Home for the Holidays

Celebrating Christmas the old-fashioned way.

Always nice to see familiar faces (this is our family pet, Bowser, a Russian Tortoise)

A Christmas Goose (naturally) 

Jokes inside place setting favors

And crowns, too

A San Francisco Treat

As a New Yorker, Thanksgiving for me is synonymous with indoor food comas, taking in the last breaths of autumn, and the first fireside snuggle of the many that will come with the impending winter season. This year, however, we switched it up and headed to sunny California--Marin County, specifically, where Sam's stepsister lives with her husband. We then took a little road trip headed north to Calistoga (where we obviously did some wine tasting).

Fair trade coffee beans in Fairfax, CA

Obligatory In-N-Out pit stop

BBQ Oysters at Hog Island Oyster Co.

My NYC brain cannot quite grasp that this is winter

A perfect end to the trip: exquisite cuisine at Sushi Ran in Sausalito

Staten Island Time

Inspired by an exhibition that is currently on view at the Museum of the City of New York, I ventured off of the comfortable and familiar island of Manhattan on this foggy fall day and stepped into some personally-uncharted territory: Staten Island. Highlights included scenic Fort Wadsworth, Historic Richmond Town and Sailor's Snug Harbor.

Lady Liberty from the bow of the State Island Ferry

Bayonne Bridge (view from Fort Wadsworth)

"Goatscaping" in Fort Wadsworth

Drummer in the Oompah Band at Killmeyer's Old Bavaria Inn

Traditional German fare (Killmeyer's)

Local farming

View of lower Manhattan from the ferry

From Russia with Love

It's now been over a week since I've returned from Moscow. Despite the bitter cold--and yes, it was really cold--there was so much that we were eager to see and do. The reason for the trip was that my boyfriend's father lives in Moscow, and he this year decided to throw a milestone birthday celebration. Even though our days were action-packed and awesome, I can't shake the feeling that I have experienced only a fraction of what I ought to have. I'm hoping that what this means is that there will be  a sequel to this post in the very near future.

Photo op in Red Square

Inside the magnificent Bolshoi

The finale of a truly memorable Bolshoi performance of Swan Lake

A pre-revolution interior (now obviously a food market)

On a tour of the Kremlin-- trying hard not to look cold (obviously an impossible feat)

The band and the birthday boy 

Standing atop a frozen Moscow River in the countryside

Porgy and Bess

Last night I had the privilege of seeing Porgy and Bess at the Richard Rodgers Theater and it was superb...which is a word I associate exclusively with my grandmother and one that I do not think I have ever used in my entire life until now, but for some reason in this moment it feels necessary. Anyway, I firmly believe that there is no person who wouldn't, at least on some level, enjoy this production.

Audra McDonald (as Bess) is a master of complex facial expressions, not to mention her hardly-believable vocal talent. This role was made for her; or was she made for the role?

Happy Three Kings Day!

Got a glimpse of these handsome devils after El Museo del Barrio's annual Three Kings Day Parade while I was having lunch in El Café-- the Museum's restaurant which, by the way, is excellent.

Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Beeba

It is cold in New York City. It will be far colder in Moscow, which is where I will be for the better part of the next two weeks. It is not cold, however, where I was yesterday which was aboard a chartered sailboat named Beeba in the British Virgin Islands, a.k.a. paradise.

Necessary provisions

Ask me to tell you the story of the dinghy captain one day