Big Blog News

Today is the anniversary of my fifth year of writing this blog, and to celebrate this day, I am upgrading my blog to giliwarsett.com.

From now on, you will be able to keep track of me at my new head quarters. It's time for a big change. Over the next few months, I plan to redesign my new blog, so stay tuned for improvements.

Thanks to everyone who has read My Basement Years over the last five years. I'm officially out of the basement(s) and don't plan to return underground ever again.

Goodbye basementyears.blogspot.com; hello giliwarsett.com!

Turns out there are a lot of Christians in Brooklyn.

Our new apartment building comes with a surprise much like our last apartment building. (But this new apartment is way better! I can't wait to move next weekend.)

Ice Cream Social

To celebrate Veronica's new job, Joseph and I treated her to an ice cream tour of lower Manhattan. (Veronica made this glorious map.)

We visited four locations and each of us ended up with a different order of favorite flavors and locations.


At Cones, Joe had Maté; I had Ginger Sorbet; Veronica had Dulce de Leche.


At il Laboratorio del Gelato, Joe had Guinness and Black Sesame; Veronica had Mexican Cinnamon and Tangerine; I had Pumpkin and Maple.


At Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, I had Zen Butter and Almond Cookie; Veronica had Pistachio and Mango; Joe had Red Velvet and Egg Custard.



At Lula's Sweet Apothecary, Joe had Maple and Waffles with marshmallow sauce; Veronica had Espresso Chip; and I had Peanut Butter Chip with hot fudge.

After the sugar shock wore off, I am left with the biggest dehydration/ice cream headache I think I've ever had. It was totally worth it for the adventure.


Happy employment, my dear Veronica. Here's to you!

Fake French

I spent the day with Katherine, her French sister-in-law, Marie and her French niece, Gabi.


We hit up all the spots where I usually take French people. The truth is that this was my first time hanging out with the French and it was so fun. Just being around them made me feel more fashionable, more cultured, somehow superior.


Gabi had never been to the United States and it was fun to see New York with her.


Maybe I'll start a tour service for French visitors. I should probably learn the language first, which sounds like a lot of work. I'm kind of lazy about learning languages. I guess I'll just have to settle for going to see Rendez-Vous with French Cinema or the Deneuve Film festival (with subtitles, thank you very much).

Dog days

It's been a long day at Higgins' and the whole gang is pretty worn out. On the plus side, I finally got to watch a marathon of Be Good Johnny Weir episodes. Happy to be home again.

Bagel therapy

Sometimes on a rainy day when you've been kept awake into the middle of the night by the neighbors, when melancholy won't leave you alone, and even Fran Lebowitz can't make you laugh, you've got to head on over to Ess-a-Bagel and nosh your blues away.

Oh, look who's getting cultured.

Films of the Week:

Monday, Exit Through the Gift Shop with Maggie and Joe (consensus: 3 out of 5 stars)

Wednesday, Domaine at Walter Reade with Veronica (consensus: we loved it)

I much prefer Béatrice Dalle in Domaine than in Betty Blue. Major, major crush.


Book of the Week:

After some post-Alice Munro depression, I became absorbed in Eileen Myles' Inferno (a poet's novel)

Music of the Week:

Milkymee soundtrack from Domaine