My mom is awesome, as I’ve mentionedВ multipleВ times!В And though the list of reasons why could fill many blog posts, this Mother’s Day, I’m thanking my mom for one thing in particular: instilling in me my love of ballet. Besides Mallory, of course, I think that’s one of the best.gif"wpcnt">
Happy birthday to my best friend in the whole world! From sending me daily cat pictures, to giving me sage advice on any problem I may have (no matter how big or small), to being the most awesome travel companion and dinner party/game night host, I couldn’t ask for a more amazing sister.
Have a wonderful day and a fantastic year, Mal! I love!! вќ¤
Is it just me, or did Thanksgiving fly by?
Though the last few days were fleeting, they were filled with so many moments that reminded me how much I have to be grateful for. I celebrated Thanksgiving with my family—and ate a ton of delicious food. And last night, my parents and I attended a benefit dinner for the family of two Hurricane Sandy victims in Staten Island. Though the occasion was sad, the event garnered a great turnout; it was truly wonderful and uplifting to see how many people came together to offer their support.
But the biggest highlight, for me, was dancing in another showcase at Ailey. This time, we performed the “Waltz of the Snowflakes” from the Nutcracker—my favorite number from the ballet and a piece I’ve always wanted to dance. I’m not in holiday mode yet, but the piece was the perfect way to kick off the season. And I was thrilled—and appreciative—that so many of my friends and family came out to watch. That, alone, made my Thanksgiving! (Thank you all! <3)
The “Waltz of the Snowflakes” never gets old—I’m surprisingly not sick of it, despite hearing it hundreds of times over the past few weeks. So I’m kicking off the holidays here, too, with a clip of the Royal Ballet performing it. (Just a tad better than we did. ;)) I’m always amused at their blonde wigs!
How was your holiday? I hope you have lots to be grateful for, as well!
How is it already September? This summer has flown by! And yet, somehow it feels like it lasted for ages–which, in my opinion, is definitely a good thing!
Every year, I say that I’ve had the best summer, ever. This year is no exception. From mid-May through today, I’ve been lucky to have tons of good times with the people I love the most.
I spent many beach weekends in Maryland with Mal and Peter…
…and friends…
…and family.В We spent lots of time lounging on the beach, but also hit up ridiculous places likeВ Seacrets, lol!…
…andВ devoured mountains of crustaceansВ atВ our favorite blue crab joint.
We also discoveredВ Jules, which, not counting theВ crabВ places,В is definitely the best restaurant in the Ocean City area. We went there with our parents, in mid-July, on Mal and Peter’s last weekend in the area.
And then, Mal and Peter left Maryland…
…and were back in New York, much to my delight!
Especially since now they’re only a half hour away and I can see them as often as I want. And rope them into things like river tubing. рџ™‚
I didn’t leave NYC during August. At first, I wondered if I could deal with that much time in one place. But it turned out to be a great month. I spent lots of time studyingВ SpanishВ and rehearsing a piece from “Les Sylphides” for the dance show I performed in last weekend.
Now I’m off from work for 16 days–and savoring the last bit of NYC summer before I leave for Guatemala early tomorrow morning!
Are you also sad about the end of summer?
I’m heading down to Maryland with the rents. It’s Mal and Peter’s last weekend before moving back to New York. So we’re going to help them pack up their place, but also fit in plenty of beach time and, of course, enjoy one last blue crab dinner. I’m sad to say goodbye to my “summer share”–I loved having a place to escape to on the weekends. But I’m even happier to have Mal and Peter nearby!
Have a wonderful weekend! And enjoy my favorite links from this week:
Gorgeous photos of Norway (they make me want to go back!)
Colorful towns from around the world
Why can’t the Bronx be more like Brooklyn?
Nutty, yet brilliant: New Yorkers can rent a backyard by the hour on the LES
Could you live in a 300-square foot studio? (I don’t think I could!)
There’s going to be an Internet Cat Video Film Festival. Seriously.
Father’s Day at CitiField, 2011
No summer share this weekend. I’m here in NYC, hunkered down with a project that’s going to occupy most of my spare hours. But, on the upside, I’m also squeezing in some time with the fam. Mal and Peter are in townВ (yay!) and we’ll be having a celebratory Father’s Day brunch for our stepdad on Sunday. (That’s us, last year, at CitiField.) Happy Father’s Day, E–I love!
