Feb 26th 2010 03:33:22 pm

Another snow storm hit New York yesterday and it has been snowing non-stop for the last 24 hours, at least. It is really beautiful… especially since I get to stay inside and watch it through my window!

3 Comments » Categories: Brooklyn, Home, New York

Feb 23rd 2010 01:04:05 pm

New York City is back on my good side! On Sunday, Travis and I went for a late (really late, like 4 pm) brunch at Penelope Cafe in Murray Hill. (It was very delicious, by the way. I highly recommend it.) Afterward, I thought I should do my blogger duty and pick up some more cupcakes to objectively review for my loyal “NYC Cupcake Review” followers. ha!

Travis and I stopped by the small Crumbs Bake Shop near Union Square and picked up a chocolate coconut and a “Half-baked” cupcake to review. Crumbs is a relatively new bakery that was started in 2003 by a former attorney and now has over a dozen locations, both in New York and LA.

This was not my first taste of Crumbs cupcakes. Travis and I have picked them up at least twice in the past and I also always manage to have one at the museum cafe when I visit the Met. I don’t remember all of the flavors I have tried, but I know that caramel apple, blackout, brownie, vanilla coconut, and carrot are on the list. In the past, I claimed that Crumbs is my favorite cupcake shop in NY, and this review definitely reinforces that!

Crumbs cupcakes are large – about the size of a large muffin – and they come with tons of frosting and fun toppings. The bakery case reminds me of a gelato shop because of all the goodies you find stuck in the mounded frosting. The flavor selection is amazing and overwhelming, and they always have a
“cupcake of the month” that they are featuring. It is hard for me to choose anything other than the chocolate flavors, but every time that I do I am pleasantly surprised. Of course, for this review I went with chocolate!

Both of the flavors we chose were perfectly moist, with light, sweet icing. The chocolate coconut cupcake was simple with chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream frosting, and coconut sprinkled on top. The “Half-Baked” flavor consisted of chocolate cake with a vanilla buttercream filling (yum!), chocolate and cookie dough flavored frostings, and brownie and cookie pieces crumbled on top. So decadent and so delicious!

I tried to avoid giving Crumbs a perfect score, but couldn’t. Everything about the cupcakes was perfect, from the store presentation and the flavor selection to the texture and taste of the cakes. Even the take-out containers are terrific, with separate holders for each cake to keep them from toppling over. The only downside that some people may find is the large size and corresponding price. Each cupcake is $4.50, but they are definitely worth it and are easily large enough for two people to share. Travis and I ate our two cupcakes for dinner and we had a hard time finishing them between the two of us. (Luckily, Travis stepped up and ate the last bits, and he wanted me to add that he thinks these cupcakes are “fantastic.”)

I cannot recommend Crumbs cupcakes highly enough! They are the best cupcakes I have had so far in New York. Yum, yum, yum!

10 Comments » Categories: Food, NYC Cupcake Review, New York

Feb 22nd 2010 06:53:06 pm

I have another installment of the NYC Cupcake Review in the works, but today I just needed a smile… so here is a cute photo of Crusher wrapped up as a burrito. Enjoy!

(I recently read a cool eBook about how to improve your blogging skills, and writing about how cute your pets are is definitely a no-no… oh, well. My blog may have to remain unimproved.)

5 Comments » Categories: Crusher, Cute Things

Feb 17th 2010 03:25:39 pm

Living in New York City is difficult. Especially for a midwest girl who spent the previous four years in the laid-back, hippie town of Eugene. I have been trying to stay positive about the move (almost a year later!) and have tried to be the strong, confident, optimistic woman that I would like to be. Ha! Some days it works, some days it doesn’t.

On Monday, I had a meeting in Manhattan and then Travis and I planned to eat dinner at one of the many confusing, but oh-so-popular Momofuku restaurants. I was so cheerful and energetic when I started out! I took the 40 minute subway ride, ran some errands, went to my meeting, did some shopping, then hung out at Barnes & Noble waiting for Travis. Barnes & Noble is cool because they let you use their bathroom even without a purchase (very rare in NY), but they are uncool because I got scolded for sitting on the floor reading a book. There are no comfy chairs in this NY Barnes & Noble, only a handful of folding chairs that were already full with other tired city goers, and apparently, you aren’t allowed to sit on the floor. So… basically, by the time Travis got to me I was exhausted and dehydrated, and promises of Momofuku pork buns wasn’t enough to get me pumped up. Plus, we had to walk lots of blocks to the Noodle Bar (one of the Momofuku restaurants), which was too crowded. Then, we walked lots more blocks to the Momofuku Ssam Bar and waited for a seat at the super-crowded, loud bar. I was so tired and so hungry. Poor Travis. BUT, here is the good news: New York City always seems to make up for its inherent hassle and hardship. Our pork buns and barbecue sandwich arrived and they were just about the best food I have ever tasted! Too expensive, too trendy, too difficult to get, but still worth it. Plus, then we went next door to the bakery (the Milk Bar) and got two slices of amazing cake and their signature Cereal Milk (above you see the left-overs in our fridge). Travis even splurged on a taxi ride home! Ahhhh.

