san francisco: day three

On our third day in San Francisco, Kurt and I rented bikes to tour a big loop around the city. We rode through the Mission, learned how to follow the wiggle (those hills are killer!), saw the Painted Ladies (fulfilling all my Full House childhood dreams), meandered through the Panhandle and Golden Gate Park, and stopped for lunch in Inner Richmond at Pizza Orgasmica. In the afternoon, we rode through the Presidio (saw dolphins!), Crissy Field, Marina District, and the Embarcadero. Finally, we stopped for a quick peek at Redwood City's cute downtown.

See day one and day two!

weekend recap

This weekend I learned that you can get so much done when you don't sleep in until outrageous hours on Saturday and Sunday. It's true: awake me is much more productive than sleeping me. Who knew? I'm not sure I'll be springing out of bed on my regular workday schedule, but I'm going to make an effort to squeeze as many waking hours into my free days as I can. Kurt is thrilled :)

Our friend Christian had the brilliant idea to participate in the National Day of Service on Saturday, so he, Kurt, and I signed up to help with the Sandy Relief Kitchen's Canned Food Drive. Our "dream team" was stationed in front of a nearby grocery store taking food donations. It was freeeezing and super early but I was astounded by the community support. 

ride away to rockaway

Last Saturday, Jenn, Kurt and I rode our bikes out to Rockaway Beach for a day in the sand. I was a dummy and didn't ask how long the trek actually was even though I was assured it was "really easy" multiple times. 16 miles later (each way!) on the hottest day of the year, my amateur cycling legs wanted to give up and take a cab home.

But the ocean as a destination is pretty awesome. I was a sweaty disgusting mess when we arrived, so a quick dip in the ocean was in order. The water was chilly and I'm a big baby, so getting in is always a slow process. As you can see, the beach was packed. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the sand. I was a walking sunscreen advertisement and didn't get burned one bit. I was a little disappointed I didn't get more sun but will settle for not being a lobster all week. Maybe I will look into a little lower SPF next time...

Continuing my string of dummy moves, I didn't eat breakfast before our eternally long ride and was famished once we reached the beach. Kurt and I shared some nachos and a Bolivian empanada-type dish.

Yeah, I use an Auburn koozie as my camera case. No big deal :)

And of course the best way to finish off the afternoon is with a beer.

Here, Jenn and Kurt are practicing their double high fives. Obviously I can barely manage to take a photo with one hand on the bike.

Reluctantly (or maybe that was just me), we climbed on our bikes to head home. After an already long day, the ride back was exhausting. I wasn't such a happy camper at the end of it all. But, hey! I rode 32+ miles and got to go to the beach. I'll call that an accomplished day :) Check me out on that bridge! (Thanks for the photo, Jenn!)

week in review and the glass house

Big news this week: Jenn is going to work at my office! My firm has been really busy lately and is getting a few big projects in, so my bosses asked me if I knew of anyone looking for a job. Et voila! Jenn starts in a couple weeks and I couldn't be happier! It will be nice to have a confidante, fellow happy hour planner, and lunch buddy in the office :) I hope she doesn't get tired of me!

Although the rest was less exciting, the week was pretty jam packed. Does anyone watch Girls? Andrea has been lovely enough to host us at her apartment for a bi-weekly viewing night (the rest of us are too cheap to get cable or, in my case, even a tv). This week we watched Veep and Girls. They were both absolutely hilarious! I definitely recommend checking them out if you are lucky enough to have HBO.

On May Day, there was an Occupy Wall Street march down 5th Avenue in from of my office. 

Jenn had her interview on Wednesday, so I planned on meeting her afterwards for a drink. While killing time I went shopping and got some great deals! I scored a cute shirt ($10) and capris ($13) at H&M and a great skirt ($16) at my new favorite store, Joe Fresh. Once I locked my credit card away, I met Jenn to recap the interview at Bak.

Obviously the meeting went well, so I wanted to show Jenn all the awesome food choices around the Union Square area (she currently works near the Empire State Building, a wasteland of restaurants). We landed at Vapiano at 13th and University Place. They have this weird cafeteria style of ordering and paying but the pizza was good. 

Anyplace that has sangria gets high marks in my book too.

At a site meeting for work this week we looked at plaster crown molding samples,

compared wood floor stains,

tested out a shower seat for adequate butt room,

and saw some windows going in! Exciting progress!

My boss and I stopped by another job that is going on in the office but aren't involved with. The clients are a major pain in the ass, but the apartment is shaping up and has some gorgeous details. Love that marble slab backsplash.

On Thursday, I attended an Architecture for Humanity happy hour at the Bentley Prince Showroom.

