Autumn in Sunnyside

Sunnyside Gardens is one of the most charming
neighborhoods in NY. Especially now
that the leaves are turning!

I took a few shots on my way to work, the first two
are of my favorite trees. They are female
Gingko trees, which turn a brilliant yellow
each fall. And they also stink. I wondered why-
so I took this off of Wikipedia so that we could all be
enlightened.

"Two ovules are formed at the end of a stalk, and after pollination,
one or both develop into seeds. The seed is 1.5-2 cm long.
Its fleshy outer layer (the sarcotesta) is light yellow-brown,
soft, and fruit-like. It is attractive in appearance,
but contains butanoic acid (also known as butyric acid)
and smells like rancid butter (which contains the same chemical)
or feces when fallen"










































This is a house that is across from ours
that has a lovely ivy rainbow that I could
not resist photographing.
















This cat always sunbathes in the same yard,
amid the same pile of leaves/twigs etc.

Consider the Octopus.

Last night I was watching The Amazing Octopus
on the Science Channel and it was indeed
amazing. It followed a female octopus from birth,
off the coast of New Zealand.

I didn't get through the whole thing because it was
almost 2 and I was exhausted. But I did see the octopus
escape from humans twice, and hear about something
called "octo venom." I did not realize that ALL octopi
were venomous! Was this common knowledge that I somehow
managed to miss??

Anyhow, the octopus has won my heart. I will be obsessing over
it for the next few weeks. Hopefully putting it on a card
for my etsy shop. Here are some videos about this wonderful cephalopod.

So much for goals.

I had high hopes of completing my list of goals
from the previous post.

But things rarely work out as I expect them to.
For example, the dumpling festival was the biggest
disappointment of all.
Not only was it raining, but it was packed and the lines
for each dumpling stand were at least a half hour long.

If people only had to hand over a ticket, and receive a plate
of dumplings-I really cannot fathom what the hold up was.
Zach and I were not happy, but we did have a delicious lunch
at Whole Foods instead. And our $10 we gave in hopes of
dumplings ended up going to the Food Bank of NY, so it
wasn't all in vain.

One thing that I did do this weekend was spend a lot of time
in the kitchen. And so did this gentleman.

















He likes to survey the floor for any rogue bits of food,
(which is not the most ideal situation )
as I managed to step on his feet many times.
But boy, is he cute.

On Sunday my original plan was to have a mini
epic feast, and then head to the East Village for
some pumpkin carving. The carving never happened
because I did not anticipate the length of time this
feast would take.

I have a whole new level of respect for the women
(or men) that take on the task of Thanksgiving.

I made a chicken, stuffing, brussel sprout slaw,
mashed potatoes, and for dessert apple dumplings.
(the bf loves apple desserts.) We paired this with
the delicious sparkling cider that we got at the market.


This is the spread.




























Please forgive my shotty
photo. The lighting in our apartment is really not the best.
I still need Rebecca to teach me how to take beautiful photos.


I also have this photo. My carton of celery sticks is
warning me that it may contain celery..

Goals for the Weekend

* Attend the Dumpling Festival on Bowery

*Cook a greenmarket chicken in the roasting pan
that my mom-mom gave me 3 Christmas' ago.
(She felt it was necessary for me to have it)

*Draw up shark thank you cards, christmas squids,
and other creatures.

*Carve a pumpkin.

*Finish putting together my Old Gregg Halloween Costume

*Make potato leek soup, something with brussel sprouts, and bread.

Regretsy. I love you.

Etsy is a place where anyone
can sell anything that they might make.

This, for the most part, creates
an amazing online marketplace for
crafters and customers alike.
But because Etsy is open to anyone
there is a TON of crap on there.

This is where the fine folks at
Regretsy come in. They post all the
hilarious junk that is currently being sold.
(usually for outrageous prices)

The worst part is that a lot of the sellers
featured on regretsy actually have
a lot of sales. Which really leads me to wonder
-who the hell is buying it!?

Here are some of my regretsy favs so far.

300th Post

It's Saturday night around 8
and I am sitting comfortably on the couch
watching CSI and eating Butternut Squash Curry.

This is truly an ideal evening. obviously.
I prefer to stay away from Manhattan
on weekend evenings for the most part.
So crowded, bad late night subway service.
Who needs that when I have cozy house
with a furry little buddy in it?

Today is also wonderful because I booked
a plane ticket to Berlin this morning.
A few days ago I woke up with the feeling
like I needed to be there.
I've never even been that interested in going
to Germany in general let alone a specific city.

