Lately and More Apartment Pictures

Welp - it's been quite a while since my last post.. 2 months to be exact! Yikes!

What can I say, things have been busy and there were a few unexpected circumstances (just that hurricane that came through). October was a very busy month at work, and just as things began to slow a little we got struck by Sandy. Thankfully we were only without power for about 4.5 days, because I know many others that have been without power for over 4 weeks! Although we got through pretty well during the storm we have had issues with our Internet ever since, so that's made posting a little difficult as well.

All of that being said, I wanted to go ahead and put up some more pictures of our new apartment! These are just of the bedroom, and this is probably the room that changed the least when we moved from the studio. My favorite part of our whole apartment is my small vanity/desk that actually used to be our kitchen table. It's the one space that contains so many of my favorite things: my favorite framed quote, a picture of Tatum, and a tray of my favorite perfume and nail polish. I've also grown to love collecting vintage brooches, so I think the little display box that I found is so pretty!

One of the things that I was most excited about by having a larger bedroom: his and hers dressers! It's been so nice not to cram everything into one dresser... although I have taken over one full drawer of the "his" dresser. Vlady knows that sharing is caring, so thankfully he's nice enough to share his space with my stuff. :)

And on another note: these pictures are pretty terrible (they were taken with my iPhone). I think it's time for a real camera.

My favorite spot: my vanity!

"Hers" dresser

A few of my favorite things: picture of my niece, my vintage brooches, favorite perfume and nail polishes and the best smelling candle EVER.

Looking in from the door

Looking into the room from the window

"His" dresser

Favorite quote and cute owl

Another shot of the dressers

One Fine Day

I know that I still owe a couple more apartment pictures, but those haven't been snapped yet (I know, I know..), and I wanted to talk about what we did last Sunday instead. Maybe it's not quite as exciting, but it was one of my favorite days in a long time!


We started the morning by having one of our good friends come over to do a fitness/posture/muscle alignment assessment on us to help us determine what corrections we may need to make while working out. It was very informative, and I was actually sore the next day from one of the moves we had to do (Judy: don't judge).

By about 2:00pm we had not eaten and were STARVING; so naturally we went and got chicken and waffles. Not exactly the most healthy meal, but when you're about to eat your own arm off sometimes that can be over looked a tad (or a lot). Although the service in the restaurant was sub-par (at one point the waitress walked away in the middle of taking my order!), the food itself hit the spot perfectly.

After our late lunch we headed up to the Museum of Natural History to wander around and check out the new exhibit on bioluminescence called "Creatures of Light". I had been looking forward to this exhibit since it opened at the beginning of the year, and although we learned a lot and enjoyed it quite a bit I was a little disappointed at how small the whole thing was. We checked out some of the other parts of the museum as well before heading for a stroll through Central Park.

A 40x actual size portrayal of a bioluminescent mushroom in the "Creatures of Light" exhibit.

An Angler fish display

Now, the main reason I even suggested we go to the museum and park that day was because the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Slightly cool, no humidity and lots of sunshine made for a perfect day to be outside. We sat by one of the lakes and watched the boats paddle by for a while, and then we walked in the direction of the Boathouse to grab a drink and watch the sun go down.

Watching boats in Central Park

After our rest stop and cocktails at the bar we decided we were hungry again (which I didn't think was possible after the late lunch we had), and I made a last minute reservation at a restaurant called Jo Jo on the Upper East Side. I had heard good things about it, and the reviews on Yelp were good.. plus it's a Jean-Georges spot so that was enticing as well.

Oh my word was it ever delicious! We split 4 appetizers and I had a dessert, and I think it just might be one of my favorite meals ever. To start we had the tuna roll which was rare tuna wrapped in crispy pastry with a wasabi sauce, edamame and ginger. We also had the cheese ravioli with very, very fresh crushed tomatoes and Parmesan and a crab meat salad with mango and cumin crisps. After that we were still hungry and decided to get the crispy salmon "sushi" roll with a soy spread.

Tuna roll at Jo Jo

All of the ingredients were minimal and simple, but everything was so fresh and delicious that I was in heaven the whole time. Especially once the dessert came along. I know that I've talked before about what I thought was the best dessert ever, but I believe that has been trumped. The dessert I had at Jo Jo was a passion fruit pavlova that had a passion fruit filling, was topped with passion fruit seeds, and sat on a bed of fresh whipped cream. I died. I also asked the hostess if this was a seasonal dessert or one they had all the time, and she (thankfully!) told me that it is Jean-Georges favorite dessert and they have it year round.

