jim henson

recap

image via archidose

image via archidose

image via luminaire

this weekend marissa and i explore financial district. i was sure, there was nothing to see down there, but she showed me otherwise. we ate at the sandwich house, which was cheap and yummy. we visited the trinity church, rubbed the bull (but not his junk - that's a little weird to me), checked out the smithsonian's national museum of the native american, and walked around battery park.

we also scoped out some of the buildings i wanted to see in the midtown area. i took some pictures, with my real camera, so i will post those soon. we got up close and personal with the chrysler building, got some pictures of philip johnson's seagram building, and pretended like we belonged in the waldorf astoria. we also tried baked my melissa's cupcakes. they were yummy and creative, but way too small, like they were honestly the size of my eyeball, weird comparison? yes maybe so. oh also spent part of the afternoon dreaming of diamonds in tiffanys. 

i had the chance to enjoy the early evening on the pier at 72nd. it was gorgeous. i need to be by the coast always. i just love being able to feel a breeze coming off the water, even if it was the toxic hundson. still made me happy. for dinner i enjoyed dinosaur bbq with friends. the wait was worth it, because for the first time in my life i had some fried green tomatoes. so yummy. and the syracuse style salt potatoes. man oh man. 

this weekend we also had the chance to go visit the museum of the moving image. it was one of the best museums i have been to. the architecture, the interior design, the identity, the curation, and the hands on activities were all right on. i was smiling when i got to sit on a osorom bench designed by konstantin grcic, much more comfortable than expected. we all enjoyed the exhibit on jim henson. minus the use of papyrus throughout this exhibit, a little hiccup there. who made that choice. but this guy was awesome. we will all remember him for our friends kermit and big bird, but he did so much more.

our taste buds made our way around the world with venezuelan cuisine and french fare in the same evening. arepas cafe in queens is worth a stop if you find yourself in the neighborhood. and balthazar served me up a pretty lovely chocolate cake and nick's meringue was fantastique. 

items checked off list: 7

the skint loves me

i am not one to win things. it seems i just dont have that lucky streak. ksav on the other hand. that girl wins everything. on thursday, at work cassie spotted that the skint was giving out a free pair of tickets to see julia stone perform, so we both entered and didn't think much more of it. (we moved on to thinking about other seemily more important things - like salty pimp ice cream cones) this afternoon i got an email from the skint, that looked a little like this >>

i won something. i am a winner. i called cassie with the news.

we enjoyed a lovely evening at le poisson rouge. this basement venue with red lighting reminded me of the club scene in funny face. and for awhile there the music was getting pretty experimental, i was just waiting for someone to get up and do a dance like audrey hepburn.

i'm still not so sure how i feel about doveman. i liked the music, but not so much his voice. but julia stone did an excellent job. and she sang a cover of the national. i love them.

afterwards, we treated ourselves to popbar. what a genius idea. you pick your flavor popsicle, then your dipping, then your topping. cassie had a strawberry dipped in milk chocolate and i had a blood orange in dark chocolate. i'm sad to say, cassie ordered better than i. but they were both yummy.

i also got hit on my a lesbian. and not just a couple glances and a few words. this chick followed us for at least 5 minutes. but she said she wouldn't bite unless i wanted her too. that was a relief.

and on the train, an older gentleman asked me if i happened to be nicole kidman. at least this was flattering.

i forgot

yes i was in the same room as harry potter

to blog about how to succeed in business without really trying. chris, zack, marissa and i were all able to get rush tickets for 30 bucks a pop. we got in line at 8:30 for the box office to open at 10 and we were already behind 100 people. we weren't sure if we would be lucky enough or not. but the fates were with us. we were quite pleased. this show was so fun. i loved the music, the dancing, the set, the humor and of course daniel radcliff. the audience was loving harry potter. i think it might just have been my favorite broadway experience this summer. we ended the evening with pinkberry. what more could you want in life?

