Archive for the Personal Life

Josh and I have been car shopping for about a month. Our last car, Charlie, was a very lovely silver BMW X5.While Charlie was fantastic, we’ve been itching to ‘go green’ when it comes to a car. Not only is our new Prius great for the environment, it’s also got a sleek navigation system, a booming stereo, all kinds of futuristic ’smart’ features and we absolutely LOVE the nerdy-yet-cool look.

Here’s me in the drivers seat. It’s so cool - there’s actually a POWER BUTTON to turn the car on and off instead of a traditional key. I’m sure it will take me a bit to get used to that change!

Here’s me and Josh around the corner from our house in the West Village.

We can’t wait to use the navigation system for some fun

road trips!

Here’s a shot up the mountain in Park City, Utah. Boy was it brrrrrr. cold!

Here we are at a party for the movie “Teeth” with our great friends Caitlin Ward and Rod Hill. Caitlin is such a sweetie…and an award winning costume designer. Her boyfriend Rod is an actor as well…mostly Broadway Theater these days.

Josh on the press line with the cast of ‘Year of The Dog’. From left to right: Peter Sarsgaard, John C. Riely, Tom McCarthy, Josh Pais (my man!), Molly Shannon, Mike White and Regina King.
The movie is wonderful! Heartfelt, funny, and smart… look for it in theaters April 2007.

Here’s Josh and me on Main Street at Sundance doing the ‘long arm’ take-our-own-picture technique.

Finally, here I am with the cast of ‘Teeth’. From left we’ve got Hale, Jessica, Josh, Ash, me and John Hensley up top

(you may recognize him from Nip/Tuck!)

Typical Italian Food Marathon on Christmas! My brother Ronny (left) and his girlfriend Kelli brought enough food for an army. Josh and I did our fair share of cooking as well and had yummy leftovers for a week.

Here’s me and my honey on New Years at Mitchell’s place. Mitchell directed Josh in the upcoming movie “Teeth”. While I won’t spoil the surprise, all can tell you is that you will NEVER believe what this film is about. It’s absolutely WILD - a must see.

Me and my sorority sisters from Seton Hall University. From left to right: Michele, Me, Melissa, Dana, Tracy and Semira celebrating Melissa’s birthday at STK in the Meatpacking District.

What an incredible birthday I had! A morning of spontaneous closet and clothing purging, an afternoon filled with great birthday wishes, a mani/pedi, flowers and shopping. Then to top it off, I had a magical dinner with my honey at the Lever House Restaurant.

They really spoiled us with extra tastings from the kitchen and not one, not two, but THREE delicious desserts from my favorite star pastry chef, Deb Snyder. Deb is not only sweet treat genius but she’s also a good friend and mom-to-be.

If you are ever in NYC and in the mood for top-notch food, drinks and dessert, be sure to make your way over to the Lever House. It will be an experience you’ll never forget.

Thanksgiving this year ROCKED! Josh and I headed down to NJ early and spent the night with my brother Ronny and his girlfriend Kelli. They recently got this amazing old english bulldog named Bentley. Here he is with his favorite holiday chew toy.

Then we headed to my parents house for Thanksgiving dinner and a little early birthday party (My real Bday is on December 7th). My mom and dad are the sweetest, dearest parents in the world. They had these balloons and streamers - it was so frickin’ cute it brought a tear to my eye.

Best of all was having my mom’s famous birthday cake. She makes this incredible buttercream frosting that is to die for. She got the top secret recipe from my great uncle Vinny who owns an old school Italian Bakery called Vaccaro’s in North Jersey.

A few weeks ago at my friend Joe Polish’s Bootcamp in Scottsdale AZ, I had a chance to hang out with my good friends Angie and Ryan and their daughters. Once they learned I’m a dancer, they wanted to learn some moves.

How could anyone resist these cuties?

Here’s Christian, Jordan and Me (left to right) right after a mini-performance in the conference center. One great thing about kids is that they are FEARLESS. After learning a few 8 counts, these girls were ready to show all 5oo attendees!!

Hey, if you want to learn a few moves yourself (in the privacy of your own home of course) be sure to pick up a copy of my Crunch Cardio Dance Blast DVD.

So I just realized that I like to tell you about my favorite goodies and treats (first the warm cookies in AZ, then the coffee and tea at Nike and now Magnolia..)

I must say that one of the benefits of having a healthy lifestyle is the ability to enjoy the occasional treats guilt free!

Anyway - here’s me and my honey Josh in front of Magnolia Bakery, the world famous West Village sweet shop around the corner from our home. This place gets so incredibly busy that they have a doorman and velvet rope on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights (YES a velvet rope!) and a line of eagerly awaiting customers around the corner.

On your next visit to NYC, be sure to stop by. Of course, the cupcakes - which they are known for - rock. But here are two little known gems that they offer most other people don’t know about:

1. The Banana Pudding: Creamy, dreamy vanilla pudding is layered with cream, fresh bananas and nilla wafers. It’s stored in a fridge so the wafers get just the perfect amount of sog. They’ll serve it to you in a coffee cup with a big, plastic spoon. (FYI, I know how to make an AWESOME low fat, guilt free version with less than 1/2 the calories and virtually fat free!…if you want the recipe..let me know)

2. Homemade cookies: At $0.50 a cookie, how can you go wrong? They have a great assortment every day and are perfect for cookie lovers like me who like their cookies soft in the middle. My favorite are the ‘Cracked Sugar’ and ‘Chocolate Chip’. You can also order a glass of milk for the road.

Have fun and be sure to stop if you’re in the hood