There to celebrate Daniel's graduation from Ridgefield High School, we had another great weekend at Casa de Bernardis. The weather was gorgeous--no humidity, warm temps--and perfect for the bonfire/BBQ on Saturday night, plus the celebratory dinner on Sunday. Amidst all of the eating and partying, Mark and I had a chance to hit up the driving range near Ramsey, where I realized just how hard it is to hit a golf ball both far and in a straight line (I'm working on that!). We also played bocce ball (a sport I fare much better at than golf), went on a great run with Dewey, and just enjoyed the company of family--Michael, Molly, Joe, Stella, Anna, and our 'rents were there, so it was a bit of a reunion! Congrats to the grad, off to Lynchburg this fall!

Philly's Finest

Congrats to Bec, champion of the 2007 Philadelphia Triathlon! With a blazing 35:32 10K, she literally outran the competition, which included the winner of last month's Escape to Alcatraz triathlon.

Read more about the race (including a shout out to the Mount!) here.

I'm digging my new office...

One of my favorite streets in the West Village has always been Charles--it's just so cute and quaint and QUIET (a plus, since my street is just the opposite). A few weeks back, I happened upon the makings of MoJo's, a new coffee shop in what used to house a dingy old dry cleaner. I made a note to revisit it, so last week I ventured in. I was instantly smitten! The tiny tables are made from tree trunks, there's exposed brick on one wall and a cool wooden paneling on the other. The huge front windows allow for tons of light and they play fun music (Neil Young and Ray Charles were on rotation today).

It's definitely a place to be productive: This morning, I finished a 700-word profile in three hours (I think that's a record for me), plus I had an excellent cup of coffee and a celeb sighting (Maura Tierney, AKA Abby Lockhart from ER). And the constant parade of West Village mommies with their adorable babies tucked away in Bugaboos makes for plenty of excellent people watching. really, can it get any better?

A new game!

The other night, Mark brought home the best surprise ever: Travel Scrabble! It's this cute set with the pieces that lock into the board and a nice case, making it easily transportable. I'm thinking games down by the river, on the beach, on a plane, at the gym, in a bar...

Who needs jewelry and flowers? Mark definitely knows how to win me over--now I just have to convince him to play with me!

Ode to Summer Days and a workout with Bec

Even though it gets hot, sticky, and just icky sometimes, I must say that summer is the best time in NYC! Maybe it's because I am able to enjoy things more now that I have freedom, but there's just something so nice about walking outside with the sun in your face and a cool breeze wafting off the Hudson...and then of course coming in from the heat to the welcome chill of the AC!

Speaking of summertime activities, Bec and I cruised over to the 6th Street Track today. It sits on the East River, facing Williamsburg, with a a great view of uptown (I never really realized how much bend the city bends east at the top of the island!) This was actually the first time I've been so far east, so running/walking there was a great way to see a new 'hood. We passed some cute restaurants and even two bands jamming on the sidewalks (there must be some kind of music fest thing going on.) If I wasn't so exhausted from the track workout, I would have stayed and explored more! After, we stopped at the new City Bakery on 7th Ave for some fresh lemonade--we opted against the "Farmer's Style" which included heavy cream. Nothing says runner's stomach ache more than dairy after a workout.

It's so fun to run with Bec, but training with an elite athlete is no pinnick! She runs VERY hard with little rest--no wonder she's so damn fast. Maybe some of her speed will rub off on me!

Bon Voyage, Lonnie!

Lonnie is heading off the begin the next chapter of her life in San Francisco next week. But she made sure to leave DC in style (but of course!) with a lovely farewell party at Local 16 on Friday. After vowing never to board a public bus again, I braved the Washington Deluxe line so that I could make it in time (Mark drove down later on that night). All went smoothly and the get-together was fantastic. Sissy and Erik left the twins with the g-rents, so we were able to squeeze in one more night of fun before they, too, departed for the west coast.

I'll miss you SO much, Lons! But I know you'll wow 'em in San Fran!

Congrats are in order!

