blossoms

P brought back some squash blossoms from his garden so that I could recreate the pizza as seen on Saveur's front cover. I substituted the cheese with creme fraiche, as Scala's Bistro prepares it.

L+P & S+J Wed

High school gals

The WHOLE high school gang

Newport Beach, CA

July 4

Really just a picture of us at S&J's wedding. :) I think the bride and groom are in the back somewhere.

New Jersey

July 10

NY Philharmonic in the Park

A more uppety crowd attended this event, although not all normal concert antics were lost during this classical music concert. The group in front of us was entirely toasted. And there was a tremendous problem with women keeping their boobs in place. One women had hers just half covered (vertically), unabashedly waved her arms around, moving in all sorts of positions as if she had a full T-shirt on, and well lost some coverage briefly and gave us a show. It was inevitable.

i'm fancy

Outside: High of 85 degrees F, humid.

Inside: Feels like 65.

I have an office full-zip sweatshirt, scarf/shawl, and socks (Qantas airplane socks, really).

Today, I'm wearing everything. I'm wearing a yellow dress (thanks, E!), have the shawl over my shoulders, sweatshirt over my legs, and socks. I look ridiculous.

I don't leave my office wearing all of these things. Thus, it takes 30 seconds of preparation to remove all cover-up articles, though I keep the shawl.

Blasting the AC is such a waste of energy!

enjoy!

Ringo

http://www.dailypuppy.com

SYTYCD

So much fun, so amazing. If you don't watch the show, this season they paired past, top dancers with newly casted dancers. Alex, the Asian guy, is the newbie and is a trained ballet dancer -- you'd never know it from this performance (aside from praps the storyline and the splits he does standing up). I was cheering for Alex during the performance in a manner very much like the choreographers and judges at the end, but in my own living room... alone. ;) Sometimes I just can't help myself.

good TV night

On top of getting a tattoo on the show, crazy man Kasey on The Bachelorette delivers the most ridiculous lines I've ever heard.

• "I want to guard and protect your heart." (It gets old and gross after he says it about 1000 times.)
• "I’ll be able to show her my tattoo… then I’ll be able to see her heart, and she’ll be able to see mine."
• "It’s definitely easy to write something from the heart to a woman like Ali. I’m very excited for her to hear my heart and to hear my words, and to put them together so that I can make her smile."
• "I got this tattoo to be someone. To be a man for Ali. To be a man for that woman."
• "I’m a dreamer. I’m a believer. I love to love. I love to give. I love to share."

I want to throw up with all the cheese.

Then I watched Glee, where in stark contrast, Sue Sylvester delivers these types of lines. Of course, she has professional writers, but goodness, are they good.

• "For me, trophies are like herpes. You try to get rid of them, but they just keep coming. You know why? Sue Sylvester has hourly flare-ups of burning, itchy, highly contagious talent."
• "That’s what they said about a young main in Chicago in 1871, who thought he’d play a harmless prank on a dairy cow of one, Mrs. O’Leary. He successfully ignited its flatulence and the city burned, William. That young terrorist went on to become the first gay president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln."

powering through heat and humidity

This visit with the Sis and R coincided with an excruciatingly hot and humid weekend. Thus, food consumption was reasonable.

Menu included:

Friday: Spotted Pig (burgers, pig ear), Billy's Bakery, People's Pop, Lombardi's (clam pie), Rice to Riches (overpriced due to over-marketing, but good pudding!).

Saturday: Levain (everything on the menu), Le Pain Quotidien, Blue Hill (amuse bouches almost the best things). Can this really be everything?

Sunday: Shakeshack shakes, Papaya Dog (overrated), Magnolia Bakery, Momofuku Ssam, Momofuku Milk Bar (wonderful cookie made with everything including coffee grounds and potato chips), Pinkberry.

Saw Behanding in Spokane with Christopher Walken. I had no idea what the play was about, but based my decision entirely on the presence of Mr. Walken. It was a pretty safe bet! I don't think I've ever seen Walken in something I didn't like, and this play seemed to fit right into his personality. Foul language and stupid humor (the play's about searching for a hand severed 40 years ago!). Enjoyable and easier to get tickets for than Fences!

nuptials, cake, and cactuseses

NZ

Jetboating was a treat (background), and getting to dress up like Harry Potter was an added bonus.

I asked, "What is this exotic baked good?" It's called a muffin. :-/

Lamb chips are good! So are chicken chips. NZ version of Cheetos is not as good as the real thing.

homemade (sort of)

I wanted to make dumplings, but was too tired to go downtown to get dumpling wrappers. So I made my own.

3 parts flour + 1 part water + cutouts with chinese bowl = tiring and not worth it

Picture of delicious. Trader Joe's herb pizza dough + roasted garlic spread on the dough + mozzarella + basil + prosciutto + baby shiitake + truffle oil. Bliss.

Trader Joe's white pizza dough + pesto + mozzarella + hot Italian sausage + wilted arugula. As you can see, too much sausage. But otherwise delicious.

event-FULL 2010

1. Got hit by a car (as a pedestrian). (1/28)
2. Engaged! (2/1)
3. Dropped my iron (unplugged) on my foot. (2/2)
4. Twisted my ankle while walking in Grand Central Station. (2/8)
5. Promoted. (2/9)
6. Got elbowed in the eye in a basketball game. (2/9)
7. Moved in with fiance. (2/13)
8. Got clawed on the forearm in a basketball game. (2/18)
   
9. Bungy jumped off Kawarau Bridge. (4/5)
10. Finally received ring! (4/13)
    

While I've had my share of accidents (a year's worth apparently), I've also been very lucky to have walked away okay, and to have them counterbalanced with a promising future with my hubs-to-be, career, and exciting adventures!

4-3-2-1!

Kawarau Bridge, New Zealand