angie's family visits: day 2

I took Friday off work and we had such a fun day. We were sooo lucky it didn't rain Friday or Saturday, although it was a bit chilly! We slept in, had hot chocolate, walked through Bryant Park and the New York Public Library, went to the top of the Empire State Building, ate delicious pizza at Keste, walked through the village and Washington Square Park, and walked through Little Italy and Chinatown (which we forgot to take pictures of). In the evening we saw South Pacific at Lincoln Center, and caught a peek of the temple.

In many of the pictures I am holding the big camera. However, having the camera in my hands doesn't necessarily mean I was focused on taking really great pictures, or many pictures at all. And so, contrary to my previous hints of great photos to come, I took very few pictures during my family's visit. But it's just because I was too busy having a good time to think about taking photos. Is that such a crime? I think not.

Bryant Park:

New York Public Library:



the green spots on my pictures are from my UV filter which I am too lazy to take off in low-light settings. please ignore it. thank you.



the leaves are juuuuust starting to change.






Keste:



Washington Square Park:





Lincoln Center:

the tyra show

We had the most... interesting and fun experience at the Tyra Banks show this week. Casey got us tickets and it was so fun and crazy!

I was mostly surprised by how fake it was. After getting us all seated on the set (front row!!), they filmed the audience doing different reactions. They told us our reactions could be inserted into multiple shows over the whole season.

"Okay, now you're surprised. Ready, NOW."
And they filmed us being surprised for a few seconds, then,
"Now you're really excited, pretend Tyra just walked in, stand up and go crazy!"
"Okay, now everyone nod like you agree with something that was just said."
"Now shake your heads no."
"Okay, bigger head shake, like you really disagree."

It was so odd. Finally Tyra came out and acted like a diva with her tiny waist and huge eyes and wig (probably). We acted ultra interested and surprised and delighted and whatever else they wanted us to be for the camera. It was kind of tiring! But the whole thing was just such an experience. You know?

Afterward we went to Shake Shack. Nothing like a Shackburger, I tell ya. Every time I eat there I am again surprised by how good it is and realize again that it is actually not as overrated as I sometimes assume. All in all, it was such a fun afternoon!

national symphony orchestra at the capitol

The National Symphony Orchestra played a free Labor Day concert on the lawn in front of the Capitol on Sunday night. After a long day on our feet it sounded like the perfect way to end our day.

Right when we got there it started raining and most people left their spots and hid under the trees. We didn't have umbrellas and knew we couldn't avoid getting wet, so we walked right up near the front and got great seats! By the time the rain stopped and the crowd came back, we were completely soaked. It was chilly but fun!

The rain stopped for about an hour and the symphony orchestra played until it started again. It was so cool to hear them play the National Anthem while everyone stood and faced the flag on top of our nation's capitol with our hands over our hearts. Other highlights included when they played a few John Williams songs, including a Star Wars medley.

Then the downpour resumed, the concert was postponed, and we ran back to the hotel! We were chilled and exhausted and crawled into our warm bed very happily. It was such a great evening.

subway performers

One of the fun things about the city is the performers in the subway stations and trains. I like to snatch Klane's iPhone and take video when people perform. I wish I would've had it the other afternoon on the way home from work, there were these three black guys singing gospel music and they had the most gorgeous harmony.

I have a problem. The moment I decide to turn the camera away or not to follow them, that is the moment they do something incredible, like a backflip off the pole. Someday I'll learn. You'll enjoy these videos anyway. I'm amazed they can do stuff like this in a lurching train where many people struggle just to stand upright.

On the C train coming back from Grimaldi's in Brooklyn




On the D train on our way to Stand near Union Square

i don't know if i should be embarrassed about this...

but I'm actually pretty excited for Glee.



This is kind of embarrassing, but every time the trailers played during American Idol, I couldn't help but get chills watching their rendition of "Don't Stop Believing."



I saw another preview the other day and I have to admit I will be watching this come fall. Even if I have to do it on my laptop, so Klane doesn't have to watch it with me. It premiers mid-September. You can watch the pilot episode on Hulu.

dinner and harry potter: a saturday date

After running past Dinosaur Saturday morning, we were both craving some barbecue. We decided to try something close to home, so we went to Dallas BBQ on the Upper West Side. The food was pretty good and the portions were huge. We'd choose Dinosaur over Dallas any day though, because their barbeque is better and they have a variety of yummy sides that come with the meal. However, Dallas satisfied our craving and that is all we ask.

After dinner Klane suggested we go for a walk. That's just what I was thinking! But instead of heading east into the park, he lead me west to wander through the avenues of the UWS. I think it's such a nice area.

When we got to Broadway he lead me toward the subway station. He said he had a surprise. (Did I mention I love surprises?) We ended up at a movie theater to see The Half-Blood Prince! I've really been wanting to see this movie. I love husband. He knows me so well.

