26.2

running. i enjoy it. it is my therapy. although i don't do it as much as i should i love the feeling afterwards - rewarding, clean, healthy and nice rosy cheeks as an added bonus. however, until june 2009 the most i ever ran was 10 miles (and this only happened four times in college) as i usually peaked between 4 and 6 miles.

i decided to train for, and therefor do, the ultimate run - a full marathon on november 1st 2009.

...skipping over the grueling training, dampering effect this had on my social life, joy of eating everything & anything i wanted (including a steady diet of nutella for breakfast) for months - and therefor gaining 7lbs - and various slight injuries...

the morning of was wonderful. i was full of nerves, emotion, excitement and thankfully, felt full of energy. surrounded by thousands of different shapes, sizes and ages, running enthusiasts, athletes and (i hoped) other first timers, all huddled together on staten island. at the starting line and first mile was entertaining; sneak peak of peoples silly rituals, a sea of abandoned clothing covering every inch of pavement and smiling, knowing this was the start.

brooklyn was so - pardon for the cheesiness - inspiring. music bursting out of nearby windows and flooding into the street. strangers cheering you on. high fives, feeling fast and the guy named sugar a few steps behind me kept me smiling. greenpoint was perfectly delightful. i already created a list of places i passed i want to visit on a free weekend. pleasantly surprised that i made it to the halfway point without feeling tired or strained was wonderful and i sighed a sigh of relief.

over the queensborough bride and breaking through mile 15, i felt like a cheat, that i had been training on that bridge for months.

once stepping foot onto manhattan i felt a rush of emotion. the sea of people was astounding. goosebumps. a fellow, yet seasoned marathoner friend told me it was the best feeling in the world and be such a rush. even having those words in mind, it was indescribable.

crowd @ mile 24

another 2 miles i saw my cheerleaders. ate an orange and took advantage to talk for the first time in hours. i still looked fresh and felt good. just hungry.

mile 19 my blister exploded - gross, i know - my feet started to throb and my legs were exhausted. the next 7 were not pretty. i was slow, sloppy and had to bite my lip from crying. the last half mile felt like 2.    crossing the finish line was overwhelming. you get promptly rewarded with an apple, almonds, water, bagel, a 40th annual ING marathon medal and wrapped in a giant foil cape.

by far, the best new york moment day to date.

since, i've probably only have run a cumulative 20+ miles. and have banned nutella from my kitchen.

how to eat your way through bleecker street

for my birthday this year i wanted to be surrounded by my favorite things; close friends, vintage clothes, my sweetheart, sushi combined with byob, and delicious food.

for the latter of the bunch, true foodies go to bleecker street. a few close girlfriends and my favorite sexy british import (as i'm sure people magazine would dub) did a best of food tour along the cute little street that cuts through the village.

w. aforementioned close girlfriends

first stop was rocco's for killer pastries, 3 layer chocolate cake and cafe lattes. clearly delicious. we ate too much here to buy anything to take home.

next up was amy's bread. we needed yummy, fresh baked bread for our upcoming cheese stop. we ended up gathering all sorts of bread sticks; rosemary, olive, prosciutto, walnut, and 5 grain. most of these got devoured later in the afternoon on the highline. sans cheese. rosemary won first place for best infused "stick".

@ amy's

we had 'fish' on our list to stop for some fresh fish but ended up stopping in 'the lobster place seafood market' and fancied fresh, succulent, sea scallops. 1lb please. coat in flour and pan fry with lemon juice. perfection.

last and favorite stop was murray's. the varieties of artisan cheeses can be overwhelming. thank goodness they let you try samples of any cheese you fancy. after tastes of a few triple creme's (why not, it's my birthday) rose petal preserve and roasted red pepper spread, we left with fromage d'affinois (trumps previously mentioned st.andre in 'love triangle'), cachel blue (most delicate species of blue cheeses, sweet, mild and ultra creamy) and selection of olives.

ordering d'affinois

all has since been consumed with love, passion and appreciation. cheers to my 27th year.

