Sandie Spirit

I found that I am on a two week lapse of happenings, so two weekends ago was the Hampton's Half Marathon. My good friends, Susanna & Jay, from high school cross country, and I decided to have a little reunion! It had been 9 years since we all ran together at Amarillo High School, home of the Sandies. (Yes, that is a frightening tornado of sand above, very intimidating figure.) So we ventured out on the Long Island highway on Friday evening. After a few hours of stand still traffic and catching up, we arrived in Riverhead. The next day, we awoke to the soothing sounds of Jay's alarm at 5:45 am! We put on our matching outfits and ventured through East Hampton to our race location.

"We're running together, we declared." "Just think of it as a long fun run," Susanna said. The gun went off and the "fun run" began. Let me confess that I had only run 10 miles at the peak of my training, which had pretty much ended two weeks before the race because school was back in again. So...off we went to try to run 9 minute mile pace and beat two hours. "Ha, a lofty goal, I will be running by myself by mile six," I thought. And when mile six came, I was feeling the 8:45 min/mile pace. Susanna & Jay were the most encouraging race partners one could ever ask for! Susie even ran ahead EVERY mile to take a picture of Jay and I. It's interesting to watch the progression of those pictures, a little more tired each time.

I hit the wall several times, and thankfully, to my partners, kept running. They never left me, even after many encouragements from me to run on ahead so I could lay down and play dead. Such sweet friends! We all finished under 2 hours! My time was 1 hour, 59 min, 57 sec. On the dot!

We headed back to the city to celebrate our run with naps, cuban food, and an early bedtime. Susanna literally laid her head down at the bar, so we called it a night! What a sweet weekend with friends that I couldn't hold any more dear! So thankful for running memories past and present with them!

mile 1, feeling good!

mile 9, not so peppy anymore

finishers!

all cleaned up after the race

original plans for the house, written on a linen scroll

obsessed with these floors!

This Old House

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting my boyfriend's friends, Dave & Liz and their twins, in Massachusetts. They live in a small town, population 5000, in the middle of the state. We arrived really late Friday night and when I awoke, it was fall. For reals fall. Changing leaves, crisp temperatures, and the smell of pine in the air.

As I lay in bed, I began to take in my surroundings from a somewhat hazy climb into my bed the night before. I saw a beautiful study, filled with light that danced off original wall paper, and two french sliding doors. Above me was a multi-domed light fixture that must have been original to the house.

I began to hear stirrings above me and the little feet of their 2-year old twins, Will & Ted. They came down for Cheerios and toast while the guys got Liz & I giant chocolate-chip pumpkin muffins from the bakery down the road. I began to wonder around the house and realize I was not staying in a new one. Everything was so beautiful and old and authentic. We took a tour of the two story house complete with two attics and a basement, which holds a twenty foot well, original to the late 1800s when the house was built. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. It's hard to describe it's magnificence with words.

After the tour, we went apple picking, toured a colonial village, and headed for home. There we feasted on apple pie (with cheese & icecream), hamburgers, & sweet potato fries. It was wonderful! The next day, we woke up for more pie and then took a walk through this gorgeous New England town. It was a memorable weekend and a great way to begin fall.

old fashioned pantry, maybe my favorite room

original wall paper

love the light here

apple pie perfection

Only in New York...

After a relaxing and wonderful Labor Day weekend of lounging at the beach and watching the US Open, I had a rough start to the week. It began on Monday evening after my guest had gone home, and I had cleaned up and was resting before the first day of school the following day. I was lazily reading on my bed when out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. A bed bug. Yes, the bug that all urban dwellers dread worse than the smell of August garbage or spotting a rat on the street. I knew immediately it was a bed bug because there are pictures of those little monsters plastered all over the subway warning us.

I quickly picked up said bug and put him in a tupperware container and then inside a gallon ziplock. I called my boyfriend, freaking out as usual about bugs, and explained the harrowing situation. He calmly instructed me to look under my mattress, inside the sheets, ect. I checked and saw nothing. Could it be that this was a rogue bed bug? I guess I would know in the morning. "Don't worry he said, they don't come out until they sense a warm body." Very comforting thought.

I went to sleep, itching already, dreaming about bugs and awoke pleasantly to find not a bite at all. No sign of bugs under my mattress or in my sheets. I went to school after checking the freezer where I had stashed said bug to kill it dead, which I did. Everyday last week, I checked for bugs and still have not seen another one. Maybe, just maybe, I escaped the beagle smelling bed bug dog...hopefully. I will keep you informed.

The next night, I awoke at 4 am to the sounds of my passionate neighbors. Not pleasant, but not unheard of in pre-war apartments with thin walls. Whatever, I put my pillow over my head and drifted back to sleep. Then, I heard a banging noise outside my window and opened my eyes to see a man standing outside my window on the fire escape. (This is one of my biggest fears that someone will break in and kill me or rob me from that window, even though I keep it locked tight.) My heart started beating a million miles an hour, I grabbed my phone to call 911, flipped on my light, and heard a loud banging sound and laughing into my adjoining apartment. Yes friends, that was my crazy neighbors, having sex on my fire escape at 4 am. After my heart slowed down, I sort of chuckled at how strange and yet typical these things are in this crazy city.

Hopefully my nights will settle back down this week! :)

U.S. Preppy

This past weekend my sweet friend, Megan Frazee, came to visit for the long weekend. We had a blast! Being a foodie herself, we checked out the Green Market in Union Square and bought beautiful things for dinner. We made fried goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms, no words for how fun those were to make and eat! Then we had an heirloom tomato & fresh basil pasta dish to accompany. Fresh peaches, pretty flowers and tasty pretzels were all enjoyed from that little market of goodness!

Then, the next day we went to the US Open @ Arthur Ash stadium. (This is what I set out to write about, but got sidetracked by those squash blossom memories.) The US Open was my first ever tennis match to watch and it was quite delightful! Reading "Open" by Andre Agassi is as close as I got to the pros before.

Here are some of my take away points on the evening:
-There are preppy guys EVERYWHERE! I have never seen so many popped collars and Sperrys in one place. Girls, if you're looking for a date, I have got a killer recommendation for you.
-It's a very calm crowd, no enthusiastic chanting in tennis. You can hear the generators in the stadium, its so quiet! If it gets too loud, the ref says, "thank you, thank you" aka shut up! -Preppy sponsors: Want water? Have an Evian! Want ice-cream? Ben & Jerry's is there to serve you. Want a souvenir t-shirt? The Ralph Lauren store is open for biz.
-It took me two years of tennis lessons and a U.S. Open match to understand how they score that silly game!

Great weekend of eating & preppy sports!

US Open!

Chinese food in Flushing before the match...very authentic!

Time to go home...

prep-thank you Aunt Lisa for my creme brulee torch!

walking through the city with all our stuff

meeting other diners in the subway

Claire & me

meeting spot

Diner en Blanc

Mid July, as I was sitting in Lynchburg, Virginia, I noticed a NY Times article on my coworker's Facebook about Diner en Blanc. Intrigued, I clicked on the link and read about it here (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/dining/a-pop-up-paris-picnic-is-coming-to-new-york.html?pagewanted=all). The short version is that it's like a flash mob WHITE picnic in the summer that is studded with elegance. It's been going on in Paris for thirty years and is quite the hot invitation. They have had dinners at Notre Dame, the Louvre, ect, but the location is always kept secret until the night of the dinner. Over 10,000 people attend each year, but for the first ever NY Diner en Blanc, only 1000 guests were invited.

Being that I am a foodie, love the French, and am always game for anything New York, this was right up my ally. I had to go! Luckily, my coworker was the head honcho organizer, and put me on the friends/family list. I was quite surprised and delighted by that because I didn't even ask her. (Although my sweet friend Claire was begging me too!)

Anyway, we got into the big event and it occurred this past Thursday. It was amazing! Claire & I planned our little hearts out. Not only do you bring your own picnic dinner, but you have to bring a table and chairs. (Along with a white table cloth, white glass dishes, wine glasses, water goblets, candles & flowers for the table, and an umbrella for the 70% chance of rain that we had evening.)

So we hauled all those things to the meeting place downtown, my least favorite part. Walking in humidity, hauling chairs on the subway elevator that smells like death, all while wearing a white dress and heels, not so fun. BUT we made it to the meeting spot and then walked to the secret location. It turned out to be in the World Financial Center Marina in Battery Park and was just wonderful. And by some miracle from God, it didn't rain! The pictures sort of speak for themselves, but being there was incredible. We set up our table, ate our delicious food, and made friends with other diners in our group. The played great jazz & handed out white balloons for our chairs. Here is what we had to eat:

First Course: Tomato tarts with creme fraiche & Caramelized onion tarts with gorgonzola cheese

Second Course: Roasted Chicken with herbs, rosemary & lemon risotto, roasted summer vegetables, and baguette

Third Course: Raspberry creme brulee with coffee

And of course...Wine!

Thanks to Claire, Levi, & Pat for making it a great night! Such an amazing experience and memory. Those French really know how to throw a party!

table set up

the waving of the napkins meaning, "it's time to eat!"

first course

my sweet date

@ night

Kiersten, the okra frying expert!

Southern Picnic

My sweet friend Sarah Beth moved to England last week to be with her boyfriend, and our whole community group was sad to see her go! So, in her honor, my friend Claire threw her an indoor picnic. It wasn't just any picnic though, it was a southern spectacular! I walked into Claire's apt to the smell of okra frying and champagne being popped. About 20 of us gathered around a picnic blanket on the floor and ate our hearts out. We had fried chicken, TWO pounds of fried okra, deviled eggs, macaroni and cheese, and pasta salad. Then we had banana pudding and key lime pie for dessert! Amazing feast!
The only uncomfortable part was that when you pack 20 people and 2 pounds of frying okra into a New York City apartment, it gets a bit spicy! The AC was a popular meeting spot! It was funny to watch guests migrate to Claire's high powered AC. :)
Hats off to Claire for pulling off another spectacular shindig with all the bells and whistles! There is nothing that girl forgets from flowers to toasts! And goodbye to sweet Sarah Beth, you left with a bang girl!

AC love!

Fried Okra! Mmmmm!

Attention Readers! I have got a book for you!! My mom recommended it to me this summer and it's been enlightening to say the least. It's called "Columbine" by David Cullen. The book chronicles the story of the shootings at Columbine High School, from day 1. Cullen was a reporter that studied Columbine for ten years. He interviewed hundreds of people, studied reports, the boys' journals, and lived through it himself. I learned so much about this event that I thought I knew everything about. So many myths surround the shooting and it's incredible to discover what was going on inside the minds of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. A little bit of a downer at times, but so interesting! Read it, you'll love it!