I am trying to up my reading game this summer, below are a few books on my list. I'd love more recommendations!
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Ashley's War by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
NW by Zadie Smith
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2011 (Ok I started this in March and it is l o n g, so my goal is to finish!)
Unbroken by Lara Hillenbrand
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Because everyone's doing it...)
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
Monday, June 1, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
New Orleans
Last month I was scheduled to attend the International Studies Association Annual Convention for work. The conference changes location every year, and this year it took place in New Orleans, and coincided with Mardi Gras. Sean doesn't come along very often when I am traveling, but this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Miriam and Aaron also joined us, and we stayed in the French Quarter for a few days before the conference started. It was....an experience! We got our fill of southern food, parades, and bead catching, and made sure to visit a cemetery, and of course the classic Cafe du Monde.
Since it was Mardi Gras, we didn't venture too far outside of the French Quarter, but I would love to have an excuse to come back and see more of the city. This photo is pre-extreme bead collection!
Since it was Mardi Gras, we didn't venture too far outside of the French Quarter, but I would love to have an excuse to come back and see more of the city. This photo is pre-extreme bead collection!
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Tiny Apartments
I cannot pretend that I don't wish for more space fairly often. But after nine months in what my sister has lovingly nicknamed the "dollhouse" apartment, I have learned a few tricks that help keep me sane. Indulge me (and be grateful if you have more space and have never had to think about this!).
1. Clean, and clean often. You get a lot more up close and personal with your dirty dishes and dust in a tiny apartment, so I have noticed that cleaning more often is a requirement. The good news is that there are less windows/rooms/floors to clean!
2. Declutter. It may seem obvious, but while there is less room for clutter in a small space, it still accumulates quickly and has to be purged all the time. Maybe this is one benefit, there is really no room for that stack of mail you're avoiding. We also have a rule that if we forgot we owned something/haven't used it in over a year, we probably don't need to keep it.
3. Throw pillows and blankets are your friend. It's hard to resist the urge to go very minimal when you're dealing with a small space, but in my experience throw pillows, blankets, sheepskins can help a room feel more like home in any size apartment, even the tiny. Also true if you're lucky enough to have a tiny patio with your tiny apartment, weatherproof outdoor pillows are no joke.
4. Buy fresh flowers and keep some houseplants. I often have the reaction of, where are we going to put this? There's no room. But there is always room for a vase of daffodils or a windowsill plant, and they make the apartment infinitely more cheerful.
5. Space heaters in the winter, nice fans in the summer. Nothing is more depressing than a tiny apartment that's freezing or boiling. It has been worth every penny to invest in a nice space heater, and also a fan that we don't mind looking at all the time all day long. Added bonus is the white noise provided to block out the sound of your upstairs neighbor clomping around at 4:00 a.m.
6. Cook in your tiny kitchen! It is super intimidating and maybe there's barely room for more than one person and the endless supply of take-out options is beckoning to you, but with a little flexibility even the smallest kitchen can make a great meal. Extra points if you invite friends over for dinner and don't apologize about the size of your apartment.
7. Let go of the cost savings benefits of buying in bulk. I know it is much less economical to buy single rolls of paper towel, but when there is hardly any storage space, and you live one block from a Duane Reade, it's not worth the fight.
8. Finally some space saving items that we have actually found useful:
-Over the door shoe racks. We have no entryway so this saves us from tripping over all our shoes every time we come home.
-Collapsable drying rack for laundry, it fits in the tub and we hide it behind the bed when we're not using it.
-Stainless steel rods and hooks from Ikea that we hang pots, pans, mugs, dish towels, and even a dish drying rack from in the kitchen. Lifesaver.
-Platform bed with built in drawers. Not a necessity, but we needed to buy a new bed when we moved, and I am so happy we got one with drawers.
Happy tiny apartment living!
1. Clean, and clean often. You get a lot more up close and personal with your dirty dishes and dust in a tiny apartment, so I have noticed that cleaning more often is a requirement. The good news is that there are less windows/rooms/floors to clean!
2. Declutter. It may seem obvious, but while there is less room for clutter in a small space, it still accumulates quickly and has to be purged all the time. Maybe this is one benefit, there is really no room for that stack of mail you're avoiding. We also have a rule that if we forgot we owned something/haven't used it in over a year, we probably don't need to keep it.
3. Throw pillows and blankets are your friend. It's hard to resist the urge to go very minimal when you're dealing with a small space, but in my experience throw pillows, blankets, sheepskins can help a room feel more like home in any size apartment, even the tiny. Also true if you're lucky enough to have a tiny patio with your tiny apartment, weatherproof outdoor pillows are no joke.
4. Buy fresh flowers and keep some houseplants. I often have the reaction of, where are we going to put this? There's no room. But there is always room for a vase of daffodils or a windowsill plant, and they make the apartment infinitely more cheerful.
5. Space heaters in the winter, nice fans in the summer. Nothing is more depressing than a tiny apartment that's freezing or boiling. It has been worth every penny to invest in a nice space heater, and also a fan that we don't mind looking at all the time all day long. Added bonus is the white noise provided to block out the sound of your upstairs neighbor clomping around at 4:00 a.m.
6. Cook in your tiny kitchen! It is super intimidating and maybe there's barely room for more than one person and the endless supply of take-out options is beckoning to you, but with a little flexibility even the smallest kitchen can make a great meal. Extra points if you invite friends over for dinner and don't apologize about the size of your apartment.
7. Let go of the cost savings benefits of buying in bulk. I know it is much less economical to buy single rolls of paper towel, but when there is hardly any storage space, and you live one block from a Duane Reade, it's not worth the fight.
8. Finally some space saving items that we have actually found useful:
-Over the door shoe racks. We have no entryway so this saves us from tripping over all our shoes every time we come home.
-Collapsable drying rack for laundry, it fits in the tub and we hide it behind the bed when we're not using it.
-Stainless steel rods and hooks from Ikea that we hang pots, pans, mugs, dish towels, and even a dish drying rack from in the kitchen. Lifesaver.
-Platform bed with built in drawers. Not a necessity, but we needed to buy a new bed when we moved, and I am so happy we got one with drawers.
Happy tiny apartment living!
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
'Tis the Season...
....for my annual dose of Christmas sickness. Almost every year for the past probably five years I have come down with a bad cold or flu once each year, either right before, during, or after Christmas. It is really a Christmas tradition to look forward to. The few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are always exceptionally busy which means it's the perfect time to be stuck to your couch/pajamas/tea mug/kleenex box.
I am in need of a major holiday miracle to get over this one. This year Sean is in the midst of finals/his thesis, we are struggling to finish up Christmas shopping, and are looking forward to Miriam and Aaron visiting for a weekend right before we head to Michigan for the week of Christmas. We have big plans to show them all the best New York Christmas sites (the Rockefeller tree, the Union Square holiday market, skating in Bryant Park...) and Miriam and I have tickets to see the Nutcracker tomorrow night at Lincoln Center which I have been wanting to do since we moved to New York. I am trading in my festive beverages for Dayquil and Therefalu. Here's hoping it works!
