Wedding season or spooky season?
Can it be both?
Hellllooooo, Ian newsletter readers! This month (November), you’ll be getting the rundown on Ian’s going-ons from last month (October) from the perspective of guest writer Cindy (me).
Fred and DÖNŮT
These two events aren’t actually related other than the fact that they both happened at the beginning of the month.
We went to our friend Fred’s NYC-themed birthday bash and brought Harley and Aaron who were still in town (see September edition). Not pictured: right before this, at dinner, we walked past an American Express Gold Café popup in the city. We looked it up and they were doing a special Dunkin’ Donuts popup called DÖNŮT, which we immediately got a reservation for.
At DÖNŮT, waiters in white tuxes served us a 12 course meal where they really decked out donuts, bagels, and other Dunkin’ menu offerings, plating them as if it were fine dining. There were a few cocktails, a few savory items, and loooots of sweets. I think everything just kinda tasted like the normal menu items with extra steps, but Ian likes Dunkin’ so it was still fun!
It’s wedding season…
We went to two weddings this month, both of which were Cornell couples.
Wedding #1: Trophie
First up was Sophie and Troy, who got married in Ithaca. We got an Airbnb in the area and spent the weekend hitting up some of our favorite spots—Ithaca Beer Co, Gorgers, the Commons, the Slope. We even dropped by our senior year apartment on Cook Street, just to see how it’s doing. (It’s still standing!)
The wedding itself was great. The ceremony was in Sage Chapel, with a real organist (!), and it was very beautiful and made Cindy (me) cry a lot. Ian was pretty baffled at the quantity of tears, but I think that’s a testament to how nice the ceremony was. Afterwards, we headed to the Inn at Taughannock for the reception. The venue was outdoors overlooking Cayuga Lake, and the sun had been out all day, which made for a picture perfect evening. Ian particularly enjoyed the table full of seafood from the Cape, but the whole night was a blast!!
Wedding #2: J+J
Jialin and Jonathan were next—luckily we didn’t have to travel too far for this one: it was right in NYC at the TWA Hotel attached to JFK. We booked a room for the night and took a little staycation. If you’re not familiar, the TWA Hotel used to be an actual airport terminal (back when TWA was a real airline). They repurposed the space and reopened it back up in 2019 as a retro-60s-airport-themed hotel. Super well designed space and a really neat venue!
Jialin and Jonathan are both designers, so everything about the event really spoke to their relationship, upbringing, and passions. The way they incorporated little bits of both of their personalities into each detail was really special. (I also cried at this wedding.)
TWA had a lot of cool spots for photos, and our room was pretty interesting, too. Plus, there’s a heated rooftop pool where you can take a dip and watch planes take off and land. After our Sunday brunch we went for a swim and took the subway home.
Congrats to both couples! We had an amazing time at both weddings.
…and spooky season👻
Last, but not least, Halloween! This year we went as Doc and Marty from Back to the Future (1985). Crawled a few bars, checked out the West Village, and went to our friends’ (Troy and Sophie, see wedding section above) Halloween party.
Quite a few people came up to us and complimented us on our costumes! Ian was very in character spitting Doc quotes all night, which lots of people got a kick out of.
The question isn’t “where is it”… it’s “when is it??”
- Ian on Halloween, after a stranger asked “Where’s the Delorean?”
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Outside of that, Ian’s pretty much been up to the same stuff as always. Working, coding, hanging out with friends, exercising, making videos every now and then...etc. etc. etc. And of course, spending time with yours truly (me, Cindy). On to November!
Cindy (on behalf of Ian)
P.S. if you liked this one you should tell Ian so he lets me guest write another time. teehee!
Great job Cindy. You’re a natural.
I like guest writer Cindy