Oh yeah, that's my man!

As many of Miss Tea's friends know, she is a faithful follower of Gerard Butler since watching Dear Frankie, and has pretty much seen every movie's he's done during his entire acting career to date. Yes, even before the sweaty, sexy six-pack feature 300. Though Mr. Butler supposed keeps an apartment in NYC (in Chelsea, we think), Miss Tea has yet to stalk, er, meet this fine male specimen. After all, much like Bikram yoga, Miss Tea will need to mentally prepare for her "chance" meeting Mr. Butler, to avoid drooling and muttering silly things. All Miss Tea wants is a photo with him. Un-PC, you can probably guess what she really wants. ;o)

Anyhoo, imagine Miss Tea, shocked, when she received an email from pubLiZity, sent to shake Miss Tea's fanatic faithfulness in her man, GB. Here is the photo Miss Tea received with comment written by gossip columnist Perez Hilton:

Yes, that is Miss Tea's man, right there. Just goes to show that even an ideal man is flawed. Thankfully, this has forced me to lower my standards in men, in general.

Go see The Ugly Truth and Gamer, both films coming to a theater near you! Miss Tea promises no digging in these films...well, hope not!

Swing of Things

Do-ba-do-bop-bop-bop...

Miss Tea spent a beautiful night under the stars at Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park, the location of their Midsummer Night Swing ...a series of evening dancing all summer long.

In honor of Lincoln Center's 50th anniversary, the Young Patrons of Lincoln Center (YPLC) held the "Swing of Things" Summer Event where Miss Tea, Miss Ija and Miss Charly sampled summer creations of area restaurants and specialty cocktails. The vibe was all summer mellow. Despite the fancy food and fancy fashion (the women obviously went home to don their best, shiny cocktail dress and strappy sandals), everyone was incredibly friendly and chatty...not your typical NYCer.

It was a pity that there were much more women that men at this event. If you were a single guy at this event, you seriously had your pick .. and we all looked good.

The folks at Arpeggio served mushroom-topped crostinis with a cream sauce while Vermillion served spicy duck on a polenta cracker (interesting cuisine of Indian-Latin fusion). Miss Tea also tried the pork belly and veal cheeks served by Seasonal. All of it was delish and kept Miss Tea in line for seconds. Other interesting discoveries were Bulldog Gin ("Definitely Delicious. Authentically London" and Starr African Rum - perhaps because the servers weren't as stingy as the ones at the main bar who served a shot glass of wine per person. Boo!

Of course the 3 gals had to inquire about the Young Patrons of Lincoln Center, young professsionals dedicated to celebrating and supporting the performing arts. While Miss Tea is teetering on membership, she is interested in the Fall Masquerade Gala on October 29th.

Because, you know, Miss Tea can't resist the glam...all she needs are swing lessons! :o)

For more information, please visit www.lincolncenter.org.

Move Your Body, Girl

It's official - Miss Tea has a countdown of 5 weeks before hitting Cancun! So this week, Miss Tea has been experimenting with various forms of exercise. Yes, Miss Tea is going to endure all it takes, just for 4 days on the beach. Miss Tea does not want to strut the muffin-top tankini look. Mercy!

On Monday, Miss Tea headed to Planet Fitness for a run...not bad after a little hiatus from the gym and from running in general. There's nothing that can clear your mind better than running 5K in a gym, randomly watching TV and hoping that the person next to you is not looking at how fast you're really going. Miss Tea doesn't mind having people around her when she runs/stretches/sweats because it forces her to do everything with heart (or at least fake it)...for fear of looking awkward or clumsy. Yes, pride and vanity are very good motivators.

By the way, Planet Fitness (www.planetfitness.com) is offering member for ONE YEAR for $99. Offer ends today so chop-chop people!

On Tuesday, Miss Tea tried Bikram Yoga for the first time. This is the 26 yoga postures done twice in a super-heated room for 90 minutes. Luckily, Rocky Stillwell and Miss Lala came to the class with Miss Tea for support. Now, perhaps Miss Tea did midjudge the whole concept. Not so bad in the beginning. Heat was bearable. Balancing was a little issue, but ok, Miss Tea was not alone in that. Miss Tea could even handle the puddle she created from her sweat. Soon the class became challenging. Miss Tea attempted some kind of camel back position and was hit with a strong dizzy spell. After 2 bottles of water and every attempt to achieve every position with some form of decency, Miss Tea had to lie down for a break. She turned to Rocky, lying next to her, and panted, "Are we almost done?!" To which he replied, sadly, "No." And the class just kept going and going and going.

