New York, My Love Pt. 1
Letter #44: Taking a quick break to get back to the city of dreams...
7/8/23
I’m sitting on the flight from NYC to Rome with Hilary right now, with only 53 minutes more to go before landing. I slept maybe 3-4 hours during the flight, which is more than I normally do. Hil slept nearly the entire time. The 7hr 45min flight time for an overnight wasn’t too bad, but it’s still super uncomfortable in Extra Light Diet Ultra Bare Economy class. Especially on Norse Airlines where you have to pay extra for ANYTHING. Check-in AT the airport? $10. Meal? $30. Carry-on and checked bag? $60 and $90. A blanket and headphones? $6 each. I’m surprised we weren’t charged extra to breathe the circulated air on the plane.
It’s hard to believe Ally and I once had a 16 hour direct flight to the Philippines (back in 2019). That felt impossible and somehow we did it. I was in bed by 7pm the day we landed—I was toast.
I just spent the last month back in the States seeing friends and family. I landed in Newark on June 2nd at 3pm. I took the opportunity to stay at Nicholas and Bob’s house that night since they live in New Jersey. Not only did Nicholas schedule an Uber to pick me up once I got bag from baggage claim, he also met me out from when I arrived, a huge smile on his face and a huge hug. He and Bob had a big old glass of wine waiting for me, and they tag-teamed preparing dinner while we caught up. It was the perfect way to be welcomed back into the US.
Staying at their place is one of the most hospitable experiences you can have. Their guest room, in a way, feels like the most well thought out room in the house. Many times (and I’m sure you’re all familiar with this), the guest room of a friend or family member (or you personally) is the “afterthought” room. It’s where the exercise bike goes, which hasn’t been dusted off and used in months. Boxes of old clothes that needed to be taken to Goodwill three seasons ago sit stacked in the corner, an annoying chore everyone dreads doing. The bed is fitted with mismatched linens and a comforter from college. Random art lays propped against the wall because—maybe, just maybe—one day they’ll be hung up.
Personally, I am so grateful when I have the opportunity to stay in a private guest room with a bed no matter where I go, so I am NOT one to complain about ambience when it comes to finding a decent place to sleep. But Nicholas and Bob go above and beyond. The walls are painted a deep teal, accented by boho patterned drapes. The room is outfitted with antique furniture, happy house plants, and a flat screen TV. The bed has a vintage Indian textile that Bob’s mom and step dad brought back from one of their many times of living in India. Antique Indian jewelry hangs in framed boxes along the walls. The closet has a mini fridge stocked with water, beer, and a bottle of champagne. Nicholas had fresh towels folded neatly on the bed and assured me I could take as much time as I needed to freshen up before dinner. My travel home from Albania had been a long haul—I doubt I’d slept in almost 24 hours.
I enjoyed a hot shower, changed into clean clothes, and headed downstairs so the fun could begin. I got a wave of energy to keep hanging out since I was so excited to see them both. Nicholas led me outside to show me the latest updates to the garden, a space they take much pride in. Nicholas works on it during the weekends, and Bob waters the plants every morning before settling in to do some writing. We sat back down in the living room (it was like 90 degrees out, much too hot to enjoy the patio). Bob tended to the meal in the kitchen before taking a phone call out on the back porch.
Nicholas and I continued chatting, our rapid-fire conversation going back and forth to catch up on as much as possible (we’d worked together and sat next to each other for about 9 years). I could hear something sizzling and popping in the kitchen, so I asked Nicholas if we needed to check the pan to make sure we didn’t need to stir or flip whatever was cooking. He said “nahhh it’s just sausage, Bob is taking care of it.” We continued on, laughing and chatting, as whatever it was simmered in the pan and and filled the room with aroma.
After several minutes Bob burst into the room inquiring why we hadn’t checked the pan🤣…the sausage was burning and the room was filling with smoke. Nicholas lept up and ran to the kitchen with Bob. I stayed in the living room, cracking up with my glass of wine. He and I were so engulfed in our conversation we didn’t even pay attention to the fact that the entire lower level of the house was being engulfed in smoke. Bob jokingly yelled at us, then complained on his phone call that we ignored all the signs of burned food in the kitchen.
