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Sent: 21/09/2014 23:47:44
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From Honey Comer

Hello Bloglovin!

Headed to Bloglovin

Jumping on the train!

Prompt #3 - Your Day, In Great Detail

Hi!!  So much has gone down since I wrote last.  My office was closed for a full week after hurri-hussy Sandy roared through the Northeast.  I celebrated three birthdays.  I dog-sat.  I made a cheesecake.  Compared to all of that, my detailed day today is probably not going to be so compelling.  I didn't write the list though, so here goes:

Like most weekdays, my alarm went off at 6:30am for the gym.  Also like most days, I immediately snoozed it till 7:30 and went back to sleep instead.  At 7:50 I actually got up and headed to the shower. 

**Side note - I absolutely hate getting in the shower before I'm fully awake.  I know most people find this helpful/refreshing but I just can't get into it.  Have you ever fallen asleep accidentally on a pool float?  Or maybe you were just there relaxing and some kid/grown-adult-man dumps your unsuspecting-self off and into the water?  Yeah.  It sucks.  Welcome to my view of a.m. showering.

I have a couple of events after work tonight so I fretted a bit more than normal about what to wear.  Lucky for me, it's quite warm today so my outfit choices were less inhibited by weather.  I ended up wearing a jumper with black tights and boots, and my big/cozy All Saints sweater as a jacket.  I absolutely love that sweater and will do anything I can to wear it when it's cool.  Mine is a bit darker and a bit fluffier than this one, but you get the idea:

OBSESSED with everything from All Saints

I nabbed it at their sample sale, so it was affordable(ish) too.

I headed to work and picked up an iced coffee on the way (I drink iced coffee regardless of the season).  I got to my desk and immediately realized I would want to go home to change before my parties.  Typical.

For what I hope are apparent confidentiality reasons, I can't really disucss what I did at work in great detail, but I can generally say it's been a medium-busy day.  I definitely appreciate when I have time to gather my thoughts and ease into the swing of the week on Mondays.

I had a salad for lunch.  Thrilling stuff.

And that pretty much brings me to now.  I'll be heading home in a couple of hours to re-obsess about clothes, hair, and makeup before going out.  I'm starting my night at the opening kickoff for the BMW i Born Electric Tour.  A friend is involved in the event, and he invited us all out to scope out the latest concept car and to learn about BMW's commitment to sustainable engineering.  After making an appearance there, we're heading a bit further downtown to celebrate a birthday/going away.  I'll update with details tomorrow so as not to skimp on half of my "day".

TBC...!!

XX

UPDATE -

After work I headed home and did a quick change into a skirt.  The BF and I met two friends at a rendevouz point near the venue.  The party started at 6:30, and this was about 6:45.  We agreed we didn't want to be the first people there and decided to stop somewhere for a drink.

We ended up at the Algonquin hotel, where I had been once before.  After a glass of wine and some conversation, we headed on over to the BMW event.  It was packed!  The friend who had invited us greeted us at the door and got us checked off the list.  We headed inside and straight for the bar.  Not surprisingly, we found the rest of our group huddled there.  I had a great time catching up with everyone and was surprised to know so many faces! 

A few minutes in, the chairman of BMW and Uma Thurman (naturally) came out to unveil the car.  It's an electric sports car, and the entire event was themed around green design.  They had tons of food and drinks, and a gallery of various eco-friendly products upstairs.  I didn't see any more of Uma after her required appearance.  (isn't it fun/weird to see Uma written?  Uma! Uma!)

Not bad, huh!?

We pryed ourselves away from there around 9:00 and took a cab down to the Gramercy Park Hotel.  A friend of ours is moving back to Europe in a few days, so it was a combo going away/birthday celebration.  We were happy to see that the party was still going even though the official invite had it ending at 9:00!

After a quick stint to say hello and goodbye, we grabbed a cab home.  I had only eaten a few hors dourves at the first stop, so I was starving.  Keeping with the classy theme of the evening, I made myself a late-night dinner of low sodium Ramen.  I love that even Ramen is trying to tap the health-concious market.  And I bought it.

