katy's place

look what arrived in the mail yesterday, plush with tiny snickers and cocktail umbrellas. that annie is a keeper (you know what they say about friends who steal for you)!!

movie crush round 1: high school

one of my closest friends jenny moved here in may and i could not be happier. today i sent her this screengrab of my love blane, from pretty in pink...


she replied with adorable keith, from some kind of wonderful...


then hit me with smart, sensitive, bemused lane of better off dead...


so, i had to finish, for now, with the ultimate (sorry blane, i'll explain later) jake, from sixteen candles...

who will we sling next?

btw, this was all prompted by a work photo request for andrew mccarthy and an email about a sunday night showing of valley girl

and while we're at it, jenny and i have decided to up-the-old-school-scholastic-anti by embarking on a summer reading list of the secret history, followed by an even older favorite franny and zooey - i believe there is a male-oriented british blog that has suggested the same, based on a convo we had the last time i paid them a visit. let's all read them together.

annie get my mug

annie sent me this picture, courtesy of her cell phone, from chicago (i think). apparently the mug she is holding is from a restaurant in carmel, ca. i asked her to steal it for me...her reply: 'DONE!'

Funky London Childhood

(pic: jason and mark in the garden, hackney rd)

day 4
millbank:
tate britain (pre-raphaelite heaven) **

shoreditch/hoxton:
murdock
spitalfields market: *
caravan style ** (owner emily wrote one of my favorite books)
sen
komodo *
brick lane:
junky styling *
stolen space gallery (word to your mother exhibit) **
al volo *

(pic: bush graffiti outside of shoreditch house)

day 4 (cont.)
hoxton/shoreditch (cont.):
cheshire street:
labour and wait **
hunters & gatheres *
mar mar co *
eve:
red lion pub *
cru
shoreditch house
the joiners arms

day 5
hoxton square:
cru
white cube gallery (matthew ritchie, ghost operator exhibit) **

(pic: notting hill)

day 5 (cont.)
notting hill:
portobello road market *
oxfam shop **
twenty8twelve *
tea palace *
carluccio's
toast *
agent provocateur
neal's yard

(pic: prudie relaxing on my london notes, echo park)

day 5 (cont.)
shoreditch:
tesco
today is boring **
eurovision --

day 6:
hoxton:
coffee me

heathrow:
harrods ;)

Lullaby of London

(pic: brendan brunch at cru)

day 3
trafalgar square *
piccadilly circus
national cafe *
national gallery *
national portrait gallery (vanity fair portraits) *

(pic: jason brunch)

day 3 (cont.)
chelsea:
sloane's square *
kings road: *
sen *
organic pharmacy
designers guild **
blue bird **
chelsea farmer's market **

(pic: mark brunch)

day 3 (cont.)
#11 bus (chelsea's kings road to shorditch's liverpool street station) *
trafalgar square
big ben
st. paul's cathedral
buckingham palace
royal courts of justice

(pic: scallops brunch cru)

day 3 (cont.)
shoreditch
shoreditch house **
george and dragon **
the joiners arms

There's No Place Like London

(pic: liberty of london trimmings floor)

day 1
arrive 5:00 pm
hoxton hotel *
cru **

(pic: liberty of london)

day 2
covent garden:
marks and spencer
the organic pharmacy **
neal's yard **
cath kidston *
coco de mer *
urban outfitters

(pic: neal's yard, covent garden)

day 2 (cont.)
oxford circus:
habitat *
h&m
top shop

carnaby street:
liberty of london **
howies **

(pic: time life building, mayfair)

day 2(cont.)
mayfair:
james hyman gallery (linda mcCartney photo exhibit)**
stella mccartney **
berkeley square park
dover street market **

(pic: grilled squid, with cheese plate in background, cru)

day 2 (cont.)
hoxton:
murdock **
cru

more surprises

today in the mail i got this birthday present from jeanie, just in time for my trip to
eve flies in tonight and yesterday i got a bunch of organic travel size toiletries from lizzie. i love my friends. thanks for my awesome presents (although you're all the biggest gift of all - i know, cornball!)!

