Everywhere is signs...

I have had a pretty special week and I want to tell you all about it, starting with the most precious of all. My good friends had a baby girl and man oh man, is she just adorable. Mama looks as gorgeous as ever and has fallen right into the role of doting mother.  I have never held a newborn before so this was quite an experience for me. Its amazing, at that moment I want to make sure I am doing everything right - is her head cradled properly, is she warm enough, is she happy. And so I can imagine for a parent this must be multiplied by one thousand right then and only increasing over time as the child grows. 

Me and Yahtzee were honored when we were asked to pick them up from the hospital for their homecoming. Yahtzee drove 10mph through Manhattan and over Queensboro bridge, ignoring all the honks and and explicits and focused only on the mission at hand, to get this little girl, her Mama and Grandma safely to her home in Astoria.

Thank you for sharing this special moment with us, we can't wait to watch this little New Yorker learn and grow and explore all the wonders of life.

Ok, but this is not all. I was also invited to fundraiser that was organized by four women (collectively, they established  MARA Society) that supports various Romainian organizations. One of those A's in MARA stands for Andreea, a wonderful smart and beautiful friend of mine who obviously has a very giving heart.  The event I attended was at the Essex House to support school children who lack financial means.  The night went off like a charm and was well attended, and I won my first item in silent auction - a signed copy of Before Sunrise, one of my favorite movies. Ethan Hawke was there too...with his wife...who is also pregnant.

Are these signs?






And this week we also got a surprise visit from our token Canadian friend who, we are happy to know, is moving back to the city with her husband and baby. Now HER little boy (there is a theme here, or ?) just learned to say "cheese" so you can imagine the photo-taking fun.  But this was one of my favorites.  Pretty darn cute.

The one in the middle is the biggest Jag of all!

We had a great night and got to catch up on work, life and love on Snug's deck.  It was great to jag around again, I sure missed that from our Soccer Days.

We look forward to many more fun times, YOU JAG!

Happy Independence Day

It was a beautiful night here in NYC, so we hopped on Stella for a ride to the West Side to watch the spectacular fireworks display.  These always amaze me, as do the conversations I sometimes overhear.  Tonight I overheard a family of three from Stamford, CT who first, they announced these were the most spectacular 4th of July fireworks in the WORLD, then commented on the new "technology" for the floating effects, and when the child lightly coughed, the mother told him to "do what you need to do sweetie, do what you need to do - cough it out" - whatever that was about.

Earlier this week we drove to Pittsburgh. We drove into the city for some Regatta action and after had drinks in Market Square with my brother and his girlfriend. Market Square was recently renovated and I am amazed at much space they managed to create there, even though with the upgrade came NYC drink prices.

Above all, we spent lots of time at the Compound and poolside with the family. My niece went underwater for the first time with the prodding of her mama.

Me and my sister shared ideas for project "neon sign" which will be unveiled pretty soon, along with gossip and a few vodka slushies.

We sat a lot on the porch - not just to BBQ and eat lots of good food but to share stories and chat and best of all, laugh.

This little guy was a hamming it up for us all the while. He even managed to call me Tante before the weekend was through.

Yahtzee shows off the iPad

We had such a lovely weekend. And mostly, we just feel very blessed to have so much love…

kind-of a big deal

Wednesday night we made our way uptown to celebrate the success of a guy who is "kind-of a big deal". 


This guy is my husband.


Yahtzee's hard work and many hours over the past months had a good end result though, and we invited a few friends to Kimberly Hotel rooftop to celebrate the occasion. 

I am very proud of my husband and even more - I am glad to have him back :-)  Mucho liebe Yahtz!!!

                                                                                                                                  

Glad you came

As a child of the sun ("I have desires and I was born inside the sun this morning" - some counting crows love!), I officially declare this my Summer Song





I hope you like it, LOVE IT, as much as i do

What to do with the rest of the day's afternoon - hey

One of the best things about summer time….

Outdoor concerts

We had a little escape this past weekend to Atlantic City for some good music and sunshine. The Dave Matthew's Caravan music festival hosted some great bands, and us, at Bader Field which was an old landing field and a great venue. 

Favorite Moments?

Two Step Encore with the drummer Leon Mobley

Sunshine and beers

Acting up

Poker table winnings

Dirty feet

…with muddy toes

Whiter Shade of Pale

One very cool sunset

Marlborough Experience

Dancing like children

And as always - good company, good friends

Friday night crowd

Saturday night crowd

But mostly

 Realizing the summer has only just begun

Our own private Paradiso

Private beach

Meeting Yahtzee in Florida this weekend was a spur of the moment decision – and one that I do not regret. I hope my husband agrees - though I am sure he would add that he needed a vacation just to support the effort to get me from NYC to Key West,
 an itenerary which included a 6am departure on 2 hours of sleep
, leaving car in danger-zone for ticket or towing, boarding flight for second leg of trip as my name was being called on terminal loudspeaker, breaking my camera, breaking my iPhone and loosing a new pair of earrings.

Lucky for Yahtzee, he has traveled with Dasha before and had well planned a cozy little house for us on an island called Sunset Key just off of Key West.  

Here were a few of our favorite activities

Romantic quiet moments watching the sun set

Finding inspiration

Spending hours in this hammock, mostly sleeping

Watching this guy relax a little (and swing me in above stated hammock)

Wearing this robe around the porch

Dreaming a little…especially of our house on this lot

Being together all day...

…and night

Boating

And eating oysters, listening to music and drinking beers at Schooners Wharf 

We ended the weekend watching a spectacular moment in basketball history, the Dallas Mavericks win over Miami The Heat.  It was worth it to see Dirk Nowitzki holding his trophy high, and to be among friends to high five and bitch around and celebrate, sometimes all in the same moment even.

Team NYC: Dasha, Yahtzee, Siby, Stefan

Thanks Yahtzee, i hope you found some relaxing moments in-between your wife's hectic moments. Even if for days, we had our own private paradiso and i loved it and i loved being there with you.

Manhattanhenge

This year, 
Manhattan Solstice coincided with Memorial Day,

so what is one to do? 

Well we broke out the grill, ordered a few cases of beer to the Disco, flavored the watermelon with vodka and invited a few friends over…

and just like that! - the Manhattanhenge Memorial Day party was born.

Watermelon Balls with a Twist

The Loungers

The Grillers (i insist its a man's job)

The Photographer

The Wiener Meisterin

The Professional

The View from Urban Disco

The Hengers

I hope that your Memorial Day was as chill as ours, we found a perfect way to bring in the summers and celebrate our veterans.