Monday, August 24, 2009

"Hey, that's a nice dress. Can I talk you out of it?"

So, true to my word, here is my post about my most recent city adventures on Friday. Sarah and I went in to visit our friend Laura in Brooklyn. The night before we had a reunion with our three friends Becky, Lineth, and Lily and had then slept over at Lil's, so we left from there to catch the train. After coming home on a 7:14 train, we dropped Sarah off at home and then I headed straight to my friend Sabrina's house. Her two brothers both had friends over so we had a pretty intense game of Taboo. My team (Fourtility) lost and then a very long fight ensued over the rules of the game, but it was really fun. It was a non-stop day, but that's what summer's all about, you know? Or maybe it's supposed to be about relaxing? Hmm

I got this dress at Goodwill. Lily, Sarah, and I ducked in for a look and we met a woman who said it made her so happy to see us interested in vintage clothes and that she would be opening a shop in the neighborhood. Just as we were getting ready to leave, she ran over carrying this dress and said she could totally see me in it. I don't think I ever would have picked it up otherwise, but I'm always up for trying things on and after a visit into the dressing room, I decided I really loved it. So thanks to her find and a spare 6 dollars, an outfit was formed for the trip into the city!

American Colonies, mocha frappuccino, and a camera case! Whoo.



Sarah's clearly a night creature...

and I like to twirl...

and hail subways.

I asked her to be high fashion on the subway stairs. I believe that she rose to the challenge.

Oh, right. My motorcycle...hmm, well I guess it's out of gas. I'll take it to work tomorrow.
We headed straight out to the garden when we got to the apartment.
Sarah stole my camera for the next two shots as Laura filled me in on a German friend in DC.




Wouldn't really be a complete day without self timer, now would it?

Apartment 225! Though of course my enthusiastic gesture to this is covering the fact...

Sarah could spend a day chasing around the dogs of the city...and I would probably be running behind her documenting it.

We saw the most beautiful couple in the world. I know I've said this before, but now I really really mean it! I've rewritten Mary Jo Salter's 'Boulevard Du Montparnasse' a little bit to match. I've entitled it...
Across The Street From The Restaurant We Were Looking For
Once, on a street in Little Italy, I saw
the most beautiful couple in the world.
They were each the single most beautiful thing in the world.
She would have been nineteen, perhaps; he twenty-four.
Their skin was not the same shade,
yet they complimented one another effortlessly,
as if that was their duty on Earth: To simply match one another
with his burnt tuscan and her impossible creamy pale.
And they walked by, looking like they had just been
photographed by The Satorialist, and now
another camera was most surprisingly being
stuck in their face.
She was lazily fanning herself with a 4 dollar paper fan,
but she made it look like it was crafted of the
finest material this side of Chinatown and
had cost 700 dollars, at least.
They glanced at the camera inquisitively,
as if they had never had their picture taken before that day,
although they must have already been snapped up by
ten tourists that day, all who assumed that they must be a celebrity couple (whose names they were just having trouble placing at the moment.)
I thought: Mary Jo Salter wrote a poem for exactly
this moment, for when I saw such a couple.
And although Sarah and I had every urge
to follow them down the street, we
hesitated. And so then, in that moment of doubt,
they were gone, as if they were
fairy dust, meant to make things just a little bit
more magical, but never to linger for too long.



Within a couple of moments from the sky being a beautiful blue and white, the forecasted thunderstorm started to brew.

I can hardly express how much I love when this happens. I want it to last forever, this limbo between the sunshine and the rain.


We ducked for cover at Pinkberry where I got pomegranate yogurt.
When we decided we were ready to brave the rain, we saw that there was an even cooler place right next store: a shop that solely sold rice pudding!
Sarah got caramel and gave me a taste. It was delicious.
I couldn't tell if this guy was trying to hit on this girl or if they were dating. But in any case, much to my embarrassment, he caught me trying to document it all!

We ducked into Top Shop and tried on shoes. Basically everywhere you looked there was a glorious sale rack, and I ended up walking away with an 18 dollar pair of jeans.
Oh and finally! I will get to doing my Kreativ Blogger tag, gifted from Sarah. Thanks again, girl!

