we're off!

Tomorrow we head down to Florida to meet up with my parents, drop off the pup for pup-sitting and take care of a few last details. And then we're off to Mexico.

We'll be back in a couple of weeks with lots of wedding porn and gruesome stories.

trust me

Close your eyes and listen. Give it a chance - it'll change your world. Ok, maybe not. But it's damn good.



This may have a similar effect on your well-being...

be warned

Thom and I are going on a little mini-vacation to Portland in July. We've been dreaming about moving to Portland for a while now. At least in our fantasies it would be a calmer, greener, mid-century modern life.

But I've always wondered what exactly I would do there. I imagine there's not a wealth of high-powered advertising executive positions there. Which is actually kind of the point. Thanks to the New York Times all my questions have been answered.

Nothing's going to stop us now.

on my way home

a little st. patty's day love

just cried i laughed so hard

I'm having a totally crap day but this really livened it up. Especially this one. Or maybe this one.

UPDATE: this one is Karen's Mom.

via Karen.

Some of my clients sent us the mandoline from our registry! We immediately set to making homemade baked potato chips to go with our veggie sloppy joes and squash.

escape at last

A couple Fridays ago I was so euphoric to be leaving work with relatively warm weather (what was it? 47 degrees?) that I walked 30-something blocks downtown to meet Thom for dinner. It was wonderful and I encountered the new fountain installation in Rockefeller Center.

And then we had some lovely Indian food.

a hard day's night

Some of us took quick naps, others played a little rockband to be alive enough for dinner...

Brothers Armstrong

...and Tung.

But still a little dead from the long day. Ok, maybe more than a little. Thom looks like he's about to kill someone. Kinda tough, no?

Dinner was at Beast and very yummy.

snips and snails and puppy dog tails

While the girls were getting painted and stuffing our faces the boys were having their own kind of fun.

Of course some of the boys were hurting a bit from the festivities the night before. First the boys watched some soccer and then headed off to the Brooklyn Brewery.

Tony deep in thought.

Still deep in thought. And is Tung sleeping there?

Dirk bleary-eyed and bewildered.

Mike - who looks more awake than others - but it's an illusion.

See now, I'm not sure if Matt is sleepy here or trying to look sexy. Maybe he's just preparing to give me a chin-kiss, which is a regular occurrence.



And with lots of beer comes cards.



Oh and more beer.

Proof that Thom's so friggin' married.

Nope. Not cheating on me. Not cheating on me at all. I guess it's better than the alternative.

Omar's intense.
Very intense.


Brothers. Not Donnelly but it'll do.

After much beer (and pizza) was had they headed over to The Gutter for bowling.



And finally they dragged themselves over to barcade for a few games.
Sorry to disappoint, folks, but things were pretty tame all around. That is - unless I missed all those sordid stripper pictures.


All pics thanks to Omar.

she's so friggin' amazing it hurts.

sugar and spice - and everything nice

After Friday night's house party we got up bright and early Saturday morning. We started slow with mani/pedis and mimosas...





and temporary tattoos...
I could have stayed there all day.


Then we headed to Pipa for a much-needed lunch and sangria.

I had french toast...





We struggled to stay awake (or at least I did) on the train up to the Museum of Natural History.


We had the best of intentions to participate in a scavenger hunt but the combination of Friday night, overheated museums and a long night ahead overcame us. We only made it about half way through the hunt questions and, I suspect, Haverly had a big part to play in that. But we did get this swell group picture!

it didn't end there

After we spent the day cooking and preparing people started to arrive...

We had name tags since everyone wouldn't know each other.

I made some fresh habanero-infused tequila for the occasion.

Jackie organized a newlywed game. Naturally, Thom won. Who remembers random crap like that?
Me pondering my answer.


Jackie and Matt look on.

Kristin, Mike and Kalisha. The person who took this picture (not me) either had too much to drink or was trying to be "artsy."
Ben being Ben.

Kalisha and Sarah. (Sarah just got engaged this morning, by the way. Congratulations!)

More habanero tequila shots.

With a kick.

Isabelle and Tony who will be getting married in November.
Isabelle getting down and dirty.

Something must have been funny.

Nope. I haven't had a lot to drink.

Tung and the evil eye. Clearly still recovering from his trip to Cambodia.

Jackie also hasn't had a lot to drink. PBR, anyone?

The cutest couple - Phil and Zack.

Er, maybe not?

Ghostly pictures as the dance party really gets started.




The Friday night house party was tons of fun. But we all had to get a bit of rest so we could be prepared for Saturday...