The week so far has been glorious, both weather-wise and activity-wise. I crawled out of bed at 12:30 yesterday and lazily made my way into Manhattan to meet up with my favorite crafty chick, Filomena. We 2/3'd it up to Columbus Ave. and 73rd St. and had a positively lovely afternoon tea at Alice's Tea Cup. Mmmm... pumpkin scone. I highly recommend it if you're in that neighborhood!
I managed to be a bit less lazy this morning with an 11:00am rising. I joined The Masseuse at a charming eatery in Boerum Hill (alas, for the life of me, I cannot remember the name of it) for lunch. I tanked up on a delicious mixed green salad followed by fresh gnocchi and baby spinach bathed in an orgasmic mushroom sauce. It was spectacular. So good, in fact, that right now I have the fingers on my right hand bent inward near my mouth while I'm making that "MWAH!" lip-smacking noise.
We decided we needed coffee to finish off the meal so on a whim, we walked over to Gorilla Coffee in Park Slope. That coffee is like all ethical and stuff but I'm mostly taken with its robust flavor and potent buzz-inducing properties. In fact, it's now hours later and I'm still riding out the caffeine wave. HOO-WAH.
The weather was far too glorious to sit inside so we decided to guzzle our beverages while walking. We soon found ourselves at the entrance to Prospect Park. This is where, in the agreeable weather months, I can be found huffing and puffing aboard the Kick-Ass K-mart Bike.
My exposure to the park thus far has mostly been atop a bicycle or in a plastic folding seat at the park's famed bandshell (I once sat in the pouring rain to see The Saw Doctors. Show = good. Resulting soggy wet ass = bad.) I'm excited because I found a whole new area today with lush, rolling green hills and winding walking paths. If you'll allow me to gush for a moment, this park really is a marvel of nature and architecture smack dab in the middle of Brooklyn. Swoon...
As I've stated here before, The Masseuse is a wonderful and positive force in my life. But she's like the biggest enabler ever when it comes to supporting my spending habit. And that makes me love her more. I can rationalize most purchases without guilt anyway but she's truly like the little red devil on my shoulder influencing my choices. "Buy it!" "Great color!" "That will look fabulous on you!" "I can totally see you in that!" were among her exclamations as my fingers merely grazed the cotton on a cute red ringer tee at Brooklyn Industries. Um, so I bought it.
While I was there, I also purchased yet another cute messenger bag. I am like the Imelda Marcos of bags and satchels. Honestly, they are falling out of my closet and there's no room for any more in the tiny wee studio I call home but I cannot stop myself. I'm a total sucker for things with pouches, zippers, buckles and snaps.
The Masseuse is equally smitten with these accessories. While we were each trying to pick out our desired color, we held a mini-seminar on what makes a bag desirable (the aforementioned handy pouches, complementary color schemes and durability) and why Velcro closures are deal-breakers (too noisy). I would also like to add that the Velcro can get all linty and lose some of its stickiness. In other words, your bag won't close securely and that, my friends, means open season on your valuables for public transportation ne'er-do-wells or, even worse, an ill-timed tampon spill. Um, not that there's ever a well-timed tampon spill, but you know what I mean...
But, once again, I digress. So, I managed to get my fiending self under control and pick out a small, practical bag (with two zippered pouches and a plastic snappy closing thing). As I was paying for my stuff, I was floored when the cashier slid my purchases into a funky orange hybrid fabric/paper bag (it was almost like a hospital smock material) instead of some chintzy plastic shopping one.
"Oooh! What a cool bag!" I squealed.I practically skipped out of the store. Now, it does have a Velcro closure, but methinks in this case I can suck it up and deal.
"Yes, we give these out for purchases over $50," the cashier replied.
"So you're giving me a free bag in part because I'm already buying one?"
"Yup!"
"Oh my God, I think my head is going to explode!"
