My pitas page

NOOOOOOOOOO
NPR is ousting Bob Edwards as "Morning Edition" host. I have been hooked on him ever since college roommate nutty introduced him into my life. I am heartbroken.

the wedding blog
yes, that is what this has turned into. because i can't get up the energy to be political and current-event-y all the time. anyhoo, the honeymoon booking process has begun. c and i have decided to forgo the scary all-inclusives that dot the yucatan peninsula, instead getting more fun and real-life experiences by staying at cool indie type places. this is our first stop....i'm looking forward to the fire dancers!

bridal showers bring may flowers
or something. i am starting to get this whole blushing bride business. for example, i am about bursting with excitement right now at the fact that the agawam and nyc bridal showers and the bachelorette party dates have been set. i mean, who knew that one could GET so stoked over this stuff? but i am. though i am hoping there will be no games (see above) at the showers. i am uncertain as to why one ever would need those, but i'm sure someone out there loves it. and please don't even get me started on how happy i am to be purchasing the rest of the paper tonight for the wedding invitations. i might just have a coronary.

this weekend's test cake
so much better than last week's--i am very pleased. plus i learned that i really enjoy making sugar flowers. who knew? check it out here to see what you think!

howard stern: anti-bush activist
now that i can get behind.

piano's
i am scared to go here--there are usually a high number trucker-hat-wearing-skinny-fake-slacker-boys on the sidewalk outside. but my friend's band is playing at 9 pm. and so i go.

bush lies about kerry
surprise, surprise. i cannot wait for the election. i am starting to feel like we Dem's could win...

sigh
the bride for whom i made a test wedding cake does not really like it. to be fair, she was very nice about it. but she didn't like the design (based on her engagement ring) or that the cake was a tiny bit tilted. of course i can understand that last bit and i've since learned how that can be made to not happen thanks to this handy site...but it still has quite taken the wind out of my sails. i think i am not going to do anymore cakes than those i am committed for until after i go through some formal training in the fall.

saddest story ever
(maybe not ever. but it really is quite sad.)

wedding invitation fun
so c and i have designed our own wedding invites and this week i've been on a mission to find a printer that won't break the bank. i found these folks who fit that description and who are just so darn nice to boot. so i think tomorrow night i give them the thumb's up and we move forward to check yet another thing off the list. woo hoo! [UPDATE: we're going to actually print the invites himself on a home computer printer, so no fancy real printer-place will be used after all. did some tests this past weekend and they looked great. so this should be good!]

primary day
it was such a pleasure to pull a lever in opposition to another four years of bush today. and most other dems in nyc seem to feel the same way, at least according to the nytimes. bonus: i was interviewed by belgian tv. i will be famous in the low countries!

GWB is evil
not that we didn't know this already. but seriously, might i ask what business it is of the government who wants to get married? i mean, we should be happy that two adults of whatever gender want to spend the rest of their lives together...rather than, say, forcing poor people to get married for government benefits as one bush plan would have it. it just irritates the h*** out of me that so-called small government fans want to get all up in folks' personal business. cause you know it's not going to stop here--the right to privacy is a slippery slope.

AOL TW building
popped in here yesterday. it was just a mall, folks, i am sad to say. the first shop i saw is actually present and accounted for in the holyoke mall in holyoke, massachusetts. the whole foods could end up being a great place to get fish and meat...in about 2 months when the lines die down and people are bored with it. yesterday it was full of folks who may never have seen a grocery store in their lives--lots of looking, not buying.

h&m
proving once again that it's the greatest store in the world, today i found my new swimsuit (which i am only allowed to wear starting on the honeymoon--i do not know how i will survive) on the way to work. for under $25. which is about half of what one piece costs for a bikini at j crew. and did i mention mine is so cuter than anything other bathing suit ever? yay h&m.

can you have a crush on a machine?

