Ready, Set, Go!

This past weekend I got to play a part in a photoshoot! I was very fun and interesting. Kept me on my toes the whole time!

Here are a few pictures I took behind the scenes:

Makeup artist: Courtney at work

Models: Mike and Alison on the trampoline getting direction from photographer Jerry

More details to come!

Mad Men Fashion

Rob and I have been quite obsessed with the tv series Mad Men for the past couple of weeks. The drama, the hair, the vocabulary, the clothes!

One of the best dressed characters is Joan, a sultry redhead, she always wears solids and one statement jewelry piece. She works her curves like no one's business!



Here's my Joan inspired (yet modern) Christmas Party outfit (if I had unlimited funds).

Items in this set:
Thread Social dress, $495
Christian Louboutin shoes, $895
By Malene Birger necklace, $315
TopShop tights
Shop.hm.com glove

*Thanks Anton for urging me to netflix the series. I will not be watching SYTYCD though, thanks (but no thanks).

Therapy

I had three great forms of therapy this past weekend.

Baking: I baked Pioneer Woman's "Best" Chocolate Cake recipe. The cake is very moist and the chocolate is really pronounced. The frosting was too sweet. I would make this cake again with a semi-sweet ganache for frosting, maybe add some coffee to cut the sweetness, (I really should just cut out some of the sugar, but c'mon!). Plus: This cake is super easy to make!



Shopping: Hooray for Gap's Give and Get Program. I scored this dress from BR for $27:
How I'm going to wear it
Work: Long sleeve black tee underneath, gray cardigan, black tights, and flats or boots
Out: Black velvet blazer, black tights, gold jewelry, and heels


Anthro sale finds:



59.99-This sweater is very "grandma chic". It looks a bit frumpy but oh so comfy! It has pockets and a hood! I'll really have to play this one up with bright tees underneath, brooches, or long necklaces.








49.99-Mad for plaid! This dress is super cute and it stands on its own. Yes I'll wear it with tights too.

Sleep! I think we clocked in a good 8.5 hours on Saturday night!

Overall a great weekend!

The elusive Chocodile

It's been a few weeks since we've moved in and we haven't completely unpacked yet. We have actually been living around the mess (so bad!).

However I'm very excited because I found out we live near a Wonder Hostess Bakery Outlet!!

Ho-hos, sno-balls, home run pies, chocodiles.. OH MY! My mother used to frequent these Outlet shops, and it would be the only time we ever got to eat Wonder bread (I used to think it was the best bread ever).

I went for a visit and bought 2 boxes (10 in each box) of chocodiles and one snack pack of sno-balls, which came to a grand total of $4.80!

Chocodiles: In short they are chocolate covered twinkies. Its the same chocolate used to coat ho -ho's and ding dongs. It's not the best, but if you're eating a chocodile you're not shooting for gourmet quality. I'm not sure why, but I never see them being sold outside of an outlet store...

I need to wash these puppies down with some tea!

Disorderly Conduct

Moving is...messy. We have completed our move and I no longer have to stress about packing.Unpacking is another story, I'm so happy I have a bigger kitchen with more cabinet space than I can use (yay). However, I want to take my time to think about where to put everything.
That is my current issue. Lack of time has made it super hard to actually do anything about the mess. I feel utterly discombobulated and exhausted (insert dramatic sigh).

Hopefully I can get it all done this weekend.

One a side note, I'm very sad to say that the Target chair (shown below) has arrived but is way too large for the space I wanted to put it in. Such a pity, its a great looking chair but it needs to go on a diet =(

Blank Slate (not really)

This is what I have been up to lately; painting and cleaning! It's been hectic and tiring, but hopefully we'll get all the dirty work done this weekend, so we can start moving stuff in.

I love coming up with a color palette and general theme of decor. Rob is only giving me free range on one room, the office. Boo. So I'm going to take my time to think about it, but it'll be girly for sure!