Finally, the class did end. Miss Tea went home and peeled her soaked clothes off her skin. Though she felt better at the end, Miss Tea needs to be much more mentally prepared to do this again. In fact, Miss Tea will go back on Thursday with Rocky (so that he gets his "money's worth").

While there are other studios in NYC, Miss Tea went to Bikram Yoga Union Square (www.bikramyogaunionsquare.com).

Today, Miss Tea is sore and is weary of the Swing Dance Event at Lincoln Center this evening, which she planned to attend with Miss Ija. Forgive her, but Miss Tea may not be dancing, swinging or swaying tonight. Miss Tea will be happy if she gets through the night without spraining any part of her body.

Mum's the Word

Miss Tea and Miss Ija hit the town Wednesdsay night to try out a new, hush-hush, Japanese restaurant called Bohemian. Miss Tea had been rejected before by the GM because she didn't have a reservation, but at least she got a bizcard. The whole concept of this resto is to keep it low-key, hence the Spanish Inquisition when inquiring or reserving seats at the speakeasy.

This small, one-room restaurant is simply decorated with beautiful skylight, a paint-brushed design of the world on white and an alcove Zen garden. Miss Tea guesses there are about 20-24 seats (armchairs and sofas here) plus seating at the counter. The soothing ambiance would make any diner focus on their dishes and the conversation at hand.

If you happen to come across Bohemian and are granted an reservation (seriously, reserve 1-2 weeks in advance to get a seat), Miss Tea highly recommends the Tasting menu...go ahead and spend the money - it's worth it! Miss Tea sampled six dishes, all of which were amazing. They don't have a liquor license so BYOB. Miss Tea brought a yummy bottle of Yellow Tail Chardonnay from Australia (compliments of Lala - thank you Lala!). Hmmm, Miss Tea has started to choose Chardonnay over Pinot Grigio lately. Must be the change in weather...

If you happen to use the restroom, be warned. It is the typical Japanese toilet with remote control on the side. Thankfully Miss Tea has already been to Tokyo and experimented with each of those buttons to know that she should "look, don't touch."

After din-din, Miss Tea and Miss Ija went off to Wine Bar where we had a couple glasses of Chablis and Viognier. Though we didn't order anything, Miss Tea can vouch that the food at Wine Bar is incredibly good for noshing and all those wines lined up against the brick wall just put a smile on Miss Tea's face. There's outdoor seating and the seating is "community table" style inside. Miss Tea prefers coming here at night when it's dark and cozy and full of people.

Ahhh...there's nothing like spending a night out filled with food and wine, accompanied by a good friend who will bitch with you about everything else. :o)

To find out more about Bohemian, visit www.urbandaddy.com (New York) and search for "Bohemian."

To visit Winebar, visit www.winebarnyc.com.

Harry Potter Night: Half Blood Prince

Once again pubLiZity came through with tix to a pre-screen of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"...yup, that's right...BEFORE the midnight viewing tonight. Thankfully pubLiZity gave 2 extra passes to Miss Tea to bring some guests for the 8:30pm viewing last night. Of course, Miss Tea had to bring Natasha 98 - a total Pothead...um, I mean, Potterhead - and office cinematic critic P.Dizzle (who always has a way with words, foul and foul alike).

Miss Tea doesn't want to give up too much, and also the press release is too thick to go through. But Miss Tea will say this much: Half Blood Prince starts right where Order of the Phoenix left off and is just as dark and grave. The "lighthearted comedy relief" can be found in all three main characters (Harry, Hermione and Ron) as they all go through teen love and loss and angst - truly a time that Miss Tea would not wish to revisit in her life, especially after seeing this movie.

All in all, the film doesn't disappoint. Natasha 98 left very happy. P.Dizzle said it was "actually pretty good" per his FB. The film will leave you wanting to know what happens next. But no way around it: you (and Miss Tea) will actually have to rrrr...rrrr....read all 784 pages of the Deathly Hollows in order to find out what happens next! Or Wikipedia it...yes, Miss Tea cheated. Don't look so shocked.

Public Service Announcement

Natasha 98 has been telling Miss Tea for the longest time about the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park (http://www.shakeshack.com/). However, Miss Tea has never had a desire to try it out because of the habitual long line of a block and a half.

