It’s A Rainy Sort Of Evening

I want to learn to braid my hair this gorgeously. Sure it’s a little messy, but I love the whole side braid that looks actually worn rather than held together with 10 million bobby pins and 10 cans of hairspray.

I love Julia Hengel’s from this morning on Gal meets Glam

Red Rooster and Le Cirque

It’s restaurant week in New York and this means a few meals a week at some of the most famous New York restaurants (if you can squeeze in a reservation) This year I’ve managed to hit up 2 of New York’s most famous restaurants in one week.

First up was Red Rooster in Harlem, where we actually got to meet Marcus Samuelson! He’s a big hit with the Obama’s and anyone who’s a sucker for southern cooking with a bit of Swedish infusion. He was sitting at a lunch meeting behind us and then came up to talk to us and take a picture. My mac and greens were spectacular and although didn’t taste too heavy made me feel as though my insides were about to explode with deliciousness! The greens on the side were utter perfection for the heavy cheesy-ness of my lunch choice.

Dinner at Le Cirque with Sandy, who informed me that Le Cirque was one of the first fine dining restaurants in Manhattan. It lived up to my expectations! Sad though because it was too classy of a place to be taking pictures of our food. The food was excellent french cuisine and I started my night off with a artisanal pasta of butternut squash. And since being a vegetarian my options for the restaurant week pre-fixe menu was very limited. I ended up with the white fish and olive oil potatoes. But the extremely delicious Apple-Cranberry Cobbler I had for dessert with homemade cinnamon ice cream was love at first bite.

Before The Silence Began In The Graveyard

1.   The last thing I ate was:    A rolled oats and chocolate chip Fiberful granola bar from Trader Joes.

2.   The last song I listened to was:    The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel.

3.  Using the letters in my name I can spell:  {Erin}…IN, NI

4.  If I had to dress in one color for the rest of my life I would pick:   Black…it’s slimming and goes with everything!

5.  If you were to look in my bag right now you’d find:   napkins, a wallet, moleskin keys, burts bees mango nourishing chapstick, covergirl lipstick in precious, monthly metrocard, my camera, a tide-to-go pen, a pen, local made chapstick, hand lotion, a bracelet, two mini avon lipstick samples, ibuprofen, lemon butter cuticle cream, receipts, change, 2 plastic forks and 2 rings

6.  When I finish filling in the blanks I’m going to:    clean out said bag and finish watching Buffy. Finally started season 6.

7.  My all time favorite song to dance to is:   Black or White by Michael Jackson

Birch Coffee – Flatiron District

I’ll be the first to admit, my caffeine addiction is getting out of control. My favorite part of the day is coffee on the way to work and I spend my weekends planning adventures around coffee. But what’s not to love about it. It comes in so many forms and pairs well with just about anything. So on my caffeine oriented adventures, I’ve needed to stretch out my radius of coffee shops. I enlisted the help of an acquaintance with suggestions of coffee places to review, so I’m working my way through them. First on the list, Birch coffee.

Connected to a hotel, Birch coffee is the kind of place I could pass by without even realizing it’s there. When I visited I almost missed the entrance because the doors are draped with heavy black velour curtains. But what awaited inside was this creamy soothing latte. When I have the time to enjoy it, I prefer a latte over coffee. The bitterness with the creamy texture of milk sends me sailing and sometimes a little bit of sugar. The latte at Birch was perfect for my attempts at drinking lattes without sugar. I can go without it in my coffee, but sometimes the bitterness of a latte is too much and needs a bit of sweetness. Learning to enjoy the bitterness and experience of a latte as a whole is something on my list to do as I try to refine my caffeinated taste buds.

With a freezing day outside, the quiet ambience of Birch is definitely the sort of hideaway most people in this area are looking for. With a more refined hipster feel, there’s a quiet ambiance of people chatting and a few people on laptops tapping away. Ample seating for the size of the place, I found a little bar stool to sit on and enjoy my lunchtime break from the hustle and bustle of package exchange shopping for Rochelle. I almost ordered a blueberry muffin until this little guy caught my eye: a goat cheese and apple muffin. An odd combination but savory and tangy at the same time. The apples all were at the base of the muffin which was a slight disappointment but still delicious overall, especially if you love cheese as much as I do.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Birch coffee. The ambiance is really what sells the place though, with interesting music selection and happy counter baristas rather than your glum ones that are sick and tired of everyone ordering soy lattes. As amazing as the muffin was, I feel most of the connection I felt with this place was in the ambiance. Great for meeting up with friends and taking a break from the busy touristy area of the Flatiron district, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for just a coffee on the go.

