I’ve come to a conclusion

I’m just not going to post much this summer.  Please know the intent and the desire are there. 

Time is what I’m lacking.

I cleared out my DSLR camera yesterday.  I had 125 pictures.   Some are pictures like this:

which are taken by landscaping obsessed Dave in our backyard.

Some are from the absolutely DELICIOUS five star dinner my good friend Kelly hosted for us.

 

Butternut squash soup Lobster salad with avocado. Filet, mashed potatoes and asparagus. Chocolate peanut butter pie for dessert.  Incredible.

Some are of Father’s Day weekend.  When Ellie and Matt came out for a barbecue.

 

Dave found a frog in the backyard and showed it off to Miss Ellie.   She wasn’t quite sure about it – but she and Maddie are sure about Dave.  He has them both eating out of the palm of his hand. Not frogs of course - but you know...  The next morning my mom made breakfast before we headed back to New Jersey.   Egg, bacon and cheese biscuits anyone?    That night for dinner I made shish kebobs.   Dave got a few gifts.

I also found some pictures of this girl on my camera.

This is Dave’s dog Genevieve, who came out to Shelter Island last weekend but never came home. :(  He wrote a post about it here.  (Which is Dave’s blog btw).   It was a no good very bad day full of vet visits and she is sorely missed.  She helped me keep the floor clean and from eating all the leftover bacon.  She was my only source of company when I worked from home alone.  She filled I void I’ve felt ever since this lady of all ladies said goodbye.

I also found a picture of this girl.   I’m not sure what she’s even doing.

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. ;)

Jam packed weekend

(Above is some cool chalk art in Union Square)

Goodness. A lot happened this weekend. A lot of food, a lot of wine, a lot of walking. All good stuff.

Friday night, after a slight delay, Andrea arrived in NYC. We went to L'Express and split the following over a couple of glasses of Pinot Grigio.

Warm goat cheese salad with chicken paillard.



Profiteroles.



Then on Saturday I made more of those little egg muffin-y things that I made for my Pillsbury party and we ate them when we first got up. Still yummy. Must make more often.



At 1 PM we met the girls for brunch at Philip Marie.




We walked there from my apartment and got there a bit early. While we waited I ordered a screwdriver and A had some strawberry sangria.



I had a BLT with a twist - bacon, lettuce and fried green tomatoes. It was sooooo good.



And maybe a mimosa or two...



We walked up a storm - to brunch - to Times Square - to the box office of the Broadway Theatre to buy tickets to Promises, Promises.



Adorable and well worth the ransom they make you pay to see a Broadway show.

We got there to buy tickets right after the matinee got out and saw Tony Goldwyn, Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenowith come out to sign autographs.

She is the tiniest thing I've ever seen.

Saturday dinner was homemade pizza, ricotta, fresh mozzarella and orange and yellow bell pepper. We opted not to go out for dinner again to offset the cost of the tickets.



Good choice. :)

Sunday I almost killed Andrea by bringing her to Zumba. :) Then we came home, snacked and showered and walked to Otto for a drink (a glass of Vermentino for moi)...






...and 8th St Wine Cellar for more drinks and small plates.







I told the bartender I dream about the figs and bacon.

And I do.

btw: 8th Street has a really great happy hour from 4-7. $18 bottles of wine and $4 sangria. We had the Vermentino (continuing my theme from Otto). Just another reason it's one of my most favorite places on earth.

We also had the Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart.




Delish.


I'm tired, achy and looking forward to the return of Monday date night as now that my class is over my Mondays are free. I got a coupon for Philip Marie via email this weekend coincidentally so Dave and I are headed there this evening.

See you later!

Catching Up

My work life drove me slightly insane this week. To combat it there was alcohol, there were tears, a Zumba class and hours of bad reality TV.

I'm happy to say I'm nearly back to normal.

Whatever that is. ;)

So without further adieu, I give you my week.

Monday was dinner at Northern Spy. I will cross post my review here. I need to post it to my class blog. The short version is that dinner was very good and the place was quite charming.

When I got home from dinner on Monday I was craving something sweet. Our desserts looked yummy but they were fruit filled and not my style.

This, on the other hand, is right up my alley.





Tuesday.

Breakfast.

The usual.



Lunch. This was a BBQ Chicken wrap. In retrospect, kinda gross but I was starving. I ate half and threw out the other.



Tuesday night I went to an event at the Greenhouse and Rooftop.



Here's what I had. It was kind of difficult to take pics.

Some cheese, some chicken, some rice and asparagus.



And wine.



Then, more wine + diet coke.



And potato skins.




And sliders.



Split (well I didn't split the wine) three ways with Maddy and Patti at West 3rd Common.

Wednesday. I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast and lunch. It was a pretty harrowing day.

But that didn't stop me from meeting Cort and Carrie for margaritas (and more) at Rodeo Bar.






Carrie and I split the appetizer medley known as The Trough. Seriously? Yes. We did.



For the record, Cowboy Kisses are pretty hot.

That's what she said.

Cortney ate a more reasonable plate of grilled chicken, black beans and tomato.



I don't know how to tell you this next part. I fear it is totally a location joke but we were highly amused by the placement of this candle on our table by one of the waitresses.

I bring you - the world famous (or famous at our table only) Sexy Dinner Candle.




So amused that after our third margarita we proceeded to take pictures like this.



Yeah. So. That happened.

I fell asleep with the hiccups.

Yesterday I had an egg sandwich for breakfast. I can't find the picture.

I had a 97% fat free hot dog and oven fries for lunch.



I went to Zumba and Ben welcomed me back with open arms.

Or maybe made me lift my heel up higher when we were doing these plie type thingamajigs.

Either or.

After class I brought myself to the verge of hysterics about a work situation, consequently thought when Dave was a little late that he was mortally injured in a gutter or something, called my mom who told me she was going to come into the city and smack some sense into me, found Dave unscathed with a dying cell phone, stopped near the subway and ate really bad chicken wings (I insist they tasted like Weaver frozen drumsticks), called my mom to tell her Dave was alive, was asked by Jen if it was hard work making mountains out of molehills, refused to order a $23.00 grilled chicken sandwich and then went home and ordered from the diner down the street.

Someone named Anonymous who thinks he has a fan club :) had this sandwich.



And yeah. I ate a burger. It was that kind of week people. I cannot be held responsible.



And don't let him fool you. He ate his share of fries.

Today I had PB on an EM for breakfast, stopped on my way back to my apartment from an appointment for some pizza and ate this beauty for lunch.



And I had a snack of this delish root beer that I picked up with my pizza a bit later on.



Dinner could be seen as a representation of my current relationship.

Irish meets Italian. :)



This was whole grain pasta with just those 2 ingredients. I ate maybe 1/4 of it.



So the bottom line is I didn't really take care of myself food (and drink) wise but mentally I was a freaking mess. I'll just put it out there. So I'm not beating myself up too much. I'll be back on my game next week for sure.

I need to crank up the AC and get some sleep. I'm headed to NJ and then PA tomorrow morning.

Thanks for hanging in there while I dealt with life for a little bit. :)

Catch you later.