clark gable parties in brooklyn.

most people who know me, know that i despise new year's. i've never really had a good one because i always built it up in my head as this spectacular, magical night where everything (and everyone) would be to the max. but it never worked out that way and i was always left feeling disappointed and deflated.

this year was unexpectedly excellent.

saturday
after having spent christmas at my little brother's new place, my parents decided that it would be awesome to spend new year's weekend with me in new york (and also attend a fancy boat show at jacob javitts). they took the train up last saturday and i made some dinner reservations for the four of us for later that night. business was slow due to the holiday, so we closed up shop early and i headed uptown to hang with the fam at their midtown hotel until dinnertime. the hotel was creepy, in the vein of the shining hotel in the mountains.

the dining hour was soon upon us, so we all smooshed ourselves into a cab for a short ride back downtown. first stop - my place o' business so my parents could see that i was actually employed. of course, my key was being insubordinate and i had to get my dad to help me, but we finally got in and i gave them a mini tour and they were impressed by the sparkle and grandeur of the space, as i am on a daily basis. my boy boss showed up and bonded with my dad, which made me smile.

dinner was delicious and decadent. took the fam to a quaint italian restaurant, mezzogiorno, in soho, where i enjoyed a delicious bit o' filet mignon and a luscious chianti that ended up being far more expensive than any alcohol i'd ever purchase for myself. chianti all around and my parents became a bubbly pair of jokesters that made me proud to call them my own.

we eventually parted ways, mom, dad and ari heading back uptown, i headed east to meet up with my houseguests for the weekend. they were enjoying some hippie food at a warmly-lit jazzy place in the east village called caravan of dreams. the atmosphere was pleasant enough.

back to brooklyn to change out of my increasingly uncomfortable shoes and then it was off to meet up with one of my favorite brooklyn girls and her crew at pete's candy store. a delicious gin and tonic helped diffuse some weirdness. i finally met my pal's cutieface bf who, while dressed up in a striped scarf and thick rimmed spectacles, was more than vaguely reminiscent of harry potter. as the evening wore on and our posse thinned, i began rapidly losing steam and was unable to engage myself in the potentially stimulating musical conversation that had blossomed between my (formerly) dc pal sean and a couple o' boys from the UK. headed home with the intention of passing the fuck out, but instead chatted spencer's ear off once again, ensuring that his energy at work the next day would be utterly zapped.

sunday
started my day at the crack of noon with a hearty dose of aunt jemima pancakes. spent the next couple hours alternately lounging, obsessively checking my email/myspace, and cleaning my apartment in preparation of my parents' first visit to my brooklyn abode. i met them at the subway, smiling to myself when i saw the very distinct and recognizable silhouette of my slightly limpy 6'5" dad, crimson-hatted and begloved 5'5" mom, and skinnie lil sis with her bright blue chucks. we walked along the few brooklyn blocks between the subway and my apartment engaging in fun family banter interspersed with random quiz questions from my pop about the neighborhood. got to my place and the afternoon flooded in through the windows in such a perfect way as to make my place seem even nicer than it is and my parents were impressed. spent some time chilling and giggling while my dad watched bits and pieces of the twilight zone marathon and my mom felt moved to break out the mini camcorder. overall, a very pleasurable experience.

got a call from the spencerator who was in town with his pal for the new year. arranged to meet them out for a beer before the night's festivites began. i had made tentative plans to get glittery with london tom and his foxy brooklyn friends at some loft party later that night and it turned out that spencer and adon were thinking of rockin the very same party. so apparently, brooklyn can be just as small world as the district. met up with the boys on bedford for a beer and giggles that turned into the most delicious mac&cheese i've ever had at a cozy bar in s. williamsburg, which then turned into me inviting myself to adon's cousin's super fancy loft near the domino sugar factory. my mind was completely blown by the space - two floors, open plan, granite floors that had chic moonish craters and an entire wall of windows looking out upon the east river, a couple of bridges and all of manhattan, awash in the soft glow of holiday lights.

a few more glasses of wine, champagne and a couple o' sips of a jack&ginger and it was soon time for the countdown. vom alert... we were alone, framed by the window wall and river sparkle. swooped me up clark gable style, best new year's kiss ever. and i didn't even spill my pink champagne.

monday
put on my rain boots and braved the drizzle for a stack of supremely delicious blueberry pancakes at life cafe. orange juice and lovely conversation. upon our return, we hit the couch for some much needed chill time with the twilight zone and sean made delicious teaism tea for us all. eventually peeled ourselves away from the semi-comfort of my living room to make the trek to whole foods to procure the required ingredients for our spectacular dinner. i was/am so impressed with spencer's culinary skills; dinner was absolutely delicious!

later, adon came to join us, but since i'd been entertaining basically for 3 days straight, i'm afraid i wasn't the most gracious o' hostesses. spent the early evening in front of the tv with giant mugs o' tea until i crashed around 11ish, warm and content.

most fabulous new year's ever.