funny valentine

for YOU (and you know who you are). thanks, very much. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

two cities and i only took 3 pictures

this is my new friend salvador. i met him in chicago, where i was over the weekend for gillian's bridal shower, when i was stuck in the airport for 6 hours. he's holding what is known there as a hotdog with 'everything'. the everything is: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles, peppers and onions. i was tempted to order 'a hotdog without the hotdog' as sal recommended but i'd already stuffed my pie hole with deep dish pizza. i like chicago!

even though i was really only there for one full day (both due to airline delays) i really loved gillian's amazing home and amazing neighborhood, wicker park. we spent the day in the park eating and drinking - this is a shot of scott and jess thinking that if they cover the beer bottle with a plastic bag the cops patrolling the area won't take it away. but i quickly learned here that you can walk down the street, and even around the airport, with alcoholic beverages...see, i really like chicago!

finally, as i was leaving nyc at the end of last week, i realized i hadn't taken a single shot of anything while in town, even though i had a great time working and playing (jin sweetly covered one night at the qt hotel for me). so i took a picture of chase bank because it's still my bank and i wish we had branches here in l.a.. oh look at that, the reuters sign is in the shot too. i had no idea their offices were there.

the great carrot quiz

so, if josh sticks a baby carrot in my ear, then i stick it in dan's ear, whose ear is dan gonna stick the baby carrot in?????

yes, we are almost 40 and this is the kind of stuff we still do at weddings.

Photo Credit: Josh Wolk

then comes marriage: vermont!

vermont was a ton of fun! particularly because i got to spend lots of time with my buddies gillian, dan, christine and josh! look at how awesome they are...

and look at how beautiful jenny was (i like to think this image has a certain 'photo journalistic' quality to it)!

and this one has a certain blurry quality to it! but look at how cute they are! in my opinion, the couple that karaokes together (and high fives to their success) stays together! YAY brian and jenny!

look at what we found in the burlington airport: gillian's 'sharp objects,' the new paperback edition, front and center at hudson news!!

look familiar?

so, i'm reading annie's blog and she has posted a youtube video of a sketch from flight of the conchords (i don't have hbo anymore) called inner city pressure where the boys are cracking on being so poor that they have to eat 'found' food. as i'm watching it, i notice that the neighborhood they chose to depict being poor in is none other than my poor, old, south williamsburg neighborhood, the marcy street jmz stop!! home of jay-z (he re-named himself after the j,m,z trains) and his his old stomping (aka subway robbing) grounds, the marcy projects. the neighborhood that made me realize i needed to get the cluck out of new york! inner city pressure, INDEED!

here is the subway entrance. every morning before i climbed these stairs, i would stop at the deli on the left (yellow awning) and buy some caffeine or energy water. if i looked particularly tired (or pathetic or hung over) the store man would cut me a deal or buy it for me. sweet! the rainbow (red awning) to the right is where i bought my favorite pair of brown flats for $15 (i'm still wearing them constantly and will until they are worn down to pleather, hole-y shreads). but don't let this quick omission of sweetness fool you...


i lived a block away from the subway and i would only venture to use the elevator, where this platform is, if 1. i thought i could tolerate the smell of bird and human excrement 2. the line of hasidic women with their baby strollers was sparse (yes there was an odd mix of ghetto, wealthy hadics and transient hipsters in this area) 3. i felt like i didn't need the stair master effect of the other entrance.
below where these guys are standing is where i 1. had to step over the homeless, drunk men (who had pissed themselves the night before) sleeping across the sidewalk every morning to get to work. 2. watched one man get shoved onto the street (not sidewalk), handcuffed and arrested by no less than 6 police cars (i wonder what he did?). 3. heard gunshots coming from the mexican dance hall more than once. 4. bought delicious, cheap chinese food that i always told myself i should reconsider before ordering again 5. learned that two blocks away a friend of mine, while housesitting and taking care of the beasts for me, was mugged.

this is an actual 'glamour shot' of my cheddar cheese colored kitchen on south 5th and marcy (i bought the nice cupboard in the background, plus, we see the beautiful angie, gillian, jin and marc - helping me celebrate my 37th birthday - in the foreground. bonus plus, the only amazing apartment feature: glass bricks between the bath and kitchen). i wish i still had pictures of the reality of the space. i took some before i moved in 2006, in case the landlord didn't return my deposit, so people could see that the ceiling was caving in, paint was peeling and the stairs were being held together by L shaped brackets and steel wool (i'm not exaggerating).

