All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel
I had planned on editing a lot of video tonight of our day tubing and zorbing but I can barely keep my eyes open. Yeah so, it’s 9.15…. Shut up!
So I promise I’ll edit embarrassing videos tomorrow of me screaming while tubing and zorbing. No shame.
Good night!!
Since moving in June, Price and I have been putting effort into our apartment to make it ‘ours’. Not just our apartment, but ‘our’ apartment. You see, the apartment that we just moved from was a weird layout so it limited furniture placement, had a giant old (ugly) sofa in it that had to stay (my best friend Emily named it The ‘Cos), and was painted obscenely bright colors that could not change (until it flooded and we were able to talk sense into the landlords). And most importantly, I lived there prior to Price moving in with basically no furniture so it didn’t appear that Price actually lived there.
One of the things that we wanted to show off were our fun times that we have captured in photos. A way to feature these photos is with photo collages. I love that they capture a variety of photos in a fun gathering of frames. I attempted to have them in our old place but our cray cray landlord thought it was a brilliant idea to have dark purple walls (in a basement), so I had to settle on collage frames since I could not have a ton of holes in the walls. I got so disinterested in them that I just gave up and left a few spots empty. See below:
So with the opportunity to have fun with this place we set out having a wall feature an assembly of photo frames. Price and I scoured the web for inspiration. I used Pinterest a lot- esp my “New Apartment” board- for gathering different decorating ideas, including the collages.
Price and I agree on nearly nothing when it comes to pretty much anything decorating, so it it was not shocking that I finally got the photo collage up today… 3 months after moving in. We bounced around questions relating to…  black frames? white frames? what colors are the mats? sizes? frames styles?
We finally settled on black and white frames. We decided not to limit ourselves with a particular frame style or brand. The black frames would have a white mat, while white frames would have a mix of white and map mats. Sizes would range from a 4×6 to 8×10.
1) Layout your photos on a piece of craft paper (even the back of wrapping paper could work).
2) Outline all frames with a marker.
3) Put you craft paper layout on wall with painter’s tape. Locate where you want your collage to be located. If you anticipate your collage growing, like we do, locate it where you will have enough room to allow outward expansion.
Frames from Target, Michael’s and Ikea. The Ikea frames used are: SÖNDRUM, NYTTJA, and RIBBA.
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when price & i were in nyc last month we saw this sign when we were on the highline.
awesome.
I think this is the year of concerts for me. I never had time to go to concerts before, but now that I am free from the shackles of college I am able to go more often now. I have seen Ian Axel (twice), Allison Weiss, NKOTBSB, Lenka, and now Sara Bareilles. Each show has been a different experience and I loved each of them for it. Please tell Semi Precious Weapons to back to the East Coast and my year will be complete!
I saw Sara Bareilles this past Tuesday. It all came together from a simple tweet from Amanda. She is now my concert buddy! First NKOTBSB and now this. So great! We first met at Legal Seafood Harborside for some drinks and dinner. The grilled peach salad was perfect, the Purple Jesus cocktail was fantastic, and I don’t think many people noticed me breaking my glass. Whoops!
We walked over the the Pavilion nice and early to enjoy the nice weather and to see both opening acts. First up was Raining Jane and then Joshua Radin. Raining Jane was brand new to me but I had heard for some Joshua Radin before. You might be familiar with “I’d Rather Be With You“.
 
Sara played a lot of songs from her most recent album, Kaleidoscope Heart, as well as the older Little Voice. Plus she did 2 covers, one of Valerie and of Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons. She was super chatty between songs which I love, since it really brings shows to life. She swore a lot. It was awesome.
Not bad for a Tuesday night!
Watch this:
When Price and I go into New York City we go all out. I love the energy, pace, and everything to do and see in the City. I try to plan days that are focused on events, exhibits or places we want to eat at.
A few weeks ago we got the chance to do one of these action packed days. Believe me, it was a long, full day.
To make a long story short, I’ll just say that Price loves Linny Boyette on the Today Show. Who is Linny? Linny has been the Today Show audience fixture for over 15 years. He points to the camera as it passes (typ around 7.30am)
He is the reason that Price and I woke up at 5.15 to get on the 6.16 train out of Port Chester so we could be in the Today Show Audience.
After our waving at the Today Show cameras (Yes, we were on TV. We DVR’d the show and checked later), we walked down 5th to 23rd Street. Once we reached the Flat Iron building we hooked it over to the West Side on 23rd Street.
 