I am in need of a major holiday miracle to get over this one. This year Sean is in the midst of finals/his thesis, we are struggling to finish up Christmas shopping, and are looking forward to Miriam and Aaron visiting for a weekend right before we head to Michigan for the week of Christmas. We have big plans to show them all the best New York Christmas sites (the Rockefeller tree, the Union Square holiday market, skating in Bryant Park...) and Miriam and I have tickets to see the Nutcracker tomorrow night at Lincoln Center which I have been wanting to do since we moved to New York. I am trading in my festive beverages for Dayquil and Therefalu. Here's hoping it works!
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Don't you just love New York in the fall?
Sometimes I make Sean watch sappy movies with me, (and by make I mean that he is completely willing most of the time). Recent classics have included You've Got Mail, with the best line ever "Don't you just love New York in the fall, makes me wanna buy school supplies," and Return to Me.
We had a wonderful time a few weeks ago when Miriam was in the city for work and stayed over for a long weekend, joined by my Mom and Aunt Dee. The weather was not ideal but we still explored a fair bit of Central Park, visited the World Trade Center Memorial, and the Museum of Modern Art. We also saw Matilda on Broadway (songs were stuck in my head for the rest of the month!) and took them to Blondies for a Saturday night MSU football game and the best waffle fries around. On Sunday after Mom and Aunt Dee had to leave, and Sean had to study, Miriam and I walked around the new section of the Highline (so nice that this park is expanding!) and then I took her for her dream come true New York activity, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. I have only walked from Manhattan to Brooklyn and I have to say the view was much more exciting the other way around! Fall really is the best time to visit New York.
October is also Sean's birthday month and we take birthdays very seriously in this family. Unfortunately I was in Atlanta for a quick work trip on his actual birthday but we made up for it by taking a weekend trip to Massachusetts to visit Jocelyn and Cory and finally enjoy some beautiful fall trees (the trees in New York take forever to change), hiking, and a corn maze which was Sean's favorite activity. Also, tried out the Amtrak quiet car on the way to MA and it was AMAZING. I am definitely doing that in the future.
So I am writing this super interesting blog post today because I have a random day off for Veteran's Day and I have grand plans to do nothing. Clean the apartment, maybe watch a movie, go to the park and pretend I have a puppy, you know big deal, staying in my pajamas until noon stuff. I needed this day and I am going to take full advantage!
xoxo,
Ruth
We had a wonderful time a few weeks ago when Miriam was in the city for work and stayed over for a long weekend, joined by my Mom and Aunt Dee. The weather was not ideal but we still explored a fair bit of Central Park, visited the World Trade Center Memorial, and the Museum of Modern Art. We also saw Matilda on Broadway (songs were stuck in my head for the rest of the month!) and took them to Blondies for a Saturday night MSU football game and the best waffle fries around. On Sunday after Mom and Aunt Dee had to leave, and Sean had to study, Miriam and I walked around the new section of the Highline (so nice that this park is expanding!) and then I took her for her dream come true New York activity, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. I have only walked from Manhattan to Brooklyn and I have to say the view was much more exciting the other way around! Fall really is the best time to visit New York.
October is also Sean's birthday month and we take birthdays very seriously in this family. Unfortunately I was in Atlanta for a quick work trip on his actual birthday but we made up for it by taking a weekend trip to Massachusetts to visit Jocelyn and Cory and finally enjoy some beautiful fall trees (the trees in New York take forever to change), hiking, and a corn maze which was Sean's favorite activity. Also, tried out the Amtrak quiet car on the way to MA and it was AMAZING. I am definitely doing that in the future.
So I am writing this super interesting blog post today because I have a random day off for Veteran's Day and I have grand plans to do nothing. Clean the apartment, maybe watch a movie, go to the park and pretend I have a puppy, you know big deal, staying in my pajamas until noon stuff. I needed this day and I am going to take full advantage!
xoxo,
Ruth
Friday, September 19, 2014
Tap, tap. Is this thing on?
I can't remember the last time I wrote a blog post and I have been meaning to! Summer really flew by this year, especially August. Sean and I actually took a two week vacation which was pure magic and I hope to repeat next summer. After a really wonderful and relaxing week in Michigan with our families, we flew back to New York and in search of a cheap/easy vacation, headed up to the Catskills for some hiking, kayaking, and doing absolutely nothing. Sean and I had both been busy in July, so we really needed that first week to get our heads out of the weeds of work/school, which made the second week all that much better.
At the end of August I headed to DC for a work trip to hang out with a bunch of political science nerds at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, and Sean joined me over Labor Day weekend. After some lovely weather during the week, the weekend was HOT but Sean and I forced ourselves to walk around the mall, visit the portrait gallery, and wave to the White House.
Now fall has started with a vengeance and I am really missing those Friday's off, but enjoying the cooler weather and obviously thrilled about the return of ALL THE FALL FOODS. Sean made some delicious pumpkin muffins last week and I forced us to roast an acorn squash. Despite Sean's protests that it is "too early," we are going all in this year.
So that's what we've been up to. I am recommitting myself to more consistent blogging! It's going to happen!
Over and out
At the end of August I headed to DC for a work trip to hang out with a bunch of political science nerds at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, and Sean joined me over Labor Day weekend. After some lovely weather during the week, the weekend was HOT but Sean and I forced ourselves to walk around the mall, visit the portrait gallery, and wave to the White House.
Now fall has started with a vengeance and I am really missing those Friday's off, but enjoying the cooler weather and obviously thrilled about the return of ALL THE FALL FOODS. Sean made some delicious pumpkin muffins last week and I forced us to roast an acorn squash. Despite Sean's protests that it is "too early," we are going all in this year.
So that's what we've been up to. I am recommitting myself to more consistent blogging! It's going to happen!
Over and out
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Summertime
Here are some things I have done this June and July:
-Celebrated my birthday and Miriam and I received the same gift. Totally independent of each other, normally we DO talk to each other about every item we would love to have but this time we didn't.
-Spent a weekend in the ever lovely Finger Lakes and wine tasted to my hearts content. Also stopped at the Jimmy Johns in Ithaca one our way home as one does because it's basically the closest one to NYC. (Sprouts are back!!)
-Resurrected my summer iTunes playlist. Every year this is a fun exercise because there are gems on it from last summer that I have to decide whether to keep or delete and new songs to add. I believe this playlist was born in 2007 and it is excellent. (Sean thinks this is particularly ridiculous.)
-Learned a lot about places to rent cars from in Manhattan and spent many hours lamenting over why it is so much more expensive than if we could just get across the bridge to New Jersey.
-Speaking of rental cars, we drove up to Rhinebeck one of my favorite Hudson Valley towns for the day to hang out and go to a lovely engagement party for my dear high school friend Lindsay.
