Return to Blogging!

Apparently motivating to post about my apartment, which was 6 months over due, meant a month plus hiatus (and a few lack luster attempts) from the blogging world. No fear, I'm back!

This past week/weekends weather was absolutely amazing, high 60's to mid 70's! I was looking at a few of pictures I've taken recently and I am convinced spring is on it's way!

Running in Central Park in early March!

(There's actually some leftover snow on the ground...but that doesn't count)

Happy coffee from Vynl!

Smile Cookie from the best bakery in Chicago!

(This is less about spring and more about the amazingness that is this cookie)

Flowers in Central Park this past weekend!

Spring can not come soon enough (and neither can vacation which is just over a week and a half away)!

City Livin'

We have been having some crazy weather here in NYC, reminiscent of Chicago which almost makes me miss the erratic temperatures....almost. Somehow today we had picture perfect weather while yesterday it was blizzard like & most people had to work from home! Here's a picture of the city taken from my window the day after the big snowstorm...looks like something out of a magazine (or an annual report for us finance nerds).

Hot Sauce & Mushrooms?

As most of you may know I am a wimp when it comes to anything spicy and generally avoid food on menus with little peppers or spicy alarms next to them. Therefore I'm not sure what's gotten into me recently because every chance I get I've been putting hot sauce on everything. In addition to this, one of my quirky eating habits is that I have a tendency to mix and match tastes and foods that are probably unconventional and some might even find kind of gross. With that said it is no surprise that the other night while waiting for dinner to finish cooking I grabbed a fresh mushroom, pulled out the stem and poured a fair amount of Frank's Red Hot Original sauce in the now vacant "stem hole"....Bon Apétite!?

It only took 6 months...

but I've finally got my act together and am debuting my new(ish) apartment (the inspiration for the blog in the first place)! I motivated to clean the apt and in the process snapped a few pictures to hopefully give you an idea of the place I call home (and clearly where I also watch the movie the Fantastic Four).

Spacious Closet!

(could always be bigger)

Girly Bathroom

It's small, clearly the bike, bedroom and kitchen are all within reach if you stand in the right spot in the apartment, but it's quaint and it's all mine!

Not just blue, it's Carolina blue

For the long weekend Jon and I went to North Carolina to visit his friends Jen and Shane and their son, his godson, Gage! This was my first trip down to NC and it was clear right from the get go that blue is a very prominent color down there (just be careful which shade you're wearing)!

We got in on Saturday morning and spent a relaxing weekend eating, playing, and napping (I'm not just referring to the 2-year old). Gage is quite the ladies man, he woos them with his smile and he wards off other men with his new pair of plastic pliers...protective gear is suggested for guys that get in the way :) There was a little science museum action, some amazing chicken quesadilla's, did I mention napping (my favorite), and some playoff football. All in all a nice and relaxing visit!

Mama mia it's a pizza party!

Jon and I decided to let the creative juices flow this weekend...if you don't use them you'll lose them (and there's not much using them when it comes to our day to day jobs)!

On Sunday we decided to make homemade pizza! We weren't crazy enough to make our own dough, but we did have to turn it from a gigantic ball into some semblance of a circular pizza shape! Jon was in charge of this task, and given that I don't think Chicago style deep dish could ever be replicated by anyone other than the professionals we made what I would refer to as medium crust. Jon's technique was unique, not that I think I could have done any better, but it got the job done. Let me highlight a few of the more interesting methods (all original):

• Beating the dough Rocky style
• Rolling out 2 flat pieces of rectangular dough and attaching them down the middle
• Creating a rectangular, then circular, then square, and finally an oval shaped pizza

Work In Process

We cut up a ton of fresh vegetables and fresh salami and went to town! Needless to say we had fun and it was a pretty healthy way to start the week. I think next time we'll invest in a rolling pin, although that might stunt some of the creative juices :)

Yummy finished product!

Half pepperoni, half veggie...even though I opted for no pepperoni Jon let me pick some off from his side. Sometimes we refer to his meals as the buffet plate :)

A new year a new reason to...

break out the BUBBLY!! Happy 2010!!

This time last year I was getting ready to stay in for the NYE holiday in hopes of preempting a more peaceful year to come...I was easily persuaded (or I might have even convinced myself) to go to my friends holiday party instead...coincidentally this is where I met one Señor Jon....and as my mother once put it, took him for a test drive (aka got a NYE kiss)!...A year later and we were in Hotlanta getting ready to ring in 2010 with a bunch of Jon's high school and college friends!

To celebrate we went to a restaurant called South City for dinner and drinks before heading out to a local Atlanta pub to practice counting backwards from 10! What a fun night!

The ladies

(so awesome!)

The men

(so lucky!)

Not quite midnight buddy

This is what happens after Jon kisses you

(Jon where did you get the lei?)

After all the celebrating we needed a hearty breakfast so we headed to Waffle House! I haven't been there since college and I'm happy to report it's the same greasy, but oh so delicious food I remember. The rest of our time in Atlanta was spent watching football and hanging out with friends! 2010 is off to a pretty nice start!