It’s A Conversation I Just Can’t Have Tonight

Few things are more comforting than the day of relaxation after a vacation. After spending some time unpacking and reorganizing while cleaning, a day spent in bed catching up on tv shows sounds like the perfect day. Sure I spent most of my time in CA with family and friends having fun but there’s something peaceful about time by yourself, either reading a book in the park, sitting in bed catching up on blogs or cooking in the kitchen, experimenting and making good use of your time to fulfill your New Years goals of cooking more at home.

So in attempts to recoup, I am working on some new blog posts. Editing pics and spending my time honing in on the creative edge I was sorely lacking last semester due to the thesis. Can’t wait to give you guys a bit more inspiration in the kitchen and giving you my feedback on coffee quests. Have a couple new coffee spots on my mind so I’ll be working on making my way to them in the next few weeks. If you’re in the NY area, hit me up and we can go together. Must Love Coffee!

image via: Lark Photography

Proof Bakery with Sara

      Had a wonderful day with my new friend Sara. She invited me over to her house in Glendale for lunch, which she made herself. I have to admit, I wish I could cook half as well. A lovely light lunch of a lentil, tomatoes and chard ‘stew’ with fresh bread and cheese. Sara was kind enough to cook for my new vegetarian kick and all the cheese laid out satisfied my never ending desire for dairy. I think both her and I can agree it’s the hardest part of practicing veganism.

      It was almost hard to follow the lovely lunch with anything better, but a rich chocolate caramel tart caught my eye as soon as we walked into the coffee shop Sara had promised to take me to. As a bakery, I definitely feel their skills lie in the baked goods rather than the coffee. The tart wasn’t to chocolatey and the top was soft, giving way easily to the caramel that filled the center. I’ve noticed myself more often recently chasing after more caramel sweets and I was not disappointed with the amount that filled this tart. The little bit of sea salt on top provided the perfect contrast. The coffee was enjoyable but might have been a bit too watery. Granted I did order the iced coffee, but you can forgive me when it feels like 80F outside.

      Proof bakery was a small little oasis from the heat that was pounding on us poor Californians (like we aren’t used to it already!). The sun and warmth  I’m taking full advantage of before battling the frigid windy cold of New York when I leave on Saturday. We spent 4 hours talking about food and blogs, school, careers, just about anything we could think of. She’s brilliant and has so much character and a lot to offer. Never any awkward moments, she’s such a hospitable person with amazing taste in both food and decoration. One of the biggest topics of the afternoon was photography as I had mentioned I am often disappointed with the pictures I post on the blog. Sara suggested editing them with software more and that it seems to be a necessary step for any pictures online. So with that advice, I tinkered around a bit with these ones, playing up the contrast and adjusting the brightness. Let me know what you think. Do you have any photography suggestions?

Find Sara at addalittlelemon.blogspot.com

Dr. Conkey’s Coffee

Having a local favorite coffee shop to me is one of the most important things. My staple for years in Simi Valley has been Dr. Conkey’s. Although it has changed ownership a multitude of times over the years and sometimes the quality of service has decreased, the tasty coffee bar in the back has not lost it’s appeal. The old fashioned high wood bar brings back good memories of waiting at the counter with friends for a blended drink. I tended to stick the the White Blizzard but there would always be variations in drink orders.

So when I took Eric for a mid afternoon pick up, I was reminded of the caffeine sugary goodness that comes with every drink. I made sure Eric tried mum’s favorite Cappuccino Malt which has ice cream in it (he chose vanilla). The drink above is my White Blizzard, filled with caramel, white chocolate powder and espresso.On the way out, Eric couldn’t help but pick up a few of those ciggarette candies that everyone remembers as a kid for our friends Jerry and ‘Dish’ who still smoke. They made a great addition to the pictures and pretty much sum up Dr. Conkey’s store of coffee and candies.

Goals of 2012

So every year, We hear about what we all want to change about ourselves. These resolutions are often setting us up for defeat when we take on more than we can handle. I mean who doesn’t want to lose ‘x’ lbs and ends up 1 week later stuffing their faces because they felt deprived? I’ve decided to make a few life changes really this year and prefer to call them goals. They’re more like markers and baby steps for other changes to come. I refer to them as goals because as unlike resolutions, these aren’t so much focused on changing me dramtically but more making adjustments. So here is my short list of 2012 goals:

• Change all my wire hangers out for sturdy wood ones and the felt ones which hold up slippery clothes better.
• When drinking alcohol, stick to whiskey and wine. Too many empty calories spent on alcohol I don’t really enjoy because it’s cheaper or more convenient.
• Increase my water intake by consciously drinking 3 more glasses of water a day
• Go full vegetarian (this means giving up my shell fish addiction). I know this one will be the hardest, so I’m taking it 1 week at a time.
• Wash my face every night before going to bed, make-up or no make-up.
• Get into a better teeth cleaning routine and try whitening strips on a regular basis. Need to make a good impression at interviews!

