Orange.Highlighter.

Yesterday we had an incident. Well, I'm not sure "we" is appropriate since Nick caused this incident. I'm still not quite sure how he managed this or didn't know he was doing it...

You see, our couch has orange highlighter marks on it. It's not a little mark that can be cleverly disused. No, this mark is large, ugly, bright, and right in the middle. No pillow or throw can hide it. Yes, lucky me. This is a problem for (I admit it) a slightly anal person. I liked things neat and clean and well orange highlighter on my couch just does not work.



Could you live with this?

This isn't so much of an issue for Nick... he says, "babe, you can hardly see it." Men. So now we have begun the discussion on buying a new couch. I want one... he doesn't want to spend the money. No surprise there.

I plan to win this battle. Pictures will be posted soon of our beautiful, brand new couch.

Tony's

Last night Nick and I had dinner at Tony's. It's a new restaurant to the Upper East Side. It just happens to be literally around the corner from us so we decided to check it out.

It is a family-style Italian restaurant. I met Nick there after work around 5:30pm and it was already busy. Definitely a plus sign. The downstairs area was warmly light and all of the staff members were welcoming and friendly.

We both ordered a glass of wine and started with the stuffed mushrooms. We decided to be adventurous with our appetizer choice (we thought the mozzarella sticks sounds amazing too). If I'm being honest we were a little disappointed with the stuffed mushrooms. It had very little taste and the mushrooms were too thick.

Our main courses were excellent. We opted not to do the family-style. They did have the option to place a half order. I ordered the ravioli napoli (cheese ravioli in a marinara sauce) and Nick had the spaghetti and meatballs (always). It was excellent. The ravioli sauce was just perfect and Nick's meatballs were excellent!



Next up, dessert. Now I love strawberry shortcake... always have. They had it on the menu but it was a family-style dessert. The waitress explained it could feed 3-4 people. We didn't care... bring on the massive strawberry shortcake. It.Was.Huge. I think we ate about half of the desert before we had to stop. It was delicious though.




 

I think we found a great new Italian restaurant that is literally 50 steps from our apartment! 

Playing Catch Up

I've been a little MIA from blog posting. Sorry about that... more important things are taking up my time. Like Game of Thrones (but we will get to that in a minute).

Two weeks ago we had some great friends in town, Grant and Jill. We went to high school together but surprisingly didn't become friends until Jill and I attended nursing school together. Crazy how things work out. They were in town exploring the city for a few days so we met up for dinner on Friday night.

We took them to West Village... since that's the coolest area in the city. We grabbed dinner at my favorite pizza restaurant, Keste. Luckily we didn't have to wait for a table (this place is known for having quite the wait). The pizza was delicious and the company was even better. We hadn't seen them in a few years so it was great to play catch up. Afterwords we headed to our favorite gelato place for some dessert. Grant and Jill both enjoyed both places so the night was a success!

We showed them our tiny, tiny NYC apartment. They thought the kitchen was quite funny!


Jill and me

There wasn't much else to that weekend. Nick was in Philadelphia for a bike race so I spent some time just relaxing, reading, and watching movies.

This past weekend the weather was hit and miss. During the day on Friday is was apparently gorgeous but towards the end of the day it started to get cooler and more cloudy. I met Nick for dinner after the most crazy, busy day at work. I was in need of some unhealthy food. We decided to walk across the park to Shake Shack. A good burger was just what I needed to refuel. And it was perfection. Sometimes you just crave a really good burger. We made our way down to Jacques Torres for some chocolate chip and chocolate peanut butter cookies. A perfect way to end a hectic day!

Saturday the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Nick had a relatively quick race in the morning and I headed to the gym for a little while. Once we were both back and showered we decided to get out for a bit of shopping.

We headed downtown to Century 21. You can find some really good deals there. Nick found this button down work shirt that was some high end designer brand from Italy (I forget the name) for like $60 when it's originally $200. I say that was a great find! Nick actually had a few other purchases and I found a really cute clutch.

We headed to Union Square for some lunch at Grey Dog. Such a great little place! And well run which makes it high up on my list. Nick ordered breakfast for lunch (sausage and egg croissant) and I went with the BLT sandwich. I have to say that Nick's sausage and egg croissant was amazing. The egg, melted cheese, and fresh sausage was to die for. My mouth is watering as I write this. Also, I have to say they have some of the best raspberry lemonade I have ever had!



