Busy Bee Weekend

I'd like to start off with a couple of thank you's.  First to Erin, for coming all the way from Chicago and spending time with us on Saturday and also to my sister Anie for dropping in from Florida and hanging out with us today.  I'd also like to thank TJ for his thoughtful gift and finally thank you Super Bowl Sunday for the four quiet hours to myself so that I may write this blog post.

Three lovely new buttons for my growing collection!

Thanks TJ!  If anyone else out there wishes to donate 

you know where to find me.

With so much going on this weekend (brunches, dinners, movies, airport trips) I did a lot of walking around but not much by way of new adventures.  I always want visiting friends to get the best of NY so I end up bringing them places I've already tried and loved (makes sense).  Still I did carve out a few minutes for a local jaunt and thats what I'll be sharing today. 

We started off this morning with brunch at Fatty's Cafe, An Astoria 

favorite that I've heard great things about.  We walked in to an almost 

empty restaurant!  No wait time on a Sunday afternoon? Unheard of!

Sorry I forgot to get a before shot!!!!

I can see why this place is so well liked they offer Dominican breakfast 

items like mofongo, fried queso blanco, salchichon and garlic soaked 

fried tostones.  Its 10pm and I still have garlic breath!

Yummy mango mimosas!  

Can you guess which glass was mine?

Fatty's is the only restaurant in the immediate area I know of offering Dominican breakfast so I do recommend this place for anyone looking to try something different.  But if you're like me, a Bronx born girl who lived in a neighborhood where every corner boasted a cuchifrito.  Be warned, you wont find hot bulbs in a grease stained window casting odd shadows on crispy pork skins here.  Fatty's is going to be a far cry from what you're used to.

Satisfied and a bit sluggish I made my way up the road and found a 

bright little ray of sunshine!

Immediately drawn in by the Tetrisy decorated windows, this place is 

super charming.  Those colorful little square on the windows are post-it 

notes that customers will be filling with Valentine's messages during an 

event they are holding on Saturday Feb 11th from 12-5.  Cool idea!

I can't wait!

This store exudes energy with its well curated selection

 of accessories, housewares, art and apparel from local and 

international designers.

      

 Everything in the housewares section was 50% off!

I couldn't walk away from this braided jersey cotton curtain tie.  

I'm going to be wearing it as a scarf!

I give KrisTees 4 out of 4 stars! 

I'm not sure if the two people helping me were the owners but both were 

incredibly helpful offering tons of info but not invading my shopping space.  

That balance of customer service is hard to find and deserves commendation. 

 So good job KrisTees!

Make your way over, hope to see you there on the 11th!

Theres so much more I want to share with you.  So much has happened since my last post but I guess it will have to wait because its getting late. I'll try and get a second post out midweek. 

 Thanks for coming along everyone!

Got Lost For a While

So after only two posts it would appear that I had given up on blogging and while I wish that I had some great explanation for what happened...I dont.  Life just got a little busy and even though I kept going for walks and documenting great experiences I just never found the time to sit at my desk and put together a blog post.

I do feel like I owe you all (my handful of readers, who I am extremely grateful for) an apology for leaving you high and dry for four months so this post will be a rekindling of our relationship as well as a mini excursion just to get back into the swing of things.

In the past four months I had a few family hurdles to jump and I took on a part-time internship which turned into an amazing new full-time job.  Unfortunately I have signed documents that forbid me from blogging about my new job!!!! ( I hope stating that I cannot blog about my new job does not officially count as blogging about my new job).  

I also spent a small amount of time reading and crafting, to break up all this text here are some pics of what I read and made:

This trilogy is a fast and exciting read.  I think I read all three in 

one week.  The movie is coming out soon too and the actors look 

so close to the characters I imagined.  I love when that happens!

 

 This book is about a woman who moves to a new city and actively 

seeks out new friends by going on 52 friend dates in one year.  At 

the end of this 288 page read I was inspired.   Now I call my far off
friends more often and actively work to spend more time with my local 

friends.  Not an easy task when you're a busy girl but a definite 

life changer and worth the effort.

Damn this book spooked me out.  To this day I speed up 

whenever I see someone walking a little too slowly or stiffly and 

anything that sounds like a zombie moan immediately sends me 

into fight or flight mode!

Read this book!

I found these cool googly eyes at a local fabric store and 

used them to create a series of notebooks.  Each notebook

features a different pin-up girl with a pair of disturbing eyes

glued on.  I think they are hysterical.  This one here

is my favorite.  I was tempted to give the dog a crazy eye

too.  I may still do it.

So that explains what I did with some of my time while ignoring my blog.  Here's what I did with the rest of my time:

(Insert bag of chips, iced coffee and remote control.)

And now with forgiving hearts please join me on this quick little skip into East Williamsburg:

This trip only has two stops and was the result of a "MWF" inspired brunch date with three of my girlfriends.  I wasn't expecting to blog about this outing so the next few pictures are not from my own camera (they were pilfered from the internet, so credit to those unknown souls who actually took these pics).

This little French bistro kept us out in the cold for about 30 minutes

but was so worth the wait.  Le Barricou is warm and cozy and they serve

 yummy Mimosas and Bellinis for only $6!  I had my very first croque madame

here and fell completely in love.  For those of you who have never experienced

a croque madame, it is a slice of french bread layered with ham and gruyere 

cheese and topped with an oozing fried egg.  The appropriate response would
be drool!

A short stack.... Hardly!  I didn't order the pancakes but I did see an exact 

replica of this immaculate stack being served to some lucky gentleman sitting at 

the table next to us.  Le Barricou I will be seeing you again in the very near future!

With full bellies and a slight mid afternoon buzz we set off on foot and stopped at Sunday Love:

This vintage treasure trove is having a huge sale.  On February 15th Sunday 

Love will close its doors, the owner will be transforming the space into a 

doggy daycare!  While I am sad to see a new find vanish I was pleased as 

punch by the 35% off!

I got this little ornament for $1.95!  How cute is this trio?  The little chef proudly displaying

his platter of felty meatballs, the bobbed haircut sous chef so eager to chop something up

and my favorite the other guy, with an empty hand just waiting to be filled, what will I have

him hold?  The possibilities are endless!

I also bought this amazing piece for $37.05.  What is it you ask,  No it's not just

a super cool looking box.

Its a mid century rotary telephone!!!!

As if I wasn't already sold by the sheer bat phone appeal and 

wind up cord, the owner explained that when she acquired this beauty she
was told that it was originally on one of the Kennedy's boats.  She 

didn't seem convinced and neither am I, but it's a cool story nonetheless.