The Weekender | No. 8

Hayden Planetarium at The American Museum of Natural History

Christmas is next week! I’m looking forward to slowing it down, spending more time with my family and having bit of a break. With more time off I plan to do all of the planning! I have to get my calendars for the New Year and start filling them in with what special dates I have coming up, what I want to do, and balancing my schedule between work commitments, friends and families and about three other projects which I owe time and attention.

What To Do This Weekend


This past week has been fun, and maybe it’ll give you some ideas on what to do this weekend.

The American Museum of Natural History

One bit of news, I discovered that I don’t really enjoy museums of Natural History! Last Sunday my family and I had tickets to all the exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History. That included The Butterfly Conservatory, Oceans: Our Blue Planet, Dark Universe (I fell asleep during the film–it was really dark and cold in there), and T. rex: The Ultimate Predator. My favorites were the Butterfly Exhibit and the Oceans. Give me life over death every time. Oceans was a great film on all the different life under the seas. Other than that, it was rather depressing. All the dead things that have been “collected” and stuffed. Give me a PBS special where they follow animals in more natural habitats.

Part of the T. rex Exhibit @ The American Museum of Natural History.
The Butterfly Conservatory @ The American Museum of Natural History

KazuNori & Rolf’s German Restaurant

After the museum I dashed off to meet a friend at KazuNori for sushi. They make the hand rolls right in front of you and if you can eat them in a quick couple of bites then seaweed wrap is fresh and crisp. It has become of favorite for me and my girlfriends. They finally have a beer license and also serve sake and a few Japanese beers. It’s so good. Definitely stop in there if you like sushi.

We had been trying to go to Rolf’s over the last weeks and we finally made it there for the ultimate in Christmassy bars. We waited for about a half an hour in the cold. The line just kept getting longer and longer, but we got our shot. Then we hightailed it out of there and finished up at a much more reasonable bar.

Book of The Year Party

Book of the Year Party – Nicole Bonia, Lydia Hirt, Ashley Spivey
Dessert!

Last Monday, Book of The Month had their holiday party which they combined with a ceremony to present their Book of The Year. Most of these awards turn out to be a popularity contest, and out of the books up for the award I called Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones & The Six as the winner. It was! The party was at The Dream Hotel in Meatpacking. Very convenient for me to walk there and back.

Book Club

And finally, my book club met to discuss In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado. Increasingly I am reading books that have had such a profound effect on me that I find myself wanting to take notes, savor and do some rereading. I am going to incorporate more of that in my schedule in the future.

All that said, what do this weekend? I’ll be doing as little as possible.

What To Read Next


The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I never read this as a child and I plucked it out for the category of books with a million ratings in my since-abandoned PopSugar Reading Challenge. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through this one. I was thinking that maybe the time had passed for me to read this book, but I stuck with it. By the end of the book I was able to see some of its charm and heartwarming life lessons. I may even have shed a tear or two for the Little Prince and his lovely flower.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Miller’s memoir is poignant and heartfelt. I read it a few chapters at a time over the course of a week. The heavy subject matter required space and consideration. Ostensibly about the aftermath of her sexual assault, subsequent trial and the virality of her victim impact statement, this is really a story about love, family, and the enduring bond and friendship between sisters. If you’ve been tempted to read this book, do it. It’s so thoughtfully written and instructive in so many ways about privilege, class and how we need to do a much better job through our laws and practices in treating sexual assault survivors.

Picks of the Week


I’ve been looking at fancy and casual things for New Year’s Eve. I like the look of this blouse to wear with boots and jeans. And this if I decide to go the dress up route. Though with as cold as its been…

Loving the look of this fringed wool wrap coat. I have a wool wrap coat in black but this one is much fancier.

I don’t need anymore books but I’ve wanted to read Sarah Broome’s The Yellow House for quite some time.

I’ve been looking for a similar sweater dress but have yet to find one that I like. Also this dress.

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