Day 103 - Day 107

December 17 - December 21, 2009

Caitlin's Trip! She is my first friend to visit me in New York City! We had so much fun! I had to work a couple of days, but she did great going around the city by herself!

Caitlin arrives and I'm working. Boo! But it's okay. She is exhausted from finals, so she naps and meets me at my work. Work is crazy as usual and Caitlin shows up early. I feel so bad because I see her and I say, "Is it 8:00 already?" I should have said, "Oh my gosh! I'm so excited to see you!" I was thinking that, but the earlier comment came out first. I introduced her to The Capital Grille's Stoli Doli's. (Sp?) It's a pineapple infused vodka drink. We infuse the vodka for so many days! They are delicious! Then we head out in Hell's Kitchen! It's typically a great place to go, but because of the weather being so cold, people are starting to hybernate!

I take her to Ariba Ariba Mexican Restaurant. I've told you about this in previous blogs. It's so good! Caitlin loves it and we have some great margaritas! We had some great conversation too! It's so nice to catch up with a great friend! Then we head to the bars, where I tell her are always full of good looking men! Instead, we meet some drug dealers from Columbia!

Oh yes! Go figure, right? Only with Caitlin would this happen! Haha! So, I start to make fun of them, but in a way that they wouldn't know it. Caitlin is laughing hysterically and they are just staring at us with blank faces! It looks like they seriously just got off the reservation in Wyoming or something. It's so funny! Check out the pictures! The one with me is the completely cracked out dealer, while the guy with Caitlin is his creepy cousin. It was a Columbia invasion at Zanzibar, so we left!

We go to Mercury Bar next, which has maybe five people in there. We're having a drink, I look over, and who do I see? The reservation chief from Zanzibar who was hitting on Caitlin! Lol! We leave and head home.

We do some serious shopping while she's here! We go all around 5th Ave. I take her to H&M, where they have some great sales! We go into Louis Vuitton, where Caitlin picks out her future Louis, and then we go to Cartier, where I pick out my future engagement ring. Now, I just have to find the lucky sucker to buy it for me! Hehe! Which brings me to my next point! Caitlin got to see Mr. Firefighter! Whew hew! I'm so glad someone saw him to prove that he is really a real person and I'm not just fantasizing! =) Of course, I get so nervous, I just quietly say "hey," as he smiles at me. Caitlin finds it hilarious on how shy I get around men. I don't! I need to fix this problem people! I'm like a third grader trying to ask my crush to sign my yearbook!

I tell her I want to take her to Macy's! It has these great Christmas decorations and it's a staple of this city! So, we go. We get there and we go up the escalators. Let me replay the scenario for you.

Caitlin: "Hey, the escalator is on fire." (Small flames are coming out of the up escalator)
Me: "Oh, yeah it is." (We both just stop and state)
Caitlin: "Maybe we shouldn't be those idiots who just stare."
Me: "True." (We start shopping. Yes, we start shopping.)
(We go up the escalators to the fourth floor and continue to shop)
Me: "Wow, it really smells like smoke up here."
Caitlin: "I know. Do you see the smoke?"
Me: "Yeah, that's crazy!"
Caitlin: "Ok, well I'm going to go try this skirt on."
Me: "Ok!"
(Caitlin comes out of the dressing room)
Macy's Worker: "Everyone evacuate the building, please. Please, evacuate the building!"
(A sudden rush of panic came over me. I'm gonna die in Macy's! We head towards the one exit and we look over to see a fireman axing the ceiling and water comes rushing out of it)
Caitlin: "Oh my God, Ashley, look at that fire fighter!" (laughing!)

I'm pretty sure Caitlin and I were the only ones laughing about the situation. We found it humorous. We're not going to die and every one is freaking out, cussing at people, shoving people, and forgetting about Christmas cheer! =) So...we're leaving and Caitlin wants a picture of the firemen. So, I go to take one and this guy shoves his way through the door people are trying to get out of.

Lady with baby in stroller: "What do you think you're doing? Fuck you. Merry Christmas."
(What? Did my ears just hear what I thought they did? Did she really just tell that guy F-you and Merry Christmas in the same sentence? Ha! After that, you bet I'll have a Merry Christmas!)

She takes me to New Moon! Yay! Finally! Can I just tell you how amazing it is? I'm sure everyone already knows because I'm probably the only one who hasn't seen it. I was amazed! The graphics were awesome, Rob Pattinson is gorgeous as always, and they did a great job of capturing all of the details in the book and condensing it in the movie. So, I'm still Team Edward. I think Jacob has a rockin' body, but I don't really think I'm digging his face. I think he's attractive, don't get me wrong, but there's just something about Edward's oddness and peculiarity that gets me every time! Jacob is a sweet character and I'd date him!

Chinatown. Oh my goodness. I love taking people down there who have never been! It's so funny to watch them! Caitlin had me do all of the bargaining, but she got a lot of good stuff! A handbag, a gift for her boyfriend, a necklace, and a scarf! I love bargaining, it's so much fun! I also like asking where they get their stuff from and if it's stolen! It totally gets a rise out of them, they get mad at me, then they give me a deal! Hehe!

