New Fall Baby

This is my new step-nephew. He was born on Sat. and he's wearing a pumpkin hat already! I'm so honored that they used this hat for his hospital photo. (And whew--I'm glad it fit!)

New Fall Makeup

I love getting new makeup for fall and spring. The change in seasons makes me want to change my look too, like having more smoky eyes for fall and winter and lighter and brighter in the spring. I went to the mac makeup counter yesterday with the intent of getting new mascara, but I really wanted dark purple nail polish too. I have never worn dark nail polish, but I've been wanting to try it for some time. They happened to have a new color for fall which was just what I wanted. I had to trim my nails down since dark polish shouldn't be worn on long nails. (And next time I need to remove my cuticles so that it looks neater.) I also got a couple of new purpley eyeshadows to complement the colors I normally wear, but my eye makeup probably doesn't look any different to anyone else.

Julia and I used to go get our makeup done at the mac counter together. I miss doing that. Maybe we can go next fall.

Funny Web site

I wanted to share a funny Web site called "Things Overheard in New York." http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/ But a word of warning: Most of these comments are extremely off-color. If you are easily offended, then don't look. And this warning is especially for my parents because they would probably think I should be grounded for posting such smut. But it goes to show you that people shouldn't make fun of the South: There are dumb people everywhere.

Judy Blume!!

This afternoon was the Judy Blume signing. I wore my "Reading is Sexy" shirt and she loved it. I wrote down the website for her because she wanted one. And she pointed it out to the people who were with her. Now I have to get a "Knitting is Knotty" T-shirt for the Susan Anderson signing.

Recognize this diner?

An Apple a Day...

An apple cozy appeared in the New York Times style section recently, and at first I thought it was crazy. Then I thought that perhaps it could be a cute gift. Susan Anderson posted one on her knitting blog, suggesting it would be a great back-to-school gift for teachers. And then I had the idea that it would be a cute get-well-soon gift along with an apple card. My friend Michael helped me start the cast-on and the handle, and I knitted it like a little hat, doing a slight increase and then decrease. I looked on the Internet for hours for a caterpillar button, and this was the cutest one I could find. The wheels are a little strange but I thought that everyone would get the idea! I know it's strange to have an apple cozy, but why not make your apple cute?

Would you leave your kid at this daycare?

Me neither.

Filming Damages

Some scenes for the TV show Damages were being filmed on my street last week. No sign of Glenn Close or Ted Danson.

Grandma in New York

Grandma had a good time in New York City, but I think that she was a little scared being here. Our balcony has glass panels, and one of them has been cracked since we moved in, and she asked if it was from a gun shot. She also asked if there were a lot of suicides...I don't know if she asked because we had a balcony for people to jump off of or because New York is so awful. And then the last night she was here Heinz brought home a pizza, and she asked if anyone tried to take it from him! That doesn't happen in New York, unless you have delicious delicious cupcakes from Magnolia bakery (now I always ask for a bag so they can't see the box).

I took Grandma to see The Drowsy Chaperone. It was hard to find a show without pop culture references or anything offendable. I also took her to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to Chinatown for dim sum, to the St. Regis for high tea (we ate almost everything, as you can tell from our plates), Tiffany's (Grandma said twice, loudly, "They don't have to know we don't have any money to spend!"), and FAO Schwartz. Grandma decided that she wanted to ride the subway to the airport to save money. She said that she "should have taken a nerve pill." Even while sitting down, she was hanging on for dear life. I think Grandma had a good time.

Cupcake Courier

So, I've been wanting a Cupcake Courier for months, only they've been sold out. But now they have all of the colors available, so hurry and order one now. I am so excited. I think that this will be so handy for transporting cupcakes so the frosting won't mess up. I got the yellow one because I thought it would be the most neutral. (Click on the headline for the link.)

Coney Island

The weekend before last we went to Coney Island. I had never been so I felt like it was something that I had to do. Plus, it was the last day for Astroland. It was in a lot of the news that weekend. Astroland is an amusement park that was shutting down; it was something to do with the lease. Some guy is going to turn it into nice shopping. I think that a lot of New Yorkers would hate me for saying this, but I think that Coney Island would be the better for it. It is yucky and dingy. If they left up a few of the biggest rides as landmarks, I think that would be okay.

