V Day, P Day, and other holidays in between

Let us see, things have been very busy lately. Work sure does take up a lot of time. Other then that, I have been hanging out with some new friends and family. Last weekend I was at a fantastic dinner party (it amazes me that there are apartments in Manhattan that can accommodate a sit down dinner for 20). My cousin Miriam was in town for a couple of days so she, Esther, and I enjoyed a low key evening of sushi and Larry King Live in Esther's apartment.

Sandy and Terry took me as their guest to the annual Chinese New Year dinner party in Brooklyn. It is hosted by the borough president, Marty Markovitz who is a riot (and loves Brooklyn). The dinner was at Pacificana, a Chinese restaurant located in Sunset Park which is where Brooklyn's Chinatown is. I have never had better Chinese food in my life. The shrimp with honey and cashews was by far my favorite...the plum wine was also nice :) The dinner included dancers, musicians, and a lion dance (where people wear dragon costumes). The gift bags were fun too. We got a back stratcher, slippers, a decoration, and a stuffed mouse (because it is the year of the Rat).

For Valentine's Day I hung out with my friend Josie. We went to try a new nail salon which was great. We got spa pedicures which included a leg massage with honey and manicures. We then had dinner at Serifina, an Italian restaurant in the theater district. We were the only ones in the restaurant who were not on a date, but I don't think either of us cared. We finished the evening by buying ourselves a Valentine’s Day gift at Virgin records in time square.

This weekend Esther and Michael treated Sarah and I to a sisters (plus Mikie) weekend in Florida. It was very nice and relaxing. We hit the gym, went to the beach, an antique and jewelry show in Palm Beach, saw a production of the Odd Couple, had dinner with Esther and Mikie's friends Lee and Lisa, went shopping with Mikie's daughter Stephanie, and finished the weekend by hitting the Boca Raton art museum. It was nice to be in warm weather, wear open toe shoes, and enjoy a couple of stress free days.