Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Strange Memories

Hey Lil' Strangers!

Missed you...I was in old NYC last week for my little brother's high school graduation (yes, he is MUCH younger than me...my parents struggled to conceive for a while until they went to a late-night showing of Last of the Mohicans and OH GOD HOW DO I KNOW ALL OF THIS?!) and then my friend Crem's (her real name is Emily, but she's been Crem ever since anyone can remember) wedding in New Haven.

The graduation was adorable. My bro, Teddy, was precious with his GF Amelia, our grandparents, and his dude friends, all of whom I have loved since they were little babies. Look at these guys now!


I know, it's a beautiful photo, I Instagrammed it. I also know this looks very Gossip Girl, but hey, that's growing up in the city. 

Also, the city of my soul didn't look too shabby from the roof of Teddy's friend's house:


Am I right or am I right? Anyway, the rest of my time in the city was FAB; drinks with Leslie and Kate at Gottino's (http://www.ilmiogottino.com/), dinner with many lady friends at the new Forcella on the Bowery (http://forcellaeatery.com/) where we feasted on fried pizza (YEAH) and many bottles of rose wine. Then we went to this bar Highlands (http://highlands-nyc.com/) to meet friends including my LA friend Emily's boyfriend, Andrew, who I decided to have a photo-shoot with...oh wait, I don't show you guys photos of myself, never mind.

Then Friday, after my second ever amazing lunch at ABC Kitchen with Elisha and Sasha (http://www.abckitchennyc.com/...melt-in-your-mouth crab toast, carrot and avocado salad, tender raw diver scallops, pretzel dusted calamari with a weird, zesty, mustard aioli, grilled halibut and the smoothest coconut panna cotta EVER), I headed up to New Haven to meet up with my college roomie Rock to have dinner before lovely Crem's nuptials. I won't mention the restaurant we went to because it was NOT stellar, but they did have a cool roof deck and I LOVE New Haven (memories, blossoming little city, best years of my life spent there). Then we headed over to the rehearsal dinner for a champagne toast with our girls.

Our hotel IS worth mentioning. New since college, The Study (http://www.studyhotels.com/) is beautiful, clean, and a stone's throw from the Yale campus. Their restaurant, Heirloom, where I had brunch with Rock and her grad school buddy, was also very good. Anyway, we took a stroll and our other roomie, Lucy got to town and soon we were on our way to one of the most special, intimate and sweet weddings I've ever witnessed. The ceremony and reception were in Edgerton Park (http://edgertonpark.org/), which I had never been to or heard of all four years of college. It is GORGEOUS and woodsy and huge:


RIGHT?! We were all given little bottles of champagne to sip during the ceremony (SCORE) and as the music swelled, Crem and Jeremy's families proceeded down the path. There were no groomsmen or bridesmaids and Jeremy's father gave the invocation, quoting various poets and speaking eloquently about the couple. Then Crem and Jeremy toasted their mothers and everyone started sobbing. I was obviously the biggest mess. THEN Jeremy got out his guitar and with his friend on the cello, played Crem a song he had written for her when they spent a year running a farm with no indoor plumbing in Maine. Obviously I DIED. Then this cool lady-judge officiated as Crem and Jeremy spoke the vows they had written themselves to each other. DEAD AGAIN. Luckily, that was the end of the ceremony. 

We all proceeded to a tent for the reception. Crem's dad talked. I cried. Jeremy's handsome doctor brother talked. I cried. Jeremy gave a speech about one of the first nights he kissed Crem. They were at a bar in San Fran and they discovered they both wanted to be geographers and an Afro-Cuban jam came on and they danced. Then the DJ at the wedding played that song and Jeremy took Crem's hand and then this happened:


I cried. Then Crem's dad danced with her to Lady Gaga and everyone joined in and I'd had enough of crying so I decided to get DOWN. The night ended at Gypsy, the Yale grad school bar, with so much karaoke I had no voice the next day (I don't know that I needed to sing TWELVE songs, but whatever). Sunday I tearfully (notice a theme?) said goodbye to my buds and made my way back to NYC, where I had a DELICIOUS dinner with my mama at Devi (http://www.devinyc.com/home.html). Spinach paneer is my favorite Indian dish and Devi's version is DELECTABLE and creamy and awesome. We also had the BEST cocktails: my mom's was basically vodka and fresh lime and cilantro and mine was bourbon and fresh ginger and ginger ale. Then we watched the Mad Men finale (Draper's BACK!) and I headed back to Silverlake on a plane as the sun rose. Love you Teddy, love you fam, love you friends, love you Crem and Jeremy, LOVE NYC.

No, you're cheesy.

1 comment:

  1. Love the cheesy post, Daf. Love you! Loved reliving the weekend through your words!! xoxo

    ReplyDelete