weekend.

The weekend began with a (photo-less) mini bar crawl in Brooklyn. We hit Washington Commons for a few beers and ordered in pizza. Next was Woodwork for their famous pickleback shots (shot of whiskey or bourbon chased with a shot of pickle juice....sounds gross but it is so good!). We finished up at Hot Bird. It's a converted garage that has a great outdoor space. In the summer they have a food truck serving sandwiches etc. but Friday they had a bonfire going. It was a fun night!

The weather on Saturday was gorgeous! It was sunny and in the high 50s. It was the perfect opportunity for my inaugural bike ride of the year. It was great to be back in the saddle! I'm so tired of waiting on buses or trains all the time. It was great to be in control of getting myself around. I forgot how much easier and convenient it is to get between my apartment and Kurt's. Spring, one more reason I need you to hurry up and get here!

Saturday evening, Kurt once again put us to shame with his cooking skills. He surveyed the ingredients in his kitchen and found this recipe. It was delicious. Silvia, the vegetarian who doesn't like pesto, even agrees :) After dinner, we decided to go to Korzo, a favorite bar near Kurt's apartment, for a couple drinks and dessert. 

Thomas, Kurt's friend who is in town job hunting, really got into coaster stacking.

Our awesome bartender, Matt, also helped out.

Meanwhile, Erik convinced the bartender to let him try every single one of the sixteen beers on tap. 

Sadly, he didn't make it all the way through but vows to return and finish the job.

Aren't we cute? We randomly met this girl from Alabama at the bar. She was a little crazy and a Bama fan. I don't know if we will be best friends but it was still interesting. She volunteered to take our picture. [Not pictured: Kristin. I don't know where she ran off to.]

Sunday morning, I got up really early to head to the upper tip of Manhattan for a race. This is the second year I've run in the Coogan's 5K--the race that got me interested in running in the first place. It's only 3.1 miles but the course is kind of hilly. It was raining too which made it less than ideal. My marathoning friend Majo and I have about the same pace and she was determined to outrun me (all in good fun, of course!). I would like to think I put up a good fight. In the end, she was only one second faster. It was great to have someone to push you. I would have never run that fast on my own. I was almost 3 minutes faster than my time last year and shaved about a minute from my per mile time. Phew! My legs were feeling it later :)

The real reward from finishing the race is getting chicken and waffles in Harlem afterwards. 

Doesn't it look delicious!? We enjoyed some Southern fried goodness at Amy Ruth's. Any calories burned during that race were quickly recovered (and probably surpassed) with this meal. 

It rained the entire day, so I didn't feel too bad about napping and lounging around the apartment, making some more progress on my room (here and here). Kurt's parents are scheduled to visit sometime this month, so I might be getting my new chair soon!

I hope you all had a great weekend too!

more wall decor

I've added a few more things to my walls lately. I'm not sure I love the arrangement but will live with it a while until I decide to reorganize the new circle collection I've started.

I got inspired when a shirt I love got a hole in it. I love the pattern and couldn't bear getting rid of it.

Instead, I got several embroidery/cross stitch rings from the craft store. I picked an interesting area on the shirt, clamped it in the ring, cut out the circle and glued the edges underneath. All the other fabrics are cute napkins I have come across. I hope to expand the collection as I find more patterns I like.

And this is a a place mat from Ikea. It fits into the round theme but breaks up the sea of floral patterns.

jacket search continues

My online hunt for the perfect spring anorak continues. I think I may have found a couple winners that meet all my criteria at Brooklyn Industries. I'm a big cheap-o, so it may take me a little time to rationalize parting with this chunk of money, but I think these are both excellent contenders :)

Woodstock Anorak ($138), really cute and lightweight but a little pricey

Day Trip Jacket (on sale for $80), better price but I'm afraid it looks too heavy for Spring

Decisions, decisions....any thoughts?

le sigh

This video is très adorable. Anyone want to fly to Paris with me?!

{found via}

Civic Responsibility

Is it weird that serving jury duty was the most glorious day I've experienced in a while? Being a complete cake walk probably had a lot to do with it...and having a vacation from work...and being finished at 3:30 in the afternoon on a beautiful day. I'm sad it's over!

I don't know how Brooklyn ever conducts a trial. From what I can tell, the juror selection process mainly consists of shuffling large groups of cranky people from one waiting room (like the one above) to the next. I was corralled between four of these rooms which never amounted to anything. Thank goodness for free wifi. I had some great bonding time with my iPhone and made a huge dent in my book. I made a new friend and we spent our two hour lunch break getting yummy sandwiches in Brooklyn Heights and strolling along the Promenade. It was seriously like a day off from work. 

After lunch, my group was escorted into a court room. There was actually a judge and lawyers and a defendant in there! (I have a Legally Blonde reference to insert here but will spare you) They explained the trial and how the whole jury selection process would work. All of a sudden, I got really excited about the prospect of being on the jury. While everyone around me was grumbling about being there and missing work etc, I really wanted to be involved. Maybe it is my gossipy nature, but I couldn't bear the thought of leaving without hearing the evidence and knowing the outcome. Plus, everyone around me was so uninterested, I wanted to be the best jury person that court room had ever seen! Renew their faith in the democratic system! 

The judge and lawyers had a meeting in another room while we waited anxiously (or was that just me?) in the courtroom. After about fifteen minutes they returned and broke the news to us that our services would no longer be needed. This elicited some cheers from my jury peers but I was crushed. Not only were we not going to serve on this trial but we were excused for the rest of the day...and for the next eight years! Sadly, I won't be able to fulfill my jury potential anytime soon AND I won't be taking full advantage of the three paid days I could have had off of work. Alas, I realize everything can't go my way.

On the bright side, it was a lovely day and I had a huge chunk of the afternoon which would normally be spent at work. I took a nice stroll home and decided to go for a long run outside--my first since NYC was transformed into a bitter tundra back in 2010. I ran by my favorite street in Cobble Hill. I would give my right arm to live in these houses.

I checked out progress at Brooklyn Bridge Park and the nice late afternoon light on the buildings of lower Manhattan.

I was on such a running high and didn't want to waste an ounce of daylight that I also decided to do a lap around the park near my house. I might have gone a smidgen overboard. I don't think I will be able to walk tomorrow but it was very worth it. I am excited about the impending months of outdoor fun.

In the theme of overdoing things, I came home and devoured the rest of my Pioneer Woman book. I must have read 3/4 of it today alone. It was so good. I laughed out loud at parts ("lol" to you kids) and cried at others (more than I'd like to admit). It's such an easy read, I would highly recommend it. Maybe work it in over a few days though. One lucky reader might even find a copy waiting in her mailbox real soon...