Happy Halloween

Well this weekend turned out a bit differently than I expected, I'm sitting in the Bryant Park Hotel right now waiting for a friend to arrive from out of town. This is an old friend whom I've traveled all around the world with from the pink sand beaches of Bermuda to "Old Town" Dubrovnik in Croatia. We're going to do a few fun things this evening including the Halloween Parade in the Village - provided the rain holds off and right now that doesn't look too promising. So I hopped online to see what movies are playing but kind of slim pickings...maybe Amelia but we shall see. Sometime the best thing to do is just wing it - something tells me we'll end up just going to dinner and talking until we're blue in the face. It's been over 3 years since we last saw each other.

And my friend just appeared so I am signing off and going to great him.

Oppps - haven't posted in a while

There was personal drama, work - more work - the end of a friendship - more work. So that's where I've been the past few weeks. Fall is a hard time of year for me, very depressing. I find it sad to see the end of yet another year coming to a close, and, it does make me depressed. I often find myself thinking about the things I didn't get accomplished and the goals I failed to meet. I also think of lost friends and family who will no longer be celebrating the holidays with me. So, instead of allowing myself to wallow in the sadness for any length of time, I keep myself busy - super busy during the Fall so that's why I haven't had time to blog.

Fact of the matter is that it's 6:30 and I'm still at work and have been here since 7:30 am. And, I've been doing this for 6 days a week for the past few weeks and, it will not let up until after New Year's Day.

On the bright side of things, I've made a great new friend, and, if he's reading this - you know who you are and I look forward to cruising with you this summer (wink). And, addition to the cruise with my friend I have several other great trips lined up for 2010 including one I will reveal later in the year. I'm holding off because once it goes public I am sure it will book up fast and I am waiting for answers from family and friends before announcing what it is that is planned. All I will say is that involved travel, a well known chef and tv personality, and, it will be taking place in Europe.

Intrigued? Stay tuned!

Snow in October in NJ? Guess it's the season...

Photo credit: Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger

Yes, you are reading correctly it is officially snowing in Sussex County, NJ and the date is October 15, 2009. And, yes, this is HIGHLY unusual. You know, it's amazing but being a life long resident of the greater New York City tri-state area - to see snow (even if it is on tv) this early in the season is a bit of shock. New York City's high temperature was on 40 degrees today... Here's the link about the snow: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/flurries_hit_sussex_county_mar.html

As for me, this is a night to skip the gym and head home and make a big bowl of pasta. Oh and if you're curious - yes, I make my sauce from scratch. And, no, you can't have my recipe. It's from my Italian Grandmother so you know it's got to be great and it is... :P

Are we Carrie and Big or what??

It's been a trying week in every possible way, and, in the middle of it all was my own version of "Big" (referring to the Chris Noth character on Sex and the City). My own version of Mr. Big had a birthday this week, and, of course, being the good friend I am, I tried to do everything right. And, in true "Big" form, I got a dig of sarcasm for my efforts. It wouldn't be so bad, but, I really did try to make everything perfect for him, but, sometimes the best laid plans (no pun intended, we don't do that - anymore) fall to the wayside due to work commitments.

I also hurt another friend because of my work commitments and sometimes I feel like my life is spiraling out of control. And, to my other friend - whom I hurt this week, if you happen to read this - again my apologies. I hope you read your email...

Anyhow, my own Mr Big and I made up and laughed about this week. The truth is his schedule is worse than mine, but, was reminded that I am to circle the weekend of November 14th in red letters. It's a weekend we've been planning since Spring time - my birthday weekend which includes going to the theater and finally getting to see Billy Elliott and dinner is still up in the air, but, 21 is a real possibility at this point. However, when it comes to my own Mr. Big all bets are off. When we were dating it wasn't unusual to have such plans in place only to have them tossed into the wind and we'd be off to Atlantic City or some other destination on nothing more than a whim.

I miss those days when my life wasn't so complicated, no so jammed packed I literally carry around a daily planner and breath a sigh of relief if I have 15 minutes to myself... Speaking of which, I need to wrap this up because yep, you guessed it - I have a work related meeting in about 30 minutes.

Can someone stop the world for a minute? I want to get off!

A summary of Fashion Week: Spring 2010

It was a long, busy and sometimes overwhelming week as I covered Fashion Week for my editor. Fashion Week was a bit different from years past - swag bags ("goodie bags" with high end merchandise) were pretty much non-existent. However, celebrities were present from Madonna to Courtney Love. And, of course, the stars of the show were the clothing by the various designers.

Overall the Spring 201o collections feature bright colors as well as neutrals (and even some matalliacs) and all have an overall positive feeling. Cut-outs and peak-a-boo features not to mention feathers will be seen in many garments in the Spring. Other trends to watch are: the return to the preppy look with blazers and knee socks; and the return of leisure suits (thankfully not the horrid ones of the past) but rather up-to-date casual clothing; and there is a hint of the 80s in the air. Dress hem-lines are all over the place but overall seem to be coming in at or just below the knee. It's going to be a great Spring!

My verdict? Thumbs up!

Christmas Catalogues

It's already starting... Christmas Catalogues are beginning to get sent out and if your mailbox is like mine, you'll start seeing an increase in your "snail mail". While some people hate getting holiday catalogues, I actually look forward to them - mainly because I have friends and family who pretty much have everything and coming up with ideas for presents can be time consuming and frustrating!

My favorite catalog of the year is always the Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog. You never know what you're going to find. A speed boat, a hot air balloon, a BMW - if it's unusual then NM will probably have it in their Christmas catalog. If you want a peak at the 2008 catalog it can be found here: http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/sitelets/christmasbook/christmasbook.jhtml and I will post when the 2009 catalog is available.

In the meantime, I am still trying to come up with an idea that doesn't involve stuffed animals or clothing for my 4 year old niece. Talk about the girl with everything, this child wants for nothing! And, while I tossed the idea of taking her to Radio City for the Christmas Spectacular around - my brother and sister-in-law pointed out that she probably doesn't have the attention span to enjoy it this year and so my search for a great present continues.

Tomorrow I will wrap up Fashion Week and all the fun things I saw. And, yes, I enjoyed my three day weekend - I earned it!

Test

Whatever wife lectures the violent baffle.