Wow, I seriously have not had the time to update this page in a while. I'm finally getting to blog about a trip I took a couple of weeks ago - let's hope I remember anything that happened. Actually, I have lots of pictures, so that will make up the bulk of the post.
Anyhoo, a couple of weeks ago The Professor and I took a trip to NYC so that I could hit the bar on a Tuesday night and so he could go and explore the city with his camera. When we arrived in the afternoon, The Professor set out on his adventures and I went on a few of my own. I had always wanted to visit a certain establishment during one of my various trips to the city, but I never had the time to make it happen until this trip. Y'all - I went to Mood!
Of course, only those who watch Project Runway will understand the excitement of going to a fabric store, but it was awesome. I came up from the subway stop and stared up at the opening credits shot of the "7th Ave/Fashion Avenue" street signs and got all giddy. Mood itself is crazy. You get pointed into an elevator to head up to the store and have to wait until there are enough people in the elevator before the operator will take you up. Then the door opens and you see the infamous notions wall that Tim Gunn is always standing in front of, warning the contestants about the dwindling time limit. There was also a bulldog in there running around, which I found to be quite odd. But the place is jamming - it's organized by fabrics, with aisles for "silk organza" and "cotton jersey," etc. I actually needed some fabric, so it was fun to carry my bolts around. Oh Mood, you did not disappoint. Well, except for the high prices. I don't know how they make things with the small budgets they get on the show.
Anyway, after my trip to Mood, I headed back to the lower east side and did some shopping around the hotel. My girl Lucy Woodward had recommended some stores to me, so I checked out some of the goods and then bought some AMAZING shoes at a Steve Madden Steven store. I'm SO going to win the shoe-off with Lucy when I see her in April. After some shopping, I made my way over to teany, which is Moby's tea cafe. All of the food is vegan or vegetarian, which is normally a turn-off for me, but I was going there for the tea anyway. However, the menu listed a vegan red velvet cake dessert on there, so I had to see what that was all about. It ended up being really good. You go, Moby! But really, I need to talk about the tea. People, the tea menu is ridiculous. They have 98 different flavors. 98!!! As soon as I saw this one, I knew I had to get it. Who cares if a pot of the tea was $7.50? The leaves were hand-picked by monkeys, people! MONKEYS! And I'm not just saying this because of my monkey bias - that was the best tea I have ever had in my life. I had to buy some to take home and I plan to buy another container when I go back in April. Those monkeys know what they're doing. They don't mess around!
After that, I headed back to the hotel to watch some TV while I got ready to hit the National Underground. I had heard that Tuesdays were going to be the new fun night at the bar because a bunch of Joey and Gavin's friends play, and the rumors turned out to be 100% correct. I had made plans to meet up with my pal Karyn, who had been a few Tuesdays recently and declared them to be quite fun, so she was happy to join me for the evening. I got all duded up in my little shirt and tie:
I got halfway into the bar before I heard, "SOCK GIRLLLLLL!!!" It was my pal Sasha, who I decided to surprise this time and not tell him that I was coming in advance. He was happy to see me as always, and the feeling was mutual:
He's so much fun.
I got there a little before the band started so I got to catch up with some folks who work there. They were both off for the night, but were there for the bands. Sadly, Joey was in Florida, so it was my first trip to the bar without Joey being there, which was too bad since he always makes me laugh. Up first on the stage were Chris Barron & The Time Bandits, who are doing a month-long "Exile on Houston" gig at the bar on Tuesdays. For those who don't recognize the name, Chris Barron is the lead singer from the Spin Doctors. I've met him at the bar a few times before, but this was the first time that I got to see his band play and they were really good.
