I’m back home!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Okay. I’m not really THAT excited. But I’m trying to be positive. I was home alone yesterday for only 1 hour while my mom went out to run some errands and it was SO. QUIET. I was aching for the NYC hustle and [...]]]> …but you can’t take the NYC out of the girl!

I’m back home!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Okay. I’m not really THAT excited. But I’m trying to be positive. I was home alone yesterday for only 1 hour while my mom went out to run some errands and it was SO. QUIET. I was aching for the NYC hustle and bustle that I am used to hearing so clearly through [even my closed] window every day. Even if I’m inside in NYC, I still feel like there’s so much going on all around me!

But truthfully, it’s nice to be home. Like Diana said in response to yesterday’s post, ‘there’s nothing like being close to family’.And the quiet and calm of Winnipeg can sometimes be nice. I think it will be a good change for me… for now

On my last day in New York I finally got a chance to see BF’s office

The view of the yellow cabs below

Brushing up on my commercial law knowledge

Then it was off to Gotham Comedy club for a show. And then to Blue Water Grill for my final NYC dinner.

Sipping on an amazing summer cocktail made with mango-infused rum, lychee juice, lemon juice and Riesling

We spilt the Blue Water Grill Chopped Salad with cucumber, feta cheese, tomatoes, kalamata olives, roasted peppers, capers

And the Shrimp and Lobster Spring Rolls. Both were super yummy!

And we each got Jumbo Shrimp & Diver Sea Scallops with lemon-mustard vinaigrette as our entree. I’m going to have to recreate that lemon mustard sauce… it was tangy and amazinnng!
  
And then bright and early the next morning I was in a cab on the way to La Guardia, leaving the city behind.
 
A few hours later I was home…

My mom took me straight to the grocery store to get my “special food”. I was pleased to discover a new “Natural Foods” section!

The even had goat cheddar!

And goat yogurt!

When we got home I made us wraps for dinner with whole wheat tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, basil, cheese (new goat cheese for me!), hummus and salsa!
 
Fresh and delicious.

Then I proceeded to attack a watermelon
 
It was for its own good!

And this article from today’s Winnipeg Free Press was a nice welcome home

Complete with a list of famers’ markets I can visit!!!

Also, I think I may invest in a bike. I’m not the worlds best driver, and I need SOME way to get around town without endangering others on the road! If you have any tips on buying a good bike or helmet, let me know!!!

How do you get around? By bus, car, subway, bike, on foot?

When I first moved here, I knew it was only for an indefinite period of time… and even though I’ve been lucky enough to have lived here for 10 months, [...]]]> Today is my last day in New York. I’m packing up all my things and moving home to Winnipeg…at least for now.

When I first moved here, I knew it was only for an indefinite period of time… and even though I’ve been lucky enough to have lived here for 10 months, well, you can never really have enough time in NYC! Perhaps I will be back one day, maybe soon, maybe not so soon (I hope it’s the former!). But for now, I just want to appreciate having lived here, and the amazing things I’ve gotten to do.

JH and I decided to celebrate my departure by attending a dance class at Alvin Ailey and then venturing out on our own Sex and the City tour of NYC!

Ready…

Set…

JUMP!!!

JH Flyin’ high!
 
Afterwards we celebrated with a little babycakes action

Yummy  

After quickly changing, we grabbed The Book and The Map and set off on our Sex and the City tour.

First stop was the Patricia Field (SATC’s costume designer) store on The Bowery.
 
Very Carrie
 
                                            
Next we went to the NY Public Library, the sight of Carrie’s almost wedding.
 
Reading on the steps…

Er…?
  

Afterwards, we made a pit stop into a little gift shop to get me some NY paraphernalia
While there, we visited Broadway! 

And Harlem.

Next it was off to Manolo Blahnik. For the shoes. The shoes!!!!
    
“Hello Lover”

And then, of course, we went to Tiffany’s
 
The sight of Trey’s “proposal” to Charotte. Where she said “Alrighty”. 

Finally, We attempted to go to Carrie’s apartment stairs… but, alas, we did not manage to find our way there.

A bit defeated, we considered having some Tasti D Lite, the treat the SATC girls love so much.

But instead opted for Pinkberry
 
…And it was fabulous!

I’m going to be sad to leave NYC… but, there are many things I’m looking forward to about going home – family, swimming pools!, the lake, my cabin, tennis, relaxing, reading, movies…  I sure will miss New York though. But it, along with the places and people I’ve spent my time with here, will always be there for me to visit!

As Carrie says…

“After all, seasons change, so do cities, people come into your life and they go. But it’s comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart… and if you’re very lucky, a plane ride away”

When I found a recipe for it online, I was thrilled! I promptly went out and bought the ingredients to make it!

