It's good to be back...in North Carolina that is!

Taking a trip to New York definitely makes you appreciate the suburban-ness that is Charlotte, NC. I can say I am no city girl, I appreciate having adjoining parking lots to stores and restaurants, and a way to get to and from without a $20 taxi ride. I surely loved the everyday walking workouts that mom and I got, however, I truly missed the feeling of GLEE blaring in my ear as I run my heart out. With this being said, the first thing on my agenda this morning was to shake, rattle, and roll.

Shake, referring to a yummy chocolate and banana protein shake I drank before my run, rattle, meaning how 'rattled' I felt after not being in a gym for a couple of days, but  got 'rollin' (I know, cheesy) within the first couple of minutes. After a nice 30 minute treadmill set, a couple of one-minute stations around the gym, and then 30 more minutes on this cool elliptical/stair-stepper thingy I was 1100 calories down, and feeling exhilarated. Off to take a refreshing shower, and maybe hit the outlet mall?!!

Since mom and me got so overwhelmed by everything New York sized, the people, places, and prices of things, we didn't do much spring shopping while in the city, so we decided to hit up the nearby outlet mall, Concord Mills, or as I like to refer to it...Heaven! I'm not going to go into details (because my dad reads my blog) but, we had a great day! And pistachio gellati didn't hurt the end of the trip either. There might have been a scoop of dulce de leche too, it's vacation!

We made our way home, and since it is lent, our family tradition has always been to have thin-crust, cheese pizza on 'no meat' Fridays. Sounded good to me :) I did a load of wash and now to unpack myself from my broken suitcase, which broke on the trip to North Carolina, and into a new one, for my plane trip home to Tallahassee and my two loves, Mike and Monkey. I am going to miss this place and how laid back and stress free it is in comparison to Tallahassee. Also, it is always nice to spend time with my family, I don't know what I would do without their love and support in everything I do. Well, I have a lot of jammin' and crammin' to do...

Wonderfully "Wicked" Way to end New York...

Finally just sat down in elastic waisted pants and a t-shirt for the first time in days. I feel like our New York vacation flew by so fast, yet it tuckered us out, just to keep up with all the people, that we are happy to be in our quiet living room once again. Last time I wrote was before Monday night, so I'll just summarize the rest of the night. We were not entirely hungry and wanted some munchie appetizers, so we decided to go and check out "Serendipity III." Famous for their Frozen Hot Chocolate, and many other dessert monstrosities that only occupy my wildest dreams (yes, I do dream of dessert) we figured they would have some light food as well. We put our name in for about a 45 minute wait and headed over to Dylan's Candy Bar to kill some time, and who am I kidding, buy some candy!

Hello mint chocolate bar that I will soon eat...

This place was absolutely, off the wall cool. Any candy creation, or thing you could think of, lined the wall, hung off shelves, sat in candy jars, all for the taking, and buying of course. 

Mom's every step is sweet!

Um...yes please! How long can I stay?

I opted for some dark, belgium chocolate bars and some fluer de sal caramel popcorn. That will make for some great snacking on the plane ride home. Once we pried ourselves out of the candy superstore we headed back to Serendipity III to check in on our reservations.

Unfortunately ,once we got sat and looked at the menu, nothing really sounded up our alley so we decided to meet up with my mom's friend instead. Besides, we had to get up early for "Carlo's Bake Shop" in the morning.

Hooray! Found it...

Chocolate covered cannoli shells...yum!

Just a few pictures to recap how my morning looked, nice and sweet. The rest of the day we shopped and decided to go to "Little Italy" for dinner. We found a hole in my wall place called "Rocky's" and had some wonderful Italian fare that made me feel like I had a "food baby" afterwards.

Gorgonzola Cheese Dip with garlic toast

Veal Parmesan, I ate the entire plate.

After this meal, I had a very good night sleep and couldn't wait for the following day to come to go see Wicked on broadway.

 

The next day we got a late start and just moseyed around the city shopping for nothing specific. It was very cold and windy so we went back to the hotel early, with some warm, toasty, Starbuck's drinks in hand, in order to look nice for dinner and the show. I was super excited for dinner at "Kraft Bar," Tom Colicchio's restaurant, a chef who I love and look up to. Dinner was to die for!

