hold the mayo

kids coming and going, lunches made and eaten, a frenzy of blow up mattresses and pillowcases. the kids are well occupied while jane and i continue on our way ... the weekend arrives with a lovely shabbat dinner at friends and a bit of calm interspersed with lively political discourse!

jane is feeling well although i can see the whole process has taken it's toll. today she is on call, and must go into the hospital early to check on the patients. i opt to wake the kids nice and early - getting tired of seeing them in their pj's all day - and we zip into the city. we have breakfast at le pain quotidien on madison, hit gagosian gallery, the biennale at the whitney, and head downtown for a late lunch at danny meyer's shake shack (a real hit with the kids, dining al fresco!). jane has a chance to relax and chill in the afternoon in our absence - a good rest.

this evening we prepare for tomorrow - amanda and josh, the cousins, will be here tomorrow! everyone's looking forward to seeing the gang, and we have a brunch at bat mitzvah to enjoy ... action packed, so nice to have taken it easy on this 'sandwich day' ...

moving forward, slowly but surely ...

gimme' some love!

what a day!

energized from a nice shabbat dinner and a family viewing of across the universe (still amazing) on friday night, we wake up and blare the soundtrack throughout the house. fresh baked croissants early in the morning, in honor of the guest of honor who refuses to be recognized as a guest - so the housemate of honor! delightful as always to have gilda with us, although we miss the rest of her crew!!!

a languid breakfast is followed by an early trip into the city to visit the gagosian gallery, and the RED exhibit - a series of really fantastic works by blue-chip artists in a glorious gallery space! the proceeds from the sale of the pieces should fetch upwards of 25 million dollars, all of which will go to the u.n.'s fund to combat aids in africa. the auction is being conducted by sotheby's - neither them nor larry gagosian will take a profit from this superb program (which only runs 4 - 13 february) ... don't miss it if you can!

what to eat? taim, of course! frites with saffron aioli, harissa falafel, moroccan carrots, spiced indian chai - oh, how full we all are - achingly and deliciously full that is! a real treat. pop off to marc jacobs for more t-shirts for marlee ... sadly, the $5 pile has gone - poof! back in the car to drop gilda at laguardia, and she makes it on time for a slightly earlier flight, negating any need to hang out at the airport, staring at stale au bon pain products and flipping through magazines. we ship her back with white chocolate cheesecake for the gang ...

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING GILDA - LOTS OF LOVE!

time to get ready for the evening gala at our synagogue - not feeling motivated at 5pm (lying around in bed actually!) we somehow snap into action. jane, looking positively ravishing, whilst complaining about how she thinks she looks terrible (on what planet?) ... absolutely gorgeous, and in fact, full of energy on a saturday night! we drink and talk and eat(!!!) and really enjoy the live band and a fun table of wonderful friends. i have to drag her out at 11:30 pm - feeling we may turn into pumpkins, but knowing full well that she should get a good night's rest.

café gitane, radio france, mcnally robinson bookshop, and a stroll in soho all await in the morning!