Domesticky

Last weekend, I spent most of my time at home since I wasn't feeling well. All of a sudden, in the middle of afternoon on Saturday, I got a burst of energy, walked into the kitchen and baked! Now I know this isn't a big deal to most (especially my baker husband) but it was for me. I've always disliked cooking and the effort required. But after my attempt at pancakes a few weeks ago, and the sight of some super brown bananas I couldn't bear to throw away, Iwas encouraged to try a quick bread recipe.

I broke out the old Better Homes & Gardens cook book for a recipe Pete had made many times before. It is surprisingly simple! You can follow the recipe I used here. I skipped the walnuts and added mini chocolate chips.

Three Things

Three things I'm loving this week!

Spring is in the air!! (It may be killing my lungs via allergies though.) I love the contrast of city and nature. I'm always forgetting that trees have pretty flowers on them before they bloom into leaves.

Kale in my smoothies! I'm really new to kale. We tried a frozen bag a few weeks ago and were sorta unimpressed. I would like to try this fresh next time and try making the hugely popular kale chips recipe.  Anyway, blending frozen kale into my smoothie is a great way to get some greens in before I leave for work. You can't even taste it in there! I swear!

My new rainbow sock monkey! My mommy bought this for me because I am 5 years old and she loves me. :D

Week Long Randomness

Welcome to a web of randomness!!  This past week I've been feeling a bit under the weather. I had random bouts of every so slight dizziness & light headed-ness, and headaches. Now, a few days later, I have a bad cough. Everyone around me has guessed it's allergies and since all people are doctors I believe them. Being ill leads to a very exciting week although I did have a chance to spend some quality one on one time with my sister on Saturday, and catch up with the girls over brunch on Sunday.

Here are some thoughts:

• I'm watching Oprah Presents Master Class: Bon Jovi while writing this post. So this handsome guy is on my mind :D



Source of Dreaminess

 I actually found an old camera memory card recently and was excited to find out what was on it. About 50 pictures were of a Bon Jovi concert my sister Dianna & I went to in 2007 at Madison Square Garden! We've seen him together multiple times through the years, (my sister even more times than me!) but this was my personal favorite performance. We sat fifth row! God, all shows should be watched from the fifth row. It was awesome!! It was soooo fun!

• Apparently it was macaron week in my life. Just macarons 24/7. I went from having a macaron once in my life to seeing them everywhere and having quite the craving. I always want to buy some, but they're a bit pricey. I finally gave in when I stopped in Financier to pick up those two baby cakes for Pete's birthday.  

Seven came in the box and, while tasty, unfortunately you couldn't really tell what each flavor was. I mean, all the beiges could've been anything.

The day after my purchase just so happened to be National Macaron Day. There were multiple bakeries participating across the city and  each were offering a free macaron with your visit.  The only one near my job in midtown was Macaron Cafe. There was a bit of a line outside, but it moved rather quickly. Once inside, I chose vanilla and OMG. These put the Financier ones to shame!!  The cookie portion was much more fresh & soft. There was an abundance of well flavored filling in the middle that just made the cookie fantastic. NOW I see why you shouldn't go for the "cheap" stuff.

Nom nom nom

• Um, what kind of cruel joke is this, Key Food?

• This picture of Lucy makes me want to make a sad, silent, foreign film with mellow piano accompaniment.


The balloon can float around aimlessly. Lucy will watch. Think about the balloon.
This one is a bit more playful. Turns out neither cat is thrilled w/ the balloon. Both are easily scared of it. Ha! Scardy cat! ....oh wait.

•   And lastly, me, Pete & my parents all went to Cheesecake Factory last night. After the meal we ordered cheesecake (duh) and I got the banana creme one with fresh banana. When my cake arrived, I was overjoyed to see multiple lil 'naner faces looking up at me!!

Now, I eat bananas nearly every single day, but I don't think I've ever seen them smile at me! As someone who anthropomorphizes everything, this was ridiculously hard to eat. ... but then I got over it. It was actually delicious, and is now my new favorite flavor of cheesecake.

Three Things

Welcome back for Three Things Thursday! You can check out earlier installments here & here.

Pete & I were looking for a great Indian restaurant since our local one closed (and quite frankly, wasn't that great anyway) and checked out Seva in Astoria. The place is cozy with only about 12 tables & a super attentive staff of 400. Luckily they were attentive, but not overbearing.

Anyway, as an appetizer, I ordered the masala crab cakes. Holy moly were these delicious! They came with 2 sauces which both complimented the crab cake so well. As soon as I took my last bite, I was already planning to order these again soon!

{Fun birthday napkins.}

{Baby birthday cakes for the birthday boy! From Financier Patisserie}

Spend Your Birthday with the Rockefellers

Saturday was Pete's 30th birthday. After a homemade breakfast (made by moi!) we headed out for a day of hiking at the The Rockefeller State Park Preserve in Sleepy Hollow, NY. The weather was gorgeous and spring-like. It was the perfect day to be outside.

There were multiple trailways to choose from. None of them were exceptionally long, but were all interconnected, so we would start out on one and follow through to another. One pathway we chose led us up a steep hill and we were rewarded with cows! :D

I swear, every couple of minutes I would just remark about how pretty & calming the entire park was. I loved the sound of our shoes hitting the pavement, the birds chirping & the babbling brook. I felt like my soul was being nourished and I was one with nature again. It was a very Oprah moment.

It was such a fun afternoon being healthy, getting fresh air and celebrating life. <3

Happy St. Pancake's Day!

Today is a special day! Not only is it St. Patrick's Day...

{Happy St. Patrick's day to all my Irish brothers & sisters!}

But more importantly... Happy Birthday to my favoritest person ever - my husband Pete!!

I love you so much & am excited to celebrate this milestone with you! xoxoxo

To help Pete celebrate, I decided to make him pancakes for breakfast. This is a big deal because I rarely cook, so he was pretty shocked!  I want to cook more often anyway, so today was a great day to start.

I made chocolate chip banana pancakes! I used this recipe. They came out delicious!

 I'm happy to report they came out delicious! Pete approved!

We're off to do some outdoorsy things and then have dinner reservations in the city. Enjoy the rest of your day and this fatty picture of Peach! :)

Three Things Thursday

Hello hello! Time for the second installment of my newest feature Three Things Thursday! You can check out the first installment here.

NINJA BREAD MEN

What more can I say about these little cookie cut outs! How fun!! Hi-ya!!

Last week I was making fresh bread crumbs (it really helps if your husband can bring home freshly made bread every single day, if he so chooses) in the blender. As it whipped around I thought, "This is probably what the inside of Lucy's brain looks like." Just a loud whirlwind of crumbs.

I have not been able to get this image out of my mind since! She's a crazy & hyperactive little girl. She often bolts off for no reason & is voracious at playtime. She will hunt you a mouse. Or straw. Or piece of tin foil. Or Peach.  She's ridiculous :) <3

 

Lastly - Sock Monkeys!! I only have one & my mom recently got me another (after she saw how excited I was about it - it's RAINBOW! - when she was going to gift it to a grandchild. hehe.. I'll always be her baby!)

I have a hard time ignoring these guys but have successfully NOT started a collection...yet. Although these little babies look perfect for my couple o' monkeys ;)