from ME to NY - the best of maine on the LES

a good lobster roll is not too hard to come across in nyc. however, a good lobster roll for under $35 is. but, alas, it has been found. for only $14. and consumed. and consumed 3 more times.

where: luke's lobster 93 E. 7th street

when: best to go before 8pm to avoid the line out the door. which soon will be wrapped around the block.

why: perfect lobster roll, delicious root beer and all for under $16

i met my girlfriends, heather & nora at luke's to test out the lobster roll. the menu is small and simple. the staff are all original mainers. the tiny, quaint shop plucks you out of nyc and drops you in a little maine go-to that only locals know about. fortunately, only a few new yorkers know about luke's too as it just opened october 1st.

i started out with the staple lobster roll. amazing. super fresh lobster and lots of it stuffed into a mini bun that has been lightly buttered and toasted golden brown. a touch of mayo and a sprinkling of some secret seasoning (luke swears its only celery salt). this roll is best combined with salt & vinegar chips and a cold, sweet root beer.

H & N devouring lobster rolls

we were so impressed with luke's lobster roll classic, we decided to step it up a notch and get a taste of maine; lobster roll, shrimp roll and crab roll all in the mini form, pickles, 2 empress claws, chips (i nixed mine for an extra pickle) and yet another root beer.

in line for round 2

'a taste of maine'

needless to say we left full. and happy. and enough money left in my wallet to get a cab home.

p.s. luke is pretty cute.

movin' on up!

we recently moved out of our tiny studio on the upper east side. the always naked man visible in his bathroom from our rooftop had lost its humor. fast. we have had enough with roasting in the summer and a ridiculously high electric bill from over using our A/C to compensate. the washer in the basement had eaten enough of our quarters to buy us take away every night for a week. and with every argument with no place or space to storm off in the heat of the moment, i was tired of ending up in the bathroom. crying. and mostly crying because i was sitting in the bathroom.

so we moved to astoria. after searching in the pits of brooklyn (flatbush), ghetto and not-so-fabulous bits of harlem and same ol' boring squares of the upper east side we decided on sweet, delicious, sky riser free, greek infused astoria.

our apartment is practically heaven sent. my top three favorites things are the black & white tile floor in the bathroom, crown molding throughout and the antique glass doorknobs that i would totally over pay for in any little boutique.

(pardon the lack of chi)

we have painted (well, stuart painted and i assisted) the crown molding in true style; light inside, dark outside and white trim. martha stewart inspired colors of course! and our hand-me-down laura ashley L-shape looks as if we picked it out just for the space.

everything is slowly finding a home inside cupboards, closets and nooks. i even got to bring a few of my favorite things that didn't make the studio cuts previously into the new place. and all of my dishes are cozy in their cabinets. perfect! i even have enough kitchen space to have an entire cabinet & shelf dedicated to just baking tools. a self proclaimed baking goddess' dream.

i'm just waiting on my matching white, ruffled, laundry bags and shower curtain, currently on back order.

fashion week: carlos miele - a new york experience

every once in a blue moon i get this great feeling, tingles all over and fall madly in love with new york all over again. this one such blue moon was during fashion week showcasing spring/summer 2010.

one of my fav new yorkers, heather, managed to score tickets to carlos miele's show. we were no longer be circling the 'wichcraft stand trying to catch a glimps of designers and gurus but we were actually going to be under the (big, glorious, white) tents.

of course such an event needs to be preceeding with slightly glutenous, glamorous breakfast. reservation for 3 under holly golightly.

surrounded by glitz, glam and urban-chic wonder women, heather, lauren and i tried to maintain our coolness. this soon gave way to capturing the event on our cameras, which lead to giddiness and joy and brought us eventually to sheer vanity. (we did look pretty fabulous)

just waiting in line was exhuberating. watching the guests pour out of the carolina herrera show. r.zoe spotting. we finally got our (pretty sweet) seats and started to soak up the experience.

