A regular laugh riot!

Since moving to NYC, I've enjoyed more than my fair share of complimentary tickets. From Lincoln Center, to Carnegie Hall, to The Metropolitan Opera... I've been one lucky lady! But recently, I've been enjoying a different kind of comp-ticket...
Yep... comedy! SFS and I have been going to see shows at Comix. Have you ever been there?
It's a comedy club in Chelsea, and they host some pretty funny acts! Like Monique, who was featured on my menu the other night.
As you might have guessed (from my reference to a menu above), Comix also serves food! And while our tickets are free, I still have to adhere to the drink minimum.
You should see me order my "Shirley Temples"- it throw the waiters and waitresses for a loop every time!

Now, you might be wondering how we're scoring these tickets. Well, SFS' roommate's best friend (confused yet?) manages several comedians, and has gotten us on the list for some pretty funny people. The other night, we saw Tom Green.
We've really been enjoying Comix. Over the last few months we've seen Wyatt Cenac (from The Daily Show), Judah Friedlander (from 30 Rock), and Larry Wilmore (from The Daily Show) just to name a few!
If you'd ever like to visit Comix, it's at 14th Street and 9th Avenue. They even have a little lounge out front, if you want to grab some drinks before the show!
Thanks for visiting my blog- I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Makin' muffins...

The other day, I was feeling guilty for neglecting my kitchen... so, I decided to whip up some Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins. I started with this tasty group of ingredients: Here's a little montage of the components- don't you love my new salt pig? SFS spotted it when we were out and about a few weekends ago, and I'm thrilled with it!
After everything was measured, I started mixing.
While the Kitchen Aid did her thing (yeah, mine's a girl), I turned my attention to the blueberries.
Aren't they pretty? They tasted pretty good, too!
Now, the recipe requires that you add the rest of the ingredients, alternating between the the dry and sour cream...
Before gently folding in the blueberries.
But before I go any further, I have to show you the muffin cups I used:
Don't you just LOVE that plaid? I couldn't resist picking up a container of these when I passed them in the grocery store!
But back to the task at hand. After I placed the liners in my muffin tin, I proceeded to make a huge mess by attempting to take a photo whilst pouring the batter!
But it was worth it...
Because that batter baked up into these sweet little muffins!
Aren't they cute?
I'll admit it- I'm a weak soul, and I couldn't stop myself from tearing off the muffin liner...
And diving right in! Now tell me- doesn't that look scrumptious? (And yes- I might of massacared the rest of the muffin in order to photograph the perfect forkfull... anything for my blog!)
If you'd like to try these muffins yourself, here's the recipe:

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins
2 whole Eggs
1 cup Sugar
½ cups Vegetable Oil
½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
¼ teaspoons Almond Extract
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ teaspoons Baking Soda
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Blueberries
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and prepare your muffin pan. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda, and set aside. In your mixer, beat your eggs on medium-low and gradually add in sugar. Then slowly add in the oil and extracts. Alternately add in the flour and sour cream until all combined and then gently fold in the blueberries. Pour batter into muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes.

Thank you for stopping by- I hope you have a great Thursday!

Flippers and fins

The other day, when SFS and I had some free time in Chinatown, we wandered around and came upon this store. See all those orange things in the front window? Yep- they're goldfish!
This was one of the craziest fish stores I've ever seen- rows upon rows of tanks and aquariums, each filled with the most exotic looking fish.
And along the outer walls of the store, there were huge ponds full of koi.
Each tank was separated by fish size: the bigger the Koi, the more expensive!
And towards the front of the store were the large, even more expensive fish.
This guy was could've been mine for just under $300!
Unfortunately, those are the only pictures I have to share with you- the owner preferred that I not take any more pictures... but let me tell you, that fish store was crazy! Oh- and can you believe there was even a fish "ON SALE" for $800?! I couldn't believe it! We had fun looking around, even though I was terrified a fish would jump out of tank and touch me. (And while I know this fear to be mostly irrational, fish have been known to jump out of their tanks- and that makes me so nervous!)

If you'd like to check out this store, it's located on the corner of Broome and Mott Street. Thanks for visiting my blog- I hope you have a great day!!

