hello truelove

NYC Visitor Files

Each time we have a house-guest I post a few of the spots we visited. If you do not live in New York, consider some of these places in your next visit— though they may be off the beaten tourist path. If you do live in NYC, I hope you discover a new corner of the city or see one you already enjoy!

{Photo from Dekalb Market site}

This weekend my sister Emily was able to visit and meet Owen:) We checked out the Dekalb Market and enjoyed yummy breakfast sandwiches and fresh doughnuts.

Went for a stroll on the Brooklyn Promenade- such a pretty day, puffy white clouds and all! And enjoyed a brick oven Grimaldi’s pizza with pepperoni and olives- my, J, and her favorite- gotta love family! Thanks for visiting, Em!

Layer 1: Paint

Not sure if you noticed from my “before” post that the paint in the bedroom of our new place…

didn’t quite match the furniture/look we had in our old place.

Ah, NYC apartments. Yep, that is yellow and brown sponge paint in the first picture. While clearly someone took a lot of care to sponge paint that room…it just did not work for us.

So this weekend we transformed the walls (with a bit of non-VOC paint) to make a lighter, brighter bedroom. Next step, furniture placement!

Important side note: I was also forced to purchase this mini-orchid at The Home Depot when I went to get the paint. Beware if you see these. It is pretty impossible not to pick one up because of their cuteness.

With my well-documented love for orchids I knew you’d understand;)  What are you up to this weekend?

We are hoping to lay out a rug, put together some side tables, hang some pictures, pick out a crib and a stroller, oh, and try some of the famed Peter Pan donuts…I’ll keep you updated on whether we get all that done. Next week I’ll post an Ikea quick fix I came up with for our living room. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Brunch Crawl

We decided to do a little brunch crawl to a few favorite spots this weekend.

{Breakfast Sandwich at Murray’s Cheese} (Remember this awesome wedding gift!?)

{Coffee at Joe}

On our walk uptown, we wandered by this fun art space in the front of the Flatiron Building.

And then we passed by this building (the arches reminded me of The Mezquita in Spain). Finally, as our little brunch dessert:

{Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich at The Breslin}

A very hefty orchid…

You know by now how much I love orchids…

{Photo from Brooklyn Botanical Garden site}

Well, I’ve managed to find myself another orchid attraction. As if there isn’t enough to love about the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, they’ve got a 300 pound orchid in their greenhouse. Hope I get to take a trip there this winter!

Travel Photo Friday: Montauk

Montauk, New York

Cheese Please.

Today we went on a cheese adventure at Murray’s Cheese- courtesy of our friends Sarah and Neil who recently got us a gift certificate. It was delightful. Much sampling was done.

I’ve labeled our loot below:

Kunik, Nettle Meadow (goat milk/cow cream)

Rogue River Blue, Rouge River Creamery (blue

Grayson, Meadow Creek (cow)

Jalapeno Jack, Maple Leaf

Bread Cheese (seriously, how is this to be resisted?), Carr Valley (cow milk, baked)

Along with our creamery purchases we picked up some apple paste, fig spread and sweet olive oil tostas. 

I think we’re going to savor this stuff one pretty cheese plate at a time.

Apparently with the bread cheese you’re supposed to cut it into cubes and warm it on a hot skillet… sounded like a good idea to me. Honey on top didn’t hurt either.

Have you gone on any food field trips lately? I’d love to hear about it! Checking out a specialty shop is a highly recommended rainy day activity:)