Tina Fineberg for The New York Times West Village scenes within a few blocks of Bleecker and Perry Streets, clockwise from top left: the crowd at the Magnolia Bakery, outdoor dining at Sant Ambroeus, the new boutiques along Bleecker, the White Horse Tavern.
Last weekend I flew with Andrew to New York to host a baby shower for Abby. It was ALL KINDS of fun. Abby and Adam live in the West Village, which is without a doubt the coolest part of the city. It has these gorgeous 19th C. brownstones on tree lined streets, dotted with cool boutiques and restaurants, steps from Hudson River Park and the High Line. They moved into a new place (a charming carriage house actually) since the last time I visited, but it’s only about two blocks away from their old place. I guess they figure they have a good thing going there-- which they do.
Adam picked me up at the airport so I wouldn’t have to take a cab and so Andrew could test out Charlotte’s baby gear (car seat, stroller, pack-n-play etc.). It was great that I was able to travel so light! The next day I woke up and got right down to business making 25 mini-loaves of my favorite Banana Bread for favors for the shower. Abby was on call the night before, so she got home from work at about 11:00 am and headed straight to bed. I headed uptown to the Whitney Museum to meet my godmother for lunch. I had a delicious pastrami reuben and matzo ball soup at the museum cafe. Oh my heavens was it good!! After lunch we went down to Saks, which would have been more fun if I hadn’t had a sleeping Andrew strapped to my body.
Next stop, an afternoon visit with my friends Emily and Katie. I lived with these awesome chicas in DC when we were all single. Now they live a few blocks away from each other on the Upper West Side. We talked about how un-fun we have become since having kids. I still think THEY are fun, but I have definitely lost some of my mojo (at least since Andrew came along).
For dinner I saw an old Cornell friend. She is as yet unmarried (although very recently engaged…congrats, Whitney!) and still very much in the fun-phase of life. Although, actually, I am quite sure that “fun” is not just a passing phase for her. She recounted her recent trip to Antarctica and detailed plans for future adventures. She is amazing and our conversation made me realize how badly I want to get my groove back. I feel like I’m really in the trenches right now and sometimes it’s hard to remember that this period of booger-wiping, crumb-sweeping, grass/dirt/poop-stain-removing monotony isn’t going to last forever. I love being able to stay at home with the boys but the aspects of mothering that recharge me (teaching them new skills, exploring with them, coming up with creative projects, etc.) lately seem to be edged out by the Sisyphean tasks of keeping the house relatively clean and everyone clothed and fed and bathed and diapered. I pray that this will get easier as they get older.
Anyway, the next day, Saturday, was the shower. We had ordered tea sandwiches and scones from Alice’s Tea Cup and added to that bounty some cookies and brownies from the grocery store. I was really happy with the way everything turned out. Abby had a good time and lots of her friends were able to come which was nice. 
After the shower we went to dinner to celebrate my mom’s birthday with my godmother and her daughter Emily (with Abby in the picture above). My mom slept over at Abby’s house that night and we had a lazy Sunday morning the next day. We lounged around in our pajamas in her sunny apartment, eating bagels and lox and reading the New York Times. We took Kermit for a walk down by the river so he could socialize with his doggy friends at the dog park, and so we could get artisanal ice cream cones from the gourmet ice cream truck parked on Bleeker Street. One of the things I love about Abby is that she is all about simple indulgences…she eats more ice cream and takes more bubble baths than any other person I know. By a long shot.
The next day I took the Metro-North train up to Garrison where I was met by my lovely friend Jean. Jean and I met in Nashville last summer. We were introduced through a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend-- a tenuous connection but we clicked immediately and became great friends. Her husband is in the Army and teaches at West Point. I had never been to West Point so it was really interesting to visit and learn a little about the history of the post. My grandfather graduated from West Point in 1920. He felt a great connection to West Point and wrote extensively about his experiences there in his memoir. It felt like a pilgrimage in some ways to visit a place that has such storied traditions. This is where the cadets eat. It is probably not much different now than when my grandfather was there as a plebe in 1918. It was much larger than it looks in this picture and very grand.
My iPhone picture of Jean and Andy and their adorable little ones with the West Point chapel behind them.
I wish I had taken more pictures in NY but Ryan had the camera…at Disneyland with the boys! That is a subject of a whole new post but let’s just say it was a HUGE success. The boys absolutely had the time of their lives and have not been able to stop talking about it ever since. The only one who is surprised is me, who thought they were too young for Disneyland. I was proven wrong.
I love this picture of Elliot. It has nothing at all to do with this post, but I just love it. He’s on the tire swing at the playground near our house. He rode his Skuut to the playground which is why he still has his bike helmet on. 
