moments & memories

from recent travels to my two favorite cities:

New York City

• witnessing Jill as the last person on our flight to NYC, then witnessing myself as the last person on my flight outta NYC ;-) 

• immediately touching down and finding the most bomb Texas BBQ @ Hill Country BBQ in Chelsea

• Billy Joel's final concert in residency at Madison Square Garden. Axl Rose, Jimmy Fallon, and Billy's little daughters all making appearances

• Jill running through the seats at MSG finding free Billy Joel collector cups for us

• ten dollar bootleg Billy Joel concert tees outside MSG

• walking an insanely steep and long flight of stairs in and outta a dive bar with Jill and discovering my astounding knee pain 

• obsessing over all the toasted savory and sweet bagels w/ fun cream cheese options (rainbow sprinkles! walnuts! veggies!) at Bagel Pub 

• Jill and I drinking and conversing with an adorable pair of awesome dudes at Jake's Saloon in Chelsea 

• a cozy stay at Pod Hotel Williamsburg watching Paris Olympics and not totally vibing with the toilet located inside the shower...it was a Toto toilet so it was slightly acceptable

• the best falafel gyro and mozzarella sticks from a street food vendor in Herald Square

• a hot, sticky, historical stroll through Green-Wood cemetery in BK with Carly & Jill followed by frozen margs at an outdoor bar 

• french onion soup and ginger beer at Sweetwater 

• AC and spot-on horoscopes at Oslo Coffee

• purchasing a vintage Matisse and NYC Subway poster at Artists & Fleas and then 20 minutes later leaving them in a store for 3 hours. came back and they were still there!

• Jill forcing me to see Friends the Musical Parody at Jerry Orbach Theatre despite never seeing an episode. this show has a solid Monica impersonator! 

• meeting the lovely and inspiring Pixarian Deanna Marsigliese at NYPL followed by drinks at the classy Campbell Apartment in Grand Central, then a fun shopping stroll through Koreatown eyeing press-on nail bling

• doing a much-needed load of laundry at my local laundromat off Grand Ave in Williamsburg, while stopping at Femme Fontaine for a spritz and deejay beats with a few femmes

• the tastiest chopped salad at Elder Greene in Greenpoint BK with Tricia. Then getting the flu shortly after...

• happening upon fresh-squeezed tangerine juice made by an adorable husband and wife on a Williamsburg street corner just as my flu was starting 

• swimming in a sudden storm on the TWA Hotel rooftop while geeking out watching A380s land and takeoff at JFK

• next NYC visit: Patzeria Perfect Pizza in Theatre District, Milk Bar for a toasted pink lemonade bar, text Tony Danza for another Manhattan meetup 

Reykjavík

• the ease of taking the FlyBus from KEF (Iceland) to local spots in downtown Reykjavík for thirty bucks. meeting Dori at her cute lil boutique hotel Local 101 and gobbling down her heavenly homemade croissants 

• discovering the beauty and serenity of Vesturbær & old Reykjavík neighborhoods

• coffee table chats, laughs, and snacks with Dori & her sweet & jolly boyfriend Olí

• the beautiful vintage light fixtures inside Dori's apartment

• Freya the Icelandic Magic Softie Kitty, jumping on my shoulders and cuddling with me while I was deliriously ill at Dori's 

• swiss mokkas at Kaffi Brennslan and Kaffihús Vesturbæjar

• hours spent at Vesturbæjarlaug trying to cure my illness inside the geothermal pools and steam room

• veggie burger, fries, and Applesín (Iceland's iconic orange soda) at the cute burger stand outside Vestur pool 

• an hour spent at Verzlanahöllin thrift store, came out with a few gems: a purple vintage ESPRIT button down, Billi Bi - Copenhagen chunky black loafers with gum soles, a 90s denim vest, a dog toy

• the most necessary and comforting minestrone soup served in a kettle with fresh bread n butter at Café Rosenberg 

• the soothing shapes & colors inside Hallgrímskirkja and its grand organ

• a rainy afternoon meeting Dori's friend Andrea at her custom jewelry shop, Andrea Ellen Jewelry on Laugavegur street. we met a couple shopping in the store who sailed from Greenland to Iceland for twenty days straight...according to their experience: no thank you

• the unmanned waterslide in Alftanes and riding it a dozen times

• treating Dori to a memorable meal at Fjallkonan: candy floss boss cocktail and hummus tower!

