The Maine Event

Alex and I took a trip up to Maine to get out of the city. As much as I love living in the big apple, sometimes it's nice to get out of the hustle and bustle and enjoy some peace and quiet.

We took a quick flight into Portland and arrived in the crisp Maine air. The scenic drive up to Boothbay was spectacular. Naturally, the first thing we did was stop for a lobster roll at Red's Eats. We explored Wicasset stopping into a gallery or two and took the advice of one of the townspeople to drive out to the Pemaquid Lighthouse. We were so glad we did! The lighthouse, which can be seen on the state quarter, was quaint and our views and walk along the rocks was amazing. The Bed and Breakfast we stayed at, The Topside Inn, was so adorable. We stayed in Room #6 - the one with the cute little window nook where you can read and enjoy the view. It felt like staying in a really fancy beach house. We spent our first night relaxing and grabbing a bite in the tiny town.

After our first delicious breakfast of the trip, we headed to the water to do some kayaking and headed out to Burnt Island (where kerosene was stored for all the surrounding lighthouses back in olden days). The entire island could be hiked in 15 minutes. We checked it out, got a history lesson from a young groundskeeper, and took in the view before getting back into our kayaks and paddling back to Boothbay. After freshening up, we took a drive out to the Botanical Gardens where we explored and lazily strolled through the massive grounds.

For the evening, we headed to Rockland where we checked out the coolest lighthouse I'd ever seen. We enjoyed an insanely delicious farm to table dinner at Primo to end our second night.

It was hard to leave the beachy, laid back town of Boothbay, but we got an early start and got on the road (after another delicious breakfast, of course!) and set out for Bar Harbor. We took the scenic route to enjoy the views of the ocean and relax. It's amazing how relaxing and exciting driving in a car is after not having done it for so long! When we got there, we took a walking tour of the town via a shore path with little posts that give a history of the huge "cottages" sprinkled along the coast. We arrived in Mount Desert Island and checked into the Bass Cottage Inn where we stayed in Room #9. The house was so warm and friendly and our room was spacious and inviting.

I was feeling particularly ambitious so when Alex suggested we check out Acadia National Park and maybe go for a hike, I decided to go for it. I'm so glad I did! We checked out Sand Beach and hiked the Beehive. This was no joke - we were on exposed cliffs with rungs to climb up. But we did it! And I've never been prouder for pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Who knew I would love hiking?! We spent our entire dinner chatting about how excited we were to take on another mountain!

We woke up at the crack of dawn to watch the sun rise over Cadillac mountain and spent our final full day of vacation hiking Dor Mountain which was a steep trail up walking on gorgeous pink granite. Then we headed to Thurston's Lobster Pound to devour well-earned whole lobsters. Our last dinner was at The Jordan Pond House smack in the middle of Acadia.

It was so hard to leave the slow paced easy going culture of Maine with its fresh crisp air and friendly people. In our cab on the way home, we took a look at the beautiful NYC skyline, fanned ourself in the humid smoggy air, and listened to our cabbie shout at the car that cut him off...Yup, we were back in New York.

Three's Company

A few years ago, when I was consistently going on unbelievably crazy dates, I felt like my life was a sitcom. I met Alex and soon my stories were old news. Now, I find myself living a sitcom again. Anyone remember "Three's Company" about 3 roommates going through adventures together? Well, that's where I find myself now.



Alex and I have been getting along swimmingly. The first few months were an adjustment. After living alone for so many years, I had forgotten how to do things like share my space and adjust my schedule to accommodate another person. There were nights where I cried to myself about silly things like not being able to try on all of my dresses for no reason because Alex was asleep. Nobody can really prepare you for how tough it is to make the leap after being totally independent for so long. Alex and I have taken on tons of projects as a team. We do chores around the apartment together and laugh a lot. I'd say it's the perfect balance. Don't get me wrong - we fight and sometimes our room can be a total mess. But our fights are about dumb things like my hair clogging the drain or his shoes being all over the floor. And we're so happy that it doesn't really matter when our room looks like it's recently been ransacked...as long as it gets put back together so that we can invite company over and act like real adults.



Our roommate, Harold, is great...for the most part. Aside from being a bit messy in his room and in the kitchen, having a huge unpacked box in the hallway (from when he moved in over 2 years ago), and moving in his girlfriend, Kristina, and her dog without asking, he's a pretty decent roommate. He's got his own bathroom which he keeps fairly clean. He doesn't cause much drama. His girlfriend, Kristina, is a doll and her cute little dog, Mischka, is a tiny fluffy ball of love. They fight an awful lot but she's a lovely girl and I don't mind having another chick in the house. We've got tons of space so we stay out of each others hair. After a few months of living together, we have a nice rhythm.

Although I really like Harold (and Kristina and Mischka), I look forward to the time when Alex and I will get a place by ourselves. But for now, the three (or five) of us are roommates and we're making it work. Because in a city where space is such a commodity, it's nice to be able to share mine with someone I love. After all, it could always be worse.

A Night at the Opera

For my birthday, Alex took me out for a fancy sushi dinner and then to the opera. After a decadent dinner at a fantastic sushi restaurant by our apartment, we headed to Lincoln Center and walked up to the Met with the huge crowd of wealthy New Yorkers. We waited in the box office line and got our tickets before heading into the theater. The people watching at the Met Opera couldn't be better. Although my favorite was the father son duo in the front row wearing viking helmets and checking out the orchestra before the performance.



Second row tickets to the Met are insane. We could see directly into the orchestra. We barely had to look up from the individual seat tele-prompters to see the performers. I think my jaw was on the floor when we took our seats and saw our view. Behind us were so many rows and balcony levels of people and I felt like a princess to be in the second row with my favorite guy.

As the lights dimmed, the gorgeous chandeliers retracted four stories up into the ceiling. The curtain went up and my attention was entirely focused on the beautiful performers. The set was absolutely spectacular - planks manipulated electronically to form different sets throughout the performance. The singers were suspended from the ceiling floating around for most of the performance. It was breath taking. I was in love.



For Alex's first opera, he certainly chose an interesting one - Wagner's Das Rhinegold. A two and a half hour German spectacular with no intermission. But he was a great sport and actually enjoyed it - even asking whether I would like to see the "sequel"... little does he know there is a set of 4 operas that succeeds this one. I feel very lucky to have found a guy who enjoys the arts as much as I do. And I'm excited for our next adventure to the opera. I know it will be incredible.