talk derby to me... part one.

we arrived to louisville on thursday before derby. like last year, we stayed with kyle's dad and his wife, ingrid. kyle's dad and ingrid are marvelous entertainers and this year they hosted a gorgeous dinner (we did not attend) and something like 50 guests. among the guests was a magician who stayed for the weekend. after the other guests had left, we got a private show of his upclose magic skills - and he is so much fun to watch and super talented!

one of the tricks involved a deck of cards and us writing our names on one card of our choosing. ultimately he throws the deck of cards up on the ceiling and poof! our card is the one sticking to the ceiling! i know i can't describe it nearly as awesomely as it was performed, but trust me - it was awesome!! and funny enough, the cards stick up there so strongly that he knows someone who still has a card on the ceiling from 7 years ago... there are now several cards with various names on the ceiling at kyle's dad's house.

on every friday before the running of the derby, the fillies run the oaks. it's an all day affair and generally speaking the color of the day is pink: pink ribbons decorating the downs, pink drinks in the form of the official drink of the day - the lily (no idea what's in it, but it is tasty!), and a tribute to susan g komen's race for the cure. It's also a day where the fashion is slightly less dressy and while some where hats and fascinators, it is certainly not a requirement like at the derby.

stefanie, kyle and me at her dad's house prior to heading to churchill downs for the oaks.

kyle's dad always gives her tickets and this year we had a couple extra. we had their 3rd floor clubhouse box again and also a couple tickets to her dad's suite. that's right, we roll in style!!

me and kyle in her dad's suite. later in the day as more people were getting drunk, i heard many times how 'shiny' my dress was. yes, folks, it's called sequins!

with the spires behind us.

all of the ladies this year: me, kyle, trish, and stefanie

kyle and i had to pick our horsies. we were very scientific... we picked based on name. we did ohhhhhkay.

overlooking the paddock we found a couple friends from chicago: trish, jordan, stefanie, kyle, ron and me. the day had started off a bit rainy, but the sun came out and it became so nice!

up in the suite: we kept running up and down between the suite and the clubhouse as the suite had free drinks and delicious food - not that i ate much food other than those delicious cookies and mini cupcakes!!

here is the magician, mio, doing some of his card tricks. he was a lot of fun!

back at the 3rd floor clubhouse: me, kyle, stef and trish were having a blast!

after the day at the races, we went to pick up our car which we'd parked in someone's lawn. since the traffic was pretty terrible, we decided to sit on a front porch and have a glass of wine.

and then we headed to a dinner that kyle's dad was able to make reservations for us at. it was so delicious!!!

omg, lobster pot pie, lobster tail, and mashed potatoes. delicious!!!! i could have had several plates of this stuff...

after dinner, you might be thinking we headed home after such a long day. you'd be wrong! we went to molly malone's which gets super SUPER packed during derby weekend. it's crazy! while there we found a couple more of kyle's friends. here's kyle, stef, trish and justin.

and here we all are! we were out way too late, but we had a great time... and even night capped it with some pizza from the place next door. delicious!!

back to the n-y-c

about a month ago, i got a call from mom asking if i'd like to go to new york. ummm, yes??! i hadn't been to ny in over 3 1/2 years since moving to chicago! my parents and aunt and uncle were going to make a trip out east to see my cousin caitlin perform in an nyu production of fran's bed in which she had the lead! i wish i'd been able to take pictures because she looked fabulous and did a fabulous job!

we flew in on thursday, and walked around the city for awhile until it was time to go see the book of mormon. it was hilarious. and totally irreverent. and definitely by the southpark guys! this is me and caitlin in front of the theater just after the show.

and my mom and dad were also at the show as was my aunt ellen. after the show, we all went for an apres theatre italian dinner. delicious! it also happened to have been ellen's birthday that night!

