Book drooling, part 2

I. Am. In. Love.

I think I might have a problem; I’m addicted to books.  You might remember this post from April 10 where I expressed my undying love for a set of the most beautiful books I’d ever seen.  I may have spoken too soon because Penguin Classics and designer Coralie Bickford-Smith are at it again with a second collection of books.

We’ve got 10 more books to enjoy, and you can get them all from Waterstone’s in the UK.  Unfortunately, they are a bit pricey buying them in British pounds, and the Chapters Indigo site in Canada only has six out of ten books.  I may have to wait until they come out in the U.S., as the first set comes out tomorrow on Amazon.

Or, maybe I’ll splurge and get them anyway! This set includes:

• The Hound of the Baskervilles
• Oliver Twist
• Emma
• The Odyssey
• The Woman in White
• Treasure Island
• The Sonnets and a Lover’s Complaint (Shakespeare)
• Lady Chatterley’s Lover
• Little Women
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

Yeah, I think I really need these. They’ll look so great next to the other set. 

The original set, which looks great on my shelf!

Happy Halloween!

Just a short post to say Happy Halloween! I spent the night carving pumpkins.  While I’m quite proud of this guy, you have to admit the peeping-tom quality is slightly creepy!  My roommate carved a slightly friendlier, yet sinister pumpkin. 

Eating and drinking our way through NYC

I spent a little less than two days in New York this past weekend, and besides the Yankee game, I can’t really tell you what we did, except for eating and drinking.  So, below is my restaurant guide for a New York City weekend:

I arrived in the city around 9:00, and the first thing we did was head to Union Square for breakfast, which ended up being at Pret A Manger.  I love this place, but it’s not very new to me since I’ve been to them in New York and London.  Still, I got a croissant, which reminded me of being in Paris!

After wandering around the vendors in Union Square’s Saturday market, we walked down to SoHo and ended up at DoJo for lunch near NYU.  I think I mostly loved this place because for $10 we got a meal . . . AND a drink.  While the other ladies went for mimosas, I had to go for the bloody mary.

We wandered around Washington Square Park for a bit, then headed back up 5th Avenue to our hotel on the East Side to get ready for the game.  Now, not only was I excited for the game, but I was kind of looking forward to stadium hotdogs.  Unfortunately, the game was postponed.  But, we still managed to make it a great night.  Not hard to do being a group of four lovely ladies. 

Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village

Now, I am not sure how people ever did anything before cell phone technology.  How did you find restaurants?  Directions?  I think we spent about 45 minutes searching Urban Spoon and Yelp for restaurant reviews before deciding on Amber, an Asian restaurant . . . no, a trendy Asian restaurant.  It was delicious, and I believe everyone loved their food and drinks.  Bindu and Natalie were especially happy with the lychee martini, and I was pleased with the tangerine chicken.

The night was still young and we wanted dessert.  After more Yelp consultation, we headed over to Madison Avenue to visit Sant Ambroeus, which is probably the cutest place ever with the most amazing desserts.  Described as a spot for the “ladies who lunch” crowd, it catered to our sweet tooth needs.  Let me tell you, the pumpkin cheesecake was amazing!

Day two saw us dining at a local diner for breakfast . . . think of the restaurant in Seinfeld and you’ll get the picture.  After dropping Natalie and Dani off at Penn Station, Bindu and I kept on our walking trek of the city.  This is when our food choices went downhill.  I don’t mean that we didn’t like the food, but we started to eat a lot of sugar.  On our quest to find coffee that didn’t come from Starbucks, we ran across the Buttercup Bake Shop.  Of course we had to stop in.  Good cupcakes, but still doesn’t beat Georgetown Cupcake, except these were only $2, which is a steal!

After walking across Midtown to the west side (and still not finding coffee), I decided that we couldn’t pass up Pinkberry if we were in the neighborhood (considering we’d already driven past multiple locations in taxis that weekend).  After that pitstop, I knew that if we continued north to the Upper West Side, we were sure to find some authentic coffee.  Believe me when I tell you, all we could find were Starbucks.  I think we passed by 10 of them before Bindu got desperate and I had to go to the bathroom.  Such a letdown.