-Jocelyn and Cory visited. Big highlight was that everyone insisted on making Bailey's milkshakes. I can't complain, they were tasty. We also saw a lot of turtles in Central Park.
-Brooklyn! I finally went to the Brooklyn Museum and it was really wonderful. I also finally went to Brooklyn Brewery and it was not quite up to the hype.
There you have it. Summer in a nutshell. The weather has been pretty glorious. Yet to have a real heat wave and we are having mild success keeping our plants alive on the patio. The end.
-Celebrated my birthday and Miriam and I received the same gift. Totally independent of each other, normally we DO talk to each other about every item we would love to have but this time we didn't.
-Spent a weekend in the ever lovely Finger Lakes and wine tasted to my hearts content. Also stopped at the Jimmy Johns in Ithaca one our way home as one does because it's basically the closest one to NYC. (Sprouts are back!!)
-Resurrected my summer iTunes playlist. Every year this is a fun exercise because there are gems on it from last summer that I have to decide whether to keep or delete and new songs to add. I believe this playlist was born in 2007 and it is excellent. (Sean thinks this is particularly ridiculous.)
-Learned a lot about places to rent cars from in Manhattan and spent many hours lamenting over why it is so much more expensive than if we could just get across the bridge to New Jersey.
-Speaking of rental cars, we drove up to Rhinebeck one of my favorite Hudson Valley towns for the day to hang out and go to a lovely engagement party for my dear high school friend Lindsay.
-Jocelyn and Cory visited. Big highlight was that everyone insisted on making Bailey's milkshakes. I can't complain, they were tasty. We also saw a lot of turtles in Central Park.
-Brooklyn! I finally went to the Brooklyn Museum and it was really wonderful. I also finally went to Brooklyn Brewery and it was not quite up to the hype.
There you have it. Summer in a nutshell. The weather has been pretty glorious. Yet to have a real heat wave and we are having mild success keeping our plants alive on the patio. The end.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Oh THIS is spring?!
I was looking back at my blog archive and realizing how sorely I have been neglecting my blog this year. Sincere apologies family and friends, I know you are beside yourself without weekly updates on what new recipe I tried or our latest favorite restaurant. I fully blame blogger and their photo limits on this one, it's not as much fun to blog without sharing lots of photos and I may just need to pay up. But in the meantime, here are some things that are happening:
-We have had a few solid days of 60-70 degrees, chilly in the shade, hot in the sun days. My allergies are going a little crazy. I am reminding myself that this is what spring actually feels like. Too bad it took until late May to get here, but at least it's not 85 every day yet.
-Peonies are here!!! They are my absolute favorite flower, why does the season have to be so short? They remind me of picking a bunch from the yard to take to my elementary school teachers on the last day of school. The only difference here is that I am paying $5 per stem and finding them at Fairway (that's basically the same as a backyard right?).
-It's also officially rosé season. I really got into these wines last summer and while I may have kept buying them through winter, I'm thrilled that it is now socially acceptable to order a glass at a restaurant or wine bar without the waiter looking at me like I am nuts.
-We are getting our little patio herb garden started again. So far we have basil and mint and lavender. We also finally bought a few new planters and some nice pillows for our chairs. It has made a big difference in how much time we want to spend out there.
-And the best news of all. Our local Trader Joe's is now carrying Oberon. I take this as proof that if you're patient enough, miracles do happen.
-We have had a few solid days of 60-70 degrees, chilly in the shade, hot in the sun days. My allergies are going a little crazy. I am reminding myself that this is what spring actually feels like. Too bad it took until late May to get here, but at least it's not 85 every day yet.
-Peonies are here!!! They are my absolute favorite flower, why does the season have to be so short? They remind me of picking a bunch from the yard to take to my elementary school teachers on the last day of school. The only difference here is that I am paying $5 per stem and finding them at Fairway (that's basically the same as a backyard right?).
-It's also officially rosé season. I really got into these wines last summer and while I may have kept buying them through winter, I'm thrilled that it is now socially acceptable to order a glass at a restaurant or wine bar without the waiter looking at me like I am nuts.
-We are getting our little patio herb garden started again. So far we have basil and mint and lavender. We also finally bought a few new planters and some nice pillows for our chairs. It has made a big difference in how much time we want to spend out there.
-And the best news of all. Our local Trader Joe's is now carrying Oberon. I take this as proof that if you're patient enough, miracles do happen.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
April things
April was a busy month and I am attempting to type this with quite a nasty cut on my finger from a kitchen knife. (There's a first time for everything but I can't say I enjoyed my first experience cutting myself while chopping. Sean came to the rescue with bandaids and ice cream). Please ignore the typos!
Callie was in NYC the first weekend of April and we had a lovely time shopping, eating out, and getting our nails done. All of my favorite things in one day. We went to Red Farm for lunch on the Upper West Side which is one of my favorites. For dinner we decided to venture downtown in the rain to an old favorite Cacio e Pepe where we ordered the obvious choice, Cacio e Pepe. And in true Sullivan fashion we all got our own desserts even though we were stuffed.
This month I also took quick work trips to Boston and Atlanta. The weather in Atlanta was much more appealing than Boston I have to say. Also the Atlanta airport is an interesting place. The mens and women's restrooms are designated with pink and blue. Nice, right?
But in GOOD news. Spring is finally happening in the city. It may have taken all of April to get here but the trees, tulips, and daffodils have been absolutely fabulous on the days it is warm enough to enjoy them. We are also slowly preparing our patio for spring, I have had "buy flowers and plants" on my to do list for about five weekends and I swear it is happening this weekend.
It's unfortunate that as the weather gets nicer I am increasingly busy at work and Sean is busy with the end of the semester. But it's finally been nice enough for me to start walking home through Central Park. I forgot just how lovely that is.
Callie was in NYC the first weekend of April and we had a lovely time shopping, eating out, and getting our nails done. All of my favorite things in one day. We went to Red Farm for lunch on the Upper West Side which is one of my favorites. For dinner we decided to venture downtown in the rain to an old favorite Cacio e Pepe where we ordered the obvious choice, Cacio e Pepe. And in true Sullivan fashion we all got our own desserts even though we were stuffed.
This month I also took quick work trips to Boston and Atlanta. The weather in Atlanta was much more appealing than Boston I have to say. Also the Atlanta airport is an interesting place. The mens and women's restrooms are designated with pink and blue. Nice, right?
But in GOOD news. Spring is finally happening in the city. It may have taken all of April to get here but the trees, tulips, and daffodils have been absolutely fabulous on the days it is warm enough to enjoy them. We are also slowly preparing our patio for spring, I have had "buy flowers and plants" on my to do list for about five weekends and I swear it is happening this weekend.