on a roll

image via amazon

after work cassie and i managed to check 4 more things off my list. first we stopped at grand central station. then we made our way to serendipty 3, where we put our names down. during our hour and a half wait, we went to eat at the burger joint. the burger was yummy, but there is something about shake shack that has me hooked. i also stuck my noise in the four seasons, which was not anything special. but cassie and i are planning a girl's night at the hudson hotel, which is sure to be stellar. we made our way back to serendipity where we feasted on humble pie and a frozen hot chocolate. i know i know, i might get some disagreement here, but honestly the frozen hot chocolate did not rock my world. but i am not the biggest hot chocolate fan anyways, well unless it comes from hatch's or city bakery. hot or cold not my cup of tea, sorry hot chocolate. but andy warhol loved ya so don't feel bad.

two salty pimps please

this weekend i will be on nyc bucket list crunch mode. gotta do as much as possible. i got another check off the list this afternoon, when i went out of the office in search of some afternoon delight.

a salty pimp for me and a salty pimp for cassie

digging coins out of the bottoms of our purses was so worth it.

cone lined with caramel, vanilla soft serve, topped with caramel, sea salt and chocolate.

apollo

marissa and i had a lovely night yesterday at the apollo theater. we laughed, clapped, yelled, booed, danced, and sang. i still am thinking about that grandpa up there on the stage dancing and chuckle to myself. and the little rappers from brooklyn got their jam stuck in my head. thank you for a good night harlem.

water water everywhere

we have these glass bottles here at work and i love them. i would like one for home and one to keep in the bfa lab for those late nights. i think i will be making a trip to abc. designed by seletti. magnifico

the stone siblings

cassie and i can't stop listening to angus & julia stone. so good. and angus is one sexy individual.

love

images via ohjoy!

all you need is love right?
well my dearest roommate marissa let me a love note and a box from bouchon bakery on my bed one night.

i took the goodies to work the next morning for breakfast. oreo (tko) and brownie (chocolate bouchon) yum.

made my week a million times better

two peas in a pod

so you might be thinking i might be lying dead as a doornail and as flat as a pancake in the streets of nyc. my mother was almost positive that's exactly what had happened to me.
but i am in fact alive and doing well.

cassie and i have had quite a busy week at work. my typical late nights in the bfa are accompanied with little sleezer's pizza or mister mcdonalds and a large d p. but no sir, not here in nyc.

isn't she lovely, isn't  she wonderful

cassie and i have treated ourselves to:

max brenner
        we thought we had died and gone to heaven. we ordered the smores pizza and a red heart chocolate
        cake (choclate cake with raspberry filling). so yummy. definitely hit that sweet spot.

south brooklyn pizza
       thank you for staying open til 5 am. that served us well indeed. but the crust was super crunchy,  
       grimaldis and eataly win for best crust. south brooklyn has the freshest basil.

eataly
      incredibly decadent gelato and pizza for dessert. backwards? i think not. but i do think grimaldis and
       south brookyln have better mozzerella

shake shack
      for two incredibly hungry girls two double cheeseburgers, two orders of fries, one milkshake, and
       one concrete.

republic
      yummy noodles, but could you please give me more? cassie loved the lime chicken and i was all
       about the spicy coconut chicken. yes please.

wichcraft
     so close to the office and so easy to run over for some quick satisfaction and a cookie too

city bakery
      i have been craving a city bakery cookie all week, but they close so stinking earlier, but we finally
       made our way over there for lunch yesterday.

chipotle
     a happy burrito full belly guarantee

the brindle room
     this place in the east village delivers, so one night i order myself the 3 herb chicken sandwich. i  
     honestly don't think i have ever had a better chicken sandwich. so good.

beecher's cheese

     we came here one morning and had the breakfast casserole and multigrain bagels. yummy and     

     healthy too. well i dunno, but i seemed healthy than what i usually have for breakfast.

the city is so much quieter and cooler at 4 in the morning and i enjoyed my cab rides home with the windows rolled down.

google today

remember how i got to see alexander calder's work in dc. well today's loving google animation is in honor of him. i love how the mobile moves slightly. google wins once again. lovely job.

ps. i really need to blog.
about food.
of course.