Since we were no longer in need of coffee, but still hours before game time, we decided to stroll through Riverside Park.

Riverside Park - beautiful in the fall!

So, we wandered around and made our way down Columbus Avenue, when wouldn’t you know it – we ran right into Shake Shack.  Shake Shack had been one of our options the night before, but we opted to scale things up instead.  This place has amazing burgers! I highly recommend a stop, plus it’s pretty inexpensive.

By this time it was time to head to the Bronx for the game.  Sadly, the burgers filled us up so much that we never got our stadium hot dogs.  We were content with our overpriced hot chocolate to keep us warm as we cheered the Yankees onto the World Series!

So, there’s my weekend restaurant guide . . . and literally all we did all weekend was eat.  And it was great!

 

Just another Tuesday night

How did you spend your Tuesday night?  Well, this is how I spent mine?

It was the annual DC High Heels Race.  One, I’m a woman, and I doubt I could run like that in heels; two, it was raining pretty hard, so you’ve gotta give ‘em some credit.

I <3 New York

The tale of my spontaneous, amazing, wonderful, unforgettable weekend . . .

Once upon a time there was a girl who started watching baseball.  Because no teams were near her home, she could only watch during the end of the season to see who would be the winner.  When she was younger, there was one team that was very good, and won year, after year, after year.  Eventually this little girl fell in love with this team.

Now, the team wasn’t very well liked outside of its home in New York City.  So, said little girl had to deal with ridicule from family and friends as to why she’d latch onto what they called the evil empire.  But, the girl persevered and stuck with the team.  Even through the highs and lows, her love for them never failed.  She went through her frustrations like any good fan would, but in the end she loved this team.

Once the girl was old enough, she moved to the East to be nearer to her team.  This meant that she actually got to watch them play in person in their stadium in New York.  No longer did she have to only see them on television.  And she also made friends with other people who shared her love of this team.  They would travel to New York together at least once a year to watch a game.  Even though the team was going through a rough patch, life was good.

But then the year 2009 rolled through.  The team had a brand new stadium, and it was like they were a brand new team.  They played really well that year, making it all the way to the top of their league.  The girl wished she could see them play live at the end of the season, just like she used to when she was younger.

One day (last Friday), she was at home for the day when her friend called asking if she wanted to see them play in the championship game.  An opportunity like this could not be missed, so the girl dropped all her plans and made her way to New York for the weekend.  The friends had a great time in the city, even though it was a bit rainy.  By the time they were ready to go to the stadium, the rain was pouring down harder, meaning the game would have to be postponed until the following night.

After a lot of angst and drama about what to do, the two girls decided they had to stay the extra night to see this game.  If the team won this game, they would get to play in the ultimate championship: the World Series!  Luckily, most people thought they made the right choice.

Here’s where the story of the girls’ trip gets a little crazy.  Instead of just staying another night in New York, they decided to go to the game, which would end around midnight, and then take a train back to their town at 3 o’clock in the morning.  And yes, the girls did go to work that next day as well.

But, the team ended up winning the game.  The fans were cheering and celebrating, singing at the top of their lungs, giving out high five’s.  The girls had a blast!  And even though they were really tired the next day, they did live happily ever after knowing their team was going to the World Series.

Girl and friend at the game!

The team wins!

The crowds celebrate!

The team is a champion, and off to the World Series!

Loose lips

Do you ever have days where you wish your lips had just been glued together? Well, I wish they had been the entire weekend.  Two consecutive days in a row, I came home regretting the words that came out of my mouth.

I’ve been praying over Psalm 19:14 today, needing God’s grace and spirit to change me.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

I think a lot of what I said misrepresented my true feelings about certain issues.  I’ll call it pride and protection (of my heart) coming out. Overall it left me feeling pretty low, because I know that deep down what I said doesn’t match what I feel in my heart.

