Hank: “Did you see? That bird just flew by the window! And then it was gone!”
Me: “Oh. I love birds.”
Hank: “Meee too. They look happy. Birds do not talk.”

Check it out, parents! It’s beer pong for the swingset set. You know somebody’s dad is picking this up and thinking, “Huh. It’s actually not a bad idea for him to get good at that when he’s young.”

(In other news, this trip to New York has been a lot more Toys R Us and Target intensive than previous forays.)

We’re still in New York, but I got my haircut last week. It looks like this. I want it bigger! Bigger!

I’m in New York because Travelocity sent me here to check out Restaurant Week with their Roaming Gnome. As it turns out, Restaurant Week is delicious.

So. I am now officially booking all of my trips around Restaurant Weeks in various cities. This is what I had for dinner at Asia de Cuba:

Beef Dumplings Two Ways, the fried ones with plum sauce, the steamed ones with coconut rice and mango ponzu,

Thai Spiced Salad, with crispy coconut,

Honey-Rhum Glazed Pot Roast of Pork, with bok choy, plantains, and Enoki mushrooms,

And Coconut Invasion layer cake, which led to all sorts of off color joking at the table.

All of it was $35.

But the cocktails, my friends, those are worth a splurge. The cocktails will leave you educated.

I’m irritated by drinks that out-price gold by the ounce, but arrive with sugared rims that pucker your mouth compared to the syrupy sludge in the glass. If I wanted Kool-Aid, I wouldn’t pay $14 for the pleasure of having you chill it in a shaker, barkeep. At Asia de Cuba, we had pleasantly bitter Caipirinhas, mint-forward Mojitos, and a Mango-Passionfruit Margarita that still felt like a reasonable way to treat good tequila. That’s not easy to do.

In short, I’ve gained 15 pounds in the last three days. But you know who doesn’t care?

The Gnome loves me just the way I am. At least I assume so. He has that “I adore you, despite your ill-fitting jeans” look in his eye, you know?

I find that very attractive in a gnome.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. We’re just good friends.

But that was a fine meal.

Does your city have a version of Restaurant Week? Any recs for restaurants that do it right? Also, can I crash on your couch after dinner?

Hi. I’m in New York because Travelocity sent me for Restaurant Week. It is awesome.

Have you been to Restaurant Week? It’s this thing in New York where upscale restaurants offer prix-fixe menus for ludicrously low prices. They have it in San Francisco too, and I’ve never done it before. Because I am stupid.

Yesterday, I had lunch with some girlfriends in Brooklyn at the River Cafe. This was the view from our table.

I had the lamb meatballs, which were vanilla scented with a slight caramel aftertaste,

and the Boar Bolognese Papardelle,

and a trio of desserts.

All of it was $24.

Again, I am stupid for not having done this before. Even now, I’m only here because Travelocity sent me to New York to eat with their Roaming Gnome. I was kind of surprised about the amount of attention he attracted. Through the whole meal, people kept trying to interact with him. The waiter wanted him to taste the wine.

And then I had to be like, “Uh. He doesn’t talk… He’s made of resin?”

And then this woman came up and said, “Where’d you get that amazing hat?”

And then I was like, “Uhhh. He’s a statue? The hat is attached to him.”

But after a little champagne,

and then a little more champagne?

I started to understand.

He’s an amazing listener, and so well traveled. Plus, he was paying, so I kind of felt like I had to put out.

But he’s a gentleman. Our second date is dinner.

Seattle photographer Chrissie White is 17, and the photo above was not Photoshopped. With all the smoke and mirrors we can choose to create dreamscapes now, it’s easy to forget about just having your friend jump on the bed until you get the shot.

Pink Mermaid with Color Splashes
Sweet for a little girl’s room. She’s blushing.

Raval Page Flags

I bought these pretties because I didn’t want to mark up the Churchill book. Reading is so much fun.

Chevron Tags
Cool tags and bows are the key to wrapping everything in brown paper and getting away with it.