It's unfortunate that as the weather gets nicer I am increasingly busy at work and Sean is busy with the end of the semester. But it's finally been nice enough for me to start walking home through Central Park. I forgot just how lovely that is.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Antigua Guatemala
Well everyone, it is a balmy 26 degrees outside right now. Yesterday I nearly got blown over by 50 mph wind gusts while it was also freezing out, so that was pretty special. I know it's technically spring now but it sure feels like winter to me and I am still dragging out the puffy coat, scarves, gloves, and boots every single morning. Will I ever wear sandals again? Stay tuned.
I was so fortunate to escape the cold for a week and visit Antigua Gautemala with my Mom. We stayed for most of the week with some old work friends of hers who have a lovely home and were great tour guides. It is such a beautiful city and we had a wonderful time exploring, admiring the volcanoes, and learning a lot about the history and culture of the city. I have a work benefit that allows me to travel abroad and take a language class, and I am so glad I decided to take a Spanish class. Not only did it make the trip almost free, I had no idea how fun it could be to learn a language without any pressure. Spanish feels very easy to me (because of it's similarity to French) but I obviously have a lot to learn! Also it was great to start learning it while also being immersed in the language. I am trying to learn more now with the amazing DuoLingo app some of my coworkers recommended.
I taught Mom the finer art of the selfie while we were wandering around some beautiful cathedral ruins.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Enough Already
I think we can all agree that this winter has been long, and too cold, and just difficult. And New York hasn't even had it as bad as other parts of the country. Traipsing through freezing rain, avoiding huge slush puddles, thawing out my toes every time I come home, and paying a huge heating bill has gotten old very quickly. Yes, it's finally March so the end must be in sight...but it still "feels like six degrees" outside.
I tried many different methods to fight off the winter blues during February. I bought fresh flowers. I visited friends. We went out to dinner. We forced ourselves to take walks in snowstorms because the other option was staying inside all day. But then there were days I chose to stay inside all day. It was just a bit much, especially when you add in the sun setting before five p.m. Rough.
Last weekend Sean and I got a little break from the cold and went down to Nashville for a wedding. Neither of us had ever been so it was fun to explore. We had our fill of southern food and live music. The weather on Friday and Saturday was a little cloudy but in the mid 50-60s which felt pretty much like a miracle. We took a long stroll around Vanderbilt's campus and then to Centennial Park where there is a full size replica of the Parthenon. The wedding was for one of my old high school friends and despite not knowing really anyone else who attended, it was such a lovely and fun celebration and we had a great time. We also managed to have no issues getting back to NYC despite plenty of potential ice/snow storms in the area. Much to Sean's sadness we did not come home with any cowboy boots.
Next week I am sure it will warm up at least a little bit but I am excited to be leaving town for a real dose of warm weather in Guatemala. I am taking a Spanish class while my Mom does research for books and we are both very excited to explore a new place. Poor Sean will be stuck home studying, but that's the price you pay for being a grad student I suppose. :-)
I tried many different methods to fight off the winter blues during February. I bought fresh flowers. I visited friends. We went out to dinner. We forced ourselves to take walks in snowstorms because the other option was staying inside all day. But then there were days I chose to stay inside all day. It was just a bit much, especially when you add in the sun setting before five p.m. Rough.
Last weekend Sean and I got a little break from the cold and went down to Nashville for a wedding. Neither of us had ever been so it was fun to explore. We had our fill of southern food and live music. The weather on Friday and Saturday was a little cloudy but in the mid 50-60s which felt pretty much like a miracle. We took a long stroll around Vanderbilt's campus and then to Centennial Park where there is a full size replica of the Parthenon. The wedding was for one of my old high school friends and despite not knowing really anyone else who attended, it was such a lovely and fun celebration and we had a great time. We also managed to have no issues getting back to NYC despite plenty of potential ice/snow storms in the area. Much to Sean's sadness we did not come home with any cowboy boots.
Next week I am sure it will warm up at least a little bit but I am excited to be leaving town for a real dose of warm weather in Guatemala. I am taking a Spanish class while my Mom does research for books and we are both very excited to explore a new place. Poor Sean will be stuck home studying, but that's the price you pay for being a grad student I suppose. :-)
Sunday, January 26, 2014
January Things
Oh January. The worst month. This year has been a real treat with these regular below zero temperatures. Let's just say my big puffy might as well be a down comforter coat is getting a lot of credit while I wait at the bus stop trying not to lose any fingers or toes to frostbite. But there has been some good stuff.
Miriam came to visit for a weekend and we went to the Museum of Natural History on a very rainy day, ate our fill of oysters, instructed her on the finer points of Mario Kart, and visited my new favorite bagel place on the UWS Barney Greengrass. The kind waiter tried to inform Miriam and I that we "don't like lox" and must "have meant the nova salmon" when we ordered because the lox is too salty. Little does he know, salt is one of my food groups. It was delicious.
Over MLK weekend, Sean and I took a train to western Massachusetts to visit Jocelyn and Cory. We were rewarded for making it through the mess that is Penn Station on a Friday night with lots of beautiful snow, cheap movie tickets, and an epic 80s dance party.
In other important January news, we finally broke down yesterday and bought a space heater. Our little apartment has been trying so hard to stay warm but with super high ceilings and a poorly insulated patio door, it was losing the fight and we were freezing. The space heater has instantly improved things. We also got a humidifier to help with the dryness from the space heater so now they are both chugging along taking up plenty of valuable floor space. But absolutely worth it.
And now....two photos! I know, I really overdid it with the photos. The first is obvious. The second is Sean before he started throwing and rolling around in the snow in MA.
Miriam came to visit for a weekend and we went to the Museum of Natural History on a very rainy day, ate our fill of oysters, instructed her on the finer points of Mario Kart, and visited my new favorite bagel place on the UWS Barney Greengrass. The kind waiter tried to inform Miriam and I that we "don't like lox" and must "have meant the nova salmon" when we ordered because the lox is too salty. Little does he know, salt is one of my food groups. It was delicious.
Over MLK weekend, Sean and I took a train to western Massachusetts to visit Jocelyn and Cory. We were rewarded for making it through the mess that is Penn Station on a Friday night with lots of beautiful snow, cheap movie tickets, and an epic 80s dance party.
In other important January news, we finally broke down yesterday and bought a space heater. Our little apartment has been trying so hard to stay warm but with super high ceilings and a poorly insulated patio door, it was losing the fight and we were freezing. The space heater has instantly improved things. We also got a humidifier to help with the dryness from the space heater so now they are both chugging along taking up plenty of valuable floor space. But absolutely worth it.
And now....two photos! I know, I really overdid it with the photos. The first is obvious. The second is Sean before he started throwing and rolling around in the snow in MA.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Intentions for a New Year
Travel to more places that I have never been. Last year I went to San Francisco and Philadelphia for the first time. This year I have personal trips to Nashville and Antigua, Guatemala in the works, along with potential work trips to Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Seattle. International travel has always been my favorite but I am beginning to see that visiting new cities and places in the United States can be a great experience too. Hoping to do a lot more of that this year!