Hooray to my bionic (or shall I say TRI-ONIC?) sisters, who kicked major arse in the Isla Margarita, Venezuela this weekend! Karl kicked things off with a third place finish in the sprint race on Saturday, and Bec showed everyone who was boss on Sunday with a whopping 8 MINUTE victory in the ITU Pan American Cup Race. I think it's her fastest time yet!

Check out these splits:

18:59 for the 1-mile swim
1:04:58 for the 40K bike (which she did solo)
37:11 for the 10K run!

Congrats to both of them and safe travels back to NYC!

AMC (Another Martha Creation)

Last night I ventured back into the pages of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food searching for another easy-yet-delicious dinner to make for our guest, Nandita. With the help of Bec, who offered me insight, fresh herbs from their overflowing garden, and a ride out to Paramas, Jersey* (where we shopped at Trader Joe's--at suburban prices!), I decided to tackle Martha's recipes for penne with grilled chicken, grape tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella plus the orange and avocado salad. Both came out well (thanks to Mark for his fine grilling and chopping skills), and the Wassner/Heppolette parsley, oregano, rosemary, and chives added lovely flavor to the pasta dish. For dessert, I topped vanilla ice cream with mango and fresh mint. Such a fun, summery meal!

*Why were Bec and I in Paramas, my most unfavorite place in all of Jersey? I joined her on a quick trip to scout out a couch at Crap in a Bucket (as she calls it), which was a floor model and unfortunately hadn't worn well. And after we hit up Trader Joes, we put our perishables in a cooler, and stopped at the track at Teaneck High School for a workout! I did half of it (8x200 instead of Bec's 8x400). A very accomplished day all in all!

I've got beef with MePA

Living so close to the Meat Packing District, I often take for granted all of the many perks that come along with the territory. Multiple celebrity sightings. Amazing shops like Diane Von Furstenburg, Stella McCartney, Bodum, Scoop, and a plethora more. Restaurants that are small in stature but run by gastronomical giants. But there's one thing I don't love about MePa, and that would be, well, the meat.

I'm not talking about the beefy biker dudes that hang outside Hogs and Heffers, or the roided out B&T guys who troll the streets in their clingy shirts and spiky hair. Nope, I'm referring to the actual Grade-A slabs of beef that comes out of the Meat Packing plants. Most days, I avoid the onslaught of raw meat being hoisted into trucks by men wearing blood-stained white aprons simply by taking another route. But on early morning walks to the gym, or, as in the case of yesterday, a mid-day run along Washington Street, I find myself right in the thick of this ghastly scene.

So on yesterday's fateful run, I ran smack into one of the grossest things I've seen in NYC, one of those moments that makes me question why I'm not a vegetarian. It was a large bin of what meat (looked like raw bacon) being poured from a forklift into the bed of a truck. It was as though these pink, fatty strips of meat were falling from the sky. As I quickly crossed the street to avoid any kind of soaking from this rain storm of meat, I had to wonder: Where was this rejected meat going? Let's hope not to a restaurant near us!

Chuck goes on a blind date, is featured in Washington Post Magazine

Check it out! Our very own Chuck McGarr is featured in the Washington Post Magazine's Date Lab, which chronicles a recent blind date with a fellow Washingtonian consultant. Chuck comes off as a gem; the girl not so much. By describing Chuck as "handsome in a generic kind of way," she sounds like "a bee-yatch in snobby kind of way." Good thing the date didn't work out--I expect nothing but the finest for Chuck!

It's a fun read, nevertheless. Check it out!

Congrats, Frank & Regina!

Wedding Recap: Food, glorious Food!

