500!

It's hard to believe, but today is my 500th post on this blog! Can you believe it?

When I first started blogging back in March (2009), I didn't have much of a plan: I just loved taking photos, and I was looking for an way to share some of my experiences here in the city with the people I loved back at home. Since then, I've looked forward to my daily (well, "week-daily") dose of blogging. It hasn't always been easy (or necessarily very good), but I've enjoyed every moment of it! From exploring NYC...

A shot of the NYC skyline from a pier in the Hudson River

To vacations in other cities...

The Jefferson Monument in Washington, DC

From various visits where I reveled in the beauty of my home-state...

My brother in Lake Superior

To the urban jungles of Manhattan...

The Greenmarket at Union Square

From cell phone photos out the office window of my old job...

A rainy day in NoHo

To the first moments at my current job...

The entrance at my current job

And the glories of working in Lincoln Center...

Lincoln Center plaza at dusk

From loving families...

A group shot at our bi-annual family reunion

To family losses...

My grandpa and I

From family vacations...

My bro and I acting goofy in Colonial Williamsburg

To my attempts in the kitchen...

Raspberry and Blueberry Pound Cake

And my attempts at artistic photography....

Crisp Point Lighthouse on Lake Superior

It's been a fun and wild ride! My deepest thanks to each of you who have read and commented on my life over the last 500 posts... here's to 500 more!!

A girl could get used to this...

Look what I got on Sunday: SFS surprised me with these pretty flowers for our anniversary. Isn't that nice? But the celebration didn't end there... a few hours later, he took me down to the West Village...
For dinner at Cafe Cluny! Have you ever been there? It was one of the most amazing meals I've had in the city! I didn't take any pictures of the restaurant, but it was such a nice space- please check out their website if you have a minute! But I did whip out my camera to take pictures of our dinner... wanna see? (Note: you might not want to look at these if you're hungry...)

For the first course, I ordered the Baby Beet Salad- it also included slices of tangerines and goat cheese. Can you tell that there were 3 different kinds of beets in that salad? It was drizzled with a lemon vinaigrette... simply delish!

SFS went a different direction, and got the Organic Salmon Tartare, complete with Old Chatham's sheep's milk yogurt and beet scented potato chips. Yeah... and that was just the first course!

For the entree, I chose the Pancetta wrapped Pork Tenderloin. It came with sauteed swiss chard and roasted figs. I don't order pork very often, so this was a real treat. Plus, the swiss chard was incredible- I've been googling recipes for it ever since! SFS chose the Braised Short Ribs, on top of potato puree and roasted vegetables. But there was more... do you see what's on top of the beef?
Yeah... it's foie gras. On principal, I'm against it... but after watching chefs add it to everything on Top Chef, I was curious. So I tried it...

... and...

I kind of liked it! Mind you, I had the tinniest bite... but it wasn't half bad. Maybe Ton Colicchio is onto something!

And if that wasn't enough to make you drool... check out what we ordered for dessert. I went with the Profiteroles, which were filled with homemade vanilla ice cream, and smothered in chocolate sauce and almonds. SFS ordered the yummiest Dark Chocolate Torte, which came with a scoop of marscapone cheese. I have to figure out how to make that!
As you can see, it was a really wonderful evening! Thanks for everything SFS!
I don't know about you, but now I'm really hungry! I hope you have a great day- thanks for stopping by!