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A hasty photograph before getting ready. Sorry for my hair and general face area.

Today is Friday, but yesterday was my Friday - do you see? In a few hours Jesse and I will be getting into our rental car with Adam and some other guy (a groomsman I've yet to meet) for Sam and Jim's wedding this weekend. Jesse's a groomsman and Adam is the officiant. I finally get to go to a wedding I'm not IN! Yay! 

Plus it's in Connecticut at a castle! Castles are cool. I'll most likely be posting to Tumblr because that's what I do when I travel.

As I sit here writing I realize I still have to figure out what I'm wearing to the rehearsal dinner tonight. I'm letting Jesse sleep for now before rummaging in my closet.

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Birthday surprises abound all week! My best friend Rick and his lovely girlfriend Sarah had a box of Sprinkles cupcakes delivered to me at work yesterday. I gleefully devoured a couple and shared them throughout the rest of the evening. There's still a couple left...

Breakfast?

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I shared the cupcakes with Erica and Jaime after work at our favorite nail salon while we got our toes and fingers gussied up for the wedding. Another birthday surprise: Jaime wanted to gift me the experience and said I should pick out something fancy. So I picked Chanel's Peridot to go with my cobalt blue dress so I'm hoping to go for 'mermaid chic' this weekend. Is it gold? Is it green? It all depends. (Yes, above it's decidedly gold.)

I realize only nail polish superfans will understand this, and I'm okay with that.

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Last night I also watched Project Runway without Jesse! Sadly he was in the far reaches of Long Island with the rest of the MCS guys doing pre-pro and he walked in right at the final elimination.

I was totally shocked by that last elimination. I mean, it was a terrible dress but I thought she'd make it to NYFW.

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Okay time to wake him up and as my dad likes to say, "let's get this show on the road!"

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jaime cara me sidestage watching the set last night

An e-mail I sent today:

im too tired for puncuation this morning
everything is a poem now

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He sang happy birthday to me on stage thanks to a little plan put together by my bestie. It's not even my birthday yet, so that was pretty cool. So this is all I have for you right now dear readers because I am still too tired.

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All this punctuation was very hard, by the way. You're welcome.

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I'm happy that the weather is turning cooler. I'm much more comfortable at work in fall layers than summer ensembles. During the summer the building blasts the air conditioning and my cute summer dress suddenly becomes a horrendous idea while I clamor for my 'office cardigan' to wrap my shoulders and 'office pashmina' to wrap around my legs. Then I leave the building and the long thaw walk begins. My shivering becomes sweat and my body is probably near convulsing at the temperature change.

So today I'm wearing OPAQUE TIGHTS and a skirt, silk blouse, and closed-toed shoes. And I feel great. I will be putting on a non-office pashmina and cargo jacket before I step outside! Hooray! HOORAY I SAY!

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I've been trying a lot more of the new restaurants in the neighborhood. Last night my old roommate Sam and I grabbed dinner in the beautiful back patio (above) of a French bistro. Though it was a little cold, we were glad to be sitting there on probably the last outside-eating evening of the season.

Then we nightcapped it at another new bar a block away--the same one we went to last week for prosecco on tap. But last night? With the weather? Pumpkin ale!

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Sam is getting married this weekend and I'm excited!

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Something ELSE is happening this weekend. Can you guess can you guess can you guess? MWAHAHAHA!

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You know when you were in college and you were kind of obsessed with a band and now that lead singer is texting you whenever he rolls into town, most likely because his newer band doesn't sell out venues as quickly as his last band? But he always remembers your name and that one party after that one show years ago where he typed his phone number into your phone and texted himself your own? Because you're married into the industry now so that means you're in the club he said. He always gets you on the list +1, though. Good chap.

That's what's happening to me right now, and I'm off to the show...

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One more thought from Thursday, I just remembered.

Last week - I was in the middle of a conversation with a recently engaged woman and her friend interjected and said that his advice was to plan a wedding when there's a full moon because it has less of a chance of raining. We all sat and wondered about it and the guy took it back because he wasn't sure if he was correct. But then I declared this could be true because when I see a full moon, I see it. As in, it's a clear night out and I'm outside.

On Thursday night I walked home from the movie staring at a bright, full moon on a gloriously clear night. I consider it proof enough for now.

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Last night Jesse and I traveled to Queens in order to say farewell to a couple of friends that are moving beyond the boroughs to the suburbs. They seek a faster commute (for one half of the pair) and more space (who doesn't want that?). They'll have a gigantic kitchen and a dog and they'll be living the dream outside of the city, but just within its grasp.

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Related, somewhat.

