Catching Up!

Life in general has been busy lately, but filled with fun things, too. Two weeks ago, Steve and I participated in New York C-a-re-s Day with his company, and we spent that Saturday painting at a school on the Lower East Side. It was a LOT of fun. Not sure if you've picked up that I love anything arts & crafts-y, but I do, so I was pretty much in heaven the whole day!

Steve painted a classroom or two while I had fun with the murals!

Admittedly, this was my least favorite of the murals I worked on, but it's the only one I got a photo with!

Another mural I worked on...

Last week was crazy busy, both at work and socially. I actually didn't get in a single workout, which scared me a bit (I'm not going back!!!)! So, I committed to working out 3 or more times this week and have already done that (I took spin classes on Monday, Tuesady and Wednesday). But back to last week.... we had two black tie events. One was a benefit on Tuesday night for the M--y-s-t--i-c S-e-a--p-or-t, at which we were the guests of friends who had gotten a table. It was a really nice event -- the speeches were surprisingly good, the dinner was good, and the company even better.

The other black tie event was on Friday -- a very opulent 40th birthday party for a friend and ... 500 of his closest friends! It was so extravagant -- I've been to weddings that weren't even close to as nice. The decorations were cool (white sofas, hanging chandeliers, beautiful plants.. all in an old church that is now a party space), the food was amazing (lobster, crab, oysters, sliders, a million different tiny desserts, etc.), and they had a fantastic 10 piece band and an amazing DJ. We danced a ton and had a fantastic time! (I can't believe I have no photos!!)

We actually left that party to get home by midnight because Saturday was another big day. There is a steeplechase race that takes place every year out by where Steve grew up, and he has a longstanding tradition of doing a big tailgate. So, we were up bright and early to catch a 9 a.m. train out to the races to get everything set up!

At the races...

The races was an all-day event. We had about 40 or so friends come by, enjoyed a ton (too much on my part..) of food, had some bloody Marys and wine, and did a little informal wagering on the races! The event went from about noon until 5 or so, and then we went to Steve's lake club with a group of about 10 friends to see the sun set over the gorgeous lake. It was so picturesque -- changing leaves, geese landing in the lake, the works. THEN, after that, we had 12 people over to his parents' house for a casual dinner. It was freezing out, so we lit a fire, heated up the dinner, and all sat around eating and talking. It was a great group, and I think it's safe to say that everyone had a great time! People left in small groups as the night went on. Eventually, only a few of us were left, and Steve and another friend were playing, respectively, guitar and banjo together.... I was listening on a sofa near the fire and fell fast asleep. I missed the last hour or so of fun! (But thankfully, Steve tells me that I was NOT snoring.... 'cause you never know.... It has been known to happen....!)

OK, one more update. Last night, Steve and I were having dinner and heard a crowd shouting in the street. It sounded like a riot. It turns out that a big group of the O--c--c-u-p-y W-a--l-l S-t-r--ee-t people were coming down my street. The p*lice had blocked off the street with a line of motorcycles (the lights you see in the photos). And, as the crowd got to them, there were punches thrown, protesters trying to push over the bikes, and a whole bunch of arrests. We watched the whole thing from my window -- and I took the photo shown below. It was wild -- and a bit scary. I am very ready for this protest to end.

That's all my news for now! I hope everyone is having a great week!