The Summer's Golden Ticket

The hottest ticket around town come summer in New York City is Shakespeare in the Park. I've tried for YEARS to go and never been lucky enough to get the golden ticket.
If you didn't know, New York is one of the best places for culturing one's self.
Between art galleries & exhibits, the theater, museums, concerts, the ballet, operas, symphonies, fashion, and more of the same... Culture out the wazoo.
And in the summer especially, New Yorkers get blessed with the option of about a million FREE exciting events.
The hippiest of hipsters, the old fogies, students, young professionals, tourists, the rich and the poor alike all jump at the chance for free tickets to Shakespeare in the Park.
People camp outside the theater (located in Central Park) and enter the virtual and real-life lotteries to win. Only the most fancy and connected people have predetermined seats each year and the rest of us fight and claw to the death at the chance to see just one performance in our New York lifetime.

I, along with almost all of my friends, have spent our summers entering the virtual line to no avail. This year, after 5 summers of trying, my Lu finally won 2 tickets for the summer's first show, "As You Like It."

And she invited MEEE!!!

We were doubly lucky in that this play happened to be Shakespeare's one and only musical-romantic-comedy of sorts. Can I just say, that IT WAS FANTASTIC!!! The music was unbelievable and the weather was perfect. I had never realized that the theater was right in front of the Belvedere Castle and that watching the sun set over the park and castle in the distance could be so magical!
I wish every summer night was like this night.

I am gushing and babbling like an idiot, but Laura wrote a actual read-worthy post on it HERE.
No pictures were allowed in the theater, but I snuck a few - hence the poor quality.

My girlfriends and I love to match.

To be or not to be mint green?

To be.

"All the world's a stage..."

and this picture does that stage no justice. Whatsoever.

So glad Laura won the golden ticket!
And so SO glad that I could be her Grandpa Joe!
Thanks Lu!

Still SO much summer to catch up on...
Love,
~Kare*

Beached Shark

After such a successful first round at Long Beach, why stop there?

The very next week, Sandra, Brooke, and I headed out for a 2nd attempt at a little vitamin D. Although the girl talk was enough to make the trip more than worth it, we were sorely disappointed with the weather. It was cold and windy and I barely lasted an hour without giving into the hoodie I'd fortunately stolen from Kent's dirty close hamper that very morning before I headed out.

On Brooke and I's windy trek back to our blanket from the bathroom, I heard, "Karrie?!"

I was so surprised and excited to see that there, sitting only 12ft from our own blanket, was Reagan and her brother and sister-in-law!
Seriously, it's impossible to go to the beach and not run into people! Sandra teases that's it's just me and that even in Long Island I can't NOT run into someone I know, but it's only partly true. I'm still surprised that Reags and I had not discussed our weekend plans previously (as we usually do) so that I could've at least been on the look out for her. Instead, she totally caught be off guard.

Looks like they were just as cold as me.

Sitting just one blanket over from the girls and I was this chick. Oooh this chick. She was sitting all by herself, with a towel and a digital point-and-shoot camera. This party for 1 was not just relaxing on the beach like most of us do solo, no. She had decided to use her time wisely (?) and be productive while soaking up her rays. She was incessantly taking self portraits with her camera's timer and it was more than distracting.
We're talking probably 100 photos.
Just of her. In different random positions. Like we all do, no?
Um. No!...
Laying on her side.
Facing the camera.
Facing the water.
Indian style.
Standing with her back to the camera.
Sitting on her knees.
Propped up on her elbows, eyes opened.
propped up on her elbows, eyes closed.

Even with all this self-portrait-victoria-secret-glamour-shot-ing, I was more fixated on her tattoo than anything. The term "beached shark" kept popping into my head and making me laugh. Not because beached sharks (aka dying sharks) are funny, because that's just sad, but because... I don't know. It's like beached whale... but not.
Just trust me, it's funny.
Anyway I joined in on the photo shoot from a distance.

And I would never laugh if I saw an actual beached shark because one, I don't like dying animals and two I'd be afraid he was faking. Just to get a bite of me. I'd be sympathetic and mournful, but from a very safe distance.

Love,
Legs -without any shark tattoos (or otherwise)*

Start of summer 2012: Summer of Champions

So back to blogging... for now.

I have seriously been having one of the most fantastic summers ever and I haven't had even a moment to blog about it... until today. And I only have a minute, so let's go!

I've been on the go all summer - beach, boat, park, back and forth from home a few times, a Kerny visit - and I have honestly loved every minute of it!

We'll start with a lazy day at Long Beach.

On the first beach day of the summer, we headed out with the entire crew. Yelz, Diddz, Nicolette, Sandra, Kent, Connor, and Myself.

It was a little chilly and slightly overcast, but somehow, within minutes, I had 2nd degree burns all over the backs of my legs and back. Regardless, it was relaxing and fun to all be together. After a few hours, Diddy points out that the girl laying just 5 ft in front of us "looks like Judy" and I squeal, "Because IT IS JUDY!!!"

Once we had rearranged blankets and towels, we were happy to have Judy and girlfriend Keisha join our beach party. We called and ordered our fish tacos (because you can order delivery everywhere in New York, even on the beaches) and then headed back into the city for clean up and a night out... But not before entertaining the crew with Yelzie's controversial current read (at the time). I'll bet you already have a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about, but if not, the picture will tell it all.

Sandra believes in safety first. Especially for the first beach day of the summer.

My Yelzy and her hand picked presents for everyone. Shells.

Please do not discard of shells given to you by Yelena on the beach; for she will hound you until you retrieve it and who knows how far, in that time lapse, it could have gotten from your sheet and how deeply it could have become re-submerged on seemingly it's own doing. 

Also, it just hurts her feelings. 

Like you wouldn't believe.

June-Bug calls this little creation a "jacuzzi."

I call it a ditch.

I call this image, "Me and my shadow...

And my reflection.

And my copy cat."

Who wears short shorts? 

Bet you didn't know that Connor wears short shorts.

But now you do.

And I bet you're not surprised.

My twin brother. 

From another mother.

In case you guys have never noticed, we all kind of love each other...

A lot.

We're lucky I guess.

 On the next first beach day, I need to take a few leads from Sandra.

The embarrassing burn stripe.

And yes, I'm always bruised.

That's why they call me peaches. 

And by they, I mean one person.

Let me just decode these facial expressions for you.

Connor = interest.

Diddy = shock.

Kent = utter confusion.

NOW can you figure out what they're reading?

(50 Shades of Grey in case you've been buried under a rock for the last few months)

Meanwhile, the innocent are busy making fishtails and fishy-faces.

Later than night, we talked (more like yelled) and laughed (more like wailed) over dinner and wine at the neighborhood hot spot, ABV, where Connor proceeded to list to us his top 10 favorite birds from most favorite to least and why.

Our favorite was #6, the rock dove. AKA the "rat of the sky." AKA the common pigeon. 

We should've known he was yanking us, but his knowledge of random bird facts made it astonishingly believable.

By the way, the blonde is Nico (lette - Diddy's cousin visiting from Cali).

I was 50 shades of RED

until my skin peeled off in sheets!

SHEETS!

The rest of my summer and caught be up to a nice crispy golden brown... for now.

Love,

~Legs*

(and their previous top layer of skin)