Other foods we ate: Pinkberry! Which she loved! Little Italy restaurant and then to the bakery for some tiramisu and cannoli from the Cannoli King! The Bagel Bar was her favorite breakfast place! They have great bagels and quite a good variety of cream cheeses!

So it snowed all day Saturday! Caitlin got some cool pictures of it though from my balcony! We are the two lovely ladies who decide to venture out into the winter blizzard. We head to the Meatpacking district for a little dancing! Instead, we end up at the overly priced bar next door! We were not about to pay $20 to get into a dance club, where there are only 30 people inside! That's just insanity! Instead, Caitlin spends $38 on two drinks next door! Welcome to New York! Maybe after an hour and Caitlin practicing her modeling poses in the downstairs lounge, we trek out into the ten feet of snow to catch a cab home. Luckily, a driver in one of those black cars with the tinted windows asked if we wanted a ride. Caitlin is a little hesitant for legitimacy reasons, which is totally understandable and the responsible thing to do. I, on the other hand, am freezing and just need a warm place to sit! Hop in sister!

I was sad to her go, but will see her soon when I get home! Our trip was so much fun and I hope she had as much fun as I did!

Brett Visit: Day 6

Today we start off by going back to Bryant Park for the “Original Belgian Waffle.” They were so good. They came with all kinds of toppings. We got ours with Nutella and bananas. It is wonderful. The waffles were delicious, they went good with our coffee that we made.

First, we get the Crumbs Cupcakes. I hear a lot about them and they look amazing. We got them instead of pies which was cool because then we got to try more sweets. We set off for Soho. Which is ‘South of Houston Street’ and New Yorkers say house-ton instead of Houston. This place has crazy shopping. It’s the magnificent mile of New York. But before we start a lady stops me and asks me about the cupcakes. She shows us her mini ones that she bought. So we talk cupcakes for a bit and we head to get our own mini cupcakes. The little corner window had like 10 different kinds of cakes. We got cookie dough, red velvet, mint chocolate, s’more, peanut butter and jelly, and cookies and cream.

Soho had a lot of cool stores and they were all places that are only in Soho. It was vintage and had the small town feel because the shops were local only. I liked all of the clothes and the style of all the stores, however, unless you make six figures most of the stores are too expensive. Which made me sad because I found a lot of clothes that I liked but it was out of my price range. Ashley found this jewelry store that was absolutely huge! The walls were bright pink and every square inch was covered in jewelry. Her face lit up when she seen it. It was funny to see her cheapness come out. She would try on all sorts of things and then think out loud about buying it. And then ask me 4 or 5 times if she should get it or not and then talk herself out of it every single time. She cracks me up. I just wanted to see her buy something.

So we head out for some Chinatown cuisine. We find a place and we are the only Americans there. The waiter barley speaks English. We order different chicken meals and get our soup. I almost threw up when I found a sea serpent in my bowl. I just waited for my food. It looked and tasted very good. I only wish I knew what I was eating. I was a little nervous the whole time because you just don’t know. I felt bad for the kid whose setting at home thinking about who stole his pet and to know that I'm eating it. We stop at Eileen’s for the best cheesecake in the world. She was not lying. It was fantastic.

Ashley informs me that it’s a law to go out the night before Thanksgiving. So we meet her friends out at Asian Pub. This was fun. We sat around and had a few drinks and talked about various things. One of the guys that came out is an FDNY firefighter. I thought that was really cool because they are one of the most recognized fire departments in the nation. Then the girls wanted to dance so we went to a dance club. Awesome. I just needed to relieve my emotions through the art of dance. Ha I'm not much of a dancer but it was still pretty fun.

The bar was right out of the 60s. It was a fun place. I felt like a fifth wheel so I wandered off and did my own thing. I just kind of mingled with random people and talked to a few people along the way. When I made my way back, Ashley pointed out this guy looked like Ludacris. It was awesome she got a picture with him and the girl he was with didn’t think it was near as awesome as we did. When Ashley walked away he gave her the what in the hell are you smoking look. It was pretty funny. We took a cab back to her place, thank God I was about sick of walking. We fixed up the rest of the street meat and her lasagna and, my mistake, left her alone in the kitchen. She put the metal tin container in the microwave. I turn around just in time to notice the first blue flash. I run over and open the microwave and fix the food myself. She didn’t know that you cannot put metal in the microwave. And she is surviving in New York? Her microwave has a little scar now it was really funny in the morning.

Day 80

November 25, 2009

Today…we are on a mission. We have serious Soho shopping to do, Crumbs cupcakes to buy, and hunt down the best Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. We start the morning by going to a pop-up waffle stand in Bryant Park’s holiday shopping area. Look at the pictures below. They are delicious! We top our waffles with Nutella and bananas. Nutella is amazing. If you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend it. It’s also really good on crepes with strawberries. It’s chocolate, people! I would just like to thank my high school French teacher, Mrs. Larson, for introducing me to the fantastic spread…not to mention Toblerone chocolate bars and Lindt chocolate balls.  