And from there it was bed!  Ta-da!  A day in the life!

Prompt #2: 10 Likes and Dislikes

I'm not really clear about whether I'm doing 10 likes and 10 dislikes, or 5 and 5 - but I'm looking for material here so we'll go with the former.

LIKES (at the moment)

1. Autumn weather - minus the recent rain
2. Autumn outfits - tights, sweaters, scarves, boots - but not covering them up with a coat yet!
3. White eyeliner -
I've watched a few makeup tutorials with Halloween on the horizon and realized that I've been missing out on this.  It's amazing what a little highlight can do and I'm newly obsessed with adding this to my getting-ready regimine.

4. The current season of The Walking Dead on AMC - I get that this is counterintuitive after my "afraid of everything" claim, but it's true.  It's a total anomaly that can be blamed solely on the BF.
5. Blogging again
6. The house that sings Gangnam style - Watch it Here - I know... it's sort of awful... but hey! they aren't my neighbors!
7. Apple recipes on Pinterest - for all the apples we picked last weekend
8. Piperlime - I always rely on their "Rachel Zoe" picks for online shopping.  Sometimes you can't be sure what the quality of an item will be like when you get it, and I like that these have been vetted through an expert.  So far I've loved everything I've chosen this way.  BONUS - It's their birthday today.  20% off of everything!!
9. The game/app "Flow" - Play this on time trial and you'll be addicted like me
10. What you've been waiting to hear... one current like is: Headless Horseman Hayride & Haunted House! - I'm going to be honest.  I chickened out of sitting on the edge of the hayride after the first ghoul brushed my ankle and I ALMOST threw in the towel after house number one.  I stuck it out, though, and made it through ALL EIGHT parts.  They have some really impressive sets and costumes and there are a few stomach churning parts.  The actors were all respectful, though, and with the help of some friendly arms (read: I grabbed them against their will and wouldn't let go) I did it!  It was a fun time overall.


DISLIKES (at the moment)

1. The New York State Voter Registration people (thanks for the FIVE confirmations on my change of address - none of which tell me my new polling place)
2. Looking for/deciding on a Halloween cosutme.  Two more days.  EEEK!
3. Bathroom Attendants - I have felt totally accosted by these guys for years.  They're always in places where you'd never expect them, and you spend all your time in the stall feeling guilty about not bringing your wallet.  I don't want your two decade old Aqua-Net, and I'd prefer to get my own paper towel.  Thanks.
4. Rain - I didn't hate it so much until NYC.  Walking in it everywhere is no fun.
5. People who stick objects in elevator doors to keep them from closing - Why?  Where do you have to be that is so much more important than those of us already stuffed IN the elevator?  You really can't wait 10 extra seconds for the next one?
6. Peplum - Sorry guys.  I can't get on board with this trend.  I'm not about drawing attention to the muffin top area.
7. Tim Tebow
8. Those orange and black taffy candy things - aka the fruitcake of Halloween
9. That I don't live closer to "Mary's Place" - the most adorable hot dog stand with the most adorable little lady working there.  It was a stop on the Fall Fest tour, and though she claimed to be on Facebook, I haven't been able to find her.  The "restaurant" was basically a shed in her yard with some picnic tables and a sign.  She also had one of those push carts that you see vendors use in Central Park.  I like to imagine that she busied herself studying the week over week business growth our 13 hot dog order provided after we pulled away.
10. Never being able to find tights in my drawer without runs in them.

And there you have it!  Ten arbitrary likes and dislikes of mine.  Till tomorrow...

XO

FRIDAY!!!!

There's nothing better, right? 

Although it's dreary and rainy in NYC today, I'm in a fantastic mood.  It's payday, two out-of-town friends are visiting, and tomorrow I'll be partaking in all day "Fall-Fest"ivities upstate.  I'm actually so euphoric that I've stupidly decided to give myself another writing challenge!  Behold, another "it-looked-cool-on-Pinterest-but-will-likely-be-the-bain-of-my-existence-later" find:

 

That's right, baby!  PROMPTS.  I have no writers block-y excuses for sucking.  I'll admit right now that I may not do these daily (read: free weekends), but let's see if it at least improves frequency.

