw him go thru security and then lost track of him. But, I knew there was a good chance he'd be on my flight since the security checkpoint I went thru led to only 10 gates and LAX-JFK is a common flight for celebs, so I kept my eyes peeled for another sighting. Sure enough, as I was in line to board the plane, he bypassed me in the First Class lane. I walked right past him in his seat as I boarded the plane...he sat in the very first row on the aisle. That was my last time to see him, but on my way off the plane, I did check out his seat and took note that Jake Gyllenhall likes Trident gum. A lot. There were wrappers everywhere! Maybe he uses it to keep his ears from popping. Anyway, to answer your questions...yes, he was cute and he looked exactly like he does in movies.

LA, Baby

While most of our weekend was full of wedding activity, we did get to experience a little LA time while we were there. We stayed at the Marriott Marina del Rey. It's kind of a weird area with not a whole lot immediately around it. We were walking distance to Venice Beach and Jessica and I headed that direction as we were the first to arrive to the hotel and were in need of a little lunch after several hours of flying. I wish I had done a little more research on this area as I would have loved to have seen the shops and restaurants along the canals, but I wasn't really aware of that area at the time. We headed towards the beach and found a restaurant near there to get some food and then walked a bit around the beach. It was not good weather at all, so we decided to head back to the hotel to meet Kate and Maggie who had arrived by then.

View from Marriott Marina Del Rey

Venice Beach

If I had known at the time that this cute little residential

canal led to ones with shops and restaurants, I'd have

braved the rain and cold and explored more!

On Sunday morning, we got up and showered and ready for an excursion to Santa Monica. Kate's law school friend who lives in LA was super sweet to pick us up and escort us! I had read about a fabulous hotel on one of the design blogs I read - The Viceroy. I did a little research and found out they had a restaurant that offered brunch, so we decided to check that out. The hotel did not disappoint...a design lovers haven! We explored the lobby, bar, outdoor area, restrooms, etc... before sitting in the restaurant to eat. The restaurant was cool as well and the food was good.

The Reception Desk

With Kate & Jessica outside

Outdoor Pool Area

I was surprised to see the exact same black & white

white Spode plates I own used as decor all over the hotel!

Amazing Cabanas

I'd love to spend a day right here

Lobby

Next rainy day, let's grab a book and

lounge in one of these chairs all day.

I love this arrangement of white

and green framed mirrors

Notice those white x-benches??

Bar

Entry to bathroom

I love that light fixture.  And wallpaper.

Bathroom

Green Tile!

More Black & White plates in the restaurant!

Kate & Litsa

Maggie & Kelly

Jessica & I

Afterwards, we headed towards 3rd Street for a little shopping. I was hoping it would be smaller local stores, but it was all the normal stuff, which was fine and allowed the girls to get some stuff they wanted/needed (like anti-FRIZZ products because of the horrible weather!) . It was actually a great little trip away from the hotel and perfect place for us to go with the time we had.

The girls were only in LA for less than 48 hours, so this was all we could fit in besides the wedding. I was off the morning after the wedding for a little excursion on my own...more on that to come!