Oh, word

Phew! After the rough February and March of budget season at work wrapped up on Friday, I first had to celebrate with some Irish fish n' chips with Ronnie... but then I took a personal day Monday to walk around Brooklyn with my cousin, Kim who has an incredible eye for art, especially street art. Kim could tell me the names of who did what based on their spraypaint and stencils or signature. It was unexpectedly tank top weather, and a perfect day for a slow mosey.

As you can see, any unmarked walls in Brooklyn are fair game -- certain neighborhoods like Greenpoint are a playground / free gallery for artists and/or smart asses. Easily my favorite shop was a place full of Mexican art and gifts called Fuego. We ended the bright day at Brooklyn Brewery which I must say, felt surrealy like trying to get into Oz - there was this odd, short bouncer woman hanging out at the warehouse door, trying to convince us that we were too early or too late for the "tour", but she had inconsistent excuses... with some urging and persistence, she let us in. It was 7 bucks, and should probably just be free, but it was still good.

Couldn't help but laugh about this cute bookshop, thinking of the Beastie Boys song Oh, word. "the name's MCA, made in downtown brook-lyn"

Wait, which way? Wha?

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Kim's home and studio in the Bronx

Her beautiful collection of milagros - more on that here: http://kipiboo.blogspot.com/2011/01/hearts-collecting.html
Below, Kim's mini squares make one great wall centerpiece - check out her big stuff on http://www.kipiski.com or little stuff on etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/kipi

I also loved walking Kim's neighborhood -- the low-key, beach bum bungalow community of City Island (which looks a lot like the location of Hitchcock's The Birds, even though I know that was Buzzards Bay in California). I guess it's a little touristy and chowder-housey, but it was romantic and adorable. Kim is the epitome of the cousin who's too cool and talented to be related to my family, but my grandmother and her mother were first cousins, it's true. I am psyched that after years of wanting one, I finally purchased one of Kim's paintings this weekend, and hope I can pick up another rectangular one in the Winter.

Super chill City Island:

Marveling at her neighborhood's private little beach... imagine you can sit & have your coffee on the water every day! Ahhh!

The marina where Kim reports to her seasonal sailing team
a little bar on the end of her street

On Tuesday, I worked a long day at Columbia University School of Journalism for an incredible event suporting the Democracy in Action study guide that was one of my first projects for Facing History, supporting the PBS American Experience film, Freedom Riders. While managing this project for Facing History, I've had the honor of befriending the co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Nashville (back in the 60's), and a close colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's, the wonderful Bernard LaFayette, Jr. (http://vimeo.com/38923944) Every time I talk to Bernard, I wish I could move down to Atlanta and take one of his courses at Emory University. But it's great having him speak at our events and engage teachers and students like no other. He is a joy and a treasure.

I hope to have some news about moving to Watertown in the coming month, but nothing is official just yet. Keep your fingers crossed~
at brooklyn brewery, above

life's a bummer when you're a hummer

Work is busier in February than any other month, so I can't tell you how ready I was to embrace March 1st last week.

These last few weekends, I've been itching to go for a long drive, so yesterday with nothing major on the agenda, I took a drive out west to the Berkshires and did a little driving around Lanesborough, Pittsfield and shopping in Northampton. Funny - Bostonians keep griping how we've had no Winter this year, but the western part of the state sure has had Winter! There were frozen waterfalls everywhere and four inches of snow from Springfield onward. Here's a candid photo of the beautiful Lake Pontoosac, where my mom grew up ice skating (her house backed up to the lake).

Generally one of my favorite things about a road trip is the iPod karaoke opportunity for hours on end, but yesterday it was just not gonna happen. A case of laryngitis has been going around at my office, and it traveled to me just in time for birthday weekend. I actually don't feel very sick, but my voice is completely gone as of this morning, so I now have a whole new appreciation for text messaging. My iPod was having a solid day yesterday regardless, and made me the most perfect "shuffle" mix for the drive, which is here on spotify.