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I’ve had this old IKEA rug in my kitchen for just over a year now. I liked the colors, the stripes and for less than $25, it was dirt cheap. And with it being in such a high traffic area, it was definitely beginning to show its age now.

I have been flipping through those FLOR catalogs for years and have always wondered about them. I love that the tiles are interchangeable, appears to clean easily and are eco-friendly. When the latest catalog arrived (with free shipping code), I decided to stop wondering about them and bit the bullet. I placed an order for the Straight & Narrow in Lime.

The box arrived yesterday and I decided to assemble them this evening while The Husband was away with the boys.

I love the color and the randomness of lines. It definitely brightens up my (very dark) kitchen. I am hoping they are easy to clean (as so famously advertised) — I guess I will have to remember to do a follow up in a couple months!

I’m with Coco.

I hope everyone is having a good New Year!

Getting organized is such a cliche this time of year I know…but it is a new year and I am kind of obligated to have that on my Resolutions list, right?

This is what my office looks like (visualize orange walls) — or will look like once this rug gets delivered.

Doesn’t it look so neat and organized? Well, I wish it looked like this because you have to factor in another desk (my actual work desk which I could not find online), two flat screen computer monitors (one work, one personal), docking station, cable modem, phone modem, router, a jumble of cords, phone, a large laser printer, an all-in-one fax/scanner/printer (used only for scanning hard copy files into PDF these days), a large shredder, two compact disc towers and two black steel vertical files (thankfully stored inside the closet so I do not have to see those monstrosities) and a couple stacks of folders, books and a ’shred’ pile!

Whew! Yeah, not so nice and organized after all.

I am going through my paper files and scanning everything so that will free up some filing and storage space. The big problem is my mess of cords and wires. I have no less than 16 cords hooked up to three different power strips — looking at it physically repulses me. I would like to go wireless with my printer, keyboard and scanner, but I am dependent on what my work provides me in terms of computer equipment and that’s not an option right now.

I think this might work for me — this cablebox from bluelounge. So, I have gone ahead and ordered one to test it out. Hopefully, this small step will get me set for an organized (and tangle-free) year!

Wishing you and those you love all the good fortunes of life, health, happiness and peace throughout the New Year. XXOO.

Our last full day. Boo, hiss.

We both bundled up (in hindsight, we really lucked out at the beginning of the week — the weather was phenomenal) and leisurely walked through Central Park towards Park Avenue. It was a cold, brisk morning but the sun was out and so was the rest of the city. We grabbed a salted pretzel and walked hand in hand, enjoying watching everyone stroll by.

I spotted a Camper store on Madison Avenue, so we decided to pop in. The entire store was marked in red ink and we wanted to leave our own message too!

We didn’t come out with any shoes though.

I noticed the time so we walked over to the FedEx Office to check in and print our boarding passes and our tickets to the Tim Burton Exhibit at MoMA.

The tickets were timed for 1:00pm and since we had an hour to kill, we decided to grab a quick bite at The Modern Bar. Everything was so delicious! I had the Saffron Tagliatelle — perfectly cooked pasta and the hint of saffron was heavenly. The Husband had the Grilled Diver Scallops with roasted beets. One of the servers came by and he poured the beet puree around the scallops — it looked artwork — it was so beautiful!

Tim Burton Exhibit was really neat. It was a showcase of his drawings, sketches, notes and movie props from Beetlejuice, Batman and Edward Scissorhands. It is a must-see if you are a Tim Burton fan.

MoMA itself was fantastic. We explored all six floors. I loved all the modern art and abstract paintings and even the “WTF?” displays — a piece of string? I mean, really? But, yeah, I could have stayed for a couple more hours trying to decipher everything.

Afterwards, we headed towards the East Village and had drinks The Smith. We were enjoying an order of their Vidalia Onion Rings and admiring the white subway tiled walls, when a familiar figure quickly walked by our window. Wylie Dufresne of WD-50 fame!

For our “last supper”, we walked around the corner to Ssam Bar. We got there at opening time and I am glad we did, because by 5:30pm the restaurant was full. We were seated at the counter. We weren’t too terribly hungry (given our stint at The Smith), so we ordered the Steamed Pork Belly Buns and the Rice Sausage Cakes. And a year later, both were still oh so gooood. I hated that my stomach was full! If only they could move this restaurant to Phoenix.

