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Thursday, July 31, 2014

Breakfast

Confession: I've never been a big breakfast person. I hate almost all breakfast foods. I HATE eggs and heavily dislike bacon (gasp).

In an effort to be healthier and stop eating pancakes and French toast multiple times a week I'm going back to the old staple...fruit.  I also grabbed a piece of ham for some protein but it didn't look so pretty. 


Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Meeting the (my) Parents

This trip home was the first time J met my parents, and we both did a good job pretending that we weren't nervous but I think it's safe to say that we were both holding our breath a little. (Spoiler alert: It went great!)



Here is my only tip for bringing someone home for the first time, over an extended period of time.  STAY BUSY!


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Falling Can be Deadly




Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm outdoorsy and go hiking.  My brand of hiking includes a maintained trail, usually bathrooms at the trailhead, and something just hard enough to make me feel accomplished, but not so hard that I need hiking boots and pants with a million pockets.

I was super excited to drag J along who I'm happy to say seemed to genuinely enjoy it!  He especially enjoyed jogging ahead when I was huffing and puffing, lol...such a guy.  Look how much taller he is than me, AND I was carrying our bag so of course it was easier for him...right?




Click for more pictures...

Monday, July 21, 2014

The Pink Door


J and I spent a great day in Seattle which included more time wandering around Pike Place Market trying to remember where The Pink Door is exactly.  It is a little tricky to find if you're not looking for it (especially when the door is open and you walk right on past it) but so worth the effort. 

If it's a nice day, be sure to sit on the deck.  It has a great view, and also screens so you can feel like you're sitting in the sun without looking like a lobster.  Everything is great, but it can be a little expensive if you decide to splurge for the fresh seafood (do it!).

With that said, it is entirely possible to keep costs down and have an amazing meal.  Three words, INFUSED OLIVE OIL.  I can't even begin to tell you how delicious it is, and they just keep bringing you more bread....so many carbs

Here is what I would order for a budget Pink Door experience:
  • Red Table Wine - it's soooo good
  • Cheese Board - notice we practically licked it clean
  • Fill up on bread basket / olive oil combo 
  • If you're feeling too cheap, now is the time to sample one of their amazing desserts

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Friday, July 18, 2014

Bugging out

Since moving to New York I have been inundated with new bugs. It's not an every day occurrence but I thought I'd seen my fair share of bugs in Washington but apparently I didn't know the half of it. 

I used to say, "Good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite" to kids I babysat but then school closed early one day because a bed bug was found in a classroom. Knock on wood I've been spared but the reality of bed bugs has killed the sweetness of the rhyme for me.  


Then there is the cockroach. Everytime I see one I spend the next few days googling them and pest control methods. I've only seen a few, but according to the internet, "where there is one, there are hundreds..."

Ants invaded my kitchen on one of the first hot days of the summer and smacked on some fresh blueberry muffins before I drown them in cleaning solution. 


I'm at war with mosquitoes. They will not stop munching on me. The other day I doused myself in OFF but forgot my feet and came home with bug bite covered feet. Incidentally, maybe the worst place for bug bites. The military should do away with water boarding and just let mosquitoes snack on the feet of criminals...if I believed in torture that is. 

I live in fear that a tick will latch on to Humphrey (there have been a couple this far...all presumably killed by his flea/tick meds) or worse...me. 


But there are some cute bugs. I'm in awe whenever I see fireflies. They're not the prettiest bug but the bright green light they emit makes them ok in my book. 


And the today I saw this guy! What is it? Doesn't it belong in the desert somewhere next to a lamp just waiting to be rubbed? 

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

I wanted to love it...

After spending one day outside in a NJ backyard I came home covered in giant red welts, I'm assuming are Mosquito bites.  So, after googling endlessly what different bug bites look like (don't do it, it's gross), and then googling symptoms for West Nile I went out and bought this...

It works for about 30 seconds, and then I was back to doing everything I could not to itch.


Anyone have any bug bite remedies?  I'm currently wearing OFF on a daily basis to try to ward off future attacks but I'm sure that's not a great idea either.

Sign of Trouble: Vegetables star of Meal

J and I have been together 6ish months.  I would say I have probably gained at least a pound for every month that we've been dating.  Haha.  I don't mean to make it sound like I'm walking around going, "poor me"...my clothes all still fit, I'm fine, but it is an alarming trend should the relationship continue on this path.  You always hear about how people in relationships gain weight, and it's totally true.  Suddenly you're eating out, sharing desserts you wouldn't have eaten otherwise, getting drinks you probably wouldn't have had otherwise, and forget about working out!  You'd rather be sleeping in on a Saturday morning than going to work out.


Don't get me started on the number of pancakes I've consumed this year...

So, in an effort to get back into the swing of things I decided to cook on Friday night.  I love cooking, and I'm really not supposed to eat a bunch of gluten/corn/dairy...I'm one of those controversial "gluten intolerant" people that may or may not scientifically exist (my very real symptoms are a story for another day, but lets just say I can tell when I've been eating this gluten/corn/dairy cocktail) so cooking at home is always fun/easier.

Look how beautiful!

