Friends,
good morning from New York, from your good friend Sarah, who is happily singing
little songs to myself as I re-read for the 73rd time the email from yesterday,
from Mr. Unfinished Business. It seems
that there may be a little bit of an Us left, after all, maybe. Time will tell, but for now, this was enough
to get me through back-to-back 21 hours days ahead of me, as I not only work in
the Kitchen but also continue to manage my 34 business clients at the same time. Happy sigh.
Happy girl.
This
morning I wanted share with you all of the cool NYC things I am doing to reset
my creativity. Immersing myself in a
world of art, of music, theater, and creative Kitchens helps me be a better leader
in my multinational corporation. It
helps understand more paths and people in new ways. I really love learning about all sorts of
things, which is why I am also am setting up a tour of the MTA subway tunnels
on Saturday. Why not go learn something
completely new and cool about your home city?
It’s a must. Of COURSE I will
wear the subway hat with pride both during and after the tour, because I love
stuff like that.
It
feels like I am a kid again, on another field trip, and we should all have that
kind of joy and happiness in our lives, so why don’t you join me for some of these
adventures if and when you’re in town?
Come be silly and fun with me, because it is always more fun to have
good company, and I like it when we have stories to tell, together.
So,
your good friend Sarah is not only training in the Kitchen and interested in
subways, architecture and infrastructure, I also trained as a classical pianist
and have performed with several choir ensembles. My other world, my other happy place, is
music, switching between Angie Stone and Chopin, Metallica and Usher, Artic
Monkeys and Kidd Rock. I love it all. Music is always on in my life, and sometimes,
just sometimes, you might catch me singing to myself in the Kitchen as I chop
cauliflower, because I cannot help but sing when I am happy, and I am happy
there. Music should be everywhere, and
so, I take it with me wherever I go.
This
week I will see The Messiah with the NY Philharmonic, The Magic Flute at the
Met, and I saw the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center, on my obligatory date with
Simon last night. Yes, yes, we went out again, and you can all
just ZIP IT with the judging. I do not
know many people yet in NYC, and it is nice to have company on a Saturday night
off. Simon insisted, and I stared at
that perfect mouth of his and could not help but say yes. He is doing his very best to woo me, Friends,
and I need to be careful with this one, but not yet. For now, I am enjoying being a woman who is
being courted, and I am being clear in my communications and intentions. We’ll see what happens with Simon and Mr.
Unfinished Business and with others who have caught my attention, but for now,
I want to enjoy life, enjoy all things NYC, and so, I did.
Here
are some pictures of the venue and some pictures from the VIP book we got as a gift,
since I could not take pictures of the performance. Sadly, I have seen the Nutcracker many times
in many places in the world, and this was, by far, not the best one I
have seen. Three dancers fell, and the 4th scene’s choreography was
a bit of a mish mash let-down. It just
did not make any sense, especially how they replaced the soldiers---one of the
very best parts--- with these pink and mint green striped hula hoop
dancers. Not cool, George Balanchine, world
famous choreographer, not cool. I know what I am looking for, and, sadly, this
performance was not it. I give it a 7
out of 10.
I
may be a bit biased, though, as I learned that people in New York talk ALL through
performances, and there is NOTHING more irritating to me than to hear the
pst-pst-pst around me as I try to lose myself in the music and performance. I also have never heard, “Whoop whoop! Atta girl!
Atta GIRL!” instead of “Bravo!” at a performance, along with multiple
rounds of clapping interspersed throughout the MIDDLE of the performance, even
before the song ended, as if we were watching Dancing with the Stars instead of
Tschaikovsky. These were not the sweet
little girls doing that clapping, these were the clearly spoiled, 20ish
daughters of the Who’s Who of New York, who also were checking Facebook and
giggling as I was trying to listen to the Dance of the Flowers. You know---the selfish, mean girls who never
were taught self- awareness of anything else going on around them, including
what other people want and need when attending a performance? But I
digress. Let’s get back to sweetness,
shall we? Yes, of course we should,
because I could write all day about the lack of decent girls for my little
brother to date, entitled wenches that they are. But I digress. Let me re-find my manners, Friends. Ahem.
Where were we? Ah, sweetness.
One
of the sweetest moments was when Simon and I saw a little girl, her mom, and
her grandmother, in line to take a photo with one of the ballerinas from the
production. OH this little girl was so
excited, in her sparkly pink tutu. It
was clear that they were visiting and that this was a very special night for
them. After getting to the front of the
line, finally, they were informed that they had to pay for a photo, and the
mother’s face became very sad very fast.
They decided they could not afford the $28 fee. When the mom explained to the little girl that
they would not be able to have a picture, the little girl was heartbreakingly sad
because she could not meet the ballerina, and I just wanted to hug her and tell
her it would be ok.
Her
eyes were all big and glassy, and I just cannot look at a little girl be that
sad without doing something about it. She
was not a spoiled girl---she was a sweet girl, an innocent, sweeter than sweet,
well behaved little girl who still believed in princesses and ballerinas and
joy and happily ever after. Simon and I
had a voucher for a free picture, since he had gotten us perfect orchestra
seating, but he was oblivious until I gave him The Look, and then he knew what
we needed to do.
I
was proud of him as he graciously offered our voucher to the little girl, whose
mom promptly refused because she was raised right. I watched as Simon insisted, sweetly, like a
real gentleman, telling them just how much joy the two of us would have
watching her have this experience, watching the three of them together have
this experience. I could not help but
have my little heart melt when he did it. Your good friend Sarah is tough as nails
as a businesswoman, but inside I am a romantic, a softie, through and through,
and when he came back to me and looked to me with that vulnerable need for
approval, I gave him a big smile as I took his hand in mine and kissed him on
the cheek. I love kindness, and I love
it when men know how to take care of making sure little girls are happy. This was a lovely moment, and I will remember
it always. Happy stuff, Friends, comes easy when you do the right thing.
Here is a picture of the ballerina. What a lovely moment that was.
We
mostly enjoyed the performance, and then we went to Boulud Sud, which is now my
favorite late-night spot. The staff was
incredibly kind, comping things left and right, and I invited Raphael to join my
dear Friends Julie and Andre-Luc and me for dinner at NoMad this coming Friday,
when they are in town from Brussels, Belgium.
Here are some lovely pictures of our dinner last night:
Sea
Urchin and Crab Tartine with green olives, lemon cream, and seaweed rye bread
Octopus A La Plancha, with
marcona almond, arugula and Jerez vinegar (which has just now become my
favorite dish of 2013!)
Sicilian Busiate: Braised young goat with escarole and pumpkin
seed---absolutely incredible flavors. I
wanted to lick the bowl.
And
so another beautiful night in New York came to a close. The city is struggling to know what to do
with a snowfall of 2-3 whole inches as I just laugh, wondering what all the
fuss is about, since this would be a light snow back in Minnesota. I am happy and content, about to start my
day, wondering what adventures come next, eagerly waiting to get back into my
Kitchen to tell my Chefs all about dinner last night as we plan new adventures
ahead.
Enjoy
your day, today, Friends, and take in as much music and happiness as possible. Know this, today, Friends: if you ever are in line to have your picture
taken with a ballerina, know that if I can, I will make that happen, I would do that for you, because
these happy days make a happy life, and I love seeing you smile and be happy,
too.
Sending
you lots of love from New York,
Your
Good Friend Sarah
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