The humidity hasn’t hit yet but it’s downright warm today. Despite the copious amounts of sunscreen I slather on the girls everyday, they’re turning tan and Claudine even has funny little tan lines on her feet from her sandals. We met up with some friends in front of the Brooklyn Museum this morning to watch the choreographed fountains, but after 2 short thrilling minutes of shooting water works, the damn thing broke and stopped working. Instead, the kids frolicked on the grass while I tried coaxing Claudine onto the grass but she was not happy. I’m guessing she has some sensory issues because she doesn’t like walking on grass or sand, but seriously….how are we going to get by summer if she’s having these issues? Lunches on days like this are usually containers of fruit, cold cuts, sliced veggies and whatever else we might have in the fridge, laid out on a spread. Like me, Mia doesn’t have an appetite these days. Hard to believe how skinny she is getting - both the girls were such big, chubby babies. Now that she has lost all of her baby fat, she is looking so mature.

Despite the postings on this blog, I haven’t felt that hungry the last few days. It’s probably because the weather is getting warmer and I tend to eat less in the summer. In any case, Mark just handed me a grilled cheese sandwich with spicy chorizo which I happily chowed down even though I didn’t feel hungry. I’ve been unable to focus all day, totally scattered and jumping around from one task to another - work, potting tomato plants on the balcony, tending to and thinking about the business, and staring out the window. It’s a pretty day and the windows are wide open which almost makes me feel like I’m outside. I have exactly 1 hour of quiet before the girls come home from being out all day with their babysitter. The calmness of the afternoon will soon be replaced with chatter, chases down the hallway and incessant calls for mommy and daddy. I’m bracing myself.

When Mark was working as a Pastry Chef, holidays and weekends meant nothing since he was always working. In fact, getting 2 days off in a row was so rare that we never did short weekend trips or 2 day getaways. As you can guess, long weekends have taken on a whole new meaning for us and we happily drove out of Brooklyn and finally felt like any other American enjoying the long weekend. Part of our holiday was spent with swissmiss and her family who were gracious enough to host us (and there’s the pie on her site! ha!). We went to the beach, dutifully grilled meat for our dinner, and sat outdoors under a shaded umbrella for a spectacular summer lunch spread the next day.

This weekend was all about food. We came home Sunday evening for an extended family dinner at a small Korean restaurant in Flushing where we had barbeque cooked on stone plates and the best cold buckwheat noodles (Neng Myun) I’ve ever had. It’s officially summer when you eat that dish.

We ended the holiday weekend back in Flushing with a Chinese wedding banquet held for my good friend James and his new wife Rachel. A multi-course meal where the food kept coming even though we were mighty full midway after the 5th course. Mia ate like a champ and I was thrilled that Claudine liked the lobster soup. It was a spectacular weekend overall and this morning I’m having a bit of trouble switching gears and focusing on work. At least I have banquet leftovers to look forward to!

My neighbor Sonjie and I went to visit our friend (and fellow neighborhood parent) Lindsey at ICFF today. Lindsey has just introduced her bubble chandeliers rolled in 14k gold foil and the effect is dazzling. Quite spectacular I might say, and if we ever hit big with the biz some day, I’m ordering one of her lights.

It was another gray and dreary day here in NY, quite cold and wet and we drove to a Vietnamese spot on Atlantic Avenue for an impromptu lunch after we left. Noodles in broth is the perfect way to ward off the chill, but I had something new that I’ve never had before - the Vietnamese sandwich: ham, pate, pickled carrots, mustard and greens, all on hot crusty French bread. Quite good, so much so that we ordered another to share. Yup, 2 sandwiches and a bowl of pho. We were very hungry.

We don’t eat out that often, which is sort of ironic since we are foodies (or at least in a past life we were) and Mark is a chef, but we just can’t afford it since we’ve become parents. We’re lucky that we have the food budget down to a science and we cook ALL meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day. No, we don’t even do takeout or indulge in buying snacks and drinks when we’re out and about. Doesn’t sound so fun, does it? But you get used to it after awhile.

My favorite food to eat out is sushi, particularly because it’s not as easy to make at home, and it’s becoming Mia’s favorite as well. I can’t recall the last time we had it, but my dad came for lunch yesterday and took us out for sushi - a real treat! It was so nice to bite into the buttery soft fish again and suck on salty edamame shells.