what's your favorite

It's Halloween season once again. Last year Ted and Mark thought it would be a good idea to buy 3 huge bags of candy for Halloween. It kinda made since as we live in a huge building and we all figured there would be a bunch of trick-or-treaters. We soon found out that the building asks tenants for donations towards a Halloween party and that no one goes trick-or-treating in the building.

This year Juliana and I made sure that we only got one bag that had our favorites. We found a bag at Target that had mini Milky Ways, Snickers, 3 Musketeers, and Twix. We opened the bag last week to take some with us during out trip up-sate and were all surprised to see that there weren't any Milky Ways to be found in the entire bag and an excess of 3 Musketeers! Now I don't mind a 3 Musketeers from time to time but they are most definitely not my favorite. The other night I went through and separated the candies since each time you grabbed a hand full all you were getting were 3 Musketeers.

This is the result of that separation. See all those red ones? All 3 Musketeers!

Totally not cool guys...

Up-state

So, last week we went on our annual adventure up-state. It was so nice getting out of the city and enjoying nature and all that. We deviated from our usual plans this year. In the past we've gone to the same orchard but they raised their prices this year so Ted found a couple other options to try. We also wanted to get up into the Catskills. We started out by going to this town close to the Catskills called New Paltz. It was settles by some French Huguenots and there is now a historic Huguenot Street. It isn't very long and we were there early in the day so we didn't go inside any of the buildings. It was a very quaint little street and at one end there was a house for sale. We took one of the papers about it and Mark spent the better part of this past week looking up houses in New Paltz (he has since moved on to Hawaii).

After Huguenot Street we drove through some really beautiful hills on our way to a new apple picking destination. When we finally got to the new place we were underwhelmed. We were also hungry. We ditched the apple orchard with the thought that we would come across a better one somewhere along the way. Our plan was to drive up into the Catskills to a ski lodge at the base of a mountain and go to an Oktoberfest.  As soon as we started heading up into the Catskills it started to rain. It was a really nice drive up though and we were quite hungry when we got there. I must say that none of us really knew what to expect at this Oktoberfest. As I said before it was in a ski lodge and a nice man in lederhosen showed us the way in. That should have been our first indication that things were going to get weird. After we paid to get in we immediately jumped in line to get some food. Bratwurst and German potato salad. So good. They had all these long tables set up and a place for dancing as there was a band playing. The place was packed and a bunch of people we dressed in lederhosen and people were walking around with giant steins of beer. It seemed like they had all been there since the place opened and they were all going to stay until the end of the day. We ate, looked around at the vendors and then took off.

After Oktoberfest things kinda fell apart in terms of our plans. We wanted to go a a couple little hikes but the weather was not cooperating. We drove all over the Catskills though. We still had the problem of where to go for apples. We started heading in the direct of dinner and figures we would be able to find someplace. I looked up a few on the phone and even called one place. The lady the answered told me the were all done with apples and they didn't even have any already picked ones to buy. As we crossed Rip Van Winkle bridge we saw a sign for an apple orchard just a few miles away. It was 5pm on the dot as we drove in and the sign said they closed at 5. We decided to chance it and the nice lady gave us a bag and said as long as we were quick we could pick some. We were quick. In a little less than 20 mins we picked 28 pounds of apples. We got a great variety and unlike in the past at the other orchard there were still plenty on the trees to pick.  It was perfect!

We ended the day at the Eveready Diner in Hyde Park. This diner is a must on our trips up-state. It was featured on Feed Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It is a great diner with really amazing food.

All in all is was a really great day, super long and we were all exhausted when we got back to the city. Now to make some tasty apple treats.

Fall Traditions

There are many differences between the east coast and the west coast. One that is more apparent this time of the year is the East coast's mild obsession with the fall foliage. Growing up on the West Coast I never heard of people going out and taking drives to see all the fall leaves in full color. Maybe I wasn't paying attention but I don't think it's a thing there like it is here. Here there are fall foliage reports tied in with the weather reports and whole websites devoted to scenic drives through valleys and mountains. I love it. I think it is a great idea and an amazing way to get out of the city and see the beauty of the earth.

We all went on a drive this past Saturday and it turned into quite an adventure with drunk Germans and frenzied apple picking.

For now here is a tease. Expect a more detailed update soon.

best burger ever?

Saturday night Juliana and I had the rare opportunity to go out, just the two of us (and the baby) without our husbands. While we love our husbands very much sometime it is quite liberating and realxing to be able to do something without them.

We decided to go to Shake Shack. Shake Shack is a magical place full of sunshine and rainbows and birds singing...ok, I'm getting carried away here but it really is fantastic. It's an upscale burger and shake joint. There are a few of them here in the city and they have recently expanded to places like DC. And Kawat City. And Dubai. That's how cool this place is.

Pretty cool

Any who. So this place is super popular. In the summer there is usually a line going out the door and around the corner and people wait. When Juliana and I left the other night it was just starting to rain which meant if there was anyone waiting outside they would soon give up. We got there and we only had to wait in line about 5 minutes. We had to stand around and wait for a table while we waited for our food but the food and an empty table showed up at the same time. We both got a ShackBurger and a strawberry milkshakes. Most people get burgers but they do have hot dogs though I've never had one. We got an order of fries to share with each other and the baby. Their burgers are really truly amazing. They are pricey, $4.50, but oh so yummy. We don't go very often so the occasional splurge is okay.

