Home

So, I went home for a week and it was fabulous. There is nothing quite as oddly voyeuristic and sublime as being a tourist in your home. Particularly when your home in New York City.

I went home and drank Mojitos, saw art, ate vegan cupcakes and gluten free pizza, saw some more art and talked to everyone. I mean everyone. And people don't do that in NY. They just don't. Keep your head down (or straight). Focus ahead. Don't stare. Even it its a celebrity (for example, Nicolas Cage waiting casually outside the door to the theather you're about to enter to see a play). No, this isn't L.A. We're better than that- oh I mean cooler than that. We play it chill... But I did. I stared, I talked, I gaped. I even smiled- profusely and incessantly. Bordering on creepy. I talked to the people next, the guy next to me, the girl, the little old ladies on the first floor at the theater. I didn't care. I was so happy to be home. They were mostly amused- who was this girl- this girl who looks like a New Yorker, talks like a New Yorker but isn't acting like one. Is she invaded? Their reactions were priceless.

I saw Promises Promises. On that sunny day as Charlotte and I met on the steps of the new TKTS booth whose design I critiqued years ago in architecture school and waited to hear that her niece was finally born we took a break from the phones, technology and amaranthine ringing and beeping to escape into the revival of Promises Promises. Seeing Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth was like seeing sparks fly. As we sat in the balcony I spotted many empty seats smack in front dead center. Like I have done ever since I was a little girl, during intermission I went down to the stage. As a child this routine was undertaken by a parent or grandmother eager to point out the orchestra to me and my siblings. Now it was more for nostalgia, routine and familiarity- the orchestra being good but quite small. I chatted with the ladies who lunch. I asked if the seats were taken. They looked at the seats, looked at me and said now they are with a wink.

I experienced the bamboo exhibit. Rachel and I climbed to the top, begged strangers to take photos for us and basked in the sunshine. There is nothing like New York in late September. I pointed out my old apartment. She watched the shadows. It was a bit sloppy for my taste, some of the joints felt haphazard and random not in a good way but the roof of the Met can't ever be duplicated. The city is just beneath you with its huge green gem smiling up at you. Rachel made me a tiny painting I took back with me.

I lunched with Christy in the Union Square park enjoying my whole foods sprouted take out in the organic decomposing container. We discussed the impending wedding and all that excitement. My last vivid memory of Christy being of us when we were children in boarding school jumping on our beds in our tiny room that was supposed to be a single. Now she's getting married.

I slept at Kiva's, leaving with a bag she had designed. A purple gem with a gold chain detail and more pockets than I could dream of with a slick magnetic clasp. A Kiva original she told me. I use it every day here in Albania to remind me of home (and good design). I missed her show but luckily fashion week happens twice a year. I left her with a less elegant bag of wholesome Trader Joe goodies relishing every moment I had wandering around those new isles finding her snacks for Morocco.

I saw the house. The new house, the symbol of moving on, moving out and building a family. The baby stuff. The heating and cooling - thank you Ian for the tour- and more baby stuff. I look at the picture I have of us at 11 and think that pretty soon Elissa's child will be the same age as we were in that decades old Cejwin photo. I brunched with the pregnant Cejwin ladies the next day (girls in the blue and white shirts to the left of my hot side pony).

I also brunched with the ladies on the beach. My mom actually made her semi- annual trip to Long Island and we all enjoyed the amazing fall sea.

I met Jenny on the roof for cocktails and dinner. Remembering that the last time I saw her was at her new house with her new dog and now there are two houses and babies... and.... I raided her showroom and was given a blanket she designed that I love so much I brought it back with me to Albania to remind me of home. It made the winter so much more bearable.

I ran with friends in Central Park, ate great bagels, drank bitter beer, Popeye pizza, accidentally crashed someone's first date (awkward mistake), drank some more bitter beer, saw old friends, new friends, and finally dined at Craft.

And I went to the wedding- the most fabulous wedding in an artist space in Boston where my cousin showed her true love for her partner and we were all able to share. Took the train up with my mom to Boston. I read the NYTimes on the train. I Saw my family, enjoyed my family, all of my family. Missed playing tennis with my sister and the gym. Saw the new office, new house, and Boston via the duck tour with Aunt Selma. And no, mom, I didn't have time for a haircut.