The wonderfulness of our immediate neighborhood

Just got back from the AMC Empire 25 which is a huge movie complex two blocks from our apartment. LOVE IT!!! We saw a double header, True Grit and The King's Speech. Both very well done, the King's Speech is a deeper and more meaningful film we thought.  Overall, we still thought Blue Valentine was the best of the three which is saying a lot because all three are likely to be nominated for various film awards and the acting was compelling in all of them. Next week we are hoping to see White Material and Biutiful. Neither are playing nearby so we will venture south to the West Village to see these two.  The other thing that was rather fun this past week and totally upped my feelings of loyalty for our Times Square neighborhood was that I went post Christmas shopping at the Port Authority Bus Terminal just a block from our apartment. I picked up a $5 black pashmina that Kelly wanted, new heavier stocking caps for me and Bob (also $5 bucks each), and a new purse for me (a bit more than $5 but not much).  Bob finally found a beautiful black leather bag at Hugo Boss (on sale!) when we were coming back from the Park Avenue Armory exhibit and stopping for a bite to eat at Columbus Circle on Tuesday night.  The convenience of finding all these carts in one place at the Port Authority Bus Terminal was quite a nice discovery. For those who have not been to NYC, specialized carts for purses, stocking caps, and pashminas are RAMPANT in this city--it was just cool to have them all lined up in one place and just one block from our apartment. Obviously it doesn't take much to impress me ; >.

Interesting advantage of getting previous tenants' mail.  Some previous tenant was mailed a gift certificate from Starbucks for a free coffee for her birthday. So for a brief few minutes today I was Becky while a Starbuck barista prepared a grande latte and called out "my" name.  Bob and I were laughing because I almost blew it when they asked for my name to write on the cup for pick up. So Happy Birthday Becky wherever you may be and thanks for the latte!  Next time make sure you set up a good forwarding address system.

It was supposed to snow a fair amount these last couple of days but nothing really happened. Supposedly substantial snow by Tuesday and up to four inches tonight. We shall see. West Coast family and friends have been really sweet in sharing their concerns about whether we are keeping warm enough with the weather here but really, though the temps are in the high 20's and low 30's, it doesn't really feel that cold to me. I think being in the midst of my "womanly change of life" (to put it delicately) has worked to my advantage. I am like a little heat generator unto myself. Not really flashes, just ongoing higher core body temp. Lucky for me it's good timing for the season. Okay enough posting in the TMI zone. Tomorrow Blue Hill at Stone Barn Farm. I hope if it does snow it doesn't stick so the roads are clear for our trip out to the farm.