We had the best time at Frank & Regina's wedding yesterday. It was our first Long Island wedding, and I hope it's not the last--they sure know how to have a good time out east! The ceremony was in a beautiful, spacious church in downtown Huntington. Regina glowed in a beaded halter gown with a full skirt and cathedral-length train, looking absolutely regal with an Audrey Hepburn-inspired updo. The bridesmaids added a splash of color to the gloomy afternoon with their hot pink satin dresses; the color was matched the flowers (gerber daisies and roses) and the groomsmens' ties. Later on, we made our way to the Woodbury Country Club where guests indulged in an extravagant cocktail hour buffet (I skipped the various stations to save up for dinner). We moved into the elegantly-appointed ballroom for a five-hour(!) reception complete with a Frank Sinatra-esque crooner (if you closed your eyes while he was singing, you'd think you were hearing the real deal) and a hyper emcee who kept the tunes spinning until 1:00 a.m.! I made sure to take a few breaks from the dance floor to eat (crabcake appetizer followed by the entree: I chose salmon with dill sauce, Mark got the steak, but there was also a choice of chicken marsala, or vegetarian) and sample the delectable dessert bar (various pies, tiramisu, cakes, and cookies, plus a bevy of sweet drinks to sample--I tried Irish Coffee). And then there was the wedding cake, which looked delicious (I missed my chance to taste it because I was too busy diving in to the other desserts!).

I feel about ten pounds heavier today, but it was totally worth it! Anyone out there going to another LI wedding anytime soon? I'll gladly be your date!

More footage of the twins!

Ridgefield Tri Pics

Thanks to Bubba for taking these pics!

Twin Time!

Lucia and Sophia are beyond adorable (check out the video and be prepared to smile!). I had the best time playing with them, and I miss them already! It was so nice to see Sissy and stay in the comfort of Uncle Joe and Stella's place for the past two nights--just like old times!

Post-Race Celebration

Later on last night, we celebrated our race finishes alongside Leezie and Speed with a little beer pong action at Biddy Early's (yep, Beer Pong!). And guess what? Leezie is GOOD! I think she's found her calling! She and Speed crushed Mark and I--which is very sad considering all of that practice we got at the Mount and beyond! But we chalked the loss up to "tired arms" after all of that swimming.

We then walked over in the pouring rain to our favorite downtown movie theatre and saw Knocked Up. SO funny. Highly recommend!

On the road again

The best part about this freelancing writing career? It's totally mobile! I'm taking my job on the road this morning and heading down to G-burg for a much overdue visit with Sissy, Sophie, and Lucy, who are there for the next two weeks. I can't wait to see them.

I have deadlines for three major magazines this week, so this trip won't be all play. But it might be hard to break myself away from the twins to get my stories done. Hopefully, they'll take a few naps so I can find time to "punch the keys" (as Mark would say).

Speaking of Mark, I wanted to give him a big shout out for his awesome performance at the Ridgefield Tri over the weekend! The two of us competed in the town's first-ever triathlon yesterday. And despite our worries about the hilly course, we both had good races. After a superquick swim, Mark stayed strong on the 15-mile rolling ride and 3.5 UPHILL run. I remained fairly consistent on all three legs and finished as the second woman overall/first under 40. Big surprise there! The "real" competitors did not turn out for this one, but they should have: Prizes included Brooks running shoes, Rudy Project helmets and sunglasses, and Cannondale hats (which I won along with a medal). Maybe next year Karl and Bec will compete and we can go 1-2-3!

The town was so supportive of all of the competitors--the best part of the race was a U-Turn on Main Street, with many Ridgefield residents lining the streets and cheering their hearts out (I felt like I was in a parade!). Some families set up their own water stands in front of their houses along the course. There wasn't a stretch longer than 400 meters where there wasn't someone cheering you on. Many thanks to the town of Ridgefield for turning out for this very well done event, and to Bubba and Mario for providing a delicious pre-race meal and a very comfortable night's sleep!

Sightings!

Now that I've had a bit of time to stroll around the town (or, more so my neighborhood), I've had three pretty good celebrity sightings this week. First off was Will Arnett (of Arrested Development) in the Aspirin aisle of Rite Aid. Later on in the afternoon, I spotted Ron Livingston (Jack Berger of Sex and the City!!!) crossing Bleecker on Christopher. He happens to be in a play right up the street, so that one wasn't much of a shocker. But the biggest celeb sighting I've had in a while had to have been Heidi Klum, her mom, AND all three of her kids dining al fresco at Malatesta--the restaurant that's a stone's throw away from our place. If I were the papparazzi, I'd have a total money shot--especially because the kids were so visible. Hmm, maybe I should call Us Weekly?