It's a fun atmosphere because the guys in the band are just there to play and have a good time. They're all kind of musician's musicians so they enjoy it as much as the crowd does, which makes it that much more fun to watch. So much fun for some people that they creep into your picture out of nowhere and kiss you on the cheek:
I still have no idea who that guy is, but he told me that I was "dead sexy," so he is clearly my new best friend. After Chris's set was over, the crowd thinned and we could relax more and talk to everybody. Karyn knows most of the guys who were playing that night, so we got to chat with everybody between sets. Speaking of Karyn, here we are:
And here are some pictures of us hanging with the boys:
I loved him.
With Sasha and Travis DeGraw, the bar manager.
Kris (Man With a Van), Matty and Andy Clayburn.
Love the munching on the Underground hot dogs.
It was boot night at the Underground.
Here we are with Jill, my favorite NU bartender. Karyn brought her black wig so we could be the Ravenheads again, and Jill completed our trio quite nicely. We're totally starting a Ravenhead Gang. Looking to join the gang? The Professor, who made a late-night appearance at the bar and tried his best to join the gang, but just ended up looking like comic-strip character Nancy:
He does much better without the wig:
Speaking of The Professor, we now interrupt this entry to bring you some of the cool pictures that he took while he was off exploring Brooklyn and other places. I got him this little box-head guy for Valentine's Day, and he just makes such an adorable little subject:
Awww. Okay, back to the bar, where in what I guess has now become tradition, Sasha and I had to pose for a licking picture:
God, I look so porny in that. (Last time, it was me doing the licking.)
Soon after that, Andy Clayburn took the stage and he was really good. Andy usually plays guitar in Joey's band, so it was cool to see him doing his solo thing. The guy playing piano with him was sick on the keys and various people jumped in and did songs with him throughout the night, including Kris, Sasha, and Chris Barron. It was just like sitting around and having a jam session with your pals, singing songs like You've Got To Have Friends - I loved every minute of it.
Man, what a fun night.
Even though it was dark in there, I did grab a little bit of video footage. The first part is from Chris Barron's set - he busted out three Spin Doctors songs at the end, and the second part is Andy getting mellow:
Happily, the next time I'm going to be in NYC is in a few weeks and it falls on a Tuesday, so I'm going to have to stop by the bar at some point because that was some crazy fun.
The next morning, The Professor and I met up for coffee with my internet friend Rich, who runs Orangutan Outreach, the charity that I want to give all of my money to. That's where I adopted my "daughter" Kesi, who is growing up to be quite the orangutan. She had a cameo on Orangutan Island a couple of weeks ago and I was yelling at the TV, "that's my daughter!" I try my best to get as many people as I can to watch the show and give to the cause because the money all goes to the rescue center for the orphan orangutans in Borneo. Rich was lucky enough to go and visit the center (for the third time - I am SO jealous) in December, and his pictures from the trip are AMAZING. It was really great to finally meet up with him and chat - he had some great stories and really interesting info about all kinds of things. The Professor was loving hearing about the advances being made in terms of the possibility of creating rainforests and climate change and whatnot. That stuff was a little out of my depth, but it was fascinating to hear about. Rich invited us back to his office, where I picked up my new friend Harlan:
I also got a book about the creator of the center, which I have been passing around work. It was all really wonderful, so I thank Rich for taking the time out of his busy day to meet up with us. You rock, Rich!
After that, we finally headed home, but not before making a stop along the way at our favorite place, where I found Paul's new car:
I NEED a Duchessmobile in my life. I also found out this time that the Duchess restaurants are only located in Connecticut, which saddens me. Now everyone has to book a trip to good ol' CT so you can go to a fast food place and order chicken parmesan. Seriously.
So thus ends another NYC adventure and another fantastic time. I do love that city and that bar. Thanks to Karyn and Rich for meeting up with me, and to all of the musicians - I'll see you in a few weeks. And next time? Oh lord. I'll be there with Paul, David, Lucy and Joe - THIS ought to be interesting. Stay tuned!
