Saying Goodbye

How do you say goodbye to NYC? How do you say adios to such lovely people that have impacted your life like a giant wave for the last few years? How do say so long to a city that has changed your life for the better?

I leave for Boise in less than a month and the sentimental, bittersweet feeling is taking over in a big way this week. I am beginning to have those last hangouts with friends, buying everything at Fishs Eddy, and thinking about packing up my belongings. (Mostly thinking about it, not doing at this point!)

Pat returns in a couple weeks and I have many fun things planned for these final days living in NYC. The Astoria beer garden, a Met's game, my mom and I are seeing "Lucky Guy" on Broadway, going on our favorite food tour, and seeing the Astoria Park fireworks.
My first friend in New York, Carly, was over for dinner this week and we were reminiscing about living in NYU dorms during the first summer I spent here. We talked about how much we had changed since then. She is living in this stunning apt in TriBeCa with a view of the Brooklyn bridge, and I am moving to Boise with my love. It's rare you find a friend who sees you through an entire chrysalis in life. I am very grateful for her perspective.

NYC was the love of my life for a good while. I talked about it constantly, spent time in it's neighborhoods, and dropped everything to be with it in 2010. And like any great relationship, it's hard to let go and move on. I am so thankful for all it has taught me, the experiences it has given me, and the people it has filled my life with.

I know the next few weeks will be filled with some lovely moments as I say goodbye to a wonderful three years and look forward to a new chapter in Boise!

Bound for Boise

 During the middle of Hurricane Sandy, another little life altering event was happening for Pat and me. He was granted an interview for an environmental engineering company in Boise, Idaho. "Wait, is this for real," I asked? Yes, he replied. I guess with all that hurricane drama, I wasn't sure what was happening.
 A month later, I was on a plane to Boise to check out this new town . I was instantly impressed with the friendly people, beautiful landscape, and outdoorsy attitude. I describe Boise as sort of like a small Denver. Active community, mountains and rivers, has everything you need shopping wise, and a good food scene complete with lovely farmer markets. Also, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and all those Cali towns are just a quick plane ride away. I am excited about visiting the other side of the country!
 I know what you're saying. But Katie, you love NYC. I do, it's true. However, I feel like I have done so much there to enjoy it. There is little left I want to do, i.e. my January bucket list. I am not taking advantage of the city in the ways I did when I first moved there. One can only see so many Broadway shows, eat at new trendy restaurants, and pay for their groceries in this wonderful but muy expensive city. I am excited to move on to a place I can hike, bike, run, float the river, and most importantly, have a weenie dog. I can't wait!
 Pat moved out in late January and I have visited during both of my vacations.God bless the French education system. I have really enjoyed my time there and look forward to moving out officially at the beginning of July. 
 Will there still be a blog you ask? I think so. I think Idaho may have more going for it than just potatoes, and I would love for you to find out with me. Stay tuned!

Boise River

Hiking to the top of Tablerock

Lake Cascade

Lucky Peak Reservoir

Cheesehead

I have had some wonderful adventures in the cheese world lately thanks to a New York standby, Murray's Cheese. They just opened a cheese bar (restaurant) downtown and it is perfection! I ate there a couple weeks ago to the tune of fried cheese curds, a giant cheese plate, and a beautiful 3 cheese grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup. A cheese Mecca served on beautiful slate boards. It was decadent, way too much cheese, and just perfect.
The second round of fromage bliss came a week later at Murray Cheese Shop. My sweet friend, Alana, and I took a mozzarella making class. We learned all about these milky cheeses by sampling them of course. My favorite is the buratta, which I discovered this year in my food expeditions. Buratta is a fresh cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is mozzarella, but the inside is filled with mozzarella and cream. CREAM!! Essentially heaven!! Also, did you know that buffalo mozzarella is made from the milk of water buffalo?! What is a water buffalo anyway? pictured below. It has a super high fat content which makes it so delicious. Anyhow, after all the cheesy talk, we made mozzarella balls from stretching, rolling, and pulling the cheese curds. Very hot water but very fun!
My mum is coming to NYC for Easter and I am taking her to Murray's cheese bar this weekend. I think I might have a problem. Is there a Cheese Lovers Anonymous?

Alana & me

Sampling the mozzarella, the burrata is the one pooling in the back.

Cheese curds ready to be made into mozzarella

My friend, Alana

Learning for the instructor

TODAY Show Dream

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved to watch the TODAY show. Matt , Katie, Al, Anne, Natalie, Meredith...I love them all. Each morning I switch on my TV at 7 am, that theme songs play, and my little heart is filled with happiness. It's not just me, it's most of my Mom's side of the family that share this utter devotion to NBC.

So when my boyfriend, Pat, told me that he had a friend that was a producer at the TODAY show, I started to feel that my dream of actually entering studio 1A could come true. (Without having to be involved in some makeover, acting gig, or modeling moment) Well, almost 2 years after we started dating, it finally happened! I got to tour the TODAY show! Ahhhh! This experience is like top of the top of my dreams, next to meeting James Taylor or getting invited to Ina Garten's house for lunch.

