the stillman pups

Libbydog.

I haven't met Oliver yet. A few weeks ago my mom and sister went to the farmers market for kale and came back with a puppy! I love these pictures because the dogs seem to have such distinct personalities.

Oliver is happy that he has Libby to snuggle with...

... and take morning naps with.

hurricane weekend

How was your hurricane weekend?

Mimoun and I had a great day of storm-anticipation with our friends in their east village apartment.  We ate mint milanos, played cards, drank beers and laughed a lot. It sort of felt like camping.

 weeee! crazy winds off the hudson!

#8

Guess who is #8 on Billboard's 50 Best Indie Labels in America?

Underwater Peoples Records, that's who! 

portlandia

oh, just another wonderful day in portland, oregon.  Lucy's moving up there for school, and I'm going to do a JFK - SFO - driiiiive up to Portland - PDX - JFK adventure next week.  I can't wait to hang with lulu and get her settled in her new apartment. Any places I should make sure to see while I'm there?

the theatre

hello dear friends!

my new life in new york city is sailing along. After a slice of pizza from stromboli's last night, I biked over to dixon place on Chrystie street for a reading of a play my friend is in.  The play, Charlie, was a dark but hilarious one-act about a man who can't tune out the aggravating voice he hears coming from his television.

What should we do about the rainy forecast for this weekend? So distressing.

though, watching a thunderstorm would be awesome from a room like this

(visit seasaw for le photo)

political cartoons

so entertaining! NPR political cartoons...

it's spring time in stamford

I've been enjoying a break from the city at the mimoun's home in woodsy north stamford, where spring time is in full swing! Seder #1 tonight followed by seder #2 in the city tomorrow. 

yahoo!

I took the MCAT this morning. What a doozy!

Mimoun so sweetly made me a big sign for when I walked in our apartment and bought a sampling of delicious cupcakes.  Later today, the ladies and I are going to drink champagne and do arts and crafts. How delightful! I like this MCAT-free lifestyle.

flowers, cupcakes, and oh yes, in the background, the crockpot I never use. I keep thinking one day I won't heat up every meal from trader joe's and will suddenly start cooking things with more than three ingredients...

be back soon

Hello my dear friends,

I have missed updating you via nora the explora! The test that shall not be named will be over in 4 weeks, on April 16th,  so please keep me in your reader until then.  I'm out the door to an "inside the body" theme party and have been drawing oxygen molecules all night to attach to my red blood cell costume. Can't wait to tell you how it goes xoxox

Nora

(photo source)

heart charlie

heart charlie is one of my favorite ny style blogs to peruse :)

happy birthday!

last night I went to shea stadium for the first time for our friend's birthday. The party was hosted by The Fader and we had to be on a list to get in. ooooh la la!  I get a little miffed always being mimoun's "plus one." Does this bother any other ladies?  I mean, he could by my plus one...

In the social arena, my transition to new york has been a piece of cake! Knowing just a few friends from college, all of their friends have turned out to be so warm and welcoming.

jonah brought a pack of these funny party blowers for maia, but they didn't make any noise! bummer.

the ruins of detroit

Photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre captured these haunting pictures of the city of Detroit. the photos ask us to "wonder about the permanence of things" in a time where change occurs so rapidly.

Biology classroom, Wilbur Wright High School

michigan central station

Room 1504, Lee Plaza Hotel

photo source

blissed out

to celebrate our five year anniversary, mimoun and I drove up to his aunt and uncle's beautiful country home in copake lake, NY.  so far, we've been drinking wine and sitting by the fire, each reading our favorite books.  and then, the icing on the cake, we realized there was wireless internet! we're like kids in a candy shop right now.

where we're camped out

to my sweet love, let's do another five years as fun as these have been :)

patience, young grasshopper

what's more fun and relaxing than playing in tide pools?

I've been thinking a lot about patience lately, friends.  I tend to get all worked up when my plans go awry or when I have to wait for anything in general (before they invented the digital ETA things at muni stops, I was a wreck).  And now that I'm involved in a job search in the highly competitive city of manhattan, I need patience more than ever.  Becoming discouraged and stressed out certainly doesn't have an impact on my chances at getting a job, and only really has an impact on my immune system... a negative impact. So, here's to deep breaths and appreciating the present moment. I hope you're all staying warm in this windy weather! xoxo

photo from sunset magazine

news from Jhiri

Take a look at the fabulous website Rachel started for the co-op she works with in northern India. Thankfully, she's able to send us bi-weekly updates on her latest challenges, goals, and success stories, which makes me miss her just a tiny bit less.

