On Returning to New York City

Let's be honest. I could easily write a million and a half words on the four days I just spent in Manhattan.

But I'll spare you and I both the time. And I'll just say it all in one single phrase -

Overwhelming happiness - like coming home, hanging on, letting go - all at once. 

And the rest I will say with photos.  :)

Oh hello New York. I have missed you!

 I also miss working with these two. 

Good to see not much has changed since I've been gone.

#professionalism

Fancy steakhouse dinner with these girls. 

Maybe we are bad at fancy.

But we are good at silly.

 And LT has new sparkle! She and Matty are getting maaaarrieeeed. :)

Obligatory "cheers-ing" photo.

Who needs cake when you can have "caketails"?

The only way for one to drink a "caketail"

Mockingjay?? In Tribeca??

A sunny New York Friday. UWS love.

Freshly pink toes...meet boots + plastic wrap. Just in cases. 

We're not awkward. Ever.

Catching up with Krista at Grey Dog. 

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose. 

xoxo

 A West Village Friday night with friends. 

And hopeful Mega Millions tickets.

Smile Sam!

Chilly Saturday morning brunching at Sara Beth's.

With Mrs. Denniston! Love.

It was chilly. And misty raining. Thanks for the welcoming weather NY.

B: Weeeere you going to think about wearing boots today?

LJ: Ummm, no? Flats today!

B: Weeeeell. Maybe you might think about boots...It's 45 degrees and rainy. Did you live here?!

:)

A lil UWS stroll to Levain for a treat. 

Saturday night in Times Square. 

Maybe I even miss the crazy? Oh but I do.

Once on Broadway.

So so so good. See it. It's wonderful. 

Sunday brunching at Tipsy Parson. Delightful as always.

And these girls are just the best brunch crew. 

 This was necessary. 

Kate's first outing!

Followed by a brisk walk through Central Park. 

Where we ran into Morgan...who was on a run with her boyfriend. 

Things I love about this city, always running into people I know. Quite literally.

And my last date of the weekend - catch up coffee with Lindsay Ann.

And then it was time to say good-bye! 

What a whirlwind weekend. Loved every minute of it.

And then I stood in the pouring down rain trying to hail a cab for 20 minutes.
Thanks Linds for waiting with me...good things come to those who wait for cabs in the rain with their friends.

And thanks NYC, for the reminder that some things never change. 

Until next time New York!

celebrating with these two

gosh i love it when a lil bit of my new york comes to texas. 

you remember these two?
andrea - longhorn, new yorker, sarcastic, awesome.

brian - friend at very first job in nyc, new yorker, sarcastic, also awesome.

i like to take just a liiiil bit of credit for the two of them.

ok, maybe it was shared responsibilities between me and LC, another former co-worker / fixed up as andrea's first nyc roomie. you're welcome for both A.

i think it went something like this - 

A: you can't just set me up with a guy at work because i am jewish and he is jewish!

LJ: why not? you are jewish and cute and sarcastic and fun and you are my friend. brian is also cute and sarcastic and fun and he is my work friend - who just happens to be jewish too! it's perfect.

A: eye roll

LJ: what? it doesn't work like that?

and that was the spring of 2007. the rest is history.

guess that first nyc job was good for more than my career, hah.

anyway, these two are getting married! hooray!

they were engaged last december (there was a giggly phone call that i won't recount for you because A and B are so NOT giggly - good thing i am), but this was their first trip back to dallas and celebrating was ohsonecessary.

andrea grew up in richardson where they had the engagement party. mama tina's house was full of family, friends, home baked treats of course, and decorated with these napkins that made me giggle. (take note B!)

so so fun to see my new york friends in texas. and to see andrea's new sparkles.

 they should all visit more often! or better yet - hey B, there's a job for you at my office! i'll even split the finder fee with you. come to teeeeexaaaaas.

(just my obligatory "move here please" plea)   :)

love y'all!

Green.

They told me St. Patty's weekend in Dallas was not to be missed. I mean, I've done St. Patty's celebrating in New York City friends, I'm no stranger to the craziness of this holiday. But hey, let's see what this is all about.

I stuck around, made some plans to tag along with Linds and Colin and their friends for the festivities. Which turned out started at 8:15am. Ouch. These guys don't mess around.

I wore a green dress. Green nail polish. Green Kendra Scott earrings. And my cowboy boots. Duh.

Greenville Avenue was all shut down in preparation for the parade and block party. We camped out at Stan's among lots and lots of green-clad St Patty's celebrators. Koozies were necessary. 

Colin and Linds. Very green.

