back in new york city

View from my jetblue window- greeted after a fitful night's sleep with a new york sunrise.

It seems so natural to be back here. Nothing at the apartment has changed- Maya the cat greeted me with her usual haughty-ness, and I promptly took a shower and started laundry as if I was coming home.

Lia and I decided to meet up at the Crosby Street Hotel, where they have a beautifully rich yet relaxed lounge / tearoom, where we are basked in warm light leaning on jewel toned upholstery with views of floor to ceiling windows overlooking a courtyard.  At $5 per pot of tea (we got one fresh lemon verbena and one berry blossom), what better place to catch up with old friends?

It started gently snowing outside (just enough for it to be beautiful, not past that thank goodness as we weren't properly dressed for real snow)! We strolled around SoHo in the snowflakes then headed to Brooklyn to cook at Lia's house for dinner.  She lives with an eclectic old woman in a crookedly beautiful brownstone in Brooklyn Heights.  We ate previously frozen ravioli with a made up sauce of olives and red peppers, very reminiscent of college, but made that much more classy with a bit of seltzer, good candlelight, and lack of talk about mundane things like work and weather.

I took the train home, just like it used to be. I caught up a bit with Zeb, it was nice to see him, and then went to bed early with full intention of sleeping for 12 hours.  It was weird being back here so quickly, so naturally, where the doormen all still remember my face and welcome me gracious swift openings of double doors, especially since the trip was so painless- 3,000 miles away, in just the blink of an eye.