We made our way over to DSW afterwords and I lucked out with a brand new pair of wedges! They are quite cute. Last we headed to Nordstrom Rack where Nick lucked out with 2 pairs of shoes. I know... but his two pairs of shoes did cost what I paid for one. It was a successful day of shopping!

We stopped at ChickaLicious before we headed home for dessert. Molten chocolate cake and apple crisp... both with ice cream = heaven!


Mine (Nick said he thought mine was better - shocking since he loves molten chocolate cake)


Nick's

Sunday was a bust. It rained all day so we spent it on the couch watching Game of Thrones. We are seriously in love with this show. Everyone needs to check it out! You will love it!

Happy Monday!

Happy Birthday To Me!

The Big 2-8! Last Saturday was my birthday. Nick and I had a amazing day in the city. The weather was pretty perfect... a little cool but clear, blue skies.

We had brunch at EJ's Luncheonette. This is one of our favorite diners and their french toast is delicious! They make it from challah bread and it's so fresh. I had the traditional french toast and Nick ordered the crunchy. A side of scrambled eggs and cheese grits later and we were stuffed!



We walked our way through Central Park over to the West Side. The park is so pretty right now. All the flowers are blooming and people are out on the lawn enjoying the sunshine. I can't wait for the warm weather!



We made our way to the Natural Museum of History. There was a space exhibit, Beyond the Planet, that Nick and I wanted to see. We decided to do a few of the "special" exhibits that included the butterflies and creatures of light. We went to the butterfly exhibit first and this exhibit turned out to be so much better than we expected.

You could actually walk through their enclosure. There had to have been hundreds of butterflies flying around us. If you were lucky enough one might even land on you... which we were told had been termed "butterfly kissed." I was lucky enough for that to happen...right on my finger. They were pretty impressive. Some butterflies were almost translucent and neon and others were massive. I'm pretty sure I would have freaked out if one of those landed on me.





Next up was the creatures of light exhibit. We weren't too impressed with this one. It was really crowded and just didn't offer that much. So, when the time came for the space exhibit we were quite ready. The Beyond the Planet exhibit was fascinating. It started with the first introduction of the space program and Sputnik and then went to present day. The most interesting part was where future space exploration is headed. It had displays about living on Mars and all the futuristic gear/transport vehicles.

Space has always been something both Nick and I have been interested in. We have had quite a few debates on anything from the start of the universe, planets, black holes, extraterrestrial life, etc. We've talked about it all! We love astromony and after seeing the exhibit it really has made us want to go to Cherry Spring State Park in Pennsylvania. It's one of only a few parks in the US that has been certified by the International Dark Sky association. You can guarantee that there will be a post about that adventure in the near future!

Next we headed to Washington Square Park to observe, not participate in, the NYC Pillow Fight. Apparently this is a pretty big deal with cities all over the world participating. It was definitely interesting... it wasn't as big as I would have thought but we were right there at the start and it does go on for a few hours. It felt like for every one person with a pillow there were 10 people taking pictures or video recording. Just another day in the city!



We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Bareburger. All grass fed animals and I have to say it was one of the best burgers either one of us have had. We sat outside with the crazy 50mph winds! It definitely made it hard to eat (also the reason I didn't take a picture).

We headed home to relax a bit before we headed to dinner at Blue Water Grill in Union Square. Dinner was really good. It was a seafood restaurant and the seafood was extremely fresh. We sat downstairs in their jazz room. They had a band playing and the whole place was lit by candlelight and low lightening. It was heaven. And we were both very full when we left.

It was a wonderful birthday day! Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes and a big thank you to Nick who helped me have a wonderful day in the city!

My Solo Weekend

This past weekend was pretty quiet. Nick was at his cycling race in Penn State. I decided to skip this one... 7 hours in a small bus with mostly guys didn't sound too much fun.

I came home from work on Friday night and was welcomed with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a very sweet note. I won't go into the details of the note...some things should be kept personal ;)! My husband can be so sweet and full of surprises sometimes. It definitely was a great start to the weekend. I spent the night relaxing on the couch, watching TV, and reading my novel. Heaven.


Pretty!

Saturday morning I had a pretty early wake up call. I had my CPR renewal course. 4 very long hours of material that I believe could be covered in 2 hours. However, the instructor of this course was probably the best I have ever had. He made the material fun and engaging. My kind of instructor. Before I knew it the class was over. I am now officially re-certified in Basic Life Support (so glad I don't have to do that for another 2 years)!

