i'll take it | Brooklyn

We'll take it: spring, summer, the whole thing. 

“More than the fuchsia funnels breaking out
of the crabapple tree, more than the neighbor’s
almost obscene display of cherry limbs shoving
their cotton candy-colored blossoms to the slate
sky of Spring rains, it’s the greening of the trees
that really gets to me. When all the shock of white
and taffy, the world’s baubles and trinkets, leave
the pavement strewn with the confetti of aftermath,
the leaves come. Patient, plodding, a green skin
growing over whatever winter did to us, a return
to the strange idea of continuous living despite
the mess of us, the hurt, the empty. Fine then,
I’ll take it, the tree seems to say, a new slick leaf
unfurling like a fist to an open palm, I’ll take it all.
”

— "Instructions on Not Giving Up" - Ada Limón, 1976

Yes it's true, we wait for these suckers every year. They make my heart so happy. I don't know if it's the anticipation of change finally coming or all the pink, but they particularly made me swoon this year. Winter was really tough; I worked through some messes and lot of hurt. Like I tell so many of my friends: "it's just a season - and all seasons have an end," I had to remind myself of that too. I had to find a way to teach my heart to be patient through this difficult season. 

Spring (and summer) eventually arrived, and my insides are relieved. Life's better through rosé colored glasses, right? 

Since we're in the happy place, we'll be sharing some recent adventures soon! California roadtrips, Miami beach escapes... and ICELAND! 

notes:

- photos are from a spring afternoon at the beginning of May with my friend Mara at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. i always keep a close eye on their cherrywatch, and this year we went toward the end of the bloom, which is why there are so many flower petals on the ground -- like pink snow! hint: Tuesdays are free! 

- i love this poem - i heard it read at my gym nonetheless! (it's not your ordinary gym...) it struck a chord with me, so i had to share. 

making a juror: eating my way through nyc jury duty | Chinatown, NYC

Last January 21st I was called for jury duty at New York City Criminal Court. I was annoyed (as everyone was), packed up my computer and a book and headed downtown to endure what would surely be the most boring day ever. Until I got picked for a 6 week murder trial! You could say that disrupted my audition season just a bit. However, if you've recently binged Making a Murder like me and half of America, you know it's anything but boring. 

First of all, NYC is far from Manitowoc and my judge with her sassy gray bangs would have never put up with half of that shit. My jury and I heard more details than we could imagine about how a young deaf man stabbed his younger deaf girlfriend to death and stuffed her body in a barrel...and all the sadness in life that lead up to that point and the subsequent horror. Though it was quite tough to digest, I found freedom (and warmth) between 1-2:15pm everyday when we broke for lunch. I figured if I'm going to be stuck in Chinatown in the middle of winter, why not take the opportunity to explore? Seriously-- New York City is your oyster if you have the eyes to see it. It can also make you pretty handy with a pair of chopsticks. 

In conclusion, I give you some lunch suggestions should you find yourself serving time down at the NYC courthouse:

First things first, honey dew melon bubble tea. On the regular. 

Right around the corner is Pongsri (a popular Thai restaurant) and this bowl of heaven: Coconut Red Curry Noodle Soup. Ok I'm drooling... 

A few more steps down the road and you're in pho heaven if that's your thing. (It's a little tricky if you're vegetarian...but I was an equal opportunity lunch juror so I found my ways of making it tasty.) Xe Lua was a happenin' and cheap lunch spot amongst the suits. 

And dim there were sum. Some of the ladies on the jury insisted I join them at the "best dim sum in town" at Ping's...so we treated ourselves. #ladieswholunch

Speaking of treating yourself...sometimes there is a parade thrown for you on your well deserved lunch break. Especially if it happens to be Chinese New Year. 

Pho for days at Vietnamese restaurant Nha Trang on Baxter Street.

Walked an extra block one day (I know a lot of effort) for award-winning ramen at  Bassanova, and I can confirm it deserves all of its awards. And it was the most hipstery lunch I had during my 6 week residency...the only place that didn't have that grungy "local" vibe to it. Do the two go hand in hand?

I decided to start going the budget route and made it across the usually Tai Chi -filled snowy Columbus Park where I got my fair share of warm plump veggie dumplings for $3 at Tasty Dumpling. Towards the end, this became my happy place. Quick, cheap, and indeed tasty. I know everyone recommends this place, but that was too far of a walk for my cold juror self. 

One day, I was convinced to go on a grand lunch adventure over Canal Street and through the snow to Little Italy we went. The lunch at Buona Notte was cozy and the view from inside was dream.  

