I do not consider myself to be particularly high maintenance (if anyone I've dated wants to chime in here, knock yourself out).  That said, I have my limits.  I hereby declare that I will no longer take any bus except for the one between Boston and Portland, Maine.  NEVER AGAIN.  I stopped taking buses after a heinous Greyhound experience over Fourth of July weekend when I was in law school, but have now been convinced twice to take the Bolt Bus, once to Boston and once back from DC. 

Don't get me wrong.  The Bolt Bus is lovely, particularly compared to Greyhound all those years ago.  Yes, it's sooooo much cheaper than Amtrak.  Yes, there's wifi, which I am taking advantage of as I write this.  It's clean.  The drivers are nice.  But.  But I get headaches on the bus.  I can't read on the bus.  I hate the bathroom on the bus so I don't drink water and am thirsty for hours on end.  There is inevitably  traffic, so it takes longer than it's supposed to to reach your destination.  The train, in contrast, is pleasant.  It rocks me to sleep.  The bathrooms are, well, nicer than the one on the bus.  There are snacks on the train.  And booze.  And no traffic.  Even if there are delays, there are snacks and booze, which makes up for the delays.  And it is worth EVERY DAMN PENNY to take the train to DC or Boston rather than the bus if at all possible.

At least it's worth it to me, given the fact that I am now officially high maintenance.

I'm having one of those super-busy weeks where I can't believe it's Thursday already.  That said, it's no surprise that I haven't yet posted about the Boozy Blogger Brunch I attended this past Sunday at the Clover Club, organized by The Dizzy Fizz.  Not only was this a great chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones, but we got to learn about Sombra Mezcal and Partida Tequila, while sipping on cocktails made just for the occasion by Julie Reiner (the Oaxacan Daisy - Sombra mezcal, Cio Ciaro Amaro, raspberry syrup, lemon and blood orange juice - and a Bloody Maria - Asian-influenced bloody mary w/Partida).  And to top it all off, we had a delicious brunch: a bacon tasting of maple bacon, pepper bacon, and duck bacon; deviled eggs four ways; and I chose to have the pork and grits topped with a poached egg. 

Really, is there a better way to spend a Sunday?  Many thanks to Selena for putting together a kick-ass event, to the Clover Club for hosting, and to Sombra and Partida for taking the time to speak to us.  I haven't even had time to download my pics from my camera, but thankfully, Lush Life Productions takes much better photos than I do.  All photos by Lush Life Productions.

This weekend:  Karaoke; Yerba Buena; truffled eggs, bacon & buttermilk biscuits; Champagne cocktails at Apotheke; Matsuri; Blind Tiger; Sombra & Partida brunch at Clover Club; sake; Convivium Osteria. 

And zero trips to the gym.  Oops.

Of course, we all know this is bullshit, especially in Brooklyn, where apparently every woman under the age of 30 is required to wear glasses with frames that I wore in the 80's.  That said, I am still to this day somewhat self-conscious when I wear my glasses instead of my contacts.  It's not that I don't like my glasses -- I do.  I even like just having the option of wearing them if the mood strikes.  But I think I am able to hide behind them in some way -- maybe I become a little quieter, more hesitant, bordering on shy (I know, I know, hard to imagine, but shy on the Laren spectrum, at least).  At this time of year at work, when it's all about spreadsheets, crunching numbers and staring at the computer, wearing my glasses is a matter of survival -- if I don't, I end up with a vicious headache and irritated eyes.  This usually means that I have to carry my contacts for trips to the gym as well.  I've got an eye doc appointment next week and might even consider a second pair, for fashion's sake, and because hey -- I kinda like them!

PS -- This is my favorite pic of me in my old glasses; I've got different ones now, which I also like.

When I first set up my blog, in 2002, blogging was fairly new.  To be fair, I didn't start blogging on a regular basis until 2003, when I went public and told my friends and family about it, so even if I count from then, I've been blogging for close to seven years now.  SEVEN YEARS.  It is fascinating to me to look back and get a glimpse of my life over that time (take a look at the archives if you don't believe me).  I have several friends who start blogs, give them up, start new ones when something happens in their life, then let those fizzle out as well, but I have been posting consistently for SEVEN YEARS.  Hey -- it may not be thrilling, given my writing guidelines, but at least I'm consistent.  Yay me.

An excellent and fairly well-balanced three day weekend, I'd say!  Friday night started with a quick stop at a birthday celebration for @Lincolnwrites, then on the Red Hook express for dinner at Fort Defiance with @livethelushlife @mysteryaction & @shotsandcuts before heading to Sunny's for Jill DeGroff's art show, where I met several folks in person I had only interacted with via email and got to catch up with a few folks I hadn't seen in a while, which was great.  After that was my first-ever live band karaoke!  Makes me miss being in a band.  Sort of.

Saturday was a relaxing day on the couch before heading out to Bill's for a dumpling-fest with John, Jimmy and Wallace -- we made three varieties of dumplings, all quite delicious, and finished off with Asian-flavor-inspired gelato and sorbettos from Il Laboratorio del Gelato.  The rest of the photos are here.

Sunday included a much-needed trip to the gym before the LUPEC NYC new member brunch, a surprise afternoon at Clover Club with Jordana (and Katie) in front of the fire, and a birthday dinner of squash soup, chicken liver pate, pork shoulder over polenta with roasted veggies, and a green salad with beautiful watermelon radishes at Jeanne's.  A lovely day/night in Brooklyn.

Monday I had lunch with Mom at Pearl Oyster Bar, saw Youth in Revolt with Rob Y., then home for a quiet domestic evening of mac & cheese and laundry before heading to bed at a decent hour in preparation for the busy week ahead.  Ahhh. 

Ok, ok, so I've been somewhat crappy with the blogging around here, but busy with my weekly posts elsewhere!  So far this year on Serious Eats New York:

Mix It Up: Kumquat Caipirinha at Yerba Buena Perry

Meet & Eat: Adam Roberts, The Amateur Gourmet

Mix It Up: Sicilian Sling at Veloce Club

Meet & Eat: Gianfranco Verga at Louis 649

More writing to come over here, I promise.

These spherical beauties didn't make it into my last Mix it Up column but I thought they needed a moment in the spotlight.  Pretty, huh?

According to my doctor, I am 5' 1 3/4".  Having been 5' 1" my entire life, this means that either I have stopped slouching or have actually grown 3/4 inch, either of which would be a minor miracle.  That said, my drivers license says that I'm 6' 1", which is clearly not true.