Recently in Friends Category

A perk of living all over the countryside is that you cross paths with a lot of people. And thanks to social media sites like Facebook, you can now keep tabs on where folks are and what they're up to.

When you get one you can say, "I know a girl who knows the girl who made these!"

Is it still New Year's Eve if you don't toast with champagne?

Happy 2012 y'all!

Y'all may not realize it, but Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday! There's something fun about making the candy bags for the little trick-or-treaters, dragging out my Halloween china and even getting dressed up for the big night.

Every year, I totally stress over what we should go as. I honestly can't remember a year that I didn't dress up for Halloween. My college years were the best, it seemed like Missouri State Universtiy's Homecoming always coincided with Halloween and it was a week full of different costume parties.

These days, I try to limit the dressing up to one night only...but there's a lot of pressure to decide on what to be. After all, I have a pretty good record of creativity to live up too! Plus, I'm not a huge fan of store bought costumes.

This year Brett & I recruited our friends Joe & Renee Belardo and headed back to win the elusive $1,000 group costume prize at Vapor Night Club in Saratoga Springs. After a lot of debate, we decided to go as....Occupy Vapor protesters!

I cranked out the "Craft Time at the Looney Bin" kit full of my sorority days glue guns, paints and glitter and whipped up these awesome signs!

Just to clarify...we were not really protesting, as some of the people in the club thought. We were also not in the least serious in the least about our 'political' statement. I would have thought the glitter on the signs would tip folks off...

Unfortunately, Brett got the idea that he needed to have a drum...which he pounded on the entire night!

It probably would have been really annoying if we could have heard him above the hysterical laughing at his unintentional Corey Haim resemblance.

We finally made it to the costume contest and again, competitors brought their A games! There were some really great outfits that we understood...

...and some that we were not quiet sure what they were supposed to be.

We can't laugh too much though...that chick walked away with plenty of lettuce in her pocket after she nabbed the "Best Female" costume prize!

We were super bummed last year when we went as Chilean Miners and didn't get picked to be in the semi-finals for the couple's costume contest. This year Vapor changed up the divisions, offering a cool $1,000 to best male, best female and best group. The rules on their website stated that a group had to be three or more members.

Our little protest posse didn't get invited to join the Top 10 (we figured it was the man keeping us down). But we sure were surprised when those who were invited went on stage...several in pairs.

Huh??

Event organizers narrowed down the Top 10 to a Top 3 and here were our choices to cheer for:

The Harlem "Old" Trotters

A very elaborate "NYC Invasion"

and a Lego couple

Take a wild guess at which won the group contest and the $1,000? The Lego couple! Sure, their costumes were great and really elaborate, but there were only two of them. We didn't expect to win the top prize, but if Saratoga's Vapor Club isn't going to play by their own rules then maybe it's not the place to focus our efforts for next Halloween. Any suggestions on where else to go??

We may just have to protest it for real next year!

It seems like choosing a Halloween costume is the hardest decision I make every October. I am notorious for changing my mind a million times before the big night. Brett & I have decided to try our luck at the Vapor Halloween costume contest again this year teaming up with our friends Joe & Renee Belardo.

Brett & Joe had a good time playing dress up while we were scoping out the costume shop...but I don't think we're any closer to making a decision yet...

Ever notice that New York City is the background of so much stuff? If you just look around, you'll see it everywhere! Movies, television shows, books...the Big Apple tends to take a nibble, if not a bite, out of it all.

One of the most famous shows (and my favorite) set against the backdrop of NYC was Sex & The City. The HBO series ran 94 juicy episodes from 1998 to 2004 and spawned two feature films...ok, so the second one wasn't that great. For years, millions of women across the country spent their Sunday nights drinking cosmopolitans and debating on whether they were a Carrie, Samantha, Miranda or Charlotte.

When one of my girlfriends from Arkansas announced she would be coming to NYC on a visit, I jumped at the chance to get someone to go on a SATC tour with me! A little online research and we were booked on a 1.5 hour walking tour showcasing some of the best spots of NYC seen in our favorite show.

The tour started at Pastis on 9th Avenue, where Carrie & The Russian had brunch with some of his snooty, uptown friends. Today, it's home to a trendy hip crowd and celebrity hangout.

