i heart the novogratz

Did you ever watch 9 by Design on Bravo? I was obsessed with the show. The coolest pair of interior designers in New York, in my opinion. After being bummed that 9 by Design I found a great surprise on Times Square Gossip today. The Novogratz are coming to HGTV July 16! The show is going to be called Home by Novogratz. To find out more about their work and their fabulousness check out Sixx Design.

Their kick ass West Side home

dad's weekend 2011

There were a few ups and downs during this year's baseball trip, but overall it was a success. Both dad and I arrived in Boston without a hitch. After checking in to the hotel we walked down the street to grab lunch. We had big dinner plans so we just wanted something small. Unfortunatly I made the wrong decision. I ordered a small bucket of steamers (steamed clams) and thought they were great, until several hours later when we sat down to dinner.

I had heard so much about the Daily Catch and was most looking forward to it. The restaurant only seats 20 and smells like a hundred pounds of garlic deliciousness. We waited outside in line for about 45 minutes and just as we were about to be seated I got really hot and did not feel well. We sat down, ordered a glass of wine, and after one sip I excused myself from the table to go across the street to the bathroom (yes, you read correctly, the bathroom is across the street in other restaurant). To make this long semi gross story short, let's just say while my dad ate the appetizer I sat outside on the curb hurled over. Our waitress was awesome and brought me water and my dad thankfully got the main course to go. It was a long, long night for me. I am happy that my dad got to indulge on the fabulous food from the Daily Catch but I was super bummed I did not.

The Daily Catch

Sunday over. Monday, I woke up feeling much better. Bottom line, I won't be having steamers for a very, very long time.

I had to work for a couple hours Monday morning so we didn't leave the hotel till about noon. We walked through Back Bay, where we stayed, and towards the North End. The weather was windy, damp and foggy the entire trip, which we were sort of prepared. We were however, not prepared for the wind chill. Welcome to Boston! We walked down most of the Freedom Trail and saw the Boston Massacre, the Old South Meeting House, several cemetery's, statues, memorials, the Old North Church, and so much more. As we were walking towards the Old North Church we stumbled back to same place we were Sunday night. While standing in line at the Daily Catch a local was telling us about this pastry shop down the street, Modern Pastry Shop. Most people stop by Mike's to get their cannoli's, but to the locals, it's a touristy spot. Before the Old North Church and lunch, we took a pit stop at Modern and had a giant cream puff, cannoli's, and an eclair. Don't worry, we didn't hardly finish it all, except for dad's eclair, which disappeared immediately. After a much needed walk and picking up fresh pasta to take home to mom, we had lunch at The Bell in Hand, America's oldest bar. Afterwards we walked through the financial district of Boston and took a very long way back to the hotel. We caught a few zzz's before heading to Fenway.

The Old North Chruch

The Bell in Hand

You thought I was kidding about the desserts didn't you?

Best cannoli ever. And cream puff. A-mazing!

The highlight of the trip was of course the baseball game. The main point of "Dad's Weekend." Walking to the game we realized that is was our first ever away game. Neither of us had ever purposely gone to watch the visiting team. And by the amount of orange in the stadium it was obvious. The Orioles started strong as anticipated but after a very long 6th inning that consisted of three different pitchers... we pretty much choked. But one day, the O's will be back on top and I will honestly be able to tell you that neither my dad or I are fair-weathered fans. Will always love the O-birds!

Cold and damp, but we made it to the end. Go O's!

View from our seats, no zoom. Third baseline, behind the Orioles dugout.

More to come, so check back in a day or two.

unseen in most nyc apartments

Built-ins. Oh how I miss built-in bookshelves. I currently have 3 sets of bookshelves, and well, they're filled to the brim. And I know what you're thinking, "throw away some of those gosh darn magazines!" Well, you'll be happy to know that only 2 shelves consist of magazines. Most of them are in boxes, in large 3-feet-plus stacks on the ground, and other random locations in my apartment. But one day, I want an entire wall to consist solely of magazine holders that coordinate and fill floor-to-ceiling built-ins. Ah, the thought just makes me grin from ear to ear!

I included a couple pictures from Lonny magazine. Also pictured is a great organizing tip. Do your bookshelves look like a hot mess? If you pull them all out and organize them by spine color and put them in a warm to cool order, your books will not only become a focal point but they will be much more aesthetically pleasing.

Those are my thoughts and wishes of today. Cheers!

Love how these books become the art piece of the room. Color and knowledge, how could you go wrong?

Such a great use of space here. I'm green with envy!

nothing beats new york in the spring

It has been a crazy past few days/weeks. And the season has just begun. Softball has started back up and while did much better last week than the week before, we're still 0-2. In thursday's game I made an out, hit three times but only got one single. The score was only 2-1 so we weren't that upset. We still have time to improve before the playoffs.

Thursday evening, two friends came to stay with me for a few days. Aimee and I worked at Voxmagazine and had several design classes together. Currently she and her husband, Doug, are living in Scotland while Doug is getting his PhD from the University of St. Andrews. Doug had a conference on Friday so Aimee and I had a girls day. It being her first time in New York I took her to Central Park and 5th Avenue and we walked around the Plaza hotel, saw Rockefeller Center, Times Square and ended the day seeing a play on Broadway. After the show, Doug met us at Malachy's while we grabbed a bite and relaxed after a very, very busy day.