Anyhoo, a couple of weeks ago The Professor and I took a trip to NYC so that I could hit the bar on a Tuesday night and so he could go and explore the city with his camera. When we arrived in the afternoon, The Professor set out on his adventures and I went on a few of my own. I had always wanted to visit a certain establishment during one of my various trips to the city, but I never had the time to make it happen until this trip. Y'all - I went to Mood!
Of course, only those who watch Project Runway will understand the excitement of going to a fabric store, but it was awesome. I came up from the subway stop and stared up at the opening credits shot of the "7th Ave/Fashion Avenue" street signs and got all giddy. Mood itself is crazy. You get pointed into an elevator to head up to the store and have to wait until there are enough people in the elevator before the operator will take you up. Then the door opens and you see the infamous notions wall that Tim Gunn is always standing in front of, warning the contestants about the dwindling time limit. There was also a bulldog in there running around, which I found to be quite odd. But the place is jamming - it's organized by fabrics, with aisles for "silk organza" and "cotton jersey," etc. I actually needed some fabric, so it was fun to carry my bolts around. Oh Mood, you did not disappoint. Well, except for the high prices. I don't know how they make things with the small budgets they get on the show.
Anyway, after my trip to Mood, I headed back to the lower east side and did some shopping around the hotel. My girl Lucy Woodward had recommended some stores to me, so I checked out some of the goods and then bought some AMAZING shoes at a Steve Madden Steven store. I'm SO going to win the shoe-off with Lucy when I see her in April. After some shopping, I made my way over to teany, which is Moby's tea cafe. All of the food is vegan or vegetarian, which is normally a turn-off for me, but I was going there for the tea anyway. However, the menu listed a vegan red velvet cake dessert on there, so I had to see what that was all about. It ended up being really good. You go, Moby! But really, I need to talk about the tea. People, the tea menu is ridiculous. They have 98 different flavors. 98!!! As soon as I saw this one, I knew I had to get it. Who cares if a pot of the tea was $7.50? The leaves were hand-picked by monkeys, people! MONKEYS! And I'm not just saying this because of my monkey bias - that was the best tea I have ever had in my life. I had to buy some to take home and I plan to buy another container when I go back in April. Those monkeys know what they're doing. They don't mess around!
After that, I headed back to the hotel to watch some TV while I got ready to hit the National Underground. I had heard that Tuesdays were going to be the new fun night at the bar because a bunch of Joey and Gavin's friends play, and the rumors turned out to be 100% correct. I had made plans to meet up with my pal Karyn, who had been a few Tuesdays recently and declared them to be quite fun, so she was happy to join me for the evening. I got all duded up in my little shirt and tie:
I got halfway into the bar before I heard, "SOCK GIRLLLLLL!!!" It was my pal Sasha, who I decided to surprise this time and not tell him that I was coming in advance. He was happy to see me as always, and the feeling was mutual:
He's so much fun.
I got there a little before the band started so I got to catch up with some folks who work there. They were both off for the night, but were there for the bands. Sadly, Joey was in Florida, so it was my first trip to the bar without Joey being there, which was too bad since he always makes me laugh. Up first on the stage were Chris Barron & The Time Bandits, who are doing a month-long "Exile on Houston" gig at the bar on Tuesdays. For those who don't recognize the name, Chris Barron is the lead singer from the Spin Doctors. I've met him at the bar a few times before, but this was the first time that I got to see his band play and they were really good.
It's a fun atmosphere because the guys in the band are just there to play and have a good time. They're all kind of musician's musicians so they enjoy it as much as the crowd does, which makes it that much more fun to watch. So much fun for some people that they creep into your picture out of nowhere and kiss you on the cheek:
I still have no idea who that guy is, but he told me that I was "dead sexy," so he is clearly my new best friend. After Chris's set was over, the crowd thinned and we could relax more and talk to everybody. Karyn knows most of the guys who were playing that night, so we got to chat with everybody between sets. Speaking of Karyn, here we are:
And here are some pictures of us hanging with the boys:
I loved him.