Ah, New York! I heart you so! How I wish we could do this more often.

Maybe, next year? *throws a coin into the fountain*

Cheers!

This morning was our last day with Hubs’ family. We all walked through Central Park to The Boathouse for a casual lunch at their Express Cafe. What it sorely lacks presentation-wise (think cafeteria style ordering with paper/plastic-ware), it makes up in flavor and taste.

While the kids went to Times Square for M&M World and Nintendo World, we walked my in-laws back to grab their luggage and accompanied them to Penn Station. We made sure their train was still on schedule and once we got them settled in the waiting lounge, Hubs and I went back uptown to meet my sister-in-law at Rockefeller Center.

Apparently, Times Square was a madhouse — I am sure that was not an understatement. Honestly, I am not fond of that area. I think everyone should experience it once, just because it is Times Square. But, unless I have tickets to a show, it is one of the last places I would rather be.

My sister-in-law and her family still had a couple hours before they had to head back to Pennsylvania, so we grabbed a table at Brasserie Ruhlmann for drinks and appetizers.

We walked them back to their truck, parked along 71st St. Lots of hugs and kisses. I wish we lived closer. My in-laws are good people.

By this time, we were pretty pooped so we grabbed some pizza from City Pie and cupcakes from Buttercup Bake Shop (Red velvet and Lemon flavors) and brought it back to the apartment and watched the rest of the LSU v Arkansas football game (aka The Battle of the Boot). For what it’s worth, my Tigers won in overtime. The Boot comes back to Louisiana — yay!

I promised my niece and nephew that we would have lunch at Shake Shack. Luckily for us, there was one a couple blocks away on Columbus and 77th. I read that it gets really busy, so we got there at opening time. It was a good thing, because it is a small place and there were only two tables that were big enough for our party of 8. I ordered their ‘Shroom Burger and it was delicious. Fresh bread, lettuce and tomatoes, yummy crinkle fries. I really wanted to try a frozen custard, but it was freezing cold outside. Anything below 70° F and it is pretty much sweater season for me.

We bought the kids Shake Shack tee-shirts. The green one with the ice cream cone that we got for our niece is the cutest! They even have tees for dogs! But, no, I restrained myself :-).

What better way to work off all those burgers? Ice skating at Bryant Park, of course! I was saving my knees for the rest of the trip, so my in-laws and I volunteered to take photos. It was great watching the kids having so much fun. The park is a great setting, too. There is a giant Christmas tree next to the rink and there were holiday stores surrounding us. Very, very festive.

To warm up, we had drinks upstairs at Celsius Bar. To my utter geekdom, we found ourselves sitting near Willie Garson (aka Stanford Blatch on SATC) and his young son. My sister-in-law, who is a fellow SATC fan, and I were both a-twitter with the sighting. We were kind of hoping that Sarah Jessica would be popping in for a quick cocktail, but alas.

We really liked our dinner from Monday night and thought it would be perfect for both kids and adults, so we made reservations at Otto again. Plus, I love the symmetry of it. Otto is Italian for “8″ and we are a party of “8″. Tonight, they did not have the Taccozette with Spicy Cauliflower, but there was an acceptable substitute – the Taccozette con Stracotto (braised pork shoulder with tomato and basil). I had not anticipated eating any meat tonight, but it was so hard to resist. Guilt with food is an awful feeling. This is why I would never make it as a full on vegetarian. But, I am trying. Less meat, more veggies. That, I can do.

Everyone enjoyed their dinners. I really liked my Husband’s Bucatini dish, but he wished there were guanciale in the sauce. We encouraged everyone to order the Trio of Gelati. Hubs and I ordered the gelati of Creme Fraiche, Salty Caramel and Spiced Apple Cider Sorbetto. Happiness, especially the Creme Fraiche and Salty Caramel.

Up early. I really, really wanted to sleep in this morning but it was Turkey Thursday and the family and I were all headed out to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. I think I was a bit naive about it, not thinking about the other tens (hundreds?) of thousands of other people who had the same idea this morning. We all met around 70th and Columbus but we could not enter at that point and were ushered all the way down to Columbus Circle where, you know, thousands of other parade go’ers had made this their base camp.