Saturday we all slept in till noon and once we finally got out of the apartment we stopped byLansky's and picked up huge New York deli sandwiches and a bottle of wine. We walked over to Sheep's Meadow in Central Park and sat under a big tree and had a picnic. It was perfect. As iconic as picnic's in Central Park are, I have never had one. I've spent a lot of time in the park but 70 degrees and sunny on a Saturday afternoon with friends, totally tops the charts. After the park we walked over to the MET and spent upwards of 6 hours looking at as much as we could. Well, Aimee and I looked at as much as we could while Doug lingered in the Greek and Roman exhibits. The best, by far, was the new exhibit, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.Breathtaking and intense is the best way I can describe it. The meaning and thought behind each collection was portrayed beautifully. If you are in the city before July 31, it is a must visit exhibit.

Aimee and Doug in the park

Aimee and I having a picnic in the park

Sunday, Aimee and Doug headed downtown to Union Square and Battery Park with a friend of theirs from California. I wasn't visitor free though. A friend of mine from North Little Rock who is about to graduate from Penn State was in town for an advertising competition over the weekend. Rachel and a friend of hers met me at my apartment around noon on Sunday. Rachel has stayed with me a few times over the years and it is always a delight to see her. We went to a local place around the corner and had a satisfying and hearty brunch. We went back to my place for a bit before they had to head out. A short visit but a fun one.

moving fever

I'm itching to move. I have looked at apartments online every day for the past week. My lease doesn't go up for a couple more months, but I'm so anxious to paint and have a little more space!

I am coming to the realization, by looking at my bank account, that to stay in my neighborhood, I'll probably have to move into another studio instead of a one bedroom. A heads up to anyone who wants to know about Manhattan realty. Just because an ad says an apartment is a one bedroom, 90% of the time, their lying. More times than not, the apartment is really a larger studio or an alcove studio, or my favorite, a loft above the kitchen.

My main desire to move is not only to have more space but to be able to entertain a little and have a more "home" feel as opposed to a glorified dorm room. I really, really want to paint! And get a headboard and a rug. A real, "sink your feet in, love to walk barefoot" rug. If you know me, you know I rearrange and redo and redecorate on a regular basis and well, my current apartment is full of furniture and my walls are covered in paintings, prints, and frames. It's time to get on with it and MOVE!

Totally digging on this yellow couch from CB2. It's not to big or bulky and would look great with dark wood furniture.

If I stay in a studio, I want to create some sort of room divider so it will feel like smaller separate living areas, instead of the current "bed in the kitchen" kind of situation.

I am envious of the counter in this studio. This isn't the kind of place I'd find in my neighborhood, price range, but I have the same bed, and like the warmness of the apartment.

Isn't this sideboard/cabinet from CB2 fabulous! If only I had room for miscellaneous furniture like this! I'm debating whether it would totally clash and look awful with my retro-style orange print club chair, or make it pop. I'm leaning towards clashing, as it might be too much for my space, but if I had more space....

Please don't read this as a complaint, read it as eagerness.

Photos borrowed from CB2 and HGTV.com

the pouf revisited

Remember when I posted about the pouf ottoman's? If you don't, click here for a quick refresher. Since that post, I have been seeing pouf's everywhere. I almost splurged on Saturday at Johnathan Adler's floor sample sale but I guess it wasn't meant to be because it was already gone by the time I got there.

Whether I end up saving or splurging, I really like the way people are using them in their homes. One home, featured in the current issue of Lonny, used a white pouf in a small living area. Now white is not my color, as I lean more towards warm colors, but in this space, the pouf really adds an extra element of texture and style.

Image borrowed from Lonnymag.com

unexpected treats

Having visitors is always fun, but having your family visit is even better. My cousin, Elizabeth, lives in DC and came into town Saturday evening. I had spent the day in Hackensack, New Jersey supporting a friend in a competition for school. We both arrived back in the city about the same time and we were both drenched. It was one of the largest longest thunderstorm New York has seen in a while. So instead of heading back out into the rain we ordered in dim sum, watched Man on Wire and Love and Other Drugs.

Elizabeth celebrated her birthday earlier this month so as a belated birthday treat I took her to Alice's Tea Cup (go figure, I know). But honestly, out of everyone I know, I've been wanting to take my cousin for over a year because she is obsessed with tea. We both tried new teas and both were delightful. After feasting on scones and poached eggs we walked down to the farmer's market before getting ready for the symphony.

We strolled through the park on our way to Carnegie Hall to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO). Absolutely wonderful. An unexpected treat that was beyond words. This was Music Director and Conductor, Riccardo Muti's first three Carnegie Hall concerts with CSO and to a sold out New York audience, he was shown an abundance of praise, as was deserved. I have heard Cherubini's Overture in G Major once before and loved it, which of course I did this time as well, but what stood out to me the most and were the flutes and clarinets in Liszt's Les preludes as well as the bassoon and contrabassoon in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. Thank you, thank you to my aunt and uncle for the tickets. Elizabeth and I enjoyed ourselves immensely and will never forget our day or the music.

After the symphony, we headed back to my apartment to relax before dinner. We left about 7:30 to make it down to the West Village for our 8 o'clock reservations at Annisa. We were seated promptly along the back wall of the restaurant and greeted by our waiter shortly after. We looked over the menu and although everything was tempting, we each made our decisions pretty easily. Liz chose the lamb and I chose the veal tenderloin, which was hands down one of the best things I have ever eaten. That is, until we had dessert. Seriously, we could have ordered every item listed, so we asked our water what he suggested and without hesitation he recommended the "pecan and salted butterscotch beignets with bourbon milk ice" and the "tower of caramelized banana and peanut butter with coconut sauce." The coconut was very mild, which was nice since neither of us are big coconut fans. We had such a lovely time at dinner and indulged like royalty. I highly recommend Annisa to anyone and everyone. Cheers!