Obsessing. Monday, where are you?

I ordered this outfit for Ava from J Crew. I just love online shopping.

So Long, Farewell!!!

Hi Everyone!! It's been a loooong week!!! I had a house guest-Jason Tilmann to be exact- for 7 days! He knows Bobby Flay very well, as they have competed on Iron Chef together. He is on one of the next episodes of Chopped, he started the restaurant in the New York Yankee stadium, He currently consults and is the exec chef for Donatella in NY.

Ok, mom's, you will know how I feel when I tell you: EWWWW!!! I HATE MALE HOUSE GUESTS!!! Its nasty cleaning the bathroom after your HUSBAND, but a stranger!?!?!? Sick. sick. sick. sick. I am the worlds biggest neat freak, OCD, germaphobe, control freak. I just lived through what I consider hell. Also, he broke the knob on my dryer completely off. I now use plyers to turn it on. He spilled a mystery liquid on my carpet and tried to clean it with some cleaner and then "hid" the towel he used for that on the floor in my linen closet. Honestly, do you think Im stupid? I went to visit the restaurant today and all the guys were fighting over who had to take him to the airport!! Thank God I wasnt the only one who felt the way I did.

Besides that annoyance, I had a sweet moment in A Christmas Carol with Ava before we left the theater. It was way too scary for her. I covered her eyes for 10 minutes and realized it was crazy to do so, and left.

Have you ever gone shopping and ran into a chick that has seen your boobs? I havent until yesterday. I was in Anthropologie and saw Sara, the bra fit stylist that sells me all my fab new bras! haha!! It would have been awkward, but she is a doll. I want to hang out with her.

Here's some pictures from the week.

My little baby.....

The one thing Jason did cook. A really wonderful rib eye (yeah, thats real butter in the pan), blue cheese mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach with garlic. Best ever.

Thats Him.....he looks totally different with a chefs hat on.

Hope your week was drama free!! :) Thanks for following, reading, and sharing your stories with me! I love reading everyone's exciting news!!

"The Day After Thanksgiving": Check This Out!!

I am still full and happy from an incredible meal I had today at Lola in Midtown. Its a diner. Bring your kid. Order at the counter. Sit. Be served. Their menu is breakfast, lunch and dinner. You HAVE to go and get this sandwhich. I may be going again tomorrow.

Last Update!!!

This will be my last update post before we open. There is staff training this week, meetings everyday, last bits of construction, etc going on, so its time for Ava and I to stay out of the way. We are anxious to open our doors and were hopeful that this weekend was going to be IT- unfortunately that was not the case. In fact, we had a celebrity chef fly down from NY that is staying with us through Tuesday for the opening that didnt happen. Different post :)

We have tons of reservations already booked, The Grand Opening is supposed to be on the 18th..... but there are lots of variables. I am just waiting to see. Restaurant openings are very unpredictable. Anyway, here are some pictures. The carpet is covered at the moment with plastic to protect it as long as possible. The furniture is obviously not set up and the wine room is almost finished in the back of the restaurant.

See you all soon!

Dear Void, ______

I am a ball of emotions right now, but I am going to try to sort through them and make this a calm version of "how I'm doing".

I have been at odds with my dad lately. I dont know what his motivation is for picking fights, laying on the sarcasm, and being quick tempered. He has asked me within just a 2 day period what the name of our restaurant is called and what Ava's middle name is. I am feeling really really unimportant. I'm feeling like what I am doing and sacrificing is of no importance. I'm feeling like his passive-aggression is not really about me or Rob or Ava or anyone, its about him. I'm wondering WHY its being spued in my direction. Hmm... I think I will write a looooong email and copy my dads side of the family. I just cant tollerate weirdness anymore.

The Rockwood Room will be opening in the near future. Probably not this weekend, but next weekend. It is moving along, but some of the guys are falling out sick. I look at some of these construction workers and wonder what they ACTUALLY DO ALL DAY. Hurry it up!

I'm 99.999% sure I dont want another baby. I dreamed about it last night, I dream about it often, but its because I am scared of something changing the path we are heading down. I am HAPPY! I LOVE that Ava is almost 4! She is so helpful, sharp, well-spoken, well ajusted, well mannered, plays nice with others always, and is my biggest fan! I love that I finally get to fuss over my hair and wardrobe! I really have not "cared" in years. Ava is in school 3 days a week, and when she's with me I am still able to do anything I could possibly want to do with/ for her or for myself. I am perfectly content.

Cant appologize for being human. I am happy, sad, angry, anxious, excited, blessed--me.

Semi-Final Update!

Well, I'm not sure I'm ready to do an update, because so much is happening tomorrow and all the way up until friday. But, I had a few pictures on my camera I wanted to share. I am realizing that showing people bits and pieces of the restaurant as it moves along is only special and pee-your-pants exciting to me! I think everyone would rather see the whole thing. done. ready for customers. But, this is a blog which is German for Diary lol so I am documenting.

Tomorrow the temperature controlled cabinet comes in that will hold the bottles of wine we sell by the glass. They are kept at a certain degree to insure we are serving the best wines at the proper temperatures! Also, the private dining room in the back of the restaurant will be finished in the next day or so. And the gas will be hooked up in the kitchen so the chefs can get back in their groove; grunt work and hide-and-seek with Ava isnt what they really want to be doing. HA!!

We have all the custom lighting in, paint, carpet, wall paper, chains, custom artwork.....we are ready to go! Just need to clean it up and work out the little kinks! The patio will also be nice this time of year! That is another little project in the works. Anyway, I will go up on tuesday probably for some final pictures to post before I call it quits on updates. You will just have to come in and see it for yourselves! And we hope you will! Swing by on Saturday! We should be open! :)

One of the gorgeous light fixtures!! Its so sparkly in person!

Carpet upclose with an Ava on it

This is the host stand

See you this weekend!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Just wanted to get some pictures up on the blog from our fun night! Hope everyone had lots of fun!

xoxo