{ I have to review the movie, because I absolutely LOVED it. Klane and I agreed that there were scenes where we felt like we were watching something we'd seen before, because they did such a great job of depicting it exactly how we had imagined it in the book. Oh, I loved it. I haven't read the book for a while, but I thought they did a great job of covering the whole story. Sometimes I feel like the Harry Potter movies are a lot of random scenes patched together, or that they add unimportant stuff but leave out essential details. This one was great. A few random scenes and things changed, but not bad. I loved the humor they brought in with all the crushes and drama between the students. These kids are becoming better actors and they had some hilarious scenes. I also loved how the movie was made for the fans. They didn't try to make it accessible to people who are unfamiliar with the story. They didn't waste time explaining basic Harry Potter knowledge or catch the audience up on where they left off with the previous movie. They just jumped in and told the story as if you know all the background. I think it was a great call to do it this way, because re-capping is boring to the people who really want to see this movie: the Harry Potter fans. Plus there was so much material to cover, they couldn't waste any of the 2 1/2 hours on re-cap. I think people who haven't read the books would still be entertained, however, because it isn't too hard to follow and there was a lot of entertainment in the relationships between the students. I loved it. I want to go out and buy all the books and movies. }

philharmonic @ the park

The NY Philharmonic does a few free concerts in Central Park during the summer. I think it's so cool that 80,000 New Yorkers crowded onto the Great Lawn to hear Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 played live. What a neat experience to spread out your blanket, hang out on the lawn and enjoy classical music in such a diverse crowd of people.


Unfortunately Klane had to be at scouts and couldn't make it, but I still had lots of good company. I met up early with Kathryn and friends for seat-saving, yummy treats and chatting.


Then a little later I was joined by my cousin Ashley and her brand-new husband Matt, who were passing through town on their way back from a month-long honeymoon trip to Europe. Lots to talk about! It was so fun to catch up.



At the end they had a fireworks show! Love that! I really loved this event; I might have to bring Klane back for round two on Friday night.

the today show

Rascal Flatts performed live on the Today Show this morning, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see them for free. Especially since I transfer subway trains at the Rockefeller station anyway, so it was pretty much on my way to work! I'm not a really avid country music listener except for a couple artists that I really like. These guys are one of them. I love their music. Some of their songs actually make me cry because of the memories they bring back. (Embarrassing, right?) Klane was awesome and got up extra early to come with me.

It was so much fun! We got there just before 7:00, which is when the concert supposedly "started", and they were already playing a song. But after that first one, they didn't play again until 8:20! It was still really fun to be there, watch the show being filmed live, share our breakfast of blueberry muffins on the plaza, see some famous people, and observe all the crazy tourists with their signs scrambling to get on camera. (It's hilarious how people transform when they think they might be on TV.) The one song we were able to watch them perform was great!

Rockefeller Center at 7:00 am. Can you see the window-washer suspended up there? He looks tiny!

Cute husband who woke up at 6:30 for me. :) He's nice.

Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer chumming with the fans.

The crowd to our left suddenly started screaming and taking pictures, and we looked over thinking it might be a member of Rascal Flatts signing autographs. We could only see the back of this little short guy, and I told Klane he wasn't in the band, he was way shorter than any of the members. Then he turned around and I exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! It's Harry Potter!"

Turns out Daniel Radcliffe was a guest on the show today. He was so small in person! I swear, he couldn't have been taller than 5'5". He was really cute with the fans though, signing autographs and smiling for pictures and talking with people. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Here's a link to his interview on the show today.

And... Rascal. They're so good! We didn't bother fighting to the front of the crowd, which turned out well since they only played one song and I had to get to work shortly after. I'm so glad we went, it was such a fun way to start the day!

showdown in chinatown

The Steve Nash Foundation put on an event to benefit underpriviledged children called the Showdown in Chinatown. They get famous athletes (basketball and soccer players) to come play a soccer game. They asked Calle to be one of their sponsors and provide all the gear for the players to wear. This was a HUGE opportunity for Calle to get some awesome exposure since there was tons of news coverage and big names there. Some of the players were Steve Nash, Claudio Reyna, Thierry Henry, Tony Parker, Javier Zanetti, Adrian Mutu, Chris Bosh, Ivan Cordoba, Grant Hill, and Giovanni van Brockhurst. (I hadn't heard of Thierry Henry, but watch this video of him and you'll see why he is super famous.)

Klane is one of the founders of Calle, a fashion clothing brand centered on core street soccer, but has been less involved over the past year since he wanted to focus on school and the ad agency world for a while. He still does some things for them, like designing their blog and online store, etc. So Calle asked Klane to photograph the event and catch all the superstars in Calle gear. We even got to go to the after-party at a ritzy Manhattan night club and party with all the celebs. :) We don't drink and the party wasn't really our thing, but it was fun to be there and see it all. Since Tony Parker was involved we hoped to see Eva Longoria (his wife), but she wasn't there.

Steve Nash / Thierry Henry sporting Calle at the hotel


Grant Hill being interviewed pregame


Tony Parker holding a Primero / Grant Hill wearing the pigeon



Thierry Henry signing autographs


The players sported the Via shorts and the Diego shirt. Tony Parker even played in the Rilo shoes, which were just released.


Tony Parker


probably someone famous, I don't know :)


Look how tall Chris Bosh is next to everyone! He looked funny playing soccer and wasn't that good. :)


Klane and I at the after-party


they auctioned this Calle shirt for like $700!


Nash in the crowd


Free drinks (we chose the Vitamin Water) / Husdon Terrace (the night club)