happy times...

my weekends lately have been phenomenal. full of shopping, holiday parties, good food, plays and dance concerts.

highlights include:

the premiere of a documentary titled "who the fuck is jackson pollock?" it was at a cute indie film house in the west village. they had free popcorn and had old bay seasoning to put on it which was SOOO GOOD, free soda, and a reception with wine and crudites afterwards. the documentary itself was hilarious. it's about this crazy old lady truck driver that bought what many people think is a jackson pollock at a thrift store in CA. she was looking for the ugliest painting in the store to buy as a gag gift for a sick friend, bought it for $5 and an art teacher saw it and thought it might be real. she's since had forensic scientists come in and do paint evaluations and they even found a pollock fingerprint on the back. everyone in the documentary was at the screening and they did a question and answer afterward.

an alvin ailey performance and gala. i was picked up by this guy who walked up to me and said, "i sponsored a jude law event last week and i wanted to invite you but didn't have your number! you need to give it to me." i've never before in my life met this man. but for a second, he had me actually thinking i knew him. very surreal. i told him my number and he didn't write it down so i assumed (and hoped) he'd forget it. but no, he called last week. the performance itself was AMAZING. ailey has a newish dancer there who is ridiculous. legs 8 feet long, extensions like you've never seen and arches that kill me!

dinner at the most cozy/charming italian place on the lower east side. they only have 7 tables but the food is to die for. it's my new little secret.

a ridiculous brunch at compass on the upper west side with the best service i've had at a restaurant in AGES.

dim sum in chinatown at this crazy place where the host acts like a vegas lounge singer (he has a microphone even) and the tablecloths are this blinding pink. but we ate and ate and for five of us the total was 31 dollars. sometimes i really heart chinatown.

my friend pretty had a part at his place. he's all about keeping up appearances. so naturally he had someone come in to professionally decorate his new meatpacking (read: uber-trendy) duplex (read: two floors). he had a 15 foot tree which fit nicely in his living room with vaulted ceilings. in the tree: fake amex cards with pretty's name on them, and tiny magnolia cupcakes tacked to the branches (and yes, i totally took one off and ate it...but everyone else was doing it too so it's okay). BUT, with the glorious...comes the bad. pretty's friends. they're all good looking, but they're also totally full of themselves, too wealthy, not all that bright. and then there was the bungalow 8 socialite mix that just kind of appears at places like this. thank god for jeff his friends. my saviors!

my friend ted had a cozy soiree where they made the BEST food, but then the WORST holiday punch you've ever seen. something with champagne and vanilla vodka and who knows what else. and i drank it all night and had probably the worst hangover of my life the next day.

a private party at gin lane where cheese plates and champagne abounded. but it was stuffy so we hopped over to the dingiest dive bar within walking distance and had the best time (though zeke showed up for a bit, acted weird, then took off, which is annoying because we're meant to be friends still).

and i finally made time for a massage. because, you know, going to parties is SOOO stressful...