Celebrating Baby P.

Last Saturday I was the lucky honoree at a phenomenal baby shower thrown by my mother and mother-in-law.

And I know this is frowned upon by some, but I definitely had some input into the theme and details.

I wanted something unique and fun.  Not your traditional "let's get together for a luncheon" shower.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not my style.

Since we're Team Green and I'm obsessed with lime green for this child, we decided to go with a lime green and white color scheme and an English Tea Party theme.  

And luckily for me, my restaurateur husband and mother-in-law are incredible at planning this sort of thing.  MIL took care of the decorations and the food (scones, finger sandwiches, salad, tea) and Nick had what might've been the best idea of all: the mimosa bar.  I wanted my non-knocked-up guests to enjoy themselves so I knew I wanted some sort of alcohol available.  Instead of your ordinary champagne and orange juice, Nick had a variety of different fruit juices, purees and fresh fruit to add.  It was a self-serve bar and a HUGE hit.  I may or may not have indulged in a couple of small glasses myself ;)

As for the centerpieces, my mom was in charge.  And she had the fantastic idea to use tea cups and tea pots from my grandmother and Nick's grandmother.  Such a great idea to incorporate our relatives into the shower.  And naturally, my favorite florist took the idea to the next level and created absolutely gorgeous arrangements.

Column 1 (top to bottom): Harrod's bear direct from London, tea cup centerpiece, turtle from top of diaper cake.  Column 2: diaper cake made by my mom, the invitation.  Column 3: favor box (tea bags, homemade shortbread cookies and mini jam jar), tea kettle, tea kettle arrangement.

 Can I tell you?  I have THE most generous family and friends.  The gift pile was practically never-ending.  Thankfully I had my little helper, Ryleigh (Nick's goddaughter), to bring presents to me to keep things moving along.

Since Sis is busy world-travelling and couldn't attend the shower, we had to Skype her in.  Notice her behind me in the pic below, happily sipping a glass of wine.  In France.  Typical Sis ;)

To keep guests occupied during the gift opening, we played the standard baby shower bingo, with bingo cards thoughtfully made by my wonderful friend, Paula.

We had about 50 people show up, all of whom are special to me, and I think it's safe to say that everyone had a blast.  I got compliments from more than one person after the shower saying how lovely it was.  Love that.

Column 1 (top to bottom): me w/ BFF Krystyn, my "labor buddies" Niki (due 8 days before me) and Dani (due 4 weeks before me).  Column 2: husband and me, mom and MIL.  Column 3: me with the SLPs ;), sis-in-law Michelle, Paula & Amy.

I'm so thankful to all who came to my shower to celebrate baby's fast-approaching arrival, especially my mother, brother, sister-in-law and nephew, who flew in from St. Louis.  I had a truly wonderful time and am so happy to know that this baby is going to come into the world loved by so many.

Now to find someplace to put all of this stuff... :)

Because I don't want to forget...

So.  I'm super late with this post.

We already know this, but my husband is seriously the best ever.  For our second anniversary (way back on November 8th), he planned the most amazing getaway to the city.  The only details he gave were what to pack.  I love surprise trips!

Now let's see how well I do at recalling the details of something that happened over 4 months ago.

Day 1:  lunch at my favorite NYC lunch spot, Jean-Georges. After a delicious lunch (that I apparently failed to document), husband surprised me with a visit to the Guggenheim.  He knows how obsessed I am with Frank Lloyd Wright (he designed the building) and that I've always wanted to go, so we went!  The exhibits change throughout the year and the one there that day was created by Maurizio Cattelan.  It was a crazy display of suspended, um, stuff.  (I'm totally not up on my art terminology.) Photos below.  The Guggenheim is such a neat building... it's literally a spiral that takes you all the way up (or down as we did it) in a circle so you're able to view the exhibit from all possible angles.  There was also a pretty bad-ass Kandinsky exhibit that I wasn't allowed to photograph.

Later that night we went to dinner with Sis, Nunz and Scooter.  How terrible is it that I don't recall the name of the restaurant?  Oh well.  It was fun.  And I got to wear one of my favorite outfits :)

Day 2: I awoke to more surprises.  Husband told me, however, to make sure I shaved my legs.  Pretty much a dead give-away.  Um, hello massage!  He whisked me off to Bliss Spa for a glorious 60 minute massage followed by a Shellac manicure.  Heaven.  After that, we walked to one of my new favorite places in the city, Eataly!  This place is seriously amazing.  It's a giant Italian grocery store with several different cafe areas to sit and grab a bite and a glass (bottle!) of wine.  And on the roof is a beautiful open bar where we had more wine and cheese :)  Sis joined us for this, too.  