Jean-Georges has good taste, I see.

So that was our fun day, and I enjoyed getting to have so much fun and experience so many new things with Vlady! Looks like this weekend will be beautiful as well, perhaps I shall have another fine day again.

New Apartment: After - Living/Dining Room

I feel bad. I promised to post these pictures about 3 weeks ago.. Oops! Well I'm happy to finally share some "after" pictures of our place, and I'm going to start out with my favorite room in the house: the living room.

Our living room is a combined living and dining space, and after having lived in a 1 room studio for a year I was so excited to finally have enough room to entertain. Our last place had a 2 seater table and the couch, so we sometimes had to sit on the floor to eat when we had guests! Now we have the 4-seater table plus some ottomans to provide extra seating, as well as more than enough standing space.

 (Sofa, Pillows)

 My favorite part about the "dining room" space: the artwork! We found the vendor in Union Square, and while we admired their work we never really found any that we loved enough to buy. That is until we went to their website and found this series with the wine glasses and bottle! It's hard to tell, but the color of the glasses and bottle are actually a bright citrine, and we loved that with the other citrine accents in the room.

(Dining Set, Pictures)



 That's our "bar". The plan is to keep the wine fully stocked at all times! (Also, I'm beginning to realize that my iPhone doesn't take as good of pictures as I'd like. This one is slightly tilted also, which is human error..)

(Vases)

 Looking into the living/dining space from the entry way.

(Coffee table/end table set)

 You can tell where the cat's been on the couch! We love that print of the city from Ikea.

 We have two of these, flanking the TV. There was a long discussion about what to do with that space (leaning bookshelves, floating bookshelves..), but I love the end result!

(bookshelf, bird, ottoman, wine cork cage)

 The other book shelf and ottoman.

View from the "dining room" looking into the living room.

Slutty Brownies

You read that title correctly: slutty brownies.

Now I know that I promised an "after" post of our apartment as my next entry, but I'm going to be honest about why that isn't happening today. Although our place was in tip-top shape for our housewarming party, and while this would have been a prime time to snap some photos, I was too busy getting ready and making slutty brownies to take any.

Seeing as how the party was on Saturday and it is now a Tuesday the only other excuse I have is: I've been sucked into the Hunger Games trilogy. No seriously, that's the second reason I haven't taken pictures of our decorated place yet... because I can't put down those books! I also had to watch the first movie.. so..

Anyways, back to slutty brownies. Although I still can't get over the name of the recipe, I did in fact make a batch for the housewarming party after a friend recommended them over plain ol' brownies. They're called "slutty" brownies because they're "super easy, and more than a little bit filthy".. he he. Or at least that's what this blog says, which is where I was directed to retrieve the recipe (also: if you're looking for photos of the brownies, check out that girls post.. because I didn't take any. Oops).

Although these brownies are not my typical recipe (re: they are not good for you in any way, shape or form), they were simply to die for! There was not a single piece left after Saturday night, and I'm secretly grateful for that because that means no temptations sitting on my kitchen counter!

This recipe literally takes 45 minutes (including baking time) to make, so the easiness factor was a huge draw for me. I might make it my new mission to make this recipe in a reduced fat version. Could it be possible? Perhaps if I make my own batters instead of using mixes..

Hmmm..

Slutty Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 box of chocolate chip cookie mix (and the ingredients the mix calls for: ex, oil, eggs, water, etc)
• 1 box of brownie mix  (and the ingredients the mix calls for: ex, oil, eggs, water, etc)
• 16-20 Oreos (double stuffed, preferably)

That's it!

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9"x13" baking dish with cooking spray, or line the edges with parchment paper (I didn't have any parchment paper on hand, and a good coat of Pam worked just fine). Follow the directions on the cookie mix box, mix cookie dough batter. 

Spread cookie dough evenly on the bottom of the pan (hands work best for that one) until it covers the bottom. Top with as many Oreos as you can fit (I fit 20). 

Follow the directions on the brownie mix box and pour over the Oreos. Bake for 30-40 minutes until done (note: when inserting a toothpick to check if it's done, it might come out looking underdone..but the melted chocolate chips and Oreos will do that). 

