Pictures tell the story

The bridesmaids bouquets- the pic doesn't do it justice- I wanted to pack it but ended up leaving it behind :(

The penguins- E is obssessed with them since she got a sneak peek at Happy Feet

That's a penguin swimming as E waves

The Jellyfish

E was a little unsure about being so close

The variety was amazing

This was a rainbow glow jellyfish

This is a Leafy Seadragon- so amazing!!

Ella touching a Star Fish

Family Photo

White Wedding...with red lips!

This past week J, E and I flew out to J's sister's wedding.  Which was picture perfect!  But I'll get to that latter.  We flew out at the crack of dawn on Thursday, E was a pleasure on the flight.  And arrived in San Fran early afternoon.  We headed to J's sister's place in the mission and helped load up the car to take things to wedding location the Monterey Beach Resort .  We left a little on the late side and by the time we arrived at the hotel in Monterey E had been up for over 16 hours, without much food, and was completely delirous- I was kind of waiting for her head to spin off, thankfully it didn't and she went into a very deep sleep as soon as I set up the crib.  The hotel was a few yards from the ocean, you could throw a rock into  and hit the water from our balcony.  When I woke up the next morning to the sound of the ocean, I thought something must seriously be wrong with me for living anywhere else.
     We had a great breakfast at a local joint called The Breakfast Club - if you are ever in Monterey check them out- but be prepared to sit down and study the menu because they are used to regulars and come by to take your order within minutes of sitting down. Then we gathered a few items for the welcome bags for all the guests- I love putting together welcome bags/baskets! Then off to the rehearsal, but not until I went on a frantic search for an AT&T store to replace my iphone (first gen), not an easy thing when your iphone is down to fumble around a new city in search of a store- which had cracked months ago and finally succumbed to the humidity when we hit the beach.  Thank goodness I was successful, my iphone is like my right arm.  So off to the rehearsal, E was great- the first time- and then she discovered the beach!  She wandered around picking up every shell  and every piece of washed up kelp. But she was so cute everyone just laughed it off.  Then we hit a local park for dinner- which was great!  It was Mexican and a little on the spicy side, which for me was perfect! E just ran around with the cousins all of whom she adores.
     Wedding Day!!!  I had to head to the salon and then meet up with the ladies to get ready.  It's amazing how much time you can use to 'get ready'.  When the moment came everyone looked picture perfect!  J's sis looked like she had walked out of a 1930's photo shoot!  Every detail was perfect!  E and I walked down the sand aisle, she tried to stray and pick up a rock, but we made it down and managed to toss a few flower petals along the way.  The ceremony was perfect with touches of the happy couple throughout.  Then off to the reception which was on a terrace just above the beach wedding site- it overlooked Monterey and the ocean- so beautiful! When the sunset came it was just another perfect detail in a perfect day.  The sky was soaked in orange, pink, purple and blue. Everyone let out a collective gasp as the sunset unfolded.  As the party went on, E danced the night away!  She wouldn't even be bothered to have a bit of food!  J and I had to trick her to so that she would eat the smallest amount.  The entire weekend I fretted about the amount and quality of food she ate- we never went fast food but we came pretty close!    My mom was kind enough to fall asleep in our room with E while J and I partied with some sorely missed friends from AV.

The next morning despite the 4 glasses of very very cheap champagne I felt fine- thank goodness for partying expertise (thanks UVA)- hydrate!  My mom and I hit a Starbucks and Whole Foods and then we all headed to a delicious brunch on another beautiful day!  We managed to get a little lost on our way there- make sure you go right not left at the bend when going to Tarpy's Road House.  Then E and the cousins headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is amazing!!! We had so much fun E just ran from exhibit to exhibit.  Touching the starfish, being scared of jellyfish and falling in love with seahorses!   So cute!

We said goodbye to the cousins and headed for the 17 Mile Drive , which like everything in Monterey was breathtaking!  Then dinner with my mom and brother and a quick goodbye, we all had a long drive in the am before our flights.  Thank goodness E was great on the flight, and before our heads could hit our pillows J is off again for another week away!  And I'm already busy getting ready for E's 2nd birthday party which is on Halloween but the real date is the 23rd- can't believe my little baby is 2!!

Sick Day

Little E is sick today!! It's so sad.  She's still pretty active and in good spirits, but she's got a little cough and a stuffed up nose.  It's kinda messed up but she's so cute with a little cold!!  I find myself giving into her every whim-especially more TV watching.  But what are you supposed to do when you're sick?? And right now I'm sitting on the couch with her listening to her sing the alphabet with Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street- heart melting!

This is E watching Sesame Street with her pal the Monkey

I just hope she's better in the next few days.  We are flying to San Fran for J's sis' wedding next weekend.  And I'm not sure how I feel about flying with her of she's still got a cough- yes I'm totally over protective.  But I've also had pneumonia more times than I can count on two hands and I'm determined not to let that happen to her.  And I'm not an over sanitizer, I know that kind of stuff makes germs stronger and her immune system weaker- but I just want to use common sense.  I put in a call to E's doctor so we'll see what she says.  She also happened to get sick 2 days after her vaccines- I know correlation not causation, but I'm just a little suspect.... I'm getting her vaccinated, but sometimes I wonder what the long term effect is to our global immunity.  Oh, well!

