30 Things: I Want a Damn Grill Already!

Outside, Where We Belong

August I feel like I never had the chance to get to know you. And just like that, you were gone. How is it September next week? I demand a recount. Mike and I are both trying to gracefully accept the inevitable melding of summer into fall, but we all know what comes after fall, don't we? (Closes eyes, takes a deep breath, and chants: Live in the moment, live in the moment, live in the moment). Good thing I love fall with all it's leafy, football-y, butternut squashi-ness. And really, we've had a good run in the weather and summer fun department. Such a good run in fact that I don't think I've sat down in three weeks. No really, my feet are killing me. It may be time for an edition of 30 Things because this feels like a day for bullet points and abstraction. Without further ado, here are 30 things that we've done in our most recent 30 days in New York. (We're up to 485 days here in case you lost count...seriously I feel like I'm living in fast forward mode).

1. More concerts in the park. Metric at Prospect Park in Brooklyn with some fun couples. We picnicked and drank wine, and approved of our friends new-ish boyfriend. So much so that they are coming over for dinner and board games tomorrow night...which will probably ruin our friendship. If you've ever played games with me, you are nodding knowingly. (Flips Risk board over scattering armies into every nook and cranny of the room. Months later, continues to find said armies in things like vases and serving dishes. Cringe).

2. We had a friend in town from LA a few weeks back and we decided to take him to Washington Square to listen to some of the musicians. He wanted to take his glass of wine which I transferred to a plastic cup with a stern warning to be discreet. We are not in New Orleans and cops regularly wander through the park. We're sitting listening to a drum circle and Matty is sipping out of his pink plastic cup when he spots a cop. Let's just say his reaction was the exact opposite of smooth or cool. He sees the cop, makes eye contact, yanks his cup from view, leans over and whispers loudly "DUDE, THERE'S A COP!" as the cop watches with amusement.

The cop of course walks over and says "Whydya move ya cup like dat? Got booze in deh?".

Matty, attempting to be casual: "Oh, you know, just a little wine". (Shrugging like the actual volume will make it less against the law).

Cop: "Do me a favor and dump it out, wouldya?" (Walks away).

US: (Pointing and laughing at Matty).

The rest of the weekend was spent asking each other if we "Got booze in deh?"

3. Wow, I'm only on the third thing and I've already written a screenplay. I may have to tone down the 30 things to a more manageable number. Or be more succinct. Let's continue and see how this plays out.

4. I hit some Long Island wineries with our friends Susan and Tommy to help them pick out some wine for their upcoming wedding. Mike stayed at their place in LI and studied poolside for his PA re-certification exam that he has to take every 6 years. We came home after and grilled up steaks and other deliciousness with some of our purchases and talked for 3 days after about how much we miss having outdoor space and a grill.

5. Mike passed his boards! Not that I was concerned, but still it's nice to have another 6 years before he has to study like that again.

6. We went to the Poconos with A la Grecque, which is where her lovely parents, Bill and Lizzy live. They were having a big family party and apparently we are now adopted Greek cousins. Seriously, the Big Fat movie is no joke. Neither is her Yia-Yia Mary, who has awesome spiky white hair and wears leopard print tops and purple toenail polish. It was a great weekend of food and family, even if it wasn't ours. And we spent the next 3 days talking about how much we miss having outdoor space and a grill.

7. I got an invite to a wine dinner at SD-26, an updated version of the New York Italian staple, San Domenico, through Food & Wine mag and brought Mike along. We tasted wines from the small Italian island of Pantelleria, which were paired with things like a chilled San Marzano tomato soup with Burrata cheese, the most delicately sweet, fresh Gamberi di Mazzara shrimp with cannellini beans and rosemary oil, beef cheek ravioli, oxtail with grilled radicchio, and something chocolaty. The wines were fantastic, the food was delicious, and our dining companions were a lot of fun. Hopefully this free dinner thing is a trend.


The Best Shrimp Ever at SD-26

8. One of my favorite cousins, Erica, moved to New York this month to attend grad school at Columbia for a curatorial art program. She has stayed with us for a few days here and there until her housing opens up and she is such an easy roommate. If you've been to our place, you know how small it is, and if you add another person and 4 of the biggest duffel bags you've ever seen, it could be considered crowded. She's lovely to have around though. And not just because she picks up fruit tarts at Italian bakeries and my favorite goat cheese and aged chorizo for snacks, it's just nice to have her here.

9. We spent a good part of the last week in San Diego, a trip we made for our good friends, Nate & Melissa's wedding, which was beautiful. Melissa may have been the most beautiful bride I've ever seen. The wedding was outside in Pt. Loma right on the bay and the weather was perfect.


All of my pics of Melissa came out blurry, so you'll have to settle for these dapper young men

10. I miss San Diego. We spent quite a bit of time at various friends houses sitting in their yard, chatting, sipping on wine, and grilling. As you can imagine, we spent the next several days talking about how much we miss having outdoor space and a grill.

11. We spent a day in IB (Imperial Beach for those not from the greater San Diego area) with our friends and old roomies, Emmy & Curtis. We did what we used to do with them: bike around town, get tacos, hit a dive bar, make a fantastic meal, play beer pong, make fun of each other, and sit in the jacuzzi. I wanted to have that day on repeat for like a week. Except for the part where Emmy ate almost the entire topping off my peach cobbler before anyone had a chance to eat it. (Love you Em!)


Sunset in IB

12. I got to see two of my best girlfriends and it was so bittersweet. I love them so much and I miss them so much and it's so much fun to be around them. We have big plans to have a Golden Girls style house someday that we can retreat to together and wear tunics and rayon dresses with shoulder pads whenever we need to get away from life. I've already called dibs on having the peach chiffon bedroom, although I may try to trade with Donna (who can't decide if she wants to be Rose or Sophia) for the one with the Bird of Paradise wallpaper and rattan bedroom set. Jill (aka Dorothy)is going dusty rose, which I think is the same as mauve, but she disagrees. I am Blanche because I want to be the saucy one.


Dorothy & Blanche

13. We also got to spend time with some of our oldest friends, the Mora-Steinland-Gravers, who have apparently been at it like rabbits since we moved. There are 5 tots between the three couples now and we had a lovely meal (in the backyard of course, hmph) with the whole gang. The kids are all adorable and the babies are so squishy and cute. It was especially fun to tell them that Uncle Mike would give them horsey rides...because how can you not crawl around on the ground for a two year old with ringlets?

14. Work has been going great and is super busy. I love the balance of cooking, which can be physically demanding, and being at the Food & Wine offices immersed in wine. At Etsy, the staff is so friendly and appreciative of the meals we are making, and we started putting out snacks like granola, fresh squeezed lemonade, and warm zucchini cake. It's pretty cool, and rare I think, to get an instant reward for your work and have people stopping by your work station to say thank you for a job well done. My feet are usually killing me by the end of the day and I typically have all manner of minor nicks and cuts on my fingers, along with blueberry stains under my finger nails, but it's definitely worth it.

15. Well, it looks like I made it halfway through my 30 things, which seems like a satisfactory accomplishment for a Saturday morning. Now if I can only figure out how to be bicoastal so we can have our friends, our yard, and a grill in San Diego, and the jobs, friends, and life I love in New York. This may just be the year of cake and eating it.