Since it was such a beautiful November day, husband had one more surprise for me.  We walked back to our hotel on the High Line!  The High Line is a fairly new park.  It was originally built above the city as a freight line in the 1930s.  It sat neglected for decades until being transformed into a beautiful park.  It runs from Chelsea to mid-town (ish... I'm not terribly up on my NYC geography) and we walked the entire thing.  It was quite unique to see the city from such a different vantage point.  Can't wait to walk it again!

                

Day 2 ended with a fabulous dinner at  "our" table at our most favorite restaurant, Daniel.  Again, no pictures, but it was the perfect end to a perfect anniversary trip. 

Happy 2 year (and 4 month) anniversary, Babe!

   

Rock the What?

To elaborate on the event I alluded to in this post...

Early in the year I was asked to be part of a local charity fashion show.  In fact, I believe the actual email I first received was titled "I WANT YOUR BODY!!!!!!" 

Needless to say, I was bit skeptical.

But seriously.  Who can resist being asked to be a "celebrity model" for a day?  Certainly not moi.  And c'mon, we all I know I have a little obsession with fashion.

Admittedly though, I was terrified.  I had no idea what I would be asked to wear, what the runway would be like, what they'd do to my hair and makeup, etc, etc, etc...

Thankfully it all worked out.  I was happy with my outfits (for the most part), saw that the runway wasn't all that intimidating and got my way with my hair and makeup.

Backstage, pre-show

Socializing with the husband during the cocktail hour before the show (in my own Arden B dress)

Here's where I got nervous.  As the cocktail hour approached it's end, the models were called back to the dressing area to get ready.  This was still 45 minutes before the show was to begin.  It was one of those "hurry up and wait" moments.  The 30 or so minutes I stood in line waiting to make my runway debut was more nerve-wracking than I ever imagined possible.  I was literally shaking.

dress by Nicole Miller

Once I made my way down the runway I was okay.  Although I didn't hear a damn thing.  Husband said that everyone was cheering and yelling my name but I honestly heard nothing.  The only thing I was focused on was not falling off the runway.  I think he was a little upset that I didn't hear him cheering me on.

I wasn't too thrilled with dress #1.  Totally not my style.  Way too matronly.  Ironically though, I got the most compliments on this outfit.  I liked the fascinator and shoes but the scarf and jewelry were awful.  

Dress #2 was better (totally can't recall the designer), but again it's nothing I would ever pick for myself.  The shoes, however.  Gorgeous.  Duh.  They're my Manolo Blahnik wedding shoes ;)  I thought the fascinator with this outfit was kinda cool though.  When else does one get to wear something like that without being invited to the royal wedding?

dress by Badgley Mischka

I loved dress #3 but it was the most terrifying to walk in.  It was LONG.  About 4" of the skirt puddled on the floor.  And I'm tall.  I had to hold it up as I walked which wasn't the most graceful.  It was pretty fab though.  Totally a show-stopper.

So I didn't trip or fall and the crowd didn't laugh.  That I know of.  I'd call that a success.  Whether or not I'll do it again is another story.

Many thanks to our friends Joe Carr of Joseph Carr Wine and Peter & Mary Burgess of The Revolution Spin Studio for sponsoring me in this fantastic event!

Caro(lyn)line in the City.

Ever see that show?  During it's mid-90s run, I acquired the show title as an unfortunate nickname.  What is with kids and their obsession with nicknames?  Anyway...

We spent this past weekend in one of my favorite places... NYC!

We left bright and early Saturday morning and headed straight into Manhattan for brunch at Ai Fiori in the brand new Setai hotel.  One word.  AMAZING.

Clockwise from top left:

Oysters for the husband.  I don't do oysters, aphrodisiac or not ;)

Olive oil cake

Sweet polenta with marcona almonds and currants.  Delicious.

Ricotta and marscapone tortelli with a red wine glaze.  Again, delish.

View of the contemporary dining room overlooking 5th Ave.
Veal angolotti.  Incredible.

Unpictured:  A bottle of  rose champagne

And because I'm a giant dork (and I had 2 glasses of bubbles and a glass of Riesling in my system) I took a picture in the bathroom.  ha.  It had mirrors on opposite walls, so you know, when you look in one, you see a thousand.  It amused me ;)

After brunch, we did a little shopping and met up with friends for a drink at a funky little hole-in-the-wall Irish pub, complete with stereotypical Irish-New Yorker bartender.

Three vodka and sodas later we headed back to the hotel to clean up for dinner.  Our 8:00 reservations at Aureole turned into an 8:15 since someone just had to curl her hair.  Ahem.