Freelancing and Freewheeling

Week one of my new "career" is nearly wrapped up, and I must admit, I'm feeling pretty good about it! For those of you who don't know, I recently left my post at CosmoGIRL! to pursue a freelance writing career. It all stemmed from some projects which presented themself a month or so ago that made me realize that I could possibly work for myself and write fulltime. I have the discipline (I think!) and the contacts to make it work if I really, really, really try hard. The best part about it is that I'm getting a little bit of "me" time to do some things I just haven't had time to do plus enjoy the fabulous summer weather. So far, so good!

That said, if any of you have story ideas for me, send them along! I have a bunch of assignments lined up, but I also need to become a pitching machine and just fire off as many ideas to as many mags as possible. So let me know if something has struck your fancy lately and you'd like to read more about it. I just might be the person to write that story!

Happy Birthday Andy!

Just wanted to wish my fave cousin (okay, they are all my favorites!) a very happy birthday. I'm sure he's celebrating in style in Jackson. Counting the days down to Belize!

Pics from the wknd!

Also available here:

Mother's Birthday and Memorial Day 2007

Weekend Wonderful

We spent a lovely Memorial Day weekend in the DC area, first surprising Mother for her birthday. M, D, and I (mark was golfing with chuck) hit DC to see "Once", a PHENOMENAL movie at the E Street Theatre and then grabbing dinner at Matchbox, one of my favorite DC Pizza Places in Chinatown. The next days were mostly spent with Ella, Philip III, and Aleta! We hit up the University Towers Pool, made a go at a pinnick in Kemp Mill Park before a threatening thunderstorm turned us around, and then went up to the Farm, where Uncle Joe and Stella were, on Monday. I introduced Ella to one of my favorite childhood past times: unturning stones and bricks around the Farm and looking for creepy crawlers. In total, we found about five earth worms, 10 potato bugs, 1 caterpillar, and some other bugs that only Ella (who doesn't really know any better) or I (who, as many of you know, I have a weird fascination with bugs) would touch.

Check out that face!
Philip III is now 7 mos old and is quite the cutie! He is still as calm as he was as a newborn, but now he's learned some new noises (motorboat sounds and something that sounds like "ma ma"). Most notably, he has an adorable smile! I tried to capture it here in a shot with Ella...not entirely successful.

Trying to be FIERCE!

All of those hours spent watching America's Next Top Model paid off this morning at our big photo shoot at Chelsea Piers! Okay, okay, maybe Tyra's not going to tell me I'm still in the running to be ANTM, and "noted" fashion photographer Nigel Barker won't be snapping away anytime soon, but I did work my my unphotogenic-self for the camera! This is all part of a story for Metro Sports Magazine (given out fa free in most gyms in the tri-state area) which is featuring l in its July issue local triathletes of varying levels, including pros (Bec), elite age-groupers (Karl), and slow pokes (me).

I stole this picture from Karl because I didn't take my camera out of my backpack this morning. Oops. We'll just have to see what kind of shots the photog got this morning as we were running, stretching, swimming,
and spinning! Karl was definitely the star of the show and looked every bit the elite with her fancy Full Throttle "kit" and her icy game face!

A funny note: At one point, the photographer asked the group--about 10 of us in all-- to dive in the pool from where we were lined up on the deck. When he said "go", everyone dove in--except for Karl and I! Without discussing it, we both made the decision to skip the dive--and the potential wallop in the face or other possible impact. Looks like all of mother's warnings about not doing anything that would break our neck are drilled into us...good.

Tory Burch is doing Lance some good! I have to think the designer--and current Armstrong paramour--is behind this latest dapper look. Sheryl may have given him the cool factor, but Tory's got Lance looking hotter than ever! (Especially love the aviator shades!)

California Dreamin'

My friend (and Hopkins MA in Nonfiction Writing classmate) sent along these gorgeous pics taken rencently at La Jolla Shores beach. That's her 16-month-old son, Michael. Looking at these pictures makes me want to pack up and ship out to San Diego--Mark, are you listening? (Did I mention BDO is hiring in their SD office?!)

Wedding Video

Here's a quick video from Kevin and Sara's wedding. If you want to see more, let me know!

