Cloudy Day in Puerto Plata, DR

I've been so bad about posting as I've been extremely busy watching my tan fade.  Remember the crazy snow storm that hit NYC two weeks ago?  What was it... 11 inches of snow?  Yea - I managed to escape that blizzard the day before the storm via JetBlue en route to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.  Now before you start feeling the pangs of jealousy, I did only manage to get 2.5 days of sun during my 7-day stay.  Unfortunately, Puerto Plata was hit with three days of torrential rain which left me with very,very little to do except question, "when's lunch/dinner?" 

After each meal time, I'd immediately question "where can we grab a snack?"  If you're wondering if I'd contracted a tapeworm, the answer is "no".  I just wasn't always satisfied with the buffet selection the resort offered.  The only things I'd chosen to eat were what N called "jail food". So after I had my fill of some steamed veggies, I'd head back to the room for some extra sleep because one can get extremely wiped out from excessive book reading and card playing throughout the day.  Around 1am, N and I would stumble into the late night restaurant where N would make me his specialty Taco Dog.  Because Taco Dogs practically saved me from starvation during my vacation, I'm going to offer this exclusive recipe:

Taco Dogs

Ingredients

1 taco shell
diced red or yellow onion
1 hot dog weiner, sliced into 1/2" pieces
shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Place thin layer of diced onions at the bottom of taco shell
Fill taco shell with sliced hot dog weiners
Top with shredded mozzarella and... voila!  Taco Dogs!

Lately, all I've had on my mind is layoffs and recession, so to keep my mind off the current economic crisis, I've kept the TV tuned to MTV at all times.  In case you didn't know, Paris is on the search for a new BFF and now my brain is rotting away faster than ever.

Luckily, invitations to all-things-great-about-the-city haven't been scarce and I've recommitted myself to re-joining the outside world - kicking my MTV addiction into submission.

Two Saturday's ago, I met with dear friend G for brunch in Gramercy's  L'Express.  L'Express is one of my favorite restaurants.  I love them for their cozy, lively decor, delicious and reasonably-price menu, and most importantly - staying open 24 hours.  The atmosphere was so lovely we sat for over 2 hours, chatting over 3 egg omelets with smoked salmon and never-ending coffee. 

Later that evening, N and I went to Town Hall to see the host of E! The Soup - Joel McHale!  We're both huge fans of the show so N called his guy at The Post and scored us a pair of comp tickets.  For those of you that watch the show, you know how much he loves making fun of Ryan Seacrest and while doing his bit of standup, he completely let loose on all the short and gay jokes.  You gotta love free speech :)

A few days later, Aspen Lounge threw their 3 Year Anniversary party for some select guests which included  me and EC. Aspen transports you to the chic-est mountain lodge with its dark wood interior and moosehead hangings.  I don't make it sound hot but it is. Trust me.  It gets even hotter after you had a few martinis.

Most recently, I attended a cocktail reception at John Allan's in Tribeca for who knows what!  If there are hors d'oeuvres and an open bar - count me in.  The party was filled with beautifully dressed guests who took full advantage of the free scotch (I enjoyed their whiskey smashers).  The full-service men's grooming club had set up pool tables and a poker table. The only thing missing from this scene were the cigars dangling out of the sides of their mouths.  The party was amazing but after an hour, I hailed a cab to get home and watch the most recently DVR'd episode of The Hills. :)

I am such a Xanga slacker that Xanga now welcomes me with a "Good news! You have no stalkers!"

Now that New York has been hit with some beautiful Fall weather, I can't help but reminisce of those Back-to-School days.  The mid-70's in September always takes me back to the start of a new school year in Ann Arbor.  I miss my roommates, the Starbucks on South U. and of course, Bubble Island.

The most exciting thing that's happened lately was Labor Day weekend in Newport, Rhode Island.  Who would've thought Newport would be so full of sun, surf, and history?  By history, I mean the famous Mansions sprawled across 80 acres of land that once belonged to the Vanderbuilts, the Berwinds, who's fortune began in the coal industry, the Fairs of the world's richest silver and a few others that'd somehow staked a claim in old money over 200 years ago.   

There is a 3.5 mile Cliff Walk that gives you spectacular views of the Mansions and ocean but a mile in, I realized, I'm going to have to turn around and walk this mile back!  That would make it a total of 2 miles and that is 2 miles too many on my poor feet.  I did manage to see about 2.5 mansions during my somewhat exhausting  walk - the rest I saw from an air conditioned vehicle that drove along Ocean Drive.  You can see all the mansions within 5 minutes!  

This was one of the few mansions I saw while on the Cliff.  I hear the further you get, the more impressive the architecture.

Personally, with all that lawn space, I'd make sure an outdoor bar, pool and Slip-n-Slide were installed to claim "coolest house on the block" title.

How can I complete a posting without mentioning - Britney is back!  How stunning did she look without the drugs, Cheetos and cigarettes?  When she stepped out on stage at MTV's Video Music Awards, my phone started beeping with texts from fellow fans exclaming "Britney's Back! We knew it!"  It only took her four years to look nearly as good as she did during her Toxic days but what do you expect from someone that's had the whole world on her back?

Exhausted

I woke up this morning to the sound of my alarm, wondering "where am I?"  Even after a full 8 hours of sleep, I had to fight to bring my body out of bed and onto the couch where I can more easily regain consciousness.
I wish I could begin the entry with "Hung Over" or "I was soooo drunk this weekend" but truth of the matter is, I'm a homebody now. Or as N would call it, "lame".

The reason for my exhaustion is not due to a weekend partying and drinking myself into oblivion.  (I know, I've run out of those stories years ago), but rather it's because being stuck for a gajillion hours in a car with two guys talking non-stop about PS3 can drive a girl into a nervous breakdown.

On Friday, N drove for, what seemed like forever, from Manhattan, through the corn fields, past the cows to NY State hotspot Buffalo for friends, Kevin & Rachel's wedding.  Then Sunday, he drove alllll the way back, this time making sure he pointed out all the roadkill to me. 

Nonetheless, being able to see how happy N was to be reunited with old college friends was worth the hours of nauseating car sickness