We started with Parmesan Risotto Balls, I ate one too soon, there were three. Oops.

Then came our entrees...

I had sweet potato agnolotti (small ravioli) with salt cured bacon bits, walnuts, and brussel sprouts.

My mom had seared skate wing with kale, fried garlic, and a chickpea sauce...so good. And for dessert we had maple doughnuts with salted caramel and banana ice cream.

Needless to say, I was full and happy for the show. And what a show it was, I recommend it highly for anyone. I love musical theatre and am proud of myself for not singing out loud the songs that I know and love so much. The best part is when you are so captivated by the show that everything/one else in the room seems to disappear and it is a private show only for you. I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats (I don't really know, I have never seen CATS, even thoughI wish I had) I just loved the entire night. However, I am now exhausted after a full day of plane traveling next to some less than desirable people. I need a vacation from vacation travel now, haha. I'm ready for some couch time with my kitties!

I won't leave New York fat!

After just walking 30+ blocks I can honestly say my feet want to detach themselves from my body and be back in Florida. Today has been a busy filled one from start to finish, which won't be until after dinner tonight!

Mom and I slept in till 8:30 this morning. We had planned on waking up early to make it to "Carlo's Bake Shop" before the crowd came, but nothing is better than a warm fluffy bed when it is 30F outside. After we woke up and got situated, we made our way to the concierge at our hotel so he could help us not get lost on our way to Hoboken New Jersey. This ultimately didn't matter because between my mom and me, getting lost is just a thing to expect.

Two subway trains, and many blocks later, we came upon the TLC's famous bakery. At first, it looked as if it was closed because the windows were dark and no one was standing outside in the line we had head about, that normally wraps around the building. Luckily, we had made it there just in time to not have to stand out in the cold for their famous pastries. The smell you got when entering this place was astounding. Sweet cookies, and cakes, brownies, and flaky pastries filled the display cases, I couldn't wait. After standing in line for an hour we got the goods and made our way back to the city. They did not disappoint, everything I have tasted so far has been scrumptious!

We spent most of the day getting lost in the HUMUNGO Macy's in midtown and the other stores that were close by. Around 5:00, mom and me needed a break and some time off of our feet before heading out to dinner. We plan on going to Little Italy to get some authentic, comforting, Italian food. Needless to say, we will be taking a cab there and back. My feet have had enough for today. It's time to take a nap...

First Day in New York City!

I can without a doubt say I was a lazy girl last night and opted for BRAVO's premiere of "Real Housewives of OC" over writing a blog post. To my credit I didn't do much once I got home except repack into a smaller suitcase because having to pay $25 to check a bag is a little silly if you ask me.

Early this morning, Mom and I woke up around 6:30 and got ready to head to the airport for our adventurous day to begin. After all the hustle and bustle that was "Monday" heading to New York we arrived in one piece and very hungry. I had planned on eating one of Starbuck's "Perfect Oatmeals" which I absolutely love, however, none of the Starbucks in the North Carolina Airport had any. I was heartbroken and so dissapointed. Get it together NC, big clunky muffins and pastries are soooo 1999 :) So I had to settle for a strawberry smoothie and a "Be Kind" blueberry and cashew bar. It was pretty good though.

Once we landed, we made our way to catch the shuttle around 12:50. We had reservations at "Loeb's Boathouse" in Central Park at 2:15 so we figured we had plenty of time. From the time we left the airport, to the beautiful Hilton 57 where we are staying it took nearly and hour and a half. New York drivers are unlike anything else on the planet. I would have gotten into 28 accidents and maybe killed a dozen people if it had been me driving. I'm sure all of New York's population is happy it wasn't.

Luckily, we made it to our hotel in one piece and checked into a beautifully, modernly decorated suite at Hilton 57.

Our gorgeous room!

I wish I could have captured more of it in the photo.

Not ones to lolli-gag, we high tailed it over to central park so we could make our 2:15 lunch reservations. After getting a little lost in the 10 minutes we walked around central park we found The Boathouse and excitedly made our way inside. It was such a beautiful and classic restaurant.