As of right now I am traveling alone.
My best friend is thinking it over,
so I may or may not have a travel buddy.
Either way, I'm excited. And definitely
curious to see what awaits me there.

I imagine that I will come back looking like this



















with art that looks like this.

Latest Obsessions

*"Song for Jesse" Nick Cave and Warren Ellis

*Kekua (a brand of mexican hot chocolate)

*Twin Peaks re-runs

*falling slowly into hibernation mode.

*this pumpkin bread recipe

*The Bright Side Project

*Fred Astaire by Joseph Epstein

Crafts in Chelsea

Next Saturday I will be participating in
Crafts in Chelsea.

This will be taking place @ PS 11 which is
on 21st St b/w 8th and 9th Ave.
It is from 10-5, and should be a pretty good time.

The vendors will mainly be from the NewNewNY etsy group
(my craft group)
















So if you read this, and you happen to be free
you should stop by!!
I'll be there with all the usual cards
plus, my new holiday ones as well!

Enticing Challenge.

I was reading Clotilde's blog,
Chocolate and Zucchini and her latest
entry is about breadmaking.

Specifically, something called the
Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge.
or BBA for short. Right now,
all kinds of folks are participating.

All you need is a kitchen and a copy
of Peter Reinhart's book,
"The Bread Baker's Apprentice".
You can follow online to keep track of
others progress and post your own.


















I may have to try this. As bread baking is something
that I have always wanted to do.
This will be the perfect time to start.

New Cards

Just finished up my halloween cards!
Here is a preview.















These should be on etsy by tomorrow.

I feel like my Mom Mom

very kitchen savvy.

I made pita bread today,
and it was ridiculously easy!!















This is definitely a culinary milestone for me.
(please keep in mind that I could not cook
2 years ago) So things slowly have been
coming together in the kitchen.

this is the recipe I used.
No modifications were necessary.
Just add hummus.

• 1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm water

Preparation:

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water.
Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.

Combine flour and salt in large bowl.

Make a small depression in the middle of flour
and pour yeast water in depression.

Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with
wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.

PLace dough on floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes.
When the dough is no longer stick and is smooth and elastic,
it has been successfully kneaded.

Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl.
Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.

Allow to sit in a warm place for about 2 hours,
or until it has doubled in size.

Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces.
Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven.
Be sure to preheat your baking sheet also.

Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles.
Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.















Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up.
Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.

Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet
and add additional pitas for baking.

work in progress.

Currently working on holiday cards.
these are the beginnings.































I am determined to have these cards completed
by the craft show in Chelsea on Oct 17.

Adventures in Queens

I was reluctant to move to Queens last year,
but the bf has shown me that Queens is a diamond
in the rough. In the last year I have been to
many new restaurants, karaoke, a speakeasy,
Spa Castle, 2 beer gardens, a Mets game @ Shea,
and Long Beach (ok ok it's actually
on Long Island-but it's so close!)
our latest adventure was the US Open.




















It was awesome! I have never been a big tennis person,
but it was fun to watch! It definitely took a good 20min
for the bf to explain the scoring to me
(15-30-40?! what is that!?)
































But I did catch on and we enjoyed our day
hopping from match to match, getting some sun
and eating cheesesteaks and chicken fingers.

Definitely want to make this a yearly thing.

It's August 27th.

This date isn't special, I am just merely
shocked that it is actually the end of August.
The older I get, the quicker that summer
(and time in general) fly by.

I've been a busy bunny this last month,
and will continue to be busy through
September! oy.

I've have been doing pretty fun things though,
I had the 2 weddings and then went indoor bouldering
for the first time, in celebration of our friend Pete's bday.




















I was pretty proud of myself for
making it to the top multiple times.

The bf and I actually made it out to Long Beach
for a magical day by the sea. We brought back some
sweet shells, and my face got a few more freckles.

This past weekend I participated in the Crafts for Cause
benefiting the Citizens for No-Kill Philadelphia
It went quite well, though there was no air conditioning
in the building. My wonderful sister Em agreed to sit
and sweat with me for 6 hours. She deserves an award for that.

I do have pictures of this but not on my camera,
so they will be posted at a later date.

I have some new things that I plan to be working on
*thank you cards, narwhals, and the rock of love squid.
and I gotta get my butt in gear with christmas cards.

Yes Christmas cards...sigh. so not ready for that yet.

The Summer of Weddings part 2.