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A few weeks ago I had an awful dream. I was in a rural backyard and decorating a mini-stage of somesort. It was perfectly bright and there was a group of people spread through the yard. Then a bear cub ambled up to a little girl and she started petting it. Then her dad ran out to grab her but the mama bear came out. And then I was under the stage as both the bears were hugging the humans and I woke up in a sweat because I knew they were about to be mauled.

Like I said, awful.

AND THEN my dad said that last weekend while he was out of town their next-door neighbors saw a black bear ambling through the connected backyard! SIGNS. I've sufficiently warned my dad now and I hope my dream was no omen!

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Today I woke up at 11:30am which is late for me and it was wonderful. I made it downstairs, plopped down on the couch with a blanket, spooned with my cat and started watching Project Runway's latest episode while I waited for UPS to deliver my new debit card. It was bright and peaceful and then from upstairs I hear "ARE YOU WATCHING TIM GUNN WITHOUT ME?!"

Jesse is no longer a closet Project Runway fan. Or, more aptly I should say, closet Tim Gunn fan. He does a pretty good impression, too. He proceeded to make his way down the stairs and plop down next to me, noting that Pee Wee never spooned with him on the couch.

I've found him to be a delightful PR-watching partner. Loads of opinions, my guy.

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I've got a new music obsession and they are Kathleen Hanna's new band The Julie Ruin. I've been listening to the new album Run Fast on repeat for much of the last few days. It reminds me of the 90s and riot grrrls and all those bands I loved like Sleater Kinney and Bikini Kill. Also, synth-y! (For the record, I don't think Hanna could sing in a band and it NOT sound like a riot grrrl band?) I've been walking down the sidewalk nodding my head to the beat and wanting to raise a fist in the middle of the street. (Unintentional rhyme: first sign of insanity.)

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Last night started off innocuously enough. Jesse and I had a quick bite to eat at our favorite local spot, and we traded jokes and football stats with the bartender. My husband was gentlemanly and walked me to the subway so that I could catch my movie and he could catch his football game.

As I was checking my bank account on my phone, however, I saw an erroneous $700+ charged for some concert tickets in LA. WHAT?!?! I headed into the theater, and bought my ticket to see Short Term 12 via kiosk while simultaneously on the phone with my bank. Luckily it all got squared away before the theater opened, but: annoying.

I felt better after talking on the phone because before that, and after finding out--those mere minutes--is when I have near-meltdown type of anxiety. These moments are almost always caused by money issues. I'm pretty relaxed about the unexpected EXCEPT FOR THINGS TO DO WITH MONEY.

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Moving on: Short Term 12 was a great film, and surely one that will be in my top 10 at the end of the year. I didn't know much about its premise going into it, and perhaps I should leave it that way for you, too. It's highly moving, and I was bawling into my wine (I love a theater that serves), and Brie Larson should be a serious contender for Best Actress next year. 

But she probably won't, as these things go.

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These are probably my favorite movies of the year so far: Fruitvale Station, Short Term 12, Before Midnight, Side Effects, Spring Breakers, Star Trek Into Darkness, Much Ado About Nothing, The Heat. Yes, even that movie.

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I've worked near to the Apple flagship store for years, so walking past the block-circling lines for the iPhone 5S this morning was no surprise. The noise level goes way up in the area, though. I mean, New York is always loud, but you have these lines of reporters breathlessly regaling their studios about freakin' lines.

I avoided the block for most of the day. During lunch I wandered around Midtown and snapped the photo above because it was a truly beautiful day. It's starting to get crisp in these parts, welcoming autumn, my favorite time of the year.

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Do not read The Spectacular Now. The movie is probably one million times better, though I have yet to see it. 

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I just IMDB'd the film The Spectacular Now and see that Brie Larson co-stars! Definitely going to see it now. Hopefully with a nice glass of malbec. 

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First and foremost, Motion City Soundtrack released a killer single this week called "Inside Out." I highly recommend that you listen to it and buy it. And by all means see it live because it will make you shiver with delight. Weird? I DON'T THINK SO.

P.S. The cover art is rad too!

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My new year's eve plans are SET.

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Pinterest helped me pick out my latest iPhone case. I pinned several while shopping and one of them garnered close to 100 repins, the one I'm now holding that photo above. It felt like a sign, and kind of like a vote. Now that I have a sweet case and I upgraded to iOS7, I feel like I have a brand new phone. This feeling will likely last until the new iPhones begin appearing...tomorrow.

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I think GIFs are the only thing getting me through Fantasy Football this year. I'm losing terribly and it's my singular solace. So far I've been posting a lot of cats and Seinfeld GIFs on the message boards. They are mostly sad reaction GIFs.

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I get listless sometimes without a word from you. And then 4:30 rolls around and my inbox goes from " " to (1) and for some reason 27 words are all I need to brighten up again. My productivity skyrockets.

