Three years ago today, J and I said “I do” in front of 250 of our closest friends and family.

We’ve certainly had our ups and downs along the way, but I wouldn’t trade what we have right now for anything in the world. The amount of love and respect I have for this man has grown exponentially since we first started dating 8 years ago, and he continues to amaze me every day.

It also doesn’t hurt that I still catch him looking at me with the same expression as below:

(photo by Danny Weiss)

Happy anniversary, my love. Here’s to many, many more to come.

*     *     *

We celebrated our anniversary this past Saturday with a lunch at my favorite steak house and a visit to Discovery Times Square for Harry Potter: The Exhibition. My surf & turf was superb, and the Harry Potter exhibit was worth every penny. It was a bit more crowded than I would have liked, but I was giddy like a little schoolgirl the entire way through and am really regretting not having purchased the audio tour.

J and I had a fantastic anniversary celebration despite the torrential rain which continued throughout the day.

The trouble started when we got home.

My eyes started itching almost as soon as we stepped through the front door. I immediately took off my contacts and washed my face, taking care to remove all eye makeup.

But the itching and tearing continued through the night and I could hardly sleep. By the time the sun rose Sunday morning it even hurt to keep my eyes open. Light sensitivity added to my list of symptoms, and I was so miserable that I was sobbing. I was also scared — I had visions of Claire growing up with a blind mother and J having to take care of a blind wife.

We called J’s brother and luckily my SIL was able to come over to watch Claire while we headed to the ER. After the doctor put some numbing drops into my eyes I finally started to feel better. She checked for scratches on my cornea (there was none) as well as other symptoms of allergic reactions. Because the swelling, tearing, and itching subsided after a series of steroids, antihistamines, and antibacterial eye drops, the doctor concluded that it must be an allergic reaction…but we weren’t sure from what. It could be the circle lenses I had donned the previous day, or the old eye shadow I had applied. The doctor seemed to think that the cause stemmed from the antibiotics I had been taking for the past week as a result of a root canal.

The good news was that I seemed to be responding to the treatment, so the doctor wrote me some prescriptions and sent us home. I spent the rest of the day recovering in bed and I’m happy to say that I’m feeling much better today.

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With all the excitement I had almost forgotten about the Magic Sleepsuit giveaway! Well, better late than never, right? Drum roll please…

The winner of the Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit is…

#51 is commenter Olivia, who had the following to say:

Congratulations, Olivia! I will be emailing you shortly!

And thank you to everyone else who entered! The past month has been a HUGE month for this blog (more than 95k unique visitors!) and I owe it to every one of you. I have stated in the past that I do not make money from blogging, and I am still quite happy with the status quo. That being said, if I do hit 100,000 visitors in a month, I do want to do a big giveaway in celebration. So stay tuned, and keep reading!

Artist Jenny Burrows and her copywriter friend Matt Kappler created these mock ads during school for inclusion in their portfolio…and it went viral.

The posters initially had the Smithsonian name and logo at the bottom, but the museum, who was none too pleased with the attention, asked for the association to be removed. (I personally don’t quite understand why the museum chose to do this — I think it’s great publicity that would only help draw in younger generations.)

Check out the rest of the story on Jenny’s blog. I sincerely hope that she gets a chance to create more of these “Historically Hardcore” ads in the near future!

Via My Modern Metropolis.

No matter how angry, upset, or frustrated she makes me, I can never stay mad at her for too long. Especially when I catch her sleeping like this.

(I am currently lying in bed, about to doze off myself. Nap-training doesn’t seem to be getting much better, but I have renewed hope after reading a new baby sleep book today. Also, this is my first entry posted from my phone, using the WordPress Android App. Let’s see how it turns out…)

As much as I hate doing tourist activities, one of my favorite things to do when in a new city is to check out its museums. I chose to attend Johns Hopkins for its Art History program (most people are not aware that JHU has a great art history program – top 5 in the country - but unfortunately I decided to pursue another course of study). I still consider my 3 month summer internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art one of the best experiences of my life.

Needless to say, I love museums. I love the hushed atmosphere, the beautiful architecture that usually accompanies them, and immersing myself in the works of geniuses (including nature) of the past, present, and future.

I’m fine perusing the hallways of museums alone; however it’s always more fun with friends. Unfortunately, J could give a crap about museums, and not too many of my friends are into the arts.

