Party Time

Last Wednesday, I celebrated my first National Book Awards with a big party thrown by the Young to Publishing group at Random House. It was lots of fun, and there was a really cool paper mache zebra.


Plus, on a more vapid note, I was in a photo on Guest of a Guest (a younger, more interactive version of New York Social Diary) with my friend and party accomplice Jessie.


It's been such a busy week, and I'm exhausted today. I'm planning a weekend of yoga and catching up on sleep (which I will need, since I saw the new Harry Potter movie at midnight on a weeknight. Feel like a zombie, totally worth it). Then, off to the wilds of Delaware for Thanksgiving! I'm excited for a couple of reasons. The morning of Thanksgiving, my entire family is running/walking/strolling a 5K lovingly called the Turkey Trot. We will all be laughed at by one of my brothers, who is a cross country runner and can probably run three miles in the time it takes me to climb the 5 flights of stairs to my apartment. Then, of course, there is the trifecta of foods I love that are only really available to me on Thanksgiving - stuffing, cranberry sauce, and sweet potatoes. I don't need turkey or gravy or anything else. Okay, maybe some of those baby onions. Those are pretty good.
Most of all, family time will be great. Lots of being outside, breathing air that didn't originate in the factories on Staten Island, and starting to get in the Holiday spirit, which is acceptable beginning the day after Thanksgiving. I'm already brainstorming my Christmas music playlist.
Happy (early) Thanksgiving! Be back next week. x

Notes from the Past 24 Hours

This quote, from the beginning of the book I'm about to start:

"Beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror."
-Rainer Maria Rilke

At first, I liked this because it sounded badass, but the more you think about it, the more you begin to see. I started thinking of examples of how this may or may not be true, which brought my mind to a slightly paranoid place. The moments of beauty that I've had in my life - have they all led to terror, horrifying or thrilling as it may be? No, probably not, but I love that idea that, in order to see something or someone for how beautiful it/he/she is, there has to be something at stake - that you have something to lose or be afraid of in the process. Yes, that's super dramatic, but oh well. Sometimes you need an inordinate amount of drama and introspection, just to make things interesting - especially now that it get dark before 5pm.
On a lighter note, last night a friend and I made Ina Garten's Roasted Chicken (yes, the one she supposedly makes for her husband every Friday night. And yes, the concept of that is very weird). While the chicken itself is delicious and very easy to make, I was really into the vegetables (carrots, onions, and fennel). I'm not typically a fan of carrots at all, but we used these excellent organic ones that haven't been cut down beyond recognition into baby carrots or whatever it is they're called. The taste is so visceral for me - these are the carrots I used to feed to horses when I was younger, the ones that look like they were just pulled up from the ground.

Before and After shots of our (formerly) feathered friend:

The Preparation...



And digging in..


Perfect Fall meal - with some delicious and light Spanish Tinto, of course.

Another new thing discovered in the past day or so - the blog, Little Brown Pen. It's written by a woman who is a copywriter by trade but travels back and forth to Paris and photographs her time there. She sells the most beautiful prints - often organized by color. "Paris in Green" is on my Christmas list. Well, let's be honest - I want to buy all of them and wallpaper my room. Cannot wait to go back.
Okay, back to work, so I can make money to keep buying organic chickens and finance a Paris trip!

I Work in a Beautiful Place

The view from the color copier room. How amazing would it be to live in the clocktower building? Something to aspire to...

Happy Tuesday! x

Sanity Restored!

What a weekend!
Ironically enough, en route to the Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear, I very nearly lost my mind. The seven hours spent on the bus definitely tried my grip on reality, but I arrived in DC to friends and the bar where we ended up was both warm and had an amazing Motown cover band. And so Friday night was saved.
We got up early on Saturday and made it to the Mall in time to scout a prime location in front of a huge screen and set of speakers - the stage was visible but there was already a huge sea of people in front of us. The rally was a mix of music, Daily Show staples like video montages and awards to reward reasonableness and fear, and a particularly delightful duet sung by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert - "There's No One More American Than Me." There were definitely some amazing moments - hearing Yusef (formerly known as Cat Stevens) sing "Peace Train" was pretty incredible - but it was the overall mood of the rally that made it such a thoroughly delightful time. It was a mix of a witty, funny, irreverence with an overall calm that came with everyone just wanting to relax and have a good time. Whether or not it's the "Woodstock of our Generation" remains to be seen, but I felt lucky to be there for the people-watching alone. I think the signs definitely capture the unique mood of this sort of event, in contrast, of course, to the crazy ideological messages found at political rallies today.

Some highlights:

Personal favorite:

And Jon Stewart's closing remarks. Aside from the fact that I find him dreamy and hilarious, I thought this was a great way to end the day.





Then, my friends and I went home, watched "9-5" with Dolly Parton, and took a nap. All in all, a successful, sane, and rejuvenating day. Now, back to work!