C'mon Irene.

So, I'm sure the east coast has been basking in the fame spotlight this past week. With recent natural disasters like that earthquake in the beginning of the week and the bitch hurricane Irene that wrecked havoc and shit everywhere. To start last weekend off, the news told everyone to evacuate coastal areas, stay inside, stock up on non-perishable groceries, shit yourself, text your exes and tell them you'll always love them or that you hate them and hope they die, and of course, BE SAFE.

I was kind of worried and annoyed because I had plans last weekend like every other important twentysomething living in New York. I was gonna go on a date, maybe meet up with some douchebag friend in Brooklyn, bask in the sunshine, be a social butterfly, etc. But no, that didn't happen. Transportation to and from the city was going to be suspended starting Saturday afternoon and the last thing I wanted to be was stranded in Williamsburg or Crown Heights with nowhere to go (certainly wasn't going to get cozy after one date and the last place I'd wanna be is aligning my shakras with dbag friend).

Hands off my muffins, bitch!

Coming to terms with the fact that I'd have to stay in New Gross all weekend, I braved the grocery store Friday after work. Ugh, chaos. Lines of shopping carts everywhere, no more bottled water to be found. And the bread? Oh yeah, people like to bulk up on carbs so the strong winds don't blow them over. I'm harsh. But I can be - someone almost took the last Whole Wheat Thomas's English Muffins.

I didn't really buy anything out of the ordinary (carrots, hummus, avos, tortilla chips, veggie burgers, some sushi for dinner), sans a few canned vegetables and a frozen pizza (for the biffle nugg who'd be crashing at our place that weekend). I didn't really stay in line that long either. I wasn't in rush to escape the coming 'cane - it wasn't expected to shit on the east coast for a good 12-16 hours anyways. Next stop: Wine Bazaar next door. I wanted to be classy and increase my know-it-all-ism about wine so instead of the standard whites that I usually purchase, I went with two bottles of red. "I want to start drinking more red wine," I told the cute guy who gave me two awesome suggestions: Hanging Vines Pinot Noir (2010) & Sebastiani Cabernet Savignon (2009). Good years ;)

It was pretty shitty Saturday morning. Just rain. But I went for a run anyways. I came back soaked but it was nice to brave the calm before the storm. It was a lazyyyy Saturday. After my run, I showered, made lunch and drank nearly half the bottle of Pinot Noir all afternoon. I watched a documentary on marathon running, took two cat naps, and refilled my glass in between. I was feeling goooood that night. What else are you gonna do when cabin fever sets in?

Good morning!

Sunday morning I awoke to a sight that kind of scared me. A large and in charge tree from our other neighbor's backyard had basically fell over their fence and into our backyard, eating our deck. If our house was five feet back, that thing would've gone through my bedroom window. To date, the tree is still back there hanging out.
The top of the tree rested it's pretty little head on our deck like a pillow. It also wanted to come inside and hang out with the guys downstairs. Guess I won't be sunbathing on the deck anymore. Bummer. And we all thought she went up north to eat parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. But nay nay, she decided to stay for a while. Strong winds and branches blowing in the wind near the living room windows kept distracting us during our game of Monopoly, which I won by the way. I wanted to quit even though I had a lot of properties and moolah, so I handed the torch to my friend Kyle who, with his saavy business tactics, helped us to victory.

All in all, the weekend wasn't that bad. With a house full of company and belly full of wine and laughs, I'd say I didn't mind the hurricane. Our power didn't go out either! Although other parts of Westchester were hit pretty badly (like Bronxville and Rye), it seems like the county of getting back on it's feet.

Bronxville

Rye

As for that tree in our backyard...

it's like a friendly giant.