We found a spot in front of the Time Warner Center, well beyond the parade route. We were behind the circle, five deep so we were only able to catch glimpses of the balloons before they made the turn onto 7th Avenue. Sometimes, we could hear the marching bands but we definitely could not see them or anyone who was at ground level. Which was unfortunate. If we do this again, I need to look into scoring some grandstand tickets — what do I need to do to qualify as a “special guest”? Or score one of those awesome condos overlooking Columbus Circle — y’all call me, okay??

About 90 minutes in, my knees were about to give, so the Hubs and his parents and I walked back uptown to grab some lunch while the kids stayed behind with their parents to catch a sight of Santa Claus. It was around 11 o’clock and we happened upon the Amsterdam Ale House on 77th. It was nice to sit down! We all had soup which was decent (did not want to stuff ourselves since we still had the big Turkey dinner), but the place is worth mentioning because they play good music like Modest Mouse and Belly and Screaming Trees and Pavement.

After a couple hours of downtime at the apartment, we got ready and met the Family at the #1 train stop. We made our way downtown towards Rockefeller Center where, as you can imagine, was a madhouse around the unlit Christmas Tree and Ice Rink. We still had some time before our dinner reservation, so we watched the ice skaters and the Zamboni machine (not at the same, obviously). I could tell the kids were just itching to slap on some skates.

We headed into 30 Rock for dinner at the Rockefeller Center Cafe. Our party of eight was seated by a window so most of us had a very nice view of the ice rink and the statue of Prometheus. Despite the non-traditional Thanksgiving setting, I would have to say, dinner was really, really nice. From the food (three course prix fixe) to the service to the setting to the company, everything was fabulous. It was a nice moment to reflect about what we were most thankful for. For me, I am thankful for my wonderful Husband, my awesome dog, my fabulous friends and family and my health. And that, really, is all that matters.

As we walked out, the host mentioned that there was another family of 8 with the same last name who was coming in and who would be occupying the table we just vacated! What are the odds? Isn’t that a neat coincidence?

My sister-in-law has a tradition of walking down Fifth Avenue to view all the store Holiday windows. I thought Macy’s was one of the better ones with the Letters to Santa interactive display. My niece got a kick out of composing her own letter Mad Libs-style.

We gave my sister-in-law and her husband a break and we took my niece and nephew up to Top of the Rock to catch some views of the city at night. The kids got a kick out of the Target Light Room, but they really enjoyed being outside for views of The Empire State Building (lit up in red, orange and yellow) and The Chrysler Building. The kids ran back and forth from telescope to telescope that we ran out of quarters, hee!

10:00a – Husband arrives with a cup of Wicked Hot Chocolate and a chocolate croissant from Jacques Torres. This is one of the many reasons I love this man. Bliss.

11:30a – Ack! We cannot lock the front door and we need to leave, like right now, to meet Hubs’ parents at Penn Station.

11:35a – The Hubs has gone ahead without me. I call the apartment’s owner to let her know about the situation and she calls the Super.

11:40a – The Super is at the food store (probably shopping for Thanksgiving dinner — am totally feeling guilty!). Will be there in 15 minutes.

12:10p – The Super is here! And ohmigoodness, he is Mumbles’ person!! Hah, what a nice coincidence! (When I met him the first evening, it was dark and he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt so I did not get a close look of his face).

12:15p – The lock is definitely broken. The Super has to run and buy a new one at the hardware store. I wait.

1:35p – The Super is back with a new lock.

1:55p – Lock is fixed! No longer worry that our belongings will be stolen. I thank The Super and run out the door. Must meet Husband and in-laws at Nice Matin for lunch.

2:05p – Six blocks later (huffing and puffing, I must admit) and just a few minutes late. Hugs and kisses with my in-laws!

Wow, what a day. After the lock debacle, we decided we would take in the Macy’s Inflation Celebration Viewing which was happening a block away on Central Park West. The crowds were amazing. I was excited to see “my” balloon — Kermit the Frog. Oh, but no Stewie Griffin (he is such a naughty baby).

My sister-in-law and her family had just arrived and were settling into their apartment (a very cute loft in a church), so we brought over some pizza pies and cupcakes for the kids. My niece and nephew are growing up so fast. They are quickly becoming young adults.

