Goodbye, Summer

There's definitely a chill in the air, so I thought I would say goodbye to summer with a blog post. I spent a little time on the West Coast this summer, and had a great time drawing and seeing art.
This is from the Seattle Art Museum, although I didn't write down any information about it. We didn't have much time to poke around that day, but if you're in town, the museum well worth a visit.

Another place to check out if you're in Seattle is Gasworks Park, possibly my favorite city park ever. You can check out my drawings from that day here.

And then we moved on to San Francisco. What a beautiful place, with some really unusual flora!

Of course we hit all the big landmarks:

And while I don't think it gives New York a run for its money city-wise, it does have some pretty styling locals (and on a bike!!).

I managed to stop by the famed City Lights Bookstore, and did my part to support (by buying a book — I'm always happy to do that!).

I spent my last evening with Vivian, having some delicious margaritas and Mexican food at the Velvet Cantina in the Mission.

I was back in New York a few weeks, but then headed out to Boston for my friend Sara's wedding reception. While in town, I took a duck tour of Boston in a DUKW amphibious vehicle with my aunt! The tour was very fun, and informative, although I was little miffed because I couldn't find our picture on their website later. So all I have is a picture of the DUCK we were on.

Springing Forward!

Ah, looks like I am almost up to date on the catch-up posts!

First up, I had a visit from faraway friends Milla and Colin, as well as a fly-by visit from Bich Thu—all of whom live in London these days. I love it when friends of friends all become friends! We decided to celebrate that friendship with a lot of meat at Peter Luger's Steakhouse.

I have to say, I think Colin and I ate most of that giant plate o'meat. The rest of them? Practically useless!

But very cute!

May Day was Julia's birthday: Happy Birthday, Julia!

We had to do a big ride of course, and what better destination than scenic Staten Island? Our first stop was a delicious all-you-can-eat brunch buffet at Lakruwana, right down the street from the ferry. Afterward, we needed a big lawn to lay down on, so we rode down to bucolic Sailor's Snug Harbor.

Obligatory bike pile-up shot.

Snug Harbor also has a Chinese Scholar's Garden, which for some reason was free that day.

After that, we headed to the abandoned ship graveyard, because nothing says "birthday" like a tetanus shot!

I'm leaving out the mile-long hike on the beach dragging our bikes. I guess we were all having too much fun (!) to take any pictures. I joke.
What else happened in spring? Well, the cherry blossoms came and went.

We tried a few different coffee places. D'Espresso—this is their midtown location, where they have a very small space and some mind-boggling wallpaper.

Even on the floor!

Julia and I checked out a place in Soho called Saturdays Surf, which must have the best-looking clientele and baristi and by far the cutest dogs! Also, a great outdoor space in the back! Oh, the coffee was pretty good, too.

And I had a delicious cup of tea and scones at Alice's Tea Cup on the Upper East Side.

And summer's here already - popsicle time!

Looking Back, December and January

I'm combining December and January since it was a pretty quiet winter. And by quiet, I mean snowy! It seemed like every other week, we had another blizzard. There was even a night with both thunder and snow, otherwise known as THUNDERSNOW!!




I'm pretty much a fair-weather biker, but maybe I get vicarious props for having friends this hardcore:




April had a party, where her birdies came out to mix and mingle with us!





These days, though, April has been super busy, fostering dogs. So far, she's had three doggie friends adopted to their forever homes (four if you count the one she's adopted herself)! Stop by her blog to find out more, especially if you're looking for a doggie friend of your own (although not the super-cute pup in the picture below, who has already been adopted!).



So what was I doing all this time? Knitting! I decided Christmas 2010 was going to be as handmade as possible. I must have knit ten items - hats, cowls, scarves — for family. A couple examples:



And before I knew it, Christmas was upon us!



After the consumerfest of Christmas, we all felt the need to slim down our closets and clutter, so Nim had a post-Christmas swap. Everyone brought two items, many of which were hilarious, and at least two of which were leopard print. Why yes, that is a leopard print Snuggie.



And some clothing that *somehow* didn't make the cut!

Looking Back, November Edition

I haven't posted anything for a *long* time! Luckily, my blogmates have taken up the slack. I was looking through iphoto and realized I have all these pictures from the fall and winter that I never got around to posting. So I'll start sharing again, but only if you'll forgive the long absence! Here's November that was.

First things first: I took Julia to see The Pee-Wee Herman Show as a late (very late) birthday gift. I think "overjoyed" wouldn't even cover Julia's feelings, but here's the picture so you can judge for yourself.



Julia, Matthew, Stella, and I biked over to Newtown Creek to enjoy the recently opened "nature walk." Apparently Newtown Creek is home to more than toxic sludge and the sewage treatment plant! What a perfect location for a nature walk. For real, though the walk itself is actually nicely designed and maybe a superfund site *is* the perfect place to try to appreciate something we did a good job effing up.
The nature walk starts out concrete. Go figure.



Besides that, one or two things other things puzzle me. For instance,access to the water. For what purpose, exactly? To better enjoy the view of the garbage scows in the distance, or to appreciate the scent of the fuggy breeze wafting off the canal?





Food plants in the "fragrance garden." Really, who would even consider that?



I don't think you have to worry about anyone swimming here (except for a certain Brooklyn assemblyman), but just in case:



Still, we did get the "nature," as promised.







And a nice view walking back. If by "nice," you mean "industrial," which I do.



My last bike outing of 2010 was a Bayside bike ride. We took Time Out New York's word for it, and made a big loop from the last stop on the F train to Fort Totten and back. I'm not sure if we did the entire loop suggested by the article, but it was a beautiful, picturesque ride with some delicious Thai food at the end, so no complaints.











We wrapped up November with a terrarium making workshop at Hannah's studio. We made large terrariums





small terrariums





Fun, crafty times!