Happy Birthday, Callie!

Today my darling neighbor turns 1 year old. Isn't she the cutest?

Craft Porn from Houston

I wanted to share a wreath Jeannie and I made. Jules should recognize part of the wreath as I used part of my birthday gift in the wreath. It pays to have talented friends.

Callie's Birthday

My sweet neighbor, Callie, is about to have her very first birthday. My ultra crafty friend, Kim, came over to "help" me with this project. Isn't it the cutest? All the items came from Hobby Lobby.

Zelko Bistro

Jeannie and I went to Zelko Bistro in The Heights today. The place was charming and the food was wonderful. We also met the owner/Executive Chef, Jamie Zelko. Jamie is darling with a great personality. I love to try new places as it seems we just go to the same place over and over again. City Centre has a parking spot with my name on it. :(.

Photos are:

My hamburger
Jeannie's crab cake
Lemon icebox dessert

Food Porn from Houston

Tuesday night I had dinner with Sybil. We made something I had been wanting to make since before my trip to NYC. We made Lasagna Cupcakes. Instead of using noodles in the lasagna, this recipe calls for wonton wrappers. If you would like the recipe go to www.food.com and type in lasagna cupcakes. Sybil made a great salad and made Ina Garten's blue cheese dressing which was devine. I may never be able to have bottled dressing again.

Correction

I had the last hotdog at Shake Shack not Steak 'n Shake. The hot dog was great and the Carmel shake was too die for. There is a Steak 'n Shake on I-10 at Westgreen which has a very good hamburger, FYI.

Congrats to

Marcie, Jules, and Kim who all won something in the drawing. I know there has been an issue with some of you being unable to post comments. I'm sorry for that and will ask my "guru" if he has any idea what the problem could be.

Matt was so happy to see me and within two minutes of his being in the house we were back to our routine. I think our routine means he sleeps, gets attention, I run errands, I watch tv and give him attention. I certainly enjoyed my time in NYC, but it is nice to have my car, see friends, and be with Matt. I will miss doing things with Dani and Leigh Ann.

Thanks for keeping up with me.

Photos

I need to run to the store - 3rd column and top floor
Taken from High Line
Bumper buddy - lots of tight parallel parking in NYC
Neat window display
Times square ball

Confusing

Will the real papaya dog please stand up?

It was a blast......

While it lasted, but like all good things it has to come to an end. It was fun to explore, do things alone, and live somewhat as a New Yorker.

I'm going to have another blog giveaway, but this times there will be two items. Like last time if you are a follower you will get a chance and if you leave a comment you will get a chance. Your comment must be the one thing I did that you would like to do the next time you are in NYC. I will draw the names on Wednesday, June 1st. (my first day back in h-town). I bought both items today while shopping in Soho.

There is some food porn in this post for Marcie. :). I saw a play tonight, "The House of Blue Leaves". It starred Edie Falco, Ben Stiller, and Jennifer Jason Leigh - good and a little dark.

Lunch at Stella's in Seaport - shrimp cocktail with mac & cheese
One of my favorite places - they have certainly improved their store in the last 10 years
Steak & shake
Always remembered
Play

My Last Day

I think I am about out of words.

Yesterday I went to the early open booth of the Tkts booth. The musical selection was very thin, but I got a ticket to "Priscilla Queen of the Desert". It was great! I was a little leery as it is about 3 drag queens that travel across Australia. The songs were great as most were from the late 70's and 80's aka disco.

I also took the bus tour of Harlem. It is just as clean as the rest of the city. There are some beautiful townhouses and I think there are a lot more which were not on the tour. I met a friend of my landlord's that lives in Harlem. She says there is part of Harlem which is Italian architecture. I guess I will have to see it on my next trip.

I had a wonderful and very reasonable brunch at Bobby Flay's Mesa. I have now eaten at restaurants owned by Bobby Flay, Tom Colicchio, Mario Batali, and Anthony Bourdain.

