Thursday, March 27, 2008

The To Do List

I'm a big list maker. I just love the efficiency and clarity of getting myself organized and then getting things done and crossing them firmly off the list.

This is my current list of to dos. Interesting that the two items on the left are my work-related ones and the one on the right, the Wedding one, is by far the longest. One step at a time. Rome was not built in a day. Neither were the pyramids. Or the Eiffel tower.

A charming moment



Last night I experienced as close to perfection as is possibly possible on a New York City street. I got my sweet little Mac laptop back on her feet (hooray for the cute techies at the Apple Genius Bar), which pleased me to no end. I was primed for some love.

Two hours earlier I had battled my way up Fifth Avenue to the Apple Store, through a never-ending throng of European tourists and middle school girls soccer teams on Spring Break. When I stepped outside the plexiglass box that is the store, I braced myself to bob and weave through the crowd again. But something miraculous happened.

The street and sidewalk were charmingly free of people. There were no cars whizzing past, honking and barking at one another. Only a few people walked sedately past me. And the air was warm and the sky was in that marvelous romantic dusky time.

I love New York with all the ferver my little heart can muster. BUT. Sometimes it can get noisy and crowded and frustrating. These quiet moments soothe me and must be savored. I walked past the newly renovated Plaza Hotel, admiring the new facade and remembering fun memories. (Martha? Giggling on the bed in the biggest suite we've ever been in?) I then walked past the sweet, tired horsies pulling carriages. Past the southeast corner of Central Park, where, just over the pond, tiny purple buds are beginning to form on the tree tops.

Then I entered the subway station, which was also remarkably empty and calm. A train pulled up. I transfered at Times Square. This station as well--which is really amazing--was quiet as could be. And someone was wearing tuberose perfume. Which is one my most favoritest smells ever.

Sometimes you just feel complete. For some, it might be eating a spectacular meal or accomplishing something great at work or whatever. I like those things too. But in this moment last night, I was incandesantly happy. Because of a little quietness and some tuberose perfume.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Wedding Round-up


Wedding planning is fun. A little unwieldy, a bit overwhelming and a pinch stressful, yes. But then all of a sudden you realize that you've picked a date, booked a venue, purchased a dress, hired a photographer, contracted a florist, boogied with a DJ, settled on beautiful shades of colors, worded invitations, reworded and then reworded them again, registered for all sorts of fabulous items and paid for tickets to a tropical isle. Looking at that completed list, it all seems so easy. Why did I get so flustered in the middle of all this? (For those of you stifling hoots of laughter, please, I can hear you.)

I don't have a good answer for that. But what I know for sure is that I'm so excited to be marrying my darling Justin, and I'm so excited for this wedding. I love planning every precious little detail and savoring each delicious moment of being a bride.

There are still 58965214578 things to do. But I have lots of help and lots of love and lots of excitement. And as we are so fond of quoting in my house, "Justin is wonderful and brilliant and we're getting married!!"

xoxo

Gasp! So much fun


I just found the most amazing new blog, via one of my favorite blogs.

Enter, The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Yummy recipes and pretty photos with great commentary. What a great combo.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

It's the most wonderful time of the year!


It's March Madness!


It's just so exciting--the games, the players, the coaches, the brackets, the trash-talk, I heart every single minute of the goodness.


My espeically favorite days are the days like today, when there are 7 games played during the day and I can spend my entire workday doing nothing except refreshing SI.com to get the scores. LOVE IT.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Here come the bridesmaids!

I have the sweetest, loveliest friends in the world. Four of these beauties have agreed to be bridesmaids for my wedding. They are the best in the world - loving, kind, patient, excited, possessing a healthy appreciation for the color pink, and all-around classy gals.


The line up is:


Miss Ellie Marble
Ellie is in the fur hat and I am on the left singing. Yes, it is kareoke. Yes, it is hip-hop kareoke. Yes, we were awesome.

Miss Liz Longergan
Lis is very artistic. One of my oldest and bestest friends.

Miss Jessica Ruiz
Jessica and I enjoy going to Broadway openings together.

and


The Homecoming Queen of Tulane University, all the way from New Orleans,


Miss Jessica Roberts
She's very excited to be my Maid of Honor. She's the cutest little snickerdoodle ever.

Aren't they lovely? Aren't they wonderful? I love them!
Thanks, girls!!!

Friday, March 7, 2008

Spring forward

Daylight savings already?? Yippee! I'm so grateful to leave the office and have hours of sunshine left. Ohhh, the magicalness of spring.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Mark your calendars!


Addressing the envelopes and stuffing them with save-the-dates. This is really happening! XOXO!

A word to the wise:

Don't lift this
when you can only lift the little pink ones. I might have used 10 lb. dumbbells during my cardio workout Wednesday instead of my usual 3 lb. ones and ummm....yeah....my arms and back HURT!

To Detroit and back again


Motown was my host this week in preparation for a big work project coming up in June. My mission: test every amenity at the Ritz-Carlton hotel and visit the Detroit Institute of Arts.

It's worth putting in print that the king size bed at the Ritz is far and away the coziest, comfiest bit of heaven I've ever rested my curly head on. Justin--I took notes on the mattress and feather bed. We should look into it. The hotel was lovely and filled with crystal chandaliers and tinkly music. The best part was the candy lounge on the Club Floor. A giant glass canister of Tootsie Rolls and Gummi Bears and hot and cold snacks and sodas and water at all hours of the day and night? My boss and I sat in a corner of the lounge, kept company with a real Detroit posse (the gentlemen were absolutely wearing floor length fur coats), watched a blizzard dump 8 inches on snow on us and got the giggles. Best Tuesday night in a long time.

The Detroit Institute of Arts blew me away. Knocked my socks off. The DIA recently completed a 6 year expansion and construction project that I believe exemplifies why art museums exist. The DIA has had a historically rough life--one of the richest collections in the country in terms of the works of art but one of the poorest in actual monetary senses. Detroit as a city is frighteningly tragic. And is lacking a generation of donors, philanthropists, politicians and economy to help get it back on track. Graham Beal, the Director of the DIA (and the object of just a little hero worship on my part), made radical changes to the way the collections of the museum would be displayed and caught a lot of heat from his colleagues and the press over his efforts. This review by The New York Times gives a nice overview of the situation and is typical of the general response to the new DIA. What I can say is--the DIA is an inarguable demonstration that 1) art enriches people's lives and 2) everyone deserves to see said art. White, black, orange, purple, rich, poor, upside down and sideways. Don't criticize the ones who try to make it possible.

The art is world class. The building is a legacy to greatness of the past and the possibility of renewal. It was the first time in my life that I've been moved to tears by a personal interaction with art. (Yes, crying in the Italian galleries next to my boss and Graham...erm...one of the more embarrassing moments of my week but genuine. I couldn't help myself.)