Rockefeller Center

I played tourist on my lunch hour today. Rockefeller Center is a quick, 1-stop subway ride from my office.

 I should do more of these excursions.

 

Doesn't this look like fun? -- Enjoying lunch while watching the skaters. 

St. Patrick's Cathedral

 

Yes, I was surprised that the rink is still open, too! All good skaters; nobody was falling!

Irish blood

I called my savvy genealogist father to confirm which lines of our family tree had the Irish blood. I knew about my paternal Grandmother's father being Irish but wasn't sure if anybody else had it in them. My Dad confirmed that Henrietta Clark, my paternal third-Great-Grandmother, was Irish. He can't quite prove it, but we're told by my Great Aunt Emma that she had heard that she sang Irish songs. That's good enough for me. 

Our celebration began with an 8 am breakfast with Mrs. Robinson at where else but at Raymond's! (Chrissy works at 10 in a neighboring town -- that's why so early!)

Yes, reader, I did get Scott babe out of bed!

 

Our local pub, Egan and Sons was opening their doors early for St. Patrick's Day and I had it marked on our calendar. Scott thought I was nuts to want to drink so early, but I remembered when we attended their celebration, 5 years ago, that Scott didn't like the crowded outdoor tent. They were doing the tent again this year, but the outdoor activities weren't starting until at 1 o'clock. I knew it would be tame and calm if we went at 10 am and that's just what we did. We were the second ones to arrive and the first to order Guinness. ♥

A Patch of clover during our walk to Egan's.

How apropos that our bartender's name was Patrick! (fyi - Scott was happy that it wasn't crowded)

 Patrick making the "Car Bomb" for another patron

The Car Bomb:
3/4 pint Guinness® stout
1/2 shot Bailey's® Irish cream
1/2 shot Jameson® Irish whiskey
Add the Bailey's and Jameson to a shot glass, layering the Bailey's on the bottom. Pour the Guinness into a pint glass or beer mug 3/4 of the way full and let settle. Drop the shot glass into the Guinness and chug. If you don't drink it fast enough it will curdle and increasingly taste worse.

 Walking back home: baby with a bark

Our blossoming magnolia tree

 3:55 pm - My girlfriend Michele's Blackberry photo of the Chicago river dyed green!

♣ Our day isn't over! We napped with the Pooch and were rested for our evening in the city to celebrate Katie's 30th birthday. 

 Our first stop, a quick bite at Pop Burger. Our first time and (maybe) last time!

Scott thought they really phoned it in with the hot dog bun for his lobster roll.

Katie's party at The Tippler (under Chelsea Market) -- Such a cool space. I highly recommend it to you guys. We were encouraged to bring friends and I was happy that Deana was able to join us!

Early spring

Lauren turned 30 on Sunday and celebrated again this evening at the champagne bar, Flute. Reader, I'm going to let you in on a secret -- it's 2 for the price of 1 on Tuesdays and, for NYC, this is a deal you cannot pass up!

Matt had surprised Lauren with Pippa Middleton's Modalu bag on her birthday and I was excited to see it in person.

Here are a couple of fun Pippa links for those of you who are into Pippa or into bags! :-)
♥ Pippa's style obsession
♥ Pippa looking red hot

After a couple of glasses of Prosecco, I headed home. The evening was just GORGEOUS -- our thermometer outside our kitchen window read 66 degrees! Scott and I had a delicious dinner at Salutè and sat outside. Hello Spring!

Salute was packed when we arrived; I snapped this pic when we were leaving.

One of the appetizer specials was the Tuna Tartare. I surprised Scott in ordering it. "You know that's raw, right?", he said. Yup! As long as there is no seaweed, I'm good to go! It was delicious. (And so was the chocolate dessert!)

These "Tower of Fire Glass Tube Patio Heaters" were awesome to look at. They are also at Salutè's sister restaurant, Fin, up the street. Scott Babe told me the science behind them but after the Prosecco earlier this evening and then a little bit of red wine, all I can remember now is that the blue flame is hotter than the red.

A day of excitement

My 22-year-old niece, Tarissa, attended a Paul Mitchell trade show in Las Vegas last month. Because of her warm and out-going personality, she networked with the owner of Caru, a high-end salon in Hoboken.  The owner asked Tarissa to come shadow him and the day finally came today! (Shadowing will test her skills and show how she is with the clients.)

Tarissa first stopped in the city before taking the bus to Hoboken. I was able to take an extended lunch and pal around with her.  I met up her at Port Authority and she hadn't yet applied her make-up. Port Authority is no place for her to get dolled up; I took her to the Conde Nast building to freshen up. I had always wanted to show her the Frank Gehry-designed Cafeteria, anyway -- where taking pictures inside is verboten. hehe.

We then went to nearby Shake Shack in Times Square.  It was before noon and I could not believe my eyes when I saw that most of the tables were already taken!

 

After our delicious lunch, I headed back to the office and Tarissa was off to her exciting opportunity in Hoboken.

Because of cutbacks with the cleaning service in our office, we ALL have been sneezing up a storm. I was thrilled to have this little guy, the iRobot Roomba, come vacuum our cubes! It was soothing to watch. Babe, can we get one?!

Matt and Lindsay make the rest of the afternoon go by fast. My day doesn't end here though, the three of us plus Matt's wife Lauren all dine at the quaint French restaurant in the West Village called Buvette. We had a belated 30th birthday celebration for Matt.

 

The 1 Train downtown (photo taken by a stranger)

Small plates of goodness!

 

 

OMG to the chocolate mousse above!

And I must give photo credit to Lauren for the Buvette card, I would never have been able to achieve that sharpness after a night filled with Prosecco!

King size

Feb. 28th - Our master bedroom minus our old queen bed! And Scott babe playing with the wheels of the old frame.

 

 YAY! That's one of our box springs!

Assembling by father and son team, Alvin and Corey + Scott Babe!

Scott making indoor snow angels! ♥

Safety first...

 Scott babe had his safety glasses on when drilling the second set of steps to a cube for the Pooch. 

She's 15 and can't jump.

March 4th - Clean sheets

 The Pooch is a fan of the new bedding. ♥

 
Scott Babe and I finally got our dream bed -- King size! We've always had better night sleeps on a larger bed when we go away so why not bring vacation comfort into our own home?

The process of finding the right mattress and box spring was a bit of a process but Macy's Furniture Store in Wayne made it painless. Their friendly customer approach made it a good experience. Sleepy's in Verona on the other hand, made it as uncomfortable as an old mattress.

Finding the perfect bedding was a challenge but we are thrilled with the result. We never had a goose-down comforter and it turns out that we aren't the only ones happy -- The Pooch is a magnet to this comfort.