After pizzas and cupcakes, we bundled up and walked towards the Balloon Viewing Party and were gob-smacked at the massive crowds that had built up in two hours. The line to view the balloons were around city blocks so we reluctantly decided to skip it. There was just too many people and the line was moving at a snails pace. We did manage to see The Energizer Bunny (my niece’s favorite) before we all retired back to our respective temporary homes.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

Dining at The Spotted Pig has always been on my “Things to Do in NYC” list. During previous trips, we tried twice to get in during the dinner hour and both times we were told there was at least a two hour wait. Which would not be a problem if it was six o’clock, but it was eight o’clock and I (or rather my stomach) was not willing to wait.

So, this time I wanted to get there right at opening time for lunch. We had 45 minutes to kill, so we toured the neighborhood. I think next time, I would like to rent a studio in the West Village. There were lots of cute restaurants, cafes and shops. The Upper West Side is nice and convenient and I love being so close to Central Park, but I think the West Village would be a nice change of pace.

As we waited at the corner of 11th St and Greenwich for The Spotted Pig to open, all of these things happened:

(1) Lou Reed passed us by on his bike. Hubs was across the street taking a picture of me and this skinny guy on a bike pedals by. Hubs says “Hey, Lou.” Mr. Reed nods his head, “How’s it going?” and rides down the street.

(2) A television/film shoot was going on as a large tow truck hauling a taxi cab (attached with mirrors and lights) came barreling down the street. I have no idea what it was for, but it was cool to be in the middle of the action, watching them with their walkie-talkies trying to set up the shot.

(3) A guy went down on one knee and asked his girlfriend to marry him. How romantic! When the doors opened, they were whisked away to the upstairs dining room and lived happily, ever after.

Yeah, moments like these never happen when I am sitting at home in my sweats.

As for the restaurant, it was awesome. It is really tiny and the decor is really kitschy but charming. Like Old English Country. There was a man already seated in the back booth who was apparently some famous old school chef, but I did not recognize him. I ordered the famous deviled eggs and they lived up to its reputation. Very fresh and creamy. The Hubs was impressed with the soundtrack and the casual and neighborhood-y vibe inside. Neighborhood-y? Did I just invent a new word? Like Truthiness?

My Smoked Haddock Chowder was also lovely. Nice and warm and smooth but creamy from the potatoes. I noticed our neighbors were enjoying their Chicken Liver Toast. Nope. Not for me. Nice concept, but ultimately fails. Kind of like olives, for me. Yeah, they look so appetizing in those martini glasses, but the moment I bite into one, all I can think about is sweat socks. Dirty ol’ sweat socks.

TMI? Sorry ;-)

After our delicious lunch, we headed uptown for The Letterman Show. I love going to these things. Last year, we did Conan, Letterman and Jon Stewart, but you know what I hate about going to these things? The waiting. The constant waiting. Even when you have tickets, you’re waiting for your real tickets. Then, you’re waiting in security. Or waiting to get into the studio. Or you are waiting to wait to get into the studio. It can take 3-4 hours out of your day and it bums me out, until after the show when the taping itself is always cool and amazing and funny and then I forget all about my negativity and tell myself, “Damn, that was fun.” What they say about the magic of television is all true.

And you would think that would be the end of another fantastic night, but NO!

We still had The Pixies‘ Doolittle Tour later!

When Hubs and I booked this NYC trip, we had no idea that the band would be in town. On the night before our flight took off, we were both on our living room couch searching for things to do and discovered not only were they playing a show, they were playing four shows this week! Once we landed in the city, we bought the tickets and then stressed for two days as we waited for StubHub to confirm the transaction, then waited for another email saying that the tickets would be emailed to us. By this morning, we still had not seen the PDF tickets. Hubs called customer service who told us the tickets had in fact been emailed to us but they would re-send. We finally got the email, ran down to the nearest FedEx Office to print out the tickets and yayness, we were so relieved to have them in our hands!

(Turns out, we did receive the PDF but the email was stuck in Hubs’ SPAM folder.)

The show was amazing! Not as epic as their Reunion Tour, but fantastic nonetheless. Tonight was more low-key and sentimental, for obvious reasons (the 20th anniversary since the release of Doolittle). We had seats on the first balcony, three rows back. Not bad for last minute. Hammerstein Ballroom is a pretty neat place to play. They are brilliant. All four of them.

And with that, I leave you with my favorite Pixies tune, Hey, shot that night by a fellow concert go’er.