the show was wonderful. miele used such beautiful color palates and organza silks that could make your heart melt. everything that came down the runway was gorgeous. we were in awe.

still in love with the day and awaiting the next blue moon.

orsino love triangle

my dear friend heather recently got us tickets (by waiting in line for 5 hours) to see Shakespeare in the Park: Twelfth Night.

this was probably one of the best things i have done in manhattan. we had a terrific girls date night which included lots of wine & st.andre cheese.

the acting was amazing and featured anne hathaway playing viola. stellar. the set was perfectly simplistic. the play was just delightful as directed by daniel sullivan. performed in the language of shakespeare, i was pleasantly surprise with how well i followed it and even found myself laughing out loud (at the humorous bits of course)

here's a little recap via love map:

on top of all the theatrical magic, the rainy weather stayed at bay for the duration of the play. miracle for nyc in the summer of 2009.

cherish my cherin. sushi.

mmm! sushi.

i recently discovered a fabulous sushi restaurant in the east village. cherin sushi. reasons it is so fabulous: aaahmazing & creative sushi rolls and BYOB.

*

among the traditional rolls and sashimi, cherin gets creative with fish combo's. options with mangos and red caviar are all over the menu selections. the marriage of fish & fruit is done so well here, you leave craving their house specialty rolls; the john roll (sliced mango atop spicy, crunchy salmon) and trisha roll (tune & yellowtail on top of avocado & crunch) are my favorites.

everything is super fresh. the rice is not too overbearing and cooked to perfection. and cherin scores extra points for simple, appreciated presentation.

decor is simple, clean, understated, but classier than your typical sushi joint. slightly dim inside and always packed with east village locals who are in the know. the little twinkly lights outside on the door & railing make it easy to spot.

best of all...cherin is totally affordable. and with the BYOB, you can bring along your fav sauvingnon blanc. perfection.

*image courtesy of nymag.com

urban garden

on my fairly long commute to work every morning from the upper east side to chelsea there is a little strip of 28th street that is just gorgeous & awake. i feel like alice wondering through wonderland. 

                            

                                   

huge bouquets of peonies wrapped in brown paper may just be the prettiest thing i ever did see. 

pastie magic

pastie: a staple in the welsh diet. a basic creation of potatoes and canned (yes, canned) corned beef within a pastry shell.

my challenge was to make the best darn pastie a welsh-man has ever tasted.

the american (although haphazard and completely unhealthy) perfected version of a traditional welsh meal.

6 small potatoes - peeled if desired, cut and boiled until soft

1 small yellow onion - diced

2 cloves garlic - minced

5 TBSP olive oil/butter

2 tins corned beef (beware - looks v.gross)

1 cup milk (i used whole - more fattening ingredients usually make for a better meal)

salt & pepper to taste

2 packages sainsbury's pastry mix

1 egg - beaten

- saute garlic & onion in small amount olive oil/butter until soft. about 2-3 minutes on medium heat.

- add cooked potatoes. add milk as needed.

- add corned beef and remaining tablespoons of butter.

- mix ingredients well. you may need to add more milk here; mixture should be very creamy (which means inevitably fattening) thicker than a stew, not runny at all. reduce heat to low.

- add salt & pepper to taste.

- while mixture is simmering, follow instructions for pastry mix (very easy, just add water)and form 12 big, flat, round discs with pastry dough.

- place large spoonful of corned beef/potato mixture on one side of pastry disc. fold over other side. pinch around edge to create seam.

- brush pastry parcels with egg wash.

bake @ 350 for 25 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. makes 12 small pasties, or in my case 7 small ones and 1 mammoth pastie.

*this recipe was tasted, tested and approved by a certified welshman. mmm! mmm! good!

zac v. ann

A terrible, totally embarrassing NYC moment happened recently. Two silver linings: thank goodness I wasn't alone & thank goodness there were no surrounding fashion police as we would have for surely been arrested. 

