Juliana Says...

I trekked up to Stratford CT to visit my friend Theresa & her family…. It was supposed to be a “Girls Night” but now that she’s married with an 18-mos. old (Gracie) it’s more like an everyone-and-their-mother-night. Plus, it’s rare that I get to see her if I don’t go up there. Theresa is my extremely generous friend who works for a Broadway producer and is frequently hooking me (& my posse) up with free tickets to shows & premieres... very cool, right? But we don’t usually get to hang much at those events since she’s always working. So, if I want to see her properly, I usually have to make my way up there to do it.

Anyway, I got there mid-afternoon on Saturday by train. I don’t know why, but I love traveling by train – esp. out of Grand Central. I think probably because it reminds me of another era… like in those old B&W movies where train stations were these romantic &/or mysterious places where romantic &/or mysterious things always happened, instead of the smelly & shady places that they really are. Either that or because the motion always puts me to sleep. (Funny enough, the night before I watched Zhou Yu’s Train – about a woman who travels by train 2x week to visit her lover… very beautiful). Anyway, she met me at the station & we went back to her house. She lives in this cute house that doesn’t lack in a single thing: outdoor Jacuzzi, bar, patio… and they just installed an above ground pool & gazebo area! Seriously, it’s crazy. Whenever I visit her, I’m reminded of just how much NOT like an adult I’m living in my 5^th-floor walkup. Anyway, she greeted me with pineapple martinis (which I soon became an expert in making), steaks on the grill & this kick-ass potato salad (it had dill – I love dill). She invited two other couples over & we sat around yapping, drinking pineapple martinis & homemade wine (no joke, one of the guys makes his own – not bad actually) & smoking too many cigs (I always end up wanting a cig when I drink!) By evening’s end the girls & I ended up putting on Catch & Release which Theresa had gone out & bought the day before, unfortunately for her. I don’t know what it is about Jennifer Garner that annoys me so much… I know she’s pretty – and she seriously has a body I’d kill for – but sometimes I think she looks like a guy. She kind of reminds me of the chick from Boys Don’t Cry minus the acting chops… maybe that’s it: she always plays the same type.

I stayed over Theresa’s Saturday night and after waking up at noon (suburbia is wonderful for sleeping in – so quiet) we just hung-out in her yard nursing our hangovers & playing with the baby, Gracie. She is so cute, it’s painful. She’s got the longest eyelashes I've ever seen on a kid – lucky girl will never need mascara! And she’s good too – not one of those kids that needs constant attention. She’s totally my kind of kid – roly-poly, loves bread, makes eyes at everyone & does her own thing!

Afterwards, I went with T to run some errands at Home Depot (I love that place, just wish I had the inclination to do handy stuff around my place), we BBQ’d for lunch (the perks of having an actual yard) & then headed over to her friend Layla’s early evening before I left. Layla is this gorgeous Lebanese-Italian woman with skin & hair to die for (she’s the one that’s married to the Sicilian guy who makes his own wine.) When she wears makeup, no joke, she glows. (Her eyelashes too are super-long, but that is mascara – her secret: Lancome’s Definicils… got to get me some.) Anyway, we hung out in her lovely house (she really did a nice job with the interior design – faux suede finish on the walls – how cool is that??) with the baby for awhile, chatting & having more wine (it was a very boozy weekend) & then I finally headed back on the train. Happily, the train ride was long enough for me to read TWELVE in one sitting – it’s supposed to be this crazy true story about this rich white drug dealer kid in high school & the rich kids he deals to, who end up having a real blow out (literally). I could see it being made into one of those after-school specials (do they even make after-school specials anymore?). If true, it was pretty disturbing… got home late, tried to put my apartment in order (I’m in the midst of trying to rearrange my closets to be able to get to my summer clothes) & went to bed. THE END.