Photo Friday: Brooklyn Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving in a tiny apartment is (mostly) fun. Here goes.Swayze tries to help: The kitchen gets crowded: We have a ton of colorful side dishes... And Dave's Grandma Myrtle is a fine head-of-the-table: We also got Grandma on film doing her supercilious eyebrow move, which she says she studied in old movies when she was younger and then taught herself to do in the mirror (I will master this move by 2010. Watch me!). Happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone!

Photo Friday: I Got a Cat!

I won't go crazy posting photos (um, after today) but I had to introduce my new cat Swayze. Yes, he's named after the dearly departed Dirty Dancer.See, he loves books already! And he really likes the kitchen. The glass coffee table is a source of confusion. He sits and waits for Dave to come out of the bedroom. And he sleeps cutely too! So, question for you cat owners out there: Should we get another one? We're thinking about two, so they'll have company when we go away for a weekend. And also because Swayze is totally crazy and energetic, and it might be fun for him to have another cat. Thoughts?

Photo Friday: Martha!

So last week I got to attend a Martha Stewart taping. I highly recommend this. Some pics:Me and my friend Caroline in the studio. Lights! Cameras! Actions! Martha from afar on Anne's iPhone: The glorious SWAG bag (Jamie Oliver book! Wii game! Chocolate! Glitter crafting supplies! Heaven.): And Martha's influence on me, with my unglam crazy hair and apron. I tried to make a lemon meringue pie. The meringue turned out quite lovely, but the filling was a bit too liquid. Oh well, next time. (I am so not a kitchen person. Sigh.) We also got to see Martha interview Sir Ian McKellen (aka Gandolf!) and Naked Chef Jamie Oliver (who is totally hot and also doing some good stuff with his School Dinners program). Happy Friday! PS-Anyone can get Martha tickets. Go here!

Photo Friday: Almost Heaven, West Virginia

Say what you will about West Virginia--I love it! My dad's side of the family goes waaay back in those hills, so sometimes I have to stop by and visit. Here are pics from the October trip:I got a fishing rod. Yes! This is the view from "The Viewhouse," which was known as "The Blue House" when I was younger (and before it was renovated to get this amazing in-the-clouds feel). We rented it for the weekend and loved it. We also got to go kayaking and fishing with our friend Pete, a gentleman artist fisherman. I read for part of the time... Cassie Clare's books rule! Little did we know that these cows, so calmly posing for a photo with Dave, would break out of their fence during dinner at my cousin Molly Moss's house and we'd have to impromptu herd them! F-U-N. Our friend Pete, mentioned above, is an amazing artist who's been making fire paintings. He's having a show in NYC in December, so come if you can! How cool is this? Happy Weekend, everyone!

Photo Friday: Me, Parker Posey and Kayaks

Okay, so last weekend I got to go to this amazing Jonathan Adler charity brunch hosted by the Fred Flare gang. It was to raise money for God's Love We Deliver, and it was a fabulous morning!One: Because of the charity, naturally. Two: Because I got to meet Jonathan Adler, who is delightful and charming and makes amazing homeware (see teacup!). Three: Because I got to meet Parker Posey! She and I had a 30-second long conversation about gum that went like this: PP (putting gum in her mouth): Don't you think gum is getting kind of weird lately? MW: You mean with all the excessive flavor bursting? PP: Yes! And with weird flavors like chocolate mint. MW: Ew. PP: I know, right? Smile, pose for photo with Jonathan Adler that I'd requested. Delightful! I LOVE Parker Posey. It's almost like we starred in Dazed and Confused together now. We're that tight. I wish. Oh, and Dave and I got kayaks and brought them to our apt in Brooklyn (mine is yellow). It was a success! I'm sure we'll use them, um, next spring? Happy Friday!

Photo Friday: Books + Bubbles

So this photo Friday I have two pics. They're both the Young Adult table at my local Barnes and Noble. I love seeing what's out there: Okay, and here's a third photo of Dave blowing bubbles on the Vassar campus when we went to a wedding there last month. Those are his Hollywood sunglasses. Don't forget that all day today, every 15 minutes, there's a new author posting on readergirlz in a Tribute to Teen Read Week! It's insanely fast and I've made it my mission to comment on all of them as they go up. It's great for procrastination. Tonight's chat is amazing. Come hang out at 6pm PST/9pm EST if you're free.

Photo Friday: Honeymoon Part II

I'm going to post a few more Honeymoon photos (yes, I've done this before) and then I won't talk about it again. But we finally got these uploaded, so I had to share. Nova Scotia, people. It's awesome. We like candy, especially when it's in the form of a rainbow ball. This crazy, Hitchcock-esque house was near the first cafe we saw outside of Yarmouth. Dave made me a mini-bouquet. And then he continued his grooming (see the sign--this was my idea of hi-larious). We camped out one night, and Dave was obsessed with his choice of beans. We found a hermit crab on the beach! We made big messes in the cabin where we stayed in Inverness. I got tired of picture-taking in Baddeck. But everything was so darn scenic that we had to. Dave with his giant camera in Cape Breton. Sigh. It was FUN. Happy weekend!

Photo Friday: Violet in ELLE!

Just a fun press hit from France. Yay!Anyone wanna help me translate it? Happy weekend!

Photo Friday: Vancouver Boat Trip!

So you know how I was in Desolation Sound near Vancouver a few weeks ago? Here are some pics from the trip: We took a little floatplane from Seattle to Vancouver (cute dog not included). It was SO. FUN! It landed right next to our friend Tom's father's boat in Desolation Sound... where I promptly settled into my cabin to avoid the rain and read the readergirlz pick for October--The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray! Later, we went kayaking. And then... fishing! First I caught an octopus and a sea anemone (do not ask me how...). Yes, I let both go, of course! And then I caught a Dogfish Shark! I actually caught a couple of them, but I like this shot of me and Dave (I made him unhook and release the shark. I'm not getting near those teeth!). Later, Natalie and I went fishing in big yellow raingear, and we caught major salmon. We ate a fish dinner and then Natalie made gravlox for breakfast! We had a very cool female fishing guide, and the guys called our boat the S.S. Estrogen--we caught the most fish by far. Ha! This was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime trip--it ruled! Hope you guys had some fun travels this summer too. Yes? And Happy Fall!

Photo Friday: Chapel Hill Magazine...

did a really nice page on my wedding.See those bridesmaids? High school friends forever! This might be as exciting as when Sarah Dessen and I were on the cover... almost. Happy Friday!