 

DAY 1 - Write Some Basic Things About Yourself:

 

I feel like you can get the basic-basics from my info blurb, but here are a few second-tier facts:

• I moved to Manhattan from Southwest VA/Northeast TN 6 years ago
• At that time I was coming for 1 year for "work experience"
• I met the BF here although we went to the same college
• I work in the media industry and I love it!
• HUGE animal person but currently no pets
• The greatest satisfaction in my life came from getting my Masters - I still want to do Ph.D.
• I have anxiety/fear about pretty much everything even remotely scary

Which brings me to my fear of the day (I could seriously have "Things I'm Afraid of Friday" and keep it going for A-WHILE):

 

THIS G-D-EFFIN' SCARY-AZZ ATTRACTION:

 

 

OK - Even I will admit that it looks a bit laughable after my dramatic lead-in, but I seriously do not do scary.  In signing up for the aforementioned "Fall Fest" I wasn't thinking clearly about the fact that the conclusion to the day would be this...  The Headless Horseman Hayride and haunted houses in Sleepy Hollow.  Allegedly it takes around 90 minutes to go through it all, and frankly, my heart might not take it.  The BF has done a decent job of getting my lifetime scary-movie count just into the double digits, but I'm not convinced I've reached the level of de-sensitization where I WANT someone chasing me with a chainsaw. 

 

Dear lord what did I get myself into? 

 

I'll update first thing next week (assuming survival).

 

XO -

 

Honey

 

 

 
 



Oktoberf-m-l

I had a whirlwind of a weekend and an equally full calendar waiting for me this week.  All of these commitments aren't making it easy for me to keep up with writing - but I'm trying to make good on my promise this time!

Friday night the BF made chili and we stayed in.  It was so nice just to relax at home!  The bad news was that I had a 6am wake-up call on Saturday for New York Cares Day.  This is my third season volunteering for NYCD with a group of ladies and I truly enjoy it.  I do not, however, understand why I keep signing up for things that force me to set an alarm on Saturdays.  #FAIL



Painting the fence at PS 81 in Brooklyn

We got assigned to the outside fence around the school so we set to work painting at 9:30am sharp.  We worked straight through until 3:00 and only barely got the thing done.  I hope the kids, staff, and neighborhood residents are pleased with the fresh new paint job!

After wrapping up, I met up with some friends in Williamsburg.  We wound up at Radegast which is a giant German beer hall.  I love me some German (wurst, pretzels, HB, YES) so I was excited to get in a little stateside Oktoberfesting.  The only drawback was that I had pre-planned a similar celebration at Zum Schneider in Manhattan for the next day.  Let's say I did a LOT of "Prost!"ing this weekend and I think I've had my fill for a while.



Hashtags: #NoMoreSausageOrCarbs #GiveMeAVegetableSTAT

Last night after work we went to a little event put on by Urban Girl Squad.  I REALLY dig the concept of this company.  It's basically a "meetup" for women and provides an environment to meet new friends/contacts while participating in a fun activity.  I felt like the crowd was largely new-to-the-city and a bit younger, but I would absolutely recommend it to anyone just settling here.  I had my sorority alumnae association, but if it weren't for that I have no clue how I would have gone about meeting other girls. 

We got a quick lesson on making jam/jelly and chutneys and then had a mixologist put together some cocktails with the jam. 

Blackberry-Currant jam cocktails by Danny McBride

I've got to be honest - this dude had a serious chip on his shoulder.  We got more of a venomous lecture on bar-behavior than a lesson in entertaining.  I feel like the crowd was sophisticated enough to know that you tip 20%.  It was a bit condescending. 

The lady who did the jam demonstration, by contrast, was lovely and I will definitely be visiting her at the Union Square farmers market soon!  Check out Beth's Farm Kitchen if you ever need a cute 100% local-made treat.

 

In conclusion... I DID IT!  Two posts in a single week.  Things are looking up!

 

XO -

Honey

Guess Who's Back?

