Five on Friday!

I am SO excited to finish the week and begin another wonderful weekend of fun!!  June has been jam packed for us already so let me catch you up on the adventures...

-ONE-

As you saw yesterday, we've been watching plays like crazy.  We've taken it a bit slower with the musicals - mostly because Chris isn't as big of a fan of them.  But also because they are much more difficult to squeeze in on a weeknight.  And our weekends have been crazy full of fun outdoor adventures like running!  Back to my point though - the plays!  Since we'd seen so many this year, we thought it would be fun to attend the Drama Desk Awards this past Sunday.  It was definitely an interesting experience.  We had lots of laughs and enjoyed hearing the strictly timed acceptance speeches - 90 seconds is a lot longer than I thought!

-TWO- 

Chris ran another NYRR 4-miler on Sunday.  And he now has a new personal best!!  I'm so proud of how great he is doing with running!  He managed to run back-to-back races last weekend since we had the inaugural LIC Run the Waterfront 5k together on Saturday.  We are gearing up for our big race of the summer next weekend when we take on the Queens 10k together!

-THREE-

We escaped the hustle and bustle of the city after our 5k last weekend when we drove up to Baldwin Winery in the Hudson Valley.  They were having a Strawberry, Wine, and Chocolate Festival.  I was sold when Chris said the tasting included a chocolate covered strawberry, but we got a whole plate full of tasty treats to enjoy while we tried various wine samples.  Definitely a fun way to spend the afternoon!

-FOUR-

Earlier this week, we trekked out to Citi Field Stadium to see Beyonce perform her Formation World Tour.  To be frank, we were quite disappointed.  I was completely amazed when I saw her perform up close and personal at Super Bowl a few years ago, but she just didn't have the same appeal this time.  It seemed like her moves for every song were exactly the same.  And there was just a real strange feeling surrounding the whole experience.  Maybe I should have anticipated that I wouldn't love it since I am not really a fan of her recent work, but I still had high hopes for her performance factor.  She did manage to impress me with the final dance set done in a shallow pool of water - that type of entertainment was what I had hoped to see all night long!

-FIVE-

I shared with you our Date Box experience in May recently.  Well, the next date box that arrived was equally as fun - and we've only managed to make it halfway through the date!  The date box included a CD to learn some fun dance moves and a competitive card game, but we dove in for the make your own ice cream portion first.  We have plans to finish the rest before the end of the month, but we sure did have fun making (and eating) our ice cream!

What have you been up to in June so far?

Andrea :)

Mom's Surprise Birthday Party

Surprise parties are THE best!!  The insane amount of planning and organizing (and lying) that goes into it can be daunting, but the end result is SO much fun!! After much debate and discussion, we ultimately decided to attempt a double surprise party weekend for Mom.  Our first surprise involved just our immediate family.  McKinley invited Mom and Dad over for a game night with him and his roommate, JK.  This is a fairly common occurrence so certainly no red flags there.  What Mom didn't know is that Jordan and his crew along with Chris and I would be hiding in the kitchen waiting to jump out and surprise her upon arrival.  Worked like a charm!

Mom was no doubt surprised...especially since she had called me just a few minutes before while I casually pretended to be enjoying a relaxing weekend at our apartment in NY.  I'm good, friends! Put me on the surprise squad ANY day! :)  That Saturday afternoon all the siblings just hung out and entertained the kids.  I worked with Brinley and Landon on being quiet as a mouse when we surprised Grandma and Grandpa.  They did awesome while we waited to spring the surprise!

It was a lot of fun to play games and just hang out that night.  We told Mom we were planning to go to church with her and take her out for a family lunch the next day.  Surprisingly, she didn't ask a ton of questions.  We all thought we were in the clear.  She didn't suspect a thing.

And we were right!!  Church was great.  Mom was extremely happy to have us all there together - a rarity these days!  We got some fun family shots outside the church before the rain began.  At that point, we headed over to Old Hickory for our second surprise.

The hostess group was a little lacking on the subtleties and nearly gave us away, but the New Yorker in me took over and just barged through to the banquet room.  Mom said she thought we might have invited her sister to join us, but she never expected to see a whole room full of family and friends.  Since I was in the group that arrived with her, I didn't get a look at her facial expression.  The pictures say it all though.  Mom was absolutely thrilled to be able to visit with so many wonderful people for the afternoon.  We were all relieved we managed to pull it off - a feat we had doubts about from the beginning!