happy happy heart day
or something cheery and lovey such as that. c got me a pair of fab new kicks from this company. i got him tix to see a band down at the bowery, which we have not done in, like, forever. went to dinner saturday at a new place on 10th ave. called "taboon." it was good--middle eastern meets greek--even if the waiter did forget to give me my second drink. it's just as well.

decided: honeymoon location
no, it's not been booked, but making a decision is a good step, right? we're hitting the "mayan riviera" south of cancun. likely staying in playa del carmen and then onward to cozumel. my main desire: to stay somewhere with a swim-up bar. i think everyone needs to indulge in that at least once.

the "williams" in williams-sonoma
he seems like such a nice man--there is something about the generation who came of age during the war that makes me think they won't be replicated by my generation or any since. i don't know what to call it--gentlemanlyness? well, whatever. it's still such a great story. and i haven't updated in a while so here is the latest news: found someone on craig's list to do my wedding flowers for such a great price. got my first wedding cake contract back. am doing my first for-hire cake this friday for a birthday party. and the "save the date" letters sent to out of town friends and relations are already yielding results as to people buying plane tickets and booking hotel rooms. it's seriously quite exciting.

an ode to craig's list
i seriously love carig's list. perhaps i even love craig. not only has it given me a healthy start to my little cake business, but i have now most likely found my wedding flower person through it as well. and might i add at a significantly reduced cost from the brick-and-mortar florist quotes i was getting. fight the wedding-industrial complex!

BM's
if you know what that means, you must be engaged/married. in the effort to make this wedding as low-stress as possible, i have cast aside the notion that my two best gals must wear "BridesMaid" dresses. instead i am encouraging them to find something sort of like this picture, which they can wear beyond the date of The Wedding. i am so happy for them and for me on making this decision. onward....

online reading
so libgrrl and i have been discussing how best to set up a virtual book club/book discussion group. looks like some people are already one step ahead of us. which is good news, cause we were a bit perplexed as to how to engineer this feat. and it's always inspiring to hear about those who came before you, righto?

cake tasting
so my first bride is coming over sunday to do a cake tasting. i am nervous and yet very excited. i actually have an excuse to spend all day tomorrow and sunday baking. who could ask for anything more!

desert opera house
great story in today's nytimes about a woman who purchased a deserted town in death valley and does performances there (which are quite well-attended). would that they had given us an address to send donations--but since only two people live in the town likely it's easy to get mail to the right place.

engagement announcement
ok, so, we're in the ny observer this week, in the "countdown to bliss" column. i have to admit that though i play the cynic on tv, the whole thing tickles me pink. the only thing i wish i had said was that c "walks" to the beat of his own drummer, rather than "went." i don't know why i said that instead, but say it i did and thus that was my own dopey fault. big fan of the piece overall, and really looking forward to my parents reading that our first date was at the city's "premier extra-marital make-out spot."

total relaxation
this was such a nice weekend. friday: night pizza and netflix. saturday: yoga and reading my book (finished: THE SISTERS = very good) and going to a bar called frog in yonkers. sunday: brunch in brooklyn and shopping at this lovely cooking goods store and hitting the gym and eating a great dinner. perfectly lovely, despite the frigid cold during part of it.

we'll be famous
c and i have just been interviewed for this column. i am strangely excited. if you are the one who suggested us, please let me know :)

outta there
so this week the other big event has been c being told his position at his hateful nonprofit has been "eliminated". after they told him point-blank last month he had nothing to worry about. and then they hired someone to replace him who is friends with the hateful woman who fired him. it amazes me that people can be so, um, hateful. but whatever--i hear unemployment benefits really aren't so bad.

today, denver
one of my very best female friends leaves nyc tomorrow to start a new life in denver. while i am sad, i also am very happy for her, since i know she never really planned to stay in this crazy city in the first place. i consider myself lucky that she stuck around for more than 4 years. but apparently denver is great and fun--i am already hatching a plan to visit in the winter this/next year to learn how to snowboard. and of course visit her :)