We had a really great time. Here's Lemon enjoying some milkshake and a fry.

saying farewell

to the grandma cart....

The grandma cart

So in New York the majority of people don't own a car. This is okay when it comes to just getting from point A to point B. It's not okay when it comes to grocery shopping. Some people choose to go grocery shopping more than once a week and carrying the groceries home in trendy reusable bags. A lot of people, us included, use a grandma cart. 
Any who, we go grocery shopping once a week and completely depend on the cart to get our groceries the 10 blocks home. Our cart is just over a year old and since we shop for 4 1/2 people there are quite a few groceries and we fill it up each week.

Last night we went on our weekly grocery run and ending up buying some pretty heavy items. A 5 lbs bag of potatoes, around 6 lbs of apples (it is fall after all), a gallon of milk...the list goes on. Ted and I were in change of the groceries while Mark and Juliana were tasked with getting dinner at Atomic Wings. Ted and I were about 2 1/2 blocks from the apartment when the worst happened...one of the front wheels fell off. Ted and I stopped and he stuck the wheel back on and we pressed on. I was pretty concerned about the ice cream melting more than it already had. We made it another few yards when then unthinkable happened. The front wheel base and axle completely died. We tilted the cart back, trying not to crush the eggs and Ted jimmy rigged it so that we were able to go another couple of yards before it broke again. This time one of the back wheels came completely off. Ted again jimmy rigged it together and he was able to push it using just 3 of the 4 wheels.  Mark and Juliana caught up with us at this point and Juliana and I took few bags out in an attempt to lighten the load but after another block the other back wheel came off. We were a block and an half away from our apartment with melting ice cream and figured the cart was beyond saving. We doled out the remaining bags in the cart and left it at the corner by a trashcan.

So we parted ways with our grandma cart at the street corner. Luckily they aren't expensive and maybe next time we'll go easy on it.

Visitors

One of the greatest things about living in New York is that most people are more than willing to come for a visit. Mark's aunt and uncle were in town last weekend and we spent a great afternoon with them. We walked around Central Park and stopped in at the Natural History Museum and ended the day with a great dinner at Patsy's and dessert at Magnolia Bakery.

~A side note on Magnolia. I know most people go there for the cupcakes but the banana pudding is truely the best thing there.

It was really great seeing family and being able to show them around a bit.



oh and I got a hair cut.



ahh fall...

Fall brings many things to New York. Cooler temperatures are always the most welcome along with lower humidity. Working for Columbia my daily commute is inundated with new and returning undergraduates and being the people watcher I am, I enjoy the sometimes silly parade of people.




Is that really necessary?

I love the different fashions that make an appearance this time of year. There is the fresh from the country/yacht club look for men. It's a classy shorts with loafers and a polo shirt look. This is a look that I will never understand. I guess since the weather isn't as warm they can't justify wearing sandals but loafers?! Without socks?! I don't get it. This look is intensified by the occasional popped collar. Granted the picture I've chosen to illustrate this is an exaggeration, you get the idea (on a side note my old roommates and I created a band in Rock Band named the Seven Popped Collar Cool Band. It was awesome.)



It's all about the colors and layers.



Another oft seen fashion is the European look. This look is characterized as chic and effortless and because Columbia has a very diverse population there are a lot of people sporting this look. I like this one, mostly because I wish I could pull it off as easily as people seem to. I tried to pick up as much of this as I could while I was living in France but I'm afraid I'm only half there so the whole effortless aspect of this look does not apply to me.

There are also the occasional student rockin' a t-shirt or sweater from wherever they did their undergrad. I have to resist the urge to stop them and let them know they go to Columbia now and it's time to accept it. There is also the hipster that makes an appearance from time to time. Most hipsters attend NYU but we have a few that choose to represent the Upper West side.

For the most part I am really enjoying the change in seasons. There is always so much to look forward to and interesting people to see.

I am going to endeavor to write more often. I have started noting blog ideas as they come to me so hopefully I will have something to say. 

Winter

Growing up in the Willamette Valley there wasn't a lot of snow fall in the winters. I remember one winter I came home from college and it rained almost every day. I was home for 28 days. That's what happens in Salem during the winter. It rains. There have been a few years that snow actually reached the ground. The Christmas of 2008 for instance. It snowed liked crazy, airports were closed down, power outages were common place. I wasn't there. Even last year in France we got some snow, enough for me to decide that I don't like driving in snow, but nothing really consistent.

This winter is totally different. Since Christmas we have had 5 big snow falls. Pretty much one storm a week. We are currently in the middle of another one. This one is gross though, freezing rain, sleet and a few inches of snow accumulation. Not really something that feels winter wonderland-ish.

Last week we had a storm that included thunderdsnow. Yes, it's a really thing. Here's an article on it. Let me just say it's one of the more bizarre things I've ever seen. We ended up with almost 19 inches of snow with that particular storm. Most of the snow is still on the ground.

This is on my way to work.

I will admit, I am really enjoying the consistent snow. Never before having experienced a winter like this I'm ok with all the snow. Let's just hope it doesn't last too long.