Our first breakfast stop was at La Maison du Macaron, between 6th and 7th. This place was suggested to us by Price’s roommate when he was in Biloxi rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.  Francis works for Gilt Taste, so he obviously knows good food. This place lived up to his recommendation. Price had a ham and cheese crossiant and I had a Salted Caramel Macaron and a Rose Lychee Liquor macaron. I will be your best friend forever if you ever get me a box of those Rose Lychee Liquor Macarons.
To be able to cross off a “I want to go to there”* place, we continued down 23rd to Doughnut Plant. I think this place has been a place that I wanted to go to for over 5 years now. I just don’t typically go into The City early enough for breakfast, but today was a lucky day and we got to share a donut.
nom nom nom jeally donut with peanut butter glaze
Price and I then went to The Highline. I love this place. We went 2 years ago when it first opened so I was looking forward to coming to see Section 2 since it had opened. I will post more about The Highline later.
 
The heat of the morning started to creep upon use we we wandered along on The Highline, so we stopped at the People’s Pops stand to get a shaved ice. It was very refreshing and very flavorful.
 
 
Next stop: Eataly!
We walked back along 23rd Street to get to Eataly, the 50,000 sf Italian market. It was heavenly. I wandered around looking at the fresh produce, smoked meats, wedges of cheeses, and cool fish. There were several different restaurants of various sizes and themes.
While we could have eaten at Eataly we decided to go to Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. It was a fantastic decision. The line was long but went quickly. We enjoyed our burgers (mine was gluten free), shared our of cheese fries. Price got a black and white shake and I got a Hopscotch concrete. The lunch was amazing. Sad that the chatter of a Shake Shack in Boston did not pan out but glad we got to enjoy this visit there for lunch.
 
While we were at the park a couple got married. I thought they were just taking engagment photos since I was so into my food to care about the world around me. Guess I am glad I didn’t notice it since I would have been crying into my concrete instead of enjoying it.
After lunch Price and I walked back up 5th to 51st before deciding that continuing to Serendipity 3 to use a Groupon would add another mile to our walk in the heat. So we turned around walked back to 43rd to then walk to Grand Central. We were on the 2.37 train back to Port Chester.
And that is how your have 2 breakfasts and walk over 8 miles in New York City.
*Did you get the reference without having to look it up?
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My name is Nicole and I am a Guacaholic.
I love guacamole, I really do.
I love the flavor and smell.
IÂ love the texture and color.
I love that you can eat it with chips, tacos, rice, eggs… basically anything.
When I saw a tweet about tickets for a guacamole event, Guacaholics Anonymous 2,  I jumped at the chance to go and got tickets for Price and me.  I live for events like this. EatBoston creates fun events, like their Bacon & Beer one that we went to in 2010.
Being surrounding by tables and tables of guacamole is amazing experience. There were 8 restaurants and 2 bloggers showcasing their different take on guacamole. There were so many creative ways, some with fruit and some with bacon.
It was great to see the We Are Not Martha  bloggers again, and enjoy their guace that had bacon and corn in it. Also I met Justin Can Cook who made an Asian inspired guacamole with water chestnuts, ginger, and scallions. He offered the option of enjoyed the guac with crispy wonton noodles.
A big thanks to EatBoston for organizing the event. Chef Brian Poe of the Rattlesnake for hosting it. And a big thank you for the other participants that provided guacamole because this event was for a great local cause. The proceeds went to Lovin’ Spoonfuls, a “non-profit organization that facilitates the recovery and distribution of perishable and unserved foods that would otherwise be thrown away and wasted”.
While I love guacamole I think we need to take a bit of a break from each other since I did consume 12 different kinds. But when I do make some again I know I’ll use my guacamole recipe.
 
