Inevitably, I fall further and further behind.

• I brought my unserious book club to Balade and they all loved it.  This place is definitely awesome - they have food for vegetarians (and vegans!), food for carnivores, wine, and several different kinds of cheese.  Also they have a lot of small plates, which are obviously the best thing ever.
• Saturday was my company's annual summer picnic, which was held at Randall's Island, which I had never been to before.  It is odd that, so close to the city, there are large green spaces harboring biting insects.
• Speaking of large green spaces, I also visited the New York Botanical Gardens for the first time.  I had been wanting to go for a while, but to be honest... eh.  Maybe I'd be better off going in the spring, but there just weren't all that many ... flowers.  Which I guess is not the entire point of a botanical garden, but it's mostly the entire point for *me*.  Also there's a big indoor greenhouse, which is all very nice, but it mostly focuses on things like "Deserts of the Americas" and "Deserts of Africa" and "Tropical Rainforest", which are maybe a bit more exciting when it is not eighty-seven degrees outside.  I would go back, but not until another season.