i have a question.

yesterday a black vespa crossed right in front of me.

i was stepping off the sidewalk and it zipped right by. it was so close i could have reached out and touched it.

and so my question is...

if a black cat crossing your path is an "omen of doom" (yes, one website described it as just that, an "omen of doom")

then a black vespa crossing your path is omen of ...

good tidings?

i'm gonna go with that. after all, you know how i love my vespas.

photo still from Roman Holiday

a fire red vespa. and a dream.

There's a fire red vespa that sits on the corner of 67th and Columbus. I want it. I want to steal it. I won't. But I want to. And this is not an invitation for you to do so either.

But sometimes, in my darkest moments, I dream up ways to surreptitiously flip the kick stand and peel off through the park, hair flying in every direction under the matching red helmet I just happened to have in my bag that morning.

However, if I had been riding my vespa last night instead of walking, would I have missed the gentleman in a suit stealing the tree-sized flowers from the Plaza Hotel's dumpster? Or the young boy practicing racquetball against the giant marble wall outside his doorman-guarded building?

Maybe New York is best seen on foot.

Not to worry, I'll get my vespa when I move to Rome. And all will be well in the world.

image found at this amazing little blog dedicated to scooters

Mint please...

I'm seeing vespas all over the place now. And I just kinda assumed if I were to get one it would be robin's egg blue. That is until I saw this...

Yes please! 

Our very own "Sex and the City" lunch date...

Can you believe in all my trips to the city as a girl growing up, then four years of living here I had never actually been to Bloomingdale's? Though I do remember reading about it in the Babysitters' Club book series (Stacey's father lived so close that she said she could smell it--gosh I wanted to be her when I was a girl!).

Cheersing our gorgeous lives post-college!

The food was delicious--I got the salad, sandwich, fro-yo combo.

We took a lot of pictures. Poor Matthew, our waiter, had his hands full with us.

Vic and I decided we're going to apply for a Fulbright Grant together. Watch out world, we're gonna make a documentary and change the way Americans think about food.

Naomi is as good at taking photos as she is at looking beautiful in them.

Speaking of gorgeous: Carolyn enjoys a little coffee flavored fro-yo.

Double trouble.

My own yogurt before I dig in--so pretty.

It's pretty tasty too.

So yeah, I kinda liked it.

We had a blast. Talked about careers, our lives, skiing, vespas, Utah, boys, living in NYC like tourists, love, becoming clucky (you're gonna have to ask Vic for an accurate definition of this), shifting priorities, and a little more love. Only one thing was missing...

Girl, Chi-town is fantastic, but we need you to complete our circle. Come back!