fairly quiet weekends

I've been pretty bad about posting, sorry - if anyone's even still reading this. (After sitemeter check: just enough to make every day show up separately.) I spend most of my time with Sexy English Boyfriend, & it seems like when I'm actually at my apartment I'm rushing around trying to get stuff done before meeting him. Last weekend we had a double date with my friend Double Trouble (so called because we have the same first name, are very similar in many respects & have slept together) & her sort-of-boyfriend at Del Posto. Yum! We had the prix-fixe menu in the lounge. The calamari, carpaccio, gnocchi, bucatini, & steak were all fantastic. I was expecting it to be a bit overrated but it was even better than we'd heard. Afterwards we went to SE's friend's art showing at Rebel. It was a little weird for me because he's hooked up with her, although after I saw her & realized she was no competition I was all right. Then we were very spontaneous & went to the midnight showing of Blades of Glory (see review). The rest of the weekend was helping SE get stuff done, as well as the Bloc Party concert Saturday. They were pretty good but I prefer their album since it was a little hard to hear in the hall. I took my friend Fledgling Designer (& SE) out to dinner Sunday night since I missed his birthday while I was in Colombia. We had a great time just the three of us at Meskel, a new Ethiopian place in the East Village. It got a great NY Times review, although I wasn't quite as impressed with it. The injera (bread) is a bit sour for my taste - yes I know, it's supposed to be - so I eventually stopped eating it & just had the meat with a fork. That was good, it just got irritating to eat it inside bread with my fingers.

Wednesday I took SE to one of Fashionista's friend's Soho House dinners. The food was all right, not as good as usual. I used to love snobby places & people but am starting to feel how empty stuff like that is. Everyone name-dropping, trying to prove how cool they are, talking about things most of them couldn't possibly have experienced (something like which vintage of Château d'Yquem is better, come on). I guess I am trying to be a more genuine person & this rings a bit false now. Also, F was being an undermining little snake - we have been really good friends but the more I get to know her & the more I grow up, the less I trust her. My distrust has crystallized lately because of her behavior with SE. On her birthday she was overly flirty & touchy with him when I went to the bathroom, to the point of making me suspicious. She seems to have a crush on him, which is not a problem so much as her evident desire to drive a wedge between us. SE & I have talked about it - she's been known to be jealous of me, but this definitely feels like she wants him. Anyway, that night she made several little snide comments calculated to scare him (wedding jokes) or turn me against him. Oddly enough, though I was insanely jealous of him over silly nothings when we first started dating, now that the threat is somewhat real I'm actually quite calm about it. It probably helps that he doesn't like her & finds her unattractive.

The next night was more fun. We went out with Lovely Blonde & her friend Lovely Asian, who incidentally has the crudest potty mouth I've ever heard. She talked about poo a lot. I was covering my ears but couldn't avoid hearing her description of one that she took a picture of & sent to her friends. She's pretty fun, though, I think because her face is so lovely when she's quiet that you can't help liking her. It was also a great night because SE didn't have work, so we could stay out late. We hit up Room Service & Retreat, my promoter friend's new club, & went home quite drunk.

The next morning we luxuriated in bed for hours. We are such sillies sometimes - for some reason he started telling me a story in a ridiculously plummy BBC announcer voice, about Princess [Renaissance Diva] & her meeting some unicorns & dropping too much acid in her youth. It was so cute of him. I love unicorns & being called princess. The rest of that day was low-key, just us enjoying each other.

Saturday we met up with Most Hated Ex-Boyfriend. I am not sure why I agreed to it; I think I wanted MHEB to eat his heart out that not only am I forever out of his reach, I'm even more desirable than when we dated 3 years ago. He was one of those nasty, much older guys who was using me for sex when I thought we were dating. It went ok - he probably texted hi & "let's get coffee" because he wanted to see if I'd fuck him, & behaved quite politely considering I showed up with boyfriend in tow. I haven't heard a peep from him since, which is just as well. After the surprisingly non-awkward brunch, SE & I went shopping in Soho. Varvatos for him - god he looks yummy in their stuff - & some extremely pornographic Agent Provocateur for me. We got the shirt with all the vinyl straps, a tie-side thong, & the Top Hat 1/4 cup bra & thong set in virginal white lace & pink ribbons. The second he saw me try it on he got hard. :) Later that night we hung out with some of his Brit friends, who are all really nice & cool. I've never met anyone with so many friends I whole-heartedly like & approve of. Everyone in his life is genuine & solid & good people. He inspires me to rethink some of my questionable acquaintances.

Sunday was a leisurely day of watching cricket & Easter dinner with Young Entrepreneur's visiting family & some of our close friends. (YE is his flatmate.) It was wonderful but stressful & depressing for me, in that YE's parents are so much nicer than mine that it made me want to cry. I had to go to SE's room for a bit to calm down. He comforted me, though, & I was able to rejoin the party.

This week was quiet. We went to the GenArt film festival with his friend. The movie, Crashing, was all right, a bit too long but an interesting concept. It's about a successful writer who ends up crashing on these two sexy young coeds' couch & writing about them. The novelty is in the way the movie illustrates the writing process by showing all the fits & starts of his imagination. Threeway with the girls - no, unrealistic - sleeping with them one at a time - getting caught snooping by both - only getting caught by one - etc. The girls were the best part. God they were so hot. The scene where they made out, I was ready to climb on top of SE right there. Izabella Miko & Lizzy Caplan, names to remember. They're good actresses too. Afterwards we had dinner at Patsy's across the street, where we three (me, SE & friend) got along famously. In fact, yesterday SE forwarded me emails from that friend & one I met Saturday, both saying how lovely I am. It was great timing - I'm trying to be more down-to-earth, & it's hard to let go of my defensive party girl persona & be this vulnerable. That they liked the real me was very reassuring.

Thursday I went to some parties with Cute Gay Guy & met this very nice married couple as well. They totally wanted me, as did the other girls at the afterparty, & the most fun part was telling SE about it & watching him get all excited. He loves that other people want me & can't have me. I am such a good girl now! I only kissed the wife a little & didn't let more than 10 minutes go by without mentioning my boyfriend to every guy hitting on me. I must really like SE. Which brings me to exciting news. I met his parents! They're visiting for the weekend from England. We had dinner at 11 Madison Park - fantastic, more on that later - & I think they liked me. I know I loved them. They are such warm, genuine, interesting people. I was very nervous beforehand but it seemed to go well. From what I know of SE's prior conduct with girlfriends I think this introduction means he really likes me.

So, about our amazing dinner... it was great in every way. The service is unobtrusive but always there when needed. All the amuse-bouches were well-timed & delicious - just when we were getting restless & hungry there'd be another yummy little morsel. I had the scallops, gnocchi & beef tenderloin, while SE had the tuna, lobster & lamb, all of which were scrumptious. (I didn't try the parents' dishes.) They weren't huge plates but the absolutely gorgeous, geometric & unhurried presentation somehow was more satisfying than a simple big meal. At the end I had a to-die-for chocolate mille-feuille that I was loath to part with although I shared with everyone. It was unexpectedly wonderful in so many ways.