a blessing in disguise

I've been sick for a whole week. This jar of honey was unopened as of Monday. I figured that's a better visual than the pile of tissues. As frustrating as it is to just sit around feeling like garbage, being sick has not been all bad. It has forced me to not be on the go. The daily work, gym, errands, groceries blah di dah was put on pause for a minute. I watched some movies, did some reading and finally started working on some of the things I needed to get done to start my line of jewelry. The line is called Sunlit Projects and it was born this week. I went to work on Thursday and hit up Metaliferous (my local metalsmithing emporium) afterward for my torch, acid bath, calibrator, and hammers so I could get my studio set up.

Turns out that work + errands was overdoing it and I landed back in bed on Friday. But, after sleeping for the better part of two days, I finally attacked my pile of new gizmos. Today I got to work on some rings for Clare's friend Rachel, who asked for chunky silver rings. She asked for one with a lion on it, which I am doing by setting a silver button in a bezel setting.  

Oxidized metal looks neato!

It's not quite finished and I'm still sick, but today was a good one none the less.

fall foilage

It was now or never if we wanted to do some VT leaf peeping, so we chose now. Rain tried to mess with our plans, but our spirits were running high on Getaway Weekend Adrenaline. Zach and I stayed with our friend Eric, at his parent's house, which was great because we got some TLC from mom (home made mac n' chz and delicious squash soup) and the boys got to build stuff and play with power tools.

"Can't talk, building a fire pit."

The finished product. 

It got pretty silly when we decided to forgo the hike and head to the kitschy autumn wonderland instead. After placing our order for doughnuts and cider and equipping ourselves with an Oktoberfest, we set off in the corn maze. I think it was supposed to be haunted, but during the day it was more like a field with a bunch of junk in it. In an attempt to get lost in the maze, I kept veering off from our group, but inevitably would up with another group. This looked more like trailing creepily behind a family than actually joining another group.

There's a bar here?! What a pleasant surprise.

"Make a scared face"

Toasty nuggets of heaven. I had 4 in 48 hours.

Apres le maze du maize, we headed to Ariel's parent's house for some Apples to Apples, blue cheese burgers (shout out to Steve Lynch!) and cosmic bowling. $3.50 per person per game (about $14 per half hour) with free shoe rentals. As opposed to Brooklyn Bowl's $25 per half hour, $3 shoe rentals. Eat it NYC!

Dinner Team! Blue cheese burgers and roasted veggies with rosemary and chili infused olive oil. MMMmm

The highlight of the weekend though, was probably Sunday morning. "Mom, Stina wants to shoot guns, so that's probably going to happen."-Eric

And happen it did.

We shot a rifle and a shotgun. The shotgun was way more fun. And I actually hit the target with it.*

*Correction, obliterated the target

8: 40 (or 1:5) isn't a terrible traveling time to play time ratio for a weekend out of the city. Especially for a weekend that was chock full of delicious, local, seasonal food and activities. So, thanks Eric and Ariel for making our wknd a RGT.

Sometimes I wonder

Living in NYC, I've gotten used to living with TONS of people. Because there are so many people and such little private space, I think we get used to living more publicly than people who don't live here.

Take sleeping, for example. It is wierd to watch people sleep. You kind of give up control of what you look like when you go to sleep. Mouth open. Head bobbing. Possibly drooling. Yet, it is totally normal to catch a quick nap on the subway and let 50 people watch you possibly drool. Less normal to nap in a bar at a concert.

I've developed an interest in people's garbage since it is sitting right there on the street. Not a let me tape together your ripped up bank statements kind of interest, but more a huh thats a wierd thing to throw away on the street. I wonder what kind of person did that kind of interest

Is this litter?

Shameless dumpster diving

Those definitely don't work anymore.

Do you really <3 your pet? Because I'm pretty sure you were just caught throwing your pet away.

I don't even know what to say. Except that I was really tempted. 

