Open letter - Feb 1, 2023

Dear Readers and Friends,

First of all, Happy Black History Month :D I will have to think of some movies to watch and books to read. If you have any recommendations, please comment!

I'm writing this week's blog post in a letter format. Why? you might ask. Well for the month of February, one of my goals is to write a letter every day. So maybe me using this post as a letter is cheating? It's getting late, and I wanted to get to work early, so this is how it will be for now. Also, since apparently we can't add photos, this is a good format. You guys know about my love of the analog and the old-fashioned, particularly when it comes to the art of letter-writing. I used to send many more letters, and I do miss it. I like the creativity I can express in this way. I love the personalness of it all. And when you have somewhere to send, it's especially exciting. At this point, I have lots of people I can spread letter cheer to all over the country and the world ?! Thanks to my curious and worldly friends :)

My other main goal for the month is to budget my food spending and not eat out. I've been pretty free with this aspect of spending (if you can't tell from my posts haha). I don't think it's particularly out of hand, but I want to just be more mindful of my spending in general and this is a good place to start. Of course I think it's worthwhile to make the most of my time here, but I still have many more months to do so.

This past week has been pretty calm. NYC is in the midst of winter Restaurant Week. A bunch of restaurants basically have a prix-fixe menu for $30, $45, or $60. It's pricy but restaurants here can be serious business! Also I like the whole operation of the 3 course meal. Last Thursday, I went with Mary and Nicole to an Italian place. Tbh it wasn't the most amazing. But it was still a very fun experience. Otherwise, on Sunday, I went with Kenzie to the Whitney museum. I haven't been to this one yet, so I was happy to explore it a bit. They have a nice exhibit at the moment on Edward Hopper. I, like many others, am a Nighthawks fan. It was cool to see some of his other work. The colors and the surrealism are very touching to me. I particularly liked his theatre focused pieces. :) Pictures next time we can add..... There was also this funny art film called 2 Lizards playing. It was about, well, 2 lizards. But it was like going through the first months of the pandemic in New York. It was a bit jarring honestly to rewatch (even in a silly way) how things went down. It's a time I don't/didn't reflect on too much. The thoughts and memories don't escape me; I do think about them. And since things aren't over, obviously there are constant reminders. But those first few months were really a moment like no other. Anyways, those two lizards got me a little messed up.

I'm looking forward to the days of February. I wonder what Punxsutawney Phil will say tomorrow. Based on how things have been going, I'm guessing an early spring. But lets hope for some proper winter. It's not preferable for me personally. But the weather here is a bit worrisome.... It's been in the 40s I'd say pretty consistently.

Anyways, I'll stop here. Always more to come. Have a good week, everyone! And to all a good night.

Love,

Rachel

PS Wix is letting me upload photos.... so I'm just gonna go ahead :D

[my favorite pieces from Sunday]

[Nighthawks is not on loan for the expo but they did have sketches/studies for it which is also cool]

[I wasn't a fan of the raw egg on the carbonara.... I took my piece before it got all mixed in hahah. The chocolate sphere made us giggle. It was especially silly before they poured the chocolate sauce on top. The pasta was mid honestly, but the desserts were pretty nice]