Weekend Bits

~My new ballerina nude manicure courtesy of Valley Nails~

This was one of the most fun, relaxing weekends I've had this winter. I was determined to ratchet up my activities (usually, I spend cold weekends ensconced firmly in my kitchen cooking up a storm and catching up on leisurely reading) and agreed to brunch dates, tea dates, movie dates, and (gasp!) grocery shopping outside of my own neighborhood. 

And so, in my enthusiasm, my Friday-through-Sunday ended up being one long string of non-stop activities, starting with a cozy Friday night movie date with a boy to finally see Black Swan (I loved it). It continued with a series of brunches: one at Joseph Leonard, where I had one of the best burgers of all time (they smear it with creamy ricotta cheese--genius). Another with the lovely Jenna Fain, who does social media at Coach (tea at Tartinery). And yet another in the form of an hours-long catch-up session over Mimosas at one of my favorite restaurants, Balaboosta, with my friend Bevy. Alas, by the time the big Jets game came on, I was too tuckered out to do anything but throw in a load of laundry downstairs and curl up with the Sunday papers. C'est la vie. How were your weekends? xo

~I made a trip to an old-fashioned butcher shop called Ottomanelli & Sons Prime Meat Market in the West Village to buy pounds of duck (recipe to come). This is one of the super-sweet Ottomanelli brothers~

 ~Fresh flowers to brighten up my sitting area~

 ~Loving my Smythson notebook (a gift from my business partner, Alex Weiss). They're the most durable things ever and the pages, although razor-thin, don't bleed when you write on them with an ink pen~

 ~The delicious burger at Joseph Leonard~

 ~I finally bought some Mast Brothers chocolate this weekend--so prettily wrapped and yummy~

~Suz Monster about to take a nap in the sun~