Coming soon...

A massive catch up post.

I suck at blogging these days but a birthday resolution is to be better at it.

See you in a bit.

Call it Macaroni

I am back home (read NYC) after a weekend at home with family (read Long Island), dealing with LIRR service delays, and rainy chilly weather.

Let's get back to the updates. Saturday, after Zumba and buying my bus ticket I went out to LI. My mom, Jen and I went to Cippolini. We split the Fritto Misto and I had macaroni with shrimp, broccoli, garlic and oil. I saved half of the pasta and ate it for lunch on Monday. I'm getting back into that 'eat anything you want - just half' thing that worked so well for me in the past.




Sunday We went to visit my brother, sister in law and nieces this weekend - including a brand new one.

She's gorgeous.



My mom and I made macaroni and cheese.

It was made with whole milk and two kinds of cheddar - a mild yellow and a super sharp white.





We put it in individual tins.





We took the girls to lunch and left Matt and Mel with little Cooper. I had a very bad for me burger and they had mac and cheese...among other things.




Cocktail hour on Sunday - cheese, pretzels, hummus and strawberries.



Dinner on Sunday night - mac and cheese and chicken cutlet.



Breakfasts have been the usual - some form of peanut butter on bread.

Once I got home today I was trying to clean out my fridge - so my lunch was a real mish mosh. There is brown rice, fresh ricotta and mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, broccoli, yellow bell pepper and shrimp.



I volunteered for a 6 PM webcast tonight so I'll be working a little later than usual. Then I'm meeting Cort and KZ for a bite around 7.

Tomorrow I'm taking a sort of sketchy bus to PA where my boyfriend says he'll be waiting to pick me up.

I believe him - I'm just not sure I believe in the sketchy bus.

I have bus issues if you haven't guessed yet. :)

Mangia and Mexicana Mama

I know. I'm very behind.

Dave is still mad I didn't show you our dinner at OTTO. I've been there a few times so I didn't want to bore you but it was delicious as usual.

I'll also have you know he constantly tells me I am behind in my posting. I told him he should guest post and one day he just might take me up on it so stay tuned. :)

We split this pizza for an appetizer.

QUATTRO STAGIONI TOMATO, MOZZARELLA, SWISS CHARD, MUSHROOMS, PEPPERS, COTTO

Each quarter was a different topping.



Dave had:

RIGATONI CON SAUSAGE & ESCAROLE - GARLIC, ESCAROLE, SWEET ITALIAN SAUSAGE



I had:

LINGUINE ALLA CARRETTIERA - MARKET PLUM TOMATO, BLACK PEPPER, GARLIC CHIVES AND BASIL



Dave had an itty bitty baby coffee. I may or may not have, but definitely did talk about his coffee using a very small voice.



Mint Chocolate Chip, Dark Chocolate, Caramel Gelato



Then on Thurs morning I made omlettes for Dave and myself. I went to see Eat Pray Love (I liked it) with the girls and to Mexicana Mama Centro



I had 2 margaritas - some chips and salsa and a chicken mole burrito.






Friday night I went to a birthday party at The Perfect Pint - east side location.

Happy birthday Mac!!




The shrimp cocktail was fantastic.



I also had fries which were also fantastic.

Saturday I went to Zumba, bought my bus ticket to meet Dave and the kids in PA on Wed, and then went out to LI where I met my mom and Jen for dinner. Yesterday I met my little Cooper and she is BEAUTIFUL. I'll have more pictures to share soon.

I'm also eager to share my plans to work off the 10 lbs I gained over the summer and get the last 10 I wanted to lose to get to goal. The simple solution is 'eat less, move more' and go back to see M on a more regular basis. This will happen after MY birthday in a few weeks.

Or maybe it's in 10 days - but who's counting. ;)

I love....

How my DSLR camera takes pictures..







Hanging out with longtime friends.



Zumba.


The new fancy frying pan my boyfriend bought me.




And he's not so shabby either. :)

The egg. Chicken TBA.

Hello there.

It's a pretty standard Thursday around these parts. I am going with the girls to see Eat Pray Love tonight and then to eat after.

I think that's the plan anyway.

The eating, I mean. :)

Yesterday I was home and used my DSLR. I really need to take a class or something to learn the features but as it stands now me + natural light = pretty good pics.

Exhibit 1 - poached egg with 1 slice of bacon over whole wheat toast spread with goat cheese.




That egg was poached to perfection if I do say so myself.

I also roasted a bone in chicken breast yesterday and have been using it for sandwiches etc. I could have sworn I uploaded the pics yesterday but alas - no. I'm guessing they are still on my camera.

Before lunch I had a quick snack.



I made myself a chicken sandwich for lunch and went to OTTO with Dave for dinner. We had a lovely time. Pictures (not quite as pretty as the ones above) to come.

Sorry that's all the excitement I've got today. OH! Except for the fact that I need to tell you I have fallen in love with a frying pan.

