we skirted the apocalypse [again]

Luckily, we were spared much trouble in NYC from dear, sweet Irene. Unfortunately, she gave our New England cousins up north a bit more grief. I hope everyone stays safe as they wade through the mess left behind. In the meantime, here is how the whole (underwhelming) weekend went down in Brooklyn.

Saturday seemed pretty ominous, so as I was rushing around doing laundry and cleaning my apartment (who does housework with an impending hurricane? Me, apparently.) Kurt came to retrieve Aubie on the bike trailer. You can take the boy out of Ohio...

Aubie was not too pleased to go for a ride. He thoroughly enjoyed the weekend in a new atmosphere though. He was (almost) a perfect gentleman at 731 without much clawing/biting and didn't break anything. (He is always knocking things over at my apartment!) He may have even kept a pesky mouse at bay over the weekend and won over the Martig Brothers :) However, Aubie did not win over neighbor Jenn's cat Princess Chunk. They hissed and growled at each other but I think deep down they will be friends one day.

The storm came through without much incident.  I slept through most of it (hence no action shots). Kurt got up early Sunday morning when the worst of it was coming through and was pretty disappointed with his first hurricane. We really only got lots of rain and some wind.

We went up on the roof as the backside of the storm was coming through (smart, right?). There was only wind and some crazy cloud action but no rain. The air was incredibly crisp. I guess Irene was good for clearing the air at least.

A few LSU friends (including a new 731 addition) came over to show us how to really enjoy a hurricane. They were pretty disappointed by Irene's performance but showed us how to yell at the sky, drink beer all day, play board games to pass the time (even though we never lost power), and made us the most delicious gumbo. I think we'll keep these kids around!

One of Aubie's thrills from his weekend journey was exploring the backyard of 731. I kept a close eye like the over-protective momma I am so he wouldn't escape (or scrape his knees or something). 

He was very cautious as he tip toed around very delicately.

Not quite a jungle cat  but I hope he enjoyed the bit of green. He doesn't get much at home with me.

Now we are back at my apartment safe and sound and back to our normal routine. The trains were up and running early Monday morning, so I was back at work too :(

Aubie's been spending lots of time gazing out our third floor window (dreaming of the 731 Jungle, I'm sure), sleeping copious amounts, and working on blending into my hardwood floors. Life as a cat sure is tough. Let's hope we don't have to relocate for any more natural disasters anytime soon! Although I have heard that a couple of brothers wouldn't mind us returning every once and while for a visit. Well, Aubie at least. I'm not sure if I'm invited :)

enya happy hour

One night last week Jenn and I attended an ENYA (Emerging New York Architects) happy hour held at the Trespa | Arpa Showroom in Soho.

Other than an almost open bar (small donation) the outing was pretty uneventful. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the wall tile in the ladies' room. I'm not typically one of those people that pulls out their camera in bathrooms but this needed documentation.

I've been slacking on finding free/small donation events lately! I vow to step up my game as the hectic summer schedule fades into fall. Btw, anyone excited about football season yet?

columbus, ohio

After visiting Kurt's hometown for a wedding, we drove down to Columbus (home of The Ohio State University). Last time we visited was for a football game where I saw a lot of campus. This trip was all about exploring the downtown area.

We began the evening at Bicentennial Park along the Scioto Mile. It has some great fountains that kids were enjoying the entire time we were hanging out at the nearby restaurant, Milestone 229. Every once and a while, the park would fill with fog which also entertained park goers.

Then we moved farther downtown to a bar called Tip Top.

Kurt and I rode our bikes there, so were able to take advantage of $1 pints of PBR. Can you believe it?!

Next, we met up with Kurt's friend Jesse at a new downtown bar called Fleur. Apparently they are trying to model the bar after a swanky Manhattan club.

There was a DJ but not too much dancing. I think the crowds might have been discouraged by the $5-6 beers. NYC style and prices! :)

On our way home that evening, Kurt and I stopped by a food cart on the street. Through talking with the cook and the bar owner of the pub next door, we made a common connection to Rocky Sullivan's, one of our favorite bars here in Brooklyn! What a small world! 

The next morning we had brunch at DK Diner. I stuffed myself with some delicious biscuits and gravy. Definitely not an everyday breakfast but nice to indulge in every once and a while.

We had to wait a while for a table and our food. Luckily, drinks (i.e. endless pots of coffee) were serve yourself and our table split an apply fritter the size of your head. And we got to eat outside. What could be better than that?