Pictures are:

Zarin Fabrics (for the Real Housewives of NYC fans)
Grant's Tomb
Apollo Theatre in Harlem
Red building in distance is former Pres. Clinton's office
Musical

Shout out to the Presbyterians

I wanted to share these photos of this beautiful Presbyterian church in Morristown, NJ which is where Dani lives. I found a lot of Presbyterian churches in this part of the country which I found surprising. I guess they are not all Italian Catholics.

I lived to tell the tale

As my time in NYC is coming to an end, I feel so very blessed to have had this experience. Number one on my blessing list are Jeannie & Doug who kept my dog and love him as much as I do. Sure I could have put him in a kennel, but he loves people and whether he knows it or not he is much happier with them. Number two on my blessings are my friends that followed my blog and have supported me by leaving comments or if they couldn't figure that out sent me emails. Number three on my blessing list is my therapist that encouraged me to do something I have always wanted to do. It will be interesting to see if he has read my blog. Number four on my blessing list are the two new friends I made while here. Could I have made it without making these friends? I certainly could have, but it made it so much more fun and I did things I wouldn't have done if I hadn't met them. Number five on my list is the apartment I rented and the lovely lady I rented from. I failed to mention it in yesterday's post, but she had a birthday card and cupcake at my door on Friday. So very nice! Number six on my list are my parents that allowed me to take this adventure in the obvious way and that they raised me to where spending a month in NYC alone wasn't a terrifying situation. I do wonder what they would think about my doing this. I hope they would be proud.

I will see all of you sometime after Tuesday!

I took the very touristy hop on & off double decker bus tour. There are 4 tours for the price so yesterday I took the downtown and night bridge/Brooklyn tour. I plan to take the uptown tour which includes Harlem today. From what I have heard, Harlem is not what it used to be. I was looking up bed & breakfasts in Manhattan and 90% were in Harlem.

Last night I had dinner at Colicchio & Sons which is next door to Del Posto. Both of these restaurants are two blocks from my apartment. I am trying to hit the famous celebrity chefs before I leave. I'm not even the one that watches the cooking shows, but I guess they will have a new interest for me now.

Empire State Bulding
Can't remember
Chrysler Building
Manhattan Bridge
Washington Square
Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan Bridge

Oh, and the title of this post means I did the stairs three (3) times yesterday!!!!!!!!

Birthday Hangover

Yesterday Dani & I drove back to the city from New Jersey. Before we hit NYC, Dani took me to Hoboken where I saw the Cake Boss' bakery. We did not stand in line. Dani said the last time she went the line was 7 hours.

Summer has hit NYC. My landlord put the window unit in and not only is it cool, but the sound drowns out the street noise. This is an added blessing.

To celebrate my birthday Dani, Leigh Ann, & I ate dinner at Buddakan which is an Asian fusion restaurant. The restaurant was dramatic and beautiful. It is also the restaurant that was used for Carrie and Mr. Big's rehearsal dinner in the Sex in the City move.

After dinner we saw the musical, "Anything Goes" which stars Joel Grey and Sutton Foster. It was fabulous!! My favorite so far.

After the musical Leigh Ann suggested we go to Junior's for cheesecake. I had devils food, Leigh Ann had strawberry shortcake, and Dani had chocolate mousse. It was a great way to end the day!

Btw, this is Fleet Week in NYC.

Happy Birthday

to me!!!

I am a Yankee

Fan!

Dani got us some wonderful seats for the Yankees game. They were behind home plate. I will say they could have used a retractable roof as the sun was beating down. I caught some rays!

I am staying with Dani in her home in Morristown, NJ. The neighborhood is beautiful and her home is darling. It really reminds me of Arlington, VA. Dani and I will be back in NYC tomorrow.

Yankee stadium
Yankee stadium
Derek Jeter or ARod in next three photos
GW Bridge going from NY to NJ
NY knows how to take all the fun out of junk food

Almost Wordless Wedesday

I had plans to only post photos and not say anything, but I did have to tell where I had dinner last night. I ate at Del Posto which just happens to be down the street from the apartment. It was a wonderful meal with fabulous service. Del Posto is owned by Mario Batali. I guess I am going to have to start watching those cooking shows.

Photos are:

Gilda's Club named for Gilda Radner
So many dog walkers in NYC
Cookies from my favorite bakery
Cookies
Del Posto