backwards compliment

six months in and so far pregnancy isn't as bad as i suspected.  there are some good days and some bad, but all in all, i just feel lucky.  that being said, it's hard to feel pretty when you are six months pregnant.  i didn't want to spend a ton of money on clothes because they have such a limited shelf life.  but the cheap clothes, look, well, cheap.  and the majority of my shoes are not conducive to all of the weight i am suddenly carrying so most of them are collecting dust until next year.  after some tears a few weeks ago (blame the hormones!), seth finally convinced me that i needed to go shopping and buy some nice dresses for work.  i am wearing one of those purchases today.  and i feel pretty!   everyone at work has been quite complimentary and i am very excited.  and then this exchange occurred:

unnamed co-worker:  "wow, that dress makes it look you aren't pregnant from the front"
me:  "why, thank you, that's a huge compliment!"
unnamed co-worker: "thats a great optical illusion"

cue the sad music.  gotta love an honest male.

the list

when seth and i visited burlington, vermont over fourth of july weekend we were treated to lots of nature, a beautiful bed and breakfast and some seriously friendly people.  what we didn't expect was to eat one of the best meals we have ever had.

this heaven sent meal led to some reminiscing about the best meals we have had over the course of our time together.  five years if you can believe it!  and here are our conclusions (in no particular order):

1. Hen of the Wood, Waterbury, Vermont. 
2. Minetta Tavern, New York, New York
3. Beast, Portland, Oregon
4. Girl and the Goat, Chicago, Illinois
5. La Bourgogne, Mendoza, Argentina
6. Elote Cafe, Sedona, Arizona

why six?  there was no rhyme or reason behind it, these are just the meals that made us stand up and salute.  criteria?  we choose meals that we believed were, start to finish, food to service to ambiance (which does not necessarily mean fancy), as perfect as a meal can get. this does not include great restaurants with our favorite dishes (that list will be saved for another day).  we felt that each dish that we ate at each of these restaurants was memorable and unique and we couldn't think of a single thing to complain about with any of them.  interestingly enough, we didn't even need to debate or think about it very long.  i would highly recommend any of these restaurants.   and ask seth to make you a reservation - somehow he can get reservations for restaurants that are normally booked for years.  i think it is his superhero power.

Happy almost 4th!

Greetings from Burlington, Vermont - land of Ben & Jerry's, magic hat and lots of hippies. We've had some gorgeous weather so far and been able to enjoy lake champlain and some great nature walks. We are doubly lucky for that because that is really all there is to do up here. Tonight we are headed to the waterfront to see more nature and hopefully some fireworks.

I took a break from blogging recently mostly because the baby boy we are expecting has rendered me tired, even clumsier and fairly incoherent. (Seth is seriously concerned that my brain is melting). But 22 weeks in and while mushy in the brain, I am ready for my triumphant return. I couldn't let this little guy cease all of our adventures! In fact, I think he is just going to bring even more things to write about. Plus you won't believe the stuff I have been eating. Can't keep that a secret.

2 years!

Happy Anniversary to us! Two years ago today we broke a glass, danced the hora, ate some brunch, drank a ton and partied with all of our favorite people. I couldn't have asked for a better wedding. Lucky for me the marriage just keeps getting better!

Thanks for the flowers, fun and laughs. I couldn't ask for a better partner in crime.

odd celebrity (?) spotting

as a lover of bad talk shows from the 1990s, you can imagine my excitement when we walked into mexicana mama in the west village last night to be seated next to the one and only ricki lake.  while i thought she had retired from her show biz life (i.e. vanished from the public eye), a quick google search tells me that nicki minaj gave ricki a little shoutout in one of her latest songs, only to give my friend ricki a quick shot back in the spotlight.  she spent the meal on her blackberry (is that something that living in LA does to you?) which basically meant i got bored and stopped paying attention to her.   besides, my dinner companions (yeah gregg and ali) were much awesomer than any 1990s talk show host (except maybe geraldo).    

film festival

To honor an annual tradition started before we were dating, this weekend Seth and I headed to the Tribeca Film Festival to check out one of the festival’s main attractions, Jesus Henry Christ.   This was the first movie where there was some serious star power (Julia Roberts produced the movie and showed up for the red carpet and Robert De Niro even made an appearance).   Seth and I walked the red carpet too but for some reason, no one took our picture.   I wonder why...

Despite all of the hype, however, the movie and the experience were extremely disappointing.  First, the ticket holders who didn’t know someone (i.e., us) were relegated to the sides of the theatre.  The entire middle was saved for VIPs.  So I really only saw the left side of the movie. Second, only one bathroom, with four stalls (naturally) was open for the women (picture that line of angry women).  The other bathrooms were also saved for VIPs.  This was the first time I have ever experienced feeling like a second class citizen at the film festival.  To me, one of the coolest parts of attending is that anyone can get tickets to any movie and sit in the crowd with everyone else.  That feeling was definitely lost at this premiere.

Sadly, the movie didn’t fare much better.   The acting was excellent.   Unfortunately, the actors had very little to work with as the writing was forced and the plot was aimless with gratuitous violence that was supposed to be funny (it wasn’t).   It had such great potential, but just fell flat in execution.  Halfway through the movie, I strongly considered leaving or taking out my iphone to play Words with Friends (player name: pookiemcguire, let’s play!).  We stuck it out, though, and were rewarded with a very honest Q & A with the director.   When asked about the significance of the color red in the movie (it definitely did appear a lot), he responded “my production designer thought it looked cool.”   Well, who can argue with that?

x-factor

i have absolutely no idea what the x-factor is or who may even have it, but auditions for the show, held at the prudential center today, has caused the population of newark to double this morning.   lucky for me, i walk right past the prudential center on my way to work and today, was the most entertaining walk i have ever had.

this is one small glimpse of the crowd and the tv camera crews.  i saw trucks from every network, including some i had never heard of.   there was a woman in the crowd in a wedding dress informing people they could take her picture and put it on facebook (not sure how that helps).  i have concluded that people who audition for the x-factor like (1) colorful wigs, (2) glitter, (3) very tiny skirts and (4) to sing out loud while waiting in line. 

as one of the court security officers told me, the pickpockets are going to have a field day.   think anyone from new jersey will make it on the show?  we are a talented bunch!