More details to come. :)

Bryant Park Grill

After work - we tried to have a drink at the new Hyatt on 5th and 41st but were shut out. The lounge is for guests only and the place is so weirdly set up that there is no place to just sit down and have a drink. Plus the hostess was pretty rude.

So. We went to the Bryant Park Grill because I dream about their crabcakes.

(This has nothing to do with the really freaking disturbing dream I had last night about being held captive in a school basement/bar with my friend Cortney where everyone's cell phone was stolen and put in a place no one would want to go get them.)

It was really weird. I am scared to find out what it all means.


Anyway...



I was feeling cocktail-y so I had my summer favorite - orange vodka and cranberry.



and then...Pinot Grigio.



I split fries w/Patti.



and got the aforementioned crab cakes. They serve them over salad with a mustard dressing. It's just enough.



Today was a case of chicken and the egg. The egg came first - then I made chicken. I'll show you later. I have yummy dinner plans. I am taking Dave to OTTO tonight as a belated birthday treat.

More. Later.

Have a great day!

Old Favorites

This post is a mess. Forgive me.

This weekend I stopped in a little store and picked up an old favorite of mine. Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam.

I also bought a new one that's similar. I think I should have a taste test soon and see which I like better.



Today the Stonewall version did not disappoint. I love it on turkey sandwiches, with slices of a baguette and baked brie, or on a sandwich thin with cheddar.



The vending machine didn't have any baked chips so I ended up with something else that I loved from way back when.



Yeah. It's the machine's fault.

Last night after my sort of interesting massage (I had the 60 min Relaxation Massage it was very stretchy as well as Swedish - like she sat on my back at one point and pulled at my limbs a little bit. It was good - but kind of non-traditional) at Acqua Beauty Bar it was pouring rain. Simply to get out of the rain I HAD to run to Filene's where I took a gander at their fragrance department.

I have not had much luck sticking to a scent. I used to wear Tea Rose and/or Jessica McClintock in High School. Then in college I wore a scent that I bought again yesterday (more on that in a minute), Then I wore Trueste by Tiffany (discontinued), then I wore Kate Spade (discontinued). I tried Lovely (but I think I was more interested in being Carrie Bradshaw than I was in the fragrance) then I wore Shalimar Light (also discontinued -Traditional Shalimar is what my mom wears and I love it but it's STRONG!!) and this spring/summer I wore Bobbi Brown Beach which I love but is super light and doesn't last long.

Did you follow all that?

So. The point is in a fit of 1989 nostalgia last night I bought a bottle of Design for $29.99. It's a tad too strong for me now so I wore it sparingly today but I think it's growing on me again.

I do feel like I should perm my hair and start listening to The Smiths and Depeche Mode on a continuous loop after work though. ;)

Last night for dinner I made some Parpardelle with Meat Sauce. I bought some fresh ricotta at Whole Foods as well.





It was good but I now think the meat sauce was in my freezer too long and I'll leave it at that.

Patti and I are going for a drink after work. I don't really want a drink quite frankly but nothing says I have to order wine right?

Oh who am I kidding.

See you later.

Life is good

Today life isn't half bad. Sure I'm tired and work is stressing me out more than I'd like but I have a great family, wonderful friends and a sweet boyfriend who - when I was saying I felt icky today - reminded me I wanted to book a massage.

So. I did.

If you are in NY or LA you might know of the amazing thing called Lifebooker. I got a gift certificate about a year ago and have not paid full retail value for a salon or spa service since.

I think they have them in other cities too. Check it out. It's SO worth it.

Lifebooker discounts your treatments and gives you $ back if you rate the salon/spa that you visit.

win/win

I know I owe you more food and fun pics from the weekend so here's my attempt at catching up.

(Note to Melissa - we were out on the North Fork at my aunt and uncle's house. I'll tell Jen you're mad she didn't invite you.)

BJ's has the best premade burgers. I had one for lunch on Sat.



Jen had some friends meet us out there. Saturday was a pool day for the most part. On Saturday night Jen, Marge, Mike, Colls, Dave and I went to The Grille at Fisherman's Rest and met the chef who was...interesting. The food, overall was good but you might want to take it to go. He was a little much.

We had some appetizers to start and then for my entree I had Penne a la Vodka with Shrimp. Dave took this home and is eating it for dinner tonight.



He had the Fisherman's Platter.



Sunday we had breakfast. I forgot to take pictures.

Dave and I went to Corey Creek to taste some wines.









Dave is suddenly my Director of Photography. He is composing all my shots now. :)



Then after a walk around Greenport we went to Claudio's for a bite.

Mussels, fries and shrimp cocktail.



Does anyone else almost always order a Diet Coke with a glass of wine? No? Just me?



On our walk in Greenport we bought 2 Mexican chocolate cake pops at a fancy pants bakery. I can't remember the name of the place and I didn't take a picture but they were really yummy.

Dinner was grilled chicken, grilled corn, rice, and tomatoes from Dave's garden with basil and fresh mozzarella.








My plate.



I'm still dragging a little. Gonna try and make it an early night. It's back to the office tomorrow.

See you then.