So one cold day at the end of January, Pat and I met his famous friend, Roberto, at 30 Rock. I was so nervous. We walked over to studio 1A and into the control room, through the green room, and then through a plainly marked door to the studio. It's teeny tiny in real life and was such a surreal moment for me. I walked in on at interview with Willy Geist, my new favorite! He is precious! It was weird bc they were talking so seemingly quiet to me. Then we watched Hoda & Meredith (subbing for Kathy Lee) set up. I shook Meredith's hand too!! Finally we went upstairs to where the kitchen! is located. Roberto was even kind enough to show us the schedules and how the set up for each show goes. I tried to impress him with my vast array of TODAY show knowledge, and he was so kind to humor me and give us a lovely tour.

It was a magical morning and it makes the TODAY show even more special to me now!

Natalie's news desk

not real...NBC store

Roberto! Our favorite tour guide!

To the TOP

What a busy month of January! I felt like I was just all over the map this month. However, this may be the best way to endure the long, cold month of January. That groundhog better be spot on about an early spring because this 20 degree temperature is not fun. 

I got one of my bucket list items done this month: the Empire State Building. I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this spot because I find the building's top so hideous. It looks like an alien space craft. We went on a cold Thursday afternoon and after we wound around the millions of turn styles and ropes, that place must get packed in the summer, we traveled up the 81 floors to the viewing deck. It was about 5 PM when my boyfriend, Pat, and our friend Marc, and I stepped out to see an almost dark NYC. The temps were definitely freezing, but we slowly made our way around the deck to see all of the stunning views of Manhattan from the North, South, East, and West. The best part for me was looking out over the city with two guys that have spent their whole life here. What a perspective and depth of experiences these two have of the city. I loved it!!

Another great moment of January was a quick trip Pat & I took to Sacramento. Pat had a reffing gig out there an we needed an escape from the freezing NYC temps. Having never been to Sacramento, I wasn't sure what to expect. I loved it! I arrived a little under the weather, but after some rest and magical healing medicines of our friend, Thais, I rebounded for a fun weekend of hot tubing, citrus tree gazing, and a visit to the CA capital. I also went on a food tour while Pat was at his rugby games. After four hours of eating and walking around the cute neighborhoods of Sacramento, I have found there are some great things going on in their food culture! Sacramento, sometimes called "Sacra-tomato," is in the middle of an agricultural mecca. The last moment of the trip, my friend, Rosalind, and I were able to pick some fresh Meyer lemons to take home. I squeezed these sweet, luscious yellow lemons this past weekend and my hands were sticky from their sweet juice. Yum!!

It was a fun January! I also went to the TODAY show studio for a tour. However, that will be getting it's own post, stay tuned...

New York New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year friends! I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season and are starting afresh this year. I have made some New York New Year resolutions this year. I am getting a little lazy in my New York Adventures, and so I have created this list of places I want to go and report on back to you. Here are some of my ideas.

New Year’s New York Resolutions

-Visit and eat a Farmer's Feast @ Blue Hill Farms

-See an opera at the Met

-PDT (Please Don’t Tell), a secret bar

-attend the Le Cuisine Sans Peur

-visit Astoria’s Museum of the Moving Image & eat at the Astor Room

-get a fancy hair do at Drybar

-go to the top of the Empire State Building

I think it's a pretty solid list. I hope to be bringing you some good stories in 2013.

xoxo

Sugar Rush: An NYC Cupcake Tour

This past Sunday, I went on a cupcake tour for my friend, Rosalind's, birthday. It was 2 hours of sweet, sugary goodness. I do consider myself a bit of a cupcake official, but I was even surprised by a couple of their choices. We started at Union Square and walked through the West Village. Here were six of our stops:

1. Baked by Melissa- They specialize in mini-cupcakes, and by that I mean that is all they sell. Each is under 50 calories and delicious. My fav is the chocolate chip pancake with maple frosting followed closely by the PB&J. They have stores all over NYC now!

2. Amorino Gelato al Naturale- We had passionfruit gelato. Just a spoonful of that goodness was enough to make me feel I ate an entire passionfruit!

3. Crumbs- The biggest cupcake chain in the world! It's a little over the top for me, but a definite tourist stop.

4. Molly's Cupcakes- My favorite spot on the tour. The owner had a third grade teacher named Molly who used to bake cupcakes for all the kids' birthdays. So, he named his magically school-themed cupcake shop after her. They also donate a portion of their profits to local schools, which I think is awesome. It's in the West Village and is precious! They also have a location in Chicago. I had a carrot cupcake with brown butter frosting. Heaven!

5. Milk & Cookies- I went to this spot a couple years ago with my friend, Susan Boatwright. We sampled their salted oat cookie with white chocolate on Sunday. Salty-sweet and delish!

6. Magnolia Bakery- Any "Sex and the City" fan knows this place has great cupcakes. Insider tip: their banana pudding makes their cupcakes taste like sawdust. Thank you Kelsey Maples for teaching me that!

When the sugar rush was at it's highest at the end of the tour, I got another injection of happiness...

Yep, that is the doorstep from Carrie's apt on "Sex and the City." I know men are rolling their eyes all over the world, but I love that show. It highlights all the great things about NYC and apparently, it's cupcakes too.

Salted Oat cookie. Pat didn't stop chewing for the pic. :) 

Evan & Pat on the swings at Molly's Cupcake