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The last weekend of July turned out to be beautiful. The weather was not too hot and we had a break in humidity so we were able to enjoy the fresh air. We started out the weekend by having a picnic at Owl’s Head Park. The first picnic we’ve had since Geneva and co. left for Maine. We tried to get a band started and brought a bunch of instruments to the park. I’m sure you can imagine how well that went with toddlers! I posted the “band” photos up on Facebook, if you are not on FB, you can still see them here. This is a shot of Sienna doing a ballerina twirl with a skirt borrowed from Mikaela.

Saturday we headed out to Siam Orchid for dinner. It was really cute that Sienna wanted to bring her camera, just like her mom and dad! We took a little walk before heading over to dinner. Besides the boats in the marina and some swans in the water, there really isn’t much to see. I couldn’t decide which photo I liked best so I am posting both.

Here is Sienna calling after the swans:

Yves with gorilla on his shoulders:

And on to dinner! Funny how Sienna loves satay but claims to not like peanut butter (satay is usually marinated with some peanut butter and soy sauce, among other things). One steak skewer escaped before I was able to snap this photo!

It seems as if Sienna is saying, you’re coming into my mouth steak satay!

I forgot the name of my dish but it was basically chicken with mixed veggies:

Yves’ Pad Thai:

And we even got dessert! Coconut custard!

Everything was yummy!

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My birthday was 2 weeks ago and I’m finally getting around to showing the eats!

Yves took me out the Saturday before my birthday. Since I didn’t satisfy my seafood craving while in Florida, I thought going to Randazzo’s would fill the need. I believe my dad took me there when I was younger (although he doesn’t remember) and I figured that it must be a somewhat decent place in order to still be in business. Unfortunately, I was not really impressed. To be fair, I wasn’t very hungry since we went out for lunch to Jay and Lloyd’s earlier that day and Yves isn’t a big seafood person so I didn’t get to sample too much. We shared fried calamari (they didn’t bring a lemon with it! What’s up with that?), Yves got a crab cake sandwich and I got stuffed filet with fried zucchinis. All I could say was eh. I am willing to go back and try some other dishes.

For my actual birthday my parents took us out to a new place in Brooklyn’s Chinatown. I don’t recall the name but it used to be Ming Gee’s on 6th Avenue and around 63rd. Sadly, not impressed here either. We got peking duck to start and it was a bit chewy. Sienna didn’t care for it. The other dishes were Japanese style short ribs (I ended up being the only one eating this!), the usual Hong Kong style steak,  sauteed snow pea greens and fried rice (that took forever to arrive!). It wasn’t terrible but we definitely had better. Probably won’t be going back there anytime soon.

Later in the week, Joy took me and Sienna out for lunch. I was still trying to satisfy my seafood craving and read that Rocco’s Calamari was good. When we got there, the gates were down as they were closed for vacation! Joy’s suggestion of Spartan Souvlaki turned out to be a great back up. As per usual, me and Joy ordered too much food! I ordered a cheese pie for Sienna and then we got grilled octopus and a salad to share. I ordered the Greek sausage pita with fries while Joy got the gyro sandwich with greek fries. I think Sienna filled up on pita bread and feta cheese because she didn’t even try the cheese pie plus she probably was leery of us as we got her to try the octopus and she didn’t like it. The octopus was absolutely DELICIOUS!And it didn’t matter that Sienna didn’t even eat the cheese pie because me and Joy chowed down on it! It’s made fresh to order! Feta and ricotta cheese in a flaky phyllo dough. MMMMMMM. The greek fries come with lemon, feta cheese and oregano. YUM! We didn’t finish the salad and Joy ended up taking one bite out of her sandwich before calling it quits. I only ate the insides of my sandwich and was quite satisfied. I liked the place so much, I went back the next night with Yves! So these photos are from that night.

This salad came with Yves’ dish! I was expecting a small scoop on the side of his main dish. We were able to share this.

Yves enjoyed the octopus as much as I did and asked why I ordered the small plate.

