Weekending it

This past Saturday felt like a true and genuine weekend day. They type of Saturday we wish we could have every week but almost never experience.

Part of what made Saturday so awesome was I took Friday off from work which allowed me to catch-up on chores and errands. Normally we do all of our chores on the weekend which means if we have a few weekends of busy commitments, then laundry and cleaning don't get done. We've been behind lately so there was a lot piled-up. On Friday I did some fall clothes shopping, got my outfit for Sam and Lauren's wedding in a few weeks, scrubbed the bath tub, vacuumed the entire apartment, took some pictures for a blog tour (!). And Dan did the laundry later that night!

I also spent a good bit of time in the morning trying to hang bistro lights in the living room. We had a set at our old apartment and I was merely trying to recreate the look. I did it all by myself and had barely two minutes of bistro-light-bliss before one end of the string fell off the wall and all the bulbs shattered on the way down. Since the bulbs shattered while in the sockets, I cannot unscrew the remnants to potentially replace the bulbs. I had to toss the whole string. It was truly sad.

Other than that sad and tremendous mess, Friday was productive!

On Saturday we slept-in, had warm muffins, and lounged on the couch until late morning. I realize some people get really annoyed when other people talk about getting to sleep past 8 or 9 am. I realize we are experiencing a luxury which effectively disappears once you have kids. So, therefore, we enjoy it during this season without babies. The grass is always greener. Some get baby snuggles and others get pillow snuggles. Which one is actually better? The answer is babies. Baby snuggles are better.

After a slow morning we got our bikes out and went for a ride on the promenade. It was a truly fall weather morning with bright sun but definitely cooler temperatures. The clouds were super pretty.

In one direction it was bright blue sky

And in the other direction it looked like some storm was rolling through

And then there was the point in the middle

We decided that Saturday in the early afternoon was the perfect time to bike ride. We've gone on Sunday afternoons before and it was always crazy crowded. I'm hoping we can get a couple more rides in before it gets too cold.

After our bike ride we ran an errand on 86th street, grabbed some bubble tea (it's a problem), and then went to IKEA to get a couple of lamps. We were home by 4 pm which felt like we still had the whole day ahead of us! We finished watching Batman vs Superman which is the longest movie ever and had kids dinner. Kids dinner is any meal typically served to kids like chicken nuggets, fries, fruit cups, blue box mac, fish sticks, etc. 

Remember back in May when Dan and I wasted a ton of valuable moving prep time because we binged five seasons of The Walking Dead on Netflix in less than a month? Well, season 6 is out and so we spent the rest of the evening watching that. We only watched three episodes so it wasn't gotten out of hand yet. Anyways, it's great but not in any way you would think. It's terrifying but I learn so many valuable skills from that show. Ha!

For all the ways that Saturday was a blessing, Sunday laughed in our faces. I won't share all the drama except this annoying factoid. I got a recipe to make slow cooker chicken tikka masala. It's an Indian dish which I love at our local Indian restaurant. The recipe was simple and I was excited. Well, the recipe called for garam masala which is an Indian spice blend. I incorrectly assumed that this spice would be easy to find in our incredibly diverse neighborhood with it's own Middle Eastern grocery store. Rather than scrap the whole idea because I couldn't find the spice, I took it upon myself to get ALL the spices that make-up garam masala and make my own. Close to $25 worth of spices later...I have enough ground nutmeg, cumin, cloves, coriander, cardamon, and cinnamon to make at least two full cups worth of garam marsala. The recipe called for 1 1/2 teaspoons. So, I have a lot leftover. Anyone want some?

The slow cooker tikka masala recipe was good and very flavorful (it better be with so many spices) but it did not taste like tikka masala. Regardless, I have to make it several more times to use all those spices.

And now it's Monday...blah.

Napkin Notes

This group of napkins are from late spring and early summer...

I regret that these photos are so terrible. One day I'll figure out how to take good photos of these napkins. 

Favorites

Peeks from the Week

This week has felt like an eternity, mainly because I didn't really have a weekend and the days have blurred together. Far too much time at work. Far too little time sleeping. That has also contributed to the blog silence this week.

Last Friday I mentioned Dan and I planned to get crepes to celebrate our four year date-iversary. Well, those plans were made before I ended up working until 8 pm unexpectedly. I didn't get home until 9 pm and I really wanted to watch the Dateline special on the JonBenet Ramsey murder. Despite the unexpected change, Dan did surprise me with chocolate treats.

We still need to try the crepe place.

I'm fairly certain people probably think Dan spoils me excessively. This is true. And that I'm a scumbag wife who does nothing for him. That is only partially true. The difference is I like to brag on Dan and the things he does for me. I don't like to brag on myself and the things I do for him. But rest assured, Dan is spoiled plenty - he just doesn't blog about it.

Saturday was filled with heat, humidity, commitments, and errands. We mixed-in some binge TV as well. If you are into documentaries we highly recommend Who Took Johnny (recommended to us by Mandy) and Kids for Cash. Both currently in Netflix.

