RE-GROUPING : going out with friends in NYC

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every night,

another adventure.

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there was dressing up and walking a few blocks

to meet katy and her fiance at their new loft.

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for champers,

for celebration of their engagement,

for the sushi restaurant she took us to

that you have to have the secret phone number to find :

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look how happy she is to have scored those rezzies!
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then a few jaunts with mat zucker and bryan fuhr,
along with the met for mcqueen,
there was the rooftop bar of the james.
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a cornell re-union, seventeen stories above lower manhattan :
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and dinner with hillary,
at beauty & essex,
the gem hidden behind a pawn shop on the lower east side.
cocktails and fried oysters . . . YES!
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april. APRIL? good lord, i've missed blogging . . .

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time, it gets away from one, don't it?

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so . . . some of the little fun things that we did in APRIL.

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richard haines was in town for the opening of his show

at a gallery literally around the corner from our house,

so,

we got to have dinner with one of our favorite illustrator/blogger/renaissance men,

got to go to a great opening,

and i got to wear that purple scarf again.

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(in order of importance.)

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(plus, met a model for a show coming up, but dan vickery is another story . . .)

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(a semi-naked american flag story, but another story, nonetheless . . .)

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easter.  

puppy loves still good with los angeles being 75, always.

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brandon hermann, friend, artist and photo mentor,

let me collaborate with him on an editorial shoot recently,

and it was the great combination of glamour and edge

that an artist and a fashion fiend can find

when the like to create

together:

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lots of nightlife.

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love watching chris puckett dance.

he . . . um . . . really lets loose:

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time out at tom whitman's events,

from size to cherry pop to sanctuary . . .

love this boy.

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and, lovely tim,

once again surprised me,

putting one of my favorite pieces of brandon's on layaway

for two years,

only to unveil it recently.

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i love working and having "ethan green"

watching over us:

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BLINK, and you missed it . . .

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this year is rocketing by.

anyone else SHOCKED it's march already?

MARCH, people!

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already,

we've seen:

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1) the skies over l.a. go from typically brilliant to this, over and over:

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beautiful,

right?

but surprisingly ominous when you're just out walking the dogs

down santa monica boulevard.

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2) then,

lauren (my darling, divine sister)

and hollis came and stayed with us for a few days:

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this involved much retail therapy,

much eating of the sushi,

and much making of the merry at the nightclubs.

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3) i've been shooting up a storm on the print front.

leading to scenes like this in my backyard,

occasionally:

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'tis difficult,

this path i have chosen.

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4) jo had her birthday bash at the beach.

drove an hour south,

to a gated community RIGHT ON THE WATER,

and lounged the day in the cool sunshine,

celebrating with our lovely one:

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'twas pretty divine:

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and oh,

what else?

lots of good news on the art side of my career

(granted, a side i didn't know existed, but more on that soon enough)

some new jobs landing and travel again soon,

and general momentum,

which,

my loves,

is the greatest gift of all this year.

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say it with me:

MOMENTUM.

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an evening with erin -

flashback : 

before leaving on the big shoot,

tim and i spent a lovely night eating and catching up with erin o'connor,

someone who knows us from our beginnings in chicago,

and with whom we have been through many storms and sweet passages.

it was lovely to see her with her new man,

out in the los angeles evening,

amazing as always.

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RE-GROUPING : through a SLANTED DOOR

follow us

through the cold february rain

to the ferry building, on the water,

below the bay bridge,

to the landmark restaurant,

Slanted Door.

for the food,

but more,

for the friends.

for tagliani,

for tim,

for evie,

for i

for the people who know you may look like this in some pictures,

but you're like THIS in real life:

the shaking beef ain't bad either.

RE-GROUPING : scattered moments from early january . . .

ok, catching up on the detritus, so the memories don't escape into the ether . . .

dinner out at A.O.C. with eduardo and mac,

getting to know each other.

i think tim was three margaritas in, hence the lovely "soft focus" effect.

oooh, dinner at Mozza,

mario battali's restaurant. 

this is the "mozzarella bar".

yes.  a whole bar.  that just serves different preparations and kinds of mozzarella.

ate here with philip williams and his amazing wife joanne.

we LOVE these two.  LOVE LOVE.

phillip is an amazing art director, joanie owns a stunning jewelry gallery/store on third.

i want to be them.

um, this is the unfinished top of my new desk:

claro walnut.

dinner at eduardo's.  mac cooked.  tim and i ate. 

the most stunning sunset of the month:

aaaand, we're only halfway through january.