A quick trip to San Francisco

L:  What was your favorite part about being home for Teddy & Kelley’s wedding?

F:  My favorite part about being home for their wedding was being home for their wedding! This was by far the happiest time I have ever spent at home. I loved seeing how happy David (our other brother) and Mom and Dad were also. That was so sweet.

L:  What is your favorite picture from the wedding?

F:  I like this one because the sunset was amazing and they just look so happy.

L:  What are you most looking forward to about going back to LA?

F:  Going back to my eating habits. I feel puffy and yucky. I can’t wait to eat 3 healthy meals a day again.

L:  What’s something you really want to do before summer is over?

F:  Go to the beach one more time.

L:  How do you feel about flying?

F:  I really don’t like to do it. If I thought about it too much, I might freak out. I just try to get it over with but enjoy my time as well.

Sailboats and the Cleveland skyline on Lake Erie

F: What is your favorite breakfast food and why?

L: I love oatmeal with honey, coconut, almonds or walnuts and maybe some golden raisins. A few years ago I went to the Omega Institute for a week-long yoga retreat. The food there is all vegan and it is out of control delicious. One of the things they have is a oatmeal bar with toppings I’d never before dreamed of (i.e. coconut). I love coconut and the concept that I could eat it every day with oatmeal really changed my life in so small but true way. I think it’s my favorite because it’s filling. There are obviously many other delicious breakfast foods but I’m always hungry again so soon after I eat most of them.

F: What is a book that you have always wanted to read, but haven’t gotten around to it?

L: I’ve read the first chapter of Moby Dick about a half a dozen times. It’s clearly a sort of masterpiece but all I really know about it is that there’s a whale and a guy named Ishmael. One day I’ll commit and really get into it.

F: What do you think makes a good toast?

L: I keep thinking this says, “What do you think makes good toast?”. I think I’m still thinking about breakfast foods. Anyway, I think one of the most important things in making a good toast is that people can hear you. Aside from that, I don’t think you can go wrong if you’re heartfelt.

F: What are you most looking forward to this week?

L: Teddy and Kelley’s wedding, of course!

F: What is something unexpected that makes you happy?

L:  I love when I find a penny heads-side up, wrote about it here once.

The view of Santa Monica beach

L. How are you?

F. Hey, thanks for asking! I am exhausted. Lately around 3pm onwards I have been feeling SO tired. I am going to get to the bottom of this and report back.

L. If Halloween was this week, what would you dress up as?

F. I have always wanted to paint my whole body grey and dress as a flapper and be someone from a black and white movie. Get it? That also sounds like A LOT of work.

L. Have you gotten any good advice lately?

F. Not really, but I feel like I should be asking for more. Maybe I am not listening. Got any for me?

L.  What’s one of your favorite color combinations?

F. Oh boy! Ever since I moved from NYC I have been sporting so much color! I have been rocking blue and green together and it’s been so fun.

L. What do you do to shake a bad mood?

F. Meditate, remove myself from the situation, admit that I am in a bad mood and I don’t know why. Those things usually help the mood pass.

F:  What is your favorite TV show and why?

L:  I barely watch anything these days.  I haven’t even finished watching all of last season’s Mad Men which is one of only three shows I watch religiously (the other two are GIRLS and The Bachelor/Bachelorette – don’t hate).  I’m kind of thinking about starting Game of Thrones but it sounds like a lot of effort.  Check in with me again in the fall or winter and I’m sure I’ll have a whole list.

F: What is on your list of summer essentials?

L:  Well, let’s see: a good hat, jean shorts, sun glasses and a good travel bag for getting out of town.  And ice cream.

F: What is the most “New York” thing you have done recently?

L:  I’ve actually been getting out of the city a lot these days, which in itself is a pretty New York thing to do in July & August.  I’ve also been riding the new citibike bike shares all over town.  It’s just the best.  I ride them back and forth to yoga a lot and it’s just really fun.

F: What is something new that is in your life that you can’t believe you have lived without?

L:  A second fan in my apartment.  I’m not really  a fan of air conditioning so I don’t have one but there is always one span of time each summer that is unbearably hot in my apartment.  I’ve always had a fan in my bedroom that sometimes I would move into the living room, but mostly not.  Now I have a second, smaller fan for my living room and it feels good!

F: Can you believe our little brother is getting married in less than 3 weeks?

L:  I know, right?!  I’m so excited.  It has been such a fun year leading up to their wedding and I can’t wait to get to Cleveland and celebrate with all of you!

One of my new favorite pictures

L:  What inspires you?

F:  I get most of my inspiration from blogs, my friends and family. I tend to get ideas and leads on recipes and crafts through the blogs that I read. Three of my favorites are DeisgnLoveFest, Cupcakes and Cashmere and 101 Cookbooks.

L:  What are you currently reading?

F:  Amy just gave me the book Zelda by Nancy Milford. It is the biography of Zelda Fitzgerald (F. Scott’s wife).  I have always loved the idea of them, so I am extremely interested to start reading.

L:  What’s your favorite flower?

F:  Yikes, that is really changing for me. It used to be sunflowers. However, California has really gotten me smitten with peonies and calla lilies.

