this is new york - addendum 1

It has been brought to my attention that my original 'this is new york' post was almost perfect. Gasp, almost?

After reading my post, Caroline told me how much she loved it. How she thought I mentioned everything she could think of to describe our New York and how I hadn't left anything out. A few days later she believed she had uncovered a New Yorky morsel that I had somehow skipped over.

How could this be?! I have no idea how something of such importance managed to escape my otherwise thorough dissection of day-to-day life. It is a fad so very New York that if you don't live here and haven't been to visit, you've likely never encountered. Ok...so actually you might have heard it mentioned on Sex & the City. But either way, it's one of those quintessential New York experiences that makes life here just a lil bit sweeter. And definitely worth an addendum to my original post!

Good catch Caro! Because summers in the City just wouldn't be the same without bi-weekly trips to Tasti D-Lite.

. . . .familiar walks to our corner Tasti D-Lite in search of a lil treat that we convince ourselves isn't as bad for us as regular ice cream. . . .never mind that with those oreos on top, it's probably still just as bad. . . .always sampling at least 2 flavors before settling on whichever flavor-of-the-day includes peanut butter. . . .

March Madness-ing

Oh how I love March! March is the beginning of Spring, the return of much anticipated warm weather, the end of cold, gray days and the promise that Summer is right around the corner. Or...it's supposed to be.

Unfortunately March in New York is not so Springy and it does not bring glorious warmth. It is sadly just another month of cold winter. March is peppered with teasing 60 degree Saturdays cruelly followed by 30 degree weeks and snow storms. While my friends and family down south are wearing short sleeves and open-toed shoes, I'm still donning my familiar winter coats, boots, scarves and sweaters. March is such a tease.

Thankfully March also promises something other than Springtime - the college NCAA Basketball Tournament! Being a sports-loving gal, a diehard Longhorn and a general fan of a lil healthy competition, March Madness is one of my favorite times of the year for sports. (second to college football season of course, but not by much!)

Sidenote: bball was pretty much life from 3rd grade through Junior year of High School. I played year-round - in school, on select leagues, summer and fall, my Dad was our coach. I have very clear memories of not being able to go inside until I had made 10 free throws in a row in our driveway, 'Free throws win ball games!' Needless to say, I hardly ever missed a free throw, guess Dad does know best...perhaps this is where my natural affinity towards bball stems from?

I love college basketball. Mostly because of my loyalty to the Longhorns, but also because the NCAA tourny is the best! Obviously cheering for my boys is top priority and makes the playoffs all the more exciting. Sadly this year, I knew the Horns weren't likely to beat Duke, but it didn't stop me from cheering at the top of my lungs down to the very last second of their round 2 loss!

So every year after Selection Sunday I consult Dad for thoughts on the teams I don't know as much about and his predictions for upsets. I tell him what I think and he tells me 'ok...but that's a bold move.' He also provides insider tips -

5:30pm St. Paddy's Day phone call from Dad:
Dad: Hey Baby Girl, what are you doing?
LJ: Leaving St. Paddy's happy hour, what's up?
Dad: Hah, happy hour, huh? Well I just wanted you to know that Illinois' star player is hurt. Without him, they probably won't beat Western Kentucky.
LJ: Oh yeah?
Dad: Yep, so you might want to change that pick on your bracket before tomorrow...I'm betting W. Kentucky will beat 'em.
LJ: Haha, will do! Thanks Dad! This could be the secret to my bracket success!

Good tip, +10 points in round 1! This year Dad set up our pool on ESPN.com. He invited all my uncles, my brother, a few friends, Leslee's boyfriend and me. That's right, Keith was invited to join the family bracket pool and Les wasn't, HAH!

So armed with Dad's insight and as much info as I can read through on ESPN.com, I make my bracket predictions. I. love. brackets. And competition. And spending all afternoon in a sports bar with my friends cheering for our teams and hoping our brackets stay in tact. I love the intensity, the down-to-final-second games, the overtime wins and the upsets.

