Forest Hills Soiree

Can I just say that I feel VERY lucky.

Okay.....so I ambitiously sent around 100 invitations out for a "spontaneous" party I wanted to throw. Yes, it was somewhat last minute but I figured what the hell, the summer is almost over. Happily, close to 50 people made the trek despite the commute to the hills. It turned out to be one of the best parties I've ever hosted. But let me say I couldn't have done without my loving boyfriend Shawn.....he's amazing. I could go on for days on his contribution but I don't want to bore you. :-) The highlight of the night was when all the artsy fartsy folks gathered around the piano to sing showtunes. Featured singers included Rena, Brooke, Jace, Kenneth (on piano as well), Christa, Jeff, Julie, Chris F. (on piano as well), and believe it or not, Shawn (on piano as well). :-) "Suddenly Seymour" brought the house down....we even had an encore for Heather & Kerry (Shawn's siblings). I believe everyone particiapted at one point in the evening. Also I slaved in the kitchen over my infamous sherphard's pie, lasagna & fresh guacamole which was awesome (if I do say so myself). Everyone seemed to like it....I wont mention names someone loved it so much they were eating directly out of the practically finished serving pan. Teehee! Good times!!!

Thank you to all of you who attended. I am very lucky to have such amazing people in my life!! :-)

Liza, Etc.

Last Thursday, Shawn and I had a rare opportunity to see Liza Minelli perform live in Coney Island, Brooklyn. She looked great, she sounded pretty good, but it's Liza...who cares about perfection. I believe she lost 26 pounds. :-) Thankfully, she performed hits such as "Cabaret" & "New York, New York" which brought the crowd to their feet. It was an amazing concert. Gays everywhere! :-) Coney Island has never been that gay. :-) Directly following, we went to the heart of Coney Island and decided to take a ride on the Cyclone roller coaster. WOW!!! I loved it. Nothing could be finer than finishing the evening with a hot dog from the original Nathans Hot Dog chain. :-)

Friday: After work, I spent a little time in Forest Hills then headed to NJ to help Shawn with his car situation. We ended up spontaneously eating at an all you can eat Brazilian restaurant in Hackensack. Talk about over eating...OY!!! Meat, meat and more meat! :-) And sushi! :-) It was delicious! We instantly went into a food coma and rushed home.

Saturday: Shawn worked until 3ish while I hung out with Shawn's family. Shawn's Dad and I took car of his car situation and met Shawn at the house. We then rushed off to Ruth's party near the George Washington Bridge in Washington Heights. The gathering was small, but so much fun. We ended up playing this party pleasing game called "in the manner of the adverb" which I loved. Great people, great food, great fun.

Sunday: Shawn & I explored the Flushing Meadows Queens Zoo in Corona Park. It was a quaint little zoo that took about an hour to walk through. Out of all the animals present my favorite was the Blue Billed Duck...SO ADORABLE! Afterwards, we went to dinner with Shawn's parents in NJ at this spectacular restaurant Le Jardin over looking NYC. The perfect ending of to the weekend.

The Devil Wears Prada

I had the opportunity to see this last night. It was BRILLIANT!!! Meryl Streep is a goddess of the cinema. She can do no wrong.

Faith Healer & North Beach

Friday night was a spontaneous night of theatre, capturing the talent of Ralph Fiennes, Ian McDiarmid & Cherry Jones. Although their performances was captivating, I found myself a little fidgety because of the content of the show. Cherry Jones was UN-believable. Soooo amazing! Also, a small world moment in NYC....Shawn's friend Jody randomly was sitting right in front of us at the Booth Theatre. Another mutual friend Ruth was sitting in the balcony. I love that! :-) After the show, Shawn took pictures and decided to get autographs of all the stars. :-) I smiled and softly laughed as he felt in his element. Cherry Jones was VERY nice, a genuinely sweet person.

On Saturday, Shawn and I attended a barbecue in Paramus with some of his old high school friends from years past. It was almost like a reunion. Very nice people and a wonderful summer day to go along with it. Afterwards, we headed back to Long Beach Island. We ended up going to a local bar called Pop Joes, hanging out with several of Shawn's siblings. Good times! :-) Shawn wasn't feeling too well, so we left early and piled into his Jetta (7 of us) Within 30 seconds, flashing lights appeared behind us & we were pulled over because we had too many people in the car. Shawn got a warning from the nice LBI policeman and we went on our way.

Sunday was all about sleeping in and beach time. Well.....mostly. I was on the beach for a good portion and then ended up napping for 2 hours sometime in the afternoon. What's hilarious is Shawn fell asleep on the beach at the same time I fell asleep and we both woke up at the same time. Great minds sleep alike. :-) To finish the weekend off, we went out to the Plantation restaurant in Harvey Cedars with Shawn's parents and Grandma (Memaw). I enjoyed the entire experience; the food, conversation and the atmosphere. Shawn wasn't feeling too well which made me very sad, but we made the best of it. Or should say he made the best of it...I was there for support. We arrive back in Forest Hills around Midnight. The traffic Gods were on our side. :-) Awww, perfection.

Long Beach Island Weekend

After returning to work on Thursday, It felt like as though I blinked and it was Friday. YAY! I love it! :-) We returned to Long Beach Island that afternoon hoping to catch a little sun before the sunset. In the evening hours, several of Shawn's siblings, relatives, friends headed to a dive bar on LBI. We enjoyed inexpensive cocktails and lively entertainment. My God, it's significantly less expensive to party outside of Manhattan (Friday night $2.50 bottles of beer). OY!

Saturday it was back to performing again. Uptown Express was scheduled to peform 2 shows at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park. Translation: early morning with lots of coffee. The 1600 seat theatre was amazing accompanied with the wine festival upstairs was so much fun. We met Dee from "Grape Beginnings" who explained the process of making wine and what the steps are in making a successful bottle of wine. Needless to say (after a couple glasses of wine) we were sold on the idea. After the 2nd show we headed to a popular club called "Paradise" for a congrats drink on a job well done. By the time we got back to LBI it was around 7, where we enjoyed gourmet pizza with the family. After the hilrous game of Celebrity, we spent a little alone time on the beach star gazing and killing mosquitoes...how romantic. :-)

Sunday: Another beautiful beach day. The water temperature was PERFECT. It felt rewarding to take a nap, catch a few waves, entertain Shawn's nieces and to watch Shawn's inner child appear. Awwwww, happiness! We finished the night off with a little Pinky's seafood (lobster, crab, clams & mussels) and headed back to Forest Hills shortly after that. I have a new affinity for the Jersey Shore....I LOVE IT!

Jersey Shore (Long Beach Island: North Beach)

I know I've been somewhat of a stranger to my good ol' reliable blog, but sometimes it's healthy to take a break from the norm and enjoy what life has to offer at the given moment. This past weekend up until Wednesday evening I was relaxing on Long Beach Island on the Jersey shore with Shawn & most of his family. We were in the North Beach area very close to Harvey Cedars. It was unbelievably hot at times yes, & the flies that love to bite were a little distracting, but taking a dip in the ocean (almost everyday) was refreshing and invigorating. From the relaxation on the sand everyday to the longest game of Uno in history (accompanied by lots of alcohol) to dinner at the Boat House in Beach Haven filled with seafood it was the perfect vacation. The best part of the entire experience was just hanging out with the family, feeling accepted as a part of Shawn's life. AND it goes without saying, Shawn has been nothing but AMAZING! This weekend we're heading back for a little more sun and hopefully happiness all around.

I hope you're having a wonderful week and stay cool if you can. Oy, it's ridiculously hot in Manhattan today.