Sunday Brunch

Today John and I had brunch with our good friend Richard at Asiate, a restaurant on the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.  I loved the brunch menu at this restaurant.  To start, we were each served a sampler plate of four one-bite appetizers - an edamame dumpling, a shot of butternut squash soup with toasted sesame seeds, beef carpaccio, and a miniature salmon tartine (which I gave to John).  For the entree we were able to choose two items that were served in half portions which made choosing so much easier.  I had the frittata and the lemon poppyseed waffle with blueberry compote.  Dessert was served the same way in that both dessert selections from the menu were presented in mini portions on small platters- spiced orange flan and a tiny carrot cake.

This picture of John doesn't show John's sweet face as much as I would have liked, but you can see the amazing view!

Dinner at David Salle's in Honor of Karole Armitage

A few weeks ago, John and I were invited to a Karole Armitage dance performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and then a dinner in her honor at the home of artist David Salle. It was pretty exciting for me considering David Salle was one of my art heros when I was in graduate school. Dinner was served in his studio which was very cool. It was also our first night out as Mr. and Mrs. John Newsom which was very exciting!

Margaret and Richard seated in front of one of David's paintings.

John and David Salle.

David saying a few words to the guests before dinner.

While talking to his neighbor, Barbara, at dinner, John discovered that she is the mother of the actress who played Janice on "Friends"!

The guest of honor, Karole Armitage.

Little Miss Ninja

I had dinner with Jena and Emma tonight. After dinner, Emma dressed up in her Ninja Halloween costume for us and entertained us by dancing to her Barenaked Ladies cd "Snack Time", this great cd written for kids. As usual, she had Jena and I in stitches.














Emma loves being in front of the camera!

































I love how I accidentally captured Rocky having his way with the pillow in the background.













What a cute little dancing Ninja!

Guggenheim with Bijon and Alexis

Today we went to the Guggenheim Museum to see the Kandinsky exhibit. It was amazing! We met one of John's friends from high school, Bijon, who was visiting the city with his girlfriend, Alexis. Afterwards, we had the most delicious Cuban dinner together. This is all of us in the museum cafe.

John and Bijon

This is one of the Kandinsky paintings we saw today. It's always been one of my favorites!

Opening Night at the Opera

John and I were invited to opening night at the Met Opera tonight! Here are some of the pictures from our night...
John and me at the cocktail reception before the opera.













Me and Helianthe, Richard's date, outside of Lincoln Center.

John, Helianthe, and Richard at the cocktail reception.

Inside the tent where the dinner was held.

Our beautifully set table just before we sat down for dinner.

Sunday Brunch

John and I had brunch this past Sunday with our dear friend Jenn who was visiting from Houston. We went to one of our favorite restaurants, Balthazar, where we shared sour cream and berry waffles, amoung other breakfast delights. Afterwards, we took a long walk around SoHo, stumbled upon a street fair in Little Italy, and took a stroll around ABC Carpet (a fabulous and huge store with all kinds of furnishings and items for the home). We can't wait to see Jenn and all our other friends and family in Texas in 39 days!

My Super Sweet Shower with the Church Ladies

The day after the Bachelorette Party, I was given a bridal shower by the ladies of my church in Baytown. It was beautiful! They had the table decorated with a chocolate brown cloth and a centerpiece of peach roses, limes, and crystals...all to match the wedding colors. It was so thoughtful and sweet and absolutely perfect!

Betty and Barbara behind the gorgeous centerpiece (created by Deborah)

Becky, Missy, Lizzie, Cassie, Joley, Jena, and little Emma out by the pool and just getting over our wild and crazy bachelorette party from the night before.

Me with my wonderful hostesses - Gail, Lisa, Barbara, Roxanne, Juan, Joyce, DiAnne, Ann, Deborah, Betty, and Debbye

Lizzie, Cassie, Missy, and Becky

Lizzie, Mom, Cassie and Emma...and Jena on the far right :)

Cassie and Wendy...a friend from youth group when we were growing up in church.

Linda and Cassie...my wonderful mentor from my first year of teaching who taught me everything and more about teaching art.

My Absolutely Fabulous Bachelorette Party!

I recently returned to New York after a fantastic visit to Texas. While I was there, my bridesmaids and friends joined with Lizzie's bridesmaids and friends to give us a joint Bachelorette Party which was probably one of the most fun nights of my life!
The two brides-to-be, Lizzie and Cassie, and also the maids of honor for each other.

Joley, Jena, and Kristina

Cassie, Wendy, and Cheryl

Cassie, Missy, Anna, and Tracy

Kristina, Jenn, and Cassie

Thank you for the most fun night of my life ladies!!

Jena, Michael Jackson, and Blithe Spirit

Jena (my oldest friend from childhood) came to New York for a visit last week. Our big night out was Thursday when we had dinner in Bryant Park and then saw the play "Blithe Spirit" on Broadway starring Rupert Everett, Christine Ebersole, and Angela Lansbery (who won the Tony this year for Best Actress in this performance).

This was also the night that we heard the news of Michael Jackson's sudden passing. We were walking down the street to the restaurant when our friend Missy (my second oldest friend from childhood) texted me to share the news (Missy and I watched "Thriller" for the first time at her house in 1983 and we probably watched it 500 more times together over the next three years). We both stopped in shock after reading the message and then suddenly we heard everyone on the street talking about it...as if everyone else had received the news at just the same time. Seconds later a man crossing the street cried out "Long live the King!" It was such a strange and surreal moment.

There was another element of strangeness to add to the moment because Jena and I were riding our bikes together in 1984 when we heard the news that Michael Jackson had been burned doing the Pepsi commercial. How strange that she just happened to be in New York with me again when we heard the news of his death. We both got chills when we realized the coincidence.

This picture was taken around 1983 or 84. I really did love Michael Jackson and his music when I was growing up. But I've realized after watching all the news coverage of his life, that the Michael Jackson I loved was gone a long time ago. Although he never stopped making great music, he did lead a very strange life towards the end. It was sad to watch his appearance change so drastically over the last few years and even sadder that his reputation was tarnished after the law suits. The man must have had considerable personal pain in his life to make such choices. But despite all that, I will always remember his music of the early 80s and how it was the soundtrack to my childhood. I cannot hear a song from the "Thriller" album without reliving a memory of dancing around my bedroom in my purple-striped leotard at nine years old. For the sheer joy your music gave me as a child, I thank you Michael Jackson.

Kristina's Visit to NYC

Kristina came to New York for Memorial Day Girls Weekend!

We did some shopping in Soho...












Shared Lemon Sugar crepes at Cafe Henri...













Had dinner at the Cubana Cafe with Vera, Mina (not pictured), and...












John! He took a short break from the studio to meet us while he ordered his dinner to go.












Afterwards we had coffee and desert at Cafe Reggio in the village. We had a great time! The three of us hadn't hung out since Vera and I lived in Houston. It had been a few years, so this was really a special weekend.