Married in Newport

I had the extreme pleasure of witnessing one of of my closest friends marry the man of her dreams this weekend (I tried to think of a better way to say that--man of her dreams--but sometimes there's nothing better than that standard phrase).

The whole thing was heaven. Getting to witness that very courageous thing of two people pledging their lives--one to the other--is always a sight. So don't even get me started on getting to witness it against such a picturesque backdrop (I don't know that I've ever seen blue like the blue of that water).

(the very dapper groom)

(someone told us to do our "excited" face...this is what happened)

When Joy was prepping everything and gathering information for the invitations she sent emails out asking for basic info...like the name of our significant other. Joy knew I did not have one. But, for the sake of the email I reiterated this, and then gave her a very hard time about the fact that she made me put it down on paper for posterity. Yes, single. But I ended up with her roommate of nearly seven years, Matt, as my partner in crime. And ladies, I gotta tell you. Having a dancer as your wedding date is one of the most genius things that could happen to you. I just sort of giggled and squealed and asked him to throw me around. And throw me he did. We literally spun the night away.

I'm so very proud of Joy and Devin. Proud of how far they've come, as individuals and as a couple. And it was such a blessing to share in their day.

friday night.

on friday night i had a date (don't get your panties in a twist ladies--it was a friend date) with my classmate and one time prom-companion, ben.

we hadn't seen each other in a year. a year, an impossible amount of time!!

but i tell you it felt like mere weeks. i laughed so hard and was coaxed into drinking far more than my usual amount.





the nice thing about going out with ben is you know that what begins as dinner will inevitably turn into an eight hour tour of some of nyc's best haunts.

and that for those eight hours life will be nothing short of really wonderful.

after school. (after juilliard).

i remember at the age of nineteen sitting on the weathered red chairs in the lobby of juilliard when a dear friend in his fourth and final year took a breath, appraised the chair, appraised me and said: it's going to be strange not coming here every day. i'm not sure how i'll do it.


no one tells you how hard the time just after college is. no one prepares you for it.

for the countless hours you traverse the city taking more classes, meeting more people, working never-ending jobs to pay the never-ending bills, all the while wondering what possessed you to get a bachelor of fine arts in the first place? for those nights you find yourself on the bathroom floor because really that red wine did not go down well or really that guy was so-not-the-one, but this feeling, well--goodness, it sure does feel like a broken heart.

(or the nights, like tonight, you find yourself sitting propped against the toilet because the bathroom is the only place you can connect to the internet).

but then again, no one prepares you for how it's better than all that's come before. how it's richer and fuller.

for that first phone call from a girlfriend to tell you she's pregnant--for how much fun it is to watch these people you love marry and grow families. and how you get to choose--yes, choose!--who you surround yourself with. who you love. who you laugh with. who you call in the middle of the night--from the bathroom floor--when that old sadness creeps in.

and no one says how there's nothing so much like love in this life. love of a child. of a friend. love of all those small things that amount to a life.

and lord help me, if there's anything i've learned from naomi over the years, it's how to love the small things.

the thing is, watching as she and josh parent eleanor--as they give selflessly of themselves, i have a feeling that in the coming years i'm going to get a good schooling on the big things, as well.



dear naomi, josh, and little miss e: thank you for a wonderful weekend, your wonderful friendship, and the love you so freely give.




(plus, it's so fun to hang out with people that lug their camera everywhere and take just as many photos as i do {most people don't get it}).

trading in manhattan for the district and old friends. (mostly for the friends).

deep laughs and old friends.

this is my friend rob.

we met on our very first day at juilliard. the very same day we had to wear body-skimming clothes for our alexander technique photos (acting school is strange) and when the time for his photo came rob stripped to nothing but tighty whities. 

we've been friends ever since.

(get your head out of the gutter, it wasn't like that).

rob and i haven't seen each other for a while. so last night we made a date for dinner followed by swing-dancing classes at lincoln center (there is so much to do and take advantage of during a new york city summer!).

and when, at that moment during dinner, i pulled out my camera for the cursory pictures he made some peter parker comment (classic) and then proceeded to fire off fifty at a time (usually i have to beg people to take three in a row). he had me laughing so hard that my sometimes-snort crept back in. it's not terribly attractive that snort, nor are the veins now protruding from my forehead. but at least i know i'm laughing, deeply. i'd take real laughs, deep snorts, and pulsing veins any day of the week if it means a life lived fully.