new york city

Oh Harry, how you’ve grown

December 13, 2011

my mom suggested that I pick a Broadway show for her, price, and me to see as our christmas gift. which worked out wells since i would much rather do something than get something for a gift. i ended up picking how to succeed in business without really trying. umm… daniel radcliffe in it… sold! the weekend of the show finally came so we headed down to greenwich.

we caught an early afternoon train into the city. before we left grand central we checked out the vanderbilt market. there was a photo printed on gold leaf that i loved but i didn’t want to get it then since i knew it would be destroyed in the crowds (smart choice), but now i am going to need to track this guy down again since he doesn’t sell online… whaaaaa?

after leaving grand central we walked over to bryant park to check out the winter market and watch the skaters. it was packed in the market so we just waited for hot chocolate and cookies at max brenner’s booth. hot chocolate was amazing (little too sweet for my preference) and the cookies were monsters. I want to make cookies like him. so many chocolate chips, so many walnuts.

bank of america tower on the right. I think this is such a beautiful building

Chrysler building. Spotted while searching for a bathroom

o christmas tree , o christmas tree…

30 rock

winter window display at sak’s fifth avenue. it had to do with a little girl named holly exploring the basement of sak’s and what she discovered, which were all these tubes, tubs, pulls, and levers that made batches and batches of bubbles. mom was not impressed. i liked the rabbit.

after getting through the crushing crowds around rock center, we continued down 49th st. we spotted this store, rain africa, that sold bath salts, lotions, and soaps. i loved this display.

breezed right through times sq. we stopped at the al hirschfeld theater to pick up our tickets, then we headed up 9th and 51st to empanada mama. i saw this restaurant on food trip with todd english. everything we had was incredible- the plantain chips with guac to the entrees to the 4 desserts empanadas we shared. i highly recommend this place.

back at the theater.

i love old theaters.

curtain call. 🙂

the show was incredible. daniel worked his ass off as j. pierrepont finch hroughout the whole show. he worked hard to sing and dance and the performance was that much better for it. I love when you can see effort, passion from stage actors. jon larroquette (j. b. biggley) was also in it. i didn’t like the character rosemary, but the actress was amazing. ellen harvey as miss jones… holy cow that woman can sing!

It was a great day in the city.

PS- when we were hauling ass back to grand central to catch our train back, I overheard a woman point out the chrysler building to her son and call it the empire state building. then she proceeded to sing the chorus of empire state of mind. oy!

Truth.

September 3, 2011

when price & i were in nyc last month we saw this sign when we were on the highline.

awesome.

The Highline {part deux}

September 1, 2011

How is it September 1st? It’s crazy how the year is speeding by. How was it that I was in NYC a month ago? Crazy! Life has been speeding by lately. I’m grasping at it desperately since days are blurring and pretty soon I will be surrounded by fallen leaves and sipping cider.

Previously blogged about the super fantastic Highline from our first visit back in 2009. That was when the first section just opened. We went back to see the new part that opened this year. It’s a fantastic park that I suggest everyone to see when they are in The City. So if you are going to visiting there soon head over, maybe you can get a glimpse of these summery scenes before it gets too cold!

Above The Lot

Looking towards Section 3

SARAH SZE, STILL LIFE WITH LANDSCAPE (MODEL FOR A HABITAT)
June 8, 2011 – June, 2012
On the High Line, between West 20th and West 21st Streets

SPENCER FINCH, THE RIVER THAT FLOWS BOTH WAYS
Debuted June 9, 2009
Chelsea Market Passage

View towards Diane Von Furstenburgs’s Studio Skylight by Work Architecture Co.

I love this. So much.

Living Today at Martha Stewart Radio

December 5, 2010

My love for all things Martha is undeniable and pretty well known. Martha magazine, cookbooks, show, products, and radio. Well when there was a chance for the ‘first 5 people to email to get to attend a live broadcast for the Tree Trimming holiday show on Friday’. I jumped at the chance thinking I would be way to slow. Luckily I was not!

On Friday morning, I left Brookline before 6am to drive down to CT to meet my mom so we could go into The City together. Of course I stopped on the way for breakfast at Bill’s Bread and Breakfast to get the BEST english muffins around.

We encountered some issues with the train since service was down. Luckily, as soon as we ran back to my car to try to another station on a different line there was an annoucement saying it was just restored, so we ran right back. And very randomly, I ran into someone I had not seen since HS so we got to catch up. Fate… maybe?

