Rooftop BBQ in Williamsburg.

Yesterday, we went to a "Deployment" BBQ for our friend Mark. He leaves for North Africa and won't be back until August. The view from the rooftop is quite spectacular.

Williamsburg is swarming with skateboards, skinny jeans, and the trendy nerd look. I think of skateboarders as urban surfers. It's quite amazing how they dodge traffic and people in the streets... Anywho, his rooftop has street art that matches the neighborhood vibe.

We ate up there until sunset, and then went inside for some wii bowling. yahoo!

Today, we had a nice and healthy picnic in the park. Joey left for his comps meeting while I lingered behind. I read my book, then fell asleep while sunbathing. Tough weekend...

Joey's first NYC gig.

Joey's band played at Kenny's Castaway this past Wednesday...and they rocked. The turnout was really good, and it even seems like the bar owner wants them to set up something more regular. The music was stuff you would hear on the radio. They had an HD camera man out there recording the show. As soon as it gets posted, I'll put the link on here.

A few good people came out for the cause. :)

I told Katee like a month ago that I would plan her birthday party for her. Her birthday was this past Thursday, so I figured a surprise party mixed in with Joey rocking the bass would be perfect. I made her cupcakes and got her a balloon along with a birthday hat. The picture would lead you to think otherwise....but she was super happy about it. :)

A horrific attempt to do rick star poses....

Ian is so silly...

After the show, Katee took us to....Korea town! Whenever she takes us out, I think she is leading us to our death at first. We always go through a weird building entrance, preceded by flights of stairs, and maybe an elevator ride or two. However, the end results are always these amazing hidden restaurants with awesome food! They took a polaroid picture of us, which I thought was funny (below). Then we headed straight for the karaoke bar....

Prepare yourself for a vain post.

In 6 weeks, I will (hopefully) have abs and be healthier. The past few weeks I've been dilly dallying with working out and cutting out the bad food from meals. But it's just not working.

When I had the devil dog Teagen, I was disciplined. I would come home from school or work and take her for super long runs just about everyday. I cut out soft drinks and fried foods from my diet to go along with the cardio/weights. And it worked. I felt great!

Fast forward to present day and I'm not living that lifestyle. I don't have a dog tugging my at shirt sleeve to go for a run when I walk in the door. Instead, I have a moody, neurotic cat biting at my ankles for turkey. This book will be my Teagen, and help guide me along to what I should and want to be doing.

And trust me, I'm not one of those skinny chicks that goes around whining about being fat for the attention. Losing weight is not what this is about. It's about me wanting to be healthy, feel strong, and just maybe getting a nice 6 pack along the way.

Joey joined a hair band.

Okay, so not a hair band. But he did join a band that will be playing on Bleecker St. this Wednesday night. Exciting stuff! Here is the band's website: http://www.myspace.com/mburke24music

Our Last Date.

I've become attached to Ella and her cute little Texas family since last August. We have a bond that is out of this world. Every weekend, we hang out by the lake in the park, go running through Strawberry fields, and chase squirrels while tourists snap pictures. Well, her family is leaving for their summer house in Maine this week. :( I am going to have separation anxiety.

Today was her day. Her family said I could keep her as long as I wanted, so we headed to Riverside Park to hangout by the water.

Lookin' good, haha.

Ella walked over to this couple as we were scoping out a place to lay out. The guy saw Joey's Saints t-shirt and told us he was born and raised in Baton Rouge. Small world!

Ella wasn't cooperating with the camera....right before this was snapped she was resting her head on my knees. Such a cute little lap dog!

Then she got side tracked with squirrels...

I know this post is really silly....but I am obsessed (obviously) and wanted to profess my love for her to the world. :)

On a side note, Joey and I went to Little Italy for dinner last night. While walking around eating yummy gelato, we ran into this crazy street carnival. They had a clown propped up on a suspendable chair. You throw a ball, and if it hits the target- bam! He falls in the water. We were both really close...but not close enough.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! :)

Today I made it a point to spend the entire day outside. Here are some neato pictures from the Village, LES, and Soho.

This little street near NYU looked like it would belong in Rome with it's charming quaintness.

Poor puppies waiting for their owners, haha.

One of my favorite things about downtown (mostly LES) is street graffiti! It somehow turns out looking like....art.

I love the wisdom in this one: "Rich girls will break your heart. Poor girls will take your money."

I went to the white building in this picture for a client a while back. He owns a beautiful ballet studio on Broome St. and told me he purchased it on September 6, 2001. He said a week later, they heard a loud noise and looked out the window to see a plane graze their rooftop heading downtown. They saw the whole thing from their window, which gave me chills. (It's still so crazy to believe that horrible thing happened in the city we live in...)

If you look in the window on the right, you will see a reflection of a painted man from across the street.

When I got back home, I dragged Joey out of the apartment for some fresh air.

Joey grabbed some street food from a vendor on 72'nd and we headed to our version of a backyard, Central Park.

We went to a spot where you can pretend for a minute that you are not surrounded by concrete. It's pretty secluded, green, and there are little birds hopping all over. If you just avert your eyes from the occasional tourist looking for Strawberry fields and the taxis zooming down CPW in the distance you are golden. :) We found this spot on the top of a hill and there were two rocks to sit on...but we wound up sharing one. The other one was occupied by a little bird who was apparently busy nesting with leaves and twigs.

We ended the day at Pier 1 cafe, which was awesome. It's right along the Hudson River, so we got to smell saltwater while the sun was setting.

I'm making it a point to spend my summer weekends outside...