Now

"Life is kind of beautiful if you just let it come to you."

My first MoBlog post!

Jeremy the Fish

Yupster, Grups...

"It’s about reimagining adulthood as a period defined by promise, rather than compromise. And who can’t relate to that?" Taken from NY Magazine Up with Grups* by: Adam Sternbergh
FULL ARTICLE

Happy Now Flat Belly

"I must be right. Never an aspirin. Never injured a day in my life. The whole country, the whole world, should be doing my exercises. They'd be happier."
- Joseph Hubertus Pilates, in 1965, age 86

Gingerbread Man

My reviews won't match up to The Times, NYMetro or The Strong Buzz, but I hope to tip "my readers" off to a top restaurant every now and again. Funny that the only two restaurants I mention on this blog are on the UES! One of the best mom-and-pop restaurants I have been to in NYC was this past Sunday at Spigolo. The team is husband and wife and I loved that we were able to support them in their new endeavor (opened '05). My recommendation: WARM GINGERBREAD PUDDING, definitely in Jen's TOP 10 Desserts. I also loved the Pappardelle with lamb ragu as a Primi course. I haven't been a fan of lamb for long but was willing to try it again after an amazing experience at WD-50 (LES) where I had a rack of lamb with cranberry beans, parsley root, and tamarind-cashew. The cod for my Secondi course was crusted with Truffles!

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Céad míle fáilte

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Brass Monkey!

Fazil's

A few weeks ago I started Irish Step dance classes, better late than never! One of the things I love most about NYC is coming across history when I least expect it. I walked back in time in Fazil's Studio space. Fred Astaire danced on these floors. I have always said if I made it to NYC, I'd want to dance. The ancient Chinese proverb says, "The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step." My first step begins with Niall O'Leary School of Irish Dance.

Some quotes from the Zahir

"What I’ve tried to do in my life, ever since I started out on what I believe to be my path, is to honor that energy, to allow myself to be guided by the signs, to learn by doing and not by thinking about doing.”

"If there is suffering, then it’s best to accept it, because it won’t go away just because you pretend it’s not there. If there is joy, then it’s best to accept that too, even through you’re afraid it might end one day."

"No one should ever ask themselves, why am I unhappy? If we ask that question, it means that it will destroy everything. If we ask that question, it means we want to find out what makes us happy. If what makes us happy is different from what we have now, then we must either change once and for all or stay as we are, feeling even more unhappy.”

"Everyone believes that the main aim in life is to follow a plan. They never ask if that plan is theirs or if it was created by another person. They accumulate experiences, memories, things, other people’s ideas, and it is more than they can possibly cope with. And that is why they forget their dreams.”

"We all want commitment, we all want someone to be beside us to enjoy the beauties of Geneva, to discuss books, interviews, films or even to share a sandwich with because there isn’t enough money to buy one each. Better to eat half a sandwich than a whole one. Better to be interrupted by the man who wants to get straight back home because there’s a big game on TV tonight or by the woman who stops outside a shop window and interrupts what we were saying about the cathedral tower, far better that than to have the whole of Geneva to yourself with all the time and quiet in the world to visit it."

"Being with someone else and making that person feel as if they were of no importance in our life is far worse than feeling alone in the streets of Geneva."

The In and the Out

Kismet 2006- Thanks Elisa! This is what I have to look forward to this summer.

Brooklyn Beer Gal v Sports Gal

Don't want to finish last in the pool. :-)

My picks:
Final Four: Gonzaga over Duke, Villanova over No. Carolina.

Sports Gal's Picks:
Final Four: Memphis over Duke, UConn over Boston College.

Josh!

Zoe's (SoHo) owners Stephen and Thalia Loffredo opened Jovia, a New American restaurant in late '05. It's awesome to see what success they have had so far at this UES restaurant. Also exciting for me, is Chef Josh DeChellis. Josh was the first chef I met during my first fine dining experience in NYC city at Union Pacific.

3 Words on Jovia:
Jovia's Truffled Polenta

A must, YUM. :)

Bring on Dessert

In yesterday's newsletter from MUG, http://manhattanusersguide.com/ , there was a review for Gael Greene's (of NY Magazine) new autobiography: Insatiable-Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess, and in it a quote that sums how I feel about food. :) See next entry!

She ends the book this way: "I fully expect to go on eating and critiquing forever and that on my deathbed my last words will echo those of Brillat-Savarin's sister, who cried, 'Bring on dessert. I'm about to die.'"

Palmadas

Have you ever experienced that frozen in time moment when you know your life is about to profoundly change? That moment when you know you are right where you are "supposed to be" for the changes to start happening? I have never experienced music and dance so heart palpating, chilling, and emotional as I did tonight. I saw Noche Flamenca, featuring Soledad Barrio at Joe's Pub and with the first note of the show, I knew. The solo guitar number struck so deep within my heart, I can't put it to words but that was the moment again, twice.

Something similar on the Internet

Reading a powerful book and thought lots about this quote from the book while waiting for the L train: "That is why it is so important to let certain things go. To release them. To cut loose. People need to understand that no one is playing with marked cards; sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Don't expect to get anything back, don't expect recognition for your efforts, don't expect your genius to be discovered or your love to be understood. Complete the circle. Not out of pride, inability, or arrogance, but simply because whatever it is no longer fits in your life. Close the door, change the record, clean the house, get rid of the dust. Stop being who you were and become who you are."

Work in Progress

Just like a lot of things in life, this blog is a work in progress. I was holding off posting until I could finally post my Australia pics (yep, all 1,000+ of them) but it's impossible finding the time. Plus, I felt inspired tonight.