My blogging blind date

Have you ever gone on a blogging blind date?
That's what I did the other night. Since starting this blog last year, I've connected with some lovely people in the blogging world, including Sue. While she lives in Vancouver, her job and adventures take her all over the world... and she shares all her lovely photos on her blogs (here and here). And though we had never met in person, after seeing reading her blogs for months, I felt like I knew her! So the other day, Sue was going to have a few hours free in the city... so we met up for dinner with some folks from her crew. And boy, did we have fun! We headed to Ruchi, a yummy little Indian restaurant in the Financial District. Of course, being the responsible blogger that I am, I failed to charge the battery on my camera... so these lovely photos are all thanks to Sue and her fancy camera lenses!
We started our meal with Bhel Puri, which is an assortment of crisp rice and noodles with potatoes, onions and tomatoes with a sweet and tangy sauce. Interesting, right? And let me tell you... it was YUMMY!
We also shared some Vegetable samosas.
After we polished those off, we moved onto the entrees: Goan Shrimp, Chicken Makhani/Butter Chicken, Keema Mutter, and Saag Paneer.
Talk about a tasty dinner- I was in curry heaven!!
And of course we had some rice...
And fresh naan!
In no time at all, we had plowed through our meals...
And I stopped short of licking my plate... and only because it was the first time Sue was meeting me and I was trying to make a good impression... next time, all bets are off!
We had a wonderful evening- full of laughter and good food!
And do you know what else? Sue brought me a treat from Vancouver:
That's right- an official pair of mittens from the Vancouver Olympics!
I loved seeing these on TV the past week, so imagine my delight at actually having a pair to wear!
Thanks again Sue- can't wait to get together next time you're in town!

And for everyone else, if you'd like to check out Ruchi for yourself, it's at 120 Cedar Street between Greenwich and Trinity Place in the Financial District. Thanks for stopping by- I hope you're having a great Tuesday!

Our morning at the museum

This weekend, we visited the New York Historical Society's Museum.
SFS' roommate is a high school history teacher, and he invited us on a trip to this neat museum on the Upper West Side. They have a mix of rotating exhibits and permanent collections, including a great exhibit about Abe Lincoln and NYC... hence this large sculpture just inside the front door.
But before we visited any of the exhibits, I was struck by the building, and all the cool architectural details... check out the main hall:
Whenever we go to a museum, SFS likes to start at the top floor and work his way down... so off we went to The Henry Luce III Center.
It was a whole floor of American artifacts, displayed by type.
It was amazing- there was so much to look at!
And while you can choose to look at it on you own...
Some of the artifacts are labeled by a special number. You can use your cell phone to call this number, and hear information about that particular item- isn't that a great idea?
And since the museum is all about NYC history, there were some items that only a New Yorker would appreciate... like Alice In Wonderland's head! There's a large statue in Central Park depicting that famous story, and this is the original cast for the bronze sculpture... so cool!
But the top floor had more to offer than just sculptures- from tools...
(Complete with an entire case of butter molds...)
To a display of silver. Also, do you see that wheel in the left corner of the photo?
It belongs to this lovely coach!
I had so much fun looking through all the cases.
Especially the Tiffany area:
Aren't these lamps amazing?
I love how the base of this lamp looks like a tree trunk, as the shade depicts the flowering branches... SO beautiful!
But back to the artifacts- check out these campaign buttons and medals:
Or these coins:
I especially liked this area, because I wanted to be an archaeologist when I was a kid!
Glasses anyone?
This photo is kinda crummy, but I LOVED this item... it was a toy "Noah's Ark", complete with hundreds of animals paired in a line leading to the ship!
After the top floor, we headed down to another level...
Unfortunately I wasn't supposed to take pictures of the paintings, so this is all I have to share on that level!
Back on the main floor, SFS and I checked out the Lincoln exhibit, which was really interesting (though I wasn't allowed to take pictures there, either).
And after we had our fill of the museum, we did a little shopping in the gift shop.
We sure had a great time at the museum!
If you'd ever like to check it out yourself, it's located on 77th Street and Central Park West!
Thank you for stopping by- I hope you had a wonderful weekend!!