so happy to be here

playgrounding myself

 

there is a particular playground that is located near the achingly charming abington square in the west village. it is adjacent to the famous magnolia cupcake bakery which is just steps away from swanky marc jacobs' kids boutique. the playground itself is lined with the ubiquitous black wrought iron nyc parks & rec fence and boasts a thick frosting of sycamore trees on the perimeter that lends perfect shade at the right time of day. 

once inside, the first thing you notice are a dozen or so hip 40-something parents standing in clusters chatting casually while their toddlers trip and tumble around their ankles. then you notice the ever present, ominous fleet of strollers that form an eerie straight line near the entrance. the new strollers are so slick and comfortable looking that it makes nolan's stroller from '00 look like a barbaric rolling chamber from hell. they're all loaded up so generously with toys, food, drink that the mere site of one of these convenient contraptions would make any lazy adult want to crawl right into one and never come out. 

nolan is oblivious to all of this and generally runs freely about the yard without me having to shadow him. i rest easy in that he no longer feels the need taste-test everything that is not nailed to the ground. i also can relax because he no longer has the desire to run, forest! run! out the through the open gate and into city traffic. i also want to give him space. nolan would refuse to speak to me for days if i were to suddenly appear at the end of the 3 foot high kiddie slide with open arms waiting for him.

involves bacon, dog doo

 

every weekday morning, i walk nolan a very short five blocks to school. our feet hit the sidewalk on our street (bleecker) and then cross over 6th ave and then we veer left down downing street and then take a right on bedford street (not to be confused with bedford ave in williamsburg) and then take bedford all the way down to his school which is on hudson and christopher. 

it's a quick walk, depending on how pokey nolan is that morning. on a quick day, i'm usually one footstep ahead with nolan behind me dodging morning dog walkers and street sign posts while musing maniacally about sonic the hedgehog. on a pokey day, i'll be walking and talking and i'll turn around and realize that i've been having a conversation with myself. nolan would be half a block behind me plucking at his jacket zipper/marveling at a pigeon on the sidewalk/dragging his heels dramatically. but usually? he's right next to me and we have a nice walk to school most mornings.

the best and worst part about our route to school is the smells. smelly smell smells. anyone who live(d)(s) in or visited new york city knows that its an olfactory carnival ride. we've got everything here! hot dumpster garbage, ginkgo tree berries (oh man, those STINK), fishy puddles, car exhaust, vomit, human pee and other such unsavory human waste. land sakes! 

but then there's the pleasant smells. the kind of smells that tickle your memory, smells that make your body swoon.

mark: he doesn't mind the encore presentations of my jokes ...

... or the fact that i incorrectly thought that ireland was part of the uk (he's from dublin!)

... or when nolan asks him the same question five times in a row, five times a day

... or the blasphemous fact that i eat ketchup, yellow mustard and mayonaise

... or when i make fun of his funny words like plectrum, beakers and mightn't

i guess it's love.

cheeky

for those who are not of the european persuasion, here is merriam-webster's definition ...

cheeky

Main Entry: cheeky

Pronunciation: \ˈchē-kē\

Function: adjective

Inflected Form(s): cheek·i·er; cheek·i·est

Date: 1846

: insolently bold : impudent

— cheek·i·ly \-kə-lē\ adverb

— cheek·i·ness \-kē-nəs\ noun

adjusting to the new family structure has been a bit of a challenge for nolan, so mark and i give him a LOT of leeway when it comes to the daily/weekly/monthly rows we run into. for the most part, we mildly butt heads when it comes to the new-ish rules that are now in place.  the rules have not changed at all actually, they just got a little more consistent.  in an effort to raise an expressive, yet polite child these days, one of the newly enforced rules is that cheekiness is NOT permitted.  having been a busy working single mom, i let it slip over the years.  the good news is that his cheekiness has been curtailed with both mine and mark's consistent-yet-gentle reminders.  lately though, nolan seems to be going through a phase where he needs to have the LAST WORD on everything.  

well ...

photo of the day - vader loves lock and loll

photo of the day - we got married on April 2nd

mild hiatus due to getting married last week. we are now the smiths. snarky album cover soon to be posted.

photo of the day - daffodils!

i left my pig's colon in paris

dining in the shadow of the eiffel tower - thank you, la bon marche!

last month, mark and i pushed our pennies into a pile and took off for a mini-break in paris. mark has been to paris many a time.  this was my first time visiting.  for those who have yet to visit paris, i have to tell you that it IS much more beautiful and inspiring than you could ever imagine it would be.  i could expand on how amazing the architecture is and the fact that we got engaged in the post-card perfect montmartre ... but today, instead, i'd like to talk about the food.

aside from the mildly disappointing non-crispy duck confit incident(s), the food was top-tier! from fresh market cheeses at le bon marche to the gazillion star restaurants, we spoiled ourselves. mark had secured dinner reservations at the world famous taillevent (of which a book was written for). we also sampled all other forms of local delicacies in an effort to eat like the locals. i braved some dishes that i have never eaten stateside - like sweetbreads and andouillette.  

i tell a lie though - i actually ordered the andouillette thinking that it would closely resemble andouille sausage - the kind you find in creole dishes like jambalaya. to set the scene: it was our last afternoon in paris and the weather was quite mild (we'd just walked the length of les tuileries) and i wanted to eat something somewhat familiar to my taste buds yet not-so-familiar. i thought i'd made a swell compromise.  

after being served our respective dishes, mark peered cautiously across the table as i poked curiously at the bumpy pink sausage.  i cut rigorously into one end of the andouillette and looked on in horror as steaming RANDOM ZIG-ZAG SHAPES somersaulted out of it's casing. it looked exactly like the scene wherein han solo cuts the tauntaun's belly open to keep a bordeline hypothermic luke skywalker warm on hoth.  after taking two wimpy bites in the name of "trying something new", i pushed my plate to the side and draped my napkin over the crime scene - not just to cover the sight, but the intense scent.  feeling slightly defeated, i asked the waiter to bring me a croque monsieur instead.  

mark knew what andouillette involved, but didn't say anything because i'd been so brave with the sweetbreads two nights prior. while i inhaled my replacement meal, mark took me on a verbal tour of what andouillette is made of.  i half wanted to cry, half wanted to laugh as he gave me the run-down in that busy little cafe by the tuilleries.  upon further investigation on the web, i came up with this lovely run-down on the stinky sausage.  mmm ... feces?

this zany adventure cost me an extra 12€, but is now proving to have been a decent investment.  first of all, it provides you with tasty blog fodder and me, a reason to keep working on expanding my otherwise inexperienced american palate.

photo of the day - nolan loves to shop for shoes on lower broadway

photo of the day - nolan & mark walking around red hook, brooklyn