going, going, back, back...

hello from san francisco, my first city love. back this weekend, for now, i'm trying to convince myself that it's of the utmost importance to have an in-n-out burger while i'm here. file under: things i'll probably regret later but oh well.

just a weekend spent hanging out with anne hathaway. nbd.

uh, hello awesome weekend! gosh, it sure was splendid. saturday was just miserable, weather-wise - there was practically a monsoon that hit the city, and it poured rain for hours. i beat it in the morning with a quick whole foods trip and then a fantastic yoga class.

then it was one of my bff's from work's birthday, so we celebrated with dinner at centro vinoteca... where i enjoyed a delicious plate of vegetables. ugh. major vegan let-down. we had a group of 10 sitting in a square banquette, and i was the furthest away from the waiter, so when i thought i'd placed a vegan order and he insisted it was impossible to make that dish without cheese or butter, i had to yell back and forth with him as he mocked the fact that i didn't eat meat or cheese and HOW DARE I even enter an italian restaurant and think i could order dinner. he literally told me there was nothing he could do for me. uh, ok. so i ordered a side of asparagus and pouted, mortified that this had happened in front of such a big group. i really have tried not to be a douchey vegan (i should totally trademark that phrase), but the waiter was such a snot and made me feel like a jerk! he came back a few minutes later and said he could get me a plate of sauteed vegetables, which i begrudgingly accepted. then of course, that delicious plate of cauliflower and broccoli rabe cost me $18 - more expensive than the pastas on the menu! wtf? so not ok. anyways, apart from that, it was a really fun dinner. we then trudged through the monsoon to the far far far west side of manhattan and parked ourselves at the rusty knot. and hung out with anne hathaway.

ok, by hung out, i mean she was sitting like 10 feet away from us and we just gawked at her because no one wanted to bother her. she's ADORABLE. love her. wanted to let her know that i watch the princess diaries every time abc family plays it, but i managed to sidestep that embarrassing conversation. the bar was so much fun! fantastic drinks, totally chill atmosphere, and definitely return-visit worthy. you know what they say: if it's good enough for anne...

birthday boy.

tiki glasses makin' out. because we're actually 8 years old. 

an aptly-named dark and stormy. SO GOOD.

no good can come of a flaming punch bowl with long straws.

mermaid hot tub (after the flame had gone out, of course).

picklebacks. i don't have the guts to try one.

we tried to top the evening off with a trip to dance our faces off at bowery electric, but after waiting in line to get yelled at by bouncers and making it downstairs to a dance party with the weirdest soundtrack ever (think oldies... which are fun, but not 10 of them in a row... i can only SHOUT so many times), i called it a night at about 2am. 

luckily for me, the dark and stormies didn't hit as hard as i was anticipating... so sunday was a majorly productive day. not to mention, the weather was OUTSTANDING, which never hurts. after cleaning and yoga-ing, oddly enough, i decamped to my kitchen and spent the afternoon cookin' and bakin' up a storm. i made chocolate cupcakes (again), some super tasty black bean and sweet potato veggie burgers (hello easy lunches all week!) and then capped off the evening with my all-time most favorite pasta dish, shared with some of my all-time most favorite coworkers, while drinking my all-time most favorite wine and watching, er, a pretty great show... COMING HOME! cue Cry Fest 2011. it was fan-freaking-tastic.

not gonna lie, after such a great weekend, this morning was a little bit of a shock to the system. but it wasn't bad at all, considering i booked a trip to austin in june AND i'm heading to san francisco twice in the next month. oh life. you sure are grand. 

and with that, i'm going to continue impatiently waiting for "william and kate: a love story" to start on lifetime. oh yeah. it's gonna be unbearably awful and amazing at the same time. so let me leave you with a snapshot of my love story... with new york. happy week!!

a treat.

this baby is all mine. and she is lovely and perfect and luxurious. swoon.

jcrew brompton hobo

friday, i'm in love (and thankful that spring has sprung!)

it was a whopping 68 degrees here in the city yesterday, and today it will still be bright and sunshiney and warm. i am so relieved that spring didn't get lost, i was genuinely worried about that for quite a while. it's been a pretty rockin' week, and i've got big weekend plans ahead. i feel like 2011 is seriously just whizzing right by! not to mention i'll be hopping back on a plane on wednesday and heading to san francisco for work for a few days (tough life...). but before the weekend kicks off, here's what i'm loving this week.

jack barrett cabernet

this is my new fave bottle of vino. i picked it out on a whim, as i do most wines, based on the fact that it was a cab from CA, and the fact that i appreciated the label. i find this method often works out quite well, save for a few disastrous decisions. that being said, this bottle keeps reappearing on my "wine counter" (so fancy), and it never lasts too long. and yes, i live by myself and drink a glass of wine just about every night, what of it?  

coming home

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this show. omg, this show! it is the highlight of my sunday evening. it's like all these producers got in a room and said, "let's create a show that will be sure to make meghan cry buckets of tears each and every week without fail." it's an hour of surprise military homecomings, which are near and dear to my heart. every time i watch, i remember the christmas that my dad showed up at the front door to surprise me and my sister because he had gotten off duty a few days early. we hadn't seen him in months and it was literally the best present ever. i know exactly how all the little kids in this show feel, and it just hits me so hard each week. but in a good way! this sunday, i'm having a few friends over for dinner and some wine to watch it with me so i don't have to cry by myself. 

