"If you like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain. If you're not into yoga, if you have half a brain. If you like making love at midnight in the dunes on the cape. Then I'm the love that you've looked for, write to me and escape." ~rupert holmes

Photo post!

I've done a lot of fun stuff recently that I haven't written about. Last Thursday (I think?) I went to a taping of The View in the morning and Jimmy Fallon in the afternoon. It was a talk show day for me! I loooooved Jimmy's interview (and dance) with Lauren Graham. And I totally saw myself in the audience on TV (so did some of my friends, who said I looked like I was hiding)! Here's a photo I snapped at The View:


Last Saturday I went to the Siren Music Festival in Coney Island to see Frightened Rabbit, one of my favorite bands. They were fabulous as usual. I'll try to add some music here later. For now, here's a photo.


I'm in Hilton Head right now with my friends Kim and Elizabeth, and we're having a great time. It's just sooo nice to not have anything to worry about and spend all day at the beach or the pool relaxing. I got stung by a jellyfish twice yesterday, which was a bummer, but it feels better now. We're staying at Kim's family's time share, and it's a gorgeous place. We have a perfect view of the beach and of one of the hotel's pools. Here are some photos:

"We can change our partners, this is a progressive dance. But remember, it was me who dragged you up to the sweaty floor." ~frightened rabbit

I saw Frightened Rabbit, one of my favorite bands, perform and the Siren Music Festival (in Coney Island) today. They were wonderful. More later (hopefully). But for now, check out this hilarious video. I love the indie movies that they're spoofing, but I still think it's hilarious.

My Mother's Red Hat w/Alicia Silverstone & Alanis Morissette from Alicia Silverstone

"A gypsy wind is blowing warm tonight. The sky is starlit and the time is right..." ~bob seger

My parents moved yesterday. The house is completely empty. I wasn't there for the final stages of packing and leaving, and I'm glad I wasn't. They're on the road right now somewhere in Illinois (probably further by now), heading to Colorado. I'm also glad I don't have to sit through that 30+ hour car trip. I don't know if I can write about how I feel about the move right now. It's not an easy thing to think about, losing the house you grew up in, where you spent the last 20 years of your life. In fact, it's pretty difficult. Everyone back at home was really great, though. I have some wonderful friends and neighbors there. About 20 people made their homes available to me anytime. At our going-away party a few weeks ago, people kept coming up to me and telling me that they're here for me and I can come stay with them anytime I want to. After one lovely family friend offered to be my second mom whenever I'm sick or just want to be taken care of, my cousin Bess (who was sitting next to me) leaned over and whispered, "Don't these people know you live a 10-minute subway ride away from family? That we'll take care of you?" It felt good to feel so much support. Another woman said to me, "This must be really hard for you." And just that simple acknowledgment meant a lot. Because it doesn't seem like my family understands what the move means for me and how hard it is on me.

On a brighter note (I need to perk myself up now), I had a fabulous night last night. I went to Seth's Chatterbox and watched Seth interview Lauren Graham for over an hour from about five feet away. I can't even tell you how amazing it was. I loved hearing her talk for that long. She was very bubbly and chatty. And of course she looked gorgeous. I went with a friend from Scotland who also stayed with me last night, and it was really nice to have her here.
Here's me and Lauren after the show:

Tomorrow I'm going to Broadway Barks for more fun celebrity sightings. Hopefully I'll return with a good report.

"There is a wait so long (so long, so long), you'll never wait so long. Here comes your man, here comes your man, here comes your man." ~the pixies

I just got home from a screening of 500 Days of Summer. I was already crazy about Joseph Gordon-Levitt before (go rent the movie Brick and tell me he's not charming), but now I'm even more in love with him. He is SO freakin' adorable. Seriously. I'm swooning here. I loved the movie. Zooey Deschanel was also wonderful as always, and the music was great. Actually, both stars sung in the movie, and of course I'm a huge fan of Zooey's singing career, but I was particularly impressed with Gordon-Levitt's vocal abilities. He sang "Here Comes Your Man" (SUCH a good song), and he has a great voice. Go see this movie when it opens.


Fun news: I bought a bike to use here in the city! It's a folding bike, and I love it so far. I live right next to Central Park, so I have the perfect place to go and ride.

"And I'm not sure what the trouble was that started all of this. The reasons all have run away, but the feeling never did. It's not something I would recommend, but it is one way to live. 'Cause what is simple in the moonlight by the morning never is. It was so simple in the moonlight, now it's so complicated. It was so simple in the moonlight, so simple in the moonlight, so simple in the moonlight..." ~bright eyes


Oh, so much to write about and so little energy. I'm going to focus on the 4th of July because that's what's in the forefront of my mind. I'll probably backtrack later. This is mostly a photos post because I'm tired.

Today I went to see Conor Oberst and Jenny Lewis in concert in Battery Park. I love both of them; I was introduced to them when they were the frontmen of the bands for which they're famous (Bright Eyes and Rilo Kiley, respectively), and I've followed their careers with interest. I haven't seen either one live before. The concert was fabulous. The weather was perfect (clear sky, breezy), and there was a great energy in the park. There were tooons of people there, but I arrived early and got a good spot. Here are some of my photos (cropped so they'll fit in this narrow blog):
Jenny Lewis:



Conor Oberst:


Tonight I went to the West Side Highway to see the NYC fireworks, which were wonderful. Here are a couple of (not so great) photos that I took:



Gosh, I'm in such a Bright Eyes mood right now after seeing Conor Oberst today. I love that voice. I can't stop listening to "Lua" (lyrics opening this post). What a gorgeous song. Conor does a nice version of it with Gillian Welch on the Dark Was the Night compilation. I still think I slightly prefer his original version, though.