Due to my skilled predictions (ok, ok minus the Midwest bracket in general and today's Louisville let-down), I'm currently leading in our pool. I'm kinda pumped about it. I'm also leading in both my Facebook pools with some friends from Tejas and the New York Texas Exes. Regardless of the outcome, the Tourny most definitely makes for several fun weekends of crazy competition and nonstop March Madness-ing. How can you not love it?!

Here's a lil peak at my current 1000-point bracket. Bring on the Final Four! :)

Brought to you by

In case I ever wondered what my parents talk about when I'm not around.... This humorous little conversation brought to us by an inside informant --


Sounds like I don't need to worry that Buddy and Cathy have nothing to discuss after 30+ years of marriage. And now I feel adequately warned about the dive-bombing dangers of Robins and Mockingbirds.

:)

Sometimes Moving on Starts with Goodbye

I used to think I liked change. Because I get bored. I'm usually quite willing to switch things up, keep things interesting.

But I have realized over these past few months that there are different kinds of change. The kind that you seek out, make happen, the kind you desire. And there's the kind of change that you can't control. The kind that is forced and you somehow find yourself making a decision you never wanted to make in the first place.

So even though I like change, I am also a self-proclaimed control freak. And I've learned that I don't really care for the kind of changes that I can't control. Yes, I'm definitely much happier making career-changing decisions for myself instead of having them made for me. Crazy the way that works, huh?

So while I never wanted to leave the job that I've loved for the past few years, my co-workers, my friends, the comfort of my familiar office....I am embracing this change with optimism and excitement of new opportunity. I might be feeling a bit overly nostalgic for the old days, I know that no team will ever compare to the dynamic of our group. But mostly, it's just hard to believe that this is the end of our era. I can't help but feel quite lucky that I've had this experience and that this goodbye really is bittersweet.

So you're sisters?

Ok, ok, I know that everyone is just dying to know every detail of our "Les & Lauren take on NYC" weekend adventure.

Honestly, we had so much fun and there were so many hilarious stories that I couldn't seem to focus enough today to put everything in writing. Lucky for me, Leslee beat me to it! :)

Please enjoy this blog post courtesy of Lil Les. (my commentary in italics) Sent to Me, Angie, Bethany and Jamie via Facebook message around 5:30pm this afternoon.

THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM MY VISIT IN NY:

1. Martini's from Uptown = deliciously dangerous

2. Spending less than $100 at H&M has never happened to me.
I like to consider this 'successful shopping'

3. NY is the best place to people watch and eavesdrop.

4. Brunch is the best in NY.

5. Vintage clothing is fun even when the salespeople are not!
And trying-on said vintage clothing in secret downstairs Sample Sales -- where there are no dressing rooms and boys are present -- makes for creative clothes changing choices

6. Waiting over an hour for dinner is usually worth the wait!
Definitely! As evidenced by West Village spot Extra Virgin and their Gorgonzola Fondue Fries. (Shout out to JMart for the fab recommendation!)

7. My "comfortable" black boots are not so "comfortable" in NY.

8. Guys and Dolls was amazing!
"What is it with you Dolls? You finally find a Guy you like and the first thing you do is take him in for alterations."

9. Van like the truck or Van like the shoes? We'll never know...
This requires several amendments --

9a. At prohibition-style Speakeasy in the Lower East Side, The Back Room, (or was it the Back Door?!), where we drank from tea cups and saucers. You know, because in the case of a police bust, our vodka could totally be disguised as tea...

9b. Van (like the truck) quite awkwardly invited us to a secret bar at the Thompson Hotel. Ummmm....

9c. We may or may not have been crashing Sandra's birthday bash. So, Happy Birthday Sandra!!...question mark?? Or wait, maybe her name was Sarah?

9d. This Happened.
Guy: Your shoes win the Carrie Bradshaw Shoe Award of the night. (in reference to my pink & black booties that Les was rockin' with her "New York Trendy" look)
Les: Thanks! Aren't they great? They're actually my sister's shoes...
Guy: Alright, then your sister wins the Carrie Bradshaw Shoe Award of the night. And I'm from Harlem. So I know style.