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Last night I came home and made coconut chicken curry from scratch. It came out a bit bland, but I am going to rev up the spices next time! I suppose I write these things down here for posterity's sake. I have a serious aversion to non-professional photos of food, so you will not see any photos of my cooking projects. All I have for you are words, reader!

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Last night Jesse, myself, and a few friends went 'round to a new bar in the neighborhood. It's selling point was really the fact that it had prosecco on tap. This is the second bar this week I've seen that boasts this feature, and if this is a new trend, consider me ON BOARD.

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I think tonight I'm going on a movie date with myself, one of my favorite activities.

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As you all know, I've been cooking more. Mainly in the interest of not eating processed or pre-packaged foods. I felt really accomplished last night because I made a lemon-walnut pesto, mozerella-stuffed meatballs, and zucchini fries. This is me tooting my own horn because I was all by myself at the time and just did a dance in the kitchen. The invisible hula-hoop dance, of course.

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Jesse arrived late from Chicago last night and had some of the cold (phenomenal) dinner, and then we watched Breaking Bad's latest episode. His first time, my second. What a heartbreaker. What an emotional wollop. What a show that in my eyes started out somewhat mediocre but became a brilliant bohemeth. Is the opposite trajectory happening to Mad Men? It certainly happened to Lost.

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The cold is creeping in. I love autumn, so I was extra-excited this morning to wear my suede Pour la Victoire oxfords. Not that I haven't been freezing all summer in my office's air conditioning. Jesse and I noticed we were both wearing navy shoes on the way back from happy hour this evening, too.

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I've been off my movie-going game. Good thing all the good stuff comes out in the fall, and I'm revving up. I still have to see Blue Jasmine, The Spectacular Now, In a World, and most importantly at the moment, Short Term 12. We'll see when I plan to fit this all in. It may start tonight with one of the above as I head home from work to meet up with Jesse in Brooklyn....

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I'm home now and I can tell you that we decided not to see a movie. After a nice early evening out with friends, we parked it on the couch. I didn't really like Brooklyn 99, but it's a pilot so I should give it more time. I still love The Mindy Project so much. Always. Forever.

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Oscar de la Renta, J. Mendel, Ralph Lauren Spring 14

Fashion-related musings as of late:

I'm glad to be able to miss most of the craziness that hits the city during New York Fashion Week, but now that it's over I can gaze at all the pretty things. Here are my favorite three Spring 14 looks above - Oscar de la Renta, J. Mendel, and Ralph Lauren. For maybe the first time ever my favorite collection was Ralph Lauren and my least favorite collection was Marc Jacobs. Anybody want to link me to their favorite looks?

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In the interest of staring at pretty things I can't afford, I started a board on Pinterest called "My Fantasy Life." There are things I simply cannot do in life: dye my hair lavender, borrow designer couture, get invited to events in which to wear expensive gowns, etc. So I pin things on this board and add a little narrative to each pin ("I'd wear this to the BAFTAS, to present the best actor award to Colin Firth."). Call me delusional, I probably am.

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I usually wear a classic red lipstick...like, everyday. But I think for fall, I'm looking for a deep, dark red. Any suggestions? The Tarte Matte Lipsurgence crayon in Fiery is my current favorite classic red, by the way.

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I'm a serious fan of the Brooklyn jewelry company Catbird, and there's been this recent trend for midi/knuckle rings (those rings you wear between your first and second knuckle instead of at the bottom of your finger). Since Catbird is a little out of my price range just to try something trendy, I decided to buy some cute not-real-precious-metal midi rings and they're okay so far. I've never worn much jewelry (everything I usually wear are gifts from my husband, nothing I picked out). But I may upgrade to some Catbird midi rings in the near future...

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You discover a new blog that you instantly love for its layout and style and voice and then you click the 'about' button and realize that the woman who writes and designs the blog works for the same company as you. You do a quick search and figure out her last name. You open your company's global address book and type in her name and find out that she works two floors below you in a completely different department. Hey oh!

That was me last week. My eyes are peeled for the blogger on the elevators.

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THIS WOMAN AND HER PARIS APARTMENT. And her life, in general. Le sigh, am I right?

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One final, non-fashion related anecdote --I think I got that good news. I think I got The Call.

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Yesterday I participated in an excercise called 10on10 on Tumblr, in which you post 10 random photos throughout your day - the 10th day of the month. It's a fun little documentation effort, and it's interesting to go back to other 10ths of past years. I saw that I've only participated four times before, and my first one was also a September 10th. I think it's one of those dates that I remember because I always know what date it leads to -- today.