Psalm 40:1-3 gives me hope that God can come in and act as a buffer between my brain and my mouth, replacing it with words that are pleasing and glorifying to him.

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

I think a big part of my struggle is learning that God has given me a firm footing, no need to worry, no need to protect myself and my feelings.  Oh, how I wish for a new song, a song of praise!

#101 Go to an Iowa State University alumni event

I’ve been living in DC for nearly five years now, and one things that’s always been aparent to me is the lack of news about places other than the eastern one-third of the United States.  Namely, you never know what’s going on in the Big 12.

But apparently if you are willing to shell out enough cash for some obscure sports network, you can find Big 12 games on television, even Big 12 games that no one cares about, like Iowa State vs. Kansas.

Last Saturday I joined a few other fellow ISU alums (and my favorite Washington State fan) to watch the big game together.  It was officially my third Iowa State alumni event, but I did make a commitment through my 101 in 1001 list to go to another one.  So, I’m officially marking it off the list.

The game was fun, and I have to say that the Cyclones played a lot better than expected.  And going to events like this always reminds me of how small the world actually is.  About 30 minutes after we arrived, a couple other girls came and sat beside us.  We looked really familiar to each other, and it turns out that we were both in the freshman honors program together.  Go figure!

So, we’ll see if this one game leads to more alumni functions in my future.  I don’t want to get too connected just yet.  I told myself I wouldn’t officially join the alumni association until my student loans are paid off.  They aren’t getting ALL my money!!

Go Cyclones!!

I’m a reading buddy!

I bet you didn’t know I was a reading buddy? Yep, as of 5:30 tonight I became a reading buddy to a sweet little girl who is in the second grade in DC.  Basically, I listen to her read to me for 30 to 60 minutes a week.  Today, I ended up reading to her instead.

I became involved through an after school program called New Community for Children.  My friend Bindu works there, and I was more than happy to help out.  See, if you know anything at all about the Washington, DC, area, you’d know that the DC school system is the worst in the nation.  So, if I can at all help one student learn to appreciate reading and books, then sign me up!  Plus, she’s kinda cute and fun to hang out with.

NCC is always looking for more adults to be a reading buddy, so go sign up at on the NCC website.  It’s a great way to serve the community, and you won’t regret it!

Check out the murals painted by the NCC kids at the Washington Convention Center.

It’s October!

And you know what that means, right?  For many, it’s the start of fall, pumpkins, apple cider, Halloween, hayrides, corn mazes, etc.

Yeah, yeah, yeah . . . that’s all fine and good.  But, for me October means baseball.  And luckily this year my Yankees are back in action.  After a stellar season, they start off the division seires against the Minnesota Twins.  Now, I have no ill will toward the Twins, but when it comes down to it, the Yankees are always #1 in my heart.

Last year was a bit disappointing as they didn’t even make it to October, but I have a feeling this year will be very, very different.  Here’s to going all the way!

Bindu and me at Yankee Stadium during our annual pilgrimage!

#31: See a live performance of Chopin’s music

And I get to check off another item off my 101 in 1001 list.  On Monday evening, I attended a concert at the Kennedy Center by Korean violinist Hahn-Bin.  I fully admit that the only reason I got tickets for this concert was because Chopin was on the playlist.  I’m finding that it’s pretty hard to find Chopin’s work played in the DC area, which makes me sad.  I really love his pieces, and I could get lost in his piano arrangement for hours on end.

I liked the concert, but it took me awhile to get into it.  The first four pieces Hahn-Bin played were really not to my taste.  The music was really erratic, and generally not to my liking.  Hahn-Bin is a very skillful violinist and played the pieces excellently, but I didn’t care for the music.

Then came Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20, and it was beautiful.  My concert was complete and he finished the night well.  Well, except for the encore.  He played Silent Night, but intentionally butchered it.  Again, not my tastes . . .

So, imagine a 22-year old Korean violinist when you listen to the clip above.