I keep meaning to come back to this blog...  I talk about it and think about it.  I just haven't DONE it.  I think it's mostly because I'm ashamed of my 365 days of posts failure.  If you're just tuning in, I set a goal on the eve of my 29th birthday to write one post every day until I turned 30.  I think I made it about 6 weeks?  That might be generous!

It was supposed to motivate me not to squander my youth and to try many new things.  Make no mistake - I kept VERY busy - I just stopped sharing the experiences daily. 

In retrospect, I think maybe it was for the best.  I catch myself all the time - so busy with the business of documenting my life that I forget the business of living it.  At times I feel like if I don't instagram this or tweet that - if I don't check-in - it never really happened. 

We had this exact conversation at my book club recently (Selection: I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron - highly recommend).  In her opening essay Nora (we're on a first-name basis) talks about how she was present for countless significant moments in history, but can't recall the experiences with any detail.  In discussion we decided that we pack our lives with these moments, hoping to create some sort of meaning, only to have them disappear into oblivion later.  Understandably, there's something about that that doesn't sit well with us as a species.  I think maybe our generation has learned to cope by documenting it all...  Uploading everything to a cloud where it can't be lost and forgotten.

Make no mistake, I'm truly glad that I have a handful of mobile uploads to supplement my memories of a jam-packed year, but maybe the holes in coverage really serve as evidence that I succeeded at living.  It shows that I looked at one more gorgeous view of the Manhattan skyline, savoured one more delicious meal, and had one more laugh with a friend where my face wasn't buried in a viewfinder or my smartphone.

With that being said - and on a totally unrelated note... I just realized it's my PAULA-VERSARY!!!  See: The Holy Grail  What better occassion to get back into writing?

It's been nearly a year since my last post of any substance, and it was substantial indeed.  Ms. Deen has been through it this year, but I must say that I still love her.  My fan-ship is unwavering.  Take that, Anthony Bourdain!

Looking forward to sharing (and sometimes not sharing) my daily musings again.

XO -
HoneY

Day ZERO

My co-workers are awesome

From my Android phone on T-Mobile. The first nationwide 4G network.

Run a Turkey Trot

The Holy Grail

I finally met Paula ... I still think she is awesome

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of October 11th for a few months now.  I had been looking forward to it as the day I would attend a talk at 92Y and finally meet Paula Deen.

Let me first explain my fan-girl status with Paula.

I am coming from a place that is somewhere between tongue-in-cheek and 100%, off the rails, actual super fan.  I have no idea where it began, but I believe I found Southern solidarity in Paula during my early days in New York.  It's also no secret that I like food and I like to cook.  Being able to turn on the TV everyday and see this woman who reminds me of one of my relatives AND to be able to introduce all my city friends to the idea that butter actually makes things taste AWESOME has been highly rewarding all-around.  Additionally - she is just hilarious.  Did you SEE what she did to Matt Lauer this week?!?

'Sexy' Paula Deen gets flirty with Matt Lauer

During her talk, she spoke a lot about her past and her battle with agoraphobia.  As a person with high anxiety levels myself, it was surprisingly inspiring to hear her story.  The lesson was to make changes where you can but to accept that there are those things you CAN'T control (in her case, the early death of her parents).  Worry and fear get you nowhere and are a waste of time.  I will most certainly be reminding myself of this and take more fearless leaps forward in the future!

We weren't allowed to take personal pictures with her at the book signing which was a bit of a let-down.  The woman had been busy molesting TODAY show hosts since 5 o'clock in the morning, though, so I guess I understand. :)

She was gracious enough to talk with me for a few extra seconds, though, and my friend C was able to snap a side shot. (see above)

Overall it was well worth the time and money.  She is still one of my favorites, and I can't wait to make the first recipe from my new Southern Cooking Bible tonight!

"The way I see it, none of us is getting out of here alive and I don't wanna be caught dead with a piece of lettuce hanging out my mouth!!"  ~ Paula Deen, 10/11/11

Discover the Secrets of Lederhosen

A Swedish policeman showing me how many years he has served

Wait 6 Hours For the Most Amazing Exhibit Ever

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Dinner in BK

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Vesuvio Bakery

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I get the hint NYC

Home-Time

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Best Recipe EVER - Cake in a Mug

pilfered pic but I promise it works!!

