• I only went to work for 2 days! I took off Monday because I was still recuperating from my oral surgery, and then there were court holidays on Nov. 7 (Election Day) and Nov. 10th (Veteran's Day).

• I had a reunion with my friends Trish, Girlie and Sol at my house on Nov. 9th. The Ferreras family moved to Atlanta this past June and I've missed her (especially since she’s one of the few friends I have who is a mom). They were here in town for the baptism of her newest little one, Annika. The other guest of honor was little Antonio --born just about 3 weeks ago! Trish and Girlie haven't met him yet so I invited them over for a dinner of kare-kare, crispy pata, and desserts galore. Fun times!There were 4 children in the house (all under 2 years old) and the hubs remarked it was like a daycare. It made me realize how much we’ve all grown up. Us girls all met circa 1995 over an IRC chat-room. Now, more than 10 years later, we’re still bonding! Plus, we now have a second generation to boot! Hopefully, the kiddos all become friends as well --we call 'em "Three A's and a J."

  

• Then on Saturday night, I had an evening of fine dining at Ninja. Ninja is designed to look an 18th century Japanese village (birthplace of Ninja lore) with many different-themed rooms (I’m told that the Ninja in Japan is one of the harder restaurants to get seated in). My law school friends and I gathered here to celebrate my friend Annie’s 30th birthday and she picked this spot (which was coincidentally just a few blocks down from our law school in Tribeca). The food was excellent --I had the Kunoichi menu which featured the Kuro-Subuta: this incredibly tender pork dish which was delicious. I also tasted my friend's steak tartare dish and some spicy tuna rolls (the best I've ever had). I also had an excellent tiramisu bonsai for dessert. The best part was probably the presentation (which included a few Ninja tricks and some fire), and our waiter was an incredibly nice and funny guy. Expect to spend hours dining here (I was there from 8 pm to 12 am) and a lot of money. Check out a review here. If you're in the NYC area, I highly recommend it for great dining without the pretentiousness.

• On Sunday, we attended the baptism of little Annika at Holy Name Church in the Upper West Side. The baptisms here are held without a mass and are done in big groups. There were about 10 children being baptized raging from 3 months to 11 years old! Afterwards, we had a great dinner at Mama Mexico –one of my favorite spots to dine in (check out their site because they even give out recipes!). They got amazing guacamole and delicious entrees. And again, the company was great! Rockstar baby was bouncing off the walls in this joint, but little Annika slept through the whole thing (including a mariachi band!). Thanks for inviting us Trish! We had a fabulous time!

• But one of my favorite parts about this weekend was strolling down the streets of NYC with the hubs and rockstar baby. Rockstar baby kept trying to peek out of the "sunroof" of his stroller (we had it covered because it was cold and rain was imminent) and kept sticking his hands out. So cute. It made for great family time and it's clear just how much the baby has changed our lives. Even though he's only been in our lives for a little less than 9 months, we can't imagine it any other way.

• Lastly, my latest book review is up and running! Check out my review of Only Revolutions right here.
  
  

Labels: musings/personal stories