I was considering making a goal like trying to cut back my coffee addiction to just 2 cups a day, but we all know that would be unrealistic and fall into the category of resolution. Also, nobody wants to see me with less than 2 cups a day and I know my body will go into a panic state and give me the worst headache imaginable without it.

Have you guys made any new goals for this year?

2011 in Review

Time for the End of Year Review:

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? Went on a trip with Eric
2. Did you keep your New Years resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Didn’t make any last year. This year I’m making more adjustments and goals rather than resolutions. Get rid of all wire hangers in my closet, drink only whiskey and wine when I do drink, and read more books.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No
4. Did anyone close to you die? No one thankfully
5. What countries did you visit? None
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? A career
7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory? December 17th. The last day of my MA
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Finishing my Thesis and completing my MA degree
9. What was your biggest failure? Not lining up a job yet
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Hurt my ankle
11. What was the best thing you bought? plane tickets
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? My brother for making it through basic training and living on his ‘own’. Moving so often, he’s been a real trooper
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Whoever directed The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo. I wanted to vomit watching that movie
14. Where did most of your money go? rent, food, and flights
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? finishing my Thesis and my MA
16. What song/album will always remind you of 2011? Ceremonials by Florence + the Machine
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
18. happier or sadder? happier
19. thinner or fatter? i think about the same, maybe a few lbs thinner
20. richer or poorer? poorer. More loans = more debt
21. What do you wish you’d done more of? travel and blogging
22. What do you wish you’d done less of? drinking
23. How did you be spending Christmas? With my family for the first time in like 4-5 years.
24. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with? Eric
25. Did you fall in love in 2011? Stayed in love, but fell in love with about 10 million cute New York dogs
26. How many one night stands in this last year? 0
27. What was your favourite TV programme? How I Met Your Mother, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, American Horror Story, the Big Bang Theory…I watch too much tv for not actually owning a tv.
28. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I don’t tend to hate people but I can get annoyed with them easily. A couple people have pushed my buttons here and there but nothing to really note.
29. What was the best book(s) you read? I really enjoyed The White Man’s Burden by Bill Easterly. A massive eye opener in the Foreign Aid academia.
30. What was your greatest musical discovery? Nina Simone
31. What did you want and get? my MA
32. What did you want and not get? A reading chair for my room. But mainly that was because I was too lazy to really search for it and I was crazy busy with school.
33. What were your favourite films of this year? Really didn’t go to the movies much this year but I did love Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen. AMAZING movie with really deep and interesting points.
34. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 24 and went to a French restaurant with Eric, b, and Tanya in Brooklyn. We also spent the day just hanging around and walking about Manhattan. Went to get a few late night cocktails at my favorite bar ‘Night of Joy’.
35. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having a job lined up at the end
36. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? a bit more adventurous, stayed fairly neutral but tried to add a bit more color to my wardrobe.
37. What kept you sane? Dayana
38. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Ryan Gosling was excellent eye candy
39. What political issue stirred you the most? Foreign Aid in Africa and microfinancing
40. Who did you miss? Friends in CA
41. Who was the best new person you met? Brian was fascinating to meet and we traded a lot of articles on Africa. And on the Mammoth trip I met Eric’s geography team and we had an amazing 3 day trip together.
42. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011. Don’t let your mood affect your relationships and be ready to apologize.

43. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
            I’m trying to find out if my words have any meaning,
lack luster and full on contempt and it always ends the same

 

The Apple Pan

First time at the Apple Pan on Pico. I’ve heard so much about their pie, namely the Banana Cream pie which sells out early in the day. Much to my delight, at 10pm they still had some available. An easy decision for me and Brett and Eric set themselves on the other poes. Brett’s apple pie smelled amazing, the crust was a little bit more crispy looking but Brett mentioned that the cinnamon apple juices they drizzle on top makes it perfect. I’m not a fan of pumpkin pie, but even Eric’s pie perked my interest.

Not usually much of a cream pie person, but the Banana pie lived up to its much rumored deliciousness. A layer of banana cream which wasn’t too thick along with a crust that didn’t get soggy. I didn’t miss the graham cracker crust that I find most cream pies use and the cream on top doesn’t over power any part of the pie but rather enhances the creaminess. I highly recommend the Apple Pan and a little sad it’s taken me so long to see what all this pie talk has been about. Eric loved the coffee but for 10pm it felt like a good time to cut out the caffeine.