Into an [...]]]> I love chopped salad. I’ve made a few different kinds a couple times on the blog but my favorite chopped salad I’ve ever had was at Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach.

When I found a recipe for it online, I was thrilled! I promptly went out and bought the ingredients to make it!

Into an old salsa jar went

* 1/2 cup chopped white onion
* 3 tbsp minced fresh parsley
* 4 tbsp chopped pimento
* 1 tsp cane sugar
* 1 tsp salt
* a couple shakes of red pepper flakes
* 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
* 3/4 cup olive oil

Shake shake shake! And into the fridge in goes!

Into a bowl went chopped tomatoes, cukes, red onion, black olives and carrot

Then I chopped up 2 hardboiled eggs

Onto the salad they went along with chopped up romaine lettuce
 
Mixed up! Then time for goat feta!

I served it with the chilled dressing and it was yummy… but not quite satisfying. To be completely honest, because it is traditionally made with iceberg lettuce, I think it would have actually tasted better with it instead of romaine. But iceberg = nutritionally void, so I may just substitute half iceberg lettuce next time. It needs that crunch. Also, I would recommend making the dressing a day in advance to let the flavors all meld together. And I think, instead of all apple cider vinegar, next time I would use either 1/3 or 1/2 lemon juice. 

Definitely something I am going to try again at home!

Onto the bronze… If you follow me on twitter, you would have seen that I tweeted about getting my first airbrush tan today. Basically, getting an airbrush tan is something that I’ve wanted to try for a long time… just to do it once to see what it was all about. Many dermatologists recommend it as a “safer” alternative to tanning in tanning beds or the sun. I did a post on sunless tanner a little bit ago, and I think that it is something that I wouldn’t recommend doing frequently, but once in a while is probably okay. It’s probably something I wouldn’t do more than once a year.

Anyway, I decided that if I was going to do it, I should do it while in NYC, because I thought there would be a well known place here that wouldn’t turn me orange! So this morning I went to Brazil Bronze Glow Bar in Soho to get spray tanned!

I had a great experience! The lady who tanned me was extremely friendly and asked me exactly what kind of color I was looking for. I said the lightest possible! She was great with telling me all the different positions to do and all about after-care etc. I was in and out in about 20 minutes!

Here are my before and after pics! The after picture was literally right after I had it done. The color has REALLY developed in the last couple hours since then and I now look like I’ve been on a hot vacay somewhere!

Before                                                           After
   
Please excuse my messy hair

The lady who tanned me said that after my shower tomorrow (you’re not supposed to shower until the next morning) the deep color that I see now will come off and I will look much more natural. I hope so – BF says I look like he took a remote and turned the contrast way up on me. Ha! I’m sure once I shower I will look much more normal!

Have you ever had an airbrush tan/spray tan? Are you happy with your natural skin tone? Do you like it when you look darker? Lighter?

I used to be very very self conscious about my pale skin. When I was younger I used to do everything possible to try and look more tanned! But in the last year, I’ve actually grown to like and appreciate my porcelain skin tone. So, after a week, when this tan fades I’ll probably stick to my regular old skin color for now on (though, it is pretty fun to be all bronzed!)

By the time [...]]]> I hate being sick, I feel so unproductive! Yesterday I tried to get out of the apartment for a bit. I went to pick up dry cleaning, then I picked up some “sick staples” for myself such as soup and OJ. I spent most of the day on the couch though.

By the time 5pm rolled around I was itching to do something. I am not really a sit still type of person. I get fidgety! So I told BF that I was going to make him a special dinner, whatever he wanted. My appetite hasn’t been great lately, and all I’ve really wanted was soup. But I thought I could use this as an opportunity to whip up a fun dinner for BF!

He requested Shrimp Scampi and Caprese salad. And I happily obliged.

The star of last night’s dinner was our organic basil plant Betsey, who is still FLOURISHING!

Shrimp Scampi

This shrimp scampi was made by sautéing some raw shrimp in a combination of earth balance and olive oil along with some minced garlic. After the shrimp was cooked through I added in some salt & pepper, took it off the heat and added in the basil, some lemon juice and lemon zest and red pepper flakes. Then I tossed it with some whole grain linguine.

Next was the caprese salad.

It was pretty simple to make! I picked up some fresh mozzarella and then sliced both it and some tomatoes into rounds. And then layered them with basil. Finally I drizzled on some EVOO and topped it with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
 
I ended up sharing a bit of dinner with BF, it looked too delicious to pass up! I don’t want to toot my own horn… but it WAS! Especially the salad. I don’t think I can ever order it at a restaurant again when I can make it like this at home! BF agreed. He said it was better than restaurant quality! (I take that as the highest form of food flattery!)