Mommy and me at our lake side table.

We started lunch with a bowl or Lobster Bisque and a Tomato and Mozzarella salad. The flavors these simple components left us with were unspeakable. Such delicate flavors not overwhelmed by harsh sauces or ridiculous presentations. Very impressive, and that was just appetizers!

Buffalo Mozzarella with tomato and olive oil...yuuummm

Lobster Bisque...extra yum!

Once we finished these we ordered lunch and couldn't wait for it to arrive. While we waited we chatted and took in the scenery that is New York. It is so interesting to just watch people and their mannerisms. I think I could go to the city and just watch people all day like a creeper and not get anything accomplished. My debit card might appreciate this...Lunch arrived!

Turkey, avocado, tomato, chipotle mayo on french bread with homemade chips and frise salad.

Mine, and my mom got an awesome pair of mini cheeseburgers with homemade tater tots...everything tasted wonderful!

You know I had to have some of this!

After lunch we were ready to explore the city! Get lost, get found, find stores, find homeless people, and everything in between. A couple of highlights to the rest of the day definitely were going to the Lululemon store, going to Momofuku milk bar, and spending it all with my mom! I am beat though, so here are the photos. Momofuku's famous "CRACK PIE" is putting me into a blissful food coma....drifting off to sleep so we can do it all again, and more tomorrow. 

Hooray, workout clothes!

I feel like most people were not as excited as I was to see this store..hmmmm.

We heard we should go in and check out the bathrooms, but we got sidetracked and went to NikeTown instead.

After watching "Celebrity Apprentice" last night we had to do some checking up on the "Trumpster."

After passing this place THREE times we found out the Milk bar is inside Ma Peche.

Goodnight Blog World...and Mike and Monkey, Love you!

I love Saturday's w/ TC Fitness!

So I meant to write this post yesterday but was absolutely too bogged down with packing and work to do anything but plug this bad boy into it's charger for today's trip. Just a quick refresher, every Saturday morning I meet my trainers and a couple other hard core work-out-a-holics at our local MMA gym (DeadGame) to get our butts handed to us in a rigorous "varietal" workout. This week Chris (one of my trainers) decided it was time for some heavy duty Kickboxing and bag work. However, he also got a new toy which I like to refer to as "The Rope of Death." Am I being dramatic? Maybe. Well named? I think yes!

Sorry for the poor picture quality, I only had my phone yesterday and wanted to show what this actually looked like. If I could only show what they felt like also... You had to take each rope in one hand and whip it up and down creating ripples, alternating small and large, back and forth, squatting and standing. I wanted to pass out. My abs were on fire.  We incorporated this station along with some planks on the TRX, front kicks on the bag, knee thrusts on the bags, and jump rope. We would do five rounds of 3 minutes and every round pause to do ten pushups, for good measure, of course. We also did five rounds boxing on a heavy bag, and five rounds with Chris holding pads and calling out combinations until basically you fall on the floor and won't get back up. The answer is "Yes" I pay for this :)

Cool Graffiti on the wall

I feel like this is starting to look American Gladiator-esque"

After burning 1000 calories and feeling as though I could eat a human I headed home to start the daunting task of packing.

I am now sitting in the lush Tallahassee airport waiting to board my flight. I'll write later tonight once I've landed and am settled in North Carolina. Thank goodness my Spring Break is starting, It is much needed!

New York, here we come...

Well...not quite yet, but the official countdown has begun. I can see the shining light at the end of the tunnel. All my projects are finished, tests taken, and the only obstacles standing in my way are packing and the two nights of work waiting for me. However, in the midst of all this, Mike got some amazing news today. He got his first offer from a very prestigious restaurant to go and manage in Jacksonville Florida. I am so proud of him and all the effort he has put into finding a job. He still has a couple of other jobs to hear back from but it is exciting knowing there are jobs out there.

So back to the packing part. I am one of those people who has to be in a certain mood to start even pulling my suitcase out. I am extremely OCD and put everything in their proper bags and compartments and I am just not ready to do that yet so I am going to take baby steps and do laundry. This will at least give me an array of clean clothes to choose from later. I am super excited for Mom and my trip to New York, I keep daydreaming about all we are going to do.