Last Friday night, my office held a book swap. We have a weekly “buzz” when we gather at 5pm to enjoy some drinks and chips by the inspiration lounge/library (I dunno)r. It’s a nice way for us to catch up with each other on projects, softball, or anything in general. For a while we would do a “week in review” doodle that would focus on the current events that happened in Boston, but then things got a bit more casual and that stopped. With a lot of new faces in the office within the year the buzz is evolving again to include games, like Apples to Apples. The book swap was another effort to liven things up.
Prior to moving, I packed up a lot of books to donate/sell. Off they went and I packed up the books that I really ‘wanted’. Well, once I unpacked and organized them, and then Price moved them again to be able to paint, I realized that 1) I don’t want to move another damn book around again 2) I doubted that I would read these ‘wanted’ books again. So, I decided that they would have to go. I talked with one of my bosses and was given the go ahead for the book swap to held during a buzz.
 
Instead of our usual spot, we took over our large joint conference rooms. There were lot of books were swapped, with a lot still remaining in the “book swap basket”. This basket is going to hang around so people can add more books to it so there is a constant flow of books that everyone can share.
 
I suggest that people organize a book swap with coworkers, friends, or neighbors so it allows you to unload some books, while getting a few new ones in the process. Labor Day is a great time to read while relaxing in the sun so you can sneak a book swap in before then, or do one in the fall when you can curl up with a good book.
PS. I swapped about 30 books for this 1 book. Price just rolled his eyes when I showed it to him. hehehe 🙂
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Last Monday I fled work nice and early to go on a tour of America’s Test Kitchen. All of this fell into place with the help of Babette from Bakespace and by RSVP-ing for Techmunch. I was so happy to attend Techmunch that getting to ATK was a fantastic added bonus. So I arrived at a nondescript building, took a flight of stairs up and went on a wonderful tour.
Steph, the fabulous tour guide started off by taking us from the lobby to the library area. This area has several large bookcases that houses the larges private cookbook collection. Steph explained that they use these 4,000ish cookbooks for recipes research and development. The long table in front of the bookcases is for meetings, as well as for when they do taste tests. ATK will lay out 5 products, from canned tomatoes to chocolate, for review. Each taste tester takes this very seriously and accurately fills out questionnaires regarding to help determine which is the best.
 
Wow, I’d love to be able to get a chance to flip through this delectable series one day.
(ATK PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM REQUESTED I REMOVE THIS PHOTO 8.1.12)
Our next stop was the photo studio. We were lucky to see them shooting some cupcakes. While we observed, they switched out some cupcakes and arranged them to get some better shots. (ATK PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM REQUESTED I REMOVE THE LAST TO SENTENCES OF THIS PARAGRAPH 8.1.12)
(ATK PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM REQUESTED I REMOVE THIS PHOTO 8.1.12)
(ATK PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM REQUESTED I REMOVE THIS PHOTO 8.1.12)
 
Directly next to the photo studio is a prop room that had my knees getting weak. So many napkins and table cloths! At the entrance of the prop room, there was an open cabinet that held a lot of peices of boards of various finishes. The photo studio is not large enough to house tables of various finishes, so this allow them to get various setting. Plus, they can photograph a picnic in the winter by just using a distressed piece of board.
 
At this point, Steph explained that the Slow Cooker Revolution Cookbook has been one of their best selling books. She explained that they had to build a special wall for their testing set up. There needed to be several (12+) slow cookers running at once to be able to handle all the testing that was required for the book. At kind of electrical load required a new temporary wall of outlets and shelves for the slow cookers to be set up.
 
