Posts categorized as Events

Last week my friend and I mustered up all of our courage and actually left the peninsula. As we all know, it’s so hard to do during the high season. Mind you, this was a Wednesday, not a weekend (that would be absurd). Meredith and I have both been eager to go to the KUSAMA: COSMIC NATURE exhibit at the New York Botanical Gardens. I actually saw some of Yayoi Kusama’s work randomly at the Nassau County Museum when I was visiting my sister during the winter. I fell in […]

This past Sunday I attended a sweet event choreographed and performed by Michelle Amara Micca. It was held at the handball court on 77th Street. I didn’t quite know what to expect when I arrived. There were four stations set up with coolers, ice cream, cones and sprinkles. Micca (she goes by her last name) sat in a chair. The music began. After about 30 seconds, an audience member made an ice cream cone, walked up to her and put it upside down on her head. She slowly got out […]

I often click “Interested” for Facebook events that pop up in my feed but I don’t often end up going. A few weeks back I saw an event at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge – The Controversial Legacy of Robert Moses. I’m intrigued by Robert Moses and I’ve been meaning to walk the trails at the refuge this summer but hadn’t yet. Sunday morning rolled around and the house was a mess, but instead of doing the pile of dishes in the sink and sweeping the never-ending accumulation of cat […]

Previously published in The Wave. In some ways, I’m a “basic” Long Island chick. I played lacrosse in high school. I love Billy Joel. I’m into Botox. But it may surprise you to learn that I’m also a Trekker. (Not a Trekkie. If you don’t know, don’t ask.) My husband essentially forced me to watch the show back when we were dating. He would come over with Star Trek DVDs. We started with the original series but then jumped to Deep Space Nine, which Matt thought was a better introduction […]

Since I wrote about my mother’s fall two weeks ago, the streak of strange events has continued. My mother was out of critical care and on the mend, so Matt and I decided not to cancel our birthday vacation to Jamaica. The day before we were leaving, I pulled out our passports and Matt’s was expired. I couldn’t believe it. I was so annoyed and upset. With all the commotion surrounding my mother’s injury, I neglected to get our travel plans in order. I started to freak out. Matt told […]

The first sewing class I attended at  The Studio Phantasmagoria was not what I expected. I walked in and studio co-owner Jackii Ramis told the students to take a seat and relax. “Do you want some tea?”  “Yes!” We all practically said in unison. Already my concern about having know clue how to sew dissipated. Jackii passed out booklets and we  flipped through as the tea steeped. We reviewed the basics, discussed our pencil skirt pattern design and outlined what we would accomplish in each class. After taking our measurements […]

A month ago, my friend Jodi and I went to the Rock-a-Block Blvd. Street festival hosted by the Rockaway Business Alliance. This event is great because it gives you an opportunity to chat with neighbors, meet business owners and stroll into stores you don’t normally visit. Since The Studio Phantasmagoria opened last spring, I’ve been curious to check it out. “What’s going on in there? Let’s go in!”  I said to Jodi. It felt whimsical, fresh and inspiring as we stepped through the doorway. I saw delicately dyed clothing, thoughtfully […]

Glory #1: I receive a text message of a screenshot from my housemate Olga. The photo was of ME ON GOOGLE MAPS!!!! I immediately posted it to Instagram and Facebook and then sent it to my family. To be captured on Google Maps is a huge deal and everyone on social media was congratulating me. I was overjoyed! I didn’t get much work done that day. I keep refreshing my Instagram (@theglorifiedtomato) to see how many more likes were accruing. In the photo, the garden is voluptuously overgrowing and the […]

The Beach 91st Street Garden will be hosting a FREE yoga glass. Everyone is welcome. Please bring your own mat (there will be a few extras just incase someone doesn’t have one) Bring water, wear comfortable clothing and please let us know if there are any injuries or anything the instructor should be aware of. They kindly ask before class if you are not a garden member to fill out a waiver. If anyone would like to donate to the garden you may on the day of the event or here: https://www.gofundme.com/b91garden […]

Previously published in The Wave. I’ve driven through Staten Island dozens of times but only put my feet on the pavement 5 times – twice for Denino’s pizza, once for a Cystic Fibrosis walk, once for a book reading and the last time was recently, to see a concert. My mother’s favorite group Home Free was playing at the St. George Theater. We were totally excited for the show and hadn’t even thought about the other fun activities in store for us. I have to confess that I kinda like […]