AC BABY!

#25 Go to Atlantic City / #87 Go dancing at least 3 times a year

Check off that first Travel 101Thing! Woo!!! My friend Katie had her Bachelorette Party this weekend and we headed down to AC for the festivities! It was a really fun time, mostly involving drinking, and we went to a 70s-80s themed club Sat night to dance our asses off. Good times were had by all!


AC!


Me with the Bride-to-Be

Getting Beyond my Reader's Block

#2 Read 1 new book every 2 months
So when I wrote my 101 List, I was fresh off reading 3 of the 4 books out in a Fantasy Series (which will end up being 7 books) that Justin had me and our group of friends all start reading. It's a really good read with an exciting and interesting story (it's even being made into an HBO show sometime soon). Anyway, the first 3 books were really wonderful and a quick read once I got into it, but then I got to book 4, which is a lot slower and introduces new characters and is just not quite as good as the previous books. I've read like 2/3rds of it, but it just become something I didn't NEED to read and therefore I wasn't picking it up before bed like I had been for the prior months. So because I wasn't finishing this book, I wasn't able to start any new books, which I really wanted to!

Fast forward to this summer, when we went to a birthday party for one of Justin's best friends from high school and saw his old friends that he hadn't seen in years. Well, one of the girls is now a novelist of tween books! As soon as we heard this, I immediately added it to my queue in the library and finally got it a couple weeks ago! Well, it was the cutest, most fun book - we both just adored it. It could be the next Gossip Girl as far as I'm concerned, it's super clever with tons of humor and pop culture references and I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a fan of this tween series - I can't wait for the next book to come out!!

Cupcake Crawls Should Not Happen in August

#13 Taste cupcakes from at least 10 new places (with Lawrence and Rachel from CupcakeRankings.com)
#14 Go to brunch once every 2 months

We wanted to squeeze in one last Cupcake Crawl before Lawrence left for DC, so we scheduled one for his last Sunday in NYC. We went down to the Tribeca/Wall Street Area for brunch at Kitchenette (followed by cupcakes there, at Soda Shop, and Tribeca Treats). We then decided to sit in this cute little area with a fountain, benches, and lots of tourists. Unfortunately, it was like a thousand degrees and it definitely did not go along with eating cupcakes. And worse, the cupcakes were pretty dismal anyway.


Rachel and Justin at Kitchenette


Delicious brunch


The cupcake display


Me and Lawrence before testing our first cupcake


Soda Shoppe Cupcakes


Tribeca Treats Cupcakes

Fore!

#3 Have Justin teach me how to golf
Ok, so I suppose I shouldn't count this as COMPLETE til I actually know how to play golf...but I wasn't that specific was I??? So a few weeks ago, J and I went with his family to his Grandma's house in the Poconos, which is on a golf course. The men went out to play golf all day (27 holes total). I went with the women to the flea market (where I happened to get a couple lovely necklaces) and then joined Justin for the last 9 holes. I actually did it! I hit the ball and everything! Gonna post some pictures to prove it...

Hot is an Understatement...

#29 Go to Hot Yoga with Katie

One of the biggest accomplishments as far as I'm concerned off of the 101 List! After about a year of asking me to come to Hot Yoga, I finally buckled, made a commitment (there was drinking involved) and stuck to it!! Crazy!

So my experience wasn't horrible. It was really hard! I was worried about the heat and how I would be able to handle it. I mean, it is HOT. Beyond hot. You are COVERED in sweat, dripping, slippery sweat. There's nothing you can even do about it. The yoga poses at least at first, weren't as daunting (thank you Wii Fit Yoga!) but after about 45 minutes, I started to get a little light-headed/dizzy and had to sit out a few of the poses. But I did stay in the room and for that I am very proud! Plus Katie told me that I did really well for a newbie!!

As much as I (sort of) liked the whole experience, the idea of spending an hour and a half multiple times a week doing yoga in a hot and very smelly (there was no acclimating) room that isn't even close to my apartment just doesn't seem to make sense. I will say that my Indian dinner that night was insanely good tho :)

Home is Where the Grill Is

#46 Get an indoor grill/grill plate
#98 Move into a 1-bedroom apartment with Justin #46 Get an indoor grill/grill plate

Ok, so Justin and I didn't move in to a 1-bedroom....BUT, we moved into a LARGER studio with a TERRACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Which is sort of like having another room. So...CHECK! WOOO!!!!!! We just moved and love love love our apartment. It's so cute and big and pretty. Moving was hectic, but it all worked out in the end and now we're sooooooooo happy. And our terrace is insane!!!!!!!! Who needs an indoor grill suckas!!!! I got me the REAL DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!

