I did it!

It has taken me weeks to figure out how to get back into my blog so I can post. I am technologically disinclined and anytime I encounter the slightest bit of trouble I throw up my hands and vow to figure it out later. Well, it's later!

This weekend I'm going to an event at an art gallery with Catherine and then to Colicchio & Sons Tap Room for dinner. Should be a good time, I will post some pictures when all is said and done!

Pete and I haven't been getting out much these days. The holidays were busy and it's been cold (duh). We did manage to go out for New Year's Eve dinner and it was AWFUL. Wish we'd stayed home and saved the money. On the upside, though, the food was laughably bad! That sounds like a bad thing, but we were literally laughing at how bad it was. I love being married to someone so laid back. It makes everything an adventure instead of a debacle.

Anyway, can't wait to share the details from the upcoming weekend. Hope everyone is well and staying warm!

Leigh

Two weekends' worth of random fun

Hi again! I was derelict in my blogging duties last weekend so I'm making up for it now.

Last weekend we decided to go to the Lower East Side. We spend a lot of time in neighborhoods in that area. The architecture is really cool, there are tons of restaurants and bars and shops, and it's a lot less pretentious than similarly artsy neighborhoods on the West Side.

We started off at La Taqueria, a cheap taco place that I had heard good things about. Holy moly, it was every bit as amazing as I'd hoped. $2.50 lamb tacos... I can't wait to go back and try other stuff on their menu! The next people who visit us will definitely be going on a trip there! After lunch we wandered around the neighborhood and took some cool pictures of a building on the corner of Stanton on Bowery.

This weekend we accidentally ended up spending Saturday in Fort Greene after a trip to the most wretched, horrible Target store on the planet. We went to lunch at The Smoke Joint, a barbecue restaurant, and then stumbled on a huge flea market, of which I got no pictures because it was too crowded and discombobulating. Naturally, my sugar craving kicked in after a bit and we went to a little dessert shop on the recommendation of our server at the barbecue place. We got a piece of apple pie with salted caramel ice cream and a giant cream puff filled with chocolate cream. They were both ridiculously good! This is another place on my list for visitors, so get your asses out here! Until then, please to enjoy some pictures below:

This is Pete and me in a park just off Bowery. I also wanted to take a picture of a real life hooker, but he wouldn't let me.

This is just part of the cool graffiti on the building.

Weird tile hummingbirds. Kind of cool, huh?

This is a shot of the whole side of the building. There are so many layers of paint and plastered ads and whatnot that it looks really textured up close.

This is a gorgeous tree in Fort Greene. The whole neighborhood was surprisingly beautiful.

A shot of a classic brownstone block in Fort Greene.

Pete said he used to take a bus that went by this church about 15-20 years ago when he worked in the area and the gargoyles scared the bejesus out of him. He wondered who the hell would want to pray in such an evil-looking building.

 

 

 

 So that's that! Two weeks' worth of exploring. I'm so glad we got out and got some pictures while the trees were still turning. New Yorkers really make an effort to preserve and maintain what little green space there is, it's nice to see the fruits (ha!) of their labor. The next two weekends we'll be back in good ol' Nebraska but I'm already plotting our next adventure.

xoxo,

Leigh

Extreme Couponing - NYC Style

Hola familia! That's how fancy people say hello.

 Pete and I ventured out in horrible weather this weekend for a trip to the Gramercy/Flatiron neighborhood. It was windy, sleeting, snowing, and raining, but we survived. Earlier in the week I had found a deal online for 1/2 price admission to the Museum of Sex and another for 40% off a restaurant near the museum that was supposed to be good. Big failure on both counts! The museum was a total snooze. I am rather prudish, so I though at least something would be shocking or provocative or enlightening. It wasn't. The first level was basically a big display of porn, which is horribly uncomfortable to watch in the presence of strangers. The second level was all about fetishes but it was just more funny than anything else. The third level was about animal sex, which felt like being trapped in an episode of something on National Geographic. The most interesting level had a display of sexuality in cartoons over the years (e.g. Disney, etc.). Even that only kept us entertained for about 5 minutes. We went downstairs to the bar in the museum and had a drink. I ordered something with Wild Turkey in it. It was... undrinkable. And I am not a picky drinker. The restaurant was nothing special at all, so I'm glad it was fairly cheap.

