Snow falls in Washington Heights (Feb. 25)


This is the side of my neighborhood that I don't talk about much



Shoveled sidewalks




The Morris-Jumel Mansion blends into the background after our most-recent snowfall.

Cola-Flavored Slurpee World

The night before Valentine's Day New York was treated to a nice little snowstorm. Perhaps you heard about it...or at least the fallout regarding JetBlue's response to it. Anyway, I wasn't too excited about it, mostly because thanks to the Subway I don't get a snow day. If I still lived in Seattle, I would be staying home from work for sure. Instead I had to tromp around in the muck. Oh yes, I mean muck. I used to love the snow when it falls because it makes everything all pretty. Not so much in the city. As soon as those pretty white flakes hit the pavement they turn brown or sometimes yellow. OK, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but sidewalks and streets don't stay empty long enough for the pristine joy of a fresh snowfall. The ensuing slush quickly turns brown (or yellow) and not so pretty. It also makes cola-flavored slurpees seem less appetizing.

The snow has made me miss my car. Luckily I bought snow boots just in time. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to buy any; snow boots are not cheap and they are basically ugly. I looked at a lot of boots but didn't really love any of them. Since New York was not getting any snow I was certain I wouldn't need any. Then it got very, very cold and two pairs of tights were not keeping my little legs warm. So I broke down and visited the 70%-ff sale at Shoe Mania, my favorite shoe store. I've gotten good deals there.

I didn't have much dinero for the purchase, but I found a black pair of Timberlands with a bit of faux-fur trim (although according to the news, my fur trim may be doggy fur). I really was hoping to avoid shearling and fur trim, but that was pretty much impossible because all the boots at the store where either Uggs, wannabee Uggs, fur-trimmed, extremely out of my price change, or just downright matronly. So I found my little boots. Sceptically, I tried on the boots. I looked at them in the mirror, walked around, but I was still unsure. What helped me purchase them? Well, a nice guy came up and said that he totally dug the ghetto Timberland boots matched with my totally punk fishnet stockings. I did not realize I was rocking a ghetto-punk look. (I guess since that is my typical look, I forget that I am just that cool...kidding). So of course I bought them.

My boots totally fit in my neighborhood, too. Well my boots do for sure, but a white girl in Timberlands creates a bit of a stir. I get a lot of stares when I walk around in them. No matter, they are keeping my feet and legs warm which is only slightly more important than how they look...just a smidgeon. The above picture does not really do them justice.

Can I do that...please?

I am home sick today, and to entertain myself I am watching Red Carpet footage from last night's Academy Awards. There were some fabulous dresses last night. Reese Witherspoon, Kate Winslet and Rachel Weiss looked amazing...as usual.

Anyway, the best part of the coverage? The Rembrandt toothpaste commercial that has a nice close up view of a couple kissing. I am embarrassed to admit that I will rewind it to watch it over and over again. (I love my DVR.) My wish for 2007 is to find a boy and recreate the commercial. As soon as it is time to buy new toothpaste I will purchase Rembrandt. (That is effective advertising!) If you have no clue to which commercial I am referring, I suggest you check it out on the company website or YouTube. I am sure there is a way to post it in the blog. Maybe someone can show me how.

Random entry, I know. Maybe it is the fever talking.

This summer at the Today Show. For some reason I look kind of chubby.

Art Deco decor at Rockefeller Center

The West Village: one of those when-I-grow-up-I-want-to-live-there neighborhoods

The Flatiron Building; thus called because it is flat

Bleeker Street, or the well-traveled road to Magnolia Bakery

Duh, the Empire State Building

A bank? A Museum? No, just Balducci's grocery store

Christopher Columbus getting dizzy watching the taxis drive in circles at Columbus Circle

Just a few reasons to come visit me!

Rosebud? The New Tower at the Hearst Building


The Original Six Floors of the Famous Hearst Building. These floors are a historical landmark and the exterior could not be remodeled

When I was a sophmore at BYU, I wanted to work at a magazine. That's why I started to study Communications. (That was the minor that accompanied my French major.) At the time I wanted to write the stories featured in magazines. Little did I know then that the people whe write in magazines are generally freelancers. I guess there is still time for that little dream, but I'm really not pursuing it at this time.

In Public Relations, however, I can kind of live this dream because part of my job is to get my clients into magazines. Case in point: this summer I spent a lot of time getting Rubbermaid products into magazines like O, Family Circle, Woman's Day, Real Simple, and Good Housekeeping. For the most part my job consists of calling up editors and selling them on the highlights of sundry Rubbermaid products. In July, however, we held a press event and invited important editors to look at Rubbermaid's new line of antimicrobial sinkware (i.e. dishdrainers, etc.). It was a fun project finding venues, putting swag bags together, and going to dinner with the spokespeople (Linda Koopersmith, Beverly Hills Organizer and Joan Kohn of HGTV). We had a good turnout at the event and several magazines were interested in putting the products somewhere in their magazines. Good Housekeeping was interested for other reasons: they wanted the products for the brand new test kitchens at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. You know, the people that hand out the seal of approval? I think it is pretty cool.

After everything was all situated at the Hearst Building, Carolyn Forte, director of the cleaning product/appliances section, invited me and a colleague to tour the new facility. Happily, we set a date for after the holidays. I had never been to the Hearst building before, and I was very excited. It is hard to go to these buildings; the security is generally pretty tight. Someone in my office has said on many occasions that the Conde Nast building (publisher of Vogue) is more secure than Fort Knox. The security in these buildings makes PR work a little difficult because we can't just drop by and present stuff to editors. We will usually have to make appointments, have our names on guest lists, and carry seven different types of ID... Thus, an invitation to the Hearst Building is quite a big affair. (FYI, Hearst also publishes Esquire, O, Southern Living, etc.)

The Hearst building was recently renovated, and it has many neat, state of the art features like their fancy elevators. Instead of the typical elevator setup with the up/down buttons in the corridor and the button panel on the inside, each floor has a kiosk where you punch in the floor you want and it tells you which elevator to take. This is very fast and efficient, and way cool. Although out of habit, I felt like I needed to push a button inside the elevator.

After my coworker Shennell and I were wisked up to the Test Kitchens, our hostess Carolyn gave us a tour of the facility. They test pretty much everything up there. But most specifically, they test everything they advertise in their magazines (except perhaps for prescription drugs.) But if a specific cleaning product claims something special about their product, they make sure that the company is not lying. I think it is pretty neat.

Our Rubbermaid products looked very happy in their new environment helping Carolin test dishwashers and dish detergent. I didn't include pictures because they have strict rules about that. You will just have to trust me that they are there and thriving in their new home.

I also made some good contacts in case I ever feel like writing for a magazine. But in the meantime, I will just use this blog as a writing outlet.