family

i'm back in new york and i'm alone in my apartment and i never thought i'd say it, but here i go: i miss my family. i do. i was spoiled by not only getting to see my parents and brothers and darling nephew for 5 weeks straight every day, but i got to travel around the world to see the rest of my family - grandfathers, cousins, aunts, uncles, more nephews, whom i see so rarely for distance's sake.

it's yom kippur, the holiest day in the jewish calendar. my uncle sent over these scanned photos to my dad and i, wishing us a good fast. i wasn't quite sure why he had sent them, why this day of all days, one of repentance and suffering, garnered some dug up family photos.

it took a bit of silent, unconscious meditating to feel the link to this day and the photos of my relatives. and it hits home even harder when i'm so far away from all of the people that connect me to these roots.

the bearded man is my great-great grandfather, a michelson. my grandpa is recognizable in the second photo as the standing kid to the left. don't know who the rest of those folks are but their blood is coursing through my veins.

Mom

This is what I want to look like when I'm a mom.

Jane Birkin, via the thinking tank

Puppies and kitten are cute and all...

but look at my baby brother! Wasn't he the cutest?


If he knew how to read blogs, he would surely kill me now.

Old and New

+ An old photo of my grandmother in Riga, Latvia:


+A new song I'm listening to: She & Him - Thieves

Good Day/Bad Day

image via flickr

I'm finally finished with the hellish work weeks that I've been trudging through recently. I spent a few days decompressing by going to the gym, playing video games (I'm addicted!) and Yahtzee, and eating food. Had a fun little slumber party on Friday night and made a Cajun-inspired dinner: Afterburners (shrimp stuffed in jalapenos wrapped in bacon served with queso dip) followed by Eula Mae's Short-Rib Jambalaya.



I've already launched into the madness that is holiday gifting. I spent the bulk of yesterday making Sweet Potato and Ricotta Gnocchi to give away, including a midnight re-rolling session to recover smushed gnocchi with Billy. This afternoon I came home with a large load of presents from Barnes & Noble, plus the makings of a Bolognese ragu, which has been simmering on the stove for the past hour. I still have another batch of fresh pasta to make, plus jarring and packaging the foodstuffs, and then I have to throw myself a little wrapping party for all of my purchases. Fun, but equally exhausting. I have three days of newspaper to catch up on and no time to read.

Dear Paul Simon, you get me through most of these hard days.

She said a good day ain't got no rain
She said a bad day's when I lie in bed and think of things that might have been

Am looking forward to giving all these presents to their respective owners. I'm also looking forward to seeing my adoring family at the end of the week, although I'm sad to leave my ticket-less boyfriend behind. Even more so, I'm looking forward to the start of a new, hopefully prosperous, definitely adventurous, brilliant year.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I've been away from the computer for three magically rewarding days now, so please excuse my belated post. I spent the holiday in a lovely, relaxing house with my boyfriend's family in Long Island. We had the delicious old-standbys (sausage stuffing!), coupled with some first-time treats (sweet potatoes with marshmallows? a pumpkin eater/bailey's cocktail!), plus leftovers, sleepovers, and lots of rest. Despite the stubborn three pounds I gained over the course of the meals, I remain contented. Since my post was late, here's a round-up of some sweet Thanksgiv* posts:

Fear of Missing Out, follow my bliss, my favorite color is shiny, last night's dinner

Here's another treat, a picture my mom sent me of the family dog, looking pristine:


* the other night, we watched National Lampoon's Family Vacation over at my household, and I nearly died when Chevy Chase referred to the Mississippi River as the "mighty Mississipp". Best abbreviation ever.

Taconic Mom

This article I just read in New York Magazine, about the so-called Taconic Mom who killed 8 people including herself while driving drunk in July, is absolutely horrifying. I'm frightened for myself and everyone I know who drives daily. I'm trying not to think about it. I am curious to know, though, why I was so eager to read the article? Why are we drawn to the things that scare us most?

Rambling Folks

This seems like a good pairing:

Grateful Dead - Ramble on Rose

+

My Parents Were Awesome - can't wait to submit some sweet late 1980s photos of my folks

A Halloween Post

This is when Halloween really pays off:


There's nothing like getting to see your nephew's first actual Halloween costume along with a winning smile!

Plus, a sneak peak into my costume! I spent the bulk of the day sewing it together:

Casa Michelson: Master Bathroom

More to come later.

