Nine inches of snow. Beautiful. My housemate Meghan spent an hour and a half covering a little over a mile in her car. But carrying my snow-caked bike on the T was easy and quick.

And the two blocks I rode for fun were just that. Happy Winter!

One of the downsides of not bringing your camera with you for a weekend in New York City is that you can't document the beauty (snowflakes and gingko leaves competing for space atop a sweetly quiet car, the somehow-warming glow of skyscrapers against a clear dark sky, the expectant face of a child all dressed up for a very first Broadway show) or the shenanigans (the Joycean search for a toasted everything bagel in the East Village, the wide-eyed book-lust at The Strand, the belly laughs at "Avenue Q," and the adolescent delight at being mistaken for someone who really does live in the fancy building my cousin hosted us in).

Yet one of the upsides of the iPhone is that its camera does a serviceable job (even in low light) of capturing when beauty meets shenanigans: $5 cocktails during happy hour at Klong, my new favorite Thai restaurant. Bridget's was the Key Lime Pie Martini in the background (complete with cookie crumb garnish!) and mine was the signature rum-vodka-tequila-more-rum-and-Thai-iced-tea knockout garnished with flakes of edible gold. (Or at least I took it to be edible.)

Call me for the address and I'll tell you about the discount sake cocktails once happy hour is over. And the food so good that Bridget could only describe it as "inappropriately enjoyable." Better yet, tell me when you're going and I'll hop on another 5 hour bus to meet you there.