the summer sun's calling my name

Happy Weekend dear readers! I missed my Friday post due to just plain craziness and then an unexpected late night out -oops - at least it was fun. It's another hot hot weekend in the area- even late night it's still almost 90- which is not pleasant. Today I am off to see the Jersey City Museum - I am not sure what to expect, but hoping for some delightful art and perhaps some local flair. Tomorrow I am running (hobbling) through my first ever 10k race out in Queens (it's a multiple river crossing weekend). I am really excited, but also extremely nervous - hopefully it stays cooler while we are racing. What are you doing this weekend? Are you enjoying the heat?


(photo from Crush Cul de Sac)

oh little bear

I am planning to visit my family in a few weeks, and it's the first time I will see my sister since her in person announcement about my nephew. If you can't tell I've been waiting forever to be an aunt, so I am so excited to bring her and Norby their first of many gifts. Almost all the baby gifts I get for friends come from Baby Gap, because I think everything is so adorable. Norby's first gift is no exception- since he's coming into the world in November I wanted to make sure I got something with long sleeves and long legs (is that the right description?). This little jammie seemed so perfect- and I love the little bear detail on the shoulder. I look forward to many pictures of him on my walls wearing this outfit.

you gave love a bad name

Online dating- I’ve often grappled with doing a post on this, because well it still seems a bit taboo to me even though I think I’d be hard pressed to find people who haven’t at least tried it at some point in their lives. I know many people who’ve had very successful relationships with people met on dating sites, some even married. I am currently trying my luck on two sites, as my mother is constantly wondering if I am dating enough (love you mom, and don’t worry, we are looking at quality here not quantity) and I have a few pet peeves when it comes to interactions on these sites. There must be a way to stop the madness, really (or is it Honestly – T? – can you confirm?). First of all, I don’t understand when someone emails you “hi, I like your profile, we should chat”.  Ummm, hello? What exactly did you like about my profile , can you please at least pick out something I took my precious time to write hoping it would lead us to something to chat about? It could be as easy as telling me about loving dogs too, or that you like to drink, I don’t really care what you pick out, but please pick something. I really think that’s the laziest approach  to finding a date, please don’t copy and paste your blanket email into the message box for all of us. I get that we are all looking to go out have a good time, and it probably will not be a love connection but the tiniest bit of effort goes a long way. I also cannot stand text message slang in emails, look I am not the best speller in the world, but I shouldn’t feel like I am receiving a text message from a fourth grader. Misspelling a hard word, fine – too lazy and typing l8er or 2 c if u want 2 hang out, come on now, we are adults – impress me with your ability to make your computer’s spell check do its job. Not being able to  These are two things that actually will cause me not to respond back to a gentleman, unless he is completely channeling Ryan Gosling or Channing Tatum – if you’re that good looking perhaps the brains aren’t needed (kidding of course).
Have you ever done online dating? What's some of your pet peeves about it?


(photo from The New Yorker)

a garden party to reminisce

Lately, I’ve been enjoying books that alternate between present day and historical fiction, telling a story that is interwoven through time.  Wildflower Hill by Kimberly Freeman takes the story of a present day ballerina, as she copes with the end of her career and inheriting her grandmother’s old estate. The story from the past involves the grandmother’s journey as a young mother leaving Scotland and settling in Australia in the 1920s. I loved the twists and turns, the questions of morality and the puzzle at the end that still left you wanting more. Both women are finding love and loss, as well as discovering their true identities and passions.