Graduate interior design students from Pratt were displaying their final projects for the year as well. Their project was to create emergency housing for those displaced by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami last year. During the course of the semester, the students had direct contact with a family living in the current temporary housing. They presented some interesting solutions and touched on some ideas I hadn't considered.

On Friday, Jenn and I attended the Architecture League's First Friday event at Ennead Architects. They have this really enormous, two level office that was great for a party.

The food all seemed to have an orange theme. There was cheese, carrots, Doritos, clementines, and other snacks spread around the office for our enjoyment.

I love me some Cheetos, so Jenn and I parked at this bowl for a while. There were several of these huge bowls around the office. I have no idea what they were going to do with the leftovers!

There was one nice employee who left a couple bowls of sweets on his desk too. Thanks, Adam!

Jenn and I hung out at the happy hour for a while but then coerced Christian to meet at Marshall Stack in the Lower East Side for a drink. We toasted to Jenn's new job and a couple beers later decided to go dancing! One of our favorite spots was just around the corner, so we popped in to see what the Darkroom had to offer. The crowd was a little thin and a bit......younger than I remember. I'm typically the young one when we go out and I even felt old being there. What is happening?! It was strange. Regardless, the music was pretty good so we enjoyed ourselves. I think we need to find a new dance spot though!

Jenn, Christian and I had been planning a trip to the Glass House for several months. (Well, Jenn did most of the planning. I was just along for the ride :) ) The weekend finally came, so we loaded ourselves and our bikes onto the train to New Canaan, CT.

The town's main street was right near the train station, so we grabbed some lunch at Chicken Joe's before heading to our tour. Some other patrons convinced us to try the "cones" which are fried bits of mashed potatoes. It was all pretty meh. New England needs to import some Southerners to show them how to do fried chicken right :)

We met at the visitors center and were bused to the site where our adorable, elderly tour guide took us to the house and several other buildings on the property.

Me in my super fashionable lanyard :)

I think the thing I love most about Connecticut is their stone walls. Gorgeous.

The house in all its glory. I was so happy we got to go inside and poke around. It's really a fascinating place. I would have loved to see it when Philip Johnson was just hanging out or hosting a cocktail party there. 

The gang. We've been quite the explorers lately!

I had always imagined the Glass House being in a remote field with nothing in sight. It's actually on a decently trafficked road and nearby other buildings designed by the same architect. Here it is right next to the Brick House.

Our tour also took us through the Painting Gallery and the Sculpture Gallery.

At the tail end of the tour we stopped in Da Monsta too.

We thought we would need our bikes more but the town ended up being a lot more convenient than predicted. Since we brought them anyway, we took a short ride around the New Canaan area. We found a really pretty cemetery and rode through, looking for the oldest tombstones we could find.

I think we found early 1800s somewhere. It was a gorgeous and peaceful place. 

Please note Christian's "Cinco de Mayo scarf". He only breaks it out one day a year :) 

After our ride, we found a restaurant to get some drinks and watch the Kentucky Derby. With Cinco de Mayo and the horse race falling on the same day, we had to represent with margaritas and mint juleps. We all picked three horses and my picks got first and second place! Way to go I'll Have Another and Bodemeister! Too bad I didn't put any money on them!

New Canaan was a cute little town but definitely very snooty. I've never seen so many boutiques on one street selling the same kind of yacht wear. Eventually we decided to head back to NYC to really celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

I love Grand Central. I so rarely go there but it is always breathtaking. 

Once safely back in our beloved city, we rode over to Williamsburg/Greenpoint for tacos. (After two bridges in one day, my out of shape biking legs were screaming for a break.) We had some food and beers at El Loco Burrito before deciding it had been a long day (long two days!) and we all headed home to crash. Great trip guys!

After a busy week, I decided to be lazy on Sunday. I did a little studying, painted my nails, and got some groceries. It was such a gorgeous day (and those have been in short supply lately) so I went on a bike ride to the Dekalb Market in search of severely overdue birthday presents.

It's such a fun place! All these vendors are housed in shipping containers where you can shop and eat. There is a small garden and the site recently got its liquor license so you can wander around with a beer while you peruse! I can't wait to go back with friends :)

Other big news: Kurt is back stateside! I can't wait to see him and hear all about his trip. I will be a little upset that he is going to be super tan and I am still transparently pale, but I will try to overlook it. I'm selfless like that :) Hopefully I can get that guest post out of him soon too so you all can see some amazing images from New Zealand and Samoa!

Have a great week!

P.S. - I've been obsessed with this song by Gotye all week. The video is ok but the song has been playing in my head nonstop!