Coffee Shop Families

I am a frequent frequenter of coffee shops. I work, drink coffee, make friends, procrastinate and make discoveries in them. My favorite coffee shop of all time, ever in the history of coffee shops, the be-all-end-all of coffee shop awesomeness is The Little Bird.

The coffee was as delicious as Abraco's but it had something, well, lots of things more. The counter was as comfy as my mom's kitchen, and the relationships and conversations on both sides of it were warm, genuine and lasting. The staff and regulars are still in touch even though the shop's been closed six months and some have moved away. Also, the food. Holy hell, best salads and sandwiches ever!

Since the Bird, Jo, its founder, started a blog to share her amazing vegan recipes. I used to get out of bed and go for a run, the whole time CRAVING her Cucumber Avocado sandwich (with a giant iced coffee and Oatmeal Jam cookie)!

After today's 8 miles around the tip of Manhattan, I was craving Jo's Rainbow Quinoa Salad, so, I tried my hand at one:



It was delicious! I don't have quite the touch she does, and could really use a Vegan Treat and Tea Latte to wash it down... The Little Bird lives on!

Rollin' Around

Went for a morning run with the dogs (sans iPhone); it was gorgeous. The day continued to get more gorgeous, and after a few hours of putzing in the park and wiggling around at the Loisaida Festival (by wiggling I mean awkwardly dancing to the Carribbean beats of Ave C's, aka Loisaida's, Puerto Rican parade), I headed back to the East River on my newly constructed and totally beautiful skateboard (technically, a longboard).



Rollin' around on that thing is NOT easy! This was the longest cruise I've made since learning to ride, and, I gotta say, I'm a little sore.

The board itself is custom. Zach from Project Green Skate constructed the deck and I prettified it with my crafting skillz. (See photos of it in progress here.)

My new addiction: GraFighters.

I met the extremely talented GraFighters guys at TechCrunch and we became instant BFFs. Here's why:



Yes, that is the EBA Ostrich opening up a can of whoop-ass on that poor panda.

TechCrunch DISRUPT: Battlefield

I have not been running. I mean, I ran today, but all last week, nada. Why? Because I was at TechCrunch Disrupt unveiling the Everything Butt Art iPad app and web experience in Start-Up Battlefield with our CEO and founder, Brian, and CTO and co-founder, Dave. It was a huge compliment to even be there, let alone present in Battlefield (thanks, TechCrunch!)...

Here's the EBA Ostrich on stage:



Oh, look! A link to Brian's kick-ass presentation at Disrupt!

Inspired by a Muddy Shoe

Aight. Running the Apple is back.

Shortly after my last post, I moved to the East Village... not far down the street from that amazing coffee place! (Score!) My two dogs moved with me, and now, I get to run with them instead of my iPhone. Hence, the year-long death of this blog. (Oooh! Zombie blog!)

Most of my running happens along the same gorgeous route along the East River, sometimes over one of the bridges and back, sometimes around the tip of the island and up the west side along the Hudson... In any case, in true New York circumstance, the same-ish route continually surprises me with unique experiences. For instance, this muddy shoe.



This muddy shoe... Its just brilliant! I spent the next 8 miles (well, maybe not all 8, but at least 3) imagining the fisherman who dredged it up's reaction. Was he just annoyed? Did he think it was as silly as I did? I hope he got a good chuckle in over it. Anyway, the muddy shoe inspired the return to Running the Apple. (Manu, I hope you're as excited as I am!)