Coney Island Photo Diary

There's something so blissfully nostalgic about Coney Island

and thankfully, I found out that Luna Park had not changed a thing

there was still that smell of fried food and saltwater, heavy in the air

and the man screaming "ice cold water bottles, one dollar"

still greeted me as I walked towards the boardwalk

the men sketchily selling Coronas out of their backpacks

still trudged slowly through the sand

and the women selling hand peeled, sliced mangos were still at it

Luna Park did not take away that old-school, rickety glory of

Wonder Wheel park

the same rides that I went on as a kid were still standing

the Tilt-a-Whirl still spinning, creating blurs of primary colors

the Thunder Bolt still blasting cheesy pop music,

candy apples were abundant, their hard cherry shells staining my lips

but most of all, I hoped that Ralph's Italian Ices would still be sitting

under that recognizable white tent

over a dozen flavors that I had loved since childhood

like the pink bubblegum, with tiny chiclets inside that streaked the ice

the brightest of blues & oranges

and Ralph's did not fail me

a Pistachio & Cookies n Cream icee was all I needed

ah, sweet euphoria.

Hi Summer, I promise to cherish you.

To make a long story short

let's just say, I finally got my life back

and thank god because I recently suffered a rude awakening

when I received a picture message from my brother

of a Vassar bug that had come to wreak havoc in my apartment

with its long, spindly, abundant legs

rapid movements, and general fear inducing grossness

technology never fails to (literally) disgust me

and it took me back to those nights where whilst I screamed & cowered

my roommate would calmly attempt to trap these horrific bugs and get rid of them

and sadly I remembered the night one of the creatures fell into my bed,

never to be found

how this monstrosity ended up in my apartment, hours away from Poughkeepsie

still baffles me

but it was an omen, that bug said "oh hey gurrrrl,

your summer is flying by"

Sophmore year is soon approaching, love life while you can"

I'm quite thankful for the bug (I never got to actually witness it)

I miss the summers when jobs didn't matter

and on my little street in Astoria someone would open the fire hydrant

sending a gush of frigid water that all the kids on the block

could run through, cooling down, filling up empty Poland Spring bottles

to spray at each other

and kids from other blocks would come

excited by the impromptu & illegal sprinkler

we would block traffic, squirting water guns and screaming

and on the days where the sprinklers didn't come to us

the days were filled with big boxes of sidewalk chalk,

hand-scrawled hopscotch boards with pebbles sprinkled on the numbered squares

while eating italian ices, that never failed to drip cherry red all over our t-shirts

there were the countless hours spent riding my Yaak scooter

(Razors were just too expensive)

rolling down the small grassy hills of Astoria Park and

playing with my Skip-It, watching the numbers on the dial

hundreds of revolutions, and I would be worn out

I can't find my Skip-It, so now, a decade later

I settle for sweet picnics,

I abandon the age old pb&js for brick oven pizza,

the frozen Capri Sun pouches for Arnold Palmer Arizona

letting the smell of the grass, and the cherry juice that stains my fingertips

incite my nostalgia.

Birthdays & Saturdays [Things I Love]

So I've been MIA from Sleeping Venus

for the past week, because I've been in midtown

full time, everyday working for Paper Magazine

I can sum it up with: rotten flowers,

hunting for the perfect shade of chartreuse taffeta,

Excel, desperately trying to get Marc Jacob's assistant on the phone,

holding real life prison letters from Michael Alig (I die)

and wanting to have Pinkberry for lunch everyday with an empty wallet

oh, the life of an intern

but onto other things

like all the lovely things that happen on Saturdays and birthdays

and all the wonderful noms and sights

the things I love:

Good restaurants!

like Risoterria, where I went on my bday

(I'm 19, I'm nearly a dinosaur, even though 19 is one of those really liminal ages...)

it is on Bleecker Street,

which is easily becoming my new favorite place

not only did I get to have all my favorite foods on my birthday

(a momlet, ice cream, pizza)

but the pizza was brick oven,

mozzarella, asparagus, and white truffle oil

and white truffle oil just makes everything sexy

did I mention this restaurant gives you free one and a half feet long breadsticks,

yes, breadsticks,

I'm totally smitten with any place that gives free bread

anyhow, this pizza was mind blowingly delish

and I want it every single day, desperately

Candy!