why did i live there? because it was one stop (on the bus and subway) away from the lower east side, it was becoming 'gentrified' (is that a dirty word?) and i got a 'two' bedroom, 800 square ft apartment for a low, low $1,500/ month! my how things have changed! but honestly, i probably would have toughed it out a little longer if those cute new zealand boys really lived there. preferably in my building. shoot, preferably in my apartment!

i don't think i'll ever revisit that one neighbohood during my quarterly visits back to new york city, so it's great to see it again in such a light hearted way over and over (seriously, i've already watched it 20+ times). thanks boys!

why i've been a bad blogger

his name is serge. bonjour serge!


her name is jenny. his name is daron. they're all pretty cute, huh?

jenny, daron and serge are three of my favorite people (yes dogs are people too) and i'm lucky that they have been in l.a. for the last two weeks renting an amazing house in the silver lake hills, minutes away from me! jenny is working on her kick ass novel and daron is sizing up the city to see if he should rent studio space for his business black iris, a company that composes music for commercials. i want them to stay so we can all be the happy friend-family we were back in brooklyn. i'm sure i will write more when they head back to n.y.c. on tuesday, but until then...

nyc: we had a park party

so my lovely jin came to the office wednesday night and suggested that we have a central park party STAT! she brought naughty treats (in the form of menthol cigarettes and mint mojito gum!) and we stopped by the liquor store for a screw top bottle of white wine and then headed over to whole foods for some meals to go...

we navigated our way over to sheep's meadow and the park party ensued. in attendance were none other than my ew faves annie barrett, marc vera (who decided to come to town at the last minute) and francisco rosario!!!!

so we ate and drank and made shameful conversation (even within the hearing range of children!) in the unseasonably cool june weather, which i LOVED!! i even had to put an extra coat on! is it still illegal to drink in central park? i thought so until beer-man (to my right in this picture) showed up with his laundry cart covered in some old brown paper and kept mumbling 'cold beer.' speaking of backgrounds, what's going on behind jin in this pic?? sadly, the park party didn't last as long as some of us wanted. but there were those of us who were cold and others who had errands to run and well, we'd run out of twisty-top white wine. so we bid adieu to the always charming annie and francisco and headed over to my hotel, the hudson, for trouble.

marc, jin and i found our sweet spot in the back area of the hudson bar and ordered way overpriced drinks and people watched. people of note were the you're-about-to-get-naked-so-please-get-a-room-right-now-before-we-all-feel-gross-couple and the work party who showed up and screwed up all of the good music, turning it into bad reggae dance hall/ black eyed pea crap. before we had bits and pieces of great 90's brit pop that kept the drinks flowing for us. i believe my favorite part of the whole evening (in an evening full of great moments) was during a pulp song when jin, who was full of giggles, leaned into marc and shouted 'SO, DO YOU WANT ME TO SHAKE MY BOOTY IN YOUR FACE??' it was so funny i had to text it to myself to make sure i didn't forget!! for jin's version of the good time, you can read all about it here!

in addition to the park party, i was lucky enough to be in town for josh's book (BUY IT!) reading on thurday where i saw eve and brian and finally got to catch up with christine. one night i also took in an off broadway production of eurydice with jeanie, got in some quality time with my friends larry b and lizzie s and made trips to my, how i've missed you, favorite restaurants vynl diner, kate's joint and lil frankie's among others.

as an aside, here is my old ew view of the world wide plaza. the work site of my first photo editor job (senior photo editor at sidewalk.com. r.i.p.). the views from l.a. are nice but not half as interesting. sigh. everytime i'm back in new york, i plot my return with more of a vengence. this week was no different, despite a handful of hilarious misadventures (suitcase breaking, rain, rain, rain, and a train...oh and a nasty cab man etc).

and finally i leave you with this picture of little bit just being himself in bed. pretty in pink. isn't he?