Take more risks. In 2013 we took one big risk, moving to a new apartment in our dream neighborhood that made our bank accounts take a hit and wondering everyday if it was worth it. I also took some risks professionally that were stressful at the time and made me question if I was making the right decisions. But as with most risks that you think about carefully and decide to go ahead with, it was definitely worth it. In 2014 I hope to do more of this "careful" risk taking and keep moving forward with things that might seem a little scary but will ultimately be so worth doing.
Get back on the saving track. Sean and I have a fairly good rainy-day fund built up but moving this past year really made our savings take a hit. We have tried to maintain a small goal of $200 dollars each month going to savings (this is beyond what we each contribute to retirement accounts through work) but even that hasn't been happening recently. When it comes to saving money, I do believe even a small amount is better than nothing, and we can easily spend that $200 on two dinners out. So this is a pretty practical intention, to remind myself what needs to be done and keep working at it.
Unplug and explore activities that don't involve a screen. I fall into the trap like everyone else of keeping my phone glued to my side. I start my day at my computer, stare at my phone often on my commute, spend most of my work day in front of a computer, and come home to often watch a few episodes of a tv show. I have been intrigued by the idea of taking one day each week to unplug completely but am not quite there yet. I would like to take more dedicated time away from a screen to read/explore the neighborhood/sleep/try new recipes. You get the idea and it is obviously easier said than done but ultimately I think it would be good for my eyes and brain to take that break on a regular basis.
Take more risks. In 2013 we took one big risk, moving to a new apartment in our dream neighborhood that made our bank accounts take a hit and wondering everyday if it was worth it. I also took some risks professionally that were stressful at the time and made me question if I was making the right decisions. But as with most risks that you think about carefully and decide to go ahead with, it was definitely worth it. In 2014 I hope to do more of this "careful" risk taking and keep moving forward with things that might seem a little scary but will ultimately be so worth doing.
Get back on the saving track. Sean and I have a fairly good rainy-day fund built up but moving this past year really made our savings take a hit. We have tried to maintain a small goal of $200 dollars each month going to savings (this is beyond what we each contribute to retirement accounts through work) but even that hasn't been happening recently. When it comes to saving money, I do believe even a small amount is better than nothing, and we can easily spend that $200 on two dinners out. So this is a pretty practical intention, to remind myself what needs to be done and keep working at it.
Unplug and explore activities that don't involve a screen. I fall into the trap like everyone else of keeping my phone glued to my side. I start my day at my computer, stare at my phone often on my commute, spend most of my work day in front of a computer, and come home to often watch a few episodes of a tv show. I have been intrigued by the idea of taking one day each week to unplug completely but am not quite there yet. I would like to take more dedicated time away from a screen to read/explore the neighborhood/sleep/try new recipes. You get the idea and it is obviously easier said than done but ultimately I think it would be good for my eyes and brain to take that break on a regular basis.
Friday, January 3, 2014
2014
2013 will henceforth be known as the year of the tiny apartment, or when I learned how much space/stuff I really need. Looking back, it was a pretty great year.
In January and February we did not hibernate as usual and instead were quite busy getting out and about even in blizzards. I thought a lot about moving and started trolling apartment listings.
In March we had a fun family weekend in Chicago and towards the end of the month started a real apartment hunt. In April I went to San Francisco for work and then we found our new apartment!
In May we went to every restaurant we loved in Astoria and felt sad about leaving our very first New York City apartment.
In June we were both very busy and we finally moved. I turned 26 and realized that there was now a Shake Shack within walking distance of my apartment. Sean assembled a lot of new furniture.
In July Miriam and Aaron came to visit and we struggled through two heat waves. We took a weekend trip to Philadelphia.
In August we took a long trip to Michigan and my Mom got married! Our new nephew Hudson was born and I showed his picture to anyone who would look. In the process of this trip I flew on standby for the first time (not by choice). Fun!
In September we visited Jocelyn and Cory for Labor Day weekend and then celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. I fell in love with New York City all over again, as one does in the fall.
October was mainly quiet, Michael visited and I tried to keep a Mum plant alive. Sean turned 27.
In November I wrote about hosting guests in a tiny apartment after Jocelyn and Cory spent the weekend with us. We went to Michigan for Thanksgiving and finally met Hudson who I proclaimed to be the best baby ever.
In December I went to Chinatown for the first time and we watched a ton of cheesy Christmas movies. We went to a bunch of holiday parties and back to Michigan for Christmas.
And now it's 2014!
At the start of 2013 I had some goals for the year of things I wanted to do/see in New York. They were:
-Go to a Mets or Yankees game.
-Explore more of Queens.
-Go to the Museum of Natural History.
-Take a trip somewhere on the East Coast that is easily reached from here.
-Eat at Franny's in Brooklyn.
We never really did get to explore more of Queens but that doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. I also STILL have not been to the Museum of Natural History (I do not count the one night there for a work event) but am hoping to remedy that next weekend. Happy to report this year I did go to a Yankees game, we took a trip to Philadelphia using public transportation, and we ate at Franny's along with a ton of other great new restaurants.
I have been thinking about resolutions and things I want to accomplish in 2014 but those ideas are not quite fully developed yet so they will have to wait for another day.
In January and February we did not hibernate as usual and instead were quite busy getting out and about even in blizzards. I thought a lot about moving and started trolling apartment listings.
In March we had a fun family weekend in Chicago and towards the end of the month started a real apartment hunt. In April I went to San Francisco for work and then we found our new apartment!
In May we went to every restaurant we loved in Astoria and felt sad about leaving our very first New York City apartment.
In June we were both very busy and we finally moved. I turned 26 and realized that there was now a Shake Shack within walking distance of my apartment. Sean assembled a lot of new furniture.
In July Miriam and Aaron came to visit and we struggled through two heat waves. We took a weekend trip to Philadelphia.
In August we took a long trip to Michigan and my Mom got married! Our new nephew Hudson was born and I showed his picture to anyone who would look. In the process of this trip I flew on standby for the first time (not by choice). Fun!
In September we visited Jocelyn and Cory for Labor Day weekend and then celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. I fell in love with New York City all over again, as one does in the fall.
October was mainly quiet, Michael visited and I tried to keep a Mum plant alive. Sean turned 27.
In November I wrote about hosting guests in a tiny apartment after Jocelyn and Cory spent the weekend with us. We went to Michigan for Thanksgiving and finally met Hudson who I proclaimed to be the best baby ever.
In December I went to Chinatown for the first time and we watched a ton of cheesy Christmas movies. We went to a bunch of holiday parties and back to Michigan for Christmas.
And now it's 2014!
At the start of 2013 I had some goals for the year of things I wanted to do/see in New York. They were:
-Go to a Mets or Yankees game.
-Explore more of Queens.
-Go to the Museum of Natural History.
-Take a trip somewhere on the East Coast that is easily reached from here.
-Eat at Franny's in Brooklyn.
