My vacation is over already?

Well folks, I'm back in NYC... I can't believe my long weekend is already over! I haven't had a chance to upload photos from Minneapolis yet (and those might take all week to share, considering my shutter-button addiction... I'm pretty sure that's a real thing!), but I would like to share a little something with you today:

I am tired of carrying my luggage.

It it no secret that I am cursed with a need to pack for EVERY POSSIBLE OCCASION (it's a family-thing, I swear!). In my suitcase you can always find outerwear for any weather situation, enough crafts to keep me busy for however long I'll be away, a myriad of first aid paraphernalia, and more- not to mention my clothes and shoes. Normally I would pack this into the trunk of my car and be on my way. But since I'm living in NYC sans car, I'm literally bearing the brunt of my stuff.

To be more specific, here are the bags I took to Minneapolis.
A carry-on rolling suitcase, a shoulder bag, and a purse. Not too bad, right?

WRONG!

With a little Internet research, I realized that I dragged this stuff 4.4 miles, up 9 flights of stairs, down 14 flights of stairs, on 8 different subway trains, and through 2 different airports. Can you believe it? To say that I'm tired of schlepping this stuff around is an understatement... and yet, I have a feeling that when I pack for another trip in July, I won't remember this feeling! :)

In happier news, I got to go to Michael's while I was in MSP! (Isn't that sad? Our hotel was really close to a Michael's and a Walmart, and I was SO excited!) Here's a little something I started for the WWII veterans with some clearance yarn I found for $.99/skein.
I hope you had a WONDERFUL Memorial Day weekend- I can't wait to catch up on everyone else's blogs and fill you in on my adventures in the next few days! Happy Tuesday!

... just a bowl of cherries...

Guess what I did last night? I'll give you a hint- it included these lovely things:
Yep... I baked... AGAIN! If you read this blog with any regularity, you probably think that I bake ALL the time. I really don't... I just think it's the time of year (parties, vacations, etc), and the fact that I've discovered some of the most AMAZING baking website/blogs I've ever seen!

So, what was my excuse this time? It's two fold: on one hand I wanted to make a little goody to take with me to Minneapolis (more on that in a minute), and on the other hand, I wanted to take advantage of the sweet cherry season. After a little Internet sleuthing, I decided to make Cherry-Ricotta Muffins. Sounds interesting, right? I saw the recipe on Joy of Baking, and thought I might be able to handle it!

First, I washed the cherries (I purposefully picked some double-cherries because they looked so funny).
After I whisked all the wet ingredients and set them aside, it was onto the dry stuff. (Thanks to my Grandma for the microplane zester- look at the lovely lemon zest!)
After the wet/dry was barely mixed, I folded in the cherries (how does PW do her action shots- it's hard to shoot with the right hand and work with my left).
Almost there...
After baking, this is what I got! (Per the picture on the website, I threw a whole cherry on each muffin a couple of minutes before I took the pan out of the oven. I wanted them to be baked into the muffins a little- unfortunately, it kind of singed the cherry stems... oh well- live and learn!)
And check out that cake plate! It was a gift from SFS's parents... I just LOVE it! And it proves that my cake plates have MULTIPLE uses... like MUFFIN plates! :)
A view from the top!
Aren't they the cutest?
(I just hope they taste good!)
So there you have it- another attempt at seasonal baking! I'm headed to Minneapolis this weekend to hang out with my family, and these babies are all wrapped up and ready for the X-ray machine at Newark Airport! I hope you have a WONDERFUL Memorial Day!

Good-byes shouldn't be this much fun!

Last night, I had to say goodbye to my good friend JG! She's moving back to Boston (she's from the area), and last night was the last time we'll see each other before she moves. Just to recap, JG and I worked together at the music agency, ate lunch together almost everyday, and have more inside jokes than I could possible explain! We both left the agency around the same time, and although our new jobs and schedules made it tough, we still tried to get together every week for dinner or a movie.

Earlier this week, I realized that I wanted to make JG a little goodbye card. I had an idea, and I think it worked out! Just a reminder- here is what JG looks like (isn't she a crack up?):
So this is the card I made. I used my Cricut and the Paper Doll Dress-Up cartridge and just went to town!
I backed the little doll with a cardstock "shadow", which also made the doll into a card!
I used a cat's eye to shade her "jeans"...
And I couldn't say no to a bit of sparkle!
And since last night was the official "Goodbye JG" dinner... guess where we went? Cafe Spice, of course! (You'd think I was getting a kick back for all the times I mention that place on my blog- but it's just a good/reliable place to go!) Another friend from our agency days, SDK, met us there, and we spent a couple hours laughing, reminiscing, and having a grand old time. Of course, I took my camera and snapped some pics along the way... here's a shot of my Prosecco:
And here are SDK and JG... so cute!!
There are little votive lights on the table- and that's pretty much the only light in the place. It makes for a nice atmosphere (but tough to take artistic pictures!)...
But I tired to be artistic with JG's wineglass...
Here is SDK's meal... YUM!
And some taste-y naan...Here's what JG got...
And mine! (I was too hungry to take a "before" shot!)
Awww... and here's a shot of SDK and I outside the restaurant!
It was a scrumptious dinner and a wonderful way to say goodbye to JG! (Oh- and she liked her card, too!) Happy Wednesday!

