Macbeth

Macbeth, Shakespeare's probably darkest work, or at least it seems so. Murder, blood, witchcraft and madness - excellent choice for Halloween's night.

You arrive 15 minutes early and watch the crowds while waiting for your friends. There is an old lady hunched over wearing haloween masquerade mask, middle age tuxedo and bowtie men, two ladies that seem to just leave the airport with suitcaces in their hands, young college couple and six foot skinny model. Only in New York....

Don't you just love the city?

For the love of wine and pizza

You wake up happy. Maybe the 9.45am versus 6.30am was a good reason enough to cheer up your morning. Big cup of coffee and a magazine later you are ready to face the world. First stop the Equinox. Satisfied and motivated by scale reading you do an hour of intense cardio plus half an hour of weights, for a good measure. Stop by the cafe and order beeets, parsley, spinach, carrot, and cucumber juice. Not the most gratifying choice, but surely healthy one.

You meet V in the afternoon get your nails done and after short shopping stop at Searle you arrive at the Accademia di Vino, relatively new wine bar. You sit and start with bottle of wine. Good bottle of red and good conversation, you chat about nothing and everything. Gorgonzola cheese, walnuts, and apple salads arrive. Perfect combination of tangy, crunchy, and crispy. The bottle is half emply. Pumpkin, extra thin and crispy pizza lands on your table. You wouldn't think pumpkin belongs on the pizza and yet the pairing is surprisingly delicious. You finish with espresso and ricotta cheesecake with slices of plum.

Accademia di Vino
1081 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10021
212.888.6333

"...Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people ..."

At home, yet another slice of pizza, yet another slice of cheesecake, yet another glass of wine. Glutony. Netflix. Time for bed.

Thought for a day

"Enjoy every moment and don’t have regrets, because the truth is at every point of your life, everything you do is exactly what you want. And at every moment of your life you do the best you can, and your best is more then enough"

And why not?

It is 7pm and you are still at the office, wondering if it is a good idea at all to go out tonight. After all, you are quite tired, it is not even the middle of a week yet, and your rational mind urges you to go home. Curiosity, on the other hand, puts up a fight. How can you resist good conversation, glass of wine, and bit of dancing? Besides, you've already RSVPed, and V will be waiting for you. You perk up and shush your ever so responsible mind. Curiosity wins, once again.

Room Service
35 E.21st St
(btw B'way and Park Ave South)
New York, NY 10079
212.254.5709
www.roomserviceny.com

Four hours of sleep left....bollocks.

Shop till you drop

Literally. Five girls, one rented car, 13 hours....enough said.

Woodbury Common Premium Outlets
498 Red Apple Court
Central Valley, NY 10917
(845) 928-4000

You need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is a rather important day! One of the most significant this year.

Let's toast to the new beginnings

M is not happy. She is not satisfied with your life choices. You listen patiently and stare at the espresso maker. You nod several times and watch the dark, fragrant liquid slowly drip into the small cup. You have no strength to negotiate and defend yourself. You wisely choose your words and smoothly navigate through the conversation.

The day passes by quickly in typical Saturday fashion. Weekly chores and errands take up half of a day. You call for the laundry pick up, place quick lunch order, venture outside to do your nails. You plan to work out, but quickly cancel that thought and shop instead. Feel guilty, yet again.

In the evening you meet V for dinner at the Wallse. You spend the next three and a half hours chatting and forcasting the future. She is starting a new chapter in her life; the new beginnings with all the fear, hope, and excitemen that come along. You are glad to have here to share with you the blissful and ever so changing life on the fantasy island of Manhattan.

You login to opentable.com and save Wallse in your favorites folder.

Wallse
344 W. 11th St
(11th/Washington)
New York, NY 10014
212.352.2300

Evening at the Carnegie Hall

After two days of bliss you are back in Manhattan. It is getting late. You confirm your dinner reservation, rummage through your closet in search of something to wear. Pull one of the countless black dresses - always appropriate, always dependable. The restaurant is not your favorite one, but it is only block away from the Carnegie Hall - tonight's destination. You don't care for the interior - wall mirrors, Lalique crystal wall sconces, bronze sculptures, pink granite.... Your mother might appreciate it, you don't. The waiter takes your order. You choose the appetizer tasting (mostly Foie Gras, Salmon, more Salmon, and Caviar), Short Ribs for main course, cheese flight, and chocolate tort. The selection is good tasting, but not unforgettable. You doubt you'll return.