A large part of our SATC tour was through the Meat Packing District and we got to see where exteriors of Samantha's apartment were filmed. Her infamous bedroom was right above an upscale Asian Fusion restaurant called the Spice Market. But here's the weird thing: the waiters and waitresses wore dowdy orange scrubs and tennis shoes??

The Meat Packing District also has tons of botiques and upscale shops set under awnings that still have the hooks used to hold meat sold there in the 1900s. Hard to believe the area was once the central location to more than 250 slaughter houses and packing plants! Now, only one remains.

In the 1980's the area was known as a hub for drug dealing and transexual prostitution. By the late 1990's, designers saw it as an opportunity to cash in on the young hipster crowd and the area went through a transformation phase. Today the Meat Packing District is one of the trendiest spots in Manhattan making it perfect for the background of SATC.

Our tour also checked out Tortilla Flats, home to the disastrous double date Miranda, Steve, Carrie and Aiden went on. The Mexican dive is rumored to serve up a fabulous margarita, but as Southerners, we knew better than to expect "good" Mexican food anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Our quick tour pace came to a screeching halt when we stumbled upon the Magnolia Bakery. After being featured in just one episode of Sex and the City, the place became went wild! Carrie & Miranda snacked on Magnolia Bakery's fabulous cupcakes at a park across the street and - BOOM - a cupcake craze was born!
We had no complaints waiting for a few minutes to savor some of their delicious treats!

Next door to the Magnolia Bakery are the famous sidewalk doors that Samantha fell down and broke her ankle on. Laura and I had a little fun reenacting our own version of the scene!

No doubt, the best part of the tour was definitely a stop at Carrie's stoop, which is located at 66 Perry, between West 4th and Bleeker Street. Turns out, SATC actually used about five different stoops during the course of the show, but the one we saw was used most frequently.

Unfortunately, the owner isn't real fond of folks sitting on their front porch for photos, so a chain discourages the rubberneckers from getting too close.

The ironic part: Sarah Jessica Parker's actual building is located just around the corner from Carrie's on Charles Street! We weren't sure which one it was, so Laura and I struck a pose on a stoop that could have been SJP's. However, since no one from her security detail kicked us off the front porch, it probably wasn't her house.

I gotta say, it was a pretty sweet (and pricey!) little neighborhood. A one bedroom in this 'hood reportedly goes for about $950,000!

It's amazing how close things are together in NYC! Our tour took us the short distance from Carrie & SJP's neighborhood to the sex shop where Charlotte bought her vibrating rabbit. There were plenty of unmentionables and we were a bit wary of the sticker shock for Charlotte's toy...a good time with it will run you about $70!

Just down the street from the sex shop was the small, but beautiful garden (again, it's all about location in NYC) where Steve and Miranda finally tied the knot in season 6. The garden is tucked away, but surrounded by gorgeous flowers, narrow paths and tons of snug little benches perfect for curling up with a good book. Ironic thing about the park though...you can't actually be on the grass and weddings aren't allowed to be held there.

Oh, to walk in Carrie's shoes!

Finding Family Ties Far From Home

As a kid, I completely idolized my cousin Kari! Only three years older, Kari and I would spend summers together at our grandmother's house in Piggott, Arkansas, gobbling down Sonic burgers after a day at the public pool. Kari was always so much fun and thankfully, never minded playing with her younger, geeky and completely envious cousin.

Kari was sort of a nomad growing up...she's lived in Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Ohio and New York! Over the years, we've managed to keep up, no matter what the zip code or the time zone.

All that traveling must have stuck with Kari because she had no trouble landing a job as a professional jet setter. Working as a flight attendant for Continental Express Airlines, she met her husband, pilot Michael Panebianco...who hails from Chittenango Falls, NY! Kari's since retired from slinging drinks in the friendly skies and now lives in Ponce Inlet, Florida with Mikey and their two sons, Anthony and Jack.

Since summer in the South is such a sizzling scorcher (like the alliteration?) Kari spends most of her summer with her in-laws up here in New York. We managed to rendezvous this year on Lake George in Bolton Landing, NY at the beautiful Sagamore Resort...y'all have to check it out sometime, it's amazing!

It was a reunion almost nine years coming! With lives in different time zones, it's been hard to see each other over the years. But keeping up has never been an issue thanks to long phone calls, emails and Facebook.

It's just been a while since we've had a chance to pose for a picture together!

Which is a tragedy, especially for a family that's as photogenic as this...