Let cool until just barely warm, cut into even pieces and serve. Watch as they are devoured!

New Apartment- Before

As I alluded to in this post, it's taken us quite a while to get settled in to our new place. We are finally (officially) set-up, and we're having some folks over this weekend to celebrate! Below are the "before" pictures of the space.. basically, this is what our apartment looks like completely empty. I will post the "after" pictures of how we've decorated this weekend.

This is the first apartment that I've lived in since college that has felt the most like "home". I put "home" in parenthesis because my mom likes to remind me that my real home is in fact down south, with my family. I have to agree with her, but to me this apartment feels way more comfortable and home-like than our studio ever did.

Maybe it's because it is a true 1-bedroom and I don't feel like I'm living in a hotel (as I sometimes did with our one room studio). Or maybe it's because we've really put in the time and effort to make this place exaclty how we want it. Either way, I'm very happy with our decision to move into this apartment, and I can't wait to show the finished product!




Bedroom, looking in from the door



Bedroom (and closet) looking down towards the living room





Living Room view from the front hallway



Living room view looking towards the bedroom



Bathroom



Kitchen, one side





Kitchen, the other side





Balcony



Lately

I feel like this summer has flown by. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was enjoying my Memorial Day? How is it already just a few short weeks until the end of summer?

Yikes!

The main reason time has been slipping by so quickly though is due to the fact that I've been traveling a lot. Quite a bit more than usual, actually. We spent some time at the beach, both in the Hamptons and in Cape Cod, and we celebrated Tatum's first birthday in Raleigh at the end of July. Also, we both had our own birthdays at the beginning of July and extended the celebrations out through the end of the month!

On top of all of the traveling we also moved into a larger apartment, and I began a new role at work. I'm feeling the urge to slow down for a little while.. it's time to catch my breath!

All of that being said, the last few months have been really great and full of memories that will last me a lifetime. So I guess I shouldn't be complaining too much :) 

Below are a few snapshots from our summer:

 My birthday celebration

 Tatum's First Birthday! Best "Smash Cake" ever :)

Photo courtesy of my dad

My sister reading one of Tatum's cards to her

Hanging with my girl!

 A lighthouse in Cap Cod

Truro Vineyard in Cape Cod

I guess that it's only fitting that I will be spending my last weekend of the summer (Labor day weekend) traveling back home again! I'm OK with summer coming to a close though.. Fall is my favorite season, by far, so bring on the pretty leaves, comfy clothes, pumpkin flavored anything, and football!

How to Build a Dresser

We moved in to our new apartment on June 30, and here it is August 12 and we're still not completely settled in. This is to be expected when you move from a teeny little studio apartment to a one bedroom (lots of furniture to buy!), but there are some things that should not take quite so long.

Like building a dresser.

However, if you would like to follow the Leah and Vlad rules to assembling a dresser, please keep reading:

Step 1: Purchase dresser relatively soon after you move in (even take it home in boxes on the same day as purchasing, if possible)

Step 2: Remark on how you're too tired to build the dresser on the day you get it, but promise to assemble it that week

Step 3: Repeat step 2

Step 4: Repeat step 3

Step 5: Turn boxes that dresser comes in into clothes drying space, seeing as how they have become a useful piece of furniture (see example below). Bright pink pajama shorts with hearts optional.

Step 6: Finally decide to tackle the challenge and assemble the dresser

Step 7: Get all the way done, but save the very last drawer to be completed

Step 8: Repeat second half of step 2

Step 9: Finally finish building last drawer and start using the dresser (example below)

Step 10: Repeat with all other un-built furniture

Goat Cheese and Smoked Oyster Puffs

I don't know about you guys, but every time I get invited to a gathering where I will be bringing food I like to make a new recipe. This is actually not a great idea, considering that if it turns out to be inedible then your guests are the guinea pigs in your cooking experiment gone wrong. Nonetheless, I always find myself scouring through cookbooks to find something new to try for each event.

A while ago we went to a house warming party for some friends, and I decided to make some Smoked Oyster and Goat Cheese Pastries as my contribution. The recipe calls for very few ingredients and it sounded quick and simple, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Everything turned out pretty good, although I'd make a few changes when I make them again (and I will make them again).

