Happy 4th of July Everyone!
Hope everybody out there is out enjoying their day! I don’t know about where you live, but it was rainy and gross out here yesterday, and today Thankfully the sun is shining and IT IS BEAUTIFUL.
Since I wasn’t able to post yesterday – here is a re-cap of my day!
I woke up with a bad stomach 😦 I blame bad mexican food from the night before, but I was out of action for much of the morning. I would like to say that I have a stomach of steel, but I don’t – I have one of the more sensitive stomachs of anyone I know.
Once I was starting to feel a little better, Ian and I headed into the rainy weather for…what else… Frozen Yogurt! No bad weather will hold me back from Frozen Yogurt! We walked to our favorite fro yo place called 16 Handles on the Upper East Side. Ian and I were actually on our way to get lunch/dinner, but we decided to eat our dessert first, why not! Can you tell who’s is who’s?
Heaven
I guess I kind of gave it away by showing Ian’s hand holding it, right? 😉
After frozen yogurt we jumped on the subway and headed down to the Murray Hill neighborhood. I had heard about a cute little bistro type restaurant called Penelope from a coworker, so we decided to give it a try. The setting was very quaint and homey. Because Ian and I got there at early bird hours (6:30 – super early for us!!) we were some of the only people there, but it began to get pretty crowded as our meal wrapped up. The decor was so lovely and definitely had a vintage-y old fashioned vibe very fitting for a place that is both a bar, bakery, and restaurant cafe! Ian and I started off our order with some Peak Organic Pale Ale -which we’ve been meaning to try for awhile!
Peak Organic Pale Ale
My cousin had told us about it at Thanksgiving (I think), and I have to say we both enjoyed it!
Our appetizer was homemade spinach artichoke dip . This was probably the highlight of the meal, it was SOOO yummy. It had large chunks of artichoke and was topped with mac and cheese! Holy Delicious!
Spinach artichoke dip
For my main meal, I ordered a salad. I felt that by splurging a bit on the artichoke dip it might be best to stick to something less Carb loaded for my main meal. My salad was called “When Veggie Met Salad” – how cute is that name! This salad had my name all over it…it was a chopped up veggie burger served over a bed of lettuce including onion, goat cheese, apple, and a garlic balsamic vinigarette.
When Veggie Met Salad
(I apologize for the lack of professional photographing, since my only camera right now is my Iphone!)
Dinner definitely lived up to expectations and hit the spot! I would recommend this place in a second!
After dinner, Ian and I had a couple hours to kill before our movie date. (We went to see Woody Allen’s, Midnight at Paris). We walked down to Union Square, popped into a Barnes and Noble for awhile, then walked back up to the theater when it was closer to the time.
When the movie was over (and what a great movie!) – I just couldn’t help but be in love with the City at night. On our walk back to the subway both Ian and I were stopped in our tracks…because when we looked up from the cross streets we stood on, we saw to our right… This:
The Chrysler Building
And straight in front of us… This:
Empire State Building
How could you not fall all in love with this city when this is your view? It was just one of those moments when we were both taken aback by the beauty of the city at night…two monumental sights that were just part of our walk home. Moments like this seem to temporarily drown out the countless sirens driving past us, taxi cabs honking and screeching, and the smell of homeless bums using subways as a personal moving port-a-potty, or the man yelling at himself on the corner of the block.
We were snapped back to reality the minute we got on our subway and a man started dancing kung-fu style with a metal chair held above his head… I mean to each his own I guess. Thankfully he got off one stop after we got on.
And THAT was my Saturday in the city! Now I’m off to enjoy my 4th…I see Mimosas in my near future!
Hope everyone enjoys their day as well!
Question of the day: Do you have any traditions for the 4th?? What are your plans?? I grew up in Coronado, CA and the 4th of July is probably the biggest holiday around, it starts with a parade that people camp out for the night before and continues with bbq’s, beach, drinks, and fun! I can’t think of any place more patriotic! I miss it so much and will always hold that experience as the Ultimate 4th. What about you??
ieatalmonds 