Toronto Girls in New York

This weekend, my good (and gorgeous) friends Karen and Sarah came all the way from Toronto to hang out with me in Brooklyn!

It was so great to finally get them here – and just in time before I’m enormously pregnant and before I have a baby to carry around on the outside of me.

On Saturday, after Sarah got tattooed in the city, the three of us went to Smorgasburg. This has become a staple for entertaining visitors. So many food stands! So many choices! Not to mention a beautiful view of Manhattan from Brooklyn.

After some walking, shopping, and a rest at home, next on our agenda was dinner. I tried to show them the deliciousness that is Paulie Gee’s, but we didn’t feel like waiting an hour and a half for a table so we went to the new spot River Styx instead.

Filled with pasta and cocktails (in my case, a mocktail), I took them to Transmitter Park so they could see the nighttime view over the East River.

Sarah loves New York so much now that she did a little show.

We stopped at Oak & Iron for a drink since it was only half full and had a jukebox playing mostly Fleetwood Mac. Then to conclude our Franklin Street tour, we grabbed a bottle of wine at Dandelion Wine right before closing time. This apparently seems to be the best time to go as the people who work there are extra friendly and play you Neil Young songs when they find out you’re all Canadian.

They also treated Sarah and Karen to some bourbon, which Sarah ended up taking home the rest of in her purse. Greenpoint hospitality!

Sunday was quieter, especially since Nick and I had booked a Childbirth Education class in the middle of the afternoon before we knew we were going to have visitors. We still managed to have a tasty brunch and some hang outs afterwards though.

Thank you so much for coming to visit, ladies! I haven’t laughed that much in a while. Love you <3

This Week In Links

Happy Friday! What are you doing this weekend? I am so excited to have two of my favourite ladies, Sarah and Karen, visit me from Toronto. In the 3 1/2 years I’ve lived in Brooklyn, they have yet to come see me so it’ll be great to hang out before I have a mini-me to lug around.  Let’s just hope being nearly 9 months pregnant doesn’t slow me down too much!

Here’s what I’ve been enjoying online this week:

Sigur Ros plays beautifully in a cave.

I am definitely keeping this in mind for when Henry’s a little older.

Weird and funny: celebrities Photoshopped into house party photos.

RIP Volkswagen Hippie Van :(

This is such a great idea.

Quiz: How many of IMDB’s 250 Top Movies of All Time have you seen? (I’ve seen 93.) via Jayme

Tina Fey hosts Saturday Night Live’s season premiere tomorrow!

I hope this invention comes to life.

[Photo: Erin Drewitz]

Bump Envy

On Friday, I met up with the two lovely ladies behind the new NYC-centric mom and pregnancy blog Well Rounded NY, Jessica and Kaity. They were kind enough to invite me (and Henry) to their latest “Bump Envy” photo shoot at Williamsburg’s Videology where I had photos snapped by the talented Evan Gubernick and answered a few questions about my pregnancy so far.

You can read the interview here and while you’re at it, check out their feature on my yoga studio too!

This Week In Links

This week flew by – as all weeks continue to do as my due date gets closer! What are you up to this weekend? I’m going to have my baby bump documented by blog Well Rounded NY later this afternoon and Nick and I may venture into the city to see Salinger at some point. (I also wouldn’t say no to a cone from Big Gay Ice Cream if we’re there.)

Here’s what I’ve been enjoying online this week:

This is terrifyingly hilarious. (via Angela)

How NOT to make a burrito.  (via Stefanie)

If you thought New Yorkers lived on top of each other, wait til you see this.

Louis C.K. explains why he hates smartphones and, as usual, he’s completely right.

What type of procrastinator are you?

This made me laugh harder than anything else this week.

[Photo: Benoit Paille]

This Week In Links

After realizing I start many of my conversations with “I just read an article” or “I just saw this online” for the past year or so, I thought that I should start sharing the interesting things I come across on the internet with all of you. Each week, I’ll post the links I found share-worthy. I hope you’ll find them interesting too!

Photos and video of Migaloo the Albino Humpback Whale blew me away. He’s so friendly!

Very helpful gifs for anyone who’s going to visit (and survive) NYC.

The most exciting news of the week.

If you are about to rip your eyes out and ears off at one more mention of Miley Cyrus, then this is for you.

These skeletons from the catacombs of Rome are amazing.

For the techies: Why Cards Are The Future Of The Web.

You’ve heard about me attending Creative Mornings in Brooklyn for the past couple years now – with their new website, you can watch all the talks from around the world. Get inspired!

We just ordered these for Henry’s room.

But we’ll have to wait a few years before we can dress him in this.

Word nerds rejoice!

If Famous Writers Had Instagram.

8 Months

We’re coming into the home stretch here – today I am officially 32 weeks pregnant, which equals 8 months! In 5-8 weeks, Henry will actually be here, outside of my body, and the recipient of many, many cuddles.

Here’s what’s happening in babytown lately:

• Last night, we had a tour of the hospital we’ll be delivering in!
• I am officially a slow walker (by New York standards, anyways).
• We have gathered a nice little collection of books for Henry and Nick has been reading Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus to him every night.
• On Friday night, Nick & I went to two social functions in a row and stayed out until about 11pm. All the standing and shouting over loud talking and music had me totally wiped! Good thing we are mostly homebodies.
• For the first time in my life, I prefer fruit to vegetables. I can eat half a small watermelon in one sitting.
• Prenatal yoga feels way better than my usual practice, Ashtanga. I’m cutting down from 3 Mysore classes to 1 or 2 a week and filling the void with more prenatal.
• Henry’s crib is due to arrive here any day, and thanks to all our generous friends and family, we have a healthy pile of stuff waiting for him in his future room.

In other news… A huge congratulations go out to Julia and Jay who just had their baby boy, Blake Xavier, last Monday August 26! Blake was born just two hours shy of his due date – I can’t believe it!

It’s also worth mentioning that Julia is the one who called me in late December, after just weeks of knowing she was pregnant, to tell me the news and that I had better get a move on so I can be pregnant with her. It’s been amazing going through this journey with both Julia and Kate. Thanks for going first, ladies! xo