this could become a tradition

Sunday afternoons in the park. Good friends, yummy food, lots of laughs.

Robby and Kelsey

Carly and Casey: like peanut butter & jelly

Lindsay doing her thang. We're photo buddies, you might say.

a little frisbee

Klane and Tommy

a little bocce ball

Pat and Lindsay

I think this little house is just lovely. We were guessing how much that piece of real estate on Central Park West would be worth.

I want to take this picture every time I cross Central Park West and look downtown.
Here you go.

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. }

weekend, i prefer the weekend

I really like Fridays around here lately. Yesterday I enjoyed the most gorgeous run in the park; the early morning temperature is cool and perfect. And on Fridays Klane and I both only work till about 2:00. Then we get to meet up, ride home and spend the afternoon together. I love it. Things are just better when Klane's around. Yesterday we were having so much fun playing games on the train home that we missed our stop and ended up at 145th street before we even noticed.

Klane usually has work, aside from DDB stuff, which he does at home on his own time. Website design, mostly. This is a familiar sight:

I often decide the best form of entertainment during moments like this is baking something equally naughty and delicious. Things are getting a little out of hand; in the last ten days I've made blueberry muffins, peanut butter cookies, peanut butter bars, blueberry coffee cake, and then today, fudge brownies. (They're for the Sunday school kids, okay?)

Given the above list, it may surprise you that I actually do not have a goal to gain 100 pounds or have five cavities by the end of the year. It should also be noted that on Friday it was 90 degrees with 95% humidity, so heating up the apartment with the oven is really not that smart. I need a new hobby. It's just that I find these tempting recipes and they nag at me and I can't get them out of my head and I have to make them.

Thank goodness Klane still has time to spend with me. Last night when he got back from scouts, we watched Moonwalker in honor of the recently deceased King of Pop, which was random and creepy and thoroughly entertaining. I feel more culturally well-rounded now that I can say I've seen it. This morning we shared an awesome run. We changed it up and ran along the Hudson and it was just gorgeous. We were unfamiliar with the trail and so ended up running a lot farther than planned, but we knew that eventually we would come upon these fountains at 125th street where we'd get to cool off:

The last time we visited this spot, the eight-year-old in me wanted to get completely drenched, but we were going to dinner and had to act like adults. Today at the end of our run I got my wish. We both got sufficiently soaked playing in the fountains, then walked home with squishy shoes.

welcome to our 'hood

Took a walk around Harlem today, so you could see what our neighborhood looks like. I got a little nervous flashing this huge camera around, so a lot of these shots are from the hip. (I don't know what my problem is with that. Someday I won't be so paranoid about people seeing me taking pictures.)

this is where I grocery shop: C-Town Supermarket


and this is how you get your groceries home.
(hey, another white girl! yeah, sistah!)


Right after I took this, the man on the bike stopped and asked me if he could take my picture for me. Uh, no thanks. I'd like to keep my camera.
[Post-edit: I'd like to clarify that I'm not just totally racist... for the record, it was quite obvious that I didn't need a picture taken, and that he wasn't just offering to be nice. And if he had my camera in that little bike-basket, there is no way I could run fast enough to catch him.]


Our good friend MLK Jr. The quote on the wall says
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
I pass this on my way to the grocery store.


Harlem hair


On Sunday when we're walking to church, we always hear loud, rockin music coming from inside this First Corinthian Baptist Church. It always sounds like people are having a great time in there :)


store fronts on our street


You see people everywhere dressed in brightly colored, traditional, African-looking clothing.


Older people push around these carts so they don't
have to carry everything around, like groceries.
Also notable: people around here love to gather on the streets and hang out and talk.
(See group of gentlemen on the right.)


there are two things that every Harlem native loves: fried chicken, and president Obama.
Put the two together, and this just might be the most beloved restaurant in the area.
Obama Fried Chicken actually sparked a little controversy with its name.



some cool looking graffiti

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.

a lovely sunday in manhattan

Our Sunday school class was so fun yesterday. The kids were so cute. Maybe it was because we bribed them with cookies, but they were really good. And I love watching Klane teach; he's really great at engaging the kids, making them laugh and teaching principles in a way they understand. I'm so excited about this calling and that we get to do it together!

After church we met up with Casey & Todd, Tommy and Riley at Sheep Meadow to chat, eat treats and read. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon. My only regret is that I didn't get a picture of everyone.

People lay out in Central Park all the time. I don't get it - if I am in a swimsuit, especially in a very public place, there should be a body of water somewhere close by. But no one seems to mind that they can't swim to cool off, they just find a spot, strip down and soak up the sun. To me, it's hilarious. We decided that since people don't have back yards, they treat the public park like their yard. They even wear stuff they'd usually wear in the privacy of their back yard. Like a bikini.

sunday mornings

They're good for Blueberry Pancakes.

brand new in brooklyn

Brand New is Klane's all-time favorite band. He's been a fan since their beginning, and saw them way back in 2002 at a tiny club in Lindon when they were first starting out. When Klane and I met for the first time, we were getting together to exchange music. I remember that night he told me Brand New was his favorite band ever, and he even told me he limited the amount of time he spent listening to them so he'd never overplay their music and get tired of it. (I thought he was so cute.) He gave me an assignment to listen to their music and tell him what I thought. I still remember that was one of the things that propelled our first few conversations with each other. I guess I passed the test, because I love their music too. Brand New holds a special place in my heart. :)

The band started here in New York, on Long Island, so Klane was so excited when he heard they were playing a show here. He magically snagged some tickets to the small venue (something to do with being on their email list), and on Saturday night we took the L train out to Brooklyn for the show. It was awesome! We stood on the mezzanine and had a perfect view. Of course the music was great and they even played some new songs from their soon to be released album. We loved it.

Waiting in line... so excited!

our feets

They are awesome!

A little vid of Jesse Lacey playing the intro to "Yeah"

We got rained on walking back to the subway, but it actually felt really nice. Here we are on the train home.

We also loved Bedford Avenue and the quieter atmosphere in Brooklyn and are planning a trip back to wander around the shops out there. Fun!