NYC Days 1 & 2

So, last week I told you I was going on a little vacation, but couldn’t tell you where. My reasoning for this was that I was surprising my bestie Lucy. For over 3 weeks, I managed to keep it a secret that I was coming. She had no idea…until I walked into the bar where she and Kaye were “waiting.” It was absolutely hilarious and she was in shock for a good 3 hours.

On Friday, before she knew I had arrived, I spent the day frolicking while my friends were at work.  I walked all around Soho, then travelled back up to the NYU campus for one reason in : Chick-fil-A! The last two times I’ve been in the city, it was closed, but today it was actually open. Finally!Unfortunately they didn’t have anything I could eat (limited menu), so I walked a block over to Space Market, a grocery store/deli. I picked up a wrap full of roasted veggies, hummus, and fresh mozzarella. It was so good.

My fun purchase of the day was at C. Wonder. Oh my gosh, I am in love with that store. Bright colors and monograms everywhere! A Southern girl’s dream. I picked up the Easy Tote in orange. This picture doesn’t do it justice. It’s the cutest thing! It reminds me of my Longchamp totes but is better quality with more pockets. And less expensive at only $58.

That evening was when I surprised Lucy at one of the bars we like, 10 Degrees in the East Village. Although she was the one in shock, I apparently was unable to focus on the camera.

On Saturday, my friend Ben and I went for a 5 mile run along the East River running path. The weather was really nice and who doesn’t love running along the water? On the walk back, we stopped at One Lucky Duck for a cold-pressed juice. I had the Green Apple: apple, cucumber, celery, mint, lime, spinach. It was interesting, and now I want a juicer.

To refuel, we ordered a pizza from Naked Pizza. Their pizza contains less calories than typical fast food pizza places and does not contain added sugar, hydrogenated oils, or HFCS. Our pizza was topped with black beans, pineapple, tomatoes, spinach, and roasted red peppers.

Saturday evening, Lucy, her friend Shana, and I went to dinner and drinks at Room Service, a Thai restaurant in Chelsea. I had the Room Service Pad Thai: sautéed glass vermicelli with shrimps, mixed seafood, mangoes, brown tofu, bean sprouts, scallions, crushed peanuts,  wrapped in an egg white crepe. The presentation was so neat – once you break the egg layer, out pop the noodles and seafood. Fun stuff.

Lucy had the Green Curry. Hers was also delicious.

After dinner we bar hopped in the West Village, making stops at Kingswood and Desantos.

We had too much fun, as usual. Stay tuned for more on NYC tomorrow!

NYC Recap Days 1 & 2

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about my 3 NYC vacations in the past year, it’s not to plan anything. Why? Because every time I specifically plan something, it doesn’t happen. Ice skating? Didn’t happen. That museum? Nope. Pickles? Whoops forgot those too. My friends and I are too free-spirited for itineraries.

With that said, I sure had a lot of fun.

I arrived early afternoon and went straight to Kaye’s house before meeting Lucy at her new apartment. Reunion with my soul mate/old roommate/best friend? Check!! After catching up over some wine, we got ready for dinner at Sushi Samba. Enjoy the one and only group photo from the weekend. We seriously had too much fun to bother with snapping photos. Sad, but not really.

Kaye and I split two rolls: Green Envy - wasabi pea crust, tuna, salmon, asparagus, aji amarillo-key limo mayo and the Pacific king crab, avocado, asian pear, soy paper, wasabi-avocado crema.

Lucy and Ann shared a couple different rolls too.

The sushi was fine, but it didn’t wow me. I’ve had better here in Charleston. After dinner we walked over to Wilfie & Nell in the West Village for drinks. While there, I noticed some dude pouring green juice and squealed, “Is that pickle juice?!” A few minutes later, some random man and I were drinking picklebacks: shots of whiskey chased with pickle juice. WHISKEY. My body hated me in the morning.

The hangover cure, NYC style, was picking up precious little macarons from Maison Ladurée.

I got two flavors: pistachio and caramel with salted butter . They were very flavorful for being such delicate treats. I also had a bite of Kaye’s vanilla and it was by far the best. So darn delicious. Thank you, Anabel, for the recommendation!

After our “breakfast” of macarons, we had lunch at Le Pain Quotidien. Still maintaining my vegetarian status, I dined on an Organic Black Bean Hummus tartine with avocado and spicy tahini. It was very light and fresh.

Lucy’s lunch was my second choice: Rustic Tuna, Hummus & White Bean
tartine with diced tomatoes and basil pesto. I want to make this at home!

Saturday’s form of cardio was shopping. We ventured into H&M, Zara, Dylan’s Candy Bar, and Benefit Cosmetics. Out of all that, my only purchases were at Benefit. BADgal plum mascara and  It’s Potent! eye cream.

 

I went to dinner with my friend Ben who is a fitness blogger/marathon runner. (See what he’s up to on his blog, Motivate Your Ass.) For future references, he will be known as B Dawg. Apparently he thinks it is weird that I call myself Xtina, stating “That would be like if I called myself B Dawg.” So B Dawg it is.

We ate at Euzkadi, a Spanish tapas style restaurant in the East Village.