Have you ever planned a surprise party?  How did it go? 

Andrea :)

Our April Date Nights

It would have been impossible to fit one more event into our April calendar.  Lesson learned as we proceed with caution with summer approaching!  We did have TONS of fun during our insanely busy month though!  We hosted my parents for a few days, hit up a slew of movies at the Tribeca Film Festival, and saw a thought-provoking show with friends who were visiting the city.  In the midst of all the fun, our date nights prevailed!  I set up a double date with friends of ours while Chris planned a surprise weekend getaway for us!

Back in April of 2010, Christopher and I had our first date at Brother Jimmy's on Lexington and 31st so it was only fitting that I booked our double date at that location.  We had fun rehashing the story of that night with Rachel and Lionel as well as chatting about a whole array of things from Survivor to FitBit Mania to sports/books.  It was a great night together with friends we have both spent the past few years getting to know individually.  We all met at a Bible Study group about three years ago.  As it turned out, Chris and Lionel worked in the same area and meet for lunch from time to time. And Rachel and I ended up in a book club together!  It's rare that we spend time with couples that we both know equally well so that made for an extra fun night.

Chris did an amazing job of putting together a fun weekend trip to Mystic, Connecticut.  Click HERE to see all the fun we had at the aquarium, Olde Mistick Village, and walking around the historic downtown area.  We had a fantastic weekend away, but Chris really blew me away with the ultimate adventure date during this trip.  He planned a penguin encounter for us at the Mystic Aquarium.  We were able to spend an hour learning all about the African penguins that are on exhibit there as well as pet and play with our own little penguin friend!  I wrote all about the experience HERE.  It was such a thoughtful and fun-filled date!

What is your ultimate date night?

Andrea :)

Our Mystical Weekend Getaway

A weekend getaway can do wonders for a person - especially when they live in the hustle and bustle of New York City!  Chris did a great job planning just that for us last weekend.  We took a quick trip to Mystic, Connecticut.  It is a little over two hours away...and the perfect place to relax for a couple days!

We began our adventure with a trip to the Mystic Aquarium for a surprise penguin encounter that Chris planned for me.  You can read all about it HERE - such an awesome experience!  After the encounter, we spent time checking out all the other exhibits and even managed to catch the last sea lion show for the day!  The aquarium focuses on education which was unique and quite interesting.  I felt like I was learning all day!

After the aquarium, we popped next door to mill around Olde Mistick Village.  We stopped in Bleu Squid for a sandwich and some tasty cupcakes before making a loop around the shops.  My one suggestion for anyone visiting the area is to come hungry!  There was a chocolate shop, tea tasting, various honey blends to sample, and even a local coffee shop!  No shortage of treats to devour!

We stayed at the Hilton near the aquarium and enjoyed a live band as we ate dinner.  The hotel also had a really neat outdoor fire pit area that we took advantage of before heading off to bed for the night.

On our second day, we headed to the historic downtown area.  Grabbing a slice or two at Mystic Pizza was on the top of our list.  Neither of us had seen the 1980's movie that was filmed at the restaurant, but we were certainly familiar with the popular pizza joint.  And it did NOT disappoint!  They advertise a special ingredient in their sauce.  We couldn't put our finger on the exact difference, but we gobbled up our pizza pie in no time!

We spent some time browsing around the local bookstore before making our way down to a homemade ice cream parlor near the drawbridge.  It was a perfect day to enjoy a scoop as we ventured across the bridge and around the river for a bit.  As luck would have it, our timing worked out - we actually got to see the drawbridge rise for a boat!  Pretty neat!

We capped off our weekend trip with a round of mini-golf in a nearby town as we made our way home.  I started the game off with a hole-in-one.  The lead was mine throughout the course.  And then at the last hole, I sabotaged myself...and we ended the game in a tie!  I couldn't even make up the insanity that ensued on that final hole.  Maybe next time, right?

What is your favorite weekend getaway spot?

Andrea :)

It's World Penguin Day!!

Happy World Penguin Day!! Perfect planning on Christopher's part since he surprised me with an awesome penguin encounter at the Mystic Aquarium this weekend.  We had a wonderful experience with our new penguin friend.

We learned A LOT about penguins during our hour long encounter.  We were also able to pet Mr. Penguin.  And help the aquarium with some training by playing pretend veterinarian!