Image via here

L:  If you were an Olympian, what sport would you choose and why?

F:  I must admit that I ljust ooked up a list of olympic sports. I think the ones that most stand out to me are archery, diving and synchronized swimming.

L:  Planes, trains or automobiles?

F:  Trains, 100%. No matter where I am going on a train I am excited for it. Planes scare me and cars make me carsick these days.

Train travel in Thailand

F. Tell me about your 4th of July. I ask this because I missed you.

L:  I had an awesome 4th of July.  I went to my friend’s parent’s house in NJ.  The day included swimming hole swimming, some sauna-ing, a super fun lawn game called Kube, an attempt at building a fire and other shenanigans.  Later in the weekend  I camped in the Hamptons and spent lots of time at the beach.  All and all pretty fabulous.  I missed you too.

F. Have you been cooking for yourself? If so, what have you made?

L:  Not a lick.  For better or worse, I can’t even remember the last meal I made for myself (other than oatmeal at work).

F. Where is one place that you would love to travel?

Banff National Park via here

L:  I’d really like to go to Banff, Canada.  I never used to be much of a mountain person, and maybe it’s in response to 11 years in NYC, but I’m more and more drawn to this type of nature nowadays.  It seems beautiful there.

F. What is your favorite beverage at the moment?

L:  I’m still endlessly enjoying my lemon water in the mornings.  I’ve also developed a taste for rose wine this summer.  It used to taste like vinegar to me but now I find it so refreshing.

F.  Are you scared to die? 🙂

L:  I wouldn’t say I’m scared to die but isn’t something I’m really looking forward to either.  It seems to me that facing death with ease and acceptance is the way to go because ultimately there’s really nothing any of us can do to avoid it, but easy for me to say…

L. Does summer feel different than spring in L.A.?

F: Oh yeah! When we first got here in March, I felt chilly. Now, it is SO hot. The heat is nothing like home though. The humidity takes it to a whole new level in Cleveland. It is more of a desert-ish, dry beating heat.

L. Are your nails and/or toes painted?  What color?

F: Surprisingly, I do not like to have my nails painted. They always chip and it never lasts. My toenails however are mandatory. Lately I have been painting them a soft lavender and they look great.

L. What’s your favorite thing about being a part of a big family?

F: I feel constantly supported. There is nothing like knowing that no matter what happens to me I have support. I feel loved.

L. What’s your least favorite part about being a part of a big family?

F: That is a good question. I honestly have nothing to complain about. I would say however that sometimes it is hard to keep up with everyone that I love because I love so many people. I feel blessed to be so close to all of my extended family

L. Do you have a new favorite funny youtube?

F: Ha! Yes, in fact, I do! My coworker showed me this the other day and I thought it was so stupid that it was funny. I am such a fan of physical comedy. It always gets me.

It’s Not The Nail

Essex Street subway station

F: What is your favorite part about the heat?

L: The feeling of warmth.  I also just really love nights when you’re with the people you love and it’s too hot to do anything but lay around and talk to each other.

F. What is your favorite summer treat? Food and drink?

L:  Probably ice cream.  Not frozen yogurt, not gelato, not Pinkberry.  I’m talking real, American ice cream.  It’s more difficult than you’d think to find in NYC.  A Dairy Queen blizzard works too.

F. Are there any movies that you are interested in seeing?

L: Yes!  I want to see “The Kings of Summer.”

F. If you were to become an artist, what medium would you express yourself through?

L:  This is my most difficult question.  I guess I’d say every medium to which I have access.  Except song, I’m a terrible singer.

F. What is your favorite picture of yourself? Post it girl.

L:  I don’t know about all-time favorite but this is a picture of me straight off the playa at Burning Man.  I had had the most amazing week and felt perhaps the best I ever have in my life.  I can’t believe it was five years ago and that I haven’t made it back since.  It also reminds me of the POP Up Shop: Burning Man Style Prep post I did last summer.  All so fun!

Replica of the Statue of Liberty at the Brooklyn Museum

F:  What do you do to make yourself feel better when you are run down?

L:  Is this a veiled hint or just a well-timed question?!  When I feel run down, I try to make time to do nothing, though I often push it too long before forcing some downtime.  I’ve also thought of Dr. Junger’s, “No worry, no hurry” many times since you wrote about it.

F:  What is your favorite part about your morning routine?

L:  Coffee

F: How was your weekend? What did you do?

L:  The weekend was fun.  I went to Connecticut with a bunch if friends, then rented a car and drove to Ithaca to see another friend. I haven’t driven a long trip like that by myself in a long time & it was really nice.

F. What is your favorite poem?

L:  I’m not sure that it is all my all time favorite but the first poem that came into my head is this one by W.H. Auden.  I’ve seen it titled “Funeral Blues” as well as “Song IX” and “Song for Hedli Anderson.”

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

-- W H Auden

F: How are your plants doing? Take a pic for me to see.

L:  They are doing pretty well.  I still haven’t done a re-pot & I think I moved one into an area with too much light.  But I moved it back where it was and have been giving it some extra attention and I think it’s bouncing back.  I also bought a basil plant a the grocery store and it was dead within a week.  I think it’s about the third time I’ve done that; I don’t know why I can’t keep those alive.