I wanted to incorporate some fruit into dessert. So I made fondue! 
No words!
 

It was the perfect dinner! I was pretty pleased with myself Feelings of unproductiveness = gone!

This mornings breakfast incorporated the leftover fruit, as well as a mango, orange, banana smoothie. 
 

So…I officially have ONE WEEK LEFT in NYC! So depressing I really have to get a move on my list. I think I need to schedule things in!!! JH is taking the day off on the 18th, so I am hoping to squeeze in LOTS of NYC fun on that day!

So, with witnesses, you people, I am going to schedule in my list so I am accountable!!! Here it goes:

• At least two more Broadway shows (Saw one, will try and catch another show this week, maybe In the Heights!)
• Di Fara’s Pizza (Saturday! – After Brooklyn Bridge run)
• One more LES stroll (including The Pickle Guys, babycakes, and Russ & Daughters) (Monday)
• Crumbs Cupcake
• My own Sex and the City tour! (Sunday, with JH)
• Trapeze! (erm…possibly on Thursday morning?..if I get up the guts!)
• At least one fancy restaurant (sort of done, but would like to go to another, maybe this Friday night)
• Brooklyn Bridge run (Saturday, with BF, before Di Fara’s)
• Picnic in Central Park (Saturday or Sunday – along with Museum visit)
• West side esplanade run (Monday morning or evening)
• Rent a bike + bike around the city (or Governors Island) (Friday during the day)
• Visit the New York Public Library (Either tomorrow, Thursday or Sunday, with JH)
• One last time exploring Times Square (Sunday, with JH)
• One more museum (preferably the American Museum of Natural History)(Saturday or Sunday, before or after park picnic)
• Karaoke (Saturday night? haha)
• Baseball Game! (No idea! May not get to this one)

Okay, it’s all planned out! I think I can allow myself 1 more sick day today.  I’m so sad to be leaving so soon!

Have you lived in more than one place? What’s your favorite place you’ve lived? If not, what is your dream city to live in?

I’ve lived in 4 places (Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and NYC). NYC has always been my “dream” city. But Montreal was an amazing place to live as well! I love them both in different ways!

I had a super eventful day yesterday, so I’ll try to keep the words to a minimum and the pictures plentiful!

Dinner the other night consisted of roasted rainbow carrots from the greenmarket! How amazing are these colors??!!    All I did was sprinkle [...]]]> Happy Friday!

I had a super eventful day yesterday, so I’ll try to keep the words to a minimum and the pictures plentiful!

Dinner the other night consisted of roasted rainbow carrots from the greenmarket!
How amazing are these colors??!!
  
All I did was sprinkle on EVOO, S&P and some dill and roasted them at 400 for 30 mins!

Roasted and delicious! How crazy are those purple carrots??!!!

And…We bought a new plant! Remember Bill the dill plant? Well this is Betsey the basil plant. I’ll try and take better care of her than I did Bill  
 
I used the fresh basil in our main dish, Penne with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese from my favorite lady Giada!
  
Our dinner!
 
I topped mine with toasted walnuts. Mmm! I also used brown rice penne instead of white.
 

Yesterday morning I ventured to BROADWAY to get some student tickets for Promises, Promises. 
 
I am a HUGE fan of Broadway and musicals, so seeing at least one more was on my NYC Bucket list! But to see my absolute FAVORITE Broadway actress Kristin Chenoweth. Well… I was pretty excited! 

As you can see from the above photo, the Broadway Theatre is right next to a Crumbs. Another thing on my list was to get one last Crumbs cupcake! So, of course I did! And I got my favorite – Red Velvet. I’m going to try and savor it throughout the weekend.
We’ll see how long that lasts

I also stopped by a dance store in the area to pick up a new leotard. I found one that fit perfectly , so I bought it in 2 different colors!
 
Then, I went home, relaxed for a bit and then I headed to Alvin for my first ZUMBA class!  
I LOVED IT! Our instructor Ben was unreal!! And I had SO much fun and got SO sweaty. Definitely going back!

And then it was off to the show!!!!

We were a little far back. But I guess that’s what you get for student prices
 
It was great! I mean, like I said to my show companions Rosie and JH, I would think Kristin Chenoweth standing on a stage doing nothing for an hour would be great But actually, I really enjoyed it and Sean Hayes was wonderful and there were a couple other standout performances as well.
 
Sean Hayes after the show!

Didn’t get a great picture of Kristin So many swarming fans!
 
But I did get her autograph! Special thanks to Rosie and her GIANT heels!

Yesterday was so much fun and just reminds me why I love New York so much!