Sunday I worked from 5:30 am to 3:30 pm. It was the 15th anniversary of 9/11 and everyone on staff is required to work at the ceremony. This year I was posted outside on the plaza which was a pleasant change from years past and it was nice to at least hear the ceremony and pay witness to the day. The weather was absolutely perfect.

Monday came far too soon and with it the consequences of not properly preparing for the week. I didn't do any apartment chores, meal planning, or grocery shopping and our weeknights have been packed to catch-up. Monday night I started back at tap class after a 2-month break. I'm a little rusty.

Tuesday night Dan took me to see Cats on Broadway! This was his birthday present to me and it was epic. The show started at 7 pm so it was a bit of a race to get from work to Midtown on time. We inhaled golden arches while in line for the show.

It was a fantastic show and one you definitely have to see to appreciate. The music on its own makes very little sense and the plot is hard to follow unless you read-up on the story beforehand (thank goodness we did). There was NO dialogue at all so in that sense it was very similar to watching a ballet - there is a story but it isn't told in the typical way.

The beauty of the show is all in the dancing and stage performance. It was unlike any other Broadway show I've seen and I loved it, but if you are expecting traditional Broadway then this show isn't for you. I appreciated the show more when I made up my mind to just enjoy each song on its own and stop trying to make sense of the story.  

"Memory" was, of course, amazing but I also really loved "Magical Mister Mistoffelees," and "Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat." We also both loved "The Cats at the Jellicle Ball." But it was all in the performance. Unlike musicals like Wicked or Waitress, the music in Cats doesn't stand alone very well. It's hard to explain. But regardless, the night was fantastic.

The costumes, make-up, and props were amazing and the stage jutted right out into the audience. Many times the cats would run around the mezzanine level and paw at people sitting in the audience. The lighting and special effects definitely made the show and left me wondering what the original performances were like in the 1980s before all the digital improvements. During intermission the giant cat, Old Deuteronomy, stayed on the stage and people were able to go on stage and take pictures with him (see pic below). I assume that was a ticketed thing so we made no attempt but that was quite neat and unusual.

The only issue I had was the person in front of me was tall and broad and blocked a good deal of my view. I maneuvered around and still enjoyed the show but it was slightly annoying. I took this picture at intermission.

I mentioned in my Broadway, on the cheap post about seating and the pros and cons. This is a show that was awesome to see from up high. We weren't able to see the backdrop (the changing sky and moon) but we had a great view of the choreography coming together with all the synchronicity and grace, best seen from above. I'm not sure it would have looked as impressive from below. Anyways, I loved it. I told Dan that I don't want him to buy me anymore presents for birthdays or Christmas - just Broadway.

When we got home there was a birthday package from Aunt Judy and Aunt Kandi - a Sephora fancy perfume sampler!! It was delayed in the ever reliable postal service and the peculiarities of getting boxes delivered in our area. I'm fine with delay because it felt like a second birthday celebration! Super exciting. I've never had one of these samplers before and I'm typically a cheap body spray gal so I'm eager to pick my favorite and redeem my bottle! Thanks Aunt Judy and Kandi!

This week, work has been especially exhausting and the upcoming weekend is also packed. It's getting weary, attitudes are crabby, and the refrigerator is bleak. I need to power through and stop being distracted by my laziness. Wish me luck.

Peeks from the Week

I'm including a bit of our Labor Day weekend in this Peeks post since I didn't recap our other weekend happenings aside from Atlantic City.

So on Sunday we got Dan a bike. Our last major purchase before fall austerity. He had been borrowing a really old one for several years and we felt like if we didn't get him his own bike now we never would. Plus, he's been working really hard at his jobs and deserved a bonus treat.

There is a great bike shop around the corner from our apartment and that's where we got my bike last summer. That's his old borrowed bike in the back and his new one in front.

Although it's already early September, this was the first time we've taken the bikes out. We did go on two other bike rides with rented bikes on Governors Island. We went eight plus miles to the end of the promenade and back.

On Labor Day Monday we slept-in, had cinnamon muffins in bed, and then painted the entryway and an accent wall in the living room. But since I'm rarely home when the apartment has the most ideal light, I haven't gotten a good picture to show...plus we can save that reveal for the apartment tour which will happen some time this century. Promise.

Today is our date-iversary - four years! Right on the heels of our two year wedding anniversary. And the beginning of September marks my Brooklyn anniversary. I moved here 7 years ago as a small girl with a lot of courage and not a clue what I was doing. It was the best choice though because I ended up in Bay Ridge and God brought me to Dan so that's a happy occasion. I know, you're probably thinking enough of the celebrating already! Gag! Really we just use all of this to permit our indulgence of treats. So tonight, we are going to try a new crepe place in the neighborhood. Yum!  And today is the first full work day Friday since June. Ugh. I will forever miss summer Fridays. That deserves a crepe too.

We have a very busy and very full weekend and next week is packed to the max as well. This is fall.

Romantic, enchanted Atlantic City - down on the old New Jersey shore

The title for this post is a line from the song I told you about in yesterday's post.  Did you listen to it? No? Here is the link.  It even has that vinyl cracking sound!

Now, it turns out that Atlantic City does have old world charm and romance - you just have to see it in black and white.