But really, my favorite part of this whole lots of people living together thing is that sometimes we need to stop for a little singing and dancing with strangers. 

I like kids more than I do adults

That is why I teach.

My kids this year are hilarious. They make me laugh out loud routinely without trying to at all. Then they don't get why they are so funny. Here is some of their work. I'm pretty sure I'll be adding to this as the year goes.

Buzz Lightyear anyone?

#29. Apparently "hard" and "division" are synonymous




So 499 bowls of cereal would be ok? 

Yogging

I went for a run today with my camera in my pocket. It went a little something like this: run, smile, ponder the beautiful day, pause, snap a pic, run, run, smile at a stranger, pause, snap. So much blue!

East River Bandshell, Cherry St. and FDR

Smile at the Williamsburg Bridge

Chinese dudes fishing

After a great half run/picture walk and pilates, I decided to poke around town and enjoy the day. I don't usually buy fruit from Chinatown, but today was different. I purchased a dragonfruit, one of my Hawaii regrets. 

I also thought I needed to share these dried mushrooms. They look like turds. 

Groceries

People often ask how grocery shopping happens in NYC, without a car and such. So I figured I'd do a little tutorial. Let's just say, it's not boring. Actually, I find it rather exciting :)

My preferred way of shopping is a strategic combination of Trader Joe's, Greenmarkets, and Specialty Shops.

TJ's

Pros: Great prices, huge selection of chocolate covered things, creative and yummy freezer food, cheap, good, organic produce

Cons: The mobscene, no deli/ butcher/ fish counters, taking the bus home. 

Greenmarkets:
Pros: It is exciting filling a canvas bag with colorful leafy things, great seasonal veggies and home made jams, there is a fun sense of community that is not present at grocery stores
Cons: They're not there all the time, so they require planning, ppl often run out (I'm talkin to you delicious lamb sausage people at Union Square!)

I also live for the little specialty shops. They are part of what make NYC a wonderful place to live. I take advantage of some way more than others. Little Italy has totally transformed my relationship to Italian food. I didn't get why people thought it was so good prior to experiencing real gnocci and super stuffed ravioli. I also tasted aged provolone cheese that is more like a delicious, sparlkly, aged gouda than bland sammich cheese. My favorite two are Piemonte Ravioli and Alleva Dairy.

I was first introduced to them when Zach and I did a walking tour/pizza making class with Mark Bello, of Pizza a Casa Pizza School (do it, it rules). I <3 Piemonte because it makes me look good. I assemble the best lasagna ever because I'm working with fresh made lasagna noodles and exciting marinara (didn't know that existed, did you?). I also always keep a 50 ct. box of home made, overstuffed ravioli* in the freezer. Usually blue cheese, except right now it is pumpkin (mmm... with sage and brown butter... ) 

*N.B.: A box of 50 at Piemonte is the same price as a box of 10 at Whole Foods. And they taste way better. Booyakasha.

Alleva is the cheese spot. This is the provolone place. They also have awesome salted mozzarella. They are generous with the samples and have a friendly, helpful vibe.

Note the impressive crest behind the counter. 

I should just confess that I love grocery shopping. Even when I hate it, I love getting food and playing with flavors. I love good customer service (shout out to Wegmans!) and I love places that treat their food like it is something special. (butcher paper, bakeries that tie up their cakes)  However, I know that not everyone is as excited to do the food shopping. So, when Zach does the grocery shopping it is Fresh Direct all the way. From iPhone to doorstep without a drop of inconvenience.

Fresh Direct
Pros: super easy, pretty reliable user reviews of weekly produce
Cons: excessive packaging, I get the creeps if I think about why my peaches aren't bruised after traveling so much

Note: Whole Foods has not been included on this list of options. We have ended our abusive relationship and no longer see each other. I don't really want to talk about it because I do miss many things about it. I do not miss getting punched in the wallet time and time again.