Art in Columbus Circle

Just a picture that caught my eye in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle

Oh, right... meet me at the place with the NOSE

I was walking to practice tonight and noticed this gigantic nose on top of an Italian restaurant at 57th and 7th Avenue.  What in the world?   

8 weeks until Paris Marathon!

I did my second 20-mile run this morning.  I can't say it was easy or didn't hurt.  The emphasis for my long runs has basically been to finish stronger and faster than I started, and I've consistently been running negative splits (meaning that if I ran 4 loops, each one was faster than the previous.)  

The benefit to doing this is that it teaches me to run strong when I am tired.  Today I tried to imagine what it will feel like in the race, where I will most certainly be tired and hurting much worse.  I imagined what it feels like to run totally fresh, and thought about "fresh" posture and stride, and tried to make my body move the way it moves in the first few miles when I step outside my door.  I also reminded myself to acknowledge the pain, but keep on running, because it is supposed to hurt- that means I'm doing it right!  Also, it doesn't hurt any worse to run faster (or at least to maintain my pace) when I'm tired as to slow my pace into a shuffle, but I'll finish the run sooner.  

Pacing is definitely an art form.  One of the reasons I am able to finish so strong is that I probably start out a little too relaxed.  In the marathon, my biggest challenge will be finding the right pace.  Though they place you automatically with a pace group, they are only in 15 minute increments, so I am with the 3:30 group, which is faster than I want to start the race. However, I have the benefit of my Philly 1/2 marathon experience where I was forced to rely on my own internal pace and ended up with the best race of my life.  During Paris, I'll be able to "check in" every 5K to the time clock.  There will be no way for me to gage my miles, but I know that my 5K splits should be right around 25 minutes each. 

The run today was inspiring for another reason too... the gorgeous weather.  I left my jacket, gloves, headband, and tights at home and ran with my sleeves pushed up my arms, wishing I'd worn shorts and a t-shirt, not capris.  I saw more people running in Central Park yesterday and today than I see in 2 weeks of cold weather.  It is hard not to lift your knees a little higher and drop your shoulders a little lower when you run past collegiate cross country runners (as in, cross paths with, or are passed by, but never pass), who glide by in an effortless pack of perfect running form.  I saw dads huffing behind baby joggers, and men double-take when a very fit new mother pushed a double-jogger past them up a hill as if it weighed nothing.  A few brave runners who attempted the dirt paths were easily identifiable by marked legs completely tattooed with splashed mud. 

ModPodge Heart-Shaped Box

Another friend's birthday is around the corner.  I bought the box and paper at Lee's Art Shop.

First, I tore out the flowers

And then paint a layer of the glue, place the paper, and another layer of glue on top.  The nice thing about this paper is that it is thin enough to not get bubbles.  You can smooth out any edges with your fingers, or tear the paper to fold around a corner.

The sides of the box are finished!  I think I'd like to paper the inside box base, but I am waiting to see how "hard" it dries first.

The lid is also finished.  I'll still do the base, but have to save that for another day.

The finished Cupcakes

The pink frosting kept oozing out of the top of the bag.  My hands were covered.  Total mess.  

The yellow bag sort of burst mid-swirl (with the tiny 6-point start).  Luckily the blob of frosting plopped down on the cutting board.  We quickly moved to Plan-B, a lovely yellow glob in the center of each cupcake.  The pink decorating looked the best... the green didn't seem to set very well.

But all in all, they definitely look both homemade and edible.  I baked them for a birthday party Serge and I are going to tomorrow evening.  

Icing on the cake

 This is the recipe for Magnolia's buttercream frosting, and wow is it sweet.  I actually had to run back to the grocery store to get another box of powdered sugar.   

I think I got a sugar contact high just mixing the 6 cups (that is nearly 2 full boxes) of powdered sugar.  

The easy part was mixing.  Just slightly more challenging was deciding which 3 color combinations to make based on the options on the back of the food coloring box.  All three colors were adapted anyway.  

I started by spreading a layer of icing on each cupcake.  Then onto the fun part- the decorating. Inspired by my new Martha Stewart icing set, I filled bag one with pink frosting and the leaf-tip fixture, envisioning delicate daisies and intricate designs.  The frosting oozed out the top of the bag.  For the yellow and teal, I sliced off a corner of a zip-lock instead, put the tip in the bag, and spooned in the frosting.

The results were not exactly Martha-Stewart pretty.  

Cupcakes a' bakin'

Vanilla cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery cookbook.  I found the recipe on the internet and even bought self-risking flower.  The batter is full of all sorts of healthy things, like organic butter and eggs, and sugar.

However, I make them the old fashioned way...mixing everything by hand.  This makes the finished cupcakes exponentially more healthy (for me, at least) once you factor in the manuel labor.  My arms are both sore.

I kind of made a mess, but I love how this picture shows my ipod speakers where I listen and repeat Russian vocabulary, my CFA calculator, and a running log/my water bottles.  My entire life is basically represented in my kitchen mess.

I would like to brag that I had zero spillage when pouring the batter.  Must of have been the perfect consistency. 

They looked nice when I took them out of the oven, which I'm still not convinced cooks evenly.  Note the guy in the back row got a little squished when I banged him on the top of the oven rack.  I burned my hand a little too, but those were our only causalities from the baking part of the adventure.

Central Park in February

I brought my camera on a run again... this time it was sunny, crisp, and beautiful

Guggenheim Museum with a blue sky background.  No matter how cold the winter can get, I always appreciate the sporadic days of mild sunshine to help you remember that spring always follows

Pond at the very North end of Central Park

I'd been running past these ice sculptures for weeks now always meaning to stop and take a picture.  You'd think you were up somewhere up in the woods... not just across the road from 11oth and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, Manhattan, New York.  

We've had a lot of snow so far this winter, so there is probably about 20 different layers of ice melted and frozen here.  The ice sort of wrapped around and curled as it froze, as if it were a stiff blanket draped off the corner of a bed

Clever organizational gadgets

Those little boxes are actually shirts.  I first saw the sleek Japanese design of Muji at the MoMA design store, but happened to stumble across the store in Times Square

My heart sometimes starts palpitating when I see displays of kitchen and home accessories

More fun design-ness.  Amazing

Out and about the town

The Art Students League of New York on 57th and 7th Avenue.

Bryant Park, including the new BofA tower in the background, at 42nd and 6th Avenue.  During the 2 months we were in the new office before moving to BNP Paribas building, my commute doubled.  If I hit every "don't walk" light, it took me about 27 minutes.  Then again, I could still walk to work. 

Ah, good ole' Times Square taken from 42nd and 7th Avenue.

All the news that's fit to print at the New York Times building, at 42nd and 8th Avenue

The mail must go through.  Post office at 34th and 8th Ave