10 Days in New York, part 4

New York City. Sigh. It has everything. Especially specialty craft stores. Sigh. I found a bunch of craft stores near Fashion Ave. I drooled over the plethora of beads and rows of ribbons. I also unsuccessfully looked for Mood Fabrics. One day, Mood, I will conquer you and succeed in walking through your famous doors! Maybe I’ll even get to buy some fabric. 

I wonder if this restaurant participated in restaurant week. With a multitude of gastronomies, how could I go here and not find something that I wanted? Alas, I went here and didn’t find anything I wanted. Oh well, maybe next time.

 

On Fashion Ave (I thin it’s 7th), I played with the notion…er, played with the notions! Large needle and button! So cute!

 

Oh, Mr. Sewing Machine Man, do you need an apprentice? I will be more than willing to help you out. 2 weeks till I get my sewing machine! I’m so excited. Let me tell you, it’s been hell without it. I’ve had to devote myself to learning other types of crafts that don’t involve my sewing machine.

 

If you have been to the University of Michigan’s Museum of Art (or walked down State St. in Ann Arbor), you would have seen some large red art piece in front of the museum. I found one extrodinarily similar to it in down-downtown NYC. It always makes me happy to find these. There was one in Austin, TX on UT’s campus and I hear that there is one in Boston, too!

 

I made Happy take this picture of me. I thought it would look super cosmopolitan but I just look kind of silly with a stupid grin on my face. Some might even say I look…presh?

Happy and I are being awesome and sitting on the steps of the Met. The Met is an awesome museum. Many a woman find what they are looking for in that museum…

And this is who women find. This is a sculpture of Hercules (with fantastic natural lighting, I might add) that is approximately twice the size of a normal-sized human. I don’t know if he was actually this large, but it doesn’t really matter. I saw several women take pictures with their hands cupping his cash and prizes. Several older women. I kid you not. At the Met. Way to show maturity.

Cupid and Psyche. The story of Cupid and Psyche is my favorite myth. Generally, it’s also my favorite depiction in art.

Anyway, on to the merriment. For the fireworks, I met up with some friends etc. that went to Michigan. On the way to the Westside, we encountered some finger puppets…This is the pregame. (But seriously, what kind of puppet pregames fireworks? I think it may have a problem.)

Two more finger puppets were taking a nice little coffee table boat ride in their paper boat with their paper umbrella. When I got back to Ohio, I somehow managed to smuggle Wolfy in my purse. (Wolfy is the one in the back of the boat.)

I got to watch the Macy’s fireworks over the Hudson river. They were spectacular! Someone needs to tell me that my camera does not do a very good job of taking pictures of fireworks.

My trip to New York was lovely. Yes, I did find labels and love in New York. But love, like fashion (and even time), is fleeting.

10 Days in New York, part 3

And now for the final weekend in New York…City!

Friday started out at MoMA. It’s pretty sweet. Some large company with a bull’s eye as their symbol sponsors free Friday nights, so it was more crowded than I would have liked (crowds? In New York City? Never!)

This was an art piece that I took pictures of from both ends. This way, all the blocks look like they’re the same size…

 

But on they other size, they are comically shrinking!

 

In the architecture exhibit in the MoMA, there was a really neat chandelier made out of broken dishes. Since I’m moving in 8 days, this is definitely something that I want to have in my new apartment.

Of course I had to take a picture of the globe thingy at Rockefeller Center. I saw this and I immediately thought of the television show 30 Rock (which stands for 30 Rockefeller Center).

 

Elmo?

 

At Broadway! I saw a billboard for In the Heights with Corbin Bleu! And since I’m 10 years old, I have seen all three High School Musicals several times and I got really excited that Corbin Bleu was on a billboard. Anyone else think that Corbin Bleu sounds suspiciously like Cordon Bleu?

At the Toys R Us in Times Square, they had this weird advert in the window. Why, oh why, would a baby need mock-denim diapers? Babies do not know the difference between denim and plastic.

Happy and I make really good models. Why aren’t we wearing these fancy fashionable dresses with our hips thrust forward standing in the middle of the street? Oh, the injustices plague me every single day of my life. (It’s the pelvic thrust that really drives you insa-a-a-a-a-ane!)

I saw my first play on Broadway – Green Day’s American Idiot. It was very interesting, though slightly disheartening. The music was awesome (especially if you like Green Day and aren’t turned off by their newer stuff, claiming it’s too “political”).

