Summer in the City

I always preferred the summer in the city
because the hum of air conditioners, faint
in the background calmed me down. Buses
smelt diesel and dank with the sweat
of a thousand passengers who were clinging
to the seats by naked legs.

there was something depleted about the pavement,
the cracks no longer had water to soak-
only the sun remained and it bounced back to the sky;
relieved, I thought- if the pavement were a black hole sucking
up the sun, then it would be a

disaster seemed millions of miles away.
fresh industrial fumes promenaded
to my nose, potent and a memento
suggesting, that perhaps I was still alive
and fresh country air, untouched, was inferior
to those with leaded limbs because it
whispered less than even nothing;
it was no match to the city’s
mechanical reminder of mechanical life.

-Dakota 


Thank you for your contribution, beautiful sister,
BB & IQ

Yankees Universe.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Spring is in the air, flowers are in bloom, bees are buzzing and birds are chirping.  Most importantly, my boys are back! Today is Opening Day at Yankee Stadium and I am over-the-moon ecstatic!

Growing up in New York, I was bred on the Yankees.  Quite honestly, as far as I'm concerned it's a Yankees Universe and everyone else can just get out.  For as long as I can remember I've watched almost every game nuzzled under my Dad's arm.  Now-a-days, we sit side by side in our authentic Yankees bleacher seats from the old Stadium (we're really serious).  I have him to thank for my fixation.  When I was little, I was asked questions like: "Who covers third when the baseman goes to catch a fly ball in-field?" As i got older, the questions got harder: "Okay [BossBitch], there is a man on first and a man on third; what is the pitcher thinking right now?" I'm utterly obsessed with this all-American sport and with my boys in pin-stripes.

It may or may not be cliche, but I've been in love with Derek Jeter since I knew what the word "love" meant.  Then A-Rod came into the picture and D.J. had some serio competition.  These days however, Teixeira has my heart. I cried when Pauly and Petite announced their retirements.  By chance, I was at the Steinbrenner tribute game, and undoubtedly got emotional then as well.  Best believe I'm up on my feet doing the YMCA during every 7th inning stretch, and if you haven't been to the new stadium you're sorely missing out.  It is the most magnificent structure in the BX.  Simply, it sparkles.

My favorite games of all time are those I attend with my Dad.  In the past we shared peanuts, and now we share beers.  I still get quizzed and I can confidently answer every question thrown my way.  Baseball season is wonderful in New York and if you live here, whether you like it or not the Yankees automatically become a part of your world.  Yankee fans are one big gigantic family.  We actually feel the love in our chests and when we breathe.  Even right now as I sit in my cubicle, writing this post with the game playing live on my desktop (we're up 5-3, top of the 8th), I have tears of the purest joy gathering in my eyes.  One Love to all my Yankee peoples - we're going for 28 this year!

.BossBitch

New York, New York - Frank Sinatra

well the weather outside is... weather.

Last year, during the first weekend of April, I was sipping Corona's on the roof of The Frying Pan.  For those of you who don't know what The Frying Pan is, essentially it is the best place to be when that warm spring weather hits and all you want to do is be outside, day drinking with your friends.  The beer, the sun, good company and awesome food = a recipe for great success and an amazing way to say PEACE OUT WINTER, HELLO SUMMER (oh  how I've missed you).

Alas, this year, the first weekend of April will [supposedly] start off with RAIN on Friday, SNOW/RAIN mix (only the best... not) on Saturday, and then a possible chance of 50 degrees with some sun on Sunday.  L-A-M-E.

I don't know what it is.  Global warming?  Ice caps?  A non-existant heat wave?  But this winter has been cold, bitter, cruel, snow-filled, rain-infested and down right depressing.  Sure we had some nice days in the beginning and middle of March, but March into April is supposed to be the beginning of consistently warmer weather, maybe some rain showers here and there - but essentially leading in to my personal favorite season - spring.  Don't get me wrong.  I love rain in the spring or summer.  There is nothing like being in a tshirt, shorts and flip flops running through the rain on the streets of NYC.  But I do not love rain in the winter, let alone in March.  According to my calendar, the first day of spring was on March 21st... that was 10 days ago, so why are we still getting weather warnings for snowstorms?!

I'm saying goodbye to March.  Here and now.  Adios amigos.  Sayonara bitches.  Hit the road Jack, and don't you come back.  Tomorrow marks my first day of Spring.  Here's to warm weather, cocktails, half day Fridays and all that's in between.

-Ice Queen

Umbrella - Rihanna

 

how many different ways can we say it?

big ups to our girl Christine over at bun & borough for helping us with our fabulous new blog design.  we absolutely love it!  this girl is so talented and we literally couldn't have done it without her.

thank you (again x10)

Ice Queen & BossBitch

"Only Animals Eat in the Subway!"

Okay, so...I totally understand the sense of urgency that builds when you're running late to work in the morning.  Personally I hate being rushed, so I make it a point to always leave myself enough time to get everything done at a casual pace, but trust me I get it - I, too, have an affiliation for the snooze button.  I also understand putting off some "morning must-haves" in order to get out the door in time.  Putting on make up is totally doable while in-transit.  However, while confined in a small, inescapable place, the LAST thing i want to look at and listen to is someone eating.

For example, this is how my morning started: Monday, 8:05AM. I arrived to the crowded downtown 6 platform as a train was pulling into the station. Using my powers of positioning, I of course got on the train and moved to the middle of the car - prime standing placement compared to others squeezing into the doorway.  No one has any room to breathe, as per usual during morning rush hour, but that's okay - I'm checking my work emails and preparing myself for another M-F. All of a sudden, I hear next to me the type of rustling you only ignore in movie theaters, when you're probably rustling as well.  I coyly look to my right, and standing there is some mess of a woman with a Venti in one hand and unwrapping a muffin with the other.  I can't describe how quickly my frustration flared.  This woman was chewing loudly, trying to balance herself on an overcrowded moving train as both hands were occupied and as a result, was bumping into me, crumbs and coffee flying free.  Good morning to you too, ma'am.

