What's for Dinner Tonight?

Dear Reader,

There are some days spent in Brooklyn where everything seems to just make sense. Work. All is well. Like putting that last piece of a puzzle together and looking with sudden clarity at the “big picture” – ohhh, so that’s what I spent hours upon hours sifting through cardboard cutouts for! All the good and bad had and to be had makes sense on this very day. 

I’m so very thankful for such days because it’s when I feel most grateful for my life and I certainly do count my blessings. This week, E and I went for a long walk through our neighborhood, hobbling through cobblestone streets and maneuvering through tourists admiring the NYC skyline (a picture never does it justice, does it?) and our conversations tend to always center around the same vibe. We are so blessed. Even when facing the worst of circumstances, I am so thankful to E for keeping my mind in a high spirited place filled with gratitude instead of resentment or disturbances of my peace. It’s in these moments where we are often overwhelmed with joy and with a real need to celebrate life.

And I have a tendency of celebrating such said life by throwing dinner parties.

Weekend Moments

My weekend in snapshots. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Paris in NYC

was starting to fall into a rut by the end of last week and needed something to cheer me up. I noticed that the Fiance was in this rut as well and so I thought, why not plan a special day for us, why not bring Paris to New York? We have been spending quite a bit of money lately, with the wedding, people visiting from out of town and graduations, and I wanted to keep the spending to a minimum, yet splurge. We found the perfect combo and had an amazing night out. Sigh...there is nothing like Paris.

Our first stop was at Le Grainne Cafe on 21st and 9th Ave. It's a very cute little cafe/bistro type with a ton of hustle and bustle and very delicious food. I had a chicken salad with ratatouille and the Fiance had a lamb sausage and peppers sandwich. Both were mouth wateringly delicious. I also really wanted the broccoli soup but they ran out. Poo.

Then began the adventure! We tried to watch the new Woody Allen film, Midnight in Paris, at the Angelika theater but all the shows were sold out! So we raced over to the theater in Chelsea, and the show was sold out! So we got smart and fandango'd it and was able to get tickets for the theater on 3rd Ave near Bloomingdales, but there was a line that went around the block. In any event, the movie was great -- consistently entertaining and my favorite actors were featured, Marion Cotillard, Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Carla Bruni (singer). Ok not my absolute favs but definitely up there.

We had so much fun, it was just what the doctor ordered. We ate well (including the snacks we snuck into the theater!) and we laughed and whispered throughout the movie and dreamt of another life when we could do this all the time. It was wonderful and I highly recommend it for when one has the case of the ruts. Or even just because.


{via Little Brown Pen}

Shopping (and NY) frustrations

am so annoyed with Kate Spade. SO annoyed. I ordered a wallet from them a couple of weeks ago and everything went smoothly. Transaction completed, order shipped, tracking number sent. Then! Then I get an email from them saying that my order has been returned and processed! How? It already shipped! Turns out that it somehow got sent back and returned, despite the fact that 1) they did not inform me in advance 2) they neglected to tell me WHY, despite their "order cancellation" policy, and 3) when I called customer service, all the lady would say is "I do apologize" over and over again. I wanted to scream. And now they are out of stock and of course, I saw it in person and it's gorgeous.

Obviously, I am searching high and low to have one of my own. If I knew how to do a smiley face icon here, I would. But sadly, I will most likely not get it at the price I originally purchased it for.

On another note. I have a constant love-hate relationship with New York. There are so many things to love about this city, yet so many things to absolutely abhor. Like rush hour, subways during rush hour, subways during the summer and rush hour, subways when they stall under the tunnel during summer days and rush hour....you get my point.

But if I hear another parent hiss into their kid's ear, "I will slap you across the face if you don't shut up" one more time, I am going to just slap THEM across THEIR face and see if THEY shut up.

Planning My Escape...

or the past 2 years, I have been planning my escape. Gasp! What does this mean? From what? From whom? Where will you go? All questions that I'm sure are filling your head with a look of panic (I kid). No need to fret, it's just another adventure! The Boyfriend and I have always discussed, rather whimsically, living abroad. For just a little bit (or forever)...but until we have a place/city where we want to plant our roots, we want to roam. This is quite difficult for the both of us as our jobs are state specific and require us to take exams and all that other yucky stuff should we decide to change stomping grounds. We have both traveled to a decent amount of places, although in very different parts of the world. He's more rainforest, Amazon, Honduras, etc. and I am more London, Paris, Brussels. And we are both originally from the West Coast and have secretly held a desire to go back. Don't get me wrong, I love NYC more than anything, and I consider it one of the best cities in the world. In any case, we have not stayed anywhere long enough to really know where we'd like to go next. Where to go? I know I need a side gig to sustain us...and all this will not take place for several years. But just thought I'd start planning my escape...