Location: SoHo (out of all little pockets/neighborhoods in manhattan, SoHo is the WORST for this catastrophe)

Partner In Crime: Elizabeth - beautiful, bombshell-esqe blonde who is commonly found in a perfect little black dress 

Disaster: We had passed an Eileen Fisher; I commented that when I am in my 50's I think this brand would suit me. E had replied that she felt the same way when she was in her early 20's about Ann Taylor. The conversation continues on AT and we convince each other that we probably both have a cardigan or two in the back of our closet. In the midsts of my confession that my favorite pair of white pants are from AT who passes us but....Zac Posen. 

ZP - the aaaaahmazing designer who instantly increased my Gwyneth obsession with perfectly feminine, glamorous peach-cinnamon chiffon 2007.

Yes, it was Zac Posen passed us just past the corner of W.Broadway & Prince, with a gorgeous model I might add, as I am confessing to a pair of white AT pants as my go-to summer item. 

(Perhaps a third silver lining; I forbid the use of the word "slacks")

E & I are still recovering.

wellies, gloshes, rainboots, oh my!

dear weather,

i am not very happy with you. the past week here in NYC has been severely gloomy. you have been sending us heavy grey skies and left us with puddles along every sidewalk. you have also been very inconsistent; varying degrees of wetness falling between drizzle and pouring rain.

as far as the eye can see are intertwining streams of umbrellas. colliding colors of umbrellas popping up out of subway exits and apartment buildings. umbrellas are bad for the flow of human traffic.

depressing. even kathie lee is more popular than al roker this week.

to add to your gloominess are the awful wellies that we all must rely on. they inevitably ruin newly ironed pants as we stuff the hems in. "fuzz up" the back of tights. kick up muddy water onto the back of whatever one is wearing.

in addition, no one really looks good in a good pair of hunters - besides, of course, kate moss at glastonbury with the help of some sequins.

please go. perhaps visit the south of texas. i hear they currently have a D4 drought intensity.

sincerely,

lee

the irony of the modern day Lent

We all tend to give up something that will go along nicely with tyring to improve our overall lifestyle and make us a better, more complete person (or just thinner)

This year for Lent I decided to give up an entire food group: baked goods. This really encompasses all things delicious and most of my favorite things (edible). No cookies, cakes, muffins, cupcakes, brownies and worst of all...croissants. 

The irony lies in the fact that because I gave up baked goods, I have now frequented the ice cream isle for Haagen Dazs 2 for $6 sales to ensure the freezer has tasty treats at all times - you know, just in case. I have even cracked into Stuarts "secret" UK candy stash. God certainly knows I have eaten more ice cream and chocolates this week than I ever consume in baked good. 

But I know I am not the only one. Friends and family are constantly on caffeine highs from mass quantities of iced tea, merely because they gave up soda for the next 40 days. Vodka and cranberries in lieu of wine. Glutenous meals because snacking isn't allowed. More vodka and cranberries in lieu of cigarettes. 

Perhaps next year I will take on positive habits, thoughts, additions to my lifestyle to embrace the spirit of Lent...and that way I can still eat croissants. 

shoes & syrup

(manolo blahnik 'dale')

admiring gorgeous nude patent leather 5" high heels i think of all the outfits i don't have that i could wear them with - come to think of it, i don't even own tude heels, only taupe. tragedy. i also imagine myself much taller and a bit thinner walking down madison avenue in them. this daydream is far more glamorous than what i am actually doing; schelping through madison ave slush in tretorns. i will probably never have these shoes - but they, along with the potential lifestyle, seem to consume my thoughts for the duration of my walk home from retail nightmare (a.k.a. current job)

along with these fabulous shoes i also find myself thinking of ones not so fabulous that i do have; flip flops. now i am in my flip flops on a farm in maine. (preferably a maple syrup farm, which would require harvesting in colder temperatures and therefor flip flops would not be appropriate, but these are what i imagine)

so which do i prefer: maple syrup or patent leather heels...

or, perhaps the better question - how does one make patent leather heels work on a maple syrup farm?