And for dessert? Ferrara's is queen. It's famous for a reason. I would bring home souvenirs from here and other little local Chinese markets of candies and treats I'd buy and try. You don't know the neighborhood until you've eaten your way through it.

Last, and certainly not least, I have to give a shout out to my favorite bakery, Lung Moon Bakery. There, I would escape the conversation of murder by looking at cute little foreign desserts. Nothing bad could happen in a world like that, right? For a dollar, I'd buy angel food cake wrapped up in wax paper, kind of like a cupcake. And I'm fond of anything resembling a cupcake. I have such vivid memories of this cake. (It was also fun to buy bags of fortune cookies to take to your friends and jury family.) I highly suggest stopping in to this mom and pop shop the next time you're in Chinatown. These couple of streets are some in the few in the city that still feel like they have maintained their local feel and not become too commercialized. And English is not the first language!

At the end of the day when walking to the train in the snow, you're hearing all these things in this case and thinking so many thoughts, and you're so out of the loop of your normal life and so cold, you might stop into Magic Jewelry on Canal Street and drink some hot tea and get your aura read. (oh, and it was Friday the 13th.)

Besides eating lunch, my jury and I became quite close-- planning potlucks, celebrating birthdays, teaching some old dogs new tricks on how to use their cell phones. Since we were all respectful of the rules, we really honored not discussing the case until it was time to deliberate. (and that was REALLY hard, because I like to talk about all my feelings...obviously...which is why I had to eat my feeling instead. note: still in recovery.) Instead, we got to know each other. I was the youngest white female by about 40 years, and I'd have to say it's quite an interesting group to pick a cross-section of Manhattanites to sit in a room. When I caught a cold, three different ladies brought in homemade soup and remedies for me. We had a group text. We kept in touch. We even had a dinner after it all passed over. Community can come in surprising places. (if you let it)

There was no doubt in my mind about our guilty verdict for our guy, but that didn't make any of us less heartbroken. I cried when I walked passed him on the last day of the trial knowing his fate, and months later we all were asking whether he'd survive prison given all that we learned about this individual. I'm a sucker for justice...and a redemption story. 

As we settle in for winter so is my deja vu and an appetite for dumplings. 

ps: I know the groan and eye roll that comes when you get that jury summons in the mail. It's really f-ing annoying. But civic duties are no joke, and the system only works if we have active citizens. (read: your vote matters!) At the beginning of this journey, I thought my life was ruined because I was missing so many auditions and fell out of loop of the ole dancer's hustle. (Then it got further ruined when I started to eat my way through Chinatown as a coping mechanism. #jurydutymakingfat) But then whatever happened in that courtroom started to become way more fascinating than any audition holding room (they're the worst). I mean have you watched 4 sign language interpreters in action at once? This wasn't a CSI episode, it was real life. I accepted the challenge and tried to be as present in mind and appetite as possible. When it ended and I felt out of shape and completely hopeless as far as picking up any crumbles of hope of booking a dance job for the season, I get called for my first TV gig out of the blue (plug: check out The KNICK). They say you make plans and God laughs at them. Well, no shit. I couldn't have made all of this up if I tried.  

ps #2: I wasn't in search of what's the best of the best in Chinatown. I merely was searching for a break and a breath of fresh air everyday, a warm meal, and a little distracting adventure for my one hour of freedom. These are a collection of what I found. (critical of food, but not a food critic)

10 must sees for an arizona roadtrip

I don't know about you, but my father is quite excited about planning another family vacation this summer. Who doesn't love a roadtrip? The last few years he's been in a bucket-list mentality: "If we don't go see the Grand Canyon now, then we'll just put it off and never do it." We all nod and go along, and then surprisingly end up on quite the adventure. (We now call this the #freemanadventure.) This year, we're heading to Grand Teton Park, so more on that next month. However, last year we spent an epic week in Arizona... so here are some of the must-sees for all the summer roadtrippers out there: 

1. Arcosanti. This place gives me hope for the future. It's a community surrounding the idea of arcology (architecture + ecology) built over the past few decades by thousands of volunteers. It's a little oasis in the desert and artist haven... Arcosanti is worth stopping by if your driving North from Phoenix. 

2. Sedona. This is a magical place. As anyone who has been will tell you. You can happen upon a mysterious vortex, which is a spot where the Earth's magnetism is thought to have special properties. You can hike and stroll throughout the day, enjoy the shops and cafes, and catch some amazing sunsets. Sunset at Bell Rock Vortex pictured below. PS I woke up like this.

