City of Change: 'inoteca

I don't think there is a single restaurant/bar in the city
that I have been to more than 'inoteca.  Seriously.
I can remember the first time that I went, and it was
actually by myself in that glorious summer of
2006 when I lived only a few blocks away.













photo credit

I had just come back from a Jersey visit and wanted
to treat myself to something in my neighborhood,
so I sat outside with a glass of prosecco and a meat platter
and people watched. It was glorious, I was 22.
Later that summer I had a birthday dinner there in
the basement,  I drank countless bottles of bubbles, and it
became this kind of home base.

I moved out of the LES that August but I never stopped going,
it stayed a staple for girls night dinners, a place to take out-of-towners,
and in the last couple years it has been a birthday lunch must-have
for when my Mom/sisters/nephew came up to celebrate.
I've never felt to gutted to learn that a place was closing.

I know that NYC is an ever evolving place of openings
and closings, but very rarely do you find a place that becomes
so a part of your life and so engrained in your history with a city.
I'm going tomorrow night for one more truffled egg toast,
one more girls night, and a few more bottles of wine.

Minimal

I often think about how I can change my life
in both large and small ways.  On one hand I
live in my own fantasy world-so there's that, but
on the other hand I try to look for different ways to
improve my quality of life.  Through Design*Sponge
I stumbled across their Minimalist Game and it made
me curious.  It's a topic that has been on my mind for awhile
and something I've started to put into slight practice.

Basically the challenge is 30 days of slowly eliminating
the unnecessary.  On day 1 you get rid of one thing, you
can trash it, recycle it, or give it away. The 2nd day 2 things
and so on-until you reach 30.

The Minimalist website has a lot of essays and one of them
touches on the sentimental and how you should get rid of
that stuff too.  If you know me at all, you'll know that I am far
too nostalgic and emotional to ever get rid of some of the
more sentimental items I've been hoarding over the years.

The question is, what does that mean? Do I need to let things go
in order to have a sense of freedom in my life?  Just because
minimalism seems appealing does that mean I have to go full force
and turn my house into an empty gallery space? For me I know that
the answer is no.  But maybe that is the nice thing about the challenge,
(and about everything) finding your own personal balance.

I think I will take the challenge and see how I feel at the end of 30 days,
please let me know if you are taking the challenge too. I'm always interested
to hear people's thoughts on this.

Iceland

An amazing thing about travel is finding different places
in this world that make you feel a certain way. Sometimes
you instantly feel like you're at home, or that you've been there
before.  Other times the electricity of the culture is so infectious
that you instantly feel inspired, and then there is a peaceful feeling
of no stress and a glimpse (no matter how sugar coated) of a way
of life that seems very appealing.

In Iceland I experienced the latter.

We spent 4 days and 3 nights in Reykjavik and celebrated
the husband's birthday during that time.  It was a magical trip,
and the best part was the lack of stress that we felt. But that's what
vacation should be, right?  A nice getaway, with a balance
of making sure you explore but not pushing yourself too hard.
















Reykjavik is small and very walkable, and with the exception of
Hallgrimskirkja (the epic church pictured above) there aren't really
a lot of tall buildings to make you feel trapped.  The city is open,
the air is fresh, and if you go down to the harbor you can see
all the way to the bottom. That's how clear the water is.
It's dreamy and invigorating- even in the dead of winter.















 I will say that any trip to Iceland,  should always begin and end
with a dip in the Blue Lagoon.  We arrived there first thing in the
morning and managed to catch the most amazing sunrise over the mountains.
Getting into a hot geothermal pool is truly the best way to recharge after
being on a plane for 5 hours and missing a whole night's sleep.




















I can't wait to visit again and see more
of the island.  What a magical place.

Latest Obsessions

*The Met
It is my perpetual safe-haven in this big city and some of the exhibits 
going on right now are truly worth checking out.  My favorites 
were Ink Art, tucked inside the asian wing, seriously some of the 
most beautiful (and inspiring) art I've seen in awhile. The second favorite
is of course William Kentridge's 'The Refusal of Time', an all-encompassing 
experience of music, film, and machines.  It's as if the room has a pulse.
I fought back tears a few times, the Met always makes me cry. 
(In the best way possible) It was such an inspiring visit, 
I came home and just wanted to create things- someday I'll post them.  
But for now, GO TO THE MET!

*Shake Shack Hot Chocolate
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine their hot chocolate 
would be so tasty! It was so rich- it had a salted caramel, milk chocolate 
flavors and it blew my mind.  Especially because I don't really like to 
eat milk chocolate anymore it's just too sweet.  But this had that great 
sweet/salty combo and I've been thinking about it ever since.

*Leaving for Iceland in 2 days
Can't believe this trip is here! So excited to celebrate the Husband's b-day
in Reykjavik, and a week away from work is pretty nice too.

*Telepan Local
This downtown outpost happens to be a short walk from work
and it makes me glad to know that delicious cocktails and bone marrow
arancini are only a few steps away.

*Mindy and Danny kissed!
I have to nerd out at some point and if you thought it was about the hot chocolate
you are so wrong because it's happening right now.  The tension between Mindy
and Danny on the Mindy Project has been slowly building and finally they
kissed-or well, totally made out in the service area of a plane.  Welcome to
the rom-com loving side of me.

Food Nostalgia

I've been sitting on Mom Mom's pierogi recipe
for about a year now.  Possibly too intimidated
to tackle it, or just didn't have the time.  I finally
made them yesterday, and the result was more
perfect than I could have ever imagined.

The first bite was like Christmas Eve, really!
Because that is the one time each year when the
family gets to have her pierogi. The cousins have contests
to see who can eat the most, I think the highest I ever
got to was about 8 of them. These little things pack
an intense nostalgia trip, and I love it.

One recipe makes about 50 so if you are at all curious
about these little treats, please stop by. I have plenty.
I'll serve them pan fried with some caramelized onions.

Goals: 2014

*Take care of my body and mind

*Create things as often as possible

*See the beauty in each day

*Be positive

*Be kind

*Appreciate time with family and friends

*Travel as much as possible

*Learn about and drink great wine

*Send letters

Have a Happy..

Wishing everyone a safe, happy, and healthy New Year!