What else have I been up to?

• Watched The Hangover last weekend and I loved, loved, loved it! I was totally caught off guard by how much I loved it. It is, like, my new favorite movie, and I don’t even like Las Vegas!
• Travis and I have also been making our way through Entourage, and again, I was surprised by how much I like it. I thought it was all about womanizing and partying (and it is), but it is way sweeter than I expected.
• Oh. This isn’t great, but I have abandoned the thing-a-day project. My daily creative submissions just weren’t very good and I didn’t need another thing to feel stressed over. I am a thing-a-day failure.
• This guy is my favorite thing about the Olympics.
• I had another article (a book review of Weekend Sewing) published on CraftCritique.com this week.
• I have been doing these Dance and Be Fit workouts on FitTV and I am really enjoying them. The instructor, Kimberly Miguel Mullen, is really cute and fun. They make me want to take some “real” dance classes…

What have you been doing to keep sane during this long, cold February? I need suggestions!

11 Comments » Categories: Birthday, Feeling Happy, Feeling Sad, Food, New York

Feb 16th 2010 12:32:59 pm

My 29th birthday was last Wednesday and it was a perfect day. It had snowed overnight which meant Travis got to work from home. We started the day with muffins from my favorite bakery, and I spent the day crafting and avoiding email. In the evening, we headed out into the two feet of snow and sleet to get dinner at our favorite, local restaurant, Stone Park Cafe. We went all out with an appetizer, entrees, dessert, and coffee. It was all delicious, and because of the snow, the restaurant was almost empty and very quiet. We sat by the window and watched the snow fall. It was a perfect evening, and it didn’t even end there! I came home and opened too many fabulous presents and cards from my family. Thank you so much to everyone, especially Travis, for making my birthday so special. I know that I am spoiled.

No Comments » Categories: Birthday

Feb 15th 2010 02:04:06 pm

This article was originally published on…

Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching has an MSRP of $27.50 and is sold at most major book retailers. Do you own this book and have you created any of the projects? If so, please share links to photos of your finished products. What other sewing books do you suggest for a beginner-to-intermediate seamstress?

No Comments » Categories: Books, CraftCritique.com articles, Crafts

Feb 11th 2010 11:06:07 pm

I am still working on a big birthday wrap-up post, I promise. I know all of you want to see photos of me opening presents, but for now you will have to settle for my 11th creative thing-a-day. My parents sent me a very cool sketching pencil/pen and I was eager to try it out. Now, I haven’t drawn without a computer for quite a while and I am out of practice, so forgive my quick, simple sketch. The subjects of my still life were two of the fabulous birthday gifts sent to me from Chelsea & Scott. I love them so much and have no idea how Chelsea read my mind and got me the two make-up items I was wishing for. I really liked using the sketching pen. It kept my hand clean and is comfortable to hold… now I just need to do more sketches!

1 Comment » Categories: Art, Birthday, Make-up & Beauty

Feb 11th 2010 04:17:47 pm

I am working on a huge birthday post (it was a really great day), but I wanted to fit in this thing-a-day post first:

I worked on these two scrapbook pages yesterday, which was my birthday and the 10th day of the thing-a-day challenge. They are for the scrapbook I do with my sister-in-law, Chelsea, and I have been meaning to complete them for a long time. (The Christmas page is for 2008!) I figured I could make some time for fun crafting on my birthday and I am glad I did.

1 Comment » Categories: Birthday, Crafts, Family, Projects

Feb 10th 2010 12:14:18 am

Travis got me this mini, instant Polaroid printer for my birthday (which is tomorrow). And I have been playing around with it today. I think that counts as a creative endeavor for thing-a-day. That little photo of Crusher (stuck to my computer with a heart sticker) is an example of the prints it produces. They actually have sticky backs on each of the prints, but I just wasn’t committed enough to peel off the back of the print to stick on my computer forever. It is a pretty fun little printer! The photos print out in less than a minute. You can even send photos directly from your cell phone. I need to keep playing around with it! (Sorry for the burned out photo – I had to use flash.)

Since I am doing a little birthday gift preview, check out this amazing La Mer treasure trove sent to me by my parents! I feel so spoiled! …and that was only a part of the gift package they sent! Stay tuned for more birthday details tomorrow.

9 Comments » Categories: Birthday, Photos, Projects

Feb 8th 2010 12:03:33 pm

So… I missed my thing-a-day yesterday. To be honest, I was having a bad day. I was trying to work on Swap-bot, but I came down with a bad case of cabin fever. Plus, the Superbowl really gets on my nerves. Finally, Travis broke down and took my out to dinner at Miriam, an Israeli restaurant near our apartment. It was wonderful. The place was empty and I had seafood risotto. A great start to my birthday week!

For day 8 of thing-a-day, I made this matchbox for my February Love Matchbox Swap. Today is the last day to send your swap package, so I cut it a little close to the deadline. I was going to send one of the previous matchboxes I had made for Etsy Craft Night, but I decided I wanted to make something new for my partner. She likes bright and bold colors. I hope she likes her package!

2 Comments » Categories: Birthday, Brooklyn, Crafts, Food, Swap-bot