Zombies & Cookies

Oh my goodness I'm sick.  J is annoyed that I keep saying I'm better so that I can go to holiday, but I love holidays!  Especially when get-togethers call for themed sugar cookies, I must have washed my hands a million times, and these were SO tasty. 

We went to J's friend's Halloween get together where everyone drank, and ate cheese platters until we convinced the host that we were too hungry for cheese platters and zombie cookies.  The cookies were a huge hit, and are enjoying some Instagram fame.  Unfortunately, I'm the zombie now, no voice at all and so tired, but must rally for the Great Jack-O-Lantern Blaze on Tuesday night!

Target had this zombie sugar cookie kit on sale, but I just swiped the cookie cutters and used my mom's standard recipe and homemade icing

Maiden Voyage of the S.S. KitchenAid

It's funny how you grow up, and suddenly the things that you see your parents doing become your standard of adulthood.  My mom always baked, and always had a KitchenAid stand mixer.  How do people live without one?

I recently came across a screaming deal online, and so I splurged.  I was contemplating returning, and then I made banana bread and I just can't stop mixing things...

Take it Easy...Birthday Edition

J surprised me with such an amazing (and dorky) birthday present...The Eagles at Madison Square Garden!!!!  I loved it! It was so much fun, and I was completely surprised.  I spent my entire life growing up, listening to the Eagles, my parents are huge fans. 

We went to dinner first, and then he was trying to make me guess what we were doing.  Guess which subway start we're going to take, what do you think we're doing, do you have any ideas? I had no idea.  We got off at 34th street, and I figured we were going to Madison Square Garden, but then I didn't even know there was an Eagles tour.  As someone who is unfortunately susceptible to the Birthday Blues, I can say, this is the best birthday I've had in such a long time!

Empire

As I mentioned, J's cousin from Greece is visiting so it's tourist central, and it's so fun!  It's exhausting too, though.  If you have someone coming to town, those city passes are really the way to go, and the Empire State pass allows you entrance in the day, and in the night.  So while I worked, J took his cousin around town, and up the Empire State Building and then we met up for dinner, followed by night time viewing.

J scoffed when I first suggested going at night, but then conceded he liked it better at night...so much prettier, and maybe you'll meet Tom Hanks at midnight...J didn't get understand why I was looking for Tom, but you do, right?

Whisper...it really works?!

The great thing about having people visit is that you get to do the things you always wonder about, but are too busy playing it cool as a "New Yorker." J's cousin is visiting from Greece for the month, so we've been all over trying these things out.  The Whispering Wall at Grand Central is so cool, it really works! Stand in one corner and whisper sweet-nothings or dirty jokes to your sweetheart in the opposite corner and it comes through loud and clear!

This is J, in far right corner, and his cousin on the left, so I hope they weren't whispering sweet-nothings to each other. 

Saved By the Bell, The Musical

I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  Saved By the Bell, The Musical!? But, with discount tickets, this did not disappoint.   You can't expect a serious Broadway show, but you can expect to see songs and sketches poking fun at Saved By the Bell, Dustin Diamond in sweatpants, parodies of Tori Spelling's short-lived stint on the show.  Expect to laugh.  Afterwards if you buy a piece of (cheap) merch, you can have a picture with a sweaty Dustin Diamond wearing what J assures me is a metal band t-shirt.

Welcome Home!...stay outside

 

Living in New York, I've had the pleasure of experiencing tons of "New York moments," like the time John and I got caught in a rainstorm and I lost my shoe in the middle of Broadway and had to run back for it with one bare foot, or the time I happened upon the Rockefeller Center Tree being put up, but I'm coming to learn there are a few other moments that make you a "New Yorker," like the first time you cry in public (haven't done it, yet), or when someone vomits on your shoes on a crowded subway (last year), or when you get locked out (check).  Not once but twice I've remembered my keys just as the door slammed shut and had to wake my poor musician neighbor to let me in, but this time was the worst.  I had my keys, the lock was just stuck.  It's been sticking for a while now, but I guess being gone a month with no one to turn it coupled with the lovely August humidity means a fond welcome home for me. 

The first call I made was from the girl I sublet from.  Her suggestion was to find a neighbor that was at home, scale their fence, then climb the rickety fire escape that I'm not sure I'd use even if the building was on fire, and try to break in the kitchen window.  I chose not to go this route...Humphrey didn't seem to mind the extra stoop time while I figured out my next move.

Next call was to the neighborhood handyman.  After scolding me for not getting the locked fixed sooner, he tried the key, then he tried a crow bar, then he used a saw, his shoulder and the crowbar...