Hi!!
Isn't it nice to start a new year?! I used to dislike the New Year's celebrations because I saw it as a loss of the old-- instead of focusing on the clean slate of the new. This year for New Year's eve- Douglas and I watched Audra McDonald sing on PBS and drank a bottle of Champagne, in Pittsburgh, after a long weekend of fun in NYC and a wedding in New Jersey.
Anyway, for the new year I decided I would like to reinvent myself-- a la Madonna. I bought 2 new lipsticks and Douglas surprised me with a fantastic pair of new spectacles-- which I really don't need- but they are a very fun accessory. I feel very intellectual and chic in them. THe lipsticks are in colors I am not used to wearing-- one is a tangerine color with gold flecks while the other is a bright Bold pink. I still can't decide if I like it or it's a little too Barbie doll gone bad- but it's fun and exciting to try something new for a change. Let me tell you about the wedding of my cousin Sandy and her new husband, Pierre. They are both foodies! He is a chef and she is a pastry/chocolate chef. The ceremony was held at a restaurant in NJ and the food was something! Here's the menu:
A delicate Lobster Soup, Duck Confit-that is shredded duck on top of some type of chip laying in a squash sauce, Braised Ribs with sweet potato puree and string beans, and for dessert, a luscious Lemon tart that I could only eat half of due to its tarty sweetness- and then yummy chocholatey truffles with booze and assorted cookies . It was a fun evening and Congratulations to the happy couple. Douglas and I stayed in a hotel that night and early the next morning- we took a bus into Manhattan. We checked in at the Ramada East and went straight to the MoMA. There is just too much to see at MoMA, the art, the people, the building, its very easy to get saturated/ information overload- so of course, our first stop was the cafe where we shared a portobella panini. Then we started from the 6th floor and worked our way down. There were a few things that really stood out in my mind and one thing in particular I can't stop thinking about. A Cezanne still-life. The web image doesn't compare-- this painting was so gorgeous and luscious in the use of reds, oranges. I wanted to pluck the apple from the table and bite into it because it would have been just the right combination of crunchy and sweet. WOW-- it is a magnificent painting!
Other highlights include a video installation by Jane and Louise Wilson-- two adjacent screens in opposing corners of a darkened room. The films show objects and a woman levitating and/or moving very strangley through a space. This scene alternates with the view from the floor of a lift elevator where you can see out beyond the guard gate into the hall as you move up and down. It was very eerie and atmospheric.
Last but not least New Photography by Barbara Probst. This was very clever work! Probst uses multiple cameras set up from different angles and focused on the same subject. The cameras are synched to take a picture simultaneously. In one image a girl is seen jumping in a Swiss Alps setting. In the next image, we are looking down on a NY rooftop with a view of the city. At closer inspection, we see that two people are holding a large print of the swiss alps- and the girl is jumping in front of it.Later that night, we ate a scrumptious meal at the Orchard-- recommended by Honey! and it was delish! We ate the Yellowfin Tuna Tartare, Sliced Lamb Tenderloin, and the best--Butternut Squash Agnolotti. WOW- it was good! It just melted in your mouth, and in combination with the lamb, Magnifique!
Saturday, Douglas and I first went to visit his Aunt and Uncle who live in this gorgeous penthouse apartment across the street from the planetarium. Douglas's beautiful Aunt works at the Guggenheim and has a spectacular art collection- when I first walked in the door- there was a large James Casebere photograph in the hallway! I was knocked on my socks! It wasn't this image below- but here's an example. Anyway, this apartment was beautiful with plenty of a
rt to boot. We also went to visit with my Aunt and Uncle for a nice 2:30 tea break!We had 8 o'clock tickets to see the Drowsy Chaperone
and it was super!
(more later!)