First, these really need to be small and bite - sized. I cut a couple of mine about 1-1.5" thick, and it was just too big (keep in mind: these are long pieces). Second, I would probably use a teeny bit more goat cheese. When assembling these, I used every last crumble that I had, and I think it could have used a little more. Lastly, I tasted these when they were warm out of the oven and again at room temp (the recipe suggests serving at room temp), and I enjoyed them a lot more when they were warm.

I never would have thought that goat cheese and smoked oysters would work together (they do!), but if you're looking for a tasty, quick, simple and inexpensive appetizer to make for your next gathering I suggest you give this one a go!

Smoked Oysters and Goat Cheese Pastries
Serves 12


Ingredients

• 4oz soft, fresh goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 sheet ready made puff pastry dough
• 6-oz can of smoked oysters
• 1 egg, beaten
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut rectangle of dough in half lengthwise. Put half the crumbled goat cheese down the middle of one piece of dough. Arrange half the oysters in a row on top of the goat cheese. Brush the beaten egg along both the long sides, fold the dough over the oysters, and gently press the edges together to seal. Repeat with the other piece of dough and remaining cheese and oysters.

Lightly brush both puff pastry packages with beaten egg, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut both packages into 1-inch slices, then transfer to a buttered baking tray. Bake for 12 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

Please excuse the poor quality of the pictures.. my iPhone sometimes doesn't do the best job!

Things That I Learned This Weekend

This past weekend was actually pretty uneventful. It mainly consisted of running errands (getting stuff for the apartment), putting together furniture for the living room, hitting up the farmers market and going out for date night. Pretty normal, indeed.

That being said, I learned a couple of interesting things that I would like to share:

1) There are great restaurants out there that don't cost an arm and a leg.

Ok, this is actually something I've been realizing for a few weeks now, but Saturday solidified that. On our date night we went out to Cafe Condesa, a cute and quaint little restaurant in the West Village. We decided to go here based on our normal last minute restaurant finding criteria: highest star rating possible, close proximity, upcoming available table. This time we settled on Cafe Condesa, and I am so happy that we did!

The food was amazing! I would even go as far to say that it was just as good, or even better, than some of the much nicer places we've been to ::Gotham Bar and Grill::. Is it deserving of a Michelin star anytime soon? Nah. However, the mouthwatering steak and avocado and the chicken enchiladas for $18 and $15 (respectively) will certainly make us repeat customers.

2) I don't know how to cook Swiss Chard very well.

After being super excited about the gorgeous produce I picked up at the farmers market (and for such a good price!), I made a dinner that consisted entirely of items from my shopping trip:

Pheasant Sausage Patties
Sauteed Zucchini and Yellow Squash with Ricotta and Fresh Basil
Rosemary Roasted New Potatoes
Sauteed Swiss Chard with Garlic

The zucchini and potatoes were very good, the sausage was pretty good, and the chard was.. well.. not. I treated it like I was cooking spinach, thinking that it would come out the same; but unfortunately it came out overly bitter and not tasty. Next time I may read through a few recipes to get some better ideas or tips, but in the meantime I have a whole lot of sauteed chard in my fridge that I'm not sure what to do with.

3) If I could be any of the "Avengers", I would be Iron Man.

Minus the ego, of course.

Another Year Older...

...Another year wiser?? Sure, we'll say that.

On Tuesday I celebrated the 5th anniversary of my 21st birthday, and I have many people to thank for making it such a wonderful day! I received many sweet cards and messages, enjoyed an amazing meal with Vlad, and ended the night in the way all good birthdays should end: drinking champagne with a group of great people :)

For dinner Vlady took me to Veritas, and although it was surprisingly empty, everything was quite excellent. Unfortunately I did not take pictures of anything other than the dessert.. I was too famished to whip out the camera for a photo op, so mostly everything was inhaled before a flash could have gone off. It happens.

My meal consisted of 2.5 appetizers (one being split with my lovely guest) plus dessert, and I have to say that I think that's the way to do it. I have always much preferred tapas style dining where you get numerous small plates over consuming one large entree. Variety is the spice of life, so why not try as many dishes as possible in one sitting?

The first course that we split was the crab salad, and not only was it delicious, but they were kind enough to evenly portion it out onto two plates (rather than setting one plate in the middle of the table for us to share). That earned major points in my book. The description of the crab salad says: lemon jam, black olives and arugula.. but that doesn't quite do it justice. It contained lots of sweet lump crab meat, over a small tapenade of black olives and a light topping of the peppery arugula. The lemon jam was on the side, but I ate every bite of it, and the whole thing came with a black olive-filo wrapping that they artfully split in two and made into an architectural piece on our plates. Highly recommended: this dish was summer perfection.