With Sasha and Travis DeGraw, the bar manager.
Kris (Man With a Van), Matty and Andy Clayburn.
Love the munching on the Underground hot dogs.
It was boot night at the Underground.
Here we are with Jill, my favorite NU bartender. Karyn brought her black wig so we could be the Ravenheads again, and Jill completed our trio quite nicely. We're totally starting a Ravenhead Gang. Looking to join the gang? The Professor, who made a late-night appearance at the bar and tried his best to join the gang, but just ended up looking like comic-strip character Nancy:
He does much better without the wig:
Speaking of The Professor, we now interrupt this entry to bring you some of the cool pictures that he took while he was off exploring Brooklyn and other places. I got him this little box-head guy for Valentine's Day, and he just makes such an adorable little subject:
Awww. Okay, back to the bar, where in what I guess has now become tradition, Sasha and I had to pose for a licking picture:
God, I look so porny in that. (Last time, it was me doing the licking.)
Soon after that, Andy Clayburn took the stage and he was really good. Andy usually plays guitar in Joey's band, so it was cool to see him doing his solo thing. The guy playing piano with him was sick on the keys and various people jumped in and did songs with him throughout the night, including Kris, Sasha, and Chris Barron. It was just like sitting around and having a jam session with your pals, singing songs like You've Got To Have Friends - I loved every minute of it.
Man, what a fun night.
Even though it was dark in there, I did grab a little bit of video footage. The first part is from Chris Barron's set - he busted out three Spin Doctors songs at the end, and the second part is Andy getting mellow:
Happily, the next time I'm going to be in NYC is in a few weeks and it falls on a Tuesday, so I'm going to have to stop by the bar at some point because that was some crazy fun.
The next morning, The Professor and I met up for coffee with my internet friend Rich, who runs Orangutan Outreach, the charity that I want to give all of my money to. That's where I adopted my "daughter" Kesi, who is growing up to be quite the orangutan. She had a cameo on Orangutan Island a couple of weeks ago and I was yelling at the TV, "that's my daughter!" I try my best to get as many people as I can to watch the show and give to the cause because the money all goes to the rescue center for the orphan orangutans in Borneo. Rich was lucky enough to go and visit the center (for the third time - I am SO jealous) in December, and his pictures from the trip are AMAZING. It was really great to finally meet up with him and chat - he had some great stories and really interesting info about all kinds of things. The Professor was loving hearing about the advances being made in terms of the possibility of creating rainforests and climate change and whatnot. That stuff was a little out of my depth, but it was fascinating to hear about. Rich invited us back to his office, where I picked up my new friend Harlan:
I also got a book about the creator of the center, which I have been passing around work. It was all really wonderful, so I thank Rich for taking the time out of his busy day to meet up with us. You rock, Rich!
After that, we finally headed home, but not before making a stop along the way at our favorite place, where I found Paul's new car:
I NEED a Duchessmobile in my life. I also found out this time that the Duchess restaurants are only located in Connecticut, which saddens me. Now everyone has to book a trip to good ol' CT so you can go to a fast food place and order chicken parmesan. Seriously.
So thus ends another NYC adventure and another fantastic time. I do love that city and that bar. Thanks to Karyn and Rich for meeting up with me, and to all of the musicians - I'll see you in a few weeks. And next time? Oh lord. I'll be there with Paul, David, Lucy and Joe - THIS ought to be interesting. Stay tuned!
Wait... I am confused- I thought you got Duchess when you went to NYC.... where in CT because when I get un-swollen, we already have to make a trip there to get me a damn Krispy Kreme, so I can get a chicken parm too.... or something...
STOP MAKING ME HUNGRY, PAM!!
Posted by: Jesse | March 12, 2009 at 12:54 AM
We do...we drive through most of CT to get to NY from my house.
Posted by: Pam | March 12, 2009 at 07:23 AM