kevin murphy hair gunk

i'm fairly certain that's the scientific name for this stuff. i'm not a huge product junkie - i'm a loyal kiehl's and clinique user - always have been, always will be. but the last time i got my hair chopped off, my stylist used this stuff on it, and it makes me so thankful to have short hair! it's magical - just a little dab in wet hair, let it air dry, scruff it up, and it's perfectly undone and textured and awesome. oh and it sure smells delicious. big fan.

stay tuned for a recap of what is sure to be quite the epic weekend... here's to hoping the weather stays this fantastic! 

what i'm listening to wednesdays (dreary rainy edition)

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i'm one of those new yorkers who has white earbuds plugged in every single time i leave the apartment. doesn't matter if i'm going to work or to the bodega around the corner, my life has a soundtrack. and here are the songs that i've been hitting repeat on this week.

(p.s. thinking about making this a weekly post... maybe i'll even make a cute little graphic and everything... what do you think? anyone else want to play along?)

what are you listening to this week?

every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

a year ago today, i booked a flight to austin at 9am after the worst night (and preceding days) of my life. the flight was at noon. i don't remember much of how i got to the airport, and i just threw a few t-shirts and a pair of shorts in a bag since i had no idea how long i would be there. i just knew i had to leave.

i left behind a life that i had been an active participant in creating, but didn't see myself in anymore. from the outside, it was perfect. the perfect apartment, the perfect pet, the perfect routines, the perfect wedding. but i was miserable. and i left. and it was the hardest thing i have ever (and maybe will ever do).

a year ago today, i made a huge leap into the unknown. i did it for me. some might call it selfish, or flighty, or irresponsible. but all that matters is that i made the right decision for me.

the last year has been a roller coaster. but every single day, my decision has been reaffirmed. there were days when i didn't want to get out of bed, days when i wanted nothing more than to go back to the perfect life i had created, but deep down, i knew it was never perfect. i deserved more.

the most amazing things have happened since april 11, 2010. to say i know myself so much better would be an understatement. i know how to be by myself. i know i have this incredible network of support that stepped up when i didn't have the strength to ask for help.

throughout this year, i've wondered what today would feel like. if i would even survive and make it to this milestone. if i had the strength to not go back just because it was comfortable. and today, i have my answer. i did survive. actually, i did more than survive. i thrived.

and today?

i am happy. really, truly, happy.

and to celebrate, i made cupcakes. and they were delicious.

it's not an anniversary i ever planned on celebrating. but here i am. and that's just how life goes. 

friday, i'm in love (and a big ol' wonky nerd)

after spending last week in our nation's capitol, witnessing democracy in action, i felt a wonk rekindling deep down inside. granted, that wonkiness has never been far from the surface, but this week has brought about some pretty nerdy things that i love. you might sense a theme here...

the west wing

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PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD NO SPOILERS ALLOWED EVER AT ALL ON THIS TOPIC. so i was living in germany when the west wing began, way back in the 20th century, so i missed the first few seasons. upon returning to my beautiful homeland, i could have taken up watching it, but this was pre-TV on DVDs, so i would have been way behind. i decided to hold until i knew i could watch the entire series in all its epic glory... and that time finally came last september. i have since made my way all the way to the middle of season five, and there really aren't any words or descriptions i could add to what's already been said about this show. regardless, i love it. LOVE IT. and after not having watched it for a few weeks, i plopped myself down to enjoy some furious hallway walking with conversations spoken in rapid sorkin-ese, and what episode came up? none other than... shutdown! yep, it was a fantastic coincidence of life imitating art, and i relished it. anyways, i just love this show. and i'm hoping to stretch it as out as long as possible, because when it's over... well, it's over. and i'll be crushed.

morning joe

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i'm the most ridiculous creature of habit - you really have no idea. it's worth a whole other blog post. i started watching the today show in the morning way back during freshman year of college, as a fresh-faced brand-new resident of nyc. i thought it was MIND-BLOWING that while sitting in my dorm room, i could tune into a tv show being filmed a mere 20 blocks away (note: i still experience this awe when watching SNL). plus, i could just see what the nice folks gathering in the plaza were wearing and figure out what the weather was like. genius, eh? so much easier than looking out the window, or, you know, stepping outside? anyways, fast forward a decade later, and i still watch the today show. and all i do is complain about it. what a load of morning drivel! and yet, each morning, i go on autopilot and turn it on. NO MORE, i say. no more. i finally decided to lean forward (get it? heh.) and change the channel to MSNBC for a hit of morning joe. yes, it's not easy missing out on incessant royal wedding updates, but i feel so much more connected to what's happening in the beltway, and i LOVE IT. plus, there's just the right amount of fluff, and i think we can all agree that mornings deserve a wee bit of fluff. it's only right. 

and finally...

i'm in. 

and i can't freaking wait. bring it on.

what are you loving this week?