Colors!
Living Room: Gentle Rain
Halls: Subtle Touch
Bedroom: Light Spring
Office: Custard Cream
Powder Room: Ocean View

First splurge for the living room: Target's Athens upholstered chair. With their sale and my work discount (we get 10% off online orders!), I scored it for 224.00! I think it complements the living room colors while the print adds much needed pop.

Okay, back to work =S

New York, New York

It's a jungle out there! Me trying to be part of an exhibit at MOMA. I needed to post one picture that was not food related.

Let the food porn commence...

Pork buns from Momofuku Noodle Bar. Momofuku. Momofuku was started by David Chang who developed a certain style of asian cuisine that I do not want to call fusion, but it's certainly an interpretation of asian dishes from a few asian cuisines mixed into one. (Yea that sounds fusion, but that term makes me think of Wolfgang Puck). Will he be the our generation's Thomas Keller? We'll have to see!

I had to set up an account with a credit card to get reservations for the much acclaimed chicken dinner. Its seemed so intriguing in the most pretentious way, that I had to go!
Worth it!
The chicken dinner consists of two (2) whole chickens. One fried southern style and the other Korean style. They were both expertly fried; the Korean style just had better flavor.
Don't forget the veggies!
The chicken was accompanied by four sauces, veggies, and mu shu pancakes for wrapping. Star Sighting! Mario Battali and some suits grabbing lunch. They were having the chicken dinner too! And yes, he was totally wearing orange crocs!
Katz Deli: A New York staple, the boys loved this place. We went here twice.
You have to be a meat lover at this joint.
Pastis: Very cute french bistro. It's located in the meatpacking district on a cobbled stone street. We did see a photo shoot in action across the street! It was featured in an episode of SATC.

Moules frites. Mussels and fries in a very rich butter sauce.
Croque madame. A very fancy ham and cheese sandwich, served open faced. The food was really good. It seemed very authentic (buttery), and the atmosphere is fabulous.
Cafe Habana: Get the corn! At $3.95 for two ears of corn, it was one of the cheapest snacks we ate in NY! The Cubano sandwich was yummy too! Very small 50's style cafe, great after a shopping trip in Soho! Peter Luger: I'm sure you've all heard the tales of meat related to this place. This is a very old school meat and potatoes steak joint. There is no red wine reduction, buerre blanc sauce, not even butter on the side of the steak!
Porterhouse aged and grilled to perfection. We devoured it!
Fat slices of bacon. oink :@)
Halal Cart : 53rd and 6th. There are many halal carts scattered throughout the city. This one takes the cake. Everyone raves about the sauce. I found it a bit mayo-y. The saffron rice is to die for!
The Little Owl: I was totally looking forward to this place, especially after trying to replicate their meatball sliders. It's such a cute little restaurant tucked in the middle of Greenwich Village! Alas i was a bit disappointed... Their ingredients were of great quality, but it all lacked flavor.
Bleecker Street Pizza: After our lunch at Little Owl, we needed to grab a few slices to fill the void.
A slice of their Nonna Maria (marinara, mozzarella, olive oil, basil, and garlic. Their crust is really crispy. I felt it was too crispy, there was no chew factor.

Other Honorable Mentions

Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery: LES. Cupcakes for 1.50 each! They're not super fancy looking but they are good cupcakes that taste homemade.

Brick Oven Pizza 33: Chelsea. I enjoyed their Nonna Maria (does everyone in Italy have a Grandma named Maria?), better than Bleecker Street's. Their crust is crispy but with chew! I guess it's their brick ovens. See pic below. Con: Not the cheapest slice of pizza $4.

Rink Bar at Rockefeller Center: When the weather is good, its a good place to people watch and have drinks outside. May be a bit touristy but they have peach sangria! Con: They close at 11pm

Donut Plant: These donuts are tasty. Not overly sweet, with great flavors like creme brulee (custard filled), Valrhona chocolate, and carrot cake. Con: We spent $27 for 8 donuts

Anthropologie at Rockefeller Center: The Biggest Anthro I've been to (to date). I can spend hours here!

All in all it was a great trip! Lots of walking and eating! If I had a chance to go again, I'd be there in a New York Minute!