And here are some of my favorite links from the week:
India by boat! (I am so jealous of my fellow wanderluster/talented photog friend Tania)
A time-lapse video of Manhattan
Too cool: Researchers have discovered a lost city in HondurasВ (Speaking of ancient civilizations that have gone missing–I’m also in the middle of The Lost City of Z and highly recommend it!)
Dance photos from the Vanity Fair archives
How are you spending Father’s Day?
Last weekend, the fam and I met Mal and Peter in Saint Michaels, Maryland, to participate in the town’s first annual running festival,В featuring a half-marathon, 10K and 5K. We had a great time! Not only did we have perfect weather, but our races went well, too.
The 10K–my race–was first. The course wound through Saint Michael’s cute downtown, opened onto a road flanked by fields, then looped back through residential side streets and a small park. My favorite part was running through a little covered bridge close to the finish line.В Coming from the city, I thought the scenery was gorgeous. (Mal and Peter–now accustomed to seeing farmland everyday–later said they found the course a little monotonous.)
It had been six years since I ran a road race. Before, I never thought about strategy–I just went off and hoped to sustain an even pace. I always felt like I was going to die toward the end, though. This time, I aimed for a negative split. I ran my first mile at a steady jog. As a competitive person, I’ll admit that it was tough to see tons of people blow by me. But I just reminded myself that I’d be passing them later–and that turned out to be true. I stepped up my pace in the second mile and really increased my speed in the final miles. I was especially glad I took it slow in the beginning because the course, while “flat and fast,” was also hot–there was almost no shade and the temperature was in the 70s by the end of the race.
I felt great when I finished–so good, in fact, that I wondered whether I should have pushed myself more.
My time was 57:28, which equals about 9:16 a mile. That’s well behind my best 10K time of 53:31, but I was still happy with my results–not bad, considering I only restarted running 2 months ago! And now that I have a new base time, my goal is to keep running to chip away at it and try to beat my personal record.
Mal and Peter’s race–the half-marathon–started around the time I finished. So we hung around the finish line to watch the runners come in. I’m always wowed at how fast other people are. The top finisher clocked in at 1 hour, 12 minutes–not much longer than it took me to run less than half the distance.
Mal and Peter came in a little after the 2 hour mark. (They ran together the whole time–so cute!)
We rented a cottage for the weekend, which turned out to be way better than staying at a hotel. I felt more relaxed staying in an actual house and being able to make our own dinner and breakfast before the race. Plus, the aptly named River House, which I found via VRBO, was charming and in a gorgeous location. It had an expansive green yard complete with Adirondack chairs…
…sunny sitting areas…
…airy bedrooms…
…amazing views…
…and, best of all, a long wooden dock perfect for sunbathing and sipping drinks–which I promptly did the minute we got back.
The town of Saint Michaels is equally as charming. Boutiques, restaurants, mom and pop shops, a winery and brewery line the quaint main street. We had a great post-race meal atВ Ava’s,В a local pizzeria and wine bar. Their pies were fantastic–light and crispy with fresh toppings. (I hate to admit it, but they topped the pies I’d eaten a few days earlier atВ Forcella, a newish downtown NYC pizza place.) The previous day, we also had tasty sandwiches at the Big PickleВ and great cookies and doughnuts from Sweetie Bakery.
For our celebratory post-race dinner, we headed to the Crab Claw. To get there, we walked through part of the harbor, passing stately waterfront B&Bs along the way.
The Crab Claw is right over the water and has the perfect ambience for a summer meal. The tables are close to the edge of the pier and there are no ropes or guardrails. We joked about falling in–and then a little kid did, while we were eating! His mother and another patron fished him out. According to our waitress, it happens all the time–and the staffers usually have to jump in and rescue them!
Our waitress told us that due to the weather, the blue crabs they had that weekend weren’t the best. So we opted for snow crab. I was initially disappointed–until the snow crabs came out. They were fantastic and cooked perfectly–a great way to close a super-fun weekend.
Have you taken any running trips/vacations? I’d love to hear where–I’m already looking forward to planning another!