Finally last Friday, since Miss Tea and Natasha 98 both found some free time, we headed over there. The menu was interesting: they served beer and wine along with burgers, hot dogs, and frozen custards. Gone for an hour and a half, it probably took us 45 minutes to stand on line and 10 minutes to down the soda, fries and "Shackburger." To be quite honest, Miss Tea still thought the burgers at Burger Joint were better. But at least we got to sit in the park on a nice, sunny day.

Unfortunately, Natasha 98 was having unusual issues with our dining neighbors - a father and daughter duo - where the girl kept on feeding fries to the pigeons. Now, this was quite annoying because these pigeons flapped away between us, vying for a crumb. And these "New York" pigeons clearly have no fear of people as Miss Tea has personally seen one swoop down and almost scratch a man's head.

However, Miss Tea deals with the birds as one of those NYC things, like oddly black squirrels in Washington Square Park. Natasha 98, on the other hand, has a vehement haterid for these 'loathsome' creatures. "Why are they allowed to roam free?! Why aren't they kept in a zoo?!"

So while Miss Tea shooed these pigeons away with a folding chair (because there was a flock of them gathering between our tables), Natasha 98 remarked out loud, "It's her! She keeps on feeding them!!!" Miss Tea has never seen Natasha 98 so upset that she was shaking. Thank gawd this girl got a clue and stopped feeding the birds because Natasha 98 was ready to bitch-slap her.

Let this be a lesson, everyone: enjoy the outdoors, the sun, the park - but please, DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS.

In the Swing of Things

Post-birthday outings are always fun and last night was no different! Miss Tea & friends were invited to a Midsummer Mojito Mixer thrown by the Y Society at the Empire Hotel Rooftop Bar. Apparently this place opened up last August and only now has appeared on Miss Tea's radar of rooftops to hang out after work for the summer. For some reason, Empire never made it to Vanity Fair's Summer 2009 NY Edition (if you want a copy of this, email me at theadventuresofmisstea@gmail.com).

So Miss Tea has compiled her own (small) list of rooftop bars - feel free to share a good one:

1. Empire Hotel Rooftop Bar (upper east enders)

2. Salon de Ning at Peninsula (Miss Tea will be there next week!)

3. Highbar (chic crowd)

4. 235 Fifth (great place to meet, but gets crowded quickly)

5. The Yale Club (Find a friend who's a member. It's nice for some private chit chat.)

Going back to this party...Miss Tea is not one to trek to the upper east side but after seeing the catalogue of hotties on site, all of a sudden she has a change of heart. You may think Miss Tea is being shallow, which is not true. At her age, Miss Tea must be proactive in finding her mate.

However, throughout the night Miss Tea learned from her friends that there are " number rules" when prowling for men. How could Miss Tea miss this - maybe this is why she is single.

Going out alone - looks desperate, one night stand

2 girls - looks obvious you're on the prowl and on a mission

3 girls - Cosmo gives this a thumbs up as the 'magic' number

4 girls - too intimidating, too many wingwomen to front

5 plus - Are you even looking for a guy? Cuz it looks like a girls' night out.

Last night Miss Tea was in the "5 plus" catergory. Pity. Miss Tea was dressed cutely too.

After roofing it, Miss Tea and Miss Ija headed over to the Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien for some good ol' fashioned burgers and fries and audible conversation. Miss Tea loved wrapping up her night in that tiny hole, surrounded by French tourists flipping through hand-sized books, trying to figure out the translation of "medium-well". Miss Tea loves NYC!

Lucky 7

Today is Miss Tea's favorite day because it is her birthday! During this time, Miss Tea carelessly humms throughout the day, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to..." If you don't know this song, then clearly Miss Tea is too old, and you best stay out of her way today. (Really, stay clear 'cuz she's not gonna wanna see your young ass.)

So today, Miss Tea is surrounding herself with positive vibes, good cheer and hope for a summer love. (Gerard Butler, I know you're in Queens today. Call me!) Miss Tea feels blessed already. :o)

What's on the agenda for tonight? Um, cocktails at some lounge with some friends, totally low-key. Maybe some grub too. Sounds boring, but if you knew Miss Tea's hooligan posse, you wouldn't want it any other way.

Life is good. Miss Tea continues on with la vida loca.