Nicholas repeated over and over this has never happened, in all their years of hosting dinners (and they put on one helluva dinner party), they’ve never burnt a meal. I continued cracking up, flattered that the joy of my presence could cause such disaster. The sausages were burned beyond recognition, and the pan was ruined forever. 😂
Bob said “whelp, I guess we’re having homemade pizza without the sausage.” I assured them no problem-o—any pizza is good pizza to me. Nicholas grabbed the prepared pie and took it out to the grill—that’s their latest, favorite way to make homemade pizza, on the grill.
He came back in after a couple minutes, sat back down, and we continued our conversation, still laughing at how crazy it was that none of us paid attention to the burning food.
In the meantime, Bob so graciously allowed me to read some excerpts of his writing. I was blown away by his sheer talent. He’s already had some pieces published, and was now working on a larger project. It was a privilege to read something the author was working on right at that very moment—something that needed very little editing, and that had been shown to only a couple people. I was captivated by what he had written, and couldn’t wait to read the entire piece as a whole, once published.
As we sat discussing Bob’s latest work and his plans for moving forward with the piece, Nicholas remembered the pizza was still out on the grill. He jumped up to go check on it, and came back inside, defeated and shocked that the second half of the meal had been burnt beyond repair. The bottom of the pizza was completely charred to a crisp. 😂
I couldn’t stop laughing, seeing how astonished they were that the entire meal had burned, and doing what they could not to point the finger at each other. It is not uncommon for Nicholas and Bob to enjoy the cooking and entertaining process so much that the meal is served late in the evening, so I assured them there would be no issue in us eating one of their signature late night meals.
Bob resolved to whip up a “quick shrimp scampi”, something that would’ve taken me 2 days to plan and prepare. 😐 We enjoyed more wine, poking fun at our dinner mishap, and finally sat down to eat Bob’s beautiful pasta dish at around 11:30pm. It was such a magnificent start to my time back in the US. We had such long, connecting conversations about life, our futures, our families, friends, etc., that my heart was already so full in anticipation for the month of June.
We said our goodnights and I headed off to bed, praying that the jet lag wouldn’t wake me up at some outrageous hour of the night. But it did—of course it did. I woke up around 6am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I decided to just get started with the day, so I showered, got dressed, and re-packed my bag. That morning Nicholas would be dropping me off in Hoboken to have brunch with another past co-worker, Lindsay, and her sweet new pup, Riley. Later, Hilary and Andrei would pick me up on their way from Philadelphia to Brooklyn, and all our friends would be getting together for a cookout. Needless to say I had a full day ahead of me with so many people I love. ❤️
What I’m Digging…
Anyways, he recently started expanding more on some of his design tips on Twitter and I’m obsessed with how concise yet informative the posts are. They make you realize you want to make those very changes to the forms and files you put out into the world, even though the thought may have never occurred to you before. In fact, the background color of my newsletter is a custom white that complements the main color I chose during the Approachable Design 2-day live course.
I recommend subscribing to his newsletter to gain insight into how you can better represent yourself (or your brand) in the digital world. Or how to just better guide what paint color you may choose for your living room instead of defaulting to Dove Grey. And he’s funny so the reads are V entertaining. 🤗
What I’m Listening To…
In Letter #41, I asked readers for podcast recommendations. Sometimes I like to listen to them when I go for long runs outside, but I have a hard to choosing which ones to try out on my own—I prefer to get recommendations from others. Joelle, a new friend I made while touring the Duoro Valley in Portugal (and also participating in two wine tastings together), recommended Wind of Change from Crooked Media. It’s something I would not have thought to try on my own, but it is FASCINATING. The author is working to uncover whether the story that the CIA actually wrote the song Wind of Change by the Scorpions, is true—a song that blew up as the Berlin Wall came down. The theory is that the CIA used this song—among many other operatives—to influence social culture. And by influencing culture, they could potentially influence the political moves of nations. Argo is an excellent example of a psych-ops. I haven’t finished it yet so have not uncovered the final conclusion, but I’ve gained so many other random facts from it. So thank you, Joelle! And now I’m passing the recommendation on…
Hey! Would you like to connect over creativity, self-growth, and problem-solving? Or just to have a virtual glass of wine or mocktail? Please book a time on my Calendly for us to chat! I can’t wait to see you. XOXO.
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This made me SOO happy ❤️❤️❤️
Nicholas & Bob…THE BEST!!🤣🤣🤣😍