Since E's sick today and I'm being a total push over and letting her watch way too much TV I thought I could use this time to catch up posting some pics.

This is E on the Prospect Park Carousel 

This is E practicing her flower girl duties in her dress.

The wedding is in 6 days so I'll need to get a another round of practice in pretty soon, I had hoped to have an audience but so far I haven't been able to get that together.

This is a little Wigwam right by Lefferts House

This place has so many activities for little ones.  If you are ever in Brooklyn, head to this part of the park, there's a Zoo, the botanic gardens, a boat house, it's awesome, and we live a few blocks from it!

I also wanted to post a link to an artist that lives in our nabe, PLG (Prospect Lefferts Garden).  His name is Daniel Goers and his work was so lovely we bought several pieces including the two toads, the three birds, and the snail.  We hope to fill our house with many more of his pieces of his work!  Enjoy!!

A Little Artistic Pride

Last night I got to see a rough cut of the movie J shot this summer called Putty Hill . Although I am his wife, I'm usually pretty fair in my judgment of J's work, some things I like, other things aren't my speed.  After seeing the movie last I knew hands down that was his best work to date.  There is one scene which I felt like was a contemporary Merchant Ivory movie.  It was so beautiful and nostalgic that I actually shed a tear- and I never cry- we'll that's not true- but the last time I did E wasn't even crawling. I felt so proud!  Not because I did anything, but because the level of work I knew he was capable of is now out for others to see, oh the dignity robbing effects of advertising.  I felt like coming home and waking E up and saying, your dad is so talented, and I am so proud of him and I can't wait for you to see what he can do!! The night was magical.  It was just a small screening for people close to J and the director.  And we all gave notes on it, and everyone's notes were so minimal, and mostly had to do with sound design, which is never done in a rough cut anyway. I think everyone involved in making the movie should be so proud!
The director and his wife stayed with us this weekend, they are our last scheduled house guests for a while and it makes me really sad.  I'm really going to miss them.  We had a great night on Friday eating take out chinese, drinking a few bottles of wine and adult conversation.  We also ate in our dining room which is rare for us and something I really look forward to doing when E is older.  I always had dinner with my family at our dining room table, and I think it kept me connected to my parents even when that was the last thing I wanted to be.

Buzzy Bees!

The last few days have been very very busy!  Weddings, house guests, more house guests.  Playdates, School, Art fairs, brunches, you get the idea.  All very fun stuff.  But my god am I exhausted!! And to top it all off- I got into a car accident a little while ago and have been trying to see a doctor but the taxi cab's insurance carrier has just totally blown me off- like for a few weeks!  I've been taking advil almost everyday ( I never take pain medication ever, but this was the kind of nagging neck and back pain that made me mean to people so I had to make an exception)- but I know that can't be good for my liver- so I would like to get my neck and back fixed eventually.  Tracking down people in regards to insurance or medical information is basically a full time job and will make you sick!  But today I finally made some head way and have an appointment with a doc at Beth Isreal in Union Square.  So I'm actually excited to see this doctor!
J has been "off" this week from paid work but has been busy just catching up with regular old life so he's still been pretty busy.  And next week we are off to Cali for his sis' wedding so that's going to be fun!!  E is a flower girl and I am pretty nervous about her performance!  We've got to find time to practice, I know that doesn't mean the day of she'll be all set to perform but I want to do what I can to give this her best shot.  Speaking of which I have yet to get my dress altered! Of course it too small in the waist and too big the boobs- story of my life.  I think I'll just address the boob issue when getting it altered and suffer through not breathing for the ceremony.
But having J home has been nice I even managed to cook something twice now!!  The second time he actually requested it so I was very very pleased.  And I'm using the word cook very loosely, but here's what I made:
1 Large Onion Sauteed
1 bag baby Spinach Sauteed
2 Garlic Cloves sliced and Sauteed
Half a package of Pasta- Gemelli works the best but any will do
After the pasta has cooked I toss in 2 eggs and turn the heat on low
A generous hand full of grated mozzarella
A generous hand full of Parmeasean and Romano
And I tossed in some Fresh Oregano and Basil I had growing in my garden
 You just combine all of the ingreidents and viola!  That's it.

J really seemed to love it! He doesn't really request things often- or at all, so I felt pretty happy I finally made something her liked.  E has been loving school and her music together class.  I love our music class because there are 5 different languages spoken!  While New York is very diverse in general our old nabe, Park Slope, was pretty homogeneous.  Since I'm bi-racial  E is too, I want her to grow up with a diverse group of friends.  So it's a really great feeling to look around her class and think of a Beneton ad!Of course it's more about the person rather than the color or ethnicity- but I was surprised to be a part of more one conversation where people would say really racist things because they assumed I was white.  Actually that has happened quite often.  And I just want to raise E in a like minded community.