TRUE CONFESSION TIME: at the hudson i helped myself to a bar of soap (because it was quality), a travel size shampoo (ditto) and a washcloth (who buys washcloths?). oh no, i also did the 'dirty' eat the pringles and put the empty can back in the drawer to see if they notice act. i meant to replace, bc it would cost a lot less, but didn't. so hudson, if i end up getting busted (i'm so flustered by how many times i show up on google, i thought this blog of many a blog was lost in the shuffle) i accept the charges. just don't overcharge me, please? i love you!

ok new york. i'll see you in september! xo

a beautiful day in the neighborhood

here is a picture from my birthday party at cha cha. in silver lake. clockwise from top: jeanie, me, paula and bettina. i love how all of the major haircolors are represented here (again clockwise from top): red, blonde, black, brown. jeanie is always very good at documenting her trips to visit me. she took many pictures of neighborhood things i have said i was going to photograph, and never have, such as...

this murial by the artist shepard fairey.

here is a murial of chickens in love!! down the street is another chicken murial too. i like them!

this is the park of echo park. i've started walking around it to get a little exercise and to see the ducks and the downtown skyline. one day, god as my witness, i promise i will paddle boat!

and finally this is my new home. sorry, i'm joking! i wish it was though. one day... i love walking past this place though. beside it is a blue victorian home that has been sanctioned into apartments similar to this. the two together remind me of san francisco. thanks for taking all these great pictures jeanie!!

they're back!!!

once upon a time, years ago, before i ever, ever thought i would have a blog of my own, i checked christine's blog la vida lila every week to read about her shenanigans with josh and lila. a few months ago, she put it aside and we couldn't figure out why, especially since she was so good at it! turns out she was in her first trimester of pregnancy and feeling like crap. well, she's over that hump (but gaining another one - har har!) and back to posting! this must be my first official birthday present. yes, i'm sure she had that in mind when she started posting again. thanks christine! it's just what i wanted!

in these pictures little lila is modeling a cape i bought for another friend's daughter. doesn't she look like the tiny superhero who could care less ('what? fire? UGH!')? the look on her face is priceless. the mess in my former apartment, showing up in the picture, is priceless.

p.s. back to writing for the site: the most recent post was about an event sponsored by 'seventeen' magazine, because some girls from america's next top model were going to be there. well, the event was what it was, but i did make two new friends there, kelly and mel (who actually lives in my old stomping ground in williamsburg brooklyn). bringing independent, strong minded girls together - isn't that just the 'seventeen' way!?

p.s.s. i missed the details of the great lorelai/luke kiss on the gilmore girls series finale tonight because i was so distracted by the mighty lemon drops playing in the background. resurgence of the song 'inside out' YAY! end of 'gilmore girls' BOO!!

p.s.s.s. since i am what is known as blogger nouveau, blogger verte, etc. i have some questions for you who have been doing this much longer than i.
#1 is it common to contstantly re-edit and update past posts? i do it all of the time. does this make me blogger obsessed?
#2 why doesn't my 'older posts' link work? you have to click on the months to see anything else i posted that isn't on the first page. RUDE!

april showers bring nyc flowers

so many great visitors from new york city for me!!!
this is a picture of me and my sweet friend jin, who was in town for a bunch of ascap events last week. jin has worked in their marketing department for the last four years and recently gave her notice so she could concentrate on a band she manages, dirty on purpose, and her business on the moon music. she also has a rocking blog, jinners, about all things music. i met her when she interned at ew.com YEARS ago and we have been friends and sisters ever since. on this night we drank a lot at the roosevelt hotel and ended up back in her hotel room listening to a techno song with barbara streisand cussing in it over and over and over and over again. good times!!!

right after she left, her boyfriend mike showed up!! he was in town for a couple of days before heading out to coachella to get the party started, seriously. he works for filter magazine and they had an opening night soiree that he and his buddies had to set up! i kept meeting up with everyone in dark places. we're in the derby here and he is holding a candle and his cell phone up to help me get this shot!! thanks mike!

this is just an old picture i love of jin from our brooklyn days when she lived next door and we would spend days on end together, eating, talking, watching back to back episodes of the chapelle show, drinking makers and stella, walking strange dogs and cat hugging!! here she is hugging prudie!! now she has her own cat ziggy who i'm sure she hugs a bunch! thanks for the visit friends!! miss you already!