This dinner with husband's two best friends and their girlfriends was one of the more memorable I've had.  The food was truly amazing.  It was all so delicate and flavorful. 

Sorry for the shitty pictures... it was dark and we didn't want to use the flash.

Clockwise from top left:

Hamachi with mint, cilantro, red onion and guava.  So light and yummy.

Ruby Red Shrimp w/ curry meringue, kaffir lime and coconut jus.

Husband's entree:  Dry aged rib eye with ricotta cannelloni and red wine jus.

Cannoli Sundae

Dark Chocolate Torte

My entree:  Alaskan black cod w/ creamed spinach and brown butter.  Melt in your mouth, creamy good.

Unpictured:  Two bottles each of champagne, gruner and syrah.  We don't like to drink at all.

The waitstaff took such great care of us... three courses, dessert and the first bottle of bubbles were sent out on the house.  Helps that husband is friends with the GM :)

Before leaving, we got a tour of the kitchen and got to meet the very talented chef.

After dinner we headed to the bar at the Gansevoort.  Not my scene.  Way too crowded and loud... I can't hang like I used to.  So sad.

After one pathetic drink at the Gansevoort, we headed across the street to someplace a little more my speed.  A place where we could actually sit at the bar and have a conversation:  Primehouse.  I don't think I had a single drink there though... it was after midnight at this point and if you've been following this post, you'll recall that I've been drinking basically all day. 

 

Couldn't leave without a cute picture!

After stopping our taxi a block and a half away from our hotel to grab a late night slice of cheese pizza (4th meal!), we ended the night in our shoebox-sized room around 1:30.

Sunday was a wine and restaurant trade show at the Javits Center.  Too bad we were far too hungover to really enjoy it.  We ended up cutting the day short and heading back to Albany early.  The ride home wasn't complete without a pit-stop at Woodbury Commons though!  Saks and Kenneth Cole missed me :)

So.  Long weekend full of good food, drink, friends and fun.  Now it's Monday evening and I'm still recovering.  I can go to bed at 7:30 tonight, right? ;)

Oh Napa, how I miss thee.

So.  I got into my car yesterday to head to an appointment and turned on the whore.  I mean GPS.  We just call her Whore because she likes to give bad directions.  Moving on.  I was going to a destination that I knew I had previously typed in so I tapped the Recent Destinations button.  Sadly, the first thing to pop up was Viader Winery.  A mere 2355 miles to the west.  Sigh.

Oh Napa Valley, we'll meet again, won't we?

If you recall, the husband and I headed to CA about a month ago (I'm so awesome at keeping my blog updated) for an awards-slash-anniversary celebration.

Since I think that literally all of my followers know me in real life and have heard the stories, I'll spare the details and just hit on the highlights.  Like my pretty green dress.  

Here is husband at the awards ceremony accepting the three (THREE!!) awards he won, from Mark at Sante Magazine.  Service Hospitality, Wine Hospitality and Spirits Hospitality.  Yay Yono's!

We met some pretty fantastic people at the Sante events throughout the week. Now we have new friends with amazing restaurants all over the country. And vacation destinations for a lifetime.

We made sure to teach our new friends the infamous "look-away".  They're now using it in their home states.  Love that we're spreading ridiculous traditions nation-wide! 

A plate like this appeared in front of us no less than three times throughout the week.  Who am I to turn down free dessert?

A winery highlight.  Loved this place.

Nick standing next to Chef Morimoto (pretending he doesn't know me as I'm taking picture after picture) at his new downtown Napa restaurant.

"A vanilla milkshake will make me feel better", said in a 4 year old's drawn-out whiny-voice, was one of the better lines I moaned during our honeymoon last year.  But seriously, these vanilla milkshakes will cure anyone's hangover.  And the shrimp tacos?  So good we tried to recreate them at home last week.  Best lunch spot in town.  Gott's.  Not our house.

Me at a winery.  Too bad I don't recall which.  Reason #3,463 I should update my blog in a more timely fashion.

 Me after too much wine at aforementioned unnamed winery.  Apparently I like to look at myself.  And document it.  I ooze cool-ness.

We got a little bored listening to our tour guide drone on and on (thinking he was the funniest thing alive) at Robert Mondavi.  So we opted for a photo-shoot to keep us occupied.  Awesome room though, right?

The husband, looking all GQ at Viader.

 We even found a dachshund to play with at one of the wineries!  Kiss kiss, Bisou!

 Between last year's trip and this one, I think we spent enough time at the bar at Bouchon to be considered regulars.  The bartender recognized us a full year later.  Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.  ha

Oh, pretty Villagio.  How I long for your luxurious hopsitality.  And your afternoon tea. 

Until next time, Napa Valley.  Don't forget me.

xoxo