As a general rule, I try to avoid keeping sweet treats around the house because I have no willpower when it comes to portion control and baked goods.  Unfortunately, this does not stop me from DYING for dessert after dinner most days.  On nights when I absolutely can't shake the craving, we'll take a walk to pinkberry or the supermarket, and I'll choose something single serve that I can enjoy and forget. 

Last night, I discovered what may be my new evening salvation (or a serious addiction).

YOU CAN MAKE CAKE IN THE MICROWAVE, IN A COFFEE MUG, IN 60 SECONDS.

I was totally skeptical - but it was the EASIEST thing ever, and produced a perfect individual cake!

Here's how you make it:

In a mug, combine 2 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, a pinch of salt and a few drops vanilla extract.  Whisk well.

Add in 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, whisk again.

Add 3 tablespoons sugar, back to whiskin'.

Finally, add 2 tablespoons flour, one more whisk!

VOILA!  Your batter is done.  Toss the mug in the microwave for 60-70 seconds depending on whether you like your baked goods "molten" in the middle or thoroughly done.  ENJOY! 

I must admit that a review I read described this cake as very "heavy".  She recommended a bit less sugar and a bit less flower, and I took that advice.  Mine came out great.

I would absolutely consider making these for guests.  You could dress them up by prepping in a small, microwave safe bowl and adding a little ice cream or caramel and nuts.

 Good trick.  Good day!  Till tomorrow...

Salted Caramel Pinkberry

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Celebrate Marriage Equality

"Cuomo Gets a Freebie" sign at the 2011 NYC Pride Parade

Saturday was a bit hectic due to some unexpected friend/family/travel issues.  I still managed to do one of my to-do's, however, by eating breakfast at Market Diner waaay over on 11th Ave.  It's the one you've probably seen from your cab headed up (or downtown) late at night.  It's all cute and stand-alone and chrome and looks like a legit diner from the 50s.  I have to admit that it was worth the buildup and will likely become the new go-to diner in my 'hood.  The food was all really good, AND they give you a free biscuit with any order.  Heaven knows that was the selling point for this Southern girl.

Sunday, by contrast, I had a full day of fun.  I went to support my good friends at Popchips by taking some pictures of the popmobile in the annual Pride Parade.  Coming off Friday's vote to legalize same-sex marriage in New York, you could feel the overwhelming positivity and happy energy in the crowd.  I didn't notice anyone out of control or riotous.  It was sincerely a feel-good atmosphere and I felt very proud to be a part of this historical weekend.

Way to be a leader, NY!

242 Days Left - Getting Back in the Saddle

Me enjoying Down & Derby Roller Disco!

Well gang, it would appear I have dropped the ball for the past month or so.  Rest assured that I have been quite busy with bucket-list worthy adventures, although I have skipped posting them here.  Some of the highlights have included:

• getting settled into a new apartment
• my first trip to the New York Aquarium
• making not one, but TWO awesomely stress inducing custom cakes
• taking in a Yankees game at the new stadium
• taste testing one-too many lobster rolls
• one weekend in Delaware and one in Montauk
• the Big Apple BBQ
• my first ever whitewater rafting adventure
• AND fulfilling a big personal goal by attending a roller disco (pictured above)

I know there are even more things I'm forgetting!  It has been a busy few weeks, without a doubt!

Just so you don't feel totally left out, below are a few of the pictures I WOULD have posted if I were keeping up.

I was OBSESSED with the Jellyfish tanks at the NY Aquarium

Red Hook Lobster Pound wins the "Honey's Favorite roll" contest by far!

The infamous plaid cake I made for @joeyhodges birthday

Best Dessert award goes to the blueberry cobbler from Blue Smoke Bake Shop

Team red prepping for a grown-folks field day in Prospect Park!

Opening of the Beekman Beer Garden in FiDi

A beyond beautiful weekend in Montauk!

I hope to do a better job of posting from here on out.  365 days are a lot!!  It makes me realize I have a lot of youth left.  :)

Till tomorrow...