Happy Mum's Day!

We had a lovely day with our lovely mum today. Mark and I made it back from WB with plenty of day left to enjoy. He headed off to New Orleans for work; I met up with Muthe, in just for the day, and Leezie and then Karl and Bec joined us a little later on for a little gift-opening. Then we all strolled to the East Village, where Leezie and Karl had mani/pedi's at Pritti while M, Bec, and I did a little window shopping. After we took advantage of the gorgeous sunshine to take a few pics. It was so great to be able to spend the day with our amazing mom! More pics in the album!

mother's day

Sara & Kevin's Wedding

Whelley's wedding

We hit up the WB (that's Wilkes Barre, PA) this weekend for the wedding of Kevin Whelley and Sara Maisano. It was a beautiful wedding and we had such a great time. Lots of pictures in the album above, and I've got some video to show, too.

Six months from today, we'll be here...

Just booked our hotel room (make that our cabana) in Ambergris Caye for Julie and Andy's wedding! The El Pescador, where the wedding will take place, is booked so Mark and I will be bunking next door at the Capricorn Resort. Looks just as nice and boasts the best food on Belize! I know it's silly to get excited for something that's so far away, but this is going to be a very fun time for our family. I can't wait.

On a totally separate note, I forgot to mention an A List siting Mark, Leezie, and I had on Sunday. While standing outside of Leezie's gate on 12th street, I notice a stunning--albeit schlumpily dressed--woman pushing a stroller with the tiniest sleeping baby inside. I took more notice of the baby because she was so small. After she passed, Mark said, "That was Amanda Peet!" The baby? Her two-month-old daughter, Pen.

Laying Eggs

There's a lot going on in my world these days, so sometimes I forget that I'm supposed to be "in training" for the NYC triathlon. Unlike Karl and Bec, I do not make early-morning swimming or cycling sessions part of my week and instead toil away at the gym, exhausted, late at night after work. I know I'm not doing exactly what is necessary to get into racing shape, but I do as much as I have time for. But after this weekend, I realize that I'm going to have to find a little more time for training, because I definitely need it!

Looking at the bright side, I did complete two "races" this weekend, which, I think is a first for me. I say races dubiously because only one was actually official--a duathlon in Ulster County, NY yesterday. The other was the Chelsea Piers Mile, which I esentially stumbled upon on Friday night. Erroneously told that this was going to be a "major" event, I convinced Bec, still ailing from her Buenos Aires mystery bug, and Mark to join me at the gym to watch the races go down. I actually thought there were going to be pros there and the track dork inside of me wnated to check it out. When we got there, all we saw were a bunch of men running around the banked 200m track. And these weren't professionals--they were regular gym-goers. I figured we missed the big race and was all set to hit the treadmill when next thing I know, I'm getting pulled into the women's field, which consisted of two other women and myself. I'd eaten only a bialy and some chips throughout the day and hadn't stretched a muscle. Then, with a bad start, I pulled the caboose from the gun (er, wave of the hand), and watched as the two girls in front--one a pro triathlete, the other just a girl in very good shape--battle it out. I figured I'd just try not to get lapped and go for sub-7 minutes. When I finished the six-and-a-quarter laps, I checked my watch: 6:22. Nothing to write home about, but better than I thought I could do on little sustenance and absolutely no preparation. By default, I made the podium and was promised some sort of prize later in the week. Not bad.

About 48 hours later, I found myself at another starting line; this time for the 2-mile run, 14-mile bike, and 2-mile duathlon. I debated whether to do this all weekend, because I knew I wasn't ready. But how hard could it be? Answer: Extremely. Two miles of running may be doable, but bike ride really did me in. Actually, it was a very steep, long hill that did me in. To quote a fellow racer, there was an egg on that hill, and I laid it. Ugh.

As I predicted, Karl beat me by a full leg (she was finishing her run when I was just starting), and did us all proud by finishing around 5th or 6th.

Today, a bit beleagured but ready to face the week, I'm motivated to up my training so I actually can finish a race without feeling like I have the speed of a 90-year-old. Let's just see if I can find the time!