We never really did get to explore more of Queens but that doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. I also STILL have not been to the Museum of Natural History (I do not count the one night there for a work event) but am hoping to remedy that next weekend. Happy to report this year I did go to a Yankees game, we took a trip to Philadelphia using public transportation, and we ate at Franny's along with a ton of other great new restaurants.
I have been thinking about resolutions and things I want to accomplish in 2014 but those ideas are not quite fully developed yet so they will have to wait for another day.
Monday, December 30, 2013
It's the Holiday Season...
We're coming to the end of another holiday season with New Years Eve tomorrow night. The end of 2013 has been tough and hectic at times and while I am sad to see it end, I am also looking forward to the new year and lots of fun things we have planned. We got back last night from our Christmas trip to Michigan. Of course no trip would be complete without some kind of dangerous driving condition and we had a white knuckled drive from Detroit to Jackson after we arrived to an ice storm. We made it safely and the roads just began to freeze after we arrived and stepped outside the car to a sheet of ice on the ground. Rough.
I also continued my yearly tradition of getting sick just before, on, or after Christmas with a fabulous cold that knocked me out for the last three days of our trip and caused me to miss some very fun parties. There is nothing quite like an airport when you're sick. The travel gods were smiling on us and Sean was upgraded to first class. He insisted I take his seat so I had a very comfortable ride and all the hot tea I needed. However, that must have used up all our good travel karma because we arrived in New York to an absolute downpour and no cabs to be found at the airport. After waiting for over an hour in a long cab line that was hardly moving, we decided to take the bus to the subway. Two hours later we finally made it home. It took us as long to get from LaGuardia to our apartment as it took to get from Detroit to New York.
Bookended between those two lovely travel experiences, we had a great trip. It was wonderful to see so many family members and friends and get to spend lots of quality time together. We also had the special joy of spending Christmas morning with our nephews. Watching a three year old be excited about Christmas takes it to a whole different level of awesome. We had so much fun playing with Jack and all his new toys and cuddling Hudson who is basically the cutest four month old ever.
This will be a low key New Years Eve for us. Sean and I are spending the evening at home and both working tomorrow. I have plans for a special dinner and Mario Kart tournament and we're hoping to catch the Rose Bowl for a Spartan victory on New Years Day. Here's to a wonderful new year!
I also continued my yearly tradition of getting sick just before, on, or after Christmas with a fabulous cold that knocked me out for the last three days of our trip and caused me to miss some very fun parties. There is nothing quite like an airport when you're sick. The travel gods were smiling on us and Sean was upgraded to first class. He insisted I take his seat so I had a very comfortable ride and all the hot tea I needed. However, that must have used up all our good travel karma because we arrived in New York to an absolute downpour and no cabs to be found at the airport. After waiting for over an hour in a long cab line that was hardly moving, we decided to take the bus to the subway. Two hours later we finally made it home. It took us as long to get from LaGuardia to our apartment as it took to get from Detroit to New York.
Bookended between those two lovely travel experiences, we had a great trip. It was wonderful to see so many family members and friends and get to spend lots of quality time together. We also had the special joy of spending Christmas morning with our nephews. Watching a three year old be excited about Christmas takes it to a whole different level of awesome. We had so much fun playing with Jack and all his new toys and cuddling Hudson who is basically the cutest four month old ever.
This will be a low key New Years Eve for us. Sean and I are spending the evening at home and both working tomorrow. I have plans for a special dinner and Mario Kart tournament and we're hoping to catch the Rose Bowl for a Spartan victory on New Years Day. Here's to a wonderful new year!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Hello there, December
December really snuck up on me this year because Thanksgiving was so late and now here we are one week away from Christmas. I haven't looked at any store windows or visited the tree or one single Christmas market and that's just the way it is going to be this year because there isn't any time left. Our weekends have been booked with gift shopping and holiday parties and lots of studying for Sean (finals! grad school! isn't it wonderful?).
A word about holiday parties. I don't know if this is because we moved to New York at the same time we were becoming "real" adults or if this is solidly a New York thing, but holiday parties are a big. deal. in this city. Maybe you can also expect to be invited to six holiday parties in other parts of the country or maybe it is just New York or maybe we just have festive friends? Regardless, there are always lots of fun holiday events to attend for work or for friends and you can quickly develop what I call holiday party fatigue. Otherwise known as, what do I wear to these parties and why aren't rain boots appropriate because there are huge piles of slush in the street. There seems to be a lot of social pressure around holiday parties and every year it is an interesting social experiment to witness. Luckily these parties usually come with delicious food. The end.
Some things to note in December:
-I went to Chinatown for the first time, it was a strange place! Thanks to Sarah for getting me down there despite my pleading to not go. It was snowing and decorated for Christmas and we visited a few bakeries and I ate too many red bean pastries and many people on the street asked us if we were looking for designer handbags. We probably should have said yes just to see where they would have taken us.
-Sarah also got me to go to another opera at the Met. We saw Falstaff which was thankfully less than 4 hours. I'm a sucker for anything at Lincoln Center and it beats watching TV on a Monday night.
-Sean and I tried a great new restaurant on the Upper West Side, Red Farm. This is their second location in New York and we have been eyeing it for weeks waiting for dinner service to start so we could find time to go. It finally did and it was delicious! We went on a Tuesday night and it was pretty packed, which I think is a good sign.
-We have watched all the good Christmas movies and we watched them early so we have been left with whatever wierd movies are available for Netflix streaming. This includes but is not limited to movies that were made to air on ABC Family. Yep.
Now there is a lot to do before another trip to Michigan. Big plans include putting Christmas music on my phone for the trip and charging my Kindle. Flight delays will not get the best of me this year!
A word about holiday parties. I don't know if this is because we moved to New York at the same time we were becoming "real" adults or if this is solidly a New York thing, but holiday parties are a big. deal. in this city. Maybe you can also expect to be invited to six holiday parties in other parts of the country or maybe it is just New York or maybe we just have festive friends? Regardless, there are always lots of fun holiday events to attend for work or for friends and you can quickly develop what I call holiday party fatigue. Otherwise known as, what do I wear to these parties and why aren't rain boots appropriate because there are huge piles of slush in the street. There seems to be a lot of social pressure around holiday parties and every year it is an interesting social experiment to witness. Luckily these parties usually come with delicious food. The end.
Some things to note in December:
-I went to Chinatown for the first time, it was a strange place! Thanks to Sarah for getting me down there despite my pleading to not go. It was snowing and decorated for Christmas and we visited a few bakeries and I ate too many red bean pastries and many people on the street asked us if we were looking for designer handbags. We probably should have said yes just to see where they would have taken us.
-Sarah also got me to go to another opera at the Met. We saw Falstaff which was thankfully less than 4 hours. I'm a sucker for anything at Lincoln Center and it beats watching TV on a Monday night.
