the weekend.

i can't believe it's been more than a week since the last update. 

last friday was the first day of spring (hooray!). however, east coast weather didn't seem to think so, so it snowed. and snowed. and snowed. from mid-morning until the late late afternoon, and into the night, when it turned to freezing rain. 

by the time i got off work, it was sleeting, and some parts of the sidewalks were un-shoveled and slippery. that didn't stop me from meeting up my beloved girlfriend for a very belated catch up session at a cute little wine bar. 

 peeking through the gates of a church off 5th.

D and i decided on a last minute trip to woodbury on saturday morning, to shop for D's parents' birthdays (which is this coming weekend)...and perhaps find something for ourselves too!! we left woodbury after 3 hours, and a dent in our wallets, but grins from cheek to cheek since we got both birthday presents, plus a present for my mom, something for me, and a new spring outfit for D. #win.

we continued our spending spree back in jersey, with stops to C&B for dining chairs and such, and BB&B for blackout curtains as well as a roomba. i was so hungry by the time we finished i could really have eaten a cow, but instead we stopped by md noodle house in fort lee and i had this beast bibimbap.

the biggest bowl ever. 

the apartment is almost all done. and we definitely feel settled in, and so much happier. 

sadly, the weekend always ends "early". this one felt long, since we accomplished so much. hopefully the next will be just as fulfilling and fun!

hot pot.

D came home early this week on wednesday, ahead of the snow storm. needless to say, i was very happy about that. it's always nice for him to be home.

he's been craving hot pot for a few weeks now, and since i finally emptied out the freezer at the old apartment to discover that i still have to containers of frozen bone broth, hot pot seemed like a very fitting dinner for a snow storm. i came home to a fridge full of hot pot ingredients (he picked everything up as i was commuting home), and while D finished up work, i started to prep.

thankfully we have a decent sized island in the kitchen and some bar stools, since we lack a dining table, so dinner was served on the little 48 x 27" island.

standard hot pot spread.

i had some energy left after cleaning up and doing a load of laundry, so we hung up a cedar scented tie rack for D in the closet as well as the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

the kitties are getting more used to the apartment now, running around like they own the place. the good thing is, we did train them well and they know the house rules: (1) no kitties on kitchen counters (2) no kitties in bedroom or office and (3) kitties sleep in the bathroom at night. everything else is fair game.

i'm just happy that they are loving the place as much as we are.

one-night getaway.

on most weekends during the winter, all we want to do is curl up and sit in front of the tv. the routine is mostly the same; saturdays are for errand running, and sundays, since none of the stores in bergen county are open because of the blue law, we stay in and clean the apartment, keep the kitties company, and catch up on shows. cabin fever really starts to brew!

this past weekend, i planned a last minute getaway for D and i. jen had recommended hyde park a while ago, home of the culinary institute of america, where food is life (i thought it was pretty fitting. create and savor yours), and i thought it would be fun to take a little road-trip upstate. the drive up was beautiful - everything was covered in snow, thanks to all the recent snow storms we've had, and there's a certain beauty seeing the brown, bare trees and branches against the snow white contrast of the ground.

we had lunch at american bounty, a restaurant ran by the cia, fully staffed with students and overseen by chef-instructors and maîtres d’hôtel. we sat at the back of the restaurant, with a clear window view of the kitchen, where we can see student chefs preparing our food, with the guidance of instructors. the experience was quite interesting, because you had to remember that everyone working there were students, aspiring chefs. the restaurant itself looked like a regular restaurant, and the menu looked delicious. we ordered the prince edward island mussels and the braised duck gnocchi to start, shared the tuscan kale salad to share, and D had the wild striped bass for his entree while i enjoyed my braised short ribs. that is a lot of food. and we finished every plate. oh, and for dessert, the "milk" and cookies plate. yum!

my entree, and D 

...and we still had room for dessert! warm chocolate chip cookies, and a vanilla milkshake.

the cutest presentation.

overall, the meal was delicious! the only slip up with the service was where we were served the wrong starter, but the students were very polite and apologized. most of the time, i didn't feel like they were just students, but when i saw a few nervous faces, and not knowing where or how to put the plates down on the table without getting in our way, or being too eager to take our unfinished plates away (hey! i was just taking a break from eating!), i was brought back to reality that they are all just learning. we left with our bellies full of great food, and walked away with a pretty cool experience.

after lunch, we made our way up the hudson valley to a small town called saugerties. i had found a boutique hotel overlooking the esopus falls. i learned from the front desk host that the diamond mills hotel was built on the vacant site where a paper mill used to be, before it was destroyed by a fire in 1978. the hotel is only 3 years old, and had a lot of character. all 30 rooms had a private balcony facing the fall, which lights up at night.

 left: the view from our balcony. right: the esopus falls lit up at nght.

for dinner, we went to the diamond mills tavern, which is a part of the hotel (though not connected), and had another very enjoyable meal of grilled calamari, baby greens salad, tavern skillet burger, and the north pacific coast wild king salmon. and well, of course, green tea creme brulee to end the night. we curled up in bed and fell asleep watching saturday night live. that was the latest we've stayed up on a saturday night for a while!

though it was a short, one night getaway, we very much just enjoyed catching up on our magazine reading and chatting with each other without having the distractions of our everyday life and surroundings. it was an awesome way to get recharged and feeling reconnected again. i really should do this more often for us.

snow day.

thanks to juno, the first blizzard of 2015, i have a snow day today.

the snow started to fall yesterday morning, which made it that much harder to get up and get to work. i trekked into the city with no problem, leaving the apt earlier than usual, and was the one to open the office. as snow kept falling throughout the morning, everyone at the office kept their eyes on the weather forecast. it was supposed to be the biggest blizzard nyc will have seen, since the last one in dec 2010 (when i was stuck in my brooklyn apt and saw people cross country ski down montague street, and when D was in los angeles for a few extra days), and before that feb 2006 (when i got stuck in las vegas). 

when i left the office by 3pm and made my way up to port authority, i thought i'd be ok getting home. boy was i wrong! there was a herd of people, and lines everywhere. i could not, and did not attempt, to find the end of the line for my bus. basically, nothing was running. thankfully, i have the option of taking the ferry home. however, it required walking from 42nd and 8th ave to 39th and 12th ave. doesn't sound far, but when there's blizzard like conditions with wind blowing in your face and trekking through unplowed sidewalks...it hurts! 

[girl walking in front of me with a red umbrella.]

the ferry station was also packed with people. i was lucky and got a seat in the front, however, there was a girl who was standing and did not have anything to hold on it. i offered her my hand through the whole ride. 

[visibility was very low.]

i took me about 1.5hrs to finally walk into the apartment, where the kitties were surprised to find me home early. i cracked open a bottle of red, cooked ramen, and went under a fuzzy blanket on the couch and threw on the sound of music. 

the officials imposed a travel ban, and all public transportation, bridges and tunnels were shut down by 11pm on monday night. though the blizzard was not as bad as predicted in nyc and nearby areas, but out in long island it's still snowing. we got lucky this time around.

this morning, everything was slowing getting up and running. as i watched the latest news conferences in the comfort of the apartment, i am glad of the decisions made by government officials - it kept everyone safe. and i can't complain; i got a snow day out of it!