We call this, the green slurpee. Yum. Just a taste before hitting the road - ok, maybe just walking a few blocks - to our next party location.

We met some horses along the way. They were not dressed in green. But we thought they should have been.

I must share the following photo shoot. 

Jessyca and Lindsey. And the kilted man. Lindsey was very sure she knew him from somewhere...

House party. Green beer. Green jello. Puppies. It was a good day.

I'm also not 100% sure where this lei came from. But it is now hanging in my cubie at work. Just a lil green reminder of my very green holiday. 

Love these girls!

Oh and another happy St. Patty's treat?? THIS gal was in town from South Carolina to celebrate her big 3-0 birthday. I met up with sorority sis Deborah, her husband FJ and their friends for some cookie cake and one more green beer. 

All that equals...

One. Long. (and very green!) Day.

St. Patty's Dallas style. 

Success!

painting project {the navy one}

Next up on my list-o-projects - a bookshelf refresh!

I stole this lil bookshelf from my parent's garage when I moved. I think it came from my Grandad's house, I'm not sure. But I do know it's just been hanging out in their garage for years and I could certainly put it to much better use!

I love that this shelf has really great shape. And maybe just a bit neglected. But tons of potential. Nothing a lil sanding and a fresh coat of paint couldn't fix!

I had a painting weekend with mom on the first nice weekend in February. We had all the windows and doors open to a sunshiney day and got to work right there in my apartment. Who needs a garage when you have a few pieces of wood for keeping paint off the floors and lots of newspapers? 

I decided on a dark navy blue for this piece. Semi-gloss this time around. 

However, after this first coat, it was not looking very dark navy at all. It was more robins egg blue. And I was quite skeptical.

So I decided to let it dry. Give it another coat. And cross my fingers that it got darker. 

If not? Well then I was prepared for another trip to home depot to get the color just right. I wanted navy!

Lucky for me, two coats of paint and a little time was all it needed to dry and darken.

I ended up being really happy with the color. And with the glossy finish.

I did have to let it dry for a few days before I could put anything on it though. Something about that semi-gloss finish made it pretty sticky. 

But once I moved it back into my room, I was totally in love with the way it turned out. The perfect shade of navy and the perfect size between these two doors.

Painting project #2, check! 

What do you think?! I think I'm starting to get really good at this game. 

Can't wait to share my next project! It has lots of character. And a good story. You know, my favorite kind of project!  :)

Slacker

I have been SUCH the bloggy slacker lately. Oops.

I really didn't mean to. I have lots of half-written posts...in my head...I think.

So in effort to get back to bloggy business.

And because I looked to my iPhone photos for inspiration.

Here are ten super important (read: random) thoughts of the day.


1. Date nights with my niece are my favorite. They are filled with quotable moments that I am sure I had ambitions of blogging at some point -

"We're going to do this crafty project, ok?"

Showing me how she can write her name - "Only in pink La La. Because it's my favorite. And it's yours too." 

"Let's have a tea party! With JUST the girls. They'll love it."
"This piece of cake is yours. It has sparkles too!"

"Oh La La, you are just magnificent!" Followed by an attacking hug.

After falling down and getting slightly upset - "Oh no Sloan...but can you still twirl? That's the real test if you're ok" - She immediately twirls away.

2. NY Mag is back in my life! Although, without all that time on the train, I find myself very behind in reading.

3. It's Girl Scout Cookie season! And these are my favorites...

4. I went to my first Mavs game a few weeks ago. I know, I know, what kind of Dallas girl am I? But now I'm hooked. So I'll be accepting invites / tickets whenever available. 

5. New Mizunos! In very bright yellow. But they were totally necessary after our muddy February 5K fiasco. Right??

6. My nephew Tyler is at such a fun age! He's starting to get a lil personality. He loves his big sister and watches everything she does. And just look at that hat! What a doll.

7. I would very much like a cuddley puppy. Mom says I shouldn't have one in an apartment. (and maybe because I don't spend a ton of time at home...) Whatever. She's not the boss of me.

Just LOOK at these lil schnoodles! I need one!

8. Guess who had a layover in Big D a few weeks ago?!? World Traveler Extraordinaire, Angie Away. We talked for 3 hours non-stop in the Hyatt restaurant at DFW. I miss her. Like, a lot.

Now submitting applications for social media guru's / travel-a-holics in the Dallas area. I know she'll love it here. :)

9. Me and sparkly nail polish are having a moment. Next time, lighter base color. Probably pink. The options are endless. 

10. I made guacamole a la Pioneer Woman a few weeks ago. For a girly night with my friend Kristen. It was really really yummy. And easy. And we ate most of it in one night. No shame.