chelsea market

michael hill map of nyc
here

marissa and i visited chelsea market. it had been on my bucket list but i wasn't sure what to expect, but it by far exceeded my expectations. we had fun browsing through the stores and bakeries and all the other goodies. we ate lunch at the green table, which was stellar. i had the grilled corn for an appetizer and the chicken pot pie for my entree. marissa had the harvest salad for an appetizer and the grilled cheese with blueberry chutney and a bowl of tomato gazpacho. for dessert, we both got a fatwitch brownie. i was disappointed for sure. i thought this place was hugely over hyped. i'd choose ghirardelli's brownie mix brownies any day. but we highly recommend taking time to visit the market.

on our way to the market, we stumbled upon maritime hotel. we were intrigued by the architecture of the building, so we pretended like we belonged there and went inside to explore. the place had a similar feel the phillipe stark's hudson hotel. the design of the building was great, however, i don't know if i was sold on all the furnishing choices.

oh i love chairs. i really do.

lee ufan

the england clan

meet the siblings

                       

while my family was here in new york, we crossed off quite a few things on my nyc bucket list. it was fun showing them where my stomping grounds have been for the past couple months. and i was good to have my closest of friends with me. sometimes we all need a little lovin.

here are the highlights from the trip:

they loved max soha, quite is a great little place by my house. this time i ordered la pugliese, which was so tasty. shell pasta with brocolli rabe and spicy italian sausage. 

on sunday, robert comstock came to talk to the singles ward. which was really great. i am glad my family had the opportunity to hear from him.

we also got to go to a yankees game, we arrived a bit late, which was perfect timing for me. i didn't even have time to get bored. and the yankees won, so thats a plus. 

for my mother's birthday dinner, we enjoyed some indian food. the vindaloo was so yummy. and in the morning we suprised her with a piece of german chocolate cake from harlem's make my cake. 

on monday morning, we rented a car and took a road trip up to niagara falls. the falls were beautiful but the town was a dump. we took a boat ride under the falls and it was amazing how strong that water is. we were all soaked. 

while we were road tripping, we stopped at palmyra, where we were able to see the hill cumorah pagent. we also had the chance to see the palmyra temple, the smith farm and home as well as the sacred grove. 

thursday evening, when we were back in the city, we had a pizza taste test. we went to two different places i have been wanted to try: bleecker st. pizza and joe's pizza. joe's wins hands down no doubt about it. do not be seduced by bleecker st. pizza's signs proclaiming them the best pizza in nyc. whoever declared that was not a pizza aficionado. joe's pizza is a pizza by the slice kind of place. but instead of a warmed up greasy mess. the pizza was the perfect combination of greasy goodness and fresh fantastic.

to finish up our dinner feast, we got three slices of cheesecake from rocco's on bleecker st. we got a chocolate cheesecake, a s'mores cheesecake, and an original cheesecake. i still can't decide what was my favorite. but man it was good.

on friday, we got tickets to go see wicked. i was so excited to finally see the musical. all of us kids have had all the songs on the cd memorized, but had never seen the show. it was great to finally pieces the story together. and of course i was bawling when they sang "for good"

on saturday, my sissy and i went to see harry potter. it's crazy to think how much we have all grown up since i first picked up harry potter and the sorcerer's stone. we then indulged in a little shopping and some cookies from levain's bakery. i have decided that i would rate these suckers as the best cookies i have had in new york. 

we also made our way over to the guggenheim, where we were able to see lee ufan's exhibit and enjoy the architecture of that building. 

then it was off to brooklyn, where we walked over the brooklyn bridge and got ourselves some grimaldi's pizza. grimaldi's has a location in scottsdale, arizona of all places, which my family frequents often. so we thought we had to try the one that started it all. the pizza was great. i think it might just be the best i have had. i would put eataly and south brooklyn up there with it as well. the crust was thin, fresh and not burnt. the tomato sauce, was not overly seasoned, but the natural sweetness of the perfectly ripe tomatoes was the predominate flavor of the sauce. the mozzarella was yummy and the basil wasn't too raw nor too cooked. i made three pieces disappear so fast. for dessert we got some ice cream from brooklyn ice cream factory. the strawberry ice cream topped me off perfectly. we took the water taxi back to manhattan. it was perfect timing and we got to watch the sunset over the city. it was a perfect last evening with my family.

