new york, i love you but you're bringing me down.

new york in the winter can be a hard place to come home to sometimes.

especially when you're coming back from california.

especially when you have the flu.

especially when the f train stops running the day you have to be back at work.

especially when there's a mouse in your apt.

it's been a rough week.

so, illnesses and rodent traumas aside, i joined my beau for a late night italian dinner last night at one of our favorite east village haunts, lil' frankies. lil' frankie's is part of the trifecta that also includes frank and supper owned by genius chef & restauranteur, frank prisinzano. when it comes it comes to simple, rustic, casual, and delicious italian food, i don't think it gets any better than these three places. after a stressful night at work, we were both looking forward to sitting down and having a really good meal. 

mark ordered the minestrone soup special and the tomato bruschetta. i went with the porcini ravioli special. everything is good there, but their specials are always, well, special. before our food came, mark and i were talking and i noticed movement on the other side of our table. yep, it was a little roach scurrying by. i made some noise that sounded like i was choking and yodeling at the same time. mark noticed the little guy and raised his knife as if he was going to kill the bug buffy the vampire style. i quickly assessed that this wasn't going to work in time and allowed my ninja instincts to take over; i grabbed my napkin and squished it. or squashed it. whatever. hard. 

now please let me say i am not writing this to in any way incriminate lil' frankies; they are fantastic and this can happen anywhere regardless of how clean the place is. i have worked in many restaurants and i have seen much worse, handled much less effectively. our lovely waitress comped our whole meal and after mark talked me down, i was able to enjoy some of the best ravioli i've ever had. my point is, well, it's new york, and sometimes it can really be a bitch to come home to.

speaking of coming home, here are some pictures i took from my trip to san diego. they are mostly from the sleepy coastal town of encinitas and from a drive i took with my dad to palm desert. that drive was amazing because we had to go up into the mountains where it got so cold there was actually snow on the ground. as soon as we got back into the desert the temperature had risen about 30 degrees and it was warm again. we kept passing clusters of mailboxes in the mountains that i wanted to stop and take pictures of, but because we were driving along such narrow roads we were never able to stop in time. before we descended down the mountain, my dad noticed a row of them and a place to pull over. the view from the hills overlooking the mountains above the city was pretty breathtaking. new york will always have my heart, but it sure is nice to get some fresh air and sunshine every now and then.

especially in february.

the blanket wars

i know, i know, i know.

i've been neglectful. possibly awol.

really just busy, then traveling, then sick.
current status = still sick.

the point is, if there is anyone out there who reads this blog other than my mom (hi mom) and you have been wildly anticipating my latest post, then i humbly apologize for keeping you waiting and hope you have not forgotten about me entirely.

so, is there anyone out there?

anyway, last week i went to san diego to visit my family. it was of course lovely and wonderful to escape new york in the dead of winter and get a little sunshine.

my mother, (whom i might have mentioned is an avid reader of this blog) read this post a while back and thought a wonderful gift to surprise me with was in fact the blanket with sleeves, otherwise known as the snuggie.

now, a snuggie is a ridiculous looking thing. it's a fairly simple concept; it really is just a blanket that has sleeves, but when i put it on i looked something like a cross between a muppet and a beluga. it is perhaps the most unsexy thing one could ever wear. ever. it also seemed a little silly to be receiving one of these is southern california, but my mother who undoubtedly is clairvoyant gave me this thing just days before i was shivering on her couch with a nasty viral flu thing that was determined to make my life hell. i held on to that snuggie for dear life and we saw some dark days together.

back in nyc now, i haven't left the warmth and comfort of my bed much, but (sigh) i must return to work tomorrow and join the world of the living. i'm a little reluctant to leave my pajamas behind, as i anticipate the shock of harsh fabrics may be to much for my weakened body to withstand. luckily, today i was perusing this blog and came across these!!!!

OMG you guys.

pajama jeans!!

watch out, snuggie, there's a new blanket in town and its name is pants!

vs.

and just cause you can't make this stuff up, this picture of a woman with an alien baby growing out of her chest is actually the promo pic for baby snuggie:

it is so on.