fall nyc - part II

the most delicious brunch at clinton street bakery. average wait time for a table: 1 hour.



cute and chic all at once, we enjoyed yummy french style breakfast and pastries from bouchon bakery from their cafe side. unfortunately our drinks came in paper cups - sorry earth!



pork steamed buns at momofuku



.. and of course a quick stop at dean and deluca.

this time around i barely did any shopping (aside from a little treat at tiffany's for myself). as b and i lamented that shopping is now boring in all major cities, we noted that it is because of globalization that the expansion of stores and brands has made most retail outlets homogenized.

more photos from nyc are here. ... and hopefully b will have her lomo photos developed soon. she took a lot more outdoor new york shots.

fall nyc - part I

the view from I80 and the other highways down to new york were so amazingly gorgeous. these photos just don't capture the perfect fall day we had. the air was crisp in that fresh autumn way and the sky had the most delightful cumulus and cirrus clouds.

because i have narcoleptic tendancies i couldn't stay awake for the whole road trip, but the moments that i was awake were glorious. in b.c., forests are comprised mainly of evergreens so you would never see a whole hill or mountain of orange and red.

we were lucky enough to have jeremy volunteer his car for the trip down and also be our dedicated driver for the whole 12 hours we were on the road (which included a breakfast break and a 2.5 shopping break at woodbury commons, which was underwhelming but the beautiful orange mountain behind the outlet more than made up for the lack of nice deals). i'm still amazed at how this man could stay awake and drive for that long.

next up, nyc part II = fooooooooood

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on a monthly (if not weekly basis) i scan craigslist for things on my dream list. these are things that i can't justify purchasing or have no room for, but i do quick searches for the off chance that someone is selling those items for super cheap.

today i punched in 'white piano' (one day i'll have a white grand à la john lennon, but in the meantime i can daydream) and found this delusional post from a person who wants to live rent free. good luck, lady!

quick update!

what with foster beagles (we had a 3rd dog staying with us 2 weekends ago). i didn't have a chance to report that the aozora team was reunited for a short while. we took a roadtrip down from toronto to the big apple too!

more updates coming soon!

elmo the foster beagle

cross posted to baying beagle

an overcrowded shelter in ohio asked for help with 14 of their dogs that were to be put down. the grassroots rescue organization that we adopted duke from, barlee's angels rescue network, made a plea for help on their website and through facebook (see it's not all that evil).

with duke adjusting very well to his new neighbourhood and home, andre and i decided to take the plunge and apply to foster one of the two beagles that were listed as urgent. we were lucky enough to be approved to foster elmo.

sure elmo is still probably scared and learning to adjust to his new life (he was found as a stray), but so far he is far less anxious than duke was when duke started his new 'urban' life with us.

things i love about elmo:

• he is still very much a puppy and looks at things in wonder
  
• his sudden bursts and happy jumps during our walks
  
• he is clingy, but that makes him sweet and snuggly
  
• he gives kisses
  
• for a 1 or 1.5 year old, he's super laid back
  
• he's very much a beagle, nose to the ground, a serious investigative sniffer

i get so furious, frustrated and sad to think that someone gave elmo up. if barlee's didn't work hard to find foster families, elmo and the other 14 dogs would have died last week. in fact, due to the pit bull ban in ontario, one dog was put down b/c she couldn't be brought into the barlee's program.

sad. sad. sad.

... but i have to look forward. elmo is going to be the first of many beagles that we would like to foster. and the thought of bringing love to future beagle parents helps counter the negative, sad feelings.

we've moved

i had this image sketched out for a while now, meaning to create some change of address announcement cards. well, we've only been here for 2 months so it's not that late!

i also realized that this fits in nicely with this week's illustration friday topic, 'packed'.

this turtle is all packed and ready to move!