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Saturday, March 15, 2014

March On!



Dear Mom,

Wow, a month has flown by! I got out of the habit of posting and then just got lazy. Of course you don't need a silly blog to know you are ALWAYS on my mind and in my heart. But here are a few things I would have enjoyed sharing with you...

Since St. Pat's Day is Monday, I'll make it a little 17-item roundup of recent events:

1. Spring is on the way! 
Last Saturday, I had a fantastic jog in the park. It was in the mid-50s. It's the same way today, and I should be back out there, but I am, er, in need of rest. More on that in a minute.

2. Bahamas trip! (AKA Spring Break 2014)
I posted all of the photos on Facebook, but here are a few of my favorites. So much fun!! When I was standing in line at immigration, the steel drum band started to play, and I had a POWERFUL sense of your presence saying, "YOU GO, GIRLS!!!" I knew you would be so excited for us and so happy I was treating myself to something special. It has been good to have this long, cold winter to mourn and feel sad when I needed to, and of course I miss you terribly, but I know you want me to be out doing fun things and enjoying my friends. It was such a terrific group, and we all loved every minute. We played on the water slides like we were little kids.

3. The Ashby Family 
Ellen, George, Preston and Forrest were here last week for Spring Break and treated me to dinner at a delicious Greek place on Friday night. It was wonderful to see all of them. They enjoyed the gorgeous weather on Saturday too, and Ellen sent me this snap of them on the Brooklyn Bridge.

5. Clarice's Birthday 
Ranie Claire's birthday was last Sunday. I amused myself by posting a shout-out from Luke Duke, above. We thought it was so cool in elementary school that Ranie's bday is 3/9, mine is 9/3, and Tom Wopat's is 9/9. This was back when we thought a half birthday was a real thing... 

6. Bargain Hunting
I almost bought this skirt at the Carlisle outlet Melissa introduced me to...it was marked down to $25 from some ridiculous price, but then I remembered I have bought too many on sale skirts, and if you don't get the perfect top, you never wear it. I've decided to focus on dresses at bargain basement establishments.

7. TJ Queen
LA was tickled to find a crazy deal on a new piece of her Hartmann luggage at TJ's in San Diego. It turns out they have "runway" sections at certain stores with higher end brands. I went to my trusty depot near Columbus Circle and found some tempting items, but I stopped myself from buying an Elie Tahari sequined skirt marked waaaay down. See above. In addition to lacking a perfect top, I was lacking an occasion for which a sequined skirt might be appropriate! 

8. Fun with Travey
Travis and I met up recently for brunch at Jeffrey's Grocery in the Village. He'd already eaten, but he was still a good sport about sharing a bloody mary and a seafood tower with me. Then we saw the Oscar live action shorts. So fun! I really love those. You can get them via some of the on demand outlets, but we went to the IFC Theater on 6th Ave. It was my third year in a row of seeing them, and it's a fun little tradition.

9. Oscar On Demand 
I ran up a nice little cable bill at home watching:
Captain Phillips
12 Years a Slave
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity 
Blue Jasmine 

In theaters, I saw:
American Hustle 
August: Osage County 

I considered writing a whole blog post about August, as it gave me much to ponder, but I'll just say it made me deeply grateful for the strength and grace with which you handled your cancer. It was awful watching sisters at odds with each other and a selfish, whackadoodle mama. I'm not sure whether I'm glad I saw it or not, but I guess it put a new spin on our own recent funeral hijinks. My comment to my friends was, "Why pay good money to watch a movie about a fictional dysfunctional family when you can watch your own for free?!" 
I know you hated Woody Allen, and I felt a little guilty watching Blue Jasmine given the recently revived molestation controversy, but it really was an amazing movie. Cate Blanchett was profiled on 60 Minutes, and I loved this quote so much I wrote it down: 
"A lot of us, our lives are built on a fictional sense of self -- who we aspire to be versus who we actually are." 
10. Oscars
Jared Leto gave the sweetest speech recognizing his mother. Of course it made me cry. 
11. The Boys 
Adam and I had a fun dinner at Marea when Will was in town. It was a bit of a midweek budget buster, but we all loved it. Will is such a doll. He asked the Quincy Facebook gang if anyone's ears were burning. ;) 

12. Yikes
I have been texting with my pals about the latest "great publicity" for our alma mater. Is that proof positive that book smarts and common sense do not always go together or what? Jeez, I can't imagine making such terrible choices at such a young age. Poor gal. 

13. Thank you, thank you, thank you 
The notes Miss Patsy got us from Art in Gadsden have come in handy for writing notes in appreciation of the sweet donations people have made in your memory to Big Bend Hospice, Centenary and RFM. I amused myself sending this card to someone I thought would appreciate it. I'm probably about the youngest person in Quincy who remembers this landmark building! 

14. Sweet Treats 
Have been enjoying the homemade cane syrup that Libboo sent me in her care package! Dennis is such a sweetie. I put some blueberries in my waffles last weekend.

15. Harlem Nights
The SSGs had a night out in Harlem recently, as Marianne is moving to California, so her time to enjoy her neighborhood is limited. We all got dressed up (note this was the THIRD time my leather dress made it out this winter!) and hit several fun spots. We are actually doing a repeat tonight for M's going away party. I am a little worried whether I can hang, as I'm kinda running on fumes. Because...
16. Restaurant Bucket List 
A good friend of LA's was in town on business and let me join his gang for dinner at Le Bernardin. It was amazing...we did the tasting menu + wine pairings. But that combined with pre- and post-dinner cocktails did not set little Lyns up for success at the office! Oopsie. Someone is too old for such midweek nonsense. It was delicious and such a treat. I wish I could go back and taste it all again. 
The scallops and sea urchin had a citrus sauce that made everything seem so fresh and light. I loved the broth on the king fish and caviar (mariniere is a white wine and mussel broth). The richness of the truffle with the langoustine was so decadent, and it was perfect as a small dish. I would absolutely return...even if I were on my own dime next time! Thank goodness for generous friends. ;) 

17. Bop in NYC
This just in from the Bedenbaugh gang. Hope to see them tomorrow. 
That reminds me...the 8th grade was in DC this week. It was sweet to see the posts, especially the one from MJ that she was missing CSS.
Wonder what NEW THINGS they discovered this year?

Saudade,

Lynsley