New York 2017

For the Memorial day weekend I was able to go back to New York for my friend Amanda's wedding. I'll share a blog about the wedding coming up next week. But this week, I'd like to share some photos of my friend Anna's great new Upper West Side apartment, some delicious looking pastries from Maison Kayser (one of my favs), and other snapshots from around the city. It's always nice going back to New York to catch up with friends and walk around to see new and old things.

A lot happening here...

Inside Anna's new UWS apartment.

Fancy neighbors.

A loud bro this somewhere over here.

Maison Kayser. YUM.

(Beloved) Frick Collection.

Cocktails with Billy and Angela at the newly renovated Campbell Apartment.

Fourth Universalist where John and I got hitched.

Easter Basket

This year, I was lucky to find a basket in the shape of a duck. Not everyone looks out for a duck-shaped basket, but I'm no ordinary bird. Back in January, John and I stopped into an antique store in Oshkosh, Wisconsin where I spotted such a ducky basket tucked away on a dealer's shelf. I wanted to transform the green ducky into a sleek black swan, as inspired by a project I had seen before with the exact same basket. I loved Kevin Sharkey's usage of an unconventional (darker) Easter palette using black and rich purples. For my basket, I added my gilded eggs I made a couple years ago. I'm happy with how my swan turned out and I think it'll look great on our Easter table this year.

 

Brookfield Zoo

In February in Chicago, lots of local attractions, mostly museums, are open for free to Illinois residents. John and I liked going to the Brookfield Zoo so much we went twice. The second time we went we took John's brother Michael along. Besides all of the amazing animals that visitors can view, dotted all around the zoo are vintage novelty machines that create small blow-mold animal figures from a machine called a Mold-a-rama. Recalling my childhood, I really wanted to relive the exciting moment of watch my animal get molded from plastic. I picked out an American bison and John got a polar bear. There are several machines around the Brookfield Zoo, which is rare in comparison nationally.

The zoo had many great animal attractions that were divided by the type of habitat and animal. One of my favorite sections was the primate section, which had a series of large cavernous rooms, that actually "rained" in the rainforest (overhead sprinklers), and featured huge trees with ropes for the monkeys, apes, and chimpanzees to use. We had an excellent time at the Brookfield Zoo and I hope to visit again in the future.

Thankful

There is much to be grateful for this year. Looking back and considering just the past 11 months, it's very easy to feel appreciative for the many wonderful things that I've experienced and the incredible people I have in my life. 

I am very lucky.

Through life's many complex and unexpected challenges, I'm lucky to have many people to call, talk to, and confide in. And a sassy tabby who recently discovered her reflection in our bathroom mirror and can't get enough of herself. 

To new friends and old, to my family, and especially my very supportive husband--thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!