Yves got the sausage and unfortunately did not care for it. There was something in the sausage that he didn’t like and that I did not taste in mine the previous day. Plus they didn’t cut it up like that in my sandwich. I wonder if they were different, well they must have been because mine didn’t taste like this did. Hmmmm…

Every Saturday in the summer they have a pig roast. When we arrived, we saw the pig roasting outside in the front. I didn’t take a photo of it because I thought I would take one when we left. It was done by the time we left! Just the head was laying there.

Oops! I totally forgot to take a photo of the greek style fries! Oh well!

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On July 7th, we had a band meeting with all the members! Woot! It’s hard to get everyone together. We went to Stand. I was craving a root beer float and they had that, along with lots of other goodies. We started off with some fried pickles in tempura batter. Quite yummy! I really liked the dipping sauce too. I opted to get the grilled shrimp po boy. I liked that it was grilled and the chipotle mayonnaise was delish but I hesitate to call it a po boy when it is served on a brioche bun. Pete got the mushroom beef burger and Tammy and Joy both got the bacon and egg cheeseburger. We also got sweet potato fries and onion rings to share. Their homemade beverages were awesome! We all ended up getting the fresh blackberry soda. I’d go back just for that! I got my root beer float that I was craving (and wolfed down as pointed out by Pete! ha!) Pete tried the ricotta pistachio shake (MMM! and I don’t see it on their online menu) and Tammy and Joy shared the cola float. Fun times. Hope to do it more often!

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Tuesday night I met up with Tammy and Joy for  a long overdue “band meeting.” Unfortunately, our ‘bassist’ Pete couldn’t be in attendance. I was in the mood for some BBQ and we decided on Wildwood BBQ near Union Square. Tammy and I sat at the bar while waiting for Joy. Since I couldn’t have my beloved wheat beer, I opted for a Maker’s Mark neat. On an empty stomach. Boy, I paid for that the next day. I actually told the bartender I must have been crazy to order it neat and she fixed it with some ice. I was feeling GROOVY!

We had a very cool waitress serving us. Waitress! I am sorry! I know you told us your name but in my Maker’s Mark stupor, I forgot!

Anyway, she hooked us up with the pitmaster special. Wet ribs, dry ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, chicken. YUM. Everything was awesome aside from the beef brisket, it was a bit dry. But no fear! We also ordered the Tuesday night special, Homemade Pastrami! AWESOME! Plus 2 appetizers- fried green tomatoes and cornbread so there wasn’t any shortage of food. We could not even finish it all! The shame! And yes, I cheated on my gluten free diet by eating the fried green tomatoes and cornbread but it wasn’t much so I am not going to feel guilty about it! Nope!

Oh Marky Mark, we used to be such close friends!

‘drummer’ and ‘guitarist’

Oh Hoegaarden, we used to be such good friends

Never before seen shrimp on top of a fried green tomato! No complaints here!

Who knew cornbread could taste so good? (Or maybe it’s been my lack of wheat talking!)

Awesome cool waitress!

Hello Pastrami!

Here is a close up so you can drool!

The pitmaster! We would have finished it if Pete was there!

Baked beans and creamed spinach sides.

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A couple of weeks ago, before my gluten free quest, we had the luck of having lunch with two of our good friends on two separate days. Yves was finally able to join Pete and I on a weekday lunch outing! Since we can no longer count on Lento’s as our go to thin crust pizza place, we tried Vezzo’s which I’m sure is related somehow to Gruppo’s, which me and Yves have gone to before. We ordered a pizza with carmelized onions, homemade meatballs and olives. It was quite tasty but the olives were a bit salty. The menu said black olives but kalamata olives were on the pizza. It was still good!

The day after, we had lunch with Joy and went to a panini place I’ve been wanting to try, Press 195. I like my steak and avocado sandwich and the frites and the dessert (nutella and banana press with ice cream) we got but I don’t think it was as awesome as I was lead to believe by some reviews I read. But I believe a lot of the reviews were for their Queens location. They did a good job with the kid plates by including sliced apples, which Sienna ate all of! Plue, there are over 40 sandwich combinations! I’m glad I got to check it out!