I need a museum buddy.

Anyone interested in the following exhibits?

Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
through September 1

The symbolic and metaphorical associations between fashion and the superhero are explored in this compelling exhibition. Featuring movie costumes, avant-garde haute couture, and high-performance sportswear, it reveals how the superhero serves as the ultimate metaphor for fashion and its ability to empower and transform the human body. Objects are organized thematically around particular superheroes, whose movie costumes and superpowers are catalysts for the discussion of key concepts of superheroism and their expression in fashion.

(I will probably stop by the Met this Saturday the 30th since this exhibit is closing so soon.)

Vasily Kandinsky: Beginnings
Guggenheim Museum
ongoing

Perhaps more than any other 20th-century painter, Vasily Kandinsky has been closely linked to the history of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Hilla Rebay—artist, art advisor, and the museum’s first director—encouraged Solomon R. Guggenheim to begin collecting Kandinsky’s work in 1929 and to then meet the artist for the first time at the Dessau Bauhaus in July 1930. This was the start of a period of continuous acquisition of paintings and watercolors by Kandinsky. The current installation of the Kandinsky Gallery explores the artist’s early mastery of the graphic arts, as well as his translation of printmaking techniques to painting.

(I love Kandinsky! He’s one of my favorite painters…I’ve love to see some of this earlier work up close and personal.)

Wunderkammer: A Century of Curiosities
Museum of Modern Art
through November 10

Wunderkammern, or cabinets of curiosities, arose in mid-sixteenth-century Europe as repositories for all manner of wondrous and exotic objects. In essence these collections—combining specimens, diagrams, and illustrations from many disciplines; marking the intersection of science and superstition; and drawing on natural, manmade, and artificial worlds—can be seen as the precursors to museums. This exhibition presents a contemporary interpretation of the traditional cabinet of curiosities, bringing together a diverse selection of works by twentieth- and twenty-first-century artists who have likewise felt the pull of unusual and extraordinary objects and phenomena. The works on display include prints, books, multiples, drawings, and photographs, with subjects ranging from architectural marvels and blueprints for impossible machines to oddities from the animal, vegetable, and mineral worlds. Featured artists include Hans Bellmer, Peter Blake, Louise Bourgeois, Max Ernst, and Damien Hirst, among others.

(Combining science and superstition? I’m there! Plus I’m sure it’ll be very geeky.)

Japonisme in American Graphic Art, 1880–1920
Brooklyn Museum of Art
through October 12

Japonisme in American Graphic Art, 1880–1920 explores the myriad manifestations of Japonisme in a selection of rarely seen American works on paper from the Brooklyn Museum’s permanent collection. Concurrent with the so-called “Japan craze” in America was a renewed interest in graphic arts: as watercolor, pastel, etching, and other graphic media came to be appreciated for their artistry and expressivity, they also reflected the impact of Japanese art. Color woodcuts by late-eighteenth- and nineteenth-century masters such Hiroshige, Hokusai, and Kuniyoshi were avidly collected in the West and served as particularly influential models of stylistic and technical innovation for American artists.

(The last time I visited the Brooklyn Museum of Art was for its famous Murakami exhibition…and I loved not only the exhibit, but the entire museum itself. Definitely worth venturing out to Brooklyn.)

Progress
Whitney Museum of American Art
through November 30

Progress brings together works from the Whitney’s permanent collection, highlighting connections between art and visions of utopia. In the early part of the twentieth century, artists and architects like Joseph Albers, Naum Gabo, and Frederick Kiesler carried the revolutionary aims of the European avant-garde to America. The utopian impulse of these artists found its parallel in America’s optimism in developing new technology and the rise of consumer culture–advancements registered in the emergence of Minimalism and Pop Art in the 1950s and ’60s.

This presentation includes works in a variety of media at once representing and critiquing the social and aesthetic goals of Modernism. Artists such as Dan Flavin, Ad Reinhardt, and Sherrie Levine recorded the myriad responses, both hopeful and critical, to the transformation in American culture brought on by the influx of utopian ideals. Other artists address the linear advancement of modernity from a distance, neither celebrating nor critiquing the changes it has brought, but tracking its effects over the passage of time. “Progress” also presents more recent works by artists including Paul Sietsema and Joel Sternfeld, who mine Modernism’s utopian moments in order to gauge how the familiar narratives of progress in the United States continue to haunt and inspire contemporary experience.