i think shan is going to be craving another bagel from absolute bagels in the next few days. and i also converted her and my momma to instagram. you can tell i like it a little huh?

i will miss them, but will get to see them again soon. my little brother can always brighten my day. he is the sweetest little guy. 

my brother's cuter than your brother.

music of my soul

ellen's stardust diner
well, you definately go here for the experience. but the food was the alright and our waiter was awesome.

memphis
i loved it. barrett was loving it. he was laughing so hard. the music and dancing was amazing.

empire state building
at sunset it was awesome to look out over the city.

i am so happy to have my family in the city with me.

d to the c

one.

two.

three.

four.

five.

six.

seven

a. korean memorial
b. tomb of the unknown soldier
c. jefferson building of the library of congress
d. capital building
e. lincoln memorial
f. arlington cemetery
g. constitutional gardens and washington monument




answers:
1b, 2f, 3g, 4e, 5a, 6d, 7c

alexander calder

washington d.c.

after dinner on friday, marissa and i hopped on the bolt bus to washington, dc. the ride seemed awfully long and i couldn't sleep due to the icebox of a bus we were driving in. it was a long night, but i was so happy when i finally got to see my girl ksav.

saturday morning, we all piled in the car and went to see the changing of the guard at arlington cementary. it is a huge deal to be selected as a guard who attends the tomb of the unknown soldier. but in that heat i just do not know how they do it. 

afterwards, we went and saw the pentagon memorial. i was happy marissa suggested we add this to our itinerary. the memorial's design is intensely symbolic. 

later that day, ksav and andrew dropped us downtown, where marissa and i visited the washington monument and we went and saw the smithsonian's museum of american history. the museum was not quite what we were expecting. i honestly thought the work could have been better curated and the design of the exhibits given more consideration. i did love seeing the first ladies ignagural ball gowns, julia child's kitchen, dorothy's red slippers, and the original kermit the frog.

that evening we got invited to gibson island where we enjoyed the views of chesepeake bay. and for the first time in a long time, marissa and i got to sit down to a full on family dinner. oh and also in attendance was a minature golden doodle, so now i'm convinced that molly needs a sister. 

on sunday we just conquered it all.

we hit up the white house

the consitutional gardens and the declaration of independence memorial

the vietnam memorial

the lincoln memorial

the korean memorial (not pictured)

world war two memorial

enjoyed a hot dog, soda and popsicle from a street vendor for lunch

the national portrait gallery

this was one of my personal favorites on the trip by far. the collection was extensive and covered all different mediums. i really loved the calder exhibition and will blog about that shortly.

the smithsonian's air and space museum

this place was packed and had a similiar feel to the american history museum. so we didnt last too long in here.

the national archives

we beelined our way to the bill of rights, constitution and the declaration of independence. check, check and check.

that evening, despite some showers we had some delcious burgers off the grill, watermelon, and chips. it was a perfect way to ring in the fourth and relax after a long day.

on the fourth of july

marissa and i visited the capitol building

the jefferson building at the library of congress

which had some wondered exhibitions. and marissa decided that she would like jefferson's personal library in her house one day. dream big right.

we had orginally planned on going to the parade, but we decided we would bypass the crowds and hit up ben's chili bowl instead. 

excellent decision. we wolfed those chili cheese fries. bill cosby would have been proud. him and obama get free grub here. nbd

after lunch, we headed over to the the kennedy center for the performing arts. it was off the beaten path but worth it. the building was designed by edward durell stone and i had been wanting to see it. marissa and i even got a private tour of the whole building. 

afterwards, we made our way back to union station and took our bootys back to new york. and we arrived just in time for me to see the macys firework show on the hudson.

happy birthday america.

in the words of d dub

huzzah

and i also brought my real camera to dc, so you might soon see some real pictures