Saturday was a nasty, cold, and rainy day. I made my way up to Bloomingdale's and did a little shopping before heading home for the evening.

Sunday was still cold. Seriously, I am ready for the warm weather to come and stay! Sundays are my lazy day. I went to the gym for about a 45 minute workout and then relaxed at home. Nick came home around 6ish that night. He proceeded to tell me about his amazing weekend...

He WON FIRST in the road race. So proud of him! This road race consisted of a 21 mile lap with approximately 9 of those miles being up a mountain. Not my idea of fun but Nick sure does love it! He also won 3rd in his time trail... such an impressive rider I married. He seems to have found a true passion!

Unfortunately no pictures of the races... we are going to have to work on that!

Girls Night

Last night I met up with Julie and Jennifer at Bar Pitti in the West Village. It is known for traditional Italian dishes and I have heard it was really good.

I ordered the spinach and cheese ravioli in a red sauce. I have to say it was delicious! Probably some of the best spinach and cheese ravioli outside of Rome (of course). I cleaned my entire plate. I should have taken a picture of it but I was too hungry!

It was great catching up with the girls. It's so sad to think some of them will be leaving in just under 2 months. I've had a great time getting to know them and they really are some of the best girls in the city. Luckily not all are leaving!

Happy Mid-Week!

Bike Racing in New Jersey

A few things first before I get to this past weekend.

Thursday
Spring cleaning! Nick and I went through our closet and got rid of everything we don't wear, everything that doesn't fit, and everything that we just didn't like anymore. What do you think happened? Yeah, our closet was pretty empty after that - more so on Nick's side. He is in desperate need of a new wardrobe now!

Friday
Nick and I went over to one of my previous physician's townhouse for a cocktail get together. I hadn't seen Dendy (aka Dr. Engelman) in a few months and it was great to catch up. They are the sweetest and best looking couple! Their townhouse is absolutely beautiful and it was great to meet some new people.

Weekend
This past weekend I went with Nick to his cycling race in Princeton, NJ. If you didn't know, he is part of the NYU cycling team. It was a long but very fun two days. It started at 4:30am on Saturday morning. Yes, you heard me right... 4:30am. We had to be down on campus at 5:45am so we could leave no later than 6am. Ouch. It's never fun getting up that early. Typically they always come back that day but Nick's dad was in New Jersey so we spent the night with him at a hotel.

The ride wasn't too bad and right when we got to the race the guys had to start warming up. It was a beautiful, clear sunny day. A little cool though. There was only one race on Saturday which was the road race. This consisted of 20 hilly miles. I was really glad I was just a spectator! Nick did amazing! Finished 8th out of approximately 40 guys in his group.









Nick, Mike, and I headed to lunch after the race. Nick was in need of some calories and carbs! Afterwards we didn't have much else to do so we decided to catch a movie. There was really only one movie to see - The Hunger Games. Nick and I both read the novels and we were pretty excited to see it. Verdict? We really enjoyed it. The novels are always better but I felt it did a really good job with keeping to the integrity of the book.

We googled a place to eat for dinner - Italian (Nick wanted more carbs). We found this really cute place called La Cucina. It was delicious. The history behind it was really interesting as well. It started as a trading store (grocery store) before the Civil War. The owner now is from Italy and cooks some amazing Italian dishes. And the helpings are huge. We had bruschetta, spaghetti, and veal between the three of us. Unfortunately no dessert because we were so full! We headed home and went to sleep because it was another early morning.

We had another 5am wake up call on Sunday. Nick had two races and the first one was a time trial which was 4 1/2 miles up hill. Again, no thank you! Today was a lot colder and grey. Everyone was just praying the rain held off until the meet was finished. How did Nick do? Oh... you know, 3rd PLACE! I am so very proud of him! And Kari, the only girl in the group, finished 2nd in her group! Go NYU!









After that race the guys had about 30 minutes until the next race which was a criterium. This is a timed 25 minute race. You basically go around a loop that is a mile as fast as you can for the 25 minutes. Nick did amazing again! He won an intermediate sprint on the 5th lap, and ended up finishing 8th for the overall crit!

He did an amazing job and I am so very proud of him! Needless to say we were extremely tired when we got home Sunday afternoon. We pretty much ate dinner and went to bed! What a fun weekend!