Casa Michelson: Portraits

Mother and Father.

Casa Michelson: Living Room

My parent's have a beautiful home here in L.A., which they have re-modeled and designed on their own. I thought I'd share some pictures of their wonderful, eclectic taste.

California Weather

I woke up this morning in Brooklyn and now I find myself in California, sitting in my parent's backyard and playing with our adorable dog, Sashi. After being unexpectedly bombarded with blistering cold weather on the East Coast, now I'm being treated to blissfully warm weather in L.A. Actually, it's not warm--it's hot. I'm wearing a dress with sleeves and I'm miserable. Thankfully, I've packed a pair of shorts and a beloved stack of late summer clothing that I've already had to put away in New York. I'm here for a brief family-filled visit. I'm expecting a few days of shopping, eating, and lounging, before returning to New York for a maddening week jam-packed with work, auditions, and whirlwind rehearsals for a quick production next Saturday night. But, more on that later. For now--sun, sleep, dogs, toddlers, little brothers, etc. Already had some delicious Cali tacos, shrimp and then tilapia!

P.S. I also have a trip to Lucques planned, which I've been dying to go to since falling head over heels in love with Suzanne Goin's cook book.

kill me now

via

Robinson Family Weekend

Some pictures from the Connecticut pool party. Jen wrote a lovely description of our time up at the Robinsons' home and even expounded on my propensity to win water games like smallest splash etc while Tim wasn't playing.

Tim picked us up looking like James Bond. His dad collects MGs.

The Robinsons' beautiful garden.

Kicking off the party with a mimosa toast.

The Robinson barn.

Their backyard forest!

This is what we did all weekend:

Slept

Drank

Chatted

Boobs!

trip recap

I'm ba-ack! Well, kind of. I've returned to New York, but haven't been able to post because I have been on my feet for the majority of the past 48 hours trying to catch up to speed with life here. It doesn't help that my computer is locked up at the repair shop and I have to use my time with borrowed computers or internet dens wisely.

I had a very eventful Memorial Day weekend. We flew in and out at the crack of dawn, however, leaving me in a tired haze for most of Friday and Tuesday. Otherwise, everything was just great. No family drama to speak of, no car accidents, no disappointments. Since I don't have the luxury of time on my side, I will give a brief account of my trip in list form:

+Brunch at BLD

+opening party at Intelligentsia Cafe in Venice

+beer and bar food with high school friends in Santa Monica

+SoCal tacos at Sky's

+semi-hike at Griffith Park (sat on big rocks & analyzed Disney movies mostly)

+In-N-Out!

+late afternoon drinks in the hills above Studio City

+sunset drive along Mulholland with a stop at a nice overlook

+Fairfax Flea Market (found an Afghani rug for my forthcoming bench!)

+great seats at the Dodgers versus Angels game

+dog park in San Gabriel with the family

+big Chinese dinner at Hop Li downtown

+fun video games and funnier board games

+early afternoon semi-congested drive down PCH

+bike riding on the Santa Monica and Venice beach boardwalks

+big Memorial Day BBQ

Everything in between consisted of family, more family, playing with our dog, sleep, more eating, and mostly driving.

If I can get my hands on our very few pictures, I'll post them.

In other news, B & I have started adventure funds in the form of mason jars so that we can venture somewhere fun soon.!!

Bear with me while I am computer-less. I will be back full force soon.

my father, the hero

My style icon:

Nikki from My Father, the Hero

I remember seeing this movie in a theater like it was yesterday. I was with my dad and older brother--my mom was on a business trip and my dad had taken us out for the day, somehow convincing Elan to see my film of choice. I was 7, maybe 8 years old. As we're ascending the escalator to the main floor with all of the different theater entrances, my brother spots his then idol standing a few feet away from us with his daughter: Wayne Gretsky. I didn't know who this man was, only that he was important to Elan. He would always yell "Gretsky" and "Kings" (who I believed to be another player) when my dad took us to hockey games. So, when Elan got all riled up to see Gretsky and whispered to me to go say hi to him, I felt like it was the least I could do--he was about to sit through the girliest movie of the year with me. I skipped over to Gretsky, smiling foolishly and asked for his autograph. My doofus brother then followed. And then we watched this movie, which, to this day, I am still in love with. We were both in heaven that afternoon.