3. Red Rock State Park. While in Sedona, you can hop out into several hiking trails in Red Rock State Park, and you'll basically feel like a badass. I really don't know how people don't die climbing up these things. There are no rails, and you're often climbing up on all fours. It feels like a choose-your-own-adventure, if you're into those types of things. I'm glad we didn't lose someone over the edge and were able to find a nice watering hole to jump into after. 

4. Grand Canyon- South Rim. Yeah yeah, this is definitely the first thing you'll think about hitting up in AZ, right? Well the Grand Canyon is pretty grand. And though you may have seen millions of pictures of it, you've got to see it and climb all over it for yourself. It makes you want to put your hands out in reaction of the grandeur of it all! If you're just driving through, the South Rim has all sorts of trails, walkways, and viewpoints for any level or duration of stay.

5. Antelope Canyon. After spending a few days in Sedona, we headed up to Page, AZ to yes another part of that big hole in the ground we were checking out above. You must check out Antelope Canyon. It's in a Navajo Nation Park, so you'll need to make arrangements with a guide in order to have have access to it. We went to Upper Antelope Canyon, and they're careful about how many people they let in at one time. Our guide was awesome, it was picturesque, and we had a pretty sweet ride there. 

6. Glen Canyon.  Page, AZ may be the smallest town ever. Just a warning. There's not much night life, or food after 9pm for the matter. We spent the day on the first 15 mile stretch of the Colorado River in Glen Canyon. The boys were in heaven hearing the history of it all, and we rafted along the inside of the Grand Canyon's walls that rose thousands of feet on our sides...talk about a different perspective! Oh and we met 12 new friends that were motorcycling across the country. (We didn't make it to Havasu Falls like Meg did. Sad face.)

7. Horseshoe Bend. To finish out the day on the Colorado River, you must get the view of the sun going down above it. We rafted through that bend, and we made the trek out to see it. To get to the viewpoint from where you park your car, it feels like you're walking into a desert-y horizon. I'd have to say people were a little crazy about getting a good photo and were so close the edge that I got nauseous looking at them. One dude put his wife on a leash! 

8. Jerome, AZ. I'd have to admit exploring  Jerome is a bit depressing. It's an old mining town that is stuck in a time warp, because people don't really live there anymore once that industry ran its course. It's worth stopping in for lunch to see what a ghost town looks like.  

9.  Montezuma Castle National Monument. If you're super into history, or your mother is, this stop will appease you. A castle hundreds of years old on the side of a mountain! Montezuma is a quick stop and worth seeing with your own eyes.

10. Poolside. Before you hop back on the plane (or car) you owe yourself a day by the pool. Especially if you find yourself in Phoenix during the summer...it is hot as balls. Your phone can't even handle it. You can relax from your hiking days, stay cool, and prepare yourself for your trip back to reality. For us- that would mean heading back to the East coast. Like a Girlboss. (if you didn't read it last year, get with it.)

notes:

- this was my first adventure with a GoPro & and we may have had fun with it :)

- there are plenty of other things to do in Arizona (now I know!) so this list is merely what we encountered upon our bucket-list-driven-path

- family vacations aren't the worst, but i do recommend finding activities so you don't kill each other 

wanderlust wednesday: pfeiffer beach (big sur)

Oh, do I have Big Sur dreams. I've been lucky enough to tag on an extra day or so in this part of heaven the last few years when traveling for work. It served as a sort of "spring break" and I didn't get one this year!! Thus, my wanderlust is hitting me a little harder than ever. 

The perfect day would include some wandering around scenic Highway 1 (perhaps hopping out for some tree hugging and hiking down to McWay Falls)...

...and then finding our way to Pfeiffer Beach with a bottle of local wine to enjoy the last few hours of sunshine breathing in the fresh air, watching the surfers, and digging all sorts of beach vibes. Harmonicas are helpful too. 

