about love at first sight

My first week in Manhattan went like this: When I saw the Chrysler building for the first time, I felt nothing. When I heard jazz musicians playing in Central Park, I wasn't into it. And the Roman wing of the MET bored me to tears. The Museum of Natural History was so museumy. Everything felt so untouchable behind those glass cases.

I panicked when I did not love the city instantly.

But with each month I live here, I become more invested in the city. I've been back to the MET's Roman wing and adored it. I got a membership to the Museum of Natural History after visiting it twice. We go every two weeks. And walking everywhere has actually had a slowing effect on my life that has been wonderful. Also I'm making friends!

This isn't the first time I've had to give some time in order to fall in love. It took me a whole year to realize Rob is hilarious which led me to fall in love with him. And look at us now! I'm still sticking around for his next joke.

Motherhood was the same. I remember panicking when I didn't have this crazy bonding experience with Ella and the boys when they were first born.  I envy mothers who have that instantly. It took me months of bonding. Now I don't know what I would do with out those little guys. Oh yeah, not get woken up at 5:30am.

I met a woman the other day who had lived in San Francisco for 25 years. We reminisced about the Ferry Building and Acme Bread. But then she leaned into me and said in almost a whisper, "You want to know something? You'll never go back. You'll go back of course, but you can never live there again." Such a shocking thing to say to me, but the more I live here, the more I think she might be right.  I'm getting spoiled by having access to the best of the best. Some of it's out of reach ($35,000 private elementary schools for example), but most of it I can enjoy at some level (Spanish Immersion in the public schools).

And with that, I leave this post with a clip from one of NYC's biggest fan's: Woody Allen. The first 3 minutes of the movie Manhattan captures the feelings many New Yorkers have with this place. I hope someday, I too can claim this city as mine.

about Zabar's

Today we ate lunch at an Upper Westside institution: Zabar's.  This grocery store has been here for over 70 years and it's around 12 blocks from my house and it's mentioned in just about every New York sitcom/movie.  When I spot places like this, I note it for when guests come to town.  I want them to try it all: A baguette, smoked salmon, bagels, something from the cheese counter, and for dessert: Zabar's cinnamon rugelach.  Then walk to my very own Riverside Park for a picnic.  I'm beginning to think of that park as my own vs Central Park. That's another post. 
Next to the grocery store, they have a small deli with tables to eat lunch. Space was tight so I was glad I didn't have my stroller with me. While we ate our grilled cheese sandwiches (which were amazing) and lentil soup, I got a sense of community inside the place. Not that I was apart of it, it was my first time there. But I could tell people were interested in what each other were saying without them joining in on their conversations.  The mom across from me feeding her kid tuna salad looked familiar.  I witnessed old friends being reunited on a whim. The workers were really nice with a NYC edge.  
It's right next to a subway entrance so the pace of the restaurant ebbed and flowed with the coming and goings of the subway lines. I loved lunch and can't wait to go back to explore the grocery store. I can't imagine anything but great things. 
Here's a picture of Owen eating his soup in the corner alone. He preferred it that way. When he saw me take his picture he shouted, "You're ruining my soup, Mom!" It's the only picture I took inside the restaurant. 

about resilience

If the biggest complaint I have right now is pushing the boys 13 blocks to a gym so I can train for my half marathon indoors . . . If that's really my biggest complaint, then my life must be going pretty well. I could always take a cab. Or, even better, drop out of the race!  Here's Oscar at the park today. Tempeture: 17 degrees. As we were walking home, Owen requested that the makers bring us lunch. "You mean get food delivered right here?" Yes! "But how would they find us?" umm, Tell them we are between the dogs and the fence? Tempting.

mystery solved

She had the stomach flu. Now Owen and I have it. It reminds me of morning sickness. I can't even go into the kitchen. What's worse is that I worked out with a personal trainer yesterday. And I can't walk today. All I want to do is drink a ton of water to make my muscles to feel better, but I keep throwing up. I've worked out before so I'm not a stranger to muscle soreness. But this is worse than I've ever felt it. Perhaps it's the dehydration. Ella's lasted 24 hrs so I can't wait to get through this. Boowho. Here's a completely unrelated picture I found on my computer:

NYC makes sick days easier

I adore that just about every restaurant in the city delivers. To make things even easier, I order everything without talking to anyone or giving out my credit card info using an app called SeamlessWeb. It stores all my info and I just tap until I have everything I want to eat. And it includes a tip. Today I used SeamlessWeb to order bagels, chicken soup, and a Gatorade for my sick Ella Bean. I had to pick her up early from school because the nurse left me a message: She had a mild stomachache!!! I rushed over with the boys, signed her out, and caught a cab.  On the ride home, I ordered lunch. By the time we got in our door, took off our jackets, our food arrived 10 minutes later. The soup was hot, the gatorade cold. Ella ate a little bit and fell asleep for the rest of the day. I don't know what's up. She feels a little hot. Five years into motherhood and I still don't own a thermometer.

nyc is teaching me how to live a more beautiful, albeit fake, life

I was flattered when I got 2 emails from my friends today because both complimented the photos on my blog. They both wanted to know what apps I was using to make the pictures look cool. Perfect timing because I've been feeling like a hack for using apps so my photos look like they were taken with a Holga camera. Or Polaroid Instant film. Or some 1950's vintage camera. I wish I could take photos without working them to death with a digital pre-made filter.  But for now I like the ease of the photo apps and that's that. I use a mix of four photo apps: Camerabag, Infinicam, Hipstamatic, and NightCamera.  NightCamera is great because it has a timer option (see my Christmas photo) and a rapid fire option (see Owen 25 times). NightCamera has horrible reviews, but I think it's great. When the kids are at the park, I play with the different filters until I find one that I like best. When the filter is found and I like the photo, it's back to hitting refresh refresh refresh on Facebook.
Below is a photo that I took last Friday.  I used NightCamera to take all 25 shots, then used a filter from Infinicam called Document. After the 16th picture was shot, I started running out of ideas. So I made a monkey face. Then the sad clown face shows up for a while. Finally I ended it strong by smiling at an unknown object high in the sky! Always a good option.

NYC taught me not to be fooled

The only way to salvage a day filled with freezing rain is to go to Le Pain Quotidien, a cafe that is trying desperately not to look like a chain restaurant. There are 27 in NYC, 12 in CA, and even 3 in Kuwait. I could go on and on listing its random locations. Le Pain is obviously a chain when you look at the numbers. But it fooled me because it doesn't feel chainy. It's known for fresh breads and a communal table. The table is a gorgeous solid piece that splits the restaurant right down the middle. Today my kids and I shared the table with a woman drinking tea, two friends, and some other people at the far end. I usually order a waffle because it's fat sugar crystals make me happy. Today, however, I ate a carrot and raisin muffin. Loved. The kids ordered hot chocolate and shared a huge Manhattan chocolate chip cookie. What's special is the waiter presents them with steamed milk and a little pot of chocolate that they stir in themselves. They drink it up with their spoons and call it chocolate soup.  So because of all of its goodness I can overlook that it tricked me into thinking it was one of a kind the first 3 times I ate there. I remember thinking I was so lucky to have it 2 blocks from my house.  The good news is it won't be long before you are just as lucky as I am and a Le Pain is built in your town. Below is a picture of the boys spinning around the Please Wait to Be Seated sign.