fishing trip and other random happenings

I can't even keep my weeks straight these days. Enjoy the photos I could round up since my last dump!

New sandals! These tootsies just need to find some SAND now! The beach is calling my name....

Jenn and I recently attended an Apartment Therapy Design Evening at ABC Home. The guest this time was the Novogratz! It boggles my mind how they have a bagillion kids and still manage to design and flip houses and host TV shows. You know, small stuff. I'm a sucker for peoples' country mouse to city mouse stories, so I loved hearing about their Southern roots and how they found their way to New York City.

Jenn and I have been to many of these events and have perfected our wine/time ratio to a T. All it really involves is getting two glasses before even finding a seat so a) you don't have to get up during the middle of someone's interview and b) you escape the danger that they run out of wine or stop serving at a random point--real scientific, right? I've even gone so far as to pretend like I am grabbing a drink for my "friend" so the bartender doesn't think I'm a complete lush. I doubt they even care. Regardless, our method impressed the girls we were sharing a couch with and they tried out the system. Needless to say, eight glasses of wine later we were all best friends and even had a lady date this week! Points for double fisting!

Kurt and I had a fabulous tennis date this week. After searching around for open courts for a while, we got down to business in Fort Greene park and I was reminded how much a love that game. I hope we go more often! To reward our serious match skills (wink wink) we got tacos at Habana Outpost afterwards. I felt like I was cheating on my beloved Cuban sandwich but their catfish tacos are pretty solid as well.

I joined Kurt on a fishing trip with one of the contractors his firm works with occasionally. It was the 15th annual outing. We even got t-shirts! The night ended up being a bit more rough and tumble (shield your eyes later if you can't handle blood!) but it was still a great evening. How often do I get to hang out on a boat in the middle of Long Island Sound? Never. That's when.

I told Kurt this picture could be on the cover of a Bible :)

Eventually people broke out the rods and got down to business. There was a pot of money for "First Fish" (which I think later progressed to "First Bass") and "Biggest Fish".

People started catching fish left and right! The dead bodies kept piling up on the deck next to their owners and I was forced to dodge blood and fish guts ever time I went to get a drink or use the bathroom.

Kurt and I decided to try our luck late in the game, but sadly we both lack the patience to fish and came away empty handed.

The first bass came late and was immediately sliced up into sushi. Can't say I dove right into that. Although I did get a chuckle watching grown men cry over a little wasabi :)

While one of the crew members was helping set me up with a rod, he said "aren't you a little too clean to be doing this?" Obviously I didn't get the memo about wearing your crummy clothes. In my delusional mind, I had imagined fishing on a yacht. The boat was perfectly fine and nice but was definitely a fishing vessel lacking life's finer details. Thank God I didn't wear the sailboat dress I was planning on. Probably would have been laughed right off the ship!

The aftermath. Ick!

Over the weekend, I hit up the Brooklyn Flea. As always, I came away empty handed. There are just so many people there. I don't have adequate space to agonize over a purchase, so instead I just bounce from booth to booth. It's still pretty entertaining.

Kurt and I grabbed lunch at the Flea too. It was hard to choose from all the delicious options, but we settled on grilled cheese and lemonade. 

Kurt is obsessed with the European Championship these days and wanted to watch Poland take on the Czech Republic. He roots for Poland and thought it would be fun to cheer along with other fans in Greenpoint, a Brooklyn neighborhood with a super high Polish population. We ended up at Red Star and grabbed a table just before the match started. Poland lost, got eliminated from the tournament, and I fell asleep a couple times during the game. I try to like soccer. I do. It just bores me to tears. Sorry, Kurt :(

When riding our bikes to Greenpoint, it has become a tradition to get ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory way at the northern tip of the borough. There is a pretty sweet view of Manhattan as well.

Later that evening, we enjoyed some burgers and drinks in the cute backyard at Sea Witch. And then I was exhausted and went to bed at ten. I'm so cool.

In other news, I passed another exam! Three down, four to go! Almost half way there. I've been a taking a little it's summer, I don't feel like studying break but I need to get back to it soon. The sooner I can get them over with, the sooner I can move on with my life!

Kurt and I have a big week planned that concludes with a super secret surprise trip I have been planning over the weekend. I can't spare any details but I will share lots of photos when we return! Have a great week!