Twas the Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Fam,

Cross the country they scurried, with boarding pass in hand.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But 4 collar women, smiling ear to ear.

With Tribeca and Greenwich, and Rockafeller’s Tree,

They knew in that moment, they were in NYC!

The view out The Markle was nothing but stunning,

It made their hearts ready for a weekend of running!

More rapid than eagles, the restaurants they came,

And they whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

“Now Magnolias, now Bald Man, Elephant Castle, and Bubby’s!

On Pompolino, On Grapes and Grain, and Le Petit Café and coffees!

To the Site of Ground Zero! To the rink at Bryant Park!

Now Dash Away to Union Square Market and Filene’s Basement!

As Four beauties they were, yet having no greed,

Got free cookies, and cheesecake, and free honeymeade!

The four pulled pranks as they all bunked together,

But soon with mimosas, they had purchased some leather.

So down to the subway, to Radio City they flew,

To See the Rockettes and the Nativity too!

And then in a twinkling, I heard in the PIT,

People hooting and hawing, all up in a fit!

“Do I know you from Indy?” A gentleman said.

“Sure thing! I’m Liz Collar!” while scratching her head.

St. Patrick’s was grand, and North Star was jazzy,

But with two left shoes, they were nothing but frazzy!

But the trip was complete with a lot less stress,

Earrings for the bride and her rehearsal meal dress!

They were bundled in down from their head to their feet,

To view fabulous windows on Fifth Avenue Street.

Snapping pictures away was the beautiful blond,

While the youngest of all waved her Blackberry wand.

Cartier, how it twinkled! Fendi, how merry!

The windows at Sacks were dressed up like snow ferries!

The Palm Court at the Plaza was drawn up all in bows,

But for the Chinatown hustlers, our anticipation rose,

She spoke not a word, this china-doll elf,

But she knew where Prada hung hot on her shelf.

A wink of her eye, and a twist of her head.

“137,” a parlor, for rubs: back and head.

Its finally come to the end of our time,

But not until hearts are shared with good wine.

But I heard them exclaim as home, they went forth,

I’ll see you for Christmas! At Ryan’s! Up north!

Michigan for the Birth of Jesus

Back to Ohio...Its a white christmas at home! I've been home for 3 days, and I'm enjoying every minute of it.  We've been watching movies, and mare and i have been baking and cooking up a storm...cuz we're taking Christmas to rye guy and apes in Michigan! I'm actually in the car right now! I'm so excited to see ryan! its been since the summer! But everyone is going to be all together and i am SO SO excited.
Yesterday, Mal and Katie and I had a nice time at Caribou catching up over coffee:) That evening, Roxanne came over for Christmas Eve Eve dinner:)...its good to be home.
Merry Christmas!!

2 Left Shoes!

THE WEEKEND ARRIVED! I had been anxiously awaiting this day and finally came!
Friday night, after my Screen/Film class, (where I shot a soap opera scene) I met Mare, Liz, and Apes at their hotel in Soho. After assessing the accommodations, decided to switch hotels to the Hilton in Tribeca...more convenient and safe. After the switch, we walked around Greenwich by me, and ate at the Elephant Castle, a cute English pub, and closed the place down after a wonderful chat. After stopping by my place, they went home with a 9:30 wake up call.
Saturday was jam packed.  We Brunched at Bubby's, Tribeca's famous eatery and enjoyed talking over swedish crepes. Afterwards, went to an adorable toy store, hopped on a subway and went to Union Square's Christmas Market, saw the LSTFI, did Filene's Basement, and then back to the hotel for 15 minutes to catch our breath. That night we went to dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant across the street (exposed brick and good lighting) and enjoyed savory pasta and free cheesecake:) Grabbed a cab and sped to the PIT (People's Improv Theater) which is a hole in the wall comedy club and had a good chuckle.  Afterwards, we walked to Times Square and went into Toys R Us.  After being totally overwhelmed with over stimulation, we found a quiet Russian Lounge/Bar called the FireBird and enjoyed some scotch, white russian and spiked coffee, and free honeymeade:) This is where mom lost her cell phone! Back to the hotel where, after mom was out cold mid-sentence, Apes and I pranked the MareBear...we TP'd her bed:)
Sunday, up and at 'em again...went to Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.  After taking a subway to Washing ton Square in the heart of NYU, we brunched at little jazz club overlooking Greenwich park. Afterwards, we we on a mission to get to chinatown. So, we walked through Noho, where Apes got her rehearsal dinner dress, and Little Italy, sampling Italian Nougat, and then finally got to Chinatown.  We wanted to get handbags, so we followed a little Chinese lady on a blue tooth through random alley streets, where she handed us off to another blue toothed lady...neither looked at us. "Go to 137" she said and then vanished, never looking back. Well, "137" was a "Back and Foot Rub" parlor...with a false wall leading to a back room FULL of Prada, D&G, Chanel, Gucci handbags and purses. We bought 2:)
Next, off to Magnolia's for their world famous cupcakes in Greenwich, then back to the hotel for a quick recharge. We returned to the same Italian restaurant across the street for dinner that night and then went to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, followed by seeing Rockafeller center, the Christmas windows,  FAO Schwarts, the Plaza Hotel Lobby, and then had a night cap of white russians at a sports bar in the Theater District.
Whew! ~Monday~ We slept in a bit and brunched at a delightful Le Petit "Insert French Word Here". It was ADORABLE! That was in Soho. Afterwards, we bought some cool leather bags and bohemian attire:) Took the subway down to Ground Zero and went to the 9/11 museum...powerful. We stopped back at the hotel, got my 2 LEFT SHOES that FB sold me, and went back to Union Square to return them.  We had a mid-afternoon snack at Max Brenner's Chocolate by the Man...'nough said...chocolate melting cake and Chocolate Peanut Butter Supreme Sundae. Yeah...we did that:) After that, we subway'd over to Bryant Park where we took in the skating rink, and their Christmas market, where Apes got her wedding earrings!! Finally, we ended the evening and trip with a dinner at Grape and Grain tapas restaurant. (also exposed brick and candlelight). It was SO wonderful...we had great conversation over 2 bottles of wine. Thanks for a great trip ladies:)