• shopping for snacks n souvies at Nettó with Dori. a few favorite finds: Nivea Wonderbar facial cleansing soap, Labello strawberry shine lip balm, Rís candy bars (basically KIX cereal in chocolate), Squashies chewy candies, bags of Smash! (basically chocolate covered Bugles)

• dinner n drinks with my Icelandic viking sisters Lóa and Ásgerdur at Snaps Bistro, catching up after a few years gone by...LoaLand loving her NYC souvenir. "Showshashay" to my unicorns! 

• next Iceland visit: housesit for Andrea while she's on holiday, hang with Dori & Olí and possibly convince them to take me to Vestmannaeyjar ;-) 

soundtrack of my travels:

Controversy by Prince

You May Be Right by Billy Joel 
Wish I Never by Kehlani

How Long Do I Have To Wait for You? by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Uptown Girl by Billy Joel

Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter

Lost on You by LP (and thinking it was Gwen Stefani haha)

Lovely Day and Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers 

Dreams by Fleetwood Mac 

All I Want by Toad the Wet Sprocket (such an early 90s classic!)

Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too by New Radicals (haters gonna hate)

Theme from "A Summer Place" by Percy Faith

small steps

 

this week feels like starting over. a twenty year career at Pixar officially in the books. recent travels to my favorite cities (NYC and Reykjavík) complete. 

i've been making a not-so-productive habit of living on my couch, sitting with discomfort and dread about my future. for the first time in my adult life, I have no work, no purpose, no plan. both terrifying and thrilling. 

i spent most of last week sleeping midday, suffering from an array of anxiety dreams about former co-workers in an alternate-universe Pixar. then there was the appearance of a narcissistic friend i ghosted a few years ago. my car ran away with itself and i darted through an abandoned 80s-era McDonald's to try to catch it. 

in a fit of fight-flight-freeze, i decluttered a handful of drawers and cupboards and reorged my life into stylish acrylic bins to feel accomplished. the high from this activity was fleeting, so i started agonizing over switching medical plans and paying a monthly premium now. i ruminated over making a new guy friend and then blowing off plans with him because i was too afraid to lead him on. 

books have been a source of calm and inspiration during this new transition. i've had time to read a few of the many female celebrity tell-alls sitting on my shelf: Emily Ratajkowski's My Body (raw & revealing, literally). Elliot Page's Pageboy: A Memoir (intense read, Elliot doesn't write their story chronologically which engages the reader even more). and my favorite, This Will Only Hurt A Little by Busy Phillips (love her comedic voice and friendships with Hwood elite).

reading Busy's book made me reflect on my own personal relations with celebrities...or what my friend Jill calls "Hwood Adjacent". that will for sure be the title of my tell-all. i've found myself visiting a lot of celebrity homes in this lifetime and collecting silly memories: 

Tony Danza (barber shop n beers, "the brush") / Holland Taylor (Jim, being sixteen, A Bug's Life VW bug, the stained glass window) / Ed Asner (the backyard cat fight, MJ's death, endless Emmy awards peppered throughout the house, the replica Jeannie bottle on his desk) / Vicki Lawrence (the many escapades with her son, G Bucket and their Halloween bucket) / Tommy Smothers (learning how to boil broccoli at the ranch, meeting Tim Conway in the kitchen). i've also walked the beloved dogs of Howard Stern (bulldog Bianca) and Shirley MacLaine (rat terrier Terry). 

i've managed to start and stick to a new hobby thanks to my close Long Beach friend, G Bucket. i've been consistently putting on a bathing suit (despite my ghost-white legs and Birkenstock tan) and submerging myself into the bay down the street. G and i don't even worry about the temperature of the bay. without hesitation, we power through our entrance into the water, our bodies adapting to the cold almost immediately. sea water is very comforting, like a healing blanket. dense saltwater carries the body so effortlessly...like floating on a gentle cloud through calming, tepid water.

small steps right now for Kelly B. small, gentle steps that will eventually lead to the next big thing that brings back her childlike wonder and creativity, purpose, joy, and most importantly, humor.

currently listening to: Sailing by Christopher Cross