1. I think of everything as a souvenir. It’s a mentality far beyond being a pack rat. Like, I’ve come back from Europe with napkins from restaurants, cereal tops, chocolate wrappers, metro cards people left on the ground…it’s a problem. I still have a water bottle from Vermont that’s 3 quarters of the way filled and a bag of sand from Martha’s Vineyard. Oh dear. But I love all my useless things anyway.
2. I have a Barbie umbrella from my childhood that I still like to use. In fact, it is chilling out on the door handle to my room right now. Makes it easy to grab on my way out into the rain!
3. Lava lamps are really entertaining. I mean…to a point. But still. Don’t let anyone try to tell you otherwise.
4. I talk to myself. I didn’t realize how much until the people at work started being like “What? What’d you say?” and then I just have to admit, “Oh nope, just talking to myself.” Which I guess it’s something that everyone does (right?) but really, this issue has only been increased due to the fact that my job is to be a waitress. Like I have this ongoing (and out loud) chant of “bacon quiche, no asparagus, extra fruit but no melon…hey I wonder why she doesn’t like melon! Oh and iced tea.”
5. I want to be Pam of Pam and Jim. Like, I cried when Jim cried in season two of the Office. I need a Jim Halpert in my life.
6. I’ve always wanted a sister. I would ask my mom when I was younger and say that I wouldn’t ever ask for anything for Christmas again if I could just have a baby sister or brother. I’m grateful for my older brother and I love him, but I always wanted tons of siblings. I think that’s why I want so many kids, so they can have what I (believe that I) missed out on.
7. I love pick up lines. Like I said, after I came home from the city, I went to Sabrina’s where her brothers and their friends were reciting different pick up lines. After they commented on my incredibly red dress (which just made me blush a red I didn’t even know was possible,) I asked them what they had as far as pick up lines went. One of them said “Hey, that’s a nice dress. Can I talk you out of it?” I just love it. Sabrina’s mom said that I would be easy because most girls hate pick up lines, but really they just make me laugh like crazy. If a guy is actually brave enough to try one of them out, I think it’s worth at least a conversation for the effort!
***
Alrighty, enough from me!
Hope everyone's week is going well so far,
Sylvia

Sunday, August 23, 2009

So Here's To Summer

I'm ready for fall, in a lot of ways. I'm ready for actually needing a blanket at night and wanting to put on a pair of tights in the morning. I'm ready fo--but wait wait wait. (Yes, I'm cutting myself off mid written down sentence.) Sorry, but this post isn't about fall and all that I'm looking forward to (just yet at least.) This one's for summer and all that I'm going to miss. Like for example, the spontaneous sleepovers, waitressing on weekdays, movie theaters, spending too much money on train tickets and subway rides, visiting New York City (which I just did on Friday again by the way (a post will soon ensue),) turning on the ceiling fan and feeling sufficiently cooled off, going for late night swims, the fake sunshine that undoubtedly leads to dark skies and glorious thunderstorms, and having time. More specifically, I’m going to miss deciding to accept an invitation to go on a friend’s boat, having to meet in twenty minutes at a place that’s fifteen minutes away, borrowing a bathing suit, and then jumping in the ocean. (Segue alert!) Here is a glorious evening spent with Sarah and Lily.
Side note: Jumping sunset silhouettes. Been done? Yes. Do I tire of them? Not at all.










I might be saying a premature goodbye to the season, but I’m feeling a little melancholy, content, exhausted, awake, overheated, chilly, smiley, half smiley (all at once.) And since I feel between seasons too, this post seemed about right.
Now, I’m off to read all that I need to on American history. But one last thing, I cannot express enough how happy your reading of this and all of your comments make me! I literally cannot click on my little email notification fast enough when I see I have one. So, thank you, thank you, thank you. And um I sort of kind of lied...I’m going to go catch up on all your beautiful blogs out there before retiring to my history reading…seriously, I can’t help myself; it’s been too long!)
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend,
Sylvia

Monday, August 10, 2009

Never Thought I'd Be On A Dinghy

Hello, hello! How are you all this fine evening? And me, you ask? Well...I'm just sitting on a Annie's checked quilt overlooking what I call her Italian grape vineyard view (but what is really the glorious Martha's Vineyard) and writing to you all! My stomach is full with some delicious steak, cous cous, and veggies courtesy Annie's brother and I'm very excited for the thrift store shopping/beach outing/concert listening that will be tomorrow! Life is good.

We took a 3:45 ferry over and Annie showed me her Paris photos on the way with details on all of her adventures..






After some unpacking, we headed out to Vineyard Haven for some enormously large (but fantastic) scoops of ice cream. I got mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone; Annie got black raspberry in a sugar cone.


















There's a story behind these! To read about it, check out Annie's post.

P.S And below is a sneak peek of her beautiful self in her outfit post! We had a very nice photo shoot day.

More soon! Hope everyone's Monday was marvelous.