I love New York City. I doubt I could ever live there, but I love to visit it. I love the energy of the city. We arrived in busy Grand Central and then headed over to 5th Ave. We saw really interesting window displays at Sack’s as well on our way up to St Patrick’s Cathedral. After that we wandered over to Rockefeller Center to see the tree.

We then headed over to grab some light lunch at ‘Witchcraft in the concourse of 30 Rock.

The McGraw-Hill Building is the Sirius HQ, so we went there next to see the radio broadcast. We arrived to a busy scene with with Martha Stewart Staff decorating the tree in the lobby. Even Greg Kleva was there!

The group of us went into the Fish Bowl Studio, where the show was being broadcasted from that day. The studio was just as busy as the lobby with Mario (the host), Lauren Gloud (the producer), engineers, interns, and the incoming guests.

The first guests were 2 Rockettes, Allyson Kelly and Elizabeth Sousek, from Radio City Music Spectacular. They were stunning. The explained how they became Rockettes, what it is like being a Rockette, their healthy life styles, and they even brougth recipes with them. But the most impressive things about Rockettes… their kicks! They told us they do 300 kicks per show. Clearly they had to show how they do the kicks, and clearly, I had to volunteer to learn now. I was really embarrassing and hard! I have this on video so I will have to post all this embarrassment later. ha

The next guest was Sal Scognamillo, head chef and co-owner of New York City’s Patsy’s Restaurant. He brought Baked Clams, Shrimp Scampi, and Strufoli for everyone to try. Sal discussed Christmas traditions and some of the ways to prepare for the Feast of Seven Fishes.

The third guest was Event Organizer David Monn. David explained various ways of setting the holiday scene at home or at a party. He explained that creating the mood does not have to be expensive since a candle can add a lot to a space but you can get them for as little as $3. He brought 2 centerpieces with him that were stunning, inexpensive, and creative. The centerpieces are ‘low’ because you want to have pieces that are not in the way of your guests looking across the table to someone. He explained that centerpieces should not go much higher than your wrist when you have put your elbow on a table (see photo)

Abby Dodge came with some desserts. She wrote about book about desserts using only 4 ingredients in each recipe! She brought chocolate cheesecakes, bourbon balls, and pistachio shortbread. I loved the shortbread! Abby took questions during the show about baking recipes and problems- even from audience.

So the show has covered… appetizers, entrees, decorating, and dessert… what else does it need? DRINKS! Allen Katz, mixologist, brought 2 suitcases with him to haul up his drink ingredients. Allen made 5 drinks to fit perfectly for the upcoming holidays- like Run, Run Rudolph. Sadly, we did not get to try the drinks there but I think that the punch recipe is calling for me to make it.

After the show mom and I rushed back to Grand Central to get a train back home. We then did some dinner with my grandma- fried calamari on pizza is amazing! I was back on the road by 9pm and picking Price up from his poker night by 12.15. It was a L-O-N-G day but really worth it.

Check out the Martha Radio Blog post about that show, including recipes, here. (My mom and I are with Mario in picture #31!)

I’m exhausted.

January 17, 2010

I ended my 24th year on a high note. This past weekend was busy and a lot of fun but I’m so ready for bed, and not the work week to start!

I went back home to go into the City (NYC) to see Avenue Q for my birthday. I love that I grew up so close to Manhattan. Just a 50 minute train ride and I’m in the city the never sleeps. I am no expert on the island or the 5 boroughs but I love being in New York. I always take a deep breath in once I get out of Grand Central. Some might think it is too busy, too crowded, or too dirty but I love it and I breathe in that energy. New York City is the exact reason I truly believe the Boston is a confused big town.

My mom and I saw Avenue Q on Saturday afternoon. (Price hung out with my stepdad @ Cigar Factory Outlet in South Norwalk to smoke cigars and play poker). I have wanted to see Avenue Q for a very long time. I listen to the soundtrack often and find the whole thing hilarious. My favorite song is ” The Internet is for Porn.” My mom had no idea what the musical was about- just about a puppet that moves to avenue q. So when the song “Everyone’s a little bit racist” started she learned quickly this was no Sesame Street. The show was fantastic! Everything was great from the singing, puppets, songs, story, actors, music, and set. Fantastic. I love (off)broadway!!!!!!!!