We tried a bunch of different plates:

• Goat cheese and honey croquettes
• White Beans & Chick Peas w/Mushrooms, tomato comfit & vegetables) (my favorite dish)
• Tortilla Vasca - Potato and egg omelet, w/chorizo, peppers and onions
• Seared Steak w/ Russian salad & scallion Chimichurre
• Roasted lamb in a mushroom raisin demi-glace

At first, I shied away from anything that wasn’t vegetarian but as I was noshing away on the Spanish tortilla, I realized there was ham in it. And that’s when it was decided that I would take a vacation from being a vegetarian and enjoy myself in NYC. I still didn’t want chicken, but the ham and lamb? Yeah, that happened. And then we talked about Shari Lewis & Lamchop’s Playalong while feeling (kind of) guilty.

To be continued…

PS: If you read all that, you’re ridiculous. And I love you.

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. Remember last summer when my team at work hired an intern? I blogged about him here and here. Well, Sean came back over winter break and he’s been a delight to work with again. We’ve exchanged cookies (my carrot cake cookies for his (mom’s) dark chocolate biscotti)…

…and one day he even made me a mask for when I wasn’t feeling pretty.

Sean: “You’re pretty every day.”

Me: “Pssh, that’s a lie.”

Sean: “I know.”

Boys and their brutal honesty.

2. The weather in Charleston and the views from my 10-miler:

3. There’s a new Luna bar and a new Clif Kid Z Bar!

I just picked up the Z Bar from Trader Joe’s, but haven’t found the Luna bar yet. When I find it,  I’ll probably eat it in the store as soon as I get my fingers on it. And then pay for the wrapper in line.

In case you were curious, my top 3 Luna Bar flavors are: Iced Oatmeal Raisin, Blueberry Bliss, and Chocolate Peppermint Stick.

4. Tweets from Men’s Humor. They are sarcastic and often crude, but hilarious and worth following.

5. I’m going back to NYC!! Yes, I went last March and August, but when my best friend Lucy moved there in September, I was determined to visit her as soon as she settled in. I booked my ticket for President’s Day weekend and I’m so excited to go back. 37 days!

Have you tried the new Luna or Clif Kid Z Bar yet?

Whose twitter feed is your favorite to follow?

Favorite place in NYC? Meet-up anyone?

Do you fancy a fancy dinner?

I feel absolutely miserable. So miserable I can't even say the whole word, so for now I am MIS. Three syllables is just too much, right?  I have had this silly cough for over 2 weeks and now I'm suffering from Spring allergies. Is Mother Nature out to get me? I recycle and use a Camelbak. I thought we were friends?

When I'm sick I become an extreme introvert and want to hide under a blanket. Weird. Despite this temporary state of introversion, I couldn't resist Lucy's invitation to eat dinner with her family. Those Brits are fun. I may not understand half of Lucy's dad's jokes nor am I able to pull off the card trick he taught me, but I have enjoyed spending time with them while they are here on "holiday."

For an appetizer, we had toasted French bread topped with a lovely mixture of tomatoes, red onion, garlic, virgin olive oil, fresh basil, and salt & pepper.

I ATE RED ONIONS AND I LIKED IT. Or maybe I’ve lost my sense of taste?

We also had an arugula salad with pear, pine nuts, and flaked parmesan tossed in a honey balsamic vinaigrette. Lucy’s uncle took one bite of the salad and said, “This cheese is sock cheese!” Funky?

All five of my senses were revived once Lucy’s mom started making our main dish. Believe your eyes – this is beet risotto.

She boiled the beets in water with a couple tablespoons of each balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. She reserved the beet juice and, along with white wine and thyme, added it to the Arborio rice. Many stirs later and topped with a dollop of goat cheese, we had our risotto!

After dinner, Lucy and I took some stale pita chips out back for the ducks. It was so pretty out tonight.

I'm so glad I didn't stay home under a blanket. Lucy's dad made me laugh so much I forgot I was sick. He really likes getting his photo taken. Here he is showing off a poster from the race he and Lucy's uncle sailed in.

Here he is posing with the vanilla granola he picked up from Whole Foods. This doesn't even have anything to do with dinner?!?

And later he made a really special face as he brought Lucy's and my dessert outside.

Love,

The American.

Mustard Seed Dinner with Lucy & Mum, Work Update

I was exhausted after work today, but when my English roomie asked if I’d like to go to Mustard Seed with her  and “mum”, I instantly perked up.

Chef Jonathan sent out 3 mugs of the soup of the day: Mushroom Ginger with carrots and seared tuna. It was loaded with mushrooms!

As usual, the seafood specials were hard to resist. Lucy ordered the sesame crusted tuna salad with ginger-soy glazed carrot ribbons and cashews.

I had wasabi pea crusted salmon in a Thai peanut sauce, ginger-soy glazed carrot ribbons, and roasted pepper couscous. Um helloooooooo delicious food. Nice to see you again.

…

After two full weeks at Blackbaud, I am in love. I am surrounded by very intelligent, wonderful people and look forward to working with all of them. It’s a great atmosphere and I feel right at home.

My “home” in the office is next to my coworker and mentor, Bess. Here’s a small world story for you: Bess used to live next door to my ex-boyfriend a few years back. I briefly met her over 3 years ago, and we have now reunited! We didn’t even realize it during my interview either. Thanks to facebook’s mutual friend finder, we figured out how we knew each other.

Two silly reasons why I already love this place:

1) The cafeteria has had beets on the salad bar for the past three days. Even though I brought my lunch on Wednesday, I couldn’t resist getting a plate! I can’t tell you how many random people walked by and asked, “Beets? Really?”

2) Bess put this sticker on our wall today. At that moment I knew we were meant to be.

:)