random bolding and the Brooklyn Flea

Collection is really just a fancy word for selective hoarding. I like my food bland and I don't currently have a kitchen to clutter, but when I see a really great set of salt & pepper shakers I need it for my collection (the one that is currently inside a box inside a bigger box inside my parent's garage).  Someday they will have a place in my eclectic kitchen. Dinner guests will be heard saying Oh my, what an amazing and not-at-all-crazy collection you have. If only I had thought to start such a collection years ago... That's when I'll know I've made it.

Okay, but seriously you guys - seriously. LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND.

Oh, by gosh, by golly! Have you ever in your life seen 3 such perfectly perfect salt & pepper sets?... You're lying if you say yes. You guys, it's a miniature electric mixer that dispenses salt and pepper! You guys! The toast pops out! I'm so freaking excited. They're straight from 1960, but more recently straight from the Brooklyn Flea market...

They just don't make buildings like this anymore!  Damn them... today's building makers (you know who you are).

Those 3 gems weren't the only good purchase I made that day.  All the way from 1992, I present to you...

Oh "Zack", nothing compares to the coiffe of your hair. Nothing. 

I will never.

1. I will never run a marathon.

It's never going to happen, people. I've come to terms with it.


2. I will never steal your iPhone... or your wallet... I won't steal anything from you that costs more than $2.

What kind a person sees another person's iPhone and says "Oh goody! I'll take that!" - a heartless person, that's who.


3. I will never care about BYU Football.

Sorry.


4. I will never allow the head of a dead animal to be mounted on my wall.

Never ever.


5. I will never own a cat.

Unless it's Taylor Swifts cat's.


6. I will never kidnap Taylor Swift's cat.

But I'm not making any promises.


7. I will never commit to blonde.

I like it, but... I get bored. Plus, red hair is AWESOME.


8. I will never be that person who shaves her legs every day.

What kind of life is that?


9. I will never spell my child's name any way other than the most common way.

It's that simple. Just like spelling should be.


10. I will never say never, nevah, nevah...

Thanks, JB.

yes to cities

I'm a city lover!  It's true - I love them and they love me. Woodsy vacations tend to make me irritable and... sluggish? But cities?! Oh, the bustle! (It feels wrong to exclude hustle...) Culture is where it's at!

Long Island is nice enough, but by the time Friday rolls around Francis and I are ready for some city! That's my car - and yeah, we drive all around like it's nobody's business cuz we tuff like that... yo. This past weekend was a little hilarious and a lot awesome, but first things first - city pictures!

View from the bosses office by day...

And by night.

Fall. FALL. FALL!!!

Sat: I successfully parked Francis and subwayed on down to Brooklyn, where I met up with some great people who invite me to great things like historical walking tours.  This particular tour came with a complimentary meat pie, so yeah... that was pretty great as well (I love meat pie). A lot of greatness going on, basically.
After our tour we went to dinner at Scarpetta. This is the only picture I got (calamari fries!) because no one wants to feel like a tourist, and I feel like a fatso tourist when I take pictures of food in classy, dimly lit restaurants. I'm being completely serious when I say - food that good has never before been anywhere near my mouth.  I went into shock for awhile because the pumpkin pasta was too much for my inexperienced palette to handle. This next part was a true *November-day miracle: my friend's boss is the owner/chef (also, a judge on Chopped!), so everything was "complements of the chef!" I have always wanted to hear those words. November is amazing.

But wait, there's more! Then I went to THIS for a little while, which is funny because I don't know any of those people.  But I've read Nat's blog for a few years and she invited NYC readers, so I said to myself "yes!" Saying yes is something I do in November and it leads to cool things.  I'm starting to wonder why I save all my cool "yes" experiences for November...

This is me wondering how it's possible
that this is the 3rd longest escalator I've
ever escalated and yet NYC can't seem to
put stadium seating in their theaters.
How those two things are connected
I don't know, but it upsets me greatly.

As I drove past Lincoln Square on my way home I noticed an empty parking spot smack dab in front of the movie theater. (Street parking, people! It never happens!) I took that as a sign that I should say yes to a 10:20 movie.

And that's what yes can do in one day.

If you live in a city.

Juuust jokes, November-day miracles have no boundaries! But I prefer city miracles... just saying.

(The meat pie totally counts as a miracle.)

*November-day miracles defined:
Daily miracles that come to those who seek them. They are big or small, or whatever you want them to be. The big things tend to happen when you say yes to new things, and November always brings a lot of opportunities to say YES. Yes!