 

First stop of the day, is of course, Crumbs cupcakes. They look amazing! We got these instead of a traditional holiday pie. We got Red Velvet, Pumpkin, Apple Pie, Butterfinger, White Hot Chocolate, and a marble of some kind with Cookie Dough topping. Yum, right?? Check out their listing of cakes, here! By looking at the picture below, you can quickly tell our sweets buying did not stop at 9 a.m. Oh no! In Soho, when a lady stops us and asks about our Crumbs, then she shows us her “mini,” "Baked by Melissa Stuffed cupcakes," of course we have to get some to try! Really tasty, by the way! Then, when we pass NYC’s best cheesecake ever, Eileen's…we can’t pass this up either! Let me tell you.  Eileen knows her cheesecakes! I will say, they were probably the best I’ve ever tasted! So amazing! And how cute are they that they come round instead of your typical slice?

In Soho, we quickly realize how much money we don’t have to spend. It’s pretty expensive to shop around there—unless you want to go to Express or Forever 21. You can go to those stores in Iowa! We want vintage and local designers. Yeah…again, I’m too cheap to pay $80 for a dress! It was insanely cute, but I couldn’t justify it! Brett got some great things. He’s not afraid to spend money! He got really irritated about the fact that I’m so cheap. It got to the point, that if I picked something up, he would say, “Buy it. Just buy it.” Hehe. I never did! =) I get my bargain shopping from my Aunt Tammy. She’s even worse than me, if you can imagine! That’s okay, Tammy. At least we always get more for our money! Check out some of the pictures on our shopping extravaganza.

  

So, it’s lunch and we’re starving. Brett has to go to Chinatown for some authentic Chinese food. We settle at a restaurant, where we are the only two white. We figure this has to be authentic, considering no one spoke English and no white Americans were present. We order chicken. You can’t go wrong with chicken. However! Who the hell knows what’s on our plate! Considering it’s authentic, I forgot they think dog is a delicacy. Hmm…so, our lunch could very well be a small poodle, or maybe a Siamese cat; possibly a rat out of the subway, or pigeon off the street. Whatever it was, it was delicious! And our check was in Chinese!

 

I was slightly nauseated eating it, for fear I had no idea what was going into my body. To go box? I don’t think so. Check out the pictures, it tastes as good as it looks! Minus Brett’s loch ness monster in his soup. When I saw that, I calmly placed my bowl of egg drop soup to the side, gagged a little in my mouth, and focused on the white rice and broccoli. You know this stuff is real! You can’t fake a dog in nature’s mini trees!

It’s the night before Thanksgiving, so of course, we have to go out! It’s pretty much written in the law books that going out the night before Thanksgiving is a must. Honestly, think about it. What better hangover food could you ask for? I can’t think of anything either. Thanksgiving is a day where laziness, taking naps, and eating way too much food is actually okay and highly desired! My advice: take advantage! Good thing I typically listen to my advice! =)

We meet my friend from work, her boyfriend, and his brother. We go to Asian Pub on the Lower East Side to start the night. It’s a fun, chill bar where the drinks are cheap and really good. We were all pretty happy by the time we left. So…where do we go? Dancing, of course! Duh! What else would I do?

The dance club was a nostalgic, old school, kind of place. Bricks walls cover the inside from top to bottom, while 1960s vintage décor makes it feel like you are in an underground club from the post-hippy phase. The music was great and we had a blast! Check out the pictures! There was a guy who looked like Ludacris. The picture doesn’t do it justice. I’m pretty sure he thought I was nuts. Why does he think that, you ask? Brett said when I walked away, he gave me one of those looks you typically don’t throw out unless you do it behind someone’s back, knowing you won’t get caught! Haha!

   

Then I hear another lame pick-up line. Shocking! I know. Jon is his name. He walks up to my friend and I and says, “Excuse me. Can you take my picture and e-mail it to me?” Of course, being from Iowa, I believe him at first. “Sure,” I reply. Then, the creepy grin he gave me, made me quickly realize he isn’t being friendly. He’s being a creeper! Look at him! He can totally be classified as a creeper! His crazy eyes did way too much wandering for my liking. Needless to say, I get his e-mail address because I feel bad, but I don’t e-mail him. I’m not that naive!

Brett and I stroll in my apartment at, oh, I don’t know…4:30 a.m.! Eek! This is post Brett “falling asleep” in the cab. So funny, especially when he started snoring! Classic! We chow, and I mean literally chow, on leftover lasagna and street meat. Let me just say, both taste so much better tonight!

Note to self: Don’t put aluminum foil containers in the microwave. When your brother starts yelling at you because your microwave is lighting up blue, maybe you should realize that cooking at 4:30 in the morning could skew your way of thinking, just a tad. Who would have thought? You always hear of this idea being a really bad one, but you have to try it out for yourself, I suppose. That’s my logic behind it. Plus, I have a really pretty black mark on the back of my microwave. I like to consider it a memory, from Brett’s trip, that will most definitely never go away.