Sunday August 12

Slept in (was totally cashed out after a busy and HOT Saturday).  Had brunch with Caroline, Kreg, and their friend Gary at Crosstown Diner.  This is the 3rd time I've been there, and it has been great every time!  Ordered blueberry pancakes and coffee and they were delicious!  Gary works for Actors' Equity and knows everything about everything in NYC and I had a good time questioning him about anything and everything.  Not sure he enjoyed the questioning though :)  Learned about Caroline's gig in Boston (crowd of over 7,000!) that went really well, and Kreg's band's gig on Saturday night that also went really well.

Decided on a whim to go into the city to a specialty travel book store--Idlewild Books--to get a book on Sweden.  I got there right before they closed, so I didn't have long, but I LOVED their concept--they have guidebooks, maps, and travel essays, and literary fiction from each country together on the shelf!  Awesome!  I bought a guide to Stockholm and a novel by a Swedish author, which is escaping me at the moment.  Idlewild Books also teaches language classes- I would frequent this place if I lived here!

I love how it is sandwiched between a deli and a hardware store. Chelsea rocks!

Yesterday I was tempted by The Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, but the line is insanely long.  Today, I'm on no schedule, so I stand in line for a strawberry shake.  I am in line for 30 minutes, but it is worth it.  The shake is delish!!!!

The line...

Me, waiting

The reward!

Oh yeah, I walked around the area and went into stores selling all kinds of things- paper products, Japanese notebooks and household items, and Mario Batalli's Eataly!  I'm no foodie, but it was actually extremely cool.  Every grocery item you could ever imagine in different sections of the store, and interspersed throughout are eating "stations" where you can have wine, cheese, or full meals.  It was rather overwhelming--I studied the salt and pepper grinders for quite a long time, and then left without them!  It was all too much!  If I still want them at the end of the week I'll go back and get them, along with specialty salt (you know how much I love's me some salt!)

Home again, called Mom, and went over to Caroline's-we were going to play cards, but ended up watching "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."  We had all seen it before, but it is a great movie, and it takes place in Sweden so I watched with new interest!

To bed very, very late.