The most interesting portion of the day involved learning about the naming system for the penguins at the aquarium.  They are named using beads attached to one of their flippers.  The first bead is either blue or pink and indicates gender.  Gender can't be known by looking at the external body of the penguin.  It requires a blood test that occurs within the first year of the penguin's life.  The Mystic Aquarium assigns each penguin a two color name based on when they arrived at the aquarium.  Our penguin's name was Green Red because he was the 30th penguin at the aquarium.

We later learned about the mating habits of the penguins.  And discovered that Green Red's mate is named Green Green.  She is the 33rd penguin at the aquarium.  They recently hatched some baby penguins that were just introduced to the exhibit this past week.  They are the proud parents of Purple Purple and Purple Silver.  We were able to catch both Green Green and Purple Purple when we visited the exhibit during the afternoon feeding session.  In the photo below, you can see that Purple Purple has yet to be identified as male or female based on the white bead proceeding the naming beads.  We also learned that it is during the first yearly molt that the baby African penguins develop the signature black stripe across their chest.  Notice that Purple Purple currently doesn't have the stripe that Green Green and Green Red possess.  I told you we learned a lot! :)

Mystic Aquarium also does a lot of work to assist in keeping the African penguin from becoming extinct.  Sadly, it is currently an endangered species in the wild.  We learned about the aquarium's various efforts on the coast of Africa.  And discovered several ways we could help locally - recycling and using reusable grocery bags!

Interacting with Green Red during our encounter was such a special experience.  I have always loved penguins (and had a similar encounter experience at Sea World with my parents when I was a teenager), but as an adult this experience was much more educational.  I will certainly be looking into ways to go above and beyond to protect these amazing and precious creatures!  I hope you'll do the same!

Aren't penguins just adorable?  What is your favorite animal?

Andrea :)

Big Apple Fun with Mom and Dad

Illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker. Images by Thinkstock.

It's always a fun adventure when visitors come to the Big Apple for a few days.  Especially when those visitors are family!  Mom and Dad spent a long weekend finding plenty of new things to do and sites to see. We began with an early birthday celebration for Mom.  Might as well celebrate for the whole month, right? :)

The next day, we stopped inside the Chrysler Building to admire the art work that adorns the walls.  We also made our way over to the birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt, but it was closed for renovations.  Guess we'll know where to go next time they visit!

In the afternoon, we came upon mounds of snow along the sidewalk.  Not too strange for April THIS year, but quite bizzare on such a lovely day.  We discovered it was being created by a huge truck for use in the filming of a commercial.  Gotta love New York!  We finally made our way to Washington Square Park and ultimately the Angelica theater for a fun flick - Hello, My Name is Doris.  Sally Fields is a hoot in it!  Later, we ventured over to the Village Underground via Comedy Cellar for a night of non-stop laughs...and surprisingly tasty food!  We were excited to see a few comics we recognized from America's Got Talent and Last Comic Standing.  Definitely a fun time!

We stayed in Queens for most of Saturday as we visited the Museum of the Moving Image.  We all enjoyed the interactive exhibits and hanging out in Tut's Theater.  We even found a cupcake shop with movie themed treats.  We tried Little Rascals (s'mores), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (traditional chocolate), and Vanilla Sky (traditional vanilla).  All great choices!

Saturday night, we hit the Metropolitan Opera for L'Elisir d'Amore.  Since none of us speak Italian, it was a most pleasant surprise to find screens at each seat to translate the songs.  It was a comedic opera that had several funny scenes.  A love story gone awry.  And a neat experience for all of us!

We took it easy on Sunday.  We had plans to roam around Central Park, but the weather took a turn for the worst so we decided to stay indoors instead.  That evening, we made our way over to the New World Stages for a performance of The Woodsman.  Dad's request to see this show was the impetus for the whole trip.  It was quite a unique performance.  I enjoyed the collaborative creative efforts of the cast to come together to bring this play to life.  And, now we know how the tin man lost his heart!

We headed over to Junior's for some yummy cheesecake dessert after the show.  As we took a short cut in the middle of the avenue, we ran smack dab into another set of visitors from my home county.  The odds of that happening have to be extremely slim - a true chance encounter!

Do you enjoy being a tourist in your own city?

Andrea :)

The 2016 Mac & Cheese Bowl

Mac & Cheese.  Yum!  Honestly, who doesn't love macaroni and cheese?  So tasty!  This weekend, Chris and I were able to taste 30 different types of the delicious stuff.  It may (or may not) have been a tad TOO much, but for a worthy cause - the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York - you can't really say no.