This beach in particular is pretty f-ing magical. I mean, there's purple sand. Yes, purple. And the locals are pretty awesome too. When I was there last spring with a good friend, we were invited over for dinner by a man we met on the beach who lived in a house his father built in the 1960s on the cliff above. Actually he lived in his own house next to it that he built complete with a long outdoor dinner table and open air fireplace. We sat with him and some friends and exchanged stories while he cooked us a homemade meal (his friend from Spain made paella from scratch), we climbed on top of his green roof which was full of kale he was growing along the perimeter (dreams!), we checked out his green building next door where he was designing furniture but also allowed the space to be used for local yoga retreats... I mean you wouldn't believe all of it if I told you!  Oh yes and there may have been a natural hot tub that we all swam in during which I saw at least 5 shooting stars. Magic, I say! We learned that our new friend recently moved back home to Big Sur after leaving a prestigious tech career in San Francisco - making a choice to find meaning in a simpler life. Instead of spending the rest of his life designing software and logos for Apple or Google (which one I don't remember...they're the same, right?), he wanted to make something that mattered to him. He wanted to get his hands dirty and get back to actually creating. I was basically drooling while listening to his story; Big Sur has always been one of those fantastical places I imagine quitting my NYC life for. How could anyone complain waking up and falling asleep in a place like this? It's green, it's beautiful, it's grounded. I mean it is the definition of a good quality of life. 

I did return to NYC as planned, and went back to the grind. However, it was such a breath of fresh air to taste a different pace of life and mentality. What a dream it was to walk on purple sand and tell stories about what we dream of creating with our lives around a camp fire. We're due to taste that again soon, right? In the meantime, we've got Wednesdays.

notes:

- pfeiffer beach is a little bit hidden, and they only allow a certain amount of people in at the same time. we checked out other people's directions and pointers on yelp, and they were pretty helpful! we knew we wanted to see the sunset, so we got there several hours before to hang out and brought layers.

- i really wanted to go to the hot springs, but it's pretty expensive to go. however, they do have public hours for $30 from 1am-3am here that seem like quite the experience. our local friends said they used to sneak in there all the time as teenagers. even though we didn't make it here last time, we still got lucky with a natural hot spring under the moonlight with shooting stars! 

spring in bloom, brooklyn

I don't know if there's much more that captures joy than the joy of spring finally arriving. After a much-too-long winter, the anticipation of it all was just killing us. But by the time we got our first day of warmer weather above 40 and the flowers started to bloom...we knew we were going to make it after all. Summer is finally in view on the horizon. You can smell it in the air. 

The transitional seasons in NYC are always a bit tricky, but they are the most enjoyable. We can't wait for the leaves to change color in the Fall or for the flowers to bloom in the Spring...but it's so hard to predict when exactly it will happen! We wait and wait and wait...and then by the time I actually make plans to go take that iconic walk through Central Park, either the leaves have mostly fallen or they haven't quite changed colors yet. I suppose the best practice is to be ready for things to change and bloom. To be present in whatever season we are in. Such is the seasons of life (good things bloom...eventually)! 

One of our favorite ways to experience Spring in NYC is heading to check out the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. And they've got this nifty map you can use to keep up with the bloom status. Needless to say, we've been watching this like a hawk for the past 4-5 weeks. (Yes, I always have 100 tabs open on my computer.) I watched it last year and still waited until it was too late :/ 

We were determined not to miss it this year and spent a quiet, sunny afternoon strolling, reflecting, and enjoying the pink wonderland. Once a new season finally blooms you've got to kick up your heels and enjoy it in good company. Meg's childhood Irish dancing days did pay off.

“I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.”

— Pablo Neruda

There were lilacs too!! And people with selfie sticks. We didn't have one, so we showed them!! (I mean we did the best we could.)

notes:

- i think i may go back and spend my whole weekend there laying in a bed of fallen pink pedals. pink really is the best color ever, right?

- Pablo Neruda does something to my soul. (see full poem)

- if you're making a day of it, there's a killer Basquiat exhibit in the Brooklyn Museum next door. 

wanderlust wednesday: sarong life

We've had a sneak at warmer weather life here in NYC, and I'm just wishing to live the sarong life today as it rains throughout the afternoon. Truly, what is better than sarong life? It's comfy, you can wear it creatively all day long, and it keeps getting ready in the morning (and at lunch and at dinner) really simple. Roll out of bed, throw on desired bathing suit and sarong, and you're ready for the day. What more could you ask for? 

Oh yeah... you could ask to be back in Thailand as well. In and out of the ocean, all you really need is a bikini, and life is all good. 

Think it would be acceptable to bring sarong life to NYC over the next few months? :) 

Notes:

- sarong life pairs nicely with hammock life as you can see above.

- these photos are from a backpacking trip we took in Thailand in late 2009. we strongly suggest some island hopping if you make it out that way (perfect for sarong life), and if you make it to Koh Phi Phi to stay at the Viking Nature Resort. we want to go back on a daily basis. the [wanderlust] struggle is real. 

- why on earth was i into wearing a white bikini?