The first night we fly into New York we are going straight to see the musical "Wicked." Let me explain my crazy obsession with anything and everything Broadway related. As my former roommates, friends, and Mike can vouch, I LOVE THEM! If life could be one big musical where no matter what emotion or event people are going through, they could just burst out into a cleverly written song and well choreographed dance, I feel this world would be rid of most of it's problems. (I think you just got an inside to how I would run the world if given the chance.) Hopefully I won't embarrass myself or my mom too much by mouthing every word and bobbing my head to all the songs.

I wish I could say the things I am looking forward to seeing most are the statues and monumental landmarks like The Statue of Liberty or The Empire State Building but my main goal is to eat as much as as I possibly can in the time frame allotted. New York has some of the most famous restaurants to offer anywhere. I would try and list them all but I would end up writing a novel. Let's just say I am bringing my running shoes and plan to do some morning miles in that hotel gym! Other than that I just want to get lost in everything New York culture and have a wonderful week with my amazing mom! She truly is my best friend and what better way to spend a spring break than with your best friend in the world's mecca for fun? Here's to New York!

If you look close you can see all the food I will be eating... haha.

Playing Hookie Never Tasted Sooo Good!

Normally I don't just blow off my classes to stuff my face full of amazing breakfast foods, however, this morning was going to have to be an exception. Let me preface this story by telling you it all started yesterday when numerous Facebook status updates of my friends bragged about the abundance of free pancakes they were enjoying compliments of "IHOP's Free Pancake Day." I complained to Mike how much I loved pancakes and that I thought we should participate in this "once a year treat" because we never do our traditionally Sunday morning breakfasts anymore due to him cooking mass quantities of brunch food for the rest of Tallahassee at the restaurant he works at. Unfortunately, we both had to decline because our schedules just wouldn't allow for such a thing. Sad as I was, I knew it wasn't either of our faults, it just wasn't in the cards for the busy lives we live.

To my delightful surprise though, when Mike got off work last night he made the very thoughtful suggestion of having our very own "Pancake Day" this morning and just missing our first class which we have attended everyday of since the start of the semester, so we didn't feel too bad about it. You don't have to pull my arm...I was in and totally stoked for the morning. Sure beats waking up at 8 am to learn about Lodging, can you say snore fest?

This morning we snoozed until 9 am (I know, we slept in, but if your gonna be bad might as well do it right) and when we got up Mike began the batter. A couple of years ago I had picked up a "Health Magazine" in Publix because of the interesting recipes it promised on the cover. One of them being "The Healthiest Pancake in the World". This was intriguing to me so I tried the recipe and it has been love ever since. These pancakes are so amazing, they make you want to cry, okay maybe not thaaaat awesome, but they are pretty tasty.

Here is the original recipe, but the link above should be clearer.

Pancake batter before adding the oatty goodness.

Mike is such a great boyfriend and knew how much this meant to me so he did the whole thing by himself while I watched "Teen Mom 2" on the couch and had a lazy morning. He makes a mean pancake though, I don't think I could have done them better.

We like to make dollar sized ones to feel like you can have more.

Mike wouldn't let me take his picture so this is how much I could snap of him...photogenic no??

I was so excited, and they smelled so good that I filled my plate before Mike was even done flipping all the Oatty Pancakes. 

I remembered to snap a photo before shoveling these down. 

I have always been weird when it comes to syrup though, or dressings for that matter. I don't like soggy things ie. salads and pancakes so I always put dressings, and in this case syrup, on the side. I also found this awesome "Brummel and Brown Yogurt Butter" that takes the place of high fatty butter and has only 40 calories per 2 tablespoons. It tastes just like butter, but is yogurt, and works in place of many things that calls for butter. It can also be melted down if need be. 

After eating an undisclosed amount (it was a lot) I laced up my sneakers and headed to campus to run all this off. Luckily, the oats gave me plenty of energy to clock some strong miles. It is such a beautiful day out, I guess I'll start coming around to this Spring stuff. Here's to some awesome farmer and sunglasses tans!