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!
Monday, December 30, 2013
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!
Monday, September 9, 2013
Fall and a love letter to New York City
Can you believe it is already September? Summer seemed to go by very quickly this year. And now the weather is really cooling off which makes it feel like fall, despite my attitude that fall doesn't officially begin until September 22. I am sad to see summer end but am looking forward to sweaters, boots, and pumpkins. And hunting down some cider doughnuts at a farmer's market.
We spent Labor Day weekend in Massachusetts visiting Jocelyn and Cory in their new home. Turns out the middle of MA has some very cute college towns! Unfortunately the weather was horrible so we were cooped up inside but that gave us plenty of time to play Yahtzee and Euchre and watch episodes of the Office together. Also Sean and I conquered cheap East Coast travel yet again by taking the Metro North and then a short leg of Amtrak saving ourselves over $100 dollars in train costs. When you're used to the Midwest, it's easy to forget that there are other travel options beyond cars and Amtrak.
Jocelyn and Cory have purchased a two bedroom/two bathroom condo and wow is it spacious compared with our apartment. It's easy for me to wish we had more space, maybe a backyard, and a car, when we spend time outside of NYC. I can't pretend that I'm not jealous of friends who pay 1/4 of the rent I do in other parts of the country and don't go out for dinner thinking 7 dollars for a beer is a deal. But then I am walking through Central Park on my way home from work or our flight path takes us over Manhattan before landing at LGA and I just feel lucky to be living here.
Despite my strong wish to move to New York after college, when we actually moved here it took me quite a while to adjust. I needed at least six months to get an understanding of the geography of the city and it's only now I can finally say I a strong command of the different boroughs and neighborhoods and all the public transit options for getting there. There has been some adjusting with our new neighborhood (still need a reliable dry cleaner...) but all in all New York just feels like home. A loud, stinky home that sometimes you need to escape, but ultimately you love and are excited to come home to.
This city has given me so many amazing cultural and culinary experiences, wonderful friendships, and work opportunities I would be unlikely to find other places. I love the food, the parks, the busy streets, the buildings, and the bridges. Happy three year anniversary, New York, I think I love you.
We spent Labor Day weekend in Massachusetts visiting Jocelyn and Cory in their new home. Turns out the middle of MA has some very cute college towns! Unfortunately the weather was horrible so we were cooped up inside but that gave us plenty of time to play Yahtzee and Euchre and watch episodes of the Office together. Also Sean and I conquered cheap East Coast travel yet again by taking the Metro North and then a short leg of Amtrak saving ourselves over $100 dollars in train costs. When you're used to the Midwest, it's easy to forget that there are other travel options beyond cars and Amtrak.
Jocelyn and Cory have purchased a two bedroom/two bathroom condo and wow is it spacious compared with our apartment. It's easy for me to wish we had more space, maybe a backyard, and a car, when we spend time outside of NYC. I can't pretend that I'm not jealous of friends who pay 1/4 of the rent I do in other parts of the country and don't go out for dinner thinking 7 dollars for a beer is a deal. But then I am walking through Central Park on my way home from work or our flight path takes us over Manhattan before landing at LGA and I just feel lucky to be living here.
Despite my strong wish to move to New York after college, when we actually moved here it took me quite a while to adjust. I needed at least six months to get an understanding of the geography of the city and it's only now I can finally say I a strong command of the different boroughs and neighborhoods and all the public transit options for getting there. There has been some adjusting with our new neighborhood (still need a reliable dry cleaner...) but all in all New York just feels like home. A loud, stinky home that sometimes you need to escape, but ultimately you love and are excited to come home to.
This city has given me so many amazing cultural and culinary experiences, wonderful friendships, and work opportunities I would be unlikely to find other places. I love the food, the parks, the busy streets, the buildings, and the bridges. Happy three year anniversary, New York, I think I love you.
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