We went on the Wonder Wheel, which is part of a different amusement park next to Astroland, and they said that they're not shutting down. The Wonder Wheel is the tallest wheel in the world and was built 80 years ago. It has white stationary cars and red and blue ones that move on a track. Scary! You could hear people screaming. Someone told me that it feels like you're going to slide right off.

So now that I've been to Coney Island, I don't feel a need to go back.

Sunday Afternoon in the Park

Sunday afternoon we went out to enjoy the city. First we went to the Whitney Museum of American Art since it was the last day of the Psychedelic Art exhibit. Apparently a whole lot of other people had the same idea. The line was out the door and around the side of the building. We were almost bummed but then we remembered that with my ID, we could go to the corporate member desk. We went in, someone gave us two tickets (for free, for a savings of $30), and we went up to the exhibit. No waiting. It was sweet. Here's a pic of Janis Joplin's Porsche, on display downstairs as part of the exhibit.



Then we decided to walk in Central Park for a bit. After getting some amaretto gelatto (so fabulous), we walked toward the entrance. And walking out of the park was Ivanka Trump and some guy. I said to Heinz, "Look!" quietly, because I didn't want to say her name where she could hear me. So Heinz looked behind him, and totally missed her. He said that we needed a system for such occasions, so next time I'm just supposed to say "twelve o'clock." But he actually asked me how I knew it was her. Um, because I work at People?

We sat on a bench for awhile in front of this little pond. We left due to the screeching violin--some guy thought people would give him money for that. Maybe we were supposed to give him money so he would stop.

So Sad

For the second time in four days, I have seen a woman on the sidewalk crying. And it makes me so sad. The first time was Sunday afternoon at Coney Island. There was a woman selling churros (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churros) who was turned into a phone booth, and she was crying. In a way you want to ask if they need help, but you don't want to be intrusive. And then today on my way to work, there was a woman on the stoop of a building, leaning against the brick front, sobbing hysterically. I guess this is what happens when you don't have a car to go sit in and cry. I was trying to think if I've ever done that—sat in my car and cried—and I can't remember. Have any of you ever done that? And sorry I don't have any pictures to do with the post. I thought it would be rude to take a picture of someone crying.

Dr. Acula

If you're a fan of Scrubs, then you'll appreciate this Dr. Acula shirt. Dr. Acula has his own way of taking patients' blood, so watch out. Wow, Dr. Acula sure looks tired, doesn't he? He can barely keep his eyes open. I guess it's time for him to go back to sleep in his coffin.

The Other Alda

Heinz and I went to Alan Alda's booksigning tonight for the publication of his new memoir. Alan Alda is supernice and very witty. He had practically a whole standup routine going on.

This is actually the second Alan Alda booksigning I've been to. I went two years ago to get a book signed for my mom, whose name is, coincidentally, Alda. Both times he asked, "Is this you?!" And even though they said that he wouldn't write messages to anyone, he wrote, "To Alda, from the other Alda." Sorry the pictures are blurry. The one below is a contraband picture, as we weren't supposed to take any on stage. But Heinz wanted to get me in a picture with him. We have more pictures like this, like me with Bradley Cooper and Paul Rudd. I'll post those another time.

A Mystery Solved

Did you ever read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe growing up and, like me, wondered: "What the heck is Turkish Delight?" When I was a kid, I thought it was some kind of thinly sliced roast beef. Since there was no Google back then, I had no idea that it was candy from Turkey. Well, last night I tried some for the first time, thanks to Economy Candy (http://www.economycandy.com/). This place is amazing. It's on the lower East Side, and it's floor-to-ceiling chockful of candy. You can even order stuff online. And at Christmas, they get Kinder eggs! If you haven't been to Germany at Christmastime, you might not know what I'm talking about, but you should. They're hollow chocolate eggs with a cool toy inside. And they're delicious. Back to the Turkish Delight: It's like a gelatin with some nuts inside, frosted with confectioner's sugar. I liked it pretty well, but it wasn't as good as what Edmund said. But then again, his was made by the White Witch and was enchanted. Thanks to my friend Mike for telling me about Economy Candy.