Petrossian Restaurant
82 West 58th Street
(58th St. at 7th Ave.)
New York, NY 10019
Phone : 888-297-5071

P holds your hand, you slowly walk to the Carnegie Hall.



The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director and Conductor
Malin Hartelius, Soprano
Bernarda Fink, Mezzo-Soprano
Westminster Symphonic Choir
Joe Miller, Conductor

MAHLER
Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection"

Hamptons

And on the 7th day God created the Hamptons. Couple of hours away from Manhattan pristine ocean beaches, blazing sunsets, quaint shops, galleries, and fine restaurants await your arrival.

You book the Mill House bed & breakfast and fall in love with it as soon as you enter the quiet, old world charm space. Adirondack chairs on the front porch tender serene space for morning coffee. After short walk through the village you settle for lunch. Choose to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. P orders a bottle of wine and half of the menu. Two hours later you are ready to walk off the lunch feast. Take a stroll along the beach and already plan your next trip.

The Mill House Inn
31 North Main Street
East Hampton,Long Island
New York 11937
Phone: 631-324-9766
millhouseinn.com

Always look at the bright side of life

Quest for the Holy Grail, men in tights, killer rabbits, sexy divas, pompous french, and flying cows - welcome to Spamalot on Broadway. Tuesday is a new date night. P gets the tickets, you come along. The Spamalot is not your first choice, but you enjoy it regardless.

Before the show you stumble upon Vice Versa. You like the ambiance - elegant and modern space with petite garden in a back. Takes you a while to negotiate table with the hostess. P's shaking his head, he knows the "just right" table location is essential to your dining happiness. You start with butternut squash soup, followed by pan seared codfish with lobster mashed potatoes, and finish with apple and lemon cake with ice cream. You find food bit overpowered by heavy spice mix and free flow of olive oil. On the upside, the staff is attentive and cordial.

Vice Versa Restaurant
325 West 51st St
New York, NY 10019

You walk home, navigating through still crowded streets. Stop for a moment to watch upcoming movie being filmed.

Let them eat Oysters

The Oyster Bay, NY welcomes the 24th Annual Oyster Festival. Festival organizers adopted a no-alcohol policy that established the festival as a family-fun event, enough said. Screaming kids run with their faces dripping with sticky lard covered with powdered sugar. Daddies with bellies hanging out of their pants hold their make-uped and permed significant others. Long lines form for oysters and lobsters served on thin paper plates with fountain soda in metal jars. Pretzels - big, bread loaf big, warm, and soaked in mustard attract the crowds.

You pause, look around, and spot an elephant. Enormous Elephant's ass to be exact. He refuses to cooperate. Dares to be different, you understand.

Shopping tents - handmade jewelry, soy candles, flavored nuts, nail files with crystals, funky knitted hats.... Fudge anyone?

You thank God for your friends who made this day memorable. Special thanks to J. who dares to bring forbidden bottle of wine and home made apple pie. Without them you would consider this day a total waste.

Penn Station, big smile.

The Rape of Europa

It is a lovely day - breeze of autumn's cool air with sunshine's warm touch. You have a date. Date with New York. Wake up late and dillydally in bed wrapped in warm blankets. Smell of freshly brewed coffee fills the room, NY Times is in front of your door. The weekend begins.

You take yourself to the movie theatre to see "The Rape of Europa" - documentary about Nazi programmed destruction and theft, followed by miraculous survival of European art during World War Two. Must see for anyone who is interested in art and history. Hitler's storm through Poland, France, Russia, and Italy - in quest for control, dominance, and acquisition of territorial rights along with attempt to burglarize the most coveted art pieces. Crave for power and sophistication by a man who simply didn't stand a chance.

Self esteem issues?

She visits the Met

The Met is your oasis. It goes with any weather and outfit. It soothes you when the world falls apart and inspires you when new ideas are called for. For serious gossip and catch ups, the rooftop offers unlimited supplies of hard liquor and dazzling view of Manhattan skyline.

This time of a year the Metropolitan Museum of Art proudly hosts Rembrandt and Dutch art exhibit. You've been invited to the opening, and you went again. You've paused in front of Flora painting; the plate next to it reads "....flowers, youth, beauty, and love don't last forever..."


You wholeheartedly agree with inevitable passing of flowers, youth, and beauty, but shouldn't love be excluded from this equation?