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Last night was a great, inventive double date night! My mister gets all the credit for coming up with the idea: men cook, women relax. So simple, so brilliant! Kelly and I were able to rest, drink wine, hang out with Riggins the dog, and only ever so often yell answers to kitchen questions. We even installed some technology, and as we plugged in USBs and HDMIs we felt like this was the best traditional role reversal night ever.

The men were beyond successful: dinner was delicious. It was four-star, decadent, and fulfilling.

'By golly, boys, you might be better cooks than us. Geez Louise, you may have to do this more often!'

And the pride on their faces shined all night.

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P.S. My dessert was a hit, too!

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I'm nearly done with Junot Díaz's This is How You Lose Her and it's just wonderful and different. It makes me think in Spanish more and now I know I have to check out The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I have a few other books recommended and checked out of my friends' libraries. But, I'm always open to suggestions. Read anything good lately?

Art by Ekaterina Panikanova

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Notes from today so far:

My mother flew to Panama this week and we've been able to communicate via an iPhone application that texts over WiFi. Previously we've always had to use my dad as a go-between (if he wasn't with her). I'd call Dad and ask how Mom is doing and he'd update her on me on their next scheduled call. I'm glad I'm still able to be grateful for new technologies; sometimes it feels like the world is moving too fast to appreciate these relatively minor kind of advances, and some new technologies can be intimidating or scary.

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Mindy Kaling's book gave me a piece of a advice, and now I'm taking it. It's going pretty well, but end-results are still pending. Stay tuned.

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Last night I cooked not one, not two, but THREE Pinterest-found recipes. The execution went well, and two out of three had superb results. The third recipe will be tasted tonight and shall determine whether my success in the kitchen was all-encompassing.

Please note: any time I can cook without resulting in a Jessica Thinks She Can Cook installment is successful to ME. Fully proud of my growing abilities in the kitchen.

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A double date imminent for this evening: the boys will cook, the ladies will drink wine, and we'll see if my dessert turns out. To be honest, living without much sugar has made me only sweeter.

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A lot of my friends are getting sweet, sweet news lately. Is it my turn yet?

 

 

 

Photo by Tim Walker

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Below, a digest of my weekend.

The husband delighted me with tickets to the Red Sox/Yankees game on Friday. We rejoiced through most of the game and became friends with the only Sox fans sitting nearby--a man wearing a Nomar Garciaparra shirt and his young Sox-jersey clad son. We watched the father lean over to explain certain plays to the boy, and the boy learning to high-five with his baseball glove on.

It's the second time I was able to witness a Red Sox grand slam live - a most welcome sight at Yankees Stadium.

And now a comparison: this is a photo of me when we first arrived at the ballpark, excited to be at a game. Then there is a photo of Jesse and I (taken by the Garciaparra fan) after the game. When I'm over-excited, my smile shrinks my eyes to oblivion. Or perhaps it was all the beer?

When we arrived back in Brooklyn flush with pride (and beer) for our team, not even subway-replacing hellish shuttle buses could deplete our energy. We decided to walk home through the streets of Brooklyn. This photo encapsulates how great the scenic route on a Friday night in Brooklyn can be:

Saturday I traversed Brooklyn in the shuttles to meet up with friends, and because it was a terrible experience, I'd rather not even think about it again nor discuss it here.

But my friends are another story. I laughed so much throughout the day, usually with a glass of wine in hand. At one point we gathered at my friend Amber's lovely home and discussed new jobs and tree snakes and eyebrow shaping.

These two recently began new positions and they were comparing their respective acclimations here:

Then we went to a bar, and the ensuing fun and BFF'ing can be summarized in the quietest moment of the night:

I crawled into bed with a smile, fielded a call from a girlfriend with a boy problem, handed off sage advice I hope, and texted Jesse goodnight since he was still out with all my girls' better halves. This strategy works well; when we tell the guys we're having a ladies night, suddenly a dudes night is scheduled.

Today was an (at first) exciting day of football. However, my fantasy teams both languished and the Patriots were not looking too good. In other news, I re-shaped my eyebrows, or, rather attempted to re-shape my eyebrows and let's all hope for the best.

This week I hope for good news on all angles and a quieter week at work.

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Scenario 1: Write, write, write, save draft.

Scenario 2: Write, write, write, edit, hover over publish button, delete.

Scenario 3: Read, read, read the archives. Never post.

Shall I harken back to my cryptic style that was adhered to more because I telegraphed from a pocket phone than any need to be secretive? Yet I do like being economical with my words, and I like secrets.

So, today? They happen in three. Three, two, one -- missiles readied and aimed. Friends like Jiscilla help to dull the barrage. Change has been hitting in waves for all around; I forecast a monsoon rushing towards me.