-Sean and I tried a great new restaurant on the Upper West Side, Red Farm. This is their second location in New York and we have been eyeing it for weeks waiting for dinner service to start so we could find time to go. It finally did and it was delicious! We went on a Tuesday night and it was pretty packed, which I think is a good sign.
-We have watched all the good Christmas movies and we watched them early so we have been left with whatever wierd movies are available for Netflix streaming. This includes but is not limited to movies that were made to air on ABC Family. Yep.
Now there is a lot to do before another trip to Michigan. Big plans include putting Christmas music on my phone for the trip and charging my Kindle. Flight delays will not get the best of me this year!
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Thankful
Sean and I are headed to the great state of Michigan this evening for a marathon of family visits and eating lots of food. We are so excited to finally meet our nephew Hudson who is already (tear) three months old. And on top of that we also get to meet Miriam and Aaron's puppy who I have been facetiming with for weeks (I know, facetiming with a dog...but don't knock it 'til you've tried it!). Before we go, here is the requisite what I am thankful for post.
The big things:
Our wonderful supportive family
Our dear friends, including the new ones we have made in New York and all the old ones scattered around the country and world
Sean and the fact that he still makes the coffee every single morning
Reliable full time jobs that are of course still work, but interesting!
Our tiny little apartment on the Upper West Side that is just perfect for us
The opportunity to travel and explore new places
The little things:
Warm socks
A sturdy umbrella
Central Park in all seasons
Levain cookies
Kale (that's right, I love it)
Coffee and Wine (the nectars of life)
Netflix streaming and how it makes life without TV doable
Whole wheat everything bagels
Happy Thanksgiving!
The big things:
Our wonderful supportive family
Our dear friends, including the new ones we have made in New York and all the old ones scattered around the country and world
Sean and the fact that he still makes the coffee every single morning
Reliable full time jobs that are of course still work, but interesting!
Our tiny little apartment on the Upper West Side that is just perfect for us
The opportunity to travel and explore new places
The little things:
Warm socks
A sturdy umbrella
Central Park in all seasons
Levain cookies
Kale (that's right, I love it)
Coffee and Wine (the nectars of life)
Netflix streaming and how it makes life without TV doable
Whole wheat everything bagels
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Hosting Guests in a Tiny Apartment
Well I have clearly been slacking on my blog duties and a lot of this has to do with busy weekends filled with guests. First Michael came to visit before a job interview (happy to report he got the job and is moving to New York soon!) and then Jocelyn and Cory came to spend the weekend with us. We love when friends and family come visit, but it is admittedly a challenge to host overnight guests in our very small apartment. Hotels in New York are expensive and most of our friends in the city get asked fairly often to host friends, family, friends of friends who are passing through, etc. Of course it's never possible to say yes to every request but here are some things I have found helpful when you're hosting overnight guests.
1. Clean your apartment! I am always grateful for the excuse to do a deep cleaning but this can also just be shoving clutter into the back of the closet/behind the couch/under the bed/wherever guests won't see it. It is easy to feel apologetic and make excuses for your little apartment, but when it is clean and organized, I always feel better about the first impression it is giving.
2. Major points if you manage to clear a space for your guest's suitcase (this is an ongoing challenge for us).
3. Buy fresh flowers and light a candle or two. I always do this when we have friends over for dinner but it does the trick for overnight guests too. It takes the first impression from "wow this place is small" to "wow it's so nice and cozy."
4. It's ok to ask people to bring their own sheets. When Jocelyn offered to bring towels, I thought that was pretty silly, we are well stocked, but bringing sheets was so helpful. It saved us from having to dig in the upper reaches of the closet for a fresh set and drag them to the laundromat afterwards.
5. But if you do ask guests to bring their own sheets or towels, maybe make them a nice breakfast? We like to bake some scones in advance or hello, Trader Joe's pumpkin pancake mix is delicious.
6. Make dinner reservations. I love using guests as an excuse to try a new restaurant. Also, after a long day wandering around New York it's nice to know where you are going for dinner. It eliminates the lengthy "what should we eat" conversation and you don't have to wait an hour for a table to open up when you are starving.
7. Having guests is also a great excuse to do things around the city as a tourist. Visit museums, see a show, or just go for a walk in a new neighborhood. When your apartment feels crowded with three people in it, it's important to get outside, for everyone's sanity.
8. Be honest about your routine. We try to avoid it but we occasionally have guests during the work week. I have found it is much easier to be up front about my morning schedule. "I wake up at X time and I need to make coffee/blow dry my hair/do other loud activities." There's honestly no such thing as tip-toeing around in an under 400 square feet space, so manage expectations for sleeping in right away.
9. Goes along with number 8. We do our best to run errands and take care of chores before we have guests but it is not always possible. Sometimes you have to pick up your dry cleaning and buy another bag of coffee beans. I used to feel guilty about this, then I realized our good friends and family absolutely do not care, and don't mind stopping for an errand with me.
10. But do not take your friends to Trader Joe's in Manhattan. This is reserved for family, aka people you can yell at who will forgive you. Just trust me on this one.
There you have it, my best advice for hosting guests in tiny New York apartments. And now a photo of Jocelyn, Cory, and Sean in our kitchen.
1. Clean your apartment! I am always grateful for the excuse to do a deep cleaning but this can also just be shoving clutter into the back of the closet/behind the couch/under the bed/wherever guests won't see it. It is easy to feel apologetic and make excuses for your little apartment, but when it is clean and organized, I always feel better about the first impression it is giving.
2. Major points if you manage to clear a space for your guest's suitcase (this is an ongoing challenge for us).
3. Buy fresh flowers and light a candle or two. I always do this when we have friends over for dinner but it does the trick for overnight guests too. It takes the first impression from "wow this place is small" to "wow it's so nice and cozy."
4. It's ok to ask people to bring their own sheets. When Jocelyn offered to bring towels, I thought that was pretty silly, we are well stocked, but bringing sheets was so helpful. It saved us from having to dig in the upper reaches of the closet for a fresh set and drag them to the laundromat afterwards.
5. But if you do ask guests to bring their own sheets or towels, maybe make them a nice breakfast? We like to bake some scones in advance or hello, Trader Joe's pumpkin pancake mix is delicious.
6. Make dinner reservations. I love using guests as an excuse to try a new restaurant. Also, after a long day wandering around New York it's nice to know where you are going for dinner. It eliminates the lengthy "what should we eat" conversation and you don't have to wait an hour for a table to open up when you are starving.
7. Having guests is also a great excuse to do things around the city as a tourist. Visit museums, see a show, or just go for a walk in a new neighborhood. When your apartment feels crowded with three people in it, it's important to get outside, for everyone's sanity.
8. Be honest about your routine. We try to avoid it but we occasionally have guests during the work week. I have found it is much easier to be up front about my morning schedule. "I wake up at X time and I need to make coffee/blow dry my hair/do other loud activities." There's honestly no such thing as tip-toeing around in an under 400 square feet space, so manage expectations for sleeping in right away.
