Photos
lunch at bryant park
I had lunch last week at Bryant Park in NYC. I had been there before, but not on a warm sunny summer day, and never to stay and eat under the canopy of trees and beautiful green:
It’s hard to believe you are smack dab in the middle of the gargantuan and bustling Big Apple when you are there, because there’s a quiet, calm, relaxation to those few acres with people reading, napping, noshing, wandering:
We ordered sandwiches from Tom Colicchio’s well-known ‘Wichcraft and discovered very quickly we made the right choice. Hello marinated zucchini pressed sandwich with roasted tomatoes, mozzarella and parmesan!
Mmm…
Lunch dates, annual meet-ups with old friends NYC, green space, yummy eats, and people watching. I’m a huge fan.
to infinity and beyond
Meet Dub Infinity:
(Yep, that’s his real name.)
I met him selling his wares when I came out of the train near Wall Street yesterday. When I asked him a question he sassed something really funny back and of course with that I was instantly sold. Mr. Infinity is a musician, a poet, a scholar, a salesman and I can only imagine whatever else. What an interesting guy who has been all over the earth. Stories galore and never a dull moment with this gent. As the world moves fast, especially in a place like Wall Street in New York city, I love that there are people like this who help keep relaxed around and perspective clear.
***If you are in the NYC area on Labor Day Weekend and want to check out a free and what I think would be a fascinating “World Muzzikkal” concert festival including this character- head to Eastern Parkway between Underhill and Washington Avenues (and send me pictures!)
Nice to meet you sir. Keep that creative spirit and sass rolling.
33
Today is my birthday and the beginning of 5 weeks of mega-adventure. You could say that I am feeling like a million bucks. YIPPEE!!!
I woke up from the best sleep I have had in weeks and in a most special spot after 12 hours on the road yesterday. In birthday tradition when I am here, we love finding the local diner breakfast spots, which we did this morning:
We had stuffed ourselves silly, but couldn’t resist an offered on the house birthday treat hot out of the oven from the super sweet staff:
I was so full they packed this to go for me, but the test bite I took was so good, and the staff was so nice, I had to stay for a 3rd cup of coffee and to finish off this red raspberry crumb cake deliciousness. How could I not after the owner came out to sing to me with the manager? (Thanks for everything Matt!)
We stopped at Finger Lakes Distilling on the way home:
A little tasting of Vintner’s Wild Berry Vodka:
…and some Blackcurrant/Cassis:
…was fun just because you can do that at 1pm on a Monday when it’s your birthday and not feel guilty about it.
They even had a Canine Tasting Bar- how funny!
Off for a run and patio dinner and wine with good friends. Thank you everyone for all the Birthday messages, calls, cards, packages, wishes and love. I am one lucky woman!
Coming up this week:
*The Big Apple. (Rooftop decks, exploring, old friend reunions, celebrations of life, chocolate restaurant revisit, and more.)
*Catching up here on the BLR, as I sit on the dock. (What a great office!)
*Honda trip mania. (Voting tally, a few announcements, and some surprises.)
Year 33- here I come!
my sweet dock
Today in particular, I cannot wait to be in this chair again busted by someone snapping a photo of me doing absolutely nothing besides refueling, relaxing and breathing:
4 days until I am fortunate enough to have my most cherished and much needed birthday gift again.
a delicious loop around
***(Continued from can you believe i didn’t get the nutella one…)
After our Bradbury’s crepes, we continued up the hill to the packed Capital Square of Madison and made out way through the crowd. There were all kinds of fruits, veggies, flowers and baked goods to be bought. My favorite; Fresh corn:
…pretty flowers making me wish I had my own cute little apartment, so I could buy them and have them on my cute little dreamed of balcony table:
…cherries at their peak of perfection:
…and of course we had to do a repeat visit to get the Stella’s fresh, warm, spicy cheese bread:
(The only way to do it is buy, take a seat on the Capital steps, tear, and eat as the cheese oozes out. Mmmm…)
The Gord Man was having fun freaking the kids out:
…and I couldn’t resist one of the huge cinnamon buns at one of the bakery tents:
I ate the whole thing. Yes, alone and did not feel very good after. The portion size could’ve fed 6 people, but it was so good I kept eating and eating! Lets just say my run later that afternoon was shorter than usual and a bit painful. What can I say?- I get excited when there are delectable treats around. I’m an easy sell on sugar, and clearly I was trying to make up for not getting that Nutella crepe. (Laughing at myself as I type this.)
Wouldn’t it be great if every town could have a Saturday market as large and as accessible as the one in Madison? I’m already looking forward to my promised annual visit back to my friends there next summer!
can you believe i didn’t get the nutella one?
I know right? I can’t believe it either. It probably won’t ever happen again. The thing is, I had some life-changing fresh peaches last week when I made some red sangria, so when I saw the option for a peach and blackberry crepe:
…at Bradbury’s:
…on Saturday morning, I just had to have it. I made a good choice:
I gobbled this thing up in a second. It was the perfect fresh and all-organic breakfast to fuel me for the mac-daddy of all farmer’s markets; the Dane Country Farmers Market on Capital Square in Madison.
***(To be continued in part 2…)
a rare moment on the train
Early yesterday morning, I started a busy day sprinting to the train, and didn’t notice as I zoned out that I was the only one in this particular car until a few stops had passed. This has never happened before. The sun was shining in, the train rocked back and forth and it was a totally peaceful few minutes watching the city go by:
Relaxing, zen moments smack dab in the middle of the hustle = delightful.
buildings, rivers, and beans- oh my
A few random Downtown Chicago snapshots from the wandering I have done this summer:
I heart The Windy City.
August 1, 2011
In
Funny signs, Illinois, People, Photos
take me out to the ball game
A Cubs game at Wrigley Field in the Bleacher Seats is one of those bucket list/must-do’s, especially if you’re ever lucky enough to be able to live in Chicago during the summer. I had been to a couple of games almost 10 years ago, but got to go for another round last weekend with a friend who was in town. In no particular order, here’s a montage of the sweaty, sunburned, blast of festivities. (And these are just the photos from the first 3 hours of the full-day marathoning party around Wrigleyville!):
The game begins a bit cloudy:
The blue lollipop gives a major league thumbs up:
Yay, tickets for the Bud Light Bleachers:
…the only place to be at Wrigley. The stadium was packed to my right:
…and my left:
We got some free hats and stocked up on peanuts and beer of course:
…which I enjoyed thoroughly as the sun came out:
Every last person was branded with some kind of Cubs gear or color. I liked these two tees in front of us:
(I made sure to follow their rules.)
We all sang and swayed together:
I had to have a hot dog:
…and laugh at myself at how I have failed painfully at being a vegetarian lately:
We made friends with all the people around us. You somehow become insta-buddies after sweating on each other. I shared one of our double-chocolate delish Sprinkles cupcakes with these friendly fun gals behind us. (I had noticed one of them had a pregnant belly, so naturally it was just the right thing to do.):
As the game wrapped up, the carnage was everywhere:
Before we were booted out, I managed to snap a couple of clear pix of these great signs:
You’ve gotta love before, during and after game razzing and trash talking (which there was plenty of.) These Cubs fans were selling water outside the stadium:
If you can imagine the perfect All-American baseball game time, this was it. It was a total blast and couldn’t have gone more perfectly if we had planned every detail.
…buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don’t care if I never get back…