Mulberry Project

Last night I met up with my friend who was visiting from Cali and a few other girls at Mulberry Project.  If you live in NYC you need to go here.  Granted you most likely will not find it unless you are going with someone who's been there before - the entrance has no sign whatsoever and the place is down a set of dark creepy stairs but once you enter magic happens and I'm not talking about their food (which was delish) but it's the cocktails that are the highlight.  You know when you think you can be a really creative bartender and make something with no recipe and just a bunch of fun ingredients and you fail – that does not happen here.  These bartenders are magicians, seriously.  Yes they have a drink menu that I’m sure is fabulous but if you go you go for the Bespoke Cocktail - choose your liquor (vodka, gin, tequila etc.), flavor (sweet, sour, spicy ginger or spicy Thai chili) and ingredients which range from honeydew and cucumber to mint and basil and everything in between.  They take your choices and create the most delicious cocktail I’ve ever had.  Between 5 of us with 2 rounds each there must have been at least 8 different concoctions and all were amazing.  My 2 were - vodka, ginger spicy, with watermelon and vodka, Thai chili spicy with watermelon and cucumber.  Yum.  Amazing.  Go now. 

End of my blabbering. 

Happy Friday!

Adventure

With my 4th move since college coming up, and to a state I never thought I'd be living in, the adventurous part of me is getting really excited!  When else but in your 20's can you just pick up and move!  I've been lucky to experience life in Boston, Chicago, Stamford (CT), NYC and coming up next Columbus!  What a way to start our marriage in a new and exciting city that I have never been to and DSG has only been to once!  I can't wait to see what Columbus has in store!  Adventure here we come!

Weekend Recap

Just a bit late - but I did have a great weekend even in the midst of mass chaos of planning how to move/plan a wedding from Columbus.

 Some wedding DIY projects/afternoon tennis

Fun pool time

Wine tasting/BBQ/ best dessert ever - Grilled peaches with vanilla ice cream with strawberries in brown butter yum

Heading west!

I'm terribly sorry for the radio silence over the past few days. We were thrown for a bit of a loop when DSG found out last thursday he was accepted into (little drumroll):

Orientation starts 8/9 so we are in a mad dash to try and figure out what happens next.  Tricky thing is we still have a wedding to finish planning and as of Friday less than 3 months to do it in!  Our lease it up this month which works out pretty nicely but there is still  lots to do! Let's review - my 2 bridal showers (I'm that lucky to have my mom and FML throw me one), a friends bachelorette in Miami and wedding in CT, pack up our NYC apt, move out, find a new apt in Columbus, move in, finish up things at work in NYC, find a new job in Columbus, start said job, finish wedding planning, and get married - the "I can do this" mantras are in full gear :)  

Who knows anything about apt hunting in Columbus?

Wedding Wednesday

This Friday marks 3 months until the big day.  We still have lots on our to-do list including Welcome Bags.  I think these are great for destination wedding and am looking forward to creating ours!  Issue is there are so many options as to what you can inlcude it's easy to have these become expensive very quickly.  What do you think make a good welcome bag?

Capellini with Shrimp and Cherry Tomatoes

I tried out this new recipe on Friday night since DSG needed a hearty meal before the big test on Saturday.  It was so simple to put together but looked like it could totally be served at a Italian restaurant.  And despite working at Food Network my cooking skills are not the best, so believe me when I say anyone can pull this off.  The best part - it was delicious and since I didn't use butter and only a bit of oil it was a bit more on the healthy side. 

Here's all you need:

Capellini or your favorite pasta

Olive Oil

Cooking Spray

1 pound of shrimp clean and deveined

Fresh basil

Dried oregano

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 package of cherry tomatoes cut in half

Parm cheese

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Bring large pot of water to boil and cook pasta accordingly to direction being sure to cook until just al dente.

2. Season the shrimp with 1/2 - 1 tsp of oregano, salt and pepper.  I also used a herb mixed of rosemary and dried garlic.

3. Heat skillet and spray with cooking spray, sauté shrimp 2-3 minutes each side.  Be sure to not overcook.

4. In another skillet heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and sauté garlic until slightly brown. Add tomatoes, reduce heat to med-low and sauté another 5 minutes.

5. Once pasta is done drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.  Add pasta and shrimp to garlic and tomatoes and stir well adding desired amount of pasta water.  At this point I also like to use a spoon and smash up some of the tomatoes to allow their juices to incorporate into the sauce.

6.  Serve with parm cheese and torn fresh basil.



Weekend Recap

DSG took the GMATS this weekend - 2 months of non stop studying and no drinking is finally over!  The test was Saturday afternoon so Friday and Saturday morning I tried out some new recipes, one of which I'm saving to share tomorrow

Power breakfast Sat am before the test

I've been trying a bunch of smoothie recipes, this was a dessert version with some homemade whipped cream.

My new obsession for any meal - wheat toast, raw almond butter, flax seed and banana - yum!

Lemon and mint water in my new mason jar :)

Mason Jar Frenzy

It's well known that the use of mason jars in home and wedding decor is huge right now.  I will be using them throughout our wedding weekend and hope to bring a little twist to the classic ideas.  I just picked up 4 mason jars at a local dollar store (they we're $2.50 each - still a good deal) and am already itching to get them incorporated into our apt somehow!  There's still 3 months until our wedding, I'm not just letting them go unused until then!  Here are some of my favorite uses:

Classic flower vase

This could be the solution for my goal to grow my own herbs

Cake in a mason jar - yes please!

Storage

Great way to drink more water, and I love the idea of adding things like fruit or mint

Pretty homemade gifts

It's insnae the number of uses these simple pretty jars have. I was planning on selling the mass amount I bought for the wedding but may need to rethink that..



4th Recap

                                      

 Cheers! / Raw Bar deliciousness / Gorgeous view down by my sister's apt / