Happy weekend!

What is everyone doing this weekend? Any big plans? We're planning a last lazy day in New York tomorrow (possibly with a trip to Levain for the best cookies in the world) before we had back to Houston in the evening. The big potential excitement on Sunday is that we're getting a Costco membership! Yes, we are embracing America (and our new spacious kitchen).

Some weekend linky goodness:

We can't get enough of Sherlock (and it's on Instant Netflix), a modernized Sherlock Holmes miniseries from BBC. Luckily, more episodes are coming this winter.


This would be an excellent use of a lazy Sunday morning.


I'm not sure exactly what we're going to do with it, but I MUST own this piece of furniture. Perfection.


Single tickets to the Met's new season go on sale tomorrow. Which shows are you excited about?


I splurged on a new bag for work, big enough to hold a score AND a laptop. I love love love it.


Just in case you could use a little Firenze in your life...

 

Here's hoping your weekend is filled with easy travel days, fruity sangria, and air-conditioned movie theaters. xoxo LMB

It's a helluva town

People, I do not know how anyone lives in New York for realsies. We arrived Saturday for a one-week stay, and this city has already both completely kicked my ass AND stolen my pocketbook (not really, it's a metaphor). Work is great: there's almost nowhere I'd rather spend my days than in a darkened theater discussing lighting states and staging options. (I say almost because I wouldn't mind at all spending a few more days in Tuscany ogling sunflower fields and eating my body weight in pasta, obvs.) CM is with me, dutifully playing Opera Husband while still managing to get oodles of work done. The weather isn't horrid. We're seeing friends.

HOWEVER. This morning I spent half an hour on the A train, standing awkwardly close to strangers, stuck between stations. Every few minutes the conductor announced that we were stopped due to track work, and that we'd be moving again in "just a few moments." Then she would (in what could only be a passive aggressive display of irony) thank us for our patience, every time. When we finally got started again, there was a collective sigh of relief, which is how I know that the woman next to me ate an onion bagel for breakfast. Then, inexplicably, with nary a thanks for our patience, the express train started making local stops. I don't know why. No one was getting off the train, but there were large crowds at every single station, cramming into the car in waves. After an hour and change, I finally got off the train and tasted fresh air at Columbus Circle. I arrived at work 10 minutes before our tech session started.

This is not a civilized way to live.

I think I miss my SUV. (Feel free to judge.)

Lee Anne & Dan • October 18, 2003

From Lee Anne...

On what date did you get married?
October 18, 2003


What do you remember most from your wedding?
Looking out over the reception room and thinking “Yep. These people are so awesome...and they're our friends and family. We are so very blessed."


What's your advice for building a happy and fulfilling marriage?
Hrmmmm—this is something we're always working on: not in the workbook sense, but in the ‘being kind’ sense...I think sometimes when you're super familiar and comfortable it's so very easy to be hard on each other...hold the other to high (unspoken) expectations, expect supreme mind-reading abilities to manifest in laundry being done or groceries in the fridge or a fantastic vacation planned without having to utter a word...but the truth is that we're often cruelest to those closest to us. We try really hard to be loving and nice, even on those rare occasions when we're not agreeing. And I have finally admitted that my ESP is non-functional, and that I cannot make Dan do anything using just brain waves. (Well, I can make him get really frustrated with me for not actually saying what it is I want/need...haven't figured out how to use my powers for good yet, though.) 


Anything you know now that you wish you had known when you got married?
Reinvent yourselves when you need to...but do it together. In some ways we're right where we thought we'd be eight years in, and in some ways we're light years away. But we're together and happy, and creating this weird life together!
 

Happy weekend!

My dears, what do you have planned this weekend (one of the FEW left before summer's over!)? We're hopping on a plane to New York tomorrow for a week. I have tech next week, and CM is coming along as Opera Husband! (Well, actually he's doing some work too, but a girl can dream.) I'm so looking forward to being back at work, after over 2 months off. Hope I still remember how to do my job.

A few links for your weekend:

Have you seen these incredible photos that photographer James Mollison takes of children from all over the world and where they sleep? They are completely fascinating, and a book has now been published of them: Where Children Sleep.


We are rediscovering the joys of cable, and we have become totally addicted to Rocco's Dinner Party on Bravo. Have you seen it? Rocco Dispirito brings in 3 chefs every episode, puts them through a challenge, and then chooses 2 to create complete dinner parties for him and his (hilarious) B-list celebrity friends, a different group every time. It's like a super-condensed Top Chef, but with fun party banter.


Speaking of which, on the last episode we watched the guys from one of our favorite podcasts was on. Have you listened to The Dinner Party Download ("guaranteed to help you win your next dinner party")? It comes out once a week, is only 15-20 minutes, and always makes me laugh and gives me something random to discuss. I highly recommend it.


As we pick furniture and decor for our new place, I've been having fun using Polyvore, a tool to make inspiration boards. I made two potential looks for our living room: here and here.


This is what I've been drinking for cocktail hour this week. It's delicious. I may or may not have tried it because I love Bethenny Frankel more than I should.



Another wedding picture that makes me happy. I love this guy.

Hope your weekend is filled with ripe tomatoes, cocktails al fresco, and watching reality TV in bed. xoxo LMB

Home sweet Houston

One year ago today we woke up in our Vienna apartment for the first time (probably around 4am, if I'm remembering correctly). We were ready to start our new life as expats in Europe, excited to discover our favorite restaurants and shops, studying hard for our upcoming German classes.

This morning I woke up in Houston, in a gorgeous high-rise apartment with a panoramic view that is being generously lent to us until we get settled. We got in our rental SUV, stopped at Starbucks, and I dropped CameraMan off at work, where I'll meet him in a couple hours for lunch.

We're back. It's official.

And it occurred to me this morning that I never really wrote about what was happening with us. What with the families in town, and the wedding, and the honeymoon, and the move, it's all over and I never told you why we came back. Well, if you're wondering, this is why (that top picture was taken by me, incidentally). My beloved CM got an opportunity the likes of which does not come frequently, an offer that we could not pass up. The timing was terrible, neither of us felt like we were done in Vienna, but we also both knew almost without a doubt that this was the right move, not only for CM's career, but for us. I think Vienna will always hold a special meaning for us: it's the place we got engaged, the place we got married, and I think the place we truly learned to rely on each other. Now we're on to the next adventure.

So here I am, back on American soil, expat no longer. It looks like I won't be crossing #6 off my list any time soon. I'm struggling a bit with what to do with this space, what it means, why I'm writing and for whom. I think the answers to those questions will come in their own time, so for now I'm going to keep telling you about my life as it unfolds. In the next few weeks, I'll also be sharing details and images from our wedding, excerpts from the journal I kept on our honeymoon (I'll leave out the racy bits), and a few more Happy Marriage posts, because it turns out I know a lot of happy marriages. I'll also be telling you all about the rental townhouse we found which is absolutely perfect in every way. We move in (with our meager belongings—remember the Great Purge of 2010?) on the 15th!