When the errands lucky stars align

What type of facial would you like Miss? The Eastern European women in her late 20s asks you in polite manner. “Pick what you think is best”, the worst answer you might ever offer. She scrubs, she massages, she extracts, she steams. It is not good. You know tomorrow your face will go on strike and break out. Always does unless it receives the first class treatment. You know you are not coming back. “Thank you, it was great” you lie through your teeth. You soak in jaccuzzi wondering how many people were there before you - germs mixing pot. You spent half an hour in sauna for a good measure.

In the afternoon you run errands marathon. Surprisingly, every single stop is as smooth as ever, you thank your lucky stars. Take quick photos for your soon to expire passport. Hit Kinko's to copy couple of documents and FedEx an important letter that changes your life plan. Linger in Sephora, this time choosing Bare Minerals in Fair and Vincent Longo Water Canvas foundation in Porcelain (one of them has to work), Smashbox Photo Finish primer, Dior lip gloss #317, Vincent Longo lipstick in Glow, Dr. Hauschka cleansing cream - Fresh Sugar deodorant completes your spending spree. You storm through Container Store getting hangers and boxes. Sit for a minute at Hale & Hearty savoring pumpkin soup. Stop by the wine store and stock up. Take a deep breath, slow down, walk into Karen's nail salon, have your nails painted "undefined red".

Why undefined?

Pain au chocolate and champagne

Pain au chocolat and cup of cafe macchiato effectively puts your 3 day detox resolution in jeopardy. Pain au chocolat wins over egg whites and tofu, yet again. To make up for your sinful eating habits you make your way to Equinox for Pilates class with James. You follow his instructions religiously, hardly being able to catch your breath. Sweat runs down your back, your abs ache. You stare at the wall clock counting every second.

In the evening you put your make up on and slip on LBD; heals complete your outfit. You meet B. in front of W Hotel Times Square and enter Whiskey Bar. Glass of champagne, sushi, gimlet, cheese, gimlet, grapes...You chat and people watch. You get drenched on a way home.

Temperature drops. Fall is finally here.

Deep cleaning

There are days were deep apartment cleaning is simply not only desired but also imperative. Slowly you work through every single drawer, tenaciously point hangers in your closet into the same direction, coordinate by colors, throw out mismatched cups. You fill four black garbage bags wondering why do you have so many things that apparentely don't matter.

You manage to squezze hour long work out at the Equinox and promise yourself to use your membership more often. Have a glass of wine with not so healthy dinner commiting yourself to 3 day detox (organic foods, green tea, and mindful eating).

Can you keep a commitment?

Sunday Brunch

Your friends take you to Five Points for brunch to celebrate your birthday. You are thankful for having them around. You laugh, chat, and gossip. You start with fruit plate, followed by banana french toast, and finish with Roasted Tomato & Eggs soft polenta , ricotta & parmesan.

Five Points Restaurant
31 Great Jones Street
New York, NY 10012
212.253.5700

Back at home you open a bottle of red and indulge: brie cheese, figs, french baquette, and dark chocolate.

Life's good.

Birthday 10.06

You wake up excited on this unusually warm October morning ready to celebrate another upcoming year of your life. Spent next four hours chatting on the phone with family and friends. Your sister tells you about her holidays in Italy, food indulge and opera in the evenings, your heart warms up. With NY Times in your hands you run to get a coffeee, absolute daily necessity - you smile and the world smiles back. B calls. She's taking you to lunch,she's not telling where, it is a surprise. She is making sure you are not sitting home alone on your birthday, your heart warms up again. You meet on the corner of Madison and 65th and get to the restaurant. You sitting pretty savoring your bubbly and listening to B. Your eyes wander for a moment, you spot Barara Walters few tables away engaged in conversation. The decadent lunch lasts for hours. Course after course, starting with fois gras and finishing up with dessert and espresso.

Cafe Boulud
20 E. 76th Street
New York, NY 10021
Tel 212.772.2600

To work off lunch we shop, well window shop at Bergdorf Goodman.

You find two dozen of red roses in front of your door.

At two in the morning the sharp pain awakens you. You gasp for air and grimace in pain. You reach for the phone wondering if calling 911 would be in order. You breathe slowly and breathe again. You promise yourself to tidy up your apartment every night, wear something appropriate to bed, and write a will - just in case.