Sue Me on Wheels

I saw a great many interesting things while wandering the streets of middle-of-nowhere Brooklyn with my best friend, Clare, trying to help her find a teaching position here. None of them were more amusing than this:

...A lawyer's office on wheels! It reminds me of the temple on wheels, which I wrote about way back when I first started this blog.

It just proves my thesis that you can get ANYTHING delivered to you in New York. Boo yah.

Need to Whack Somebody?

Couch for sale -- cheap! Need a babysitter for Friday nights? Housekeeper for hire! No? Well, do you need to whack somebody?? We can help!

I found this rather amusing and simultaneously disturbing flyer posted in my neighborhood the other night. I had to check it out, if only to see if it was a serious ad and I'm here to report that it did not seem to be tongue-in-cheek. Sorry the contact info is a bit fuzzy ;)

What's the strangest flyer you've ever seen?

This is how you remind me that we're soulmates, Dunkin' Donuts

It's things like this that make me and Dunkin' Donuts soulmates:

How does DD know that my favorite bad mood killer is a fabulous medium iced coffee with cream and sugar? How?!?

Blue Balls

New York City is, perhaps, the only place on earth where you can spot a pair of blue balls as big as...well, as big as my first car (don't believe me? here's a picture of my first car):

Yes, those are, in fact, enormous blueberries just sitting in Greeley Square Park. Why, you ask? Oh, just to promote the MONSTROUS blueberry juice bottle across the street:

This, my friends, is a prime example of EXACTLY why I started this blog in the first place -- pretty much every day, I'm walking around, minding my own business, running to the train station or the post office or some other mundane task, and BAM! Some weird shit pops up in a totally unexpected place like the park across from our apartment.

I knew I needed to find a place to share all the weird shit that I come across every day, or my husband would go totally bonkers with all the pictures I texted him. So...voila! A blog! And that's how my little blogger self was born, two short years ago. Hard to believe that in two years, I've gone from my little startup "I'm not sure I can pull this off" blog to writing for the huge audience that is Weddingbee and now running several smaller blogs myself!

That's how it is in New York, though...you always have to expect the unexpected here. That's kinda how my life in general is, too. Maybe that's why New York and I get along so well -- we both have a fair share of drama in our lives.

Okay, I have to sign off now because I'm feeling awkwardly like Carrie Bradshaw typing away with my metaphors and attempts at being deep about New York and life. And to think, I started off this post just trying to make a dirty joke about blue balls.

Play Me, I'm Yours!

Has anyone noticed that around the city for the past couple of weeks there have been random pianos just sitting out in the middle of parks and plazas with big signs on them reading, "Play me, I'm yours!"?

That one above is one of the pianos nearest to us, just a few blocks away in Greeley Square. As it turns out, the pianos are an art installation by Luke Jerram called (betcha can't guess!) Play Me, I'm Yours.

The idea is that there are 60 pianos spread throughout the city, open to anyone who wants to play them. Performers I've seen range from the amateur teenage tourist tickled at the idea of performing for an impromptu crowd to my professional accompianist friend who has made it her mission to play on as many of these pianos as she can (so far, she's at 21 pianos!).

I guess the artwork's intent is to play with the concept of ownership of public space and engage strangers in an artistic interaction that they might otherwise miss out on. Personally, I just think it's a blast to be walking through my neighborhood and come across strains of ragtime, pop music, or some Bach, depending on what fancy strikes and which random performer takes the stage.

Today is the last day to see the pianos and the performers, so make sure to stop and say hi if you see one. I could totally get behind these pianos being a permanent thing, I've really enjoyed them being here. Though I've never been the biggest art buff, I love all of the large-scale art installations that New York has to offer -- I just wrote about the subway station instrument, for one, not to mention the famous Gates project, the New York City waterfalls, and so many more.

What art installation has come into your life and did you like the experience?

Happy Birthday, America!

Just for you, I did this:

A big shout-out goes to the Founding Fathers, who all risked their own lives, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness so that we might have those rights today. Thanks, dudes.

"New York Style" Belts

Ever wondered what a "New York Style" belt would look like?

Me, too. They just look like normal, everyday belts to me! I ran across this sign at a street fair last week and had to share. I guess the price must be what's New York Style ;)

Overheard in New York: Garment District Style

Yesterday, as I was walking home through my neighborhood, I heard two tourists loudly wondering where they should stand to wait for the bus.

"We can't wait here!" one of them exclaimed, "The sign says 'no standing'!"

One of my new favorite "overheard in New York" moments. Have you ever heard tourists say something silly in your town?

How Apt, My Dear...

I came across this sign while on my way to a rehearsal in the Equity building the other day:

What does it say that on one floor there are two talent agencies, two psychologists, and the National Eating Disorder Association?

Just a little dose of a sad showbiz reality with a touch of irony added in.

A Manhattan-Style Memorial Day "Cookout" for Two

You'll have to pardon the photo overload that this post is going to be, but the absolutely incredible food we ate yesterday caused my camera to start snap snap snapping away!

Besides bragging about how good my Food Network recipe-finding skills are, I wanted this post to be another one of those "this is how different it is to live in Manhattan than anywhere else" posts. It seems like nearly everyone else in the entire country was either at a family picnic or the beach yesterday, which makes our little "cookout" that much more of an oddity, I guess.

You see, we grilled...

Granted, it was on a 14-inch-wide hibachi grill with easy-lite charcoal and on a balcony 23 stories above 6th Avenue, but we grilled. And, as always, my husband made goofy faces.

But he did grill our burgers to perfection the very first time he ever grilled anything! He was like a man discovering fire for the first time. I think I may have created a grilling monster ;)

Meanwhile, I was inside baking our garlic french fries (check out this super easy recipe here for a side dish that is next to godliness), slicing up my homemade bread, and picking lettuce leaves from my AeroGarden. When everything combined on our gorgeous new black (wedding gift) dishes, it looked incredible, if I do say so myself:

I'm not usually really a foodie, but damn, I couldn't resist snapping some up-close shots of those fries.

And the burger...ugh, I'm getting hungry again just writing this...

Dan paired his meal with some high-class fruit punch and a smile:

I paired mine with some sun tea I had brewed earlier and could barely restrain myself from digging in long enough to let Dan take this picture.

So that, my friends, is how us New Yorkers (or at least, my little New Yorker family!) celebrate what seems to be National Cookout Weekend.

On a more sombre note, a big, heartfelt thank you to all of the men and women and their families who have sacrificed their lives, their health, or their security to defend us and our right to grill on our balcony, if we so desire. This year, I have a brother in the Marines and it always hits a little closer to home when your own family is involved, right?

How did you celebrate Memorial Day?