I can so easily picture my best friend making these simple, graceful changes to her new community (along with far bigger projects!). She writes, "I painted “pani bachao” (“save water”) on the tank holder/tap area from which the school kids get their water.  I also put up a statistic about how many people worldwide don’t have access to clean water (one in six, closer to one in five in India).  Not only does the water area look beautiful and colorful now, but I have already noticed the kids using less water, and reminding each other to turn of the taps while washing hands and dishes."

way to go rach!

yum! roasted peanuts

photos from her blog

tra la la time killing strategies

Rather than search for jobs or study this morning I've...

read part of a deliciously mindless Clive Cussler novel. How ever will they return the golden buddha to its rightful owner!

changed my firefox "persona" about a million times

and shared photos from this slideshow of westminster-winning dogs with my mom

I still think Libby is cuter

I hope you are all having a far more productive day :)

(photos by Fred Conrad of the NY times. Thanks, Fred!)

science wedding coming right up

my very favorite science couple just got engaged! Jonah researches dinosaur fossils (no joke) at the museum of natural history in nyc, and Kelsey introduced me oh so long ago to the wonderful world of molecular biology research when I was a young undergrad at GW.

jonah's famous fossil

Kelsey, me and Karine taking a break from the Evolution conference in Idaho two years ago. Naturally, we went for a hike and looked for plants we could identify.

 I wonder what they'll decide on for the wedding... Knowing them, I imagine it will involve the outdoors, delicious cheese, and a sustainable means of celebration.  I'm having lunch with kels this week, so hopefully I'll get the inside scoop on their plans!

break's over

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! I managed to cram in quite a few of my favorite things - dogs, old friends, and beer tasting.  On Saturday, I schlepped from the mimoun's house in stamford, CT to my dear friend Lia's apartment on the upper west side. We lounged around while I overwhelmed her seven month old lab Phoebe with all of my pent-up dog love since being away from Libby.  She is so beautiful and has this adorable, quizzical look on her face most of the time. She will make a first rate guide dog one day!

Here's precious phoebe as a younger pup with Lia's permanent dog, Pauly

Sunday, Alie, Erin and I had an oh so super cool and delicious brunch at Rye in Brooklyn, followed by a wonderful session of afternoon beers at the Brooklyn Brewery.  Their brown ale is noteworthy and now officially N the E endorsed.

thank you to my lovely beer models

now, time to find a job!

artsy clothes

as I've probably mentioned before, I love the new york times' online slide shows.  For this year's fashion week, you can see a slide show for each city: Paris, Milan, London and ... oh wait, New York, where we live! or you can see a slide show of each designer. Turning a blind eye to the sometimes sadly emaciated models, the clothes are so beautiful and I love thinking about how the designers choose the colors for their collections. I picked a few that jumped out at me, but the caption below each photo will take you to the full slide show. enjoy!

 

fendi spring 2011...wild glasses, ya?

jenni kayne fall 2011

chanel spring 2011 who needs pants?

hello new york!

I love it here!

It's wonderful to be exploring a new city again. I feel like I'm traveling. One day while the boys lounged in Ari's greenpoint apartment, I went for a small exploration in the sunny snow.

I sent this picture of McCarren Park to lucy, who responded, "eww, gross."  I think my siblings are california lifers, ya know?

 

This delicious granola from The Bedford (at N 11th street) was super original with sweet, roasted peanuts, chewy cherries and tart green apples.

Can't wait to keep exploring the City. I'd love your suggestions :)

bicycle built for two

This sweet photo shoot made me think of when mimoun and I rode a tandem bike around the city walls of Xian, China. It was not as easy as I thought it would be!

I love these warm colors...

photos from forget me knot weddings

last day

This sunny beautiful day is my last day working for the Epilepsy Phenome/Genome Project. EPGP is led by the smartest, most caring neurologists who truly want to impact their patients' lives through research.  I can't wait to see what exciting discoveries are made in the coming years.  

I hope you're all enjoying your work, and if not, I wish you the courage and plain old good luck to find a job that is meaningful to you. xoxo

photo by my funny eye

green smoothie





green smoothie by lucy (kale, spinach, banana, apple juice, lemonade)

Well explorers, other smoothie ideas?

oh hello

delicious and simple to make. "There are few better combinations than hot bread and fresh garlic..." so true

sidewalk sale

On sunday, mimoun and I had a sidewalk sale along 19th street next to dolores park. Some friends stopped by to enjoy the sunny weather and keep us company while we haggled and pressed our items on passersby (don't worry, we weren't that intense). The afternoon made me miss hanging out outside in the hot weather. Rooftop barbeques are ubiquitous in DC and at night, people sit on their stoop together and swat away mosquitos. Ah.. the east coast.

week of lasts

Gah! Things are a little crazy in our little apartment as Mimoun and I have started packing up for our big move. This week is the week of Lasts... last $1 PBR night at El Rio, last vegetarian italiano sandwich from the cantonese cafe at ucsf (see below), last Pint Night at the brew co, last snuggle fest with libbydog, etc. etc.  so sad, but sort of exciting, too.

behold the glory! artichoke heart, provolone, pesto, avocado, sundried tomato on seeded sourdough.  imagine the perfection with a japanese iced coffee drink for breakfast or a lemon calistoga for lunch



perfection

Anything else we should fit in before our flight on Monday? 

lovely

mimoun has been dipping me a lot in our living room lately. it can be kind of a shock if you're not ready for it

love love love.

photos by Max Wanger