Fingers crossed

I had a shockingly short and easy phone conversation with a United representative this morning (seriously, under 5 minutes from start to finish, including a teensy bit of hold time), and I'm rebooked onto a flight to Newark tomorrow instead of my original La Guardia flight (have you seen those pictures?!). It looks like about half of the Houston-Newark flights today were cancelled, but the others have left mostly on schedule, so I'm hoping the travel gods will smile down on me. I've booked a car service to get me to Manhattan from Newark since trains and subways will probably not be up and running yet when I arrive. I'm wishing that I was staying within walking distance of Lincoln Center, but I'm very happy and relieved that I'm subletting uptown where there's no flooding or power outages.

All in all, I'm feeling that my timing has been extremely lucky. I'm sad to leave home, but excited (AND scared) for my next adventure—I'm making my Met directing debut in November!

My thoughts are with everyone affected by the storm. How are y'all doing???

Batten down the hatches

via

I'm tempted to take a Hurricane Day today. You know, in solidarity. We'd pretend the internet was out and keep our computers closed all day. We'd light a fire in the fireplace (or, in our case, turn the fire on) and snuggle up under blankets on the couch reading real books. As it got darker outside we'd light candles and talk about things we haven't thought of. We'd slow down, even though we wouldn't be in any danger here.

Instead, we're heading to work and obsessively checking Sandy status reports today (it's a little shocking to see my little hometown of Westerly, RI on so many weather maps!). We're sending safe, warm thoughts to all our loved ones east of us, and crossing our fingers that it won't be as bad as predicted.

Hunker down, folks.

Happy weekend!

We're a bit bleary-eyed this morning, having been woken up in the middle of the night by a kitten attacking us for sport. Blergh. She is cuter when she sleeps through the night. However… it's Friday! What are you up to this weekend? Today the Houston weather has magically turned colder, so I'm hoping for some nice long walks. Plus, tonight is opening night of L'Italiana in Algieri.

While I'm busy sleep-training my kitten (kidding…sort of), some links:

Have you registered for Go Mighty yet?

We rented Moonrise Kingdom last night and I loved it in all its Wes Anderson weirdness.

Just bought this cutie for fall.

In lieu of a Vespa, I think I need this.

Rabbithole of the week. Gorgeous.


And here's Lola falling asleep in a fruit basket.

Hope your weekend is full of cooler weather, changing leaves, and hot cider! xoxo LMB

Lazy day

Today's our free day (last one before I leave in a week!!), so of course we've spent the whole day in workout clothes. A trip to the recycling center (yes, we're very exciting), then IKEA, then Argo (so great!), then the first step for the barrel-aged negronis (approximately 4 weeks until they're ready), then the end of Homeland Season 1 (holy stressful amazingness). CM's grilling us a gorgeous steak and we're whiling away the evening.

Oh, and then there are the cats.

Sigh. I'm wishing I never had to leave.

LMB eats/Europe

You may remember that when we moved to Vienna I set the ambitious goal of eating a meal in every country in Europe (there are 45 of those, by the way). It was originally on the Bossy List, but when we came back to the States I moved it to my Life List instead, because I knew for certain that I wouldn't be getting it all done by 2018.

Since I started the project, I've eaten meals in France, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. This summer, I made some more headway.

United Kingdom

We ate many a meal in the UK this summer, including countless Glyndebourne canteen breakfasts, the best Indian food I've ever had, and one sneaky trip to Vapiano. And every Friday (just about), we ate fish and chips. I recommend it with mushy peas, which are exactly what they sound like.

Germany

During our week in Munich, we made sure to have one traditional Bavarian brunch, consisting of Weisswurst, pretzels, mustard, and (obvs) beer. In my experience, best eaten in a courtyard tucked away off the street, preferably under a sturdy umbrella to protect you when the summer rain starts falling.

Belgium

I was too embarrassed to photograph the waffles I ate EVERY DAY for breakfast at our hotel, so you will have to settle for moules frites instead. Also served with beer (sensing a summer theme here?). Note the ketchup and mayonnaise in the corner—we're basically locals.

All photos by CameraMan