My Kansas in Black and White project inspired me to try that view with Atlantic City. It's quite pretty right? Slot machines do not look cute in black and white, however.  In case you were wondering.

Atlantic City Recap

Hello September! We enjoyed our long weekend but returning to work coupled with the onset of fall is always a hard dose to swallow.

So last week I mentioned we were going on a mini anniversary getaway. We've made somewhat of a tradition of going to the Jersey shore for our anniversary. We had our homey-moon in Cape May, our one year anniversary in Wildwood, and this year we picked Atlantic City. We didn't really do any research, we just picked a place we had heard of and figured it'd be fun. Dan got a good deal on a hotel and we made plans. We left Thursday night after I got home from work and arrived around 10 pm.

Does anyone remember the movie Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken? It's a film from the early 1990s about the true story of Sonora Carver, a girl who ran away from home to be a horse diver. It's a somewhat tragic love story and the bulk of it takes place in 1930s Atlantic City. In the movie the girl sings "On The Boardwalk (in Atlantic City)." It's a cute song, youtube it.

Anyways, I had a romanticized view of Atlantic City because of that movie. If you know anything about AC now, it's kind of a disaster. Overrun with trashy casinos, half of which are closed or closing, and just a town down on it's luck. We made the most of our quick trip and still had fun but Atlantic City has definitely seen better days...like, decades ago. I had been told this by others but not until after we already booked the trip so we forged ahead with hopes that they were wrong. Ha!

We stayed at the Showboat hotel next door to the well-known Trump Taj Mahal Casino. Turns out we got a good deal on the hotel because it had closed in 2014 and then recently reopened (like a month ago). Only half the hotel was open to guests, all the restaurants were closed, and the casino floor was completely vacant and blocked off. But hey, we got a good deal on a nice room and the view was great!

Next door at the Taj, the workers were striking on the boardwalk and the casino floor was open but pretty sparse. We got tickets to see Nik Wallenda's Zirkus on Friday night and had no idea that it was the last show to perform at Xanadu Theater. Ever. The Taj is likely closing for good this month. Isn't that wild? Another casino to add to the several other abandoned hotels on the boardwalk.

Don't get me wrong, we had a good time but the whole place was kind of comical. For example, we got breakfast on the boardwalk and Dan ordered a cheese omelet. This was how it was served:

Classy right? We had a good laugh. Dan and I agreed that the producers of Walking Dead should film in Atlantic City. They wouldn't have to do any staging - everything is already abandoned!

We walked around the boardwalk (typical boardwalk) and then changed to hangout on the beach. We liked the beach. The water was warm, the sand was clean, and there was plenty of people watching to enjoy.

That afternoon we tired our luck at the casino. Now, I've said it before but I am NOT a risk taker. Like, not at all. We came to the casino with a quart-sized Ziploc bag of coin change that we had collected over the year, the plan was to play with only that money (because in my brain, coinage isn't "real" money and therefore easier to part with when gambling). But of course they wouldn't exchange coins so we took $100 and that was our gambling limit. I lost $5 in less than 5 minutes and it near gave me a panic attack.

Once we figured out how the machines worked and I could bet a penny I felt more safe and we bounced around machines. After I had lost $10 I was about ready to give up. Dan had a better attitude and played the money like it was already lost. He ended up winning $50!!

^^ That's his winning machine! 

Then we found fun machines that had the old school lever you could pull. I liked that a lot and we both won $11 on those machines. We quit $40 ahead of what we came with and I was super happy about that.

That night we went to the Zirkus! We were super glad we got tickets for the show since it was exactly our type of entertainment (acrobats and tightrope walkers). We were thoroughly entertained. They did their famous seven person pyramid on the high-wire with two bikes and a girl on a chair. Very impressive.

On Saturday morning we woke-up to nasty skies and high winds. So-called hurricane Hermine was causing rough seas and the beaches were closed. Although we had hoped to get another few hours of beach time we weren't too bummed since we were leaving later that day.

We had already planned on doing the outlet mall for our last day and we both got a couple of things for fall. We got lunch a the Melting Pot on the way out of town. Once we drove about an hour away from the shore the skies were blue and sunny. We took advantage of the suburban amenities and went to Hobby Lobby, Target, and Chick-fil-a on the way home. 

In sum, we were gone for exactly 48 hours. A very quick trip. I'm glad we saw Atlantic City but I don't feel like we need to go again.  But at least we were there before it completely collapsed in on itself like a dying star.

One other story, on our last day we searched high and low for Christmas ornaments. We always like to get an ornament from the places that we visit. Both Cape May and Wildwood had entire stores dedicated to Christmas ornaments...Atlantic City? When I asked a guy at one of the souvenir shops he gave me a look like he'd never heard of an ornament. Apparently AC shops only specialize in lotto tickets and e-cigarettes. We eventually found a small selection of ornaments (like four to choose from) and we also got two squished pennies from machines we found at the end of a partially abandoned mall. We never did find a photo booth although I swear I saw one somewhere.

Oh, and we saw the Miss America contestants...they will take the stage in AC on Sunday.

Come back tomorrow for another black and white series.