(Visions of utopia through various media. This one looks very interesting but it may need to be saved for a time when I’m feeling particularly contemplative.)

The Full Figure and Portraiture 1926-1941
The Noguchi Museum
through February 15, 2009

The Noguchi Museum exhibits a full figure bronze sculpture, entitled Undine (Nadja), in its first public exhibition since the 1920s. Isamu Noguchi’s unique vision emerged in response to the Western figurative traditions and techniques he experienced firsthand in the workshop of the sculptor Gutzon Borglum and through his mentor, Onorio Ruotolo. Organized around Undine, this exhibit also highlights a selection of portrait busts from the permanent collection which illustrate Noguchi’s growing confidence owing to his formative academic training and a natural gift for incisive portraiture.

(I love Noguchi! Again, it’ll be interesting to see some of his earlier works as influenced by Western training.)

It can be a PITA to look up all the new exhibitions at the various museums. Maybe I should start a NYC museum blog? Hmm…

A couple of weekends ago, 14 friends and I gathered to try our hand at Murder at the Met scavenger hunt, hosted by Watson Adventures.

For those who are not familiar with Watson Adventures, they stage scavenger hunts in cities across the U.S. Some of the NYC hunts include The Gangsters’ New York, The Ghosts of Greenwich Village, and The Wax Attacks (held at Madame Tussauds). Most of the hunts are targeted for adults (meaning the questions can be tricky/complex…not adult-themed, you sicko) but they hold family-friendly hunts as well.

I just HAD to try the Murder at the Met because, well, the Met is probably my favorite place in the city. One of my most memorable experiences was a summer internship at the Met, and although I’m a bit rusty now, I used to know the entire 5-blocks-sized building like the back of my hand.

We arrived to find that our Watson Adventures rep had already divided us into teams of four (and one group of three). Here’s my fabulous team before we set off:

(All the pictures came out pretty badly because there is no flash photography allowed in the museum.)

Each team was given a yellow sheet of paper with a list of twenty-something questions. The yellow sheets were identical, but each team was instructed to start at different numbers. We were then given the background story:

A murdered curator has left behind a cryptic trail of clues connected with secrets in works of art. As your team gathers answers about the art, you begin to piece together a sordid tale about greed, lust, pride, revenge and treachery, all revolving around the museum’s planned multi-million dollar purchase of a Rembrandt. The murder victim knew too much—and now it’s your turn to learn what he knew and discover what drove one of four suspects to commit murder. To find out, you’ll have to crack a secret code left in the victim’s appointment calendar. Can you figure out who dunnit?

After additional instructions to meet at the Temple of Dendur in exactly two and a half hours, with warnings of “we’ll be watching you!” and “no cell phones allowed!”, we set off.

The rep had explained that The Murder at the Met was their most challenging hunt, and that was one of the reasons it had attracted me in the first place. I admit it – some of the questions were difficult, and running through the museum while dodging tourists and tour groups was tiring.

However, I knew my team would do well from the start. How could we not, with me on the team?

We finished spectacularly with an hour to spare. Immediately my teammates demanded alcohol (okay, I wanted a drink too). I led them to the Petrie Court Cafe and Wine Bar, but it was closed for a private function. The travesty!

We then heaved and puffed our way up to the Balcony Bar, which has two entrances, very far from each other. After waiting on line for what seemed like an eternity at one entrance, the maitre’d informed us that there were no seats available on that side – would we like to try the other?

!!!

We practically ran to the other entrance, joking that trying to get a drink was the real scavenger hunt. After waiting on line behind some R-tards who couldn’t decide where they wanted to sit, the maitre’d finally approached us and we screamed, “Just sit us near the bar!”

Our hard-earned sangrias and mojitos:

Another team pic:

Feeling refreshed and our alcoholic urges somewhat fulfilled, we sauntered to the Temple of Dendur, where one by one, all the teams converged.

Needless to say, my team won, with a perfect score.

One last shot of the entire group:

Everyone agreed that the scavenger hunt was fun and very entertaining…we all want to do more hunts! I highly recommend Watson Adventures, and I’ll certainly be doing more hunts in the future.