I decided to go with a nice baked salmon, lightly seasoned with salt/pepper and olive oil then topped with lemon and shallots along with baked green beans & mushrooms.  You basically drizzle with oil, salt/pepper, all on one foil/parchment lined baking sheet and pop it into an oven at 350 for 20ish mins...

I also made some wild rice...far less beautiful! My lids for my pots don't form a tight seal and the water always evaporates too fast so I have to Macguiver it.
 
Unfortunately it didn't taste as good as it looked.  :(  The salmon was ok, it could have used a little something extra.  Maybe some garlic?  Not sure.  It wasn't bad. 

The rice was seriously the most disgusting wild rice I've ever eaten.  I think it was just the brand though, I finally got the moisture ratio worked out thanks to some tin foil (pictured above), but it just had this weird flavor that neither J nor I were fans of. 

And then the veggies were the stars of the show.  You know it's trouble when simple green beans and mushrooms are the best part of the meal, and you practically fight over seconds on green beans.  

Friday, July 4, 2014

Flashfloods, Thunder, Lightening and The Piano Man


I had one of the most amazing NYC evenings the other night with J.  I feel like I'm grinning from ear-to-ear each time I talk about it, and I can't quite convey how perfect it was. Confession:  I'm totally a sucker for romantic movies...the good ones, the bad ones...I'll watch them all (multiple times) but at the same time I have this (healthy) cynicism I think where I realize that isn't necessarily how real life actually goes.  But thinking back on the other night, I feel like I should check my cynicism more often. 
 
J's brother very generously got him tickets to see Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden for his birthday, and then very generously let me use the extra ticket! J picked me up at my apartment, and we made our way into the city.   As we walked to the subway I watched the clouds starting to gather and the sky turn a swirly black, "hopefully we miss this rain storm."  J said we wouldn't, and I told him not to jinx anything and think positive.  He doesn't believe in jinxes...thus jinxing us because as soon as we got out of the subway at Herald Square the sky opened up and unleashed buckets of rain. 
 
There is something so inconvenient but terribly romantic about this kind of rain, I think.  Maybe it is because you can't escape it, and are literally trapped in the rain...or maybe it's all of the times I've seen The Notebook...



I think it also shows a lot about how someone will handle a situation.  Rain like that where you're instantly drenched either turns you into a grouch or a giggly little kid.  I ended up as the latter, and thankfully so did J.  He held my hand and helped me weave through the throngs of sopping wet tourists, and as we ran I couldn't stop laughing, and then something hilarious happened...or at least I think so...I lost a shoe!  I ran right out of my sandal, and tugged on J's hand to turn around and watch it float down a river of rain...it went right on down 34th street so I found myself cracking up laughing, drenched clear through, running down 34th street with one barefoot! A barefoot in NYC is no laughing matter.  (So gross!) But I couldn't help myself...if it hadn't been raining so hard, and catching my shoe wasn't such a priority I would have sat right down and had a good belly laugh. J helped me chase after it, the shoe was reclaimed and we were on our way (with a couple other quick shoe losses) but I think I will always remember that rainstorm as one of my favorite NYC moments.  The rain, the traffic, the tourists, but it was all blurred out by this hilarious little story they were oblivious to in our own little world. Pretty great! 

Speaking of "pretty great..." BILLY JOEL was phenomenal!     
Forgive the horrible photography, but I find the more fun I'm having, the less photos I take.  (My mom has been complaining that I'm never posting anything on Facebook, lately.)
 
Shoe disaster averted, rain-drenched and drowned-rat looking we made our way into Madison Square Garden and had a blast at the concert.  I have enjoyed Billy Joel but honestly only know the words to a handful of his (most-popular) songs.  J is a super fan so it was extra fun to see how excited he was.  It was contagious. 

I've never been to Madison Square Garden before, and I was really surprised about the acoustics.  They were so great! And our seats were actually behind the stage but we could still see everything so well.  His piano rotates, too, so if you're considering going, and the only seats left are behind the stage, do it.  I think it is sold out through the end of the year, but it sounds like he's planning on continuing these shows until there isn't a demand...which will be never.   

A perfect NYC evening!

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Love, Jealousy, Murder, and Foam Visors


J (otherwise known as "my favorite Greek") and I recently took a short day trip up to The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival at Boscobel to see Othello.  What a great, day!
 
We lounged around in the morning, went to breakfast and then I got to show off my culinary/domestic skills (which I always love) and packed us a delicious picnic.  Then we packed up the goodies (don't forget the bug spray and sunscreen) and dropped Humphrey off at J's place for the day, and headed up to Boscobel.  It's about 1 hr 45 minutes from Brooklyn to Boscobel, but it was a nice easy drive, with the worst part the initial getting out of the city part.  When we got there the weather was perfect, not too hot or too humid, but gorgeous.  We found a nice spot on the lawn to eat our (gourmet) picnic and drink ourselves a little silly with some wine...or maybe he was just extra funny that day...I couldn't stop laughing.



Shortly before the show started we found our seats under the tent for the show.  We were in the front row, but thanks to my inexperience, I purchased seats facing the sun (until it went down).  Not to worry, though those clever organizers are prepared with free foam visors.  Luckily we've been dating long enough that we can wear matching goofy visors together without feeling self conscious.


Whoops couples matching...completely accidental