Stay tuned to find out if I found “labels and love” in New York…

10 Days in New York, part 2

The second part of my trip to New York involved leadership training for work approximately 1 hour north of the city. As soon as I got to the campus, I immediately felt calm. The ambiance of  campus was completely opposite of what I felt in New York City. I felt like I was rushed every second of every day in the city, even though I didn’t really have anywhere to be. But at Crotonville, the nature sucked me in :)

This tree is the most action I’ve gotten in months. I always like to take the tree-hugger picture. Because, well, I love trees. And they are just so darned comfy to hug!

I don’t know what this is, but apparently I took a picture of it.

This is the white house, where they have a bar, pool, and assorted games. Secretly, though, it’s not so white. It’s more yellow in tone.

This tree is GORGEOUS!

This is the banana boat that we so aptly named during class.

Being the Lighting geeks that we are, we noticed that the fluorescent lamps in the classroom were two different colors! Pinkish and blueish. Thank you, camera, for catching this anomaly.

Some panoramic views of campus OR how Nidhi learned to play with the panoramic settings on her camera.

Another lighting anomaly. Oh, does the horror never end??

 

Crotonville is an incredible place. I can only hope that one day, I will return.

10 Days in New York, part 1

I left for New York on Saturday morning. I had booked a flight for 8am, thinking I would get into the city when it was light and it would be easier to find my way around. Of course, I neglected to realize that this would mean leaving my apartment for CLE at 5am. I also neglected to realize that walking to the RTA station at 5am is very, very sketchy. So I called a cab company (twice! after they didn’t show up the first time) and they never showed up! Luckily, at that exact moment, a fire alarm happened in my apartment and everyone needed to evacuate. A nice, sleepy couple offered to drive me to the RTA station and I arrived to the airport, and then NYC safely.

My first two days in NY were very touristy. Here are some pictures to prove it!

This is the library with some very nice lions outside. It’s so gorgeous inside with some fabulous architecture and a great view of many buildings. I don’t know how anyone could get anything literary done in there without being distracted!

At Bryant Park, someone put a bunch of paper sailboats saying they needed to sail to Madison Square Garden (whose initials end up being MSG, hehe). We didn’t take one, because we didn’t think we would end up anywhere near Madison Square Garden (or maybe I just don’t know the streets of NYC) but we did end up by Madison Square Garden. Oh well. I hope they ended up at their destination.

Chipotle is ubiquitous in the City. I liked this one that had “Chipotle” graffiti-d outside of the restaurant.

In Ann Arbor, MI, there is a cube outside the student union. When I walked out of the subway at Astor Place, I was so surprised when I saw this cube. It’s very similar to the Cube in Ann Arbor, except it doesn’t turn quite as well. Then after dinner at Astor Place, I couldn’t find my way back to the subway.

 

I found me some bears at Central Park!

And having a picnic in a park is crossed off my list. With homemade guacamole, a fruit salad, and bread with goat cheese, this was a very tasty picnic on a very hot day.

A boxspring at, around, or near Park Ave was spouting off words of wisdom (and a drawing of a fish?). Maybe one day I will take its advice. I can’t really tell, though. Becoming your dream equals becoming a fish? Or maybe the Greek letter alpha in lowercase?

Sometimes open letters are poorly written

With the leftover vodka that I had from the limoncello, I decided to make mint-infused vodka.

I let it marinate for two weeks. It wasn’t difficult, considering I was in New York and completely forgot about it until yesterday night! I was rooting through my fridge for a snack (running outside in 90+ degrees with overwhelming humidity can make a girl stupidly hungry) and I found the jar that I had used to store the vodka. I thought, “Well, crap, I have to make the liqueur right now. It is imperative.”

I also added a simple sugar syrup to make it sweet (because that’s what sugar does – it makes things sweet.)

In India, a popular type of cuisine is called “Indo-Chinese.” It’s basically India’s take on Chinese food. One of my favorite dishes is Hakka Noodles, which I attempted to make. A funny story about hakka noodles – my aunt knows that I love hakka noodles, and her English ain’t so great. We were all in India about to go out to eat, and she asked me if I wanted to eat “hakka needles.” So now, it’s ingrained in my head. Every time I want to say hakka noodles, “hakka needles” comes out!

I sautéed broccoli, celery, carrots, and tofu (the carrots and tofu first, since I wanted the carrots to be softer and the tofu to be crispier) in a little bit of oil and soy sauce.

