Neema is growing up fast!

Here's the latest photo of Mark's daughter, Neema. She's the cutest. I love her little Converse high tops. So hip and American!

South Beach!

This year, the summer flew right by. I think this is partly because the weather was strange and unsummer-like. We had rain for all of June; Spring-like weather in July and mixed sunny and rainy-ish weather in August. So September and October, the fall have been chilly. Also, Guillaume and I were both working a lot. We had lots of big projects and other things at work that were keeping us very busy.

During this hectic time, I was able to sneak away for a long weekend in August in South Beach in Miami, Florida. Lucky for me, the weather was sunny with little rain. Most people don't go to Florida in August for the very reason that it's sweltering so it wasn't too crowded. Since South Beach can be kind of sceney, I prefer to avoid to the crowds. And, who cares if it's hot if all you've got to do is sit on a beach chair under an umbrella near the ocean?

I didn't do much of anything while I was there. In the morning, I'd take a yoga class and eat

breakfast. Then, I'd head to the beach with my book and ipod. I'd break for lunch and go back

to the beach again afterwards. After the beach, I'd head to the pool on the roof of the hotel and then look for somewhere to eat. I found an excellent Indian place, enjoyed middle eastern food and took myself out to Wish, a fancy restaurant in the hotel where I stayed.

I stayed at this place called The Hotel of South Beach, which was fantastic. The rooms were nice and the staff was very helpful. The pool on the roof was a nice way to end the beach day. You could see the ocean from the pool and the mojitos were excellent! On Saturday, you could see the cruise ships leaving their ports.

There is a sandwich place, La Sandwicherie, which has fantastic sandwiches. The owners are from France and make the best sandwiches ever. It is on 14th street and Washington near the Club Deuce Bar, one of the older (and divey) bars around. It has an open counter with stools where you can sit and order your sandwich. One sandwich can easily feed two people and comes with the famous La Sandwicherie Vinagrette. It's excellent.

Had a great time in South Beach and looking forward to going back again some time soon.

The High Line in NYC

Recently, after years of planning and negotiations, the High Line reopened in NYC. It is now an amazing park that is open to the public that allows spectacular views and shows innovative design. Guillaume and I decided to visit it to see what all the fuss was about.

It was really amazing. You can access the park via stairs at three or four different access points. You can see the old tracks through the giant bushes and wildflowers growing around them. There are benches to rest and take in the interesting aerial view of the street. At one place, there is a mini-theatre style set up of benches looking through a giant glass window over the street. It's an interesting angle to view the cars whooshing by. The path follows the tracks, which wind through new and old buildings.

The design of the park gives you a good glimpse of its history. Built in the 1930s, the High Line was part of the West Side Improvement, a public-private infrastructure project. It was an elevated train track that removed dangerous trains carrying freight off the streets near Manhattan's largest industrial district. Trains stopped running on these tracks in the 1980s.

In 1999, Friends of the High Line formed because the structure was slated to be demolished. This group works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure. You can see historic photos of the High Line here.

Progress on Jeff's Home Renovations

Jeff is making a lot of progress on his home in Beacon, NY. Recently, he sent us some before and after photos of the outside of his home. It was cool to see the progress because the last time I saw Jeff he showed me the architectural renderings. It looked cool on paper but it looks even cooler in the photos. This is no surprise as Jeff is very talented in art and design. I can't wait to see more photos and to visit this summer.

Guillaume's Work Summer Party 2009

A few weeks ago, we went to Guillaume's work summer party on Randall's Island in NYC. It's always an over-the-top, fun event. There is a free ferry specifically for the party that takes you to the island.

It has something for everyone. This year there was a fake "rooftop" wine bar that looked just like a NYC apartment building rooftop. They had several different versions of wine and loungy seating on a high platform that rested beneath the trees. There was a skating rink, baby pools, sandcastles and a fake boardwalk for families to enjoy. The kids can make crafts and watch musicians. At night the skating rink turned into a giant dj booth for dancing. Of course, there were tons of Michael Jackson songs this year.

The food was also excellent. You could get the typical hot dogs and hamburgers and corn or you could opt for veggie samosas or jerk chicken empandas. There was also a giant seafood shack with crabs and other stuff like that. There were plenty of bars and places to get lemonade and iced tea and soda.

We mingled with Guillaumes co-workers and bosses and ate ourselves silly. We even tried shooting some hoops along the fake boardwalk. After that we took the ferry home and called it a night. It was a blast!

BBQ in NYC

A few weekends ago, we celebrated Gay Pride with our friends in NYC. After a champagne brunch with Bill and Terry, we skipped the hustle and bustle of the parade in the Village and headed to Chelsea to Stephen's courtyard for a BBQ. After Stephen got the barbeque going, Andrew and Annique prepared some seared tuna and sausauges. Others had hot dogs and burgers. It was an excellent Sunday afternoon with good food and good friends.

A Wedding in the Adirondacks

Mara, my friend from graduate school married Karl in Old Forge, New York during the Fourth of July weekend. It was a beautiful wedding and Guillaume and I had a great time. The wedding took place in the St. Mary of the Snows church in Otter Lake and the reception was at the North Woods Inn in Old Forge. The day after the wedding, we joined the newly-married couple for a pig roast.