The frites were ok

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Last Thursday I attended Martha Stewart’s Stitchfest, an event to celebrate her latest craft book, Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts. I also have her first craft book, which honestly, I don’t look at much but I feel my craft library wouldn’t be complete without it. I met my friend, Rachel for a bite to eat at Chelsea Market. We went to the Green Table, a local, organic and sustainable food restaurant, but not before stopping in some cute dessert places! A lot has been added to the market since I’ve been there last (which was quite awhile ago.) We were quite drawn to the cute displays at Eleni’s (but not their prices!) and I got a (chocolate mint) brownie at Fat Witch, how could I resist? I foolishly only got something small to eat at dinner (meze platter and roasted butternut squash) thinking I would leave room for the hors d’oeurves at the event. Rachel got chicken pot pie, a smarter choice!

And on to the event. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I was a tad disappointed in it. Of course it was laid out beautifully, all the stations were organized well and it was very helpful to see some of the projects in the book up close (especially after having looked through the book last night). There were people showing some crafts at the stations, a make and take for the tomato pin cushion project from the book and lots of demonstrations of sewing machines. We got there shortly after 6 and the make and take line was already super long! We ended up not getting on it in time but did wait to get a free monogrammed tea towel (I got S for Sienna). The people coming out with the hors d’oeurves were hard to find and they came out with such tiny platters that the food was gone pretty quickly (I resisted the urge to lunge at them when I saw them! LOL) We did get this tasty green milkshake that I think was black pepper and I want to say….avocado? I forgot. Anyway, I think I was expecting to at least learn some little crafty tidbits. I don’t know why! As true about everything with Martha is that it all looks perfect, too perfect! We did enter a bunch of free drawings to win different types of sewing machines. I don’t think I won because I haven’t heard anything. The price of admission did get us a cool goody bag. It includes the book, a bunch of MSLO magazines (anyone want my extra Everyday Food issue?), a bunch of thread and needles, coupons and Martha’s brand of precision cut scissors. In the end I am still glad I went. You can see a goofy photo of me and Rachel ‘posing’ with Martha over at Rachel’s blog.

Hibiscus Lemonade

Stamping on fabric demo

I love this applique on the bedspread but I know me, this project is too daunting for me! But maybe the pillowcases!
Rachel is sewing!

Getting the S tea towel made

Using shells is a cute idea!

Goodie bag swag

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Yesterday was Easter Sunday and a beautiful 70 degrees. It’s too bad Sienna had a fever in the morning and threw up twice in the afternoon! My poor baby! ;-( She is better today, thankfully! Friday was the 2nd annual Easter Egg hunt that Starr so graciously organized again. It was a big difference weather wise than last year! And Sienna was pretty good with getting a decent amount of eggs unlike last year!

She’s ready to fill her basket!

On the hunt! She shared her find with Sylvie.

Look at all that she got!

Nico’s loot

Phoenix shows off some bling she got in one of her eggs!

Nico raiding his eggs!

Sienna was asking Nico if she could sit next to him. His only concern was his candy! LOL

Izky shows off a cool dinosaur head egg!

Chocolate face!

Carter stops by and is wearing the shirt I made him!

Sienna’s getting pretty good riding the scooter (Izky’s)

Pizza afterwards. She didn’t get any on her shirt!! Which, btw, is a Peeps shirt I made for her that I will blog about soon!

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Last Sunday was another beautiful day (this past weekend was quite the opposite!) and we spent part of it in Williamsburg. We were meeting Pete, Nate and Mari at Raymund’s and stopped by the playground beforehand. McCarren Park has a nice playground! 2 sets of swings, a bunch of slides and at least 3 different structures to climb. We picked up Joy before we headed out there. Sienna had fun playing with Joy.

