Sweet Blog O'Mine

v. 2.0

  • Say Hi.

    I am going to have to follow in Youngna’s footsteps because I thought she had such a good idea — if you’re out there, and reading this, I would absolutely love for you to take the time and say hello in the comments.  I only have such a vague idea of who you are, really, beyond my mom, dad, stepmom and a select few others.  Are you an old friend?  Someone I met at a party?  A complete and total stranger?  Whatever — I’d love to hear from you!

    UPDATE:  This is not going as I planned — I see the traffic, I know you’re visiting.  Leave a comment!  Don’t be afraid. 

  • When Pigs Fly

    2006_02_foodtrufflepigs

    I love this picture of the pig animal crackers and truffles from the Applewood Meet the Farmer dinner I went to with Katie last week where we got to meet Mike and Jen from Flying PIgs Farm.

    Also filed under the category of when pigs fly . . . Despite my past history in the V-Day department, I’ve got a date tonight.  With someone who asked me to be his valentine.  I accepted. Yes, you heard me right — you can pick your jaw up off the floor now.

    Happy V-Day everyone, and don’t forget to spread the love.

  • Cheesy Poofs and Billy Joel

    Sometimes I take a moment in the middle of what I’m doing to realize how incredibly lucky I am.  I had several moments like this over the past few days.  First, what was going to be an ordinary night (gym, home, bed) ended up with a lovely dinner with Rob at Bar Carrera (If you haven’t yet made it there, it’s worth a trip).  Comfortable and inviting despite its awkward space with a great 80’s centric soundtrack, Bar Carerra serves up tapas in style — my favorites that night were the shrimp & chorizo followed by the pate with truffled mushrooms.  Yum.  After a bit of Dodgeballing with Kim and some dessert negotiations with Rob, we headed to Otto for gelato where we met up with Nic, David, and ulimately Kim.  We ended up making a pit stop at ‘ino for nutella panini and dessert wine before landing squarely at Mas (farmhouse) for late-night carousing.  Now Mas has a legendary late-night menu, offering everything from oysters & steak tartare to short ribs.  We weren’t particularly hungry, but still made room for their gougeres, a.k.a. cheesy poofs.  Despite being a tad tired the next day, it was well worth it to spend time with good friends over food and wine.  At some point at Mas, I looked around the laughing, smiling faces at the table and took a moment to cherish it all.

    Saturday, after helping my sister buy some interview clothes, we met up with our brother, his girlfriend Sarah, our cousin Sara, and Bill’s friend Sebastian for dim sum at Golden Bridge.  Although we got there on the late side, we still managed to taste all kinds of steamed dumplings, some short ribs, and some Chinese broccoli with a drizzle of oyster sauce.  I’m looking forward to going back a little earlier at some point.  After paying the bill ($11 per person — woo hoo!), I realized again how lucky I am to have both my siblings and my cousin living in the same city for the first time in ages, even if we don’t see each other as often as we should.

    Finally, Mark and I went to see Billy Joel last night at Madison Square Garden — a belated and very thoughtful birthday present.  I don’t even recall mentioning to him the fact that I like Billy Joel except for one fairly brief conversation a while back .  Some may scoff at him, but as we sat there last night, I realized how rare it is to sit through a 2+ hour concert and literally know every song.  Sure, some I knew more than others, and some I liked more than others, but to be able to sing All for Leyna at the top of my lungs because the words are seared into my brain from childhood (Glass Houses was one of the first albums I owned) I realized anew what a great gift it was for me.  Thanks again, Mark.

    After the concert we went to ‘inoteca for dinner — a perfect cap to the evening.  We sat in the cozy warmth of the restaurant watching the snow swirl all around outside while we enjoyed our gamberetti with pancetta and truffled egg toast (someone was kind enough to let me dominate the ordering, it being a birthday celebration and all).  As we bundled back up and headed out for a cab, the city was covered in a tranquil blanket of white, (which I find so beautiful and peaceful every time it snows) and as we headed home, I soaked in the beauty of it all and took another moment. 

  • Panic

    Some of you may have noticed that if you tried to get here without typing www, you got an error from TypePad.  Well, now having followed their directions to fix it, this problem is solved.  I now, however, can’t access my sweetblogomine email, or my Gothamist email, which is linked up to it.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will be resolved quickly, because I feel like I’ve just been cut off from all humanity. 

  • Jerk-Free

    So apparently yesterday was "Dump Your Significant Jerk Day," or so the little screen in my elevator at work told me.  Thankfully, there is currently no "significant jerk" in my life, so I was off the hook — I intend for 2006 to be a jackass (or jerk) -free year, but then again, it’s only February.

  • Ode to the Orange

    oranges

    Believe it or not it has been years since I’ve eaten and enjoyed an orange.  Why?  Well, many years ago, my grandpa Jules, who was once in the produce business, introduced me to clementines.  They were sweet, juicy, easy to peel, seedless, and absolutely delicious.  In contrast nine times out of ten, when I tried to eat an orange, I couldn’t peel it all the way, the pith leaving its bitterness behind, there were seeds to mess with, and the flavor just couldn’t compare.  I gave up on them.  Until yesterday.  I bought a navel orange to use the zest in a sour cream, orange, and cilantro garnish, and brought it to work today in a baggie.  It was stripped of its zest, and I really didn’t expect much.  Despite the bits of pith clinging to it, it was absolutely fantastic — tasted like pure, unadulterated summer, and not a seed in sight.  I bought three more on the way home from work today. 

  • Pittsburgh salad


    Pittsburgh salad

    In addition to the chili, we got this for the game – cheesesteak innards over fries. Yikes!

  • Good Thing I Stayed in Friday


    Siberia Signage

    Because Saturday started early  with a gym date — spin and yoga with Kim — and then on to our "first Saturdays" brunch with the girls.  We get together for brunch on the first Saturday of each month (this was our third month), drink bloody marys, catch up, talk about boys, laugh our heads off, then head out for more of the same.  Yesterday we drank umpteen bottles of champagne at the Pink Pony after a delicious brunch at Essex and laughed so hard that a neighboring customer kept coming over to check in on us and see what was so funny. 

    After our 5 1/2 hour brunch, I had to take a nap before meeting Mark for his friend Rob’s birthday pub crawl.  Although we didn’t arrive in time for a drink at the Holland Bar, we were able to spend quality time at Siberia (where I found this awesome sign), Rudy’s, and Smith’s.  It made me look forward to John’s East Village Dive Bar Crawl, which I know is coming up sometime soon. 

    Today I slept late, cleaned house, did some laundry, and made a pot of black &   white chili from American Favorites for the super bowl.  I think I’m heading up to Augie & Lauren’s to watch, and in addition to the chili will be bringing this great-looking jalepeno popcorn my brother gave me as part of a gourmet gift bag.

    All in all, a great weekend.

  • For the Record

    Last night was a planned night in for me, and I actually stayed in, on the couch, watching old Six Feet Under DVD’s(I’m still catching up), despite a very tempting dinner invitation from Rob and many Dodgeball messages.  For some, this is no big deal.  For me, it’s a recognizable accomplishment.

  • I’m Starting to Think It’s a Cult

    So I went to my time management training the other day, and to my surprise and delight, a bulk of the program was devoted to the principles of David Allen’s Getting Things Done, which, as you may recall, I read before I started the new job.  I have tried to implement some of the systems at work to some degree of success, but now that I know it has the firm’s seal of approval, I may even start to block off time in my calendar for weekly review!  And the icing on the cake?  CLE credit, baby.