summer lovin...

Ooo wee!! It's been ages since i updated this mutha!

I've been crazy busy with work and travel and just...plain sloth. I rock at being lazy, not to toot my own horn.

Anywhoooo, here's a bit of an update on what's been goin on.

June: went to boston and new york for vacation. saw some friends who moved to boston in september/october and saw the in-laws in nyc. highlites:

• cannoli in little italy in boston. holy CRAP, where have you been all my life???
• the tyler perry, steve perry, perry ferrell, no... the SHEPARD FAIREY exhibit in boston . AWESOME
• Lunch at Sportello in boston. wtf. too damn good. still dreaming of that pasta dish i had.
• the richard avedon exibit in nyc. stunning. makes me want to be reincarnated as a gorgeous model in paris in 1955.
• rice freakin pudding at rice to riches in Soho. holy SHIT!! i could eat my weight in the mascarpone rice pudding. we have a similar rice pudding place here in pdx, but it's like bullshit compared to R2R!!! Granted, they were out of mascarpone when i went, but still... (p.s. kelly ripa apparently lives nearby R2R and loves it! must puke it up later cuz that fool is TINY)
• frank lloyd wright exibit at the guggenheim. just a beautiful, beautiful building with lots of fun models of his buildings to look at. very cool.
• my new (free!!) converse tennies from our friends in boston--i love converse! who knew?!?!?
• ice cream at Toscanini's in boston. homemade deliciousness. coulda gone there every night!!
• the high line in nyc. such a cool idea and a lovely walk. really nice. wish my feet hadn't been dying--too much time in ill-fitting sandals. shoulda stayed in the converse tennies...

Ok, clearly there's a common thread to my highlights....food and art. But mostly food. That's mostly what i love and what i remember from trips!

THEN, after boston and nyc, i went down to washington d.c. for a work conference. it was good, but hard to shift back into work mode after a week away. not many highlites, the conference went until 5 each day and most museums close around that time. SO... my hilites are limited to:

• sweetgreen in d.c. i loved me some red mango in portland, but it's gone now (damn you economy!!!). sweetgreen is similar: plain frozen yogurt (tart and YUMMY) with mixins like mangos and strawberries (holla!!). plus, they sell salads (whatever, bring on the froyo!) found a place in pdx that's similar PLUS, trader joe's sells frozen nonfat plain yogurt so i can add my own mixins at home! cah-RAP, i better start bustin out the muumuus and elastic waist pants NOW!
• H&M. they're in seattle and san francisco, so i reckon portland will get one someday. in the meantime, i have to either settle for forever 21 or pack in all my cheap/foreign made garment shopping when i get to go to d.c. for work. good thing a colleague is just as in love with h&m as i am. however, with vastly different results. her: loaded and tiny so she spends about $300 on size 4 stuff. me: poor and giant (see above for love of food) so i bought a few things under $20 (my absolute limit for cheap-ass clothes).
• my new fancy coach bag i bought in d.c.!! it was SUCH a deal, i couldn't resist! $25!! yes, i bought it on the street from a woman wearing a burka, but STILL! i had wanted to buy a rolex on the street in nyc, but didn't find any. street-coach is AWESOMER!

Since coming home i've had a ridonkulous cold and many many visits to our head start centers around the state. tons of meetings and reams of paper printed, collated and stapled. mentally exhausting.

HOWEVER, for my bday we went to the coast for an overnight trip. VERY cute little b&b type place (yes, we stayed in the 'glory suite'--ewwww, sounds porny) with views of the bay and a hot tub with a skylite. must. get. hottub. for. house. STAT! so relaxing. so nice to just sit there and soak and look at water and stars. sigh....plus, i was a little tipsy. even nicer.

i'll update with more information on how, despite the lovely june and july I'VE had, it's been a horrendous spring/summer for the people i know and love. for now, let me end on a high note...

there's a place in portland that sells kolaches. apparently they're so dang good, they SOLD OUT today. whatever, i'll be there first thing monday morning!! cue the elephant noise when i walk!