A Weekend of Eating in NYC: Part 2

Continuing on with my food adventures in NYC...

I'd heard so many things about the burgers at Shake Shack and the long lines. So it was definitely on our list of restaurants to try. Since we had a very late dinner reservation, we decided to stop by Shake Shack to share a couple burgers as a pre-dinner snack. Luckily, we only had to wait in line for about 10 minutes. I must say, the burgers were pretty tasty. I really liked their buns. But I wouldn't be willing to wait in line for 1-2 hours for them!

Then we had dinner at the Momofuku: Ssam Bar. We ordered the Bo Ssam dinner (since we had a party of 6-10.) It consists of pork butt, a dozen oysters, kimchi, rice, & bibb lettuce. The pork butt was quite tasty. It just came right off the bone. But overall, I thought the Bo Ssam was just ok. I really wished we had tried the pork belly buns. :(

The next day, we had sullongtang at Gahm Mi Oak for brunch. Mmm... Hot soup, perfect for a chilly day.

Then the husband and I walked through Times Square to get to The New World Stages to watch Avenue Q, the musical. I was pleasantly surprised by the puppets. It was pretty entertaining and funny.

We went to Brooklyn to visit the husband's cousins. They took us to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Overpass.) They have a lovely, new park there. Afterwards, we had Grimaldi's pizza to go. It's another NY restaurant where there are long lines. (What's with NY and long food lines?? You don't see that too much here in Chicago.) I really liked the thick slices of pepperoni. It would've been even better fresh!

A Kid-Friendly Project: Making Autumn Leaves

How great is this kid-friendly craft project by Sharilyn of Lovely Design? Her little girl did an amazing job sponge painting the leaves. The end result looked store-bought!

Sharilyn always comes up with the cutest projects for her daughter. Take a look at how you can paint bugs with potatoes and how to use your child's artwork in a card.

She also has an awesome shop with handmade paper goods.

Ālee & Press

I recently discovered Ālee & Press. They have a gorgeous collection of letterpressed wedding invitations, baby announcements, and stationery. Don't you just love the Grandma Latte stationery? What an awesome grandma!


I'll be back after the holiday weekend. I'll be making pumpkin spice cupcakes again from this recipe from Make Me Hungry. I've made them a couple times already (see here), and they're always perfectly moist. Mmm... I'm making 2 batches this time: one for my family and another for my in-law's family. I'm also baking a lasagna using this recipe from allrecipes.com. It's gonna be a busy day today!

Safe travels to everyone and fill your bellies with fantastic food! Have a happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

What are you making for Thanksgiving?

A Weekend of Eating in NYC: Part I

The husband & I have been talking about visiting NYC again for months. We finally made our way there last weekend, and we ate our way around Manhattan. Gosh, there are still so many other places I want to try. I guess that means I'll have to go back!

Mad for Chicken had the most delicious, double-fried Korean chicken wings. They were tasty and crispy...even the next day!

We had breakfast at Penelope's, a quaint, little restaurant near my SIL's apartment. Our dishes were yummy! Then off to Soho we went for some shopping.

We took a shopping break and got a snack (or two...or three.) We were SO looking forward to eating the elotes at Cafe Habana again. We went there before a few years ago on our first visit to NYC, and have been dreaming about the corn ever since then!

Mmm...rice pudding at Rice to Riches. We had the vanilla pudding. Absolutely heavenly. Pricey though.

Since our stomachs weren't stuffed to the max yet, we stopped by my SIL's favorite taco place, La Esquina, for some scrumptious tacos. The steak taco was my favorite.

As you can see, we seriously ate all weekend long. The day wasn't over yet either! I still have dinner#1 and dinner #2 to show you from that same day! I'll continue with more pics from our trip soon.

Flying Over Lake Michigan

I snapped a photo of this beautiful sight as the husband and I were flying back to O'Hare from New York. We were slowly making our descent over Lake Michigan and the sun was peeking through the clouds and making this really amazing display. I've never seen anything like that before! Photos from NYC to come soon! It sure takes awhile to upload onto blogger.. Grr...

GLEE - "Forget You" Full Performance feat. Gwyneth Paltrow!

Even though Glee's storyline has been struggling this season, they still have some great performances by celebrities! I love this peppy Cee Lo song, "Forget You." Gwyneth also sang a mash up of "Umbrella" & "Singing in the Rain" last night. So fun!

Santana: "What would you know about Cee Lo? Cuz you're like 40."
Gwyneth: "Top 40, sweet cheeks." Hehe...

Vintage TV Costume Party

I know it's a little late to be thinking about Halloween, but I just saw this on the Blonde Designs blog. I think this is a seriously clever theme party! I'm gonna have to keep this in mind for future Halloweens. My friends don't really dress up, but if I have a party theme, they're gonna have to! Hehe. How fun!

[Gilligan's Island cast]

If you've been to a theme party, what was it and what was your favorite?

Recent Project: a Holiday Party Invitation Set

Here are photos of the actual invitations for Jump Trading's annual holiday party. They were printed on shimmery white cardstock.




The husband & I just returned from a long weekend in NYC. We got to spend some quality time with family & friends, and ate lots & lots of delicious food. I'll post more about our weekend soon!

Currently Searching For: Fingerless Gloves & Convertible Mittens

My search for the perfect gloves continues. I totally should've gotten the ingenious Target gloves I saw last year! The pointer finger and thumbs folded back so you can use your smart phone w/o freezing your hands! I haven't been able to find any like that yet. :( Nordstrom Rack did have fleece gloves that had a mesh fabric on the fingertips of the pointer finger and thumb though. But they weren't so cute.

[image via Purl Bee]

Do you know where I can find some cute gloves that will enable me to use my phone while keeping my fingers warm?

Recent Project: a Holiday Party Invitation Set

I designed this holiday party invitation for Jump Trading's annual holiday party. The client, Carol, was a dream to work with. She was flexible, but at the same time, knew what she wanted. She saw some of my work and chose a few designs that she liked. From there, she suggested some color choices and provided some direction. This particular design stemmed from the Save the Dates I designed for Sue & Mike. Rather than paper cranes, Carol suggested using bird silhouettes. I added a few branches and red berries for a wintery, holiday touch. I love the way the set turned out!





I'll take some photos of the actual invitation soon!

I-L-L! I-N-I!

The husband & I went down to visit our alma mater, the University of Illinois, with a few friends last weekend. We visited restaurants and shops we used to frequent as undergrads and went to a football game. I tailgated for the first time! The husband was the grill master. He cooked up some delicious chicken legs and hamburgers. :) Gosh, I wish it just wasn't windy that day. We were so darn COLD!

I'm getting together with some of my lovely girlfriends tomorrow for Ladies' Night #343809809. We've done it so many times, we've lost count! :) I'm planning on making these prosciutto wrapped figs that Sarah made for me before. I really hope I can find some fresh figs! Otherwise, I need to come up w/ another appetizer. Eek...

What are your plans for the weekend?

Recent Project: A Dinosaur Party!

My client, Gayle, saw my dinosaur invitation design here and wanted to use it for her son's 1st birthday bash. It's certainly going to be quite the party with 200+ guests invited. I can't wait to hear how it turns out! Thanks, Gayle!