Watch out NYC....The Collar Women came...and conquered!

some 3x5's

My apologies. I have been virtually absent.  Where to begin! Well, the semester ended with a bang...literally. For my musical theater class, we have been preparing all semester for our showcase.  Well the day of the show arrived, and one of the girls in my class became "deathly sick" the night before. That morning, my teacher approached me and asked me to learn her part and perform it that night.  It involved the trio "At the Ballet" and complicated ballet choreography.  It was a stressful day, but I pulled it off. It was a fun show, we got great feedback.  Afterwards, Emma and Mathilde and I went out for a long coffee afterwards. I was sad to say goodbye to my friends for Christmas! They're all off in other parts of the world! Austria, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Brazil, California, Mexico, Switzerland, France, Italy, and Australia.  I was like...yeah i'm going to OhIo:) haha...no no, I can't wait to be home for xmas with family and friends. Nothing quite like it.  But we've got a Collar girls' weekend in NYC to get through first!! :D

Whodey Nation!

Hi everyone!
Just a quick update tonight, as I am on my way out the door to a Christmas party:) But this week has been a bit bittersweet as it is my last week of M/T/W classes, so its sad to say goodbye to the teachers that I look up to so much.
On a lighter note, this weekend was very non eventful. Particularly slow.
Sunday, I went to brunch with Emma and Maja, who wanted to have an "American brunch experience":)....aka big portions of pancakes haha.
But that was fun. We went to the little diner across the street and then afterwards we walked around the Union Square Christmas market.  After we were frozen, we made our way to Phoebe's Bar in the Village, which is dubbed...the Cincinnati Bengals Bar! We went for kickoff at 1pm and it was FULL of Ohioans in their Bengals attire! It was CRAZY!! And there was a guy in a Playhouse in the Park jacket, so I chatted it up with him.  The best part, was that they served SKYLINE DIP! It was crazy...I felt at home:) And yes, I treated the Swedes skyline dip, even after our pancake extravaganza!
I left at halftime, and met up with some girls from my building for a Christmas concert called True Joy. It was great...I really got in the spirit....followed by Mass.
So ok...I gotta run...lovies!
xoxo

ps...pics to come soon!

Rockafeller Spectacular

Wednesday...day off...rained ALL day...literally...all day.
Consequently, I am currently watching The Grinch on TV:) Perfect rainy day solution!
As promised...I will fill you in on the Rockafeller Tree Lighting!
It was pandaemonium...sheer chaos...but SO worth it! Constantin, Emma, Alessa and I all trekked over to 50th street after class around for the show that started at 7 and the tree to be lit at 8:55.  People had started lining up at noon...so we were a bit late...one of the last of the 500,000 people to arrive.  We could hear but not see...Sheryl Crow, Mariah Carey, Josh Groban, Jessica Simpson, and others perform Christmas songs.  We were in mosh pit like surroundings and so, disgruntled and cold, we decided to leave early before the lighting to avoid the exit stampeed. Luck was on our side though, because when we were leaving, the police had just opened the prime viewing spot of the tree for the media.  And we were able to watch there too...with 5 minutes to spare. So we had front row seats for the actual lighting! and gosh, it was so beautiful! Afterwards, we went for coffee and then home for a long winter's nap.

The "Where are you Christmas" scene is on TV now with little Mary Lou Hoo, so I'm going to peace out.

xoxo