After brunch, Kurt and I continued on our bike tour of Columbus. The German Village was a main point of interest we wanted to hit but just as we arrived a storm started rolling in. We popped into the Old Mohawk for a drink while the rain passed.

While heading into the restaurant, Kurt spotted an Auburn fan, so I was able to get in a good "War Eagle!" The guy was quite surprised to get some Auburn love in Buckeye territory.

Whenever we are in Columbus, we have to pay homage to Kurt's favorite t-shirt company, Homage :)

They have lots of Ohio State-centric gear. Surprisingly, Kurt is all set in the t-shirt department but he did pick up a few plastic cups to keep up appearances.

While catching up with many of Kurt's friends in Columbus, they kept asking "Have you seen the new Kroger?" Naturally we were intrigued to see this new urban masterpiece that had everyone talking. Yes, I will admit it is better to have the store up at the street instead of set back behind a parking lot, but its not like there was an entrance on the street or even much of a presence. Keep working Columbus. I like where your head is at.

Our last stop before leaving town was Jeni's Ice Cream.

The shop was really cute and they had tons of delicious flavor mixtures. Btw, I love ice cream :)

Per Kurt's suggestion, I went with a scoop of salty caramel and something Buckeye (chocolate and peanut butter). Delicious! I liked the caramel so much we got a pint to take back to Kurt's parents.

Mmmmmmmmm!

Now we are back in NYC! I am really growing weary of our go straight to work from the airport plan that allows us more time in our vacation destination but always makes for an exhausting Monday. We're too old for that stuff! ;)

ohio wedding

Last weekend, I traveled with Kurt to his hometown in Ohio for a wedding of a childhood friend.

We flew Jet Blue out of JFK and were pretty impressed with the fancy new terminal.

Dinner of champions

Luckily, our flight was delayed and we were able to enjoy the terminal for much longer than we had planned. Leave it to stormy weather to delay our plane and crew, so we didn't arrive in Pittsburgh until super late and didn't get to Casa Martig until 3am. Needless to say, we were pooped. 

The next day, Kurt was supposed to meet up with the groom for a few holes of golf the morning of the wedding, but with our late arrival the night before, he might have slept through the first few.

Once Kurt returned from his golfing expedition, we headed to downtown Salem for some exploring. 

We stopped at the local coffee shop for a few cups. Three cups of coffee in Ohio costs about what one costs here in NYC. Jeez.

After coffee, we visited a few junk treasure stores downtown.

I go back and forth between a desire to simplify my life with very little stuff and a hoarding mentality. Lately, I've swung to the side of wanting to acquire things. I saw so many pieces of furniture that I wanted to salvage and refinish that were insanely inexpensive. Good thing we flew. If we had driven, I may have pulled a Beverly Hillbillies move and brought back way too much stuff for my teeny apartment. It is nice to brainstorm about all the creative things I could do though.

We spotted this dishware at Goodwill. I grew up with this pattern at home. Mom, if you need some new pieces, you know where to find them!

After our fruitless shopping trip, we stopped by to visit Kurt and Erik's friend Nick. His family owns a metal working shop and we got the grand tour of all the happenings.

Some pretty major stuff!

Then it was time to go to the wedding! We met up with the groom for a couple pre-game beers behind the church to calm his nerves.

Alan and Christina

The ceremony was short and sweet. They picked some fun music instead of the very traditional, Classical options that you normally hear. I'm glad they put their own stamp on their day.

The reception was held at a banquet hall/restaurant. It wasn't exactly my style but was definitely a fun time.

The requisite "YMCA" portion of the evening (although I've never seen a DJ bring along his own props before). I was out there on the dance floor somewhere, I promise :) We had such a fun time and I'm glad we were able to share the day with Alan and Christina. Congratulations!

After the reception, Kurt and I headed over to to see Nick again at his house to hang out and play ping pong. So fun! It blows my mind that he has an entire house to himself with an enormous basement filled with games! 

Name a bar game (darts, foos ball, pool, ping pong etc) and he's got it! He even has a workshop down there and exercise equipment. Sigh. Square footage envy.

The next day we drove down to Columbus to tour around but first hung out with Kurt's parents for a while.

We took a trip to their garden and gathered some goodies for lunch, including lots of corn and tomatoes.

After lunch we hit the road. The drive is pretty reasonable but we decided to make a coffee pit stop in this cute little historic town called Roscoe Village.

The coffee and wine bar we stopped at had lots of wines from Ohio. They looked a little cheesy. I guess we should have picked up a bottle to try though. Everything from Ohio is amazing, right Kurt?

Stay tuned for more details of our trip to Columbus!