Now on to Raymund’s! YUM!

Mari’s borscht

Pete eats white borscht (with a plop of mashed potatoes, ahem!)

Potato Pancakes MMMM!

Apple fritters! MMMM

Joy points to her big pile of goulash (on a pile of potato pancake!), which was pretty good. I might have to deviate from my usual pierogi order next time.

My pierogies!

Yves eats his kielbasa plate

Sienna enjoys some of Yves’ kielbasa and potato pancakes

Sienna and doggie

Pete laughs at Sienna’s rendition of Mana mana (from the Muppets)

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Today was Sienna’s birthday party to celebrate her 3rd year here! The weather couldn’t have been worse (well, I suppose it could have been snow!) with rain and wind. Actually the rain wasn’t too bad, it’s the ferocious winds! I had a couple of cancellations but those who showed up had a good time! I’m really grateful to those that were able to make it. Sienna had a ball! I was up at 6 am (with the help of Sienna) to make shredded BBQ chicken in the crockpot, baked macaroni and cheese, devil’s food cupcakes and vanilla frosting (I made banana cupcakes and 2 different frostings last night) and zucchini’s with goat cheese (Allen helped big time with those!). I was in a bit of a frenzy during the party so I didn’t get the best photos. Hopefully Yves got some good video. I set up a game called “pin the party hat on Sienna” which I’m sure you can guess what that is all about. I blew up a photo of Sienna eating cake from her 2nd birthday. I also had prizes for everyone. It was probably unnecessary to do the game since all the kids had a perfectly fun time just playing with Sienna’s toys! I guess I’ll just remember the game for when she is older.

Frosting choices are strawberry meringue buttercream, vanilla and chocolate sour cream. (the photo of the dog is Crusher and is part of a swap I’m doing!)

the kid’s table

Sienna couldn’t wait to get at the cupcakes! I don’t know why Emma has the pear! LOL

Allen and Leah

Allen says something funny

Playing in the living room (you should have seen Sienna’s room!)

Opening Uncle Peeder’s present!

Opening Phoenix, Geneva and Layne’s present (Phoenix made that card herself!!)

Checking out the present from Emma, Leah, Jana and Allen!

A froggie bank from Phoenix, Geneva and Layne!

The girls playing on the bed

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Pete and I made it back to Shopsin’s (at the beginning of February) in record time! Our last visit was sometime in November. I really enjoyed our picks this time vs. the last time. I ordered an ATW sandwich (never bothered asking what that means) which consists of pulled pork, onions, cheddar and bacon! MMMMMMMMM!!! I was surprised by all the bacon in the sandwich and I really thought I wouldn’t be able to eat it all (but I did!) Pete was surprised that I did since I made such a commotion about all the bacon. I told him that it’s because I’m a fat fuck! He also asked if that was going to be the name of this blog post but I didn’t have the nerve. HA! Plus you just can’t let a good pig go to waste! Pete ordered the famous Mac N Cheese pancakes! At long last! Hearing about the MnC pancakes is what brought me to Shopsin’s in the first place but I was never in the mood for them. They were quite savory and tasty! Not as decadent as I thought it would be as they don’t overdue the MnC.

My after…hey! There’s bread and lettuce still there!

Is that a whole pancake Pete leaves?? Gasp! There are starving children in this world! LOL

We made our usual stop at Economy Candy and I was in the mood for a cakey treat so we went to Sugar Sweet Sunshine where I brought home some cupcakes for everyone. I got 2 pistachios (by far their best cupcake!), a spicy pumpkin and oooooohhhh a peppermint chocolate!!! When I got home, which one does Sienna pick? MY peppermint chocolate one! Of course I am happy to share with her and gave her less than half of it. She ate all the frosting and about half of the cake. We usually don’t give her something that sweet so late in the day (it was about 4:30 maybe?) and yeah, we paid for that later. She was jumping off the wall that night!

I think Yves was explaining that he had the superior cupcake!

All cupcaked out!

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