One funny story: I had printed the coupons from online and folded them and put them in my bag separately. When it came time to pay our bill at the restaurant I got out one of the coupons and didn't check to see which one it was. The restaurant owner opened it and said in front of everyone "Museum of Sex?! Uhhh..." I was mortified, but it was funny and we were two of about 6 people in the whole place.

After the mediocre museum and mediocre restaurant we went to Rodeo Bar for a couple of beers and then to Lillian's Victorian, a bar & restaurant near Union Square, where we shared an order of macaroni & cheese and some calamari. I'll post some pictures of it below, it had a marble bar that had to be at least 30 feet long! Very cool space.

 Petey and I, obviously.

 This is a picture of the woodwork surrounding the bar. I wish it wasn't covered with tacky Halloween decorations, but what can you do?

A photo shot from our spot at the end of the bar all the way down. I am a terrible photographer, I wish I could capture just how expansive it is. Maybe that's only impressive if you live in a city where a 500 sq ft studio is considered plenty spacious for two adults!

That's all for now! We haven't discussed this weekend's plans, since they're totally contingent on NYC's unpredictable weather, but I'm dying to visit the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. I'll have to see if I can find some coupons...

xoxo,

Leigh

Hi everyone!

It's weird trying to write to an invisible audience. This is my introductory blog post, so please be patient while I figure out how to post pictures and stuff. I'm not so tech-savvy. My iPhone still frightens me.

Pete and I actually have nothing news-worthy to share this weekend. Friday night Catherine and I went to a fancy place called The Monday Room to have drinks and appetizers. It was worth every exorbitant penny! We shared a glazed eel and quail egg appetizer, venison sliders, and a side of fried Brussels sprouts. I wish I had taken a few photos of our food because it was as pretty as it was delicious! Afterwards, slightly tipsy and still hungry, we went to Balthazar and sat at the bar to have one more drink and an order of escargot with a side of fries. Catherine stabbed me with her escargot fork by accident (those things are sharp!) and I thought 5 of the six escargot shells were empty because we had some trouble extracting the meat. Luckily, it turns out I'm just dumb and a little banging them upside-down on the plate got the little suckers to cooperate.

Next weekend I think Pete and I will try to get up to the Highline park and maybe the Standard Biergarten if it's not too cold. For now I'm posting some random pictures (with captions, if I can figure out how to do that) so you can see what we've been up to. I hope you enjoy the blog!

 Ah, the Chelsea Hotel. Unfortunately it's recently closed but we got a few shots of the exterior and it's one of my favorite buildings in NYC.

 Pete and I outside Whitman's on East 9th Street. We went for drinks with the people who designed our wedding jewelry. They've moved their shop from 9th Street to Lafayette Street and it makes me so sad!

 Pete had to wrench his arm through a locked gate with the camera pointing up to get this shot of the entrance to the NY Life building by Madison Square Park. I love that building too.

 We are total bumpkins. This is a shot of the window display at the Valentino store on Madison Avenue. If you look closely you can see my face going "ooooh!"

 One of those things in NYC that you would think everyone would know, but no one does. This is where the Titanic would have docked had it made it to its destination. We got this shot on a really fun day along the Westside Highway.

I love the colors in this shot. This is some random house in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that we thought was cool. That was one of those days that started really rocky! We got off the train at the wrong stop and walked probably 1 1/2 miles in horrible heat and humidity before we found the fun part of Williamsburg. We made up for it by having one too many beers at lunch and buying me a vintage dress! 

Anyway, that's all for now, but I'll keep posting!

xoxo,

Leigh