T - t - t - Tuesday!

Looks like Picasa is my friend once again (I'll pretend yesterday's snafu wasn't user error), so here are some photos from last weekend.

On Friday, I met SFS after work and we headed up to his roof. This is a particularly fun place, because it's a little off limits- technically, no one is supposed to go up there. But SFS's roommate convinced their Super to disable the emergency alarm on the roof door, so it's like the boys' hang-out spot. Occasionally they allow me to infiltrate their circle... and last Friday was one of those days! Here's the first picture I took on Friday night... ah, New Jersey!
Now SFS was smart, and brought a book to the roof (I left mine at work... grrrr!)- see how nicely he poses for my never ending photos? (I'm only kidding- I take SO many pictures- and he's a very good sport about it!)
Awww- this one is SO much better!
Luckily SFS brought his iTouch for me to play with... I have decided I will become a master at that color-block-flooding game... I've won, like 5 times (just don't ask me how many times I've lost)!
Here is what I love about the roof- yummy iced tea (there's a Starbucks a few blocks from SFS). Note: please ignore my horrible toes- I have since gotten a new pedi!
This is the view to the South- see the top of the pretty monument?
As the sun was setting, I just kept snapping away!
As summer approaches, the trees start to bloom and everything looks so darn LUSH!
This is the view to the Northeast... check out some of those roof gardens- I'm green with envy!
And the view to the Southeast- that roof to the immediate right of the photo was grilling hamburgers... boy, did they smell delish!
I just love the look of water towers- isn't it cool?
I snapped this last photo as the sun set... things got a lot colder after that, so it was the end of our time on the roof!
For dinner, we ordered Mexican food... yum! Here's the spread:
I had this GIANT burrito (no meat, thank you very much):
While SFS ordered a BEEF TONGUE TACO! (I couldn't even look at it!)
And a pork something-or-other.... (I can't remember what it was called- but it came on a cornmeal biscuit-y thing.)
I gave up on my burrito... luckily SFS and his roommate offered to eat a bit for me! :)
This is SFS in action- there was a third kind of meat dish as well, but I'm blanking... maybe chicken?
After a fun day on Saturday, SFS agreed to help me make some Cupcake Pops. I had a church brunch on Sunday, so we made these purple pops. SFS did all the sugar-sprinkling... don't they look great?
When we were done, we put them in a box to transport. (Don't worry, when we got to the brunch, they were immediately put into a crystal bowl... it's the Upper East Side, people!)
So there you have it- my weekend in pictures! Hope your Tuesday is great- we're set to have some beautiful weather here in NYC- I hope it's the same wherever you are!

Is it Monday already?

After a very fun weekend (I was hoping to post photos today, but Picasa isn't doing what I want it to do), I found myself back at the office this morning... what gives? 2 days of fun is just not enough sometimes... luckily, I have Memorial Day weekend to look forward to: Minneapolis, here we come!

In the meantime, here is a little glimpse into my 'work-life'. My company offers a summer internship program, and this summer I get to play Intern Administrator. As part of that responsibility, I get to make sure everything is ready for the interns when they arrive- which means that every intern needs a computer. Here is a photo of what I'm been working on this morning:
Yep- there are 6 computers/laptops on that table that I need to get working. Are you cracking up at this point? The reason I ask is that if you know me AT ALL, you know that every technological problem that I encounter results in a panic-y call to my little brother. So the fact that I get to sort out this situation is kind of hilarious. (Lucky for him, my little brother is still on a tour-bus with the Glee Club!)

But don't worry- nothing has blown up, imploded or fried itself... yet! Happy Monday!

Gardening - NYC style!

Do you ever look at your personal traits/talents and try to figure out who you inherited them from? We play that game in my family all the time- I think I got a lot of nice qualities from both sides... but one thing I didn't get was a Green Thumb! Seriously- it's so unfair! My grandparents and parents both have beautiful gardens (not to mention countless other family members)... but when it come to plants, I have terrible luck.

I can remember buying a house plant at Ikea when I lived in Evanston- it was one of those 'maize' plants or something; it was supposed to be totally indestructible- the store had them growing in the basement! Within a week of living in my dorm room, it was starting to turn yellow, and a few days later it was officially dead.

Last summer, I tried to grow a pot of lavender (because it reminded me of the lavender fields in Avignon). When I bought it it was healthy, purple, and smelled delicious... and not two weeks later it was a shriveled little crisp!

But since when has a little setback (or twenty) stopped me?

So this summer, I'm going to try again... for REAL! I bought a few herbs at the GreenMarket last weekend:
I invested in the planter you see above. I didn't have the heart to fill it with fancy dirt, so I started with a good base of "backyard" dirt (don't worry- I was SO careful not to include any worms or rolly-pollys... I don't want THOSE in my apartment) and added a bag of potting soil to the top.

I haven't made cute little herb markers (those are on my to-do list, I promise), so let me show you what I'm growing....

First is the basil:Next is the rosemary:
And finally the chives. (Note: I picked chives because they're yummy, but also because I remember them TOTALLY taking over my parents' herb garden growing up... I figured they might be hardy enough to survive under my care!)
So there you have it- my garden! If they survive, I look forward to sharing more photos of their growth... and if I'm really lucky, maybe I'll be able to cook with them! But shhhhhh- don't tell them that!
I hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend!