weekend.

I have a pretty cushy job. Unlike many of my fellow young architects, I never have to work late. Ever. At six thirty on any given day you will find our office completely deserted. I like it that way. There's no need to work crazy hours. I guess having clients that don't demand deadlines has something to do with it. Well, last night was the exception to the rule. Our office has entered a competition against two other architects for a big job in the Upper East Side...right off the park, near the Met kind of big. The presentation is this morning, so we were working furiously all day yesterday to get some amazing ideas down to WOW the prospective client. We were at the office until 10:30 and I had to miss out on a launch party for RUE magazine that I had been looking forward to for a while. I hear it was a super fun party. (Right, Jenn? :)  ) I guess we all make sacrifices. That said, there wasn't much time yesterday for the weekend update. Tuesday evening still isn't too bad.

[Omit bracketed portion for shortened version. It may or may not just be a rant about why I sometimes don't like Manhattan.]

Friday night was in honor of Silvia. We celebrated her exodus from her awful job and wished her luck at her new position at SOM which started this week. The night started at the Rockwood Music Hall to see the Third Wheel Band. Silvia saw them in Brooklyn on Halloween and is now a big fan. They put on a great show and are very fun to dance to (as long as the venue isn't teeny tiny...which it usually is). After their early show, we headed to the Magician bar in the Lower East Side. I love when bars that don't serve food let you order in. We got a couple pizzas from Two Boots which is always a crowd favorite. Congratulations on all the big life changes, Silvia!

Saturday I spent some time working on my room and welcomed our new roommate as she and her clan moved all her stuff into the apartment. The landscape architects' scheme won out for my bedroom and I'm trying to make it look more homey. Thank you Kurt and Steven for your input. Now I still need help getting those closet doors off their hinges...hint, hint.

The walls got some decoration with my small collection of maps and Jasper Johns print.

This little Ikea drawer set got a paint job like his big brothers.

My magazine/mirror project was reinstalled at the entrance. That empty little corner by the windows is waiting to be filled by a chair that has been betrothed to me by Kurt's parents. Once it arrives, I have a very talented friend who has promised to reupholster the cushions for me. I better start looking for fabric now. It will take me that long to decide!

Saturday evening Kurt made a delicious butternut squash risotto. It was really incredible. It may have had something to do with my amazing stirring skills :)

[Saturday night Kurt and I had three birthdays to celebrate. It started out fine but ended up kind of lame. I would like to blame it on Manhattan. Yep, the whole island. 

First we met some friends in the Lower East side at Stanton Public. The bar was cool and they had a great beer selection. It was very low key. One of the girls who was there for the celebration works for Jet Blue. She met Cam Newton when her company flew all the Heisman nominees to NYC. She said he was very nice and quite attractive :)

After a drink, we headed to the West Village/Meatpacking District for a joint birthday for Paul and Stephen. The destination was 675 Bar on Hudson Street (near where Ms. Jane Jacobs used to live). However, Kurt and I never made it in because we had to stand in this super long line. A line! Can you believe it?! Not only was waiting annoying but it was freeeeeeezing cold and we were surrounded by guys with gelled hair and girls teetering in ridiculously high heels and tight, short skirts (I was foolishly wearing my snow boots and puffer. I guess I was the only one who got the memo about sub-freezing temperatures). Thankfully we were eventually released from bridge and tunnel purgatory when we received word that our party was switching bars. Apparently, even if you got inside 675, it was still unbearable. 

We tried the nearby Brass Monkey. Although there wasn't much line outside, the crowd was mainly the same and the place was so uncomfortably packed you could barely find a place to stand, let alone sit, get a drink from the bar, or carry on a conversation with the person standing next to you. We stayed for one beer, exchanged some pleasantries with the birthday boys, then headed back to Brooklyn where it is quiet and casual. Now I remember why we don't go to Manhattan very often.]

Sunday was spent working on Kurt's room. It's been on the docket for a while and got pushed off from last week when we painted my room. The main event was assembling his new Ikea bed (snagged in the As Is section, by the way). Kurt had never had the pleasure of building a piece of Ikea furniture before and we picked a pretty complicated one to start with. It ended up going pretty smoothly but took a few hours. The bed has storage drawers underneath, so we were able to discard a shelf unit which was taking up a lot of valuable floor and wall space. Total transformation! Now if only those bikes could find another home....

Jenn made Kurt and I some delicious Pumpkin Enchiladas (recipe here) as Sunday Movie Night continued with Fargo. I don't care to tell you much about the movie, but I did not like it and would not recommend it. It was violent and depressing and pretty pointless. I can handle blood and destruction as long as there is some resolution or message. There was none that I could surmise. Kurt liked it for some reason. Ask him. All I can say is that I am picking next week's movie...