Please enjoy these pics of our new humble abode...


The Bedroom


The Living Room


Posing on the terrace with our view of the Chrysler Building


Justin grilling on the terrace

Restaurant Week @ Fig & Olive!

#11: Try a new restaurant every month
#12: Go to a restaurant for Restaurant Week once per year

Last night was our first Restaurant Week dinner of the year (and of my 101 Things!). We went to Fig & Olive on 52nd between 5th and Madison with Lawrence, Rachel, and Dave.


We sat at that table on the right!

Here is the Restaurant Week Menu.

For appetizer, I had the Tuna Tartar - which was absolutely fabulous, super flavorful and refreshing. For my entree, I had the Lamb Skewers with Couscous which had this delicious honey yogurt sauce that was just so different. Justin got a Filet off the seasonal menu, which had a Herbs de Provence butter atop it. Everything was cooked perfectly and very tasty. For dessert, I switched my Strawberries and Gelato (which I only picked because Justin asked me to) with Rachel's Chocolate Pot de Creme, which was heavenly. Justin got a warm apple tart, which was also tasty, and quite pretty, but not the best apple tart we've had. We also drank a bottle of Robalino, a Spanish white wine, which was sweet and delicious!

All in all - we all very much enjoyed the restaurant. The atmosphere was lovely, the service was good, the food was excellent. Great success!

Tomorrow is Another Day!

#4: Watch all of AFI's 100 best movies of all time

Justin and I partook in another classic on Sunday night - Gone with the Wind!



This is one classic I've been really excited to re-watch. I've seen it a few times before and loved it - I even own the DVD. Re-watching these movies now that I'm older (and have to listen to Justin's gripes) has been an interesting experience. When I was younger and super into old movies, they could do no wrong, I just loved them all so much. Now, I still adore these old movies, but can allow myself to see some flaws here and there or have some complaints. Knowing that Justin has a different mindset when watching these movies, maybe just since he hasn't seen as many as I have, he can't help but compare them to movies nowadays, which you really can't. I think he enjoys making jokes about old movies more than actually watching them!

Anyway, I was a little worried that on a Sunday night, I might not want to watch the full epic that is Gone with the Wind (which is a 2 disc set totalling 4 hours) - but I was still riveted! I love the music, the colors (love when they show a dark Scarlet standing in front of a breathtaking sunset or sunrise), the characters, the drama. I do realize that the second half of the movie is much slower/less interesting than the first and could have easily been shortened.

Oh well...I think that in the future, whenever Justin opens his mouth to complain, I'm just going channel Scarlett and say one thing to him: Fiddle-dee-dee!

Reviews:
FilmSite.org
ReelViews
Roger Ebert

New Apartment and New Comforter!

#99: Buy a nice comforter
#100: Move into a 1-bedroom apartment with Justin

So, big news this week for these 2 101Things! Justin and I are MOVING!!! Ok, so it's not a one-bedroom...but I'm going to count it anyway!!! Mainly cause we're going to sign a 2 year lease, so we won't be moving into a 1-bedroom until after that at the earliest. Plus, this apartment is BIGGER! A larger studio with...wait for it...a HUMONGOUS TERRACE! Oh yea, that's right. We're gonna get a grill and patio furniture and everything. Hurrah! Pictures to come after we officially move in mid-August, but for now you can take a look at our brand new comforter from Target:

Eating Out on the UES

#11: Try a new restaurant every month

Last Tuesday we tried out a new restaurant while visiting Justin's sister on the Upper East side, called Blue Moon. It was a Mexican place, but it looked more like a bar, and had some tables outside so we could enjoy the lovely summer weather. The food was DELISH - I had a roasted veggie burrito that was super flavorful. It might have been one of my top burritos ever, I'd love to have that more often. They also had a lovely drink special with $4 margaritas after 7:30 (for 50 extra cents, they have a multitude of fruity flavors). Two thumbs up!