My second course was the baby spinach salad, and the description simply read: pancetta, point reyes blue cheese deviled eggs. When I ordered the dish the server mentioned that it was her favorite thing on the menu, so although the description was not in fact descriptive, I felt as though I had probably made a good decision. I was right. The spinach was lightly dressed with a mustard vinaigrette, and on the side were two deviled eggs split in half with a large pancetta wheel in each half. The eggs were filled with creamy blue cheesy yumminess that I could have eaten all night. Seriously, they were the best deviled eggs EVER. That combined with the crispy pancetta and dressed spinach was enough for me to realize why the server loved this dish so much. It was light, but so, so decadent!

For my third course I chose the sea scallop with foie gras, simply described only as that. This is the one dish that I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of, because the presentation was so elegant. It was one large sea scallop, split in half, with the seared foie gras in the middle, and a slice of roasted potato stacked in between as well. The whole thing was placed in the center of a large, white bowl and topped with a pan jus and some micro greens. No knife was required, and it really just melted in my mouth.. and while the whole thing was only about 4-5 bites, they were some pretty amazing bites indeed.

Dessert was kept simple (since my meal had been so rich up until then), and I had a scoop of basil sorbet and chocolate sorbet. These did not disappoint. The basil sorbet tasted exactly like fresh picked basil, with just the tiniest hint of sweetness, and the chocolate was also only slightly sweet but very rich in cacao (and topped with some crumbled cacao nibs). Oh, and they wrote a lovely message on the plate (see below):

So as you can tell, it was a lovely birthday full of great food! I would highly recommend Veritas as a special occasion restaurant; the food and service were both excellent.

Current Obsession

As someone who loves to bake (although that has been HUGELY hindered by my pint-sized kitchen), I am a little embarrassed to say that I've never owned a rolling pin. When it came to a recipe that required one (like pies or anything with a crust), I honestly just said, "well, I won't be making this."  I've thought many, many times about how useful it would be to buy one, but just never got around to it.

Until I found this:

I admit that I partly bought this rolling pin because I love to look at it, but I also bought it because I figured it was finally time to get one. Last weekend I offered to make a couple of appetizers for a friends house warming party, and one of the recipes I made (to come soon!) required a little dough flattening. So, it was time.. and now I want this sitting out in my kitchen at all times. I LOVE it! Something tells me Vlady doesn't feel the same, but that's OK.. that just means no pies for him ;)

Want one for yourself? Go here, or they're available in Anthropologie stores as well.

Update: I Failed

I'd like to start this post out on a happy note, so therefore I want to mention how excited I am to write a post about our trip to Costa Rica! As soon as I get all of the pictures I will describe the whole thing, and let's just say it was an amazing vacation!

Ok, so you're happy for me now, right? Just remember that feeling.. because I failed at the "no shopping for 6 months" thing. *Sigh*

I lasted about 4.5 months, so although I made it a fairly long time (for me at least), I did not make it the full 6 months. Here's why:

The months of March, April and May at work were difficult (to put it lightly). I worked very, very long hours and was constantly having to deal with tough situations, and it really wore me out. As things were getting more hectic, I was getting more unhappy and there weren't many things that could make me feel better. One Friday, after a particularly hellish week, I realized that the ONLY thing I wanted right then was to buy something. Just saying that makes me feel like a shopping addict, but hey.. it worked.

I have bought a couple of things since then, and although I expected to feel guilty, I really was thinking, "I just worked an 80 hour week.. I EARNED this".

So there you have it, I failed. Now, lets revert back to good news: we have finally found a true one bedroom (that we love and is in our building)! This means that I will be going on another shopping hiatus to save money that will go towards getting the new place just the way we want it! I'm not saying I'm going cold turkey again, but I will instead have a small monthly clothes budget.  I think that makes a little more sense for me.

Now for some more fun.. want to see what I got? Here are a couple of things:

Colorful jeans:

 

Pretty Dresses:

 

 

Feminine tops:

 

Fun jewelry:

 

 

So yeah, I failed.. but hey, I'm happy.. and to me that's what's important.