10. Fuerzabruta is by far the craziest thing I have ever seen.
Out. Rageous.

11. Yoga to the People is awesome and I would go daily if I lived there.

12. Following someone on twitter means you "know" them. [I was confused between the words "know" and "stalk"]
...just silence from me...

13. Always have a camera just in case you see something with blog potential.
An hour brunch convo with Bethany was dedicated to our love of blogging. B and I are the newest to the blogosphere and we have no shame in admitting our obsession for quality blog posts and Google Analytics. We have taught you well Les!

14. Tweet, tweet, tweet....Twitter and Blogging are obviously necessary!
We may just make a blogger of you yet Les! See how great this post is turning out? You can now follow her on Twitter @Les2013!

15. Besides family, there is nothing more important than true friends who you can count on!
Thanks Bethany, Angie, and Jamie for being my sister's family in NY!!

For John Mayer:
My story in 6 words --
Home isn't home without you there! : )
John Mayer asked his Twitter followers to tweet their stories in 6 words. We were trying to come up with ours last night. I think this says it best.

I had soooo much fun!! Thanks everyone for making me feel welcome!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This message was of course immediately followed by a round of emails between JMart, B, Ange and myself raving about how incredibly precious Leslee is.

She also learned that people stare at us. She claims they are trying to figure out if we are twins. I honestly didn't notice until she pointed it out, but maybe it's because we're cute?

Or because we were arguing about how 40 minutes does not ever round up to 45 minutes which would round up to 1 hour. 40 minutes clearly rounds down to 30 minutes. Whatever, so I exaggerate. Or perhaps we were arguing about how I'm constantly on my phone. What like that's annoying? I can't imagine why...besides, I can't help it! And being quirky isn't such a bad thing, is it? Didn't we decide that quirky was cute?

Her thoughts -- "What are you going to do when you are in a relationship?! You will be forced to put your phone down and you won't be able to be on the computer while you're watching your shows. You're annoying. And rude."

Please re-read that for accuracy. And share your thoughts. I guess I can always count on her honesty. Hah!

So there you have it! Lil Les' very first bloggy post. Well done, no? We had a fantastic weekend filled with lots of giggling and lots of delicious food. I think it was a much-needed break from her crazy busy Grad School life. (have I mentioned that my sis is in a 5 year PHD Psychology program? yeah, she's insane. and I'm ohsoproud of her!)

And in the end, I think she definitely loves the New York that I love! <3

Les is finally visiting NYC!

It's been about 2 years since my lil sis has been to New York. She came up with my mom during her Spring Break. It was her first and only visit to the City. It was also Ice Storm '07. A miserable, wintry mix, freezing, horrible weather weekend. And she was only 20 - obviously ice storm + mom + being underage limits the true NYC experience. So I pretty much demanded that she come back this year during her Grad School Spring Break. (you know, just in case I didn't find a job and had to leave in June)

She's mostly terrified about taking a cab from LGA to my apartment. "Where do I go? What do I say ? What if they take me somewhere I don't want to go? And I don't know where I am? And what if they attack me?!" Seriously?! Hundreds of people take cabs every single day as their primary source of transportation. While letting someone else drive you around might not be natural to you, I think you will be fine on the 20 minute ride to the Upper East Side. Just sayin'...

Despite her ridiculous freak-outs about all things 'grown-up' - like connecting flights, getting your bags, taking a cab by yourself, etc. I'm really really looking forward to her visit! And am incredibly pumped to share all the New Yorky things I love about this city with her! :)

Top 10 Reasons I'm ohsoexcited for this weekend:

10. I haven't seen Leslee since Christmas.

9. I get a full 4-day weekend to hang out around the City. And a good excuse to go to DUMBO and eat at Grimaldi's. Best. Pizza. Ever.

8. She asked if we would be able to go running while she's here. HAH! She can. I'll wait for her at home.

7. I want Les to love New York as much as I do. Not the "it's a great place to visit, but I could never live there" kind of love. More like the "this city is fantastic, I can't believe you live here" kind.