9. Goes along with number 8. We do our best to run errands and take care of chores before we have guests but it is not always possible. Sometimes you have to pick up your dry cleaning and buy another bag of coffee beans. I used to feel guilty about this, then I realized our good friends and family absolutely do not care, and don't mind stopping for an errand with me.
10. But do not take your friends to Trader Joe's in Manhattan. This is reserved for family, aka people you can yell at who will forgive you. Just trust me on this one.
There you have it, my best advice for hosting guests in tiny New York apartments. And now a photo of Jocelyn, Cory, and Sean in our kitchen.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
All the Fall Foods
Hello! It has been a while and this mainly because I haven't had anything of much interest to report on. After the long, busy work/school weeks, we have been enjoying quiet weekends without much on the agenda beyond soaking up the nice weather, cooking, and my favorite activity of eating outside in various New York City parks. Saturday morning bagels and coffee in Riverside Park, Magnolia banana pudding in the Sheep's Meadow of Central Park, and salads from Sweet Green while we watch people feed squirrels in Madison Square Park. Side note, why would you want to feed a squirrel? I really don't understand.
This weekend I am aspiring to find a good cider doughnut, roast a pumpkin, and drink some warm apple cider. Despite being a little annoyed by all the pumpkin-everything that crops up this time of year, I still find myself wanting to eat ALL the fall foods. While waiting in line at Starbucks, I even tried to convince myself I liked pumpkin spiced lattes (spoiler: I do not). I was just warming up for my yearly testing of the pumpkin pie theory. I enjoy almost all things pumpkin. Pumpkin soups, cookies, breads, cupcakes (I dream about pumpkin cupcakes from Sprinkles), pancakes, etc. But I hate pumpkin pie and every year I smell it baking and wow it smells so good and I think this year I will enjoy that pumpkin pie. Then I take a bite and hate it. This is similar to my peanut butter cookie problem. When two of your favorite foods are peanut butter and cookies, you would think that you might love a peanut butter cookie, but you would be wrong.
Other things of note, we bought a mum plant last week to keep in our apartment but it has quickly died. We plan to try again, but what gives mum plant? Are mums really that hard to keep alive?
And lastly, if you're looking for a good pumpkin recipe, here's what I'm considering doing with that sugar pie pumpkin sitting on our table begging to be roasted:
Spiced pumpkin soup
http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2010/01/spiced-pumpkin-soup.html
Or maybe pumpkin garlic knots
http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/04/pumpkin-garlic-knots.html
This weekend I am aspiring to find a good cider doughnut, roast a pumpkin, and drink some warm apple cider. Despite being a little annoyed by all the pumpkin-everything that crops up this time of year, I still find myself wanting to eat ALL the fall foods. While waiting in line at Starbucks, I even tried to convince myself I liked pumpkin spiced lattes (spoiler: I do not). I was just warming up for my yearly testing of the pumpkin pie theory. I enjoy almost all things pumpkin. Pumpkin soups, cookies, breads, cupcakes (I dream about pumpkin cupcakes from Sprinkles), pancakes, etc. But I hate pumpkin pie and every year I smell it baking and wow it smells so good and I think this year I will enjoy that pumpkin pie. Then I take a bite and hate it. This is similar to my peanut butter cookie problem. When two of your favorite foods are peanut butter and cookies, you would think that you might love a peanut butter cookie, but you would be wrong.
Other things of note, we bought a mum plant last week to keep in our apartment but it has quickly died. We plan to try again, but what gives mum plant? Are mums really that hard to keep alive?
And lastly, if you're looking for a good pumpkin recipe, here's what I'm considering doing with that sugar pie pumpkin sitting on our table begging to be roasted:
Spiced pumpkin soup
http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2010/01/spiced-pumpkin-soup.html
Or maybe pumpkin garlic knots
http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/04/pumpkin-garlic-knots.html
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Three Years
This month Sean and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. I love anniversaries because they are our own personal holiday. And they give us an excuse to do fun things that we might not have done otherwise (like spend a weekend in Union Square, or go to Hawaii). This year was not terribly exciting. We are saving our pennies for exorbitant holiday flights and Sean has started class again. As usual I spent our anniversary lamenting over the fact that we still haven't put together a wedding album and wishing we had hired a wedding videographer. These are always productive hours. And then I think we watched the Office on Netflix.
We did use our anniversary as an excuse to go out for a nice dinner last weekend. We tried a new to us restaurant on the Upper West Side, Dovetail. It's hidden on 77th street just next to the Shake Shack and we had never noticed it before. I agree with a lot of the reviews which said this is such an underrated restaurant in New York. Walking in feels like entering someone's apartment building, but we were pleasantly surprised by the interior and the service was excellent. They have a vegetable tasting menu (which I appreciate, since being a vegetarian often limits my ability to order the chef's tasting menu) and it was delicious. I was stuffed by the end even though it was spread out over two hours. It was a very fun evening and I'm sure we will be back for special occasions in the future.
This past week we went to the opening night of the New York City Ballet's Swan Lake at Lincoln Center. We billed this as an anniversary present to ourselves because we have both wanted to see Swan Lake for a long time and it is always always sold out before we even think to buy tickets. We got the cheapest tickets possible. Really, there is such a thing as the nosebleed seats at ballets. I was still able to enjoy the ballet once I got over my fear of heights. This time Sean did not fall asleep (as he did when I took him to his first ballet) and we both loved the music and the final scenes which were in a word, epic. Also it was so nice to be able to walk down to Lincoln Center and quickly walk home afterwards. I really am loving the Upper West Side.
Here's an oldie but a goodie from our honeymoon, and cheers to many more happy years!
We did use our anniversary as an excuse to go out for a nice dinner last weekend. We tried a new to us restaurant on the Upper West Side, Dovetail. It's hidden on 77th street just next to the Shake Shack and we had never noticed it before. I agree with a lot of the reviews which said this is such an underrated restaurant in New York. Walking in feels like entering someone's apartment building, but we were pleasantly surprised by the interior and the service was excellent. They have a vegetable tasting menu (which I appreciate, since being a vegetarian often limits my ability to order the chef's tasting menu) and it was delicious. I was stuffed by the end even though it was spread out over two hours. It was a very fun evening and I'm sure we will be back for special occasions in the future.
This past week we went to the opening night of the New York City Ballet's Swan Lake at Lincoln Center. We billed this as an anniversary present to ourselves because we have both wanted to see Swan Lake for a long time and it is always always sold out before we even think to buy tickets. We got the cheapest tickets possible. Really, there is such a thing as the nosebleed seats at ballets. I was still able to enjoy the ballet once I got over my fear of heights. This time Sean did not fall asleep (as he did when I took him to his first ballet) and we both loved the music and the final scenes which were in a word, epic. Also it was so nice to be able to walk down to Lincoln Center and quickly walk home afterwards. I really am loving the Upper West Side.
Here's an oldie but a goodie from our honeymoon, and cheers to many more happy years!
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