Simultaneously, I cooked thin spaghetti whole wheat noodles.

Then, I mixed them together with soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and a dash of vinegar and… apparently forgot to take a picture of that. It tasted really good, I promise. 

And more on LeBron dropping LeBomb (yes, I made that up) – Dan Gilbert, the majority owner of the Cavaliers, wrote an open letter to fans. In the Cle, who is getting more press: Dan or LeBron?

Happy Birthday Etsy! (and a slightly boring blog post)

This post is long overdue. I’m not saying happy birthday to my Etsy, which I swear I’ll open soon…as soon as I get a bunch of other stuff done. Etsy turned 5 on June 18, 2010, so people around the country (and maybe the world?!) decided to throw a party!

I went to a party being held in Sagamore Hills, OH bearing cookies and some yarn for the stash swap. I got there late (thank you, Whole Foods wine tasting!) and walked onto the patio.

There was a woman doing a demonstration about how to solder (pendants, not circuits!). What a departure from my work-life. We talk about solder joints there, but that’s within LED circuits. It’s cool how soldering irons can be applied to arts and crafts. I want to get one now, though I don’t know what I would solder.

We then got a tour of the house where the party was being held. The hostess had a craft room of sorts, and her craft items were decorated so gorgeously!

I also got to make a really cool design on a ceramic cup, thanks to people bringing in ceramic markers. I don’t think anything I’ve freehanded has turned out as pretty! I love peacock feathers. This one time, I was at a bridal shower and there were peacock feathers at every guest’s place setting. At the end of the party, some older women decided to trounce around the room and grab all the peacock feathers. My mom and I looked at each other in disbelief. It was kind of strange. Oh well.

Oh yeah. LeBron announced that he is leaving CLE for MIA. I wonder how long it will take the City to remove the poster of him downtown.

Breakfast Foods and Nighttime Beverages

Bagels are so super delicious. I love waking up on Saturdays and eating a bagel laden with cream cheese. I also love drinking chai on Saturdays, but that’s a topic for another time. Or we can talk about it now! My daddy makes the most fabulous chai. Every time I drive back to Michigan, I call him 10 minutes before I get home so that he’ll have chai ready. Of course the chai is never ready because he doesn’t start it until I reach home.

Anyway, I made bagels. Once I perfect a recipe (these weren’t super stellar) I’ll post it on here so you can go off and have your own bagel making adventures!

They even tasted good with cream cheese!

I also completed another item on my 24 before 24 list! I made limoncello.

I had 90% of a bottle of vodka (Smirnoff, only the highest quality for Nidhi) and 5 lemons.

I zested the lemons (but not the rind! that apparently makes it very
bitter) and soaked it in the vodka for 2 weeks.

After 2 weeks, I strained the lemon peels out of the vodka (using my chai strainer!) and the vodka was left infused with lemon. It turned out so nice and yellow!

In order to make this into a liqueur, I added approximately 1 cup of simple sugar syrup – 1/2 cup of sugar boiled with 1/2 cup of water.

Ta-dah!

Also, I’m sure you’ve heard of the “Stay in Cleveland, LeBron!” campaign going on currently, so thanks to Betty White for this.

Visit to the Farm!

My friend/ex-neighbor Genevieve (from the creeptastic sorority house where I accidentally lived) is originally from the CLE area, so when she was back here to do some wedding planning, she invited me I invited myself to her parents’ house south of CLE.

It ended up being very farmy, which is soo exciting!! The barn was awesome. Genevieve’s younger brother Isaac is in 4-H, so the barn was full of chickens, sheep, and a cow.

Once in the barn, Genevieve was really excited to show us how to flip a sheep. Now, I’m not entirely sure where you would use this skill but if she were in a sheep-flipping contest, she would probably win.

Some of the younger chickens in the coop outside. They were thirsty and their water rationing machine was a modern marvel of engineering.

There was even an outhouse, with separate men's and women’s toilets.

We took a picture of ourselves chewing on Timothy Grass. My eyes are closed and Genevieve had just gone running, so this is a pretty stellar picture of us. Isaac looks like a champ, though.

Aaaand their dog. Isaac decided to take my camera and take pictures of whatever he saw fit. This picture of their dog turned out beautifully! I sneezed a lot because I’m semi-allergic. But it was soo big and cute that I couldn’t resist petting it.