Are you a Broadway/Musical fan? Have a favorite show?

Last night we had a bit of a mix-up with plans, so JH and I got to watch the July 4th fireworks from…    A parking garage!   Haha. It wasn’t so bad. We got an okay [...]]]> Happy 5th of July – aka Day of Relaxation

Last night we had a bit of a mix-up with plans, so JH and I got to watch the July 4th fireworks from… 
 
A parking garage!
 
Haha. It wasn’t so bad. We got an okay view and made the best of it with some fun pics and videos.
     
 
Later we met up with my friend Amanda and her friends in the West Village.

We wanted a snack when we came home, so I whipped up some White Bean Guacamole that I happened to see today on Peas and Thank You.

It was delicious and smooth, but I happen to be a chunky guac fan, so I added in some tomatoes and chopped up garlic scape bulbs.

Oooo it was garlicky!

Not sure what dinner holds in store for us… hopefully something yummy! Sunshine makes me hungry! Also, we may possibly see Eclipse this evening. I’m not a crazy screaming Twilight fan and actually haven’t seen any of the Twilight movies in theatres. But I saw the first one last year and recently watched the second one and Robert Pattinson it has definitely grown on me.

Hope you had a super fun weekend!!!

Are you a Twilight fan? Have you ever been really obsessed with any movie/ book series?

Yesterday, we picked up some delicious groceries to use in a special dinner. I had been craving scallops so I decided to make them myself. We bought some sweet bay scallops and I decided to cook them with some onions, white wine, lemon and garlic scapes!  

I [...]]]> Happy 4th of July American friends!

Yesterday, we picked up some delicious groceries to use in a special dinner. I had been craving scallops so I decided to make them myself. We bought some sweet bay scallops and I decided to cook them with some onions, white wine, lemon and garlic scapes!
 

I learned at the farmers market that you can use the little bulbs just like garlic and then chop up the top part of the stem to use as well!

I cooked up the scallops and put on top of quinoa pasta and white beans.

Unfortunately, I was too excited by the finished product and ate it all before I remembered that I hadn’t taken a photo

At the same time I made dinner, I used our new farmers market cucumber and dill to make a marinated cucumber salad!

Marinated Cucumbers and Dill

What You’ll Need:

• 1 peeled and sliced English cucumber (click and scroll down to see cucumber design tip)
• 1/2  red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp agave (or 1.5 tbsp sugar)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Lots of chopped fresh dill!

Directions:

Blot cucumber slices with paper towel. Combine cucumbers, vinegar, agave (or sugar), salt, pepper and dill. Toss to coat cucumber. Cover and chill for at least a couple hours.

 
Mmm, I love dill SO much! And this is such a refreshing summer salad.

I had my cucumbers along with a poached egg and toast this morning

Today, in the hot hot heat, we walked along The Highline
 

We stopped for some gelato. I got coffee flavored! Mmmm!
 
Fun tidbit about me – I LOVE the flavor and smell of coffee  and I love coffee ice cream. But I don’t drink coffee, ever, because it makes me too jittery!

Afterwards we walked around the area, and passed by this gorgeous building!

And then stopped at the Chelsea Market for a bit before deciding we need to go home and get out of the heat!

I believe I’m watching fireworks somewhere this evening! Hope you’re having a wonderful day and are wearing lots of sunscreen

When it’s really hot out do you feel more like a cool drink or a cool snack – like ice cream?

I think when it’s hot during the day, I’d rather have a cool drink. But if it’s a warm evening, I’m ALL about the ice cream!

We each got a Molson Canadian beer for occasion! Me and JH

A better view.  

I honestly am not a huge beer [...]]]> Canada Day on Thursday was lots of fun! We went out to celebrate with the other Canadians in New York.

We each got a Molson Canadian beer for occasion!

Me and JH

A better view.
 

I honestly am not a huge beer fan, but it was Canada day, so…you know

And what do you need the day after a crazy Canadian beer filled party?

Some delicious coconut water!

And lentil salad! – I think I’m actually slightly obsessed with lentil salad at the moment
 

This morning I went to a body conditioning class and then to the Union Square Greenmarket

It was a lovely lovely day out today!

I tried some fruit spread

Bought some chocolate mint, which I heard about through Ilana!!!

Can’t wait to use it!

Explaining to us curious customers about garlic scapes – which I bought a bunch of!
 

Also bought some delicious multi-colored carrots!

Among other veggies.

Came home and made myself an open faced soft cheese, lettuce, tomato and balsamic sandwich.  

It was refreshing and delicious!

I have lots of friends in town this weekend, so tonight should be tons of fun!!!

Hope you’re having a fabulous weekend filled with delicious food and friends!

What are your 4th of July plans?