Scenario number two: Last Saturday afternoon, 4:30PM.  I'm on a downtown 4 train, heading to my boyfriends apartment in Brooklyn.  The train is relatively empty, and I'm of course enjoying my spacious end seat, listening to my iPod and playing Sudoku on my Berry.  Suddenly, the dense smell of frying oil, saturated fat, and processed food fills the air.  I look up, and to my utter disgust there is a huge woman stuffing fast food into her face, licking her fingers and chewing with her mouth open.  I could not, as hard as I tried, hide the look of repulsion on my face. Not to mention, the smell was nauseating.

In both cases, here's my thing - what's the harm in waiting until you're at your desk or at home to eat your food in quiet seclusion? What is the sense of eating in a small, crowded space while attempting a balancing act, or on a dirty train ingesting germs and bacteria? In every case - NO ONE wants to watch you stuffing your face and filling your cheeks with food, or smell whatever it is you're eating mixed with the smell of the moldy underground.  Spare yourself this situation, and put your food away.

.BossBitch

Be Our Guest - Beauty and the Beast

NYC O.G.

"The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding." -John Updike.


If there is any quote that can sum up in one sentence how a true born & bred New Yorker feels, this is probably it.  When you've lived here you're whole life, there is no where else you want to be. If you've been here a while, you know nothing else compares.  Once you've fallen in love, you never look back again.

.BossBitch

words + design = i'm in love.

A big thanks to Rachel over at Kvell in the Kitchen for showing me this.  I will be using it in the future, so be prepared :)

-Ice Queen

beat the rush!

Sometimes I get an uncontrollable urge to shop.  For me, shopping is something I like the idea of, but not the actual act of doing.  I absolutely despise taking my clothes on and off and having to carry a million and one bags plus my jacket, scarf, etc.  I also don't like lines.  Fitting room lines, cashier lines - no thank you.  And to top it all off, most of the stores I like to shop in are in the most irritating neighborhoods of this beloved island we like to call Manhattan.  Times Square (major anxiety attack), SoHo (just run me over why don't you) & Herald Square (get away from me tourists!) are places I never want to be... ever.
 

To appease my shopping woes, I have come up with a simple solution for beating the mad rush of people, getting what you want and getting the &*$%^&# out of there.

Step 1:  Sacrifice your Saturday or Sunday morning*.  WAKE UP EARLY.

*Now I'm not talking like 7am status because stores don't open until 10am anyway, but maybe start snoozing around 9am.

Step 2:  Get a huge coffee and something to eat to keep your energy and blood sugar levels high.
Step 3:  Head to your destination.  Trust me, you'll notice you're one of the first people there.
Step 4:  Grab as much as you can and get your @$$ to the dressing room before people start to filter in.

Step 5:  Pay and run out of there.

I did this yesterday in SoHo, and I was in and out of Uniqlo, H&M and Forever 21 by 12:30pm.  I was successful with 4 pieces and a bag, and I couldn't be more satisfied.  The rest of the day was mine to do whatever I wanted to, without the pressures of afternoon shopping.

Great success.

-Ice Queen

Pay My Bills - Destiny's Child

The Right Side of the Road

My dear, sweet City sidewalks.  Dirty, smelly, dusty, gum covered, over crowded, over run, construction filled and scaffold covered sidewalks.  Littered with stoops, doormen, garbage bags, and the occasional rat (Ice Queen, don't hate).  If you don't hit the pavement every day and walk everywhere in this City you're straight up not a New Yorker.  There is so much to see from street level.  Take it in; you'll really feel like you're a part of something bigger than yourself - part of a moving, breathing, body of concrete nature.  There's history, architecture, diversity; life in New York revolves around a swift movement on these City streets.  That being said, I'm a believer in sidewalk etiquette.  There's a standard that we follow, a certain hustle, a natural flow.  There's a right side of the road, and a wrong side of the road. Keep up, or get out. Savvy?


I'd like to generously provide a few notes from a seasoned NYC walker to make your sidewalk experience more pleasant:

Know where you're going. Don't suddenly pull a U-turn and knock the person out who is walking behind you.

"Excuse me" actually does go a long way.

Avoid walking in rows of three or more. You move slower, and you're hard to get around.  This affectively pisses off everyone behind you who is trying to get by.

Stay to the right side of the sidewalk.  In the movie Clueless (my tweenaged Bible) dreamy Josh (played by my husband, Paul Rudd) is quoted saying: "In America, we drive on the right side of the road" to which Cher Horowitz (played by Alicia Silverstone) responds "You try driving in platforms!"  Love Cher, but apply Josh's logic to walking as well.  Stay to the right side of the [sidewalk] and we won't have any problems.

Don't clog the crosswalk. Simply, we're all trying to cross the street.

I've found that if you're in a busy area, ie: Times Square or China Town, if you walk in the street just off the curb, but still out of the cars way, there's a clear lane to start seriously moving.  You should be in a rush to get the hell out of that neighborhood anyway and you're not getting anywhere fast behind the waves of tourists stopping a million times to take pictures of every window, cab and light post they see.


See where this gets you, and feel free to comment with some of your own curbside walking tips.  You must have learned a thing or two for yourself by now.

peace.love.BossBitch


Walking Man - James Taylor

please, pardon our appearance

our blog is still under construction.

-BB & IQ