What a dandy weekend.

Most weekends, by nature, are pretty dandy. If you're one of many in the world of 9-5 jobs (more like 8-6 by today's standards, let's be honest), the weekend is freedom. As I am not a nine-to-fiver, the weekend just means the streets below my window will be noisier, with all else equal to weekdays. In fact, I had not enjoyed a single day off for two and a half weeks... until yesterday. But wait! I didn't stop there! I proceeded to have Sunday off as well! Yes, a whole weekend of leisure and sunshine. And I took advantage.

Friday night, we finally tried out a Mexican restaurant I've been talking about since my arrival in NYC. Turns out it was just mediocre. But hey, we shared a pitcher of margaritas, so Allie was content.

Yesterday, Zak and I woke a bit early, expecting that our new stove may be delivered as early as 10am or so. We did some cleaning, some organizing. Over breakfast, the truck arrived! Zak went down to the street to greet our beautiful new appliance... turns out its perfect newness was blemished by a few "beauty" marks. The handle and an entire side managed to get dented during its commute. So we hesitantly rescheduled for Monday. (We tried real hard to get them to come out later that day... or even today, but they said it simply was not possible. Hmph.)

Not thrilled. But oh well. With our afternoon schedule suddenly freed up, we made plans!

We took a train up to Central Park where we took a lovely walk northward to the Met. That museum is outrageously large. We moved quickly and spent around an hour and a half there, but we couldn't have seen more than a quarter of what they have to offer. Unbelievable. Zak took a couple of photos on his iphone.

This one was particularly awesome for reasons that those around us didn't even pick up on. The whole thing was curved. When you stood in just the right place, your voice was amplified and resounded back toward you. I take no credit for that discovery. Zak noticed it, not me. Go figure...

After the Met, we got a late lunch at a nearby cafe and spent a mellow evening at home. 

Today I brought Zak to see a shop in SoHo that I've been wanting him to see for weeks now. It's called Evolution and specializes in taxidermy, fossils, and skeletons. They have some really unique items. Earrings made of beetle wings. Suckers (lollipops, for you New England folk) with centipedes in the middle. Fossilized amber from millions of years ago. I think it's the coolest. Zak thinks I'm strange. Though he did find a few things to which he took quite a liking. After SoHo, we did a bunch of window shopping and after looking far and wide for a new place to try out for lunch, we landed at a favorite standby: The Cupping Room Cafe. 

We got a seat at a small perch for two, right by the window. We indulged in a couple of delicious and overpriced brunch beverages. (Why in the world do drinks become so darn expensive when they're served for "brunch"?) Mine was a mimosa of sorts with champagne, fresh squeezed lemonade, and mint. Zak's was some sort of champagne, gin, and citrus combination. Both tasty. His more potent than mine. Zak opted for the eggs and bacon plate. The boy is easy to please. I chose the cobb salad, and I'm sure my eyes lit up like Christmas lights when it arrived and I took in its beauty and SIZE. It was served in what I would consider a medium-sized mixing bowl. I couldn't even finish it. 

Now we're home. I have been updating my external hard drives while listening to the new Bon Iver album while Zak covers more ground in Kingdom Hearts. A brief aside: when you visit Neverland in this game, your shadow becomes it's own identity just like Peter's did... and he's quite evil! You must defeat him! Or perish! Anyway... we're awaiting a call from our dear friend Victoria, at which point we will join her and her family for a beverage somewheres. 

I don't know how to wrap up this post. So I'll just say

Happy Father's Day, Dad!