Fortunately, we had the expertise of multiple year Mac & Cheese Bowler (our friend, Shannon) to help us craft a strategy and provide extremely helpful tips!  The #1 tip was to only taste one noodle initially.  If you like the sample, go for it.  If you don't like the sample, trash it.  There is too much good mac and cheese out there to waste stomach space on so-so samples.  Genius!

Ironically, our first stop - Wolff's Biergarten - turned out to be our favorite of the whole day.  They boasted a five cheese concoction topped with crumbled bacon.  It was as good as it sounds...and, subsequently, the only sample I tried a second time.  So good.

Most of the samples blended together after awhile.  Lots of pulled pork and sriracha found themselves in the mix.  The most bizarre of the day was a Big Mac version of mac and cheese - um, no thanks!  It was the only one where I totally recoiled at the taste.  The spicy versions weren't too high on my list either, but some of them weren't so bad.  Valente's Three Little Pigs gave samples that included three cheeses and three meats - surprisingly not terrible...and actually good enough for third-place as it turns out.

The longest line was for Druthers Brewing's fantastic creation - a chicken-and-waffles mac and cheese.  It featured a fried nugget of chicken and seven-cheese blend macaroni soaked in sriracha-maple syrup on a bed of country gravy with a red velvet waffle on the side.  It bested Wolff's by a mere 2% of the ballots cast for first-place at the competition.  Definitely a tasty sample with a fantastic presentation!  Besides judging the actual samples, Bowl attendees were also asked to judge the overall display at each booth. Mazzone Hospitality won the award for best display, but we thought that Elegant Touch (pictured below on bottom left) was most unique.

The second best tip of the day was actually given weeks in advance - arrive early!  We were there when the doors opened.  It really made a difference that first hour.  After that, the crowds became nearly unbearable.  The crowd was estimated at more than 2,500 people for the seventh annual event held inside the gymnasium at Siena College.  Thankfully, we hit most of the booths before the crowd became unmanageable.

What is your favorite type of mac and cheese?

Andrea :)

A Little Taste of Hawaii - Pro Bowl Style

After roughly 11 hours in the air, I landed in Honolulu late last Tuesday night.  I hadn't eaten a solid meal the whole day so my first task after checking into the sprawling Sherton Waikiki hotel was finding some food.  This task was much more difficult than it sounds around 11pm on a Tuesday, but I finally stumbled upon an open restaurant - McDonald's!

Surprisingly, sleeping wasn't an easy task that first night either.  And the morning came quickly!  Unfortunately, I was up before the sun nearly every day of the quick trip. Our first day held a walk-through at the stadium and assistance with the Pro Bowl Draft that afternoon.

The Draft proved to be the most exciting part of the week for me.  My job was securing various players for on-stage interviews in a room set aside for entertaining military personnel.  Along the way, I chatted with a few of my beloved Bengals that were roaming the area.  We commiserated that they wouldn't be playing in the Super Bowl, but everyone seemed to have high hopes for the future!  It turned out to be a fun, yet tiring afternoon - I returned to the hotel and immediately fell asleep.  So much for dinner!

An early morning was in place for Thursday with our group set to make the hour and a half journey out to Turtle Bay resort for practice.  Team Irvin and Team Rice each had their time on the field and we monitored the fans to ensure they stayed within their boundaries.  The highlight of the day was stopping at Matsumoto's Shave Ice stand on the way back to the hotel.  And checking out the massive North Shore waves along the coast as we drove back to Waikiki.

Friday was a day of relaxation.  I didn't have any specific assignments so I spent the day relaxing, reading, and doing a bit of work on the computer.  Thankfully, each room had a balcony with a fabulous view of the ocean.

Saturday, we repeated our trek out to practice stopping at Kahuku Grill for lunch.  I tried the world famous coconut shrimp...and loved it!  So tasty!  I spend the rest of the evening packing up since I was set to fly home on a red eye right after the Sunday afternoon game.

Game day went by in a flash!  Our group helped to activate various on-field experiences so we were busy non-stop from pre-game to post-game.  I was able to spend a little time on the field during the 3rd quarter experience, but otherwise I was shuffling people to and fro all day.  Needless to say, I didn't have any problem sleeping the entire 11 hours back to NYC!   

I was surprised to arrive home to beautiful flowers from my lovely husband!  More importantly, I was glad to see him again after a week away!

Andrea :)