And… it’s Monday again.  My how the weeks are flying.  I’m happy to have Adam back after his week away working on a shoot in San Francisco.  Today is his birthday so we’re celebrating with a dinner at Strip House – his favorite steak joint in NYC.  Yum.

This past weekend was jam-packed… it started on Friday night with a birthday celebration for my friend Robbie:

Photo 287 out of 365 – “No Pictures”

"No Pictures" - Settings: ISO 3200, f/2.0, 1/30 sec, 50mm lens

Then on Saturday morning, my parents arrived to spend the day with me in the city.  We had lunch at a cute and cozy little spot on Bond Street called The Smile (yummy sandwiches).  We went to meet up with Pam, who was lunching there with a friend.  We’ve known Pam and her family since I was a baby, and last week she got engaged!  So we had to give her a big congrats and check out her brand new gorgeous engagement ring!

Then we did some shopping around Soho (mostly for Adam).  My dad was such a sport… he and Adam are close to the same size, so he tried on all the clothes and modeled them for my mom and me.  After some shopping success, we hit the Angelika to see the Mike Leigh film Another Year. We all thought the movie was quite good.  The story revolves around a healthy, lovely couple who have been happily married for many years and how they care for and support the mostly sad, lonely, dysfunctional and desperate people in their lives.  It was a bit of a downer… and definitely very slow-paced, but I thought it was honest and true and touching.

I didn’t take many photos during the day on Saturday, but on the walk from the movie to dinner, we passed this dive bar and there was a band playing inside with this very intense-looking woman screaming into the mic.  I thought she made an interesting subject for photo 288.

Photo 288 out of 365 – “Rock Through a Dive Bar Window”

"Rock Through a Dive Bar Window" - Settings: ISO 3200, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, 50mm lens

Then we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Frankie Spuntino.  It was truly a scrumptious meal. That restaurant is definitely becoming one of my favorites in the East Village/Lower East Side.  It’s super cozy and warm with delicious homemade Italian comfort food.  And though it’s not cheap, the prices are really pretty reasonable for NYC – doing it up with wine, cheese, appetizers, mains, coffee, dessert, etc. costs around $50 per person.  They put out a cookbook that I’m itching to get.  If I can make food like that at home, we may never leave the apartment again. 🙂

On Sunday morning I woke up really early and laid in bed with my mom while my dad went for his early morning run. I was planning on going back to sleep (I had a rather crappy-night’s sleep on the couch) – but my mom and I ended up having a major girl-talk session for almost three hours.  It was sweet.  When my dad buzzed up from downstairs after his run, he told me to get my camera ready for his arrival… I was intrigued.   I opened the door and he had little ice drops hanging from his eyelashes and frost in the shape of a smiley face on his head warmer from his breath.  Isn’t he cute?

Photo 289 out of 365 – “Morning Run in Winter”

"Morning Run in Winter" - Settings: ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/80 sec, 50mm lens

Then my mom and I took off for a baby shower in New Jersey.  The shower was for Karen, who is one of the offspring of the “Brooklyn Boys” gang. It was a lovely afternoon with lots of good food – including an amazing cake with a layer of chocolate chip cannoli cream filling in the center – I had never heard of cannoli cream filling before and I’m not even much of a cake person… but that was some GOOOOOOOD cake!

Now it’s seventeen degrees outside and “feels like twelve” according to weather.com.  Just groovy.  I’m dreaming about somewhere warm to escape to… but for now… maybe some red wine and steak will do the trick. 🙂