Fall is here!

all is my favorite season of the year. But it doesn't last very long in New York, and I will make the most of it! I refuse to let work or other obligations get in the way of me enjoying my Fall. This weekend, the Boyfriend and I took a day trip up towards Nyack to scope out the town the foliage. Unfortunately, it was a bit too early to catch the changing of colors, but we did see some red ones poking out amongst the many green ones.

Here is my ever growing list of things I love about the Fall:

1) Foliage (obviously). I grew up in San Francisco, and leaves don't really change colors over there in the bay area. So imagine my look of amazement when I saw a red leaf for the first time! I was literally staring at the ground of wet leaves, with my mouth open in awe. By myself.

2) Apple Cider. Preferably spiced, with a little bit of whip cream. This is a must!

3) Day trip adventures with the ever exciting Boyfriend!

4) Fall clothes. I love funnel neck sweaters, cardigans, boots, and coats. Speaking of...I need a Fall coat...

5) Walking/running outdoors and hiking.

6) Fall decorations. I have a stash of faux Fall leaves in my closet waiting to come out.

7) Fall scented candles. I have one burning right now!

8) Thanksgiving.

9) Our anniversary! We will be hitting the 4 year mark...a true milestone for both of us!

10) You've Got Mail. I love this movie, I will never get sick of this movie, and this is the only movie I have seen over 6 times. This movie takes place in the Fall, and Fall would mean just a little less without it.

There ya have it! Am I missing anything?

Home Sweet Home

uerto Rico was amazing! The weather was gorgeous--lots of sun but not blistering heat. Our resort had it's own private beach and hammocks so we did a lot of laying around, but we definitely stuck in a few adventures as well. Horseback riding on the foothills of the Rain Forest, a dip in the river, kayaking in the ocean at night through a mangrove tree forest to the bio bay (if you touch the water it lights up!), and lots of laying out on the beach and seeing Old San Juan.

It was so refreshing being away but as always, I wish I had one more day! Being back home is good too, but I was met with a ton of emails from my new volunteer position. Exciting and interesting, but I wouldn't mind hanging at the beach a little more.

I used my "Recipe for a Comfortable Plane Ride" and it was quite a success! I also downloaded several podcasts and listened to them on the plane. All in all this trip was a great and much needed. I think the picture below captures it all...

The Thing About Fall Is...

Fall is absolutely my most favorite season of the year. Here in NY fall lasts about 1.5 months, much too short to really really enjoy it. I already feel it slipping away and I'm trying very hard to hold on to as much of it as I can. Fall reminds of that line in "You've Got Mail" where Meg Ryan is walking through the streets of the Upper West Side, proclaiming to Tom Hanks (via email) that fall smells like newly sharpened pencils and books. That's how I feel. Fall smells like my something new and something fresh and something warm and cozy. Mmm. Here is my list (unfinished....just too many things to add) of things I love about fall:
1. Warm, hot, and spicy apple cider with a little bit of whip cream
2. Apple picking
3. Crisp air
4. Hiking outdoors
5. Foliage
6. Halloween!
7. Carving pumpkins
8. Fall clothes (sweaters, boots, scarves, anything tweed and wool!)
9. Fall scents like cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin, etc.
10. New beginnings

Anything else?

Bicycle Beauty

After running across littlebrownpen's post entitled Bicycle + Wood = Cool Wood Bike, I couldn't stop myself from posting two times in a row and risk seeming like a blog obsessed....blogger. Once I saw these photos I was dying to tell somebody, anybody, of my love for bicycles, vintage ones with baskets in the front. And I love riding them. Something about the feeling of gliding with the wind blowing, almost escaping. Oddly enough I only ride on vacation. My sister, who also loves bikes, has accumulated and given away about 6 bikes over the years and she has graciously given me one. But something about riding in NYC on my really dirty and old bike doesn't seem as romantic. It's just not as satisfying. Regardless I have a love of bicycles, it makes me feel peaceful somewhere deep inside.

Anyway, this is great shot of a beautiful and unique bike that littlebrownpen took on the upper west side in NYC. It's nice to know that this one is riding around somewhere in my city. Maybe I'll run into it someday and we'll meet and can say hello properly instead of me just...obsessing over a photo.

Thank you, littlebrownpen, for taking such beautiful photographs that inspire me and make me happy.