thirty one

last weekend i celebrated my 31st birthday. this occasion had the grace of falling on the date(s) that moe. was playing @ roseland ballroom.

saturday started off with dinner @ five napkin burger. their burgers were surprisingly not so great (too big of a burger with too little flavoring) but we found greatness in the deep fried pickles and pastrami with sauerkraut and mustard oil. i don't even like pickles but that was pretty darn good!

after dinner we hustled over to roseland and secured a spot on the rail in the coveted balcony. coveted because it's really the only good seat in the house .. and true to the past, we pretty much had it to ourselves. our extended group was rather large so a great time was had by all and moe. played a sweet 2nd set.


and of course we had to get a picture with all the girls!

in nyc there is a group called the NYC Freaks. they are a group of music loving folks that i've met countless times at all the shows i go to, not to mention my favorite friends chop and allie are part of the group so everywhere i go they are introducing me to person after person from the freaks group.

annually the freaks host what is called The Freaks Ball. this year it was held at sullivan hall. i failed to get advanced tickets as i wasn't sure i was going to go but once moe. was over .. ivy and i were ready for more music. we got word that unfortunately it was sold out so we had a drink with friends heater, mike and sara who were all in from out out of town. after a while we got word that the ball had thinned out and would let us in so off we go in a cab to sullivan hall and met up with more friends.

this year the freaks had anders osborne playing and wow wow wow .. this guy played some dirty guitar, we loved it. and yes that's his bass player with a susaphone. i had a great time there and dare i say i almost enjoyed it more than moe. ?

it was a great way to celebrate my birthday and i'm so glad to have so many friends to celebrate it with!!!

in the year two thouuusand .. i mean 2010

hello all ... this year i have plans for a career and location change. due to efforts in that vein i will be setting this blog to private in a couple of weeks.

i don't think this blog gets much traffic and i pretty much keep it going for my own enjoyment, but if you would like to be added as a reader .. just let me know !

black cab sessions

check out the black cab sessions .... excellent entertainment for a chilly saturday morning when you don't want to get out of bed yet can't bring yourself to turn the tv on.

greenland

From a slideshow on The New York Times ... Inuit hunters in the remote regions of Greenland

"The Northern Lights glow above Tinnittaqilaq village. The Inuit, whose cultural and spiritual beliefs are deeply intertwined with nature, believe the lights are souls waiting to be reborn."

happy new year

2010 was ushered in with a blue moon.

a blue moon isn't that rare and actually isn't considered to be anything special by astronomers but "just being able to recognize that we can have a full moon twice in a month and have [folklore] attached really highlights the fact that humans have been astronomers their entire existence" .. i kind'a like that.

image snagged off the internet

mustachio

cold worth your while

as i like to say .. if it's going to be miserably cold, then it might as well snow!! needless to say .. when there is snow, this southern girl gets as giddy as a 5yr old on christmas morning!!

and so we had the "blizzard '09" .. at least that's what they are calling it. it wasn't so much of a blizzard though but we certainly got some of the white stuff.

when out and about i kept seeing these pitiful little snowmen .. missing parts and arms made of metrocards. they were kind'a cute though

my city

whenever flying into town and viewing the manhattan sky line i say .."that's my city"

and whenever i cross the brooklyn or manhattan bridge, i gaze about and say .. "that's my city"

yes it's certainly been a love affair with NYC but it wasn't always that way. i never disliked the city but there was a time where i thought something more normal was what i needed ... a house, a car, a yard, big grocery stores, blah blah. a more comfortable life would be nice, but i have the rest of my life for that.

i am exactly where i need to be right now and i wouldn't have it any other way. on any given saturday, where else could i have a momofuko pork bun with salty pistachio caramel soft serve, grab a drink with hundreds of santas, attend a hookah holiday party and well .. so much more!?

i love new york.

the garden

last wednesday, thursday, and friday .. phish played @ madison square garden, just an intimate evening of me and 18,000 of my closest friends. and oh yes .. i went to all three, duh!

ivy and i had 3 house guests and 2 dogs staying with us for the run and on top of all the fun, the additions to our household, and hoards of other friends in town .. i had a photo shoot everyday, thus not being able to take off work. needless to say that come friday i was really dragging.

i had such a great time though and i'm so glad to have shared it with so many friends!!!

bask country

images from T magazine's 'bask country' story ... photographed by: camilla akrans
i could certianly go for being in tobago right about now!!

the ny times puts out some incredible images .. their art department is chock full of talented people and i consider it good fortune to be able to work with them on occasion.

monsters of folk

on a friday and sunday night in early november i went to see mosnters of folk at the united palace and the beacon theater. both shows were quite impressive with songs ranging from original MOF material to songs from each member's own band.

i was especially excited for the beacon show as i had front row seats. the music was great but that's about it. we were repeatedly told to sit down / not dance and overall the lame crowd and overbearing security (that trampled and ruined my poster no less) were a major wet blanket


the beacon theater poster + set list .....

say please
the right place
soul singer in a session band - bright eyes cover
slow down jo
man named truth
vincent o'brien - m. ward cover
one life away - m. ward cover
one hundred million years - m. ward cover
chinese translation - m. ward cover
smoke without fire - bright eyes cover
golden - my morning jacket cover
dear god (sincerely M.O.F.)
temazcal
baby boomer
i will be there when you die - my morning jacket cover
we are nowhere and it's now - bright eyes cover
the big picture - bright eyes cover
lullaby + exile - m. ward cover
to save me - m. ward cover
goodway
bermuda highway - my morning jacket cover
look at you - my morning jacket cover
wonderful (the way i feel)
lime tree - bright eyes cover
kathy with a k's song
sandman, the breakman, and me
map of the world
smokin' from shootin' - my morning jacket cover
hit the switch - bright eyes cover
losin' yo head

encore

at the bottom of everything - bright eyes cover
whole lotta losin'
another travelin' song - bright eyes cover
his master's voice

poconos

the weekend of november 14th .. a group of us set out to the pocono's to celebrate nicholas' birthday. we rented the perfect cabin with a fire pit on the lake, acquired various bourbon and scotch and cooked divine sit-down meals. the weather wasn't the best but the rain held off for a foggy hike. such a good time was had that i think we may do it again this winter but with skiing!!

we hiked for quite a while but it was pretty easy going. this was about as treacherous as it got .. and we all made it across with dry feet!

ask anyone there and they'll tell you i was the crazy fire lady. honestly there isn't anything better to me, especially with a toasty bourbon on a crisp night. everyday once the sun set i'd start in with .. "let's build a fire, can we build a fire?, how about now? come on guys!!"

team poconos was katie kirk, nicholas pecsock, heather metivier, tim lee, rakesh malik, kathleen sullivan, david halpin, ivy paisner, and myself

eric + jen's wedding

life has been incredibly busy lately .. i've been out of town more than i've been in, but it's all been worth it.

on november 7th my buddy eric got married. i headed down to delaware for the wedding and for what also was a reunion of sorts. i got to see quite a few old friends and we celebrated eric & jen's wedding with hours of dancing.

i told ya we danced ...

oh and this was rather funny ... not only was there no holy water due to the spread of H1N1, but during the ceremony (catholic) the priest said to nod at your neighbor instead of the hugging

the randy dandy

i love this story from the men's fall fashion issue of T Magazine

photographed by David Slipjer