more cats

so, first off thanks to everyone and their comments regarding my pain-in-the-butt cat. i know it's probably a phase, just a longer phase than i'd like. ben takes opportunities like this to remind me of my commitment to being a pet owner, and remember that he has needs too, and our relationship can't always be on my terms...oooh how it's not on my terms.

and yes, i realize having kids is like this times 10, and i also realize it sounds like i'm talking about human kids, not cats.

anyway, i digress. i just HAVE to say, all you cat--and even non-cat--people out there, head over to edyta's blog today. i found her post today SO hilarious. just to give you a snapshot...the post starts out with the following text:

"Friday! Is it a dress, lingerie or a jogging suite? Oh Boris, it’s a bag."

and has this picture at the top:

photo courtesy of edyta szyszlo photography

so head on over there to see what boris' mischief is all about...ooooh boris.

most amazing deal ever!

so, edyta (my wedding photographer) is offering the most amazing deal ever. as in, it seriously makes me contemplate wanting to get married again (to the same guy, of course!) just to take advantage of this if i were to enter and win. she's giving away a FREE day of wedding photography.

the package includes:

Complimentary Wedding Package (includes 8 hours of coverage, 20pg 10×10 album of your choice, online hosting, disc of images). Couple must pay for travel (airline ticket, car rental and hotel if needed - this will serve as the deposit to secure the date). $4400 value!

sign me up! umm....edyta, can we enter to win just a portrait session? teehee....jealous! so ladies (and gents)...head over to edyta's blog to get more details and send in your entry! this is an amazing (and cost-saving) opportunity.

experimentation

on my flickr home page today i saw a little banner for the flickr blog titled "tis the season for...bokeh" with a catchy image. i clicked on the link which led me to another link--a diy for creating a really cool effect with your camera lens and light. i couldn't resist, so i decided to give it a try. while i have some perfecting to do, on my first attempt it a complete failure. here are some examples of my experimentation:

meeting keagan

this weekend i met my newest little cousin, keagan, at his baby shower/meet-and-greet. he was born 3 weeks ago, and 3 weeks after claire. both babies were extremely well behaved, and it was really nice to hang out with family. i will be uploading more pictures soon, but here are a couple from saturday...

little keagan

ny [day 5]

our final day in new york we just had a couple things we wanted to do--see the new york times building by renzo piano, and to go back by grand central station during the day. after that, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed our luggage, and headed out to the airport.

all in all, we had an amazing trip. we were so thankful that we were able to take this mini-vacation. thank you to everyone who gave suggestions/well wishes, etc. we made some great memories while we were gone, and we're looking forward to our next trip.

after we touched down, we gave chris a call to let him know we had arrived. he then picked us up and drove us to the bishop allen concert at the independent here in the city--the three of us had a great time! the concert was so much fun! the band was really happy and the music sounded great...by the time we got home, brandon and i literally collapsed on the bed. it was a full but fantastic day.

ny [day four]

on tuesday, brandon and i spent most of the day just wandering around the village/chelsea/meatpacking. our morning started out at the grey dog's cafe, where we settled into a cozy cafe for some coffee, food, and a crossword puzzle.

after we filled up, we began our wandering. for some reason i was really caught by signs/notices/logos...

the bottom left sign reads: "sanitation: this vehicle violates n.y.c. parking regulations. as a result, this street could not properly be cleaned. a cleaner new york is up to you!"

we enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and brisk air and meandered through the cozy streets

somewhere along the way i stumbled (not literally) upon this

yeah, i have no idea either.

we walked a ton, ended up back at the hotel for a little rest, and then worked up our energy to head back out for our drink at morimoto. after morimoto we went to the world trade center site and then over to the brooklyn bridge for a stroll. in the interest of my feet not falling off completely (by this point our feet were thrashed) we only walked halfway. after all, the bridge is pretty symmetrical, right?

the rest of our day in photos...

does this look like lite brite to anyone else besides me?

ny [day 3]

monday, beginning with coffee at joe, was the day of p.s.1, some random site-seeing, celebrity sightings, dinner at brasserie, and some photos at grand central station. all in all, a busy and extremely fun day. at p.s.1, there was a really great installation called "swimming pool," and also a great installation by olafur eliasson. they were taking down p.f.1 (public farm 1), but it was still cool to see the structure.

first, some beautiful latte art at joe's. i really would like to learn to do this...good party trick....if you're having a coffee party i guess...

at p.s.1




swimming pool, photo courtesy of brandon

the olafur eliasson

fall leaves

cancer center by SOM

view at dusk from our hotel room

view at sunset

grand central station at night

standing still

seagram building

at brasserie brandon and i enjoyed an amazing anniversary dinner. the space was beautiful, and we had a long, relaxing and romantic meal.

skating rink at bryant park

brandon and i had such an amazing day, especially with our fantastic dinner. oh! i almost forgot abut our celebrity sighting. so, we had some time to kill before our dinner reservations and we decided to walk over to the moma to check out the home store. when we arrived, the home store was closed, and we noticed some barricades with a bunch of, a red carpet, and men at the entrance to the moma dressed in beige trench coats. we wait a moment to see what's going on, and pretty soon hugh jackman hops out of a limo. i did take some pictures, but because it was dark and we were across the street, they all turned out blurry and you can't tell who it is. next rachel weisz came, and then anna wintour. at that point we had to leave, but apparently jessica biel was the only other big celebrity that showed up. we thought it might be some promotional event for the movie australia, but it was an event honoring baz luhrmann.