I ♥ New York

 

Central Park, New York City, June 2014

We were in New York two weeks ago to see "Macbeth" starring Kenneth Branagh at the Park Avenue Armory.  I am not a Shakespeare buff (Jon is) and it was the first time I'd seen the play, but I thought it was fantastic.  Did you see it?  I'd be curious to know your thoughts about it.

 

On Sunday, we visited The Frick Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and afterward walked around Central Park.  This scene at the pond where people navigate remote-controlled sailboats was, I thought, reminiscent of a scene that Monet might have painted.

 

Wishing you a happy Fourth of July this weekend.

A June Wedding

Ideas for a summer wedding

The summer solstice arrived this weekend, which means more time outdoors in warm breezes surrounded by light, airy colors and long twilight afternoons.  For some reason, being a newly wed has drawn me to photos of wedding themes more than ever before.   There isn't a pretty dress, flower arrangement or cake swathed in white butter cream that gets by me these days.  I'm thinking of making a petite wedding cake just to celebrate six months of marriage, which is really just an excuse to make (and eat) a cake.  After all, "a party without a cake is just a meeting," according to Julia Child.  I'm not sure if she really said that, but I like to think so.  

One pretty image leads to the next and suddenly I'm imagining a small wedding reception in a cool leafy space by a turquoise pool.  Bridesmaids in silk satin and tulle float from table to table and a small group of guests nibble cheese straws and sip cold minted pea soup.  The main course includes poached salmon with cucumber sauce, lightly sauteed spring vegetables and jasmine rice.  Dessert includes coconut lime sorbet and wedding cake.  For a wedding favor, guests would receive small white boxes of chocolate nonpareils, tied with a pale blue ribbon.

The thoughts alone are enough to transport me from Monday morning to Saturday afternoon.  Now I just need to figure out what to do on Tuesday.

Calm, Cool and Collected

Image from House to Home UK

I have a habit of starting a post by commenting about the weather.   Am I the only one who just noticed that?  Gee, how boring can I be?   Waiting in line to buy stamps at the post office is more interesting than writing about the weather.  I'm cutting myself some slack though because this is New England, gosh darn-it, and weather is something we're known for here so why not talk about it occasionally or at least every two months?

One day it's twenty-five degrees but "feels like two degrees" (according to weather.com)  at 7:30 am and you're cursing the unrelenting wind as you try not to slip on icy sidewalks while hustling to the subway on your way to work in your sleeping-bag length hooded down coat that you've been wearing everyday for what seems like six months and a few days later (or so it seems), you're struggling to lift the air conditioner into the window, trying to remember where you stored your bathing suit (sunscreen/shorts/sandals/sunglasses) and that hair that you just spent twenty minutes blow drying reasonably straight and then flat-ironing for fifteen minutes more and then touching up again with the blow dryer for another five minutes in a never ending battle against humidity is a cloud of fuzz the minute you step outside.

But as I said to someone in the elevator at work this morning, I'm not complaining.  I love the change of seasons.