not just any candy though, my new obsession is grapefruit gummies

and my not so new obsession is basically anything from Economy Candy on Rivington

it's so authentic, and its one of the only places where I can find

vintage goodies

like Sixlets and Bottle Caps

its also one of the only candy places that doesn't feel gourmet & overpriced

so it makes me feel really nostalgic

I'm dying for a little lunchbox tin from there

so I can tote my peanut butter & jelly sandwich and my apple to work everyday in style

what's better than good restaurants and candy?

getting Thai takeout to eat at Tompkins

so romantic

since it was just impossible to squeeze in pad thai on my birthday

I had it the next day, and it was everything I wanted

a lunch special from Tara Thai on First Ave

a sunny day in the park

bull dogs with chubby paws

and lots of pup watching

why is it that lime tastes so good on pad thai?

it really gives it a depth of flavor

(everyday I consider going to culinary school instead of Vassar)

one day I'm going to own my own food joint

it will happen, even with a Sociology degree

and it will be made possible

by all the hours I spend watching the food networking and food joint hopping

I can't even tell you how many ways I know how to prepare pork loin

my fave recipe is for an herb crusted pork loin

but I'm a vegetarian....

I also love getting free ice water at Starbucks,

and it's even better when it belongs to someone else

sorry William, but this girl was so thirsty

thanks for helping a sista out

And it's totally awesome when streets in the city happen to look like Europe

I could sort of feel like I'm in Delft, or Harrlem

maybe even Tuscany, if I squint...and ignore all the cabs

Lastly, I gotta love Washington Square Park

street performers and the wonderful sounds of doo wop,

fleetingly beautiful sand art by Joe Mangrum (he is amazing),

botanical garden worthy flowers

eccentric couples

frolicking children,

and that refreshing fountain mist

are more than enough to keep me smiling all summer long.

Paper Summer

The other day I was just a girl

walking around the Meat Packing District

resumes in hand, looking for a hostess job,

or god forbid, another retail job

when I saw this Vespa

and it was beautiful, I looked at it and felt instantly transported to Miami

I mean, cmon, look at that palm tree and those aloof outdoor diners

it screams Miami

the sad thing is, that I had to snap a shot of this beautiful, shiny, bubblegum baby

while the owner was standing right behind it, about to board,

with apparent admiration, spiked with envy,

I dream of this Vespa

I also dreamed of not having to scour the city looking for a summer job,

that dream came true

I am now Paper Magazine's newest intern

I'm pretty much speechless

I've been seeing a lot of monarch butterflies lately,

and whenever I see them something good always follows

there were a lot of monarchs around before my first kiss

way back when,

thank god for butterflies, and amazing opportunities.

Dear Summer,

Dear Summer,

You tastes like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

that have been sitting in your bag for too long, 

under the pressure of grapes, peaches and frozen water bottles

(because they are great beach food)

after sitting under the hot sun the jelly starts to soak through the white bread

and you can see the 

purplish squishy parts

just saturated with grape jam, or strawberry preserves

and then you take the sandwich out because you're starving

unwrapping it from its aluminum foil, 

(making sure to scoop out all the jelly that oozed out)

making sure not to let it blow away in the ocean breeze

I don't know if you can call the wind at Coney Island an "ocean breeze"

it sounds far too romantic, but oh well

its more like a violent wind, that sends beach umbrellas tumbling through the sand

attacking napping beach bums and unsuspecting tanners

then you bite into your pb& j (heavy on the j)

as the wind is blowing the umbrella, it also blows the sand 

some of the grains getting stuck in

the sticky mess of your sandwich

making your bites that much more fulfilling

as you watch the umbrella owner chase it 

the rainbow, maybe palm tree printed umbrella 

causing chaos on the beach 

me? I'm anti-beach umbrella

pro tanning oil & pb&j

so summer please come soon,

I'll be waiting patiently for you

in my snow boots, in Poughkeepsie, not eating peanut butter & jelly

I'm saving myself for you.

Love, 

Me