Wow this rack puts my 2 cutting boards to shame! At various racks throughout the area, there are pots, pans, and dishes that are labeled for everyday use or for TV use. They don’t want the stuff on TV to appeared so banged up so there are doubles for everything.
We then headed into the small kitchen. Â Directly behind me was a full wall of wall ovens. They were hard at work preparing various meals. When the TV is shooting, the kitchen is where all the prep occurs that is brought into the adjacent large kitchen.
After exiting the small kitchen, we stood along side a series of racks that had the for use/for TV pots and pans so that we could hear about the pantry that ATK has. There are staff members that do all the shopping for everyone. They set out with shopping lists and only use brands, or just store generics, that people all over can buy. For example, they can’t shop at Trader Joe’s since that is not a national chain. They store flour and sugar in trash barrels since they use such large quantities. 
The large kitchen was, in fact, very large. There are various stations set up for people to work at. The equipment used in there, and in the small kitchen, are things that homeowners can buy. The only commercial items in ATK is a dishwasher and a large walk in refrigerator. The purpose of the residential equipment is that is the exact things that the people using the website, magazines, and cookbooks will be using.
Steph explained that the kitchen is shut down for only 3 weeks a year for the TV show shooting. They can’t stop testing for any longer than that or they would fall behind, and they can’t just shoot regularly because of all the TV equipment involved in the process.
I think all of our mouths were watering watching her make these peanut butter sandwich cookies!
We existed the large kitchen at the end to walk down a hall which lead to this room. When testing is occuring, this is filled with racks of dishes. When the TV show is taping, the room is cleared out to make a space for the command center. This is where the product team sits while the filming occurs. They are reviewing the footage as it is occurring and providing feedback, like if the talking is loud enough or if they are not focused on the camera.
There also is a refrigerator in there for left over tested recipes to be taken home. I think this would be delightful. I would love to sneak in and grab some cake, chicken, or whatever may be on hand to take home with me.
All the dishes are wrapped in plastic wrap to keep them clean and protect them from chipping each other.
The last stop was on the 2nd floor of ATK. We sat at a large table and Steph explained that this is where Chris Kimball and other editors met to discuss epsidoes, recipes, books, and the magazines. Obviously, Chris sits at the head of the table.
A huge thank you to Steph for organizing this fantastic tour. I learned so much about the ATK family and how they test recipes and produce the TV show. I only began to touch on the things that Steph told us about. It really was an amazing, enlightening experience.
Plus, to make a great time even better, I was given issues of Cooks Illustrated, Cooks Country, and  The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. I know I will be using it that amazing cookbook in the future.
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I attended Techmunch in Boston on Sunday. It is a food blogging conference hosted by the site Bakespace. The conference consisted of several classes that focused on such things as marketing, making connections with Brands, and SEO.
 
I took a lot away from Techmunch. I could talk and blog for hours about it.
But I leave you with this:
1) Be yourself!Â
Don’t tailor your blog to fit into something you are not. Find you passion and your voice. It will make blogging easier and a lot more fun. You will connect the people because you are being real.
2) You photos need to say ‘eat me’.
Take a step back and look at your photos. If you saw them, would you want to eat the thing you are looking at? There are simple tips and tricks to folow that will help you. Stobist was suggested as a site to learn food photography.
3) It takes time.Â
Be patient. Things take time. The people that have successful blogs took their time, learned from their mistakes, and improved things from writing, layouts, graphics, and photography to get where they are today. They are passionate about what they do, if you are and you stick to it then you will find your own degree of success.
4) Traffic isn’t the end all and be all in sponsors.
While you can worry about your site traffic all day long it won’t be thing ONLY thing that sponsors look that. Absolutely, sponsors are looking to pay you for reviews or host giveaways if you have a lot of traffic, but there are other factors in place. Are you a good fit for their brand? Are you just generally a nice person? Is there potential?
Additionally, you can’t just agree to all sponsorship. You should not host giveaways or write reviews if it doesn’t fit you (see #1). Does it make sense for you to give ________ away? Is there a conflict of interest because you are supporting another brand?
And last but not least…
5) SEO! SEO!! SEO!!!
There are things you can do on your blog to make your site come up in searches a lot easier. They are fairly simple. They are kinda obvious once you think about them. Do them! You can refer to this PDF for some help.
 
I had a wonderful time on Sunday.
Thank you Babette and the rest of the Bakespace team
Thank you Kitchenaid for giving away a variety of kitchenwares. I won a hand mixer!
Thank you Harvard Common Press for giving away books. I am enjoying the Dark Spirits book already.
Today was okay.
Another Tuesday.  Wore my favorite dress. (It cost me $6). Didn’t go outside at all from 8.20-5.20. Had a lunch and learn on elevators. Thrilling. Had a meeting with our project general contractors for project kick off. One of the contractors has a South African accent. He could read the phone book to me and I would listen. Did errands after work. Saw horses, turkeys, chickens, ducks, and a lone rabbit. Tried a new gluten free bread that I used for garlic bread. We both liked it.
The best part of the day relates to this email. I forwarded it around to coworkers and friends. I had tears in my eyes from laughing at one of my coworker’s laughter from it.
Do you see what we found so funny? do you???
If not…
I guess the messenger has some humor.
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