2 posts in one day! - display pictures

Here are the final pictures of the displays I put up for Spring time at Anthropologie. I had put them on facebook forgetting that some people who read this blog don't have a facebook so my apologies, and here ya go!

Home made sushi!

Well so far this weekend has been full of relaxing and cooking...what else is new. BUT we did something a little different today - made sushi! We did our usual grocery shopping at trader joes but picked up a couple different things like jasmine rice, soy sauce and cucumber along with our usual spinach and avocado. I already had some carrots, mushrooms, seasonings, mayo, and cream cheese at home so all we had to find was a bamboo mat, some seaweed, and some sushi grade fish. We checked out a local japanese market and fishery for that and it was all done by 10AM so we got home before all the crazies of NYC had time to annoy me. I cooked the rice as soon as we got home so it had time to cool down and cut up all the veggies/laid everything out while listening to Rock City Church streaming through my record player. It was a really nice experience. Mike and I had watched videos on how to properly make sushi online last night so after 1 or 2 rolls with too much rice, I dare say we did a pretty good job. See for yourself.

We garnished some of them with 2 different kinds of aoli that we made from different assortments of mayo, paprika, garlic, celery seeds, and thyme. I definitely will be doing this again. We got a little adventurous towards the end by putting the rice on the outside with some celery seeds - yeah we're THAT crazy.

parking lots

things I miss from home, other than family and friends blah blah blah:

- fire places
- parking lots
- Non-inflated rent prices
- The "acknowledgment nod"
- The proper use of the car horn
- pothole-less streets
- being able to cook without setting off an over sensitive fire alarm

There are plenty of great things about living here - mainly all of them are in Manhattan. I think we'll be moving to brooklyn or manhattan after this lease is up. Although I REALLY like our apartment - we've been making it quite the nest. Want to see some more pictures of furniture and food?!?! well keep looking then....

This is the kitchen island, rug, and floor lamp that are the newest additions to the kitchen. The impact is huge. The kitchen no longer looks like a hospital waiting room and we have counter space to actually cook things instead of trying to use the one foot of counter space that was previously available. 

So I've fallen in love with this pizza recipe even though it sets off our fire alarm because of the excessive amount of herbed olive oil that drip off of it and smokes. Fresh Ingredients and cold beers on a friday night. Sounds good when there is a snow storm and you don't want to venture out into the world.

Also I've been baking! Anyone that knows the Skunta's knows that no baking occurs in our house - even rolls that you just "warm up" in the oven will be burned upon entry to the Skuntarosa. Anyway these are some scones with berries in them. Apparently they "aren't as good as panera" but I am enjoying spending the time in the kitchen after a hard days work. Actually thats where I'm heading right now...Mike is riding the subway home from his first week of work in Manhattan and we will be making mozzarella and spinach stuffed chicken. Let the drooling commence.

Long Island loves Billy Joel

So just about 15 times a week I hear Billie Joel mentioned in L.I. or NYC. whether it's his songs on the radio, his residency at Madison Square Garden, or stories about him driving right into someone's teacher's house in the 80's. It seems like this town just can't get enough Billie Joel, and I'm okay with that. Speaking of music there are some great shows I'm looking forward to this month - Columbus's own Saint Seneca and Jon Lampley are coming to play at venues in Brooklyn and I am going to see the elusive Neutral Milk Hotel whom I've been dying to hear play for a very long time.

In other news, my new spring window displays are 95% done! I'm going to make you all wait till they are 100% done to see my final pictures BUT I will share my sketches with you. This was my original idea for our "Up above" inspiration for Spring 2014.  Hot air balloons were a key part of the inspiration but I really wanted to push the "up above" theme even more by adding a bird cage element which I thought really added to the narrative of the window. The white script and edwardians designs on the corner of the window would have been painted directly on the glass and all other elements are composed of different gauge wire, canvas, cardboard, and of course - paint.

 Unfortunately since this is my first window where I've had time to prepare, some of the higher ups thought it might be a good idea to do a window that was a little less difficult and more like the prototype they sent out so I could get a better grasp of everything that goes into making a window. Hopefully through the next few windows I create I can show off my skill set and have more freedom on my following windows. I'll just have to show them what I'm capable of! Anyway this was the final sketch that was approved.

It was a difficult window to create since most of my time, measurements, materials, and effort was focused on my original sketch until about 3 weeks ago, but it's done and I'm very happy with the results. The staff as well as customers seem to like it as well. I've actually created 2 windows (a main/apparel window and a home product window.) Here is a sneak peak of both!

Back to normal life

I'm sad that the holidays are over, but 2014 is upon us. I'm not making any drastic changes to achieve my 2014 goals because in my experience smaller steps that turn into a routine are the way to go. If my resolution was to eat as many ginger snaps as possible, then I'm doing a great job.

Here are a few pictures of my Saturday sushi date at Bonsai in Port Washington, Long Island. I ordered the vegetarian sushi entree and had a lot of fun trying to guess what vegetables I was eating. It was AMAZING. Instead of fortune cookies at the end of the meal we received an artfully sliced orange and some pineapple.

Later that night we went to "The Stand", a comedy club in Manhattan. I had bought a groupon a few weeks back and I'm glad we used it on this night because Judah Friedlander from 30 rock was there! We saw 5 comedians in total including a writer for Conan and Ari Shaffir. Definitely a time I appreciated being a new yakher!

If you've seen the news then you know the NYC/Long Island got hit with a pretty large blizzard this past week which closed down the Long Island Expressway (L.I.E). This caused A LOT of delays which meant I didn't have to go into work until 9! It was great to be able to wake up and eat a real breakfast instead of jumping out of bed and leaving for work before the sun rises. Since we got about 9 inches overnight I had to start my car and steer while Mike pushed me over the snow bank that the plow had piled up on the street.

I love the camaraderie that comes with a blizzard - people staying home with their loved ones playing games and watching movies. Everyone is in a little bit less of a rush which is really nice especially for around here. After visiting home it definitely makes me appreciate the perks of a small town but I know that for now at least it's a great adventure (and sometimes a pain in the rear) to live here.

Hangover on the subway quite literally is hell

As you can tell from my title, I had A LOT of fun last night. Shout out to Sam P for allowing us to join a private event at Finnerty's in the lower east side.

We rang in the New Year with Nate and Natalie who came to visit from Ohio. We grabbed a Nick's pizza after I got home from work, got all dapper, did a little pre party drinking to survive the cold walk to the subway and arrived around 10:15. Having an open bar is nice, but it also makes you mix way too many different kinds of alcohol, which may or may not lead to getting sick on the subway. Anywho....since bars are open later in NY, we danced the night away after the ball drop until about 4 AM. After recovery, 2 lbs of bacon, and a shower this morning we went to lunch at the Irish cottage, a restaurant/pub in queens. The fish and chips were heaven!

Reflecting back on 2013, I gotta say it was my favorite year yet. I visited 12 states, got a tattoo, got a new job, moved to NYC, and found an apartment with Mike. Looking forward many more great years to come. My New Years resolution are to try more unique food, read the bible, keep in shape, and enjoy the present.

Happy 2014 everyone! Make every day count for something.

Don't worry, this picture was before I got sick on the subway...