on friday, we sent my uncle jim and dad off to explore on their own and the ladies sans caitlin (who needed to get ready for her show) went shopping. my aunt ellen wanted to check out ivanka trump's jewelry store and so we went and played in there for awhile. at one point i had a $78k necklace on and a $40k bracelet! woah. it was a lovely store, but we left empty handed. from there we hit up many many other stores and then had a lovely lunch at saks. it was then time to head back to the hotel (we stayed at 28th & 6th - the nyu studio was 27th &6th) and rest up for caitlin's performance in fran's bed. as i mentioned earlier, she was brilliant! and then afterward, i met up with a couple of friends that i hadn't seen since moving!

meghan, me, and kirstin enjoying some beers in the beer garden at the standard hotel. which wasn't even there the last time i was in ny! i also got to meet kirstin's finace' bob and meghan's bf josh. after drinking some beers, it was time for some late night dinner and so we wandered over to the spotted pig. it was so great to catch up with them in person!

on saturday, i spent the morning with the parents as they had to leave that afternoon. we really didn't have much time to do anything, but we did head down to ground zero. you really can't see a whole lot, but they do have a lot of progress made on a couple buildings and you can tell they are actually doing something there as opposed to when i lived there and nothing was really going on...

once i said goodbye to the parents, i met up with meghan and josh and saw her adorable studio on 5th ave near 14th st. so bright and a great layout! and i love the way she has it decorated. i told her to come do my place... then meg and i set out to get some take out lobster rolls from chelsea market and then picnic on the highline. the highline is a new walking path made from old train tracks - they were in the process of funding and starting that project when i left but now some of it is open and it is awesome!

a picture of the greenness of the highline and the walking path. they are loungers and tables and chairs and touches of old tracks that keeps it authentic yet really beautiful all at the same time.

me and meghan on the highline.

after a walk back towards her place and a quick cupcake from crumbs, it was time to head back to my hotel for what would be my third (!) show that weekend and in as many days! i didn't see that many shows the whole time i lived there!!

we saw robin williams' new play, bengal tiger in a baghdad zoo. it was super intense! but good. and surprisingly funny since it isn't a comedy at all. robin williams played the tiger and he made a fabulous tiger! here i am with my uncle jim, aunt ellen, and caitlin. btw, i'm standing on a lower step in case you're wondering why everyone looks so tall compared to me.

here's caitlin with her friend, sal, who was visiting from dallas for the very first time. he's been her best friend since middle school and he's a fascinatingly smart guy who will be going to school to become a jaw surgeon and he just got a book deal with harper collins (i believe) about the 2012 election - a nonpartisan guide for voters around our ages looking to learn about what the issues are and why they matter. pretty cool.

after the play, caitlin, sal and i met up with meghan and her bf josh for a few drinks at alta. a funky little neighborhood place that was super cute. afterwards, sal and caitlin and i felt it was time for some pizza and made our way for a late night snack. yum!

on sunday, i did a little morning shopping with ellen and then met up with one of my oldest friend's from childhood (i met her when i was like 1 1/2 and she was almost 2 b/c our grandparents had houses across the street in maine!). we met at commerce for a fabulously delicious brunch. YUM! i'd never been there before and it was so cute on a gorgeous street in the west village.

heidi and me!

and then sadly, it was time to go back home! i can't believe how much nyc has changed... i mean i can... but, i did miss it! a lot! and it made me miss my little apt on the east side and that amazing view i used to wake up to and go to bed to. i did love that apartment!! it was a great visit and i'll definitely not let that much time go by again!!

got our mojo on!

in april, stefanie, kyle and i all got our mojo on! it's a super cute store/brunch spot/pedi/mani place. mojo sells it's own cutely wrapped products such as candles, soaps, scrubs and other spa-esque things. it also does beauty and brunch saturdays. so we decided to check out this super pink, super cute place.

we were served trays of delicious pancakes and vodka/ojs as we were pampered with pedicures!

we enjoyed a delightful brunch along with some good old fashioned talking and gossiping during our nail painting.

it was such a fun experience - i'd definitely do it again - not something for every mani/pedi, but fun for out of town guests or a random fun girl's outing!

snuggling.

here is my main man, otis! we are having some quality snuggle time on the couch. sweetest guy ever.