6. She has better fashion sense than I do. So our shopping trips are bound to be successful. And she'll provide her honest opinion of whatever I'm trying on. Extra points.

5. She will be sure that we eat appropriately. But we're also guaranteed to put away a bottle of wine in one evening.

4. I'm 90% sure that I can get her to sing karaoke with me.

3. Because even when we argue about the silliest things, it's entertaining. And we're bound to get into some kind of trouble. We always do. (i.e. Les' graduation party last May. Insanity.)

2. Les doesn't really 'do' touristy. My favorite kind of visitor.

1. She's hilarious. And random. And we laugh a lot. And I love her.

You might call it weird, I call it quirky

Little known fact: I collect quarters.

Not coins, I don't care about nickles, dimes, pennies, half-dollars...just quarters. And not just any quarters, the 'new' quarters. You know, the ones with states on them?

I'm not entirely sure where this fascination began. However, I am sure that my Grandad must have had something to do with it. I remember that he always had drawerfuls of pennies in his office. Sometimes I would arrange them all in order of year - often into elaborate designs spread across the floor. This provided hours of entertainment. I also remember visiting an old mint in New Orleans where he explained that they didn't make money there anymore, now there were only 2 mints where coins were minted - Denver and Philadelphia. I'm sure that this sparked a round of questions from me, but why do they need new money? Do they get rid of the old money? But Grandad, how can they make more money without earning any money? I'm also sure by this point, my sister had completely tuned-out from extreme boredom. Whatever Les, this is interesting stuff.

When the state quarter program began in 1999, introducing new state-specific quarters in the order that the states joined the Union, I was hooked. Quarters for each state, so cool! (what, no one else thinks this is fun?) I was so disappointed that I'd have to wait until 2004 for Texas. To a freshman in High School, 5 years = forever!

I'm still not sure how it started, but I began hanging on to the different states as I came across them. And my Grandad gave me a collectors book with a map of the US with spaces to hold each state quarter. I dililgently checked every quarter I came across in hopes of finding a state that I needed.

After awhile, it became a habit. Checking coins whenever I had change, putting away the ones I needed so I didn’t spend them, finally adding Texas to my collection. It’s just something I do, so I don’t really think much of it. That is until I talk to my Mom…

I would categorize my Mom and Grandad as Super Collectors. Because if you're going to collect quarters, you must do so correctly! Their books don’t have maps, they have spaces for 2 of each quarter, marked with either a D’s for Denver or P’s for Philly. Yeah, that’s right – D quarters and P quarters.

See, down south, most of the coins are from the Denver mint, so Philly quarters are hard to come by. Fast forward to my post-college life in NYC…so close to all those much-desired P quarters! Naturally this spurred a P quarter frenzy. Welcome to my life.

I now keep a list of the P quarters Mom needs in my wallet. Every laundry weekend Mom inevitably asks a series of related questions –

“Did you find any P quarters for me?!” “Oh, Grandad’s book needs Iowa, can you find an Iowa?" “Didn’t you bring Grandad a Wyoming P quarter? I guess he misplaced it, can you look for another one?”

When my Mom comes to the City, you better believe she hits up the bank for $20 worth of quarters just so she can increase her odds of finding one she needs. One Christmas she even sent me $20 to bring back P quarters. I wish I was kidding... I don’t think I will be allowed to move out of New York until we have completed this endless P quarter search.

In the final year of releasing new state quarters, I have yet to see Hawaii and am still on the lookout for a handful of others. The end is in sight! With these last few quarters my collection will be complete and so will Mom and Grandad’s*.

So should you ever see me sifting through my change, flipping over coins, glancing at each one just in case it’s one that I need, just ignore me. I don’t even realize that I do it anymore. Also, should you suddenly feel the desire to check your quarters for P’s or D’s, I really need Hawaii – and Arizona, Iowa, Idaho, Michigan, Utah, Washington! :)

*Special Note: I should also mention that my Grandad passed away last year, so Mom and I are completing his collection for him. Because how can we not?