This past weekend our friends Mike and Rissa
got married at her Dad's estate in CT.
It was one of the most beautiful properties
and weddings that I have ever seen.




















































































It was like something out of a wedding show
on the Oxygen network.
We had such a great time eating,
drinking, and dancing the night away.































For dinner there was a 4 course meal with
wine pairings. The food and the wine was
outstanding. Especially the Chablis and the
Champagne. So delicious!











































I don't have a photo of the dessert but they had a
biscuit with a berry compote and whipped cream
and some kind of delicious sweet honey cake.

They were also giving out affogatos and espressos
AND gelato on a cone. mmm

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat..

It's Shark Week!




















I have been a fan of this for years!
Most people are, except for Carly,
because she isn't fond of sharks.
But I can understand, as I would
not be very excited if the discovery channel
started running Spider Week. ew.

Anyway, they have this sweet site up for
the event. And if you love sea creatures as much
as I do, you will totally nerd out on the site.













Check it out here

Short and Sweet

The bf's sister Chelsie informed us of this site-
which is pretty sweet.

Groupon.com has daily deals at a low price.
They just need a certain amount of people
to sign up for the deal to go through.

Right now it's a deal for some art gallery thing-
but they had deals on food/sports/dance classes
kinda the something-for-everyone vibe.

And they have different deals for different cities.
I'm actually really hoping that the dance class deal
comes back. (classes get expensive-it is only now that
I truly appreciate my dad paying for my 16 years of dancing)
Thanks dad : ]

The Funk

I've been in one of my blog funks again
but I am going to try to bring myself out of it.

There has been a lot going on recently.
We had a weekend wedding in the Catskills
and Monday was my 26th birthday.

Both were quite nice, and tons of fun.
The wedding was at a beautiful resort
in the mountains. Though not being a
true friend of nature I was definitely ready
to head home on sunday. The bf however
could have stayed forever.























































































Definitely danced my butt off on Saturday night.
It was awesome.


The birthday was good too. Can't believe that I am 26.
I don't feel old or anything like that- but last time I checked
I was 23. Times flies when you are having fun I suppose,
which must be true because these last few years have been
fantastic.

Gah, it's time for me to go on a dress hunt. We have another
wedding on August 8th. and mama needs a new dress.

Come on-a my house

I feel like Rosemary Clooney should
have been serenading my in my kitchen this week.

Besides my love of cooking, my financial state
has kept me in the kitchen and out of restaurants..

So we've been cookin' a lot.
Sunday was a Strawberry/Orange/Fennel salad
















with a spicy sausage risotto with asparagus and squash.















It is hard to photograph risotto, it looks like
a lump of random stuff, but believe me...it
is delightful. And super easy, I just took the same
recipe that I used for the ramp risotto awhile back
and just substituted ingredients!

Also last week I made Raspberry Muffins.
Which were awesome as well, light fluffy
and very berry-ful..
You can find the recipe here, it says strawberry muffins
but the market didn't have strawberries that day-so they
magically became raspberry. And I suppose you could
really add anything that you so desire.
Next time I'm thinking chocolate peanut butter
and banana mmmmm.
















Last nights dinner was my first try at my mom's
beef stroganoff-which is one of my favorite things
that she makes. It came out pretty well for my first try,
but I did overcook the beef a little...as I often tend to do
(eek) But it was still delicious, definitely one for the recipe box.

I have so much more to write but I am
falling asleep at the keyboard.
I took an amazing ballet class this morning
and am completely exhausted.


So, this calls for a power nap and part 2 of blogging.

Photos and Such

The 4th of July has come and gone,
this means that we are mid summer.
(which blows my mind every year)

This past 4th was quite enjoyable,
we spent it on a rooftop on E 5th St.





























We had an amazing view of the city
and of the fireworks later.
The day was spent eating, drinking
and dancing. To my suprise and
enjoyment "rhythm is a dancer"
came on whilst we watched fireworks..















definitely haven't heard that song since
I danced to it when I was 11.
It was an awesome throwback.


ahh i can still hear my teacher saying
"touch. touch. pas de bourree" oh nostalgia.

ah anyway, on Sunday I participated in the Williamsburg Flea Market.
















I shared a table with Christina (lady seen above)
I sold cards she was there to give advice.

This was loads of fun, but pretty lame on the sales end of things.
But it was also a holiday weekend, so I think that a lot if people
were still out of town.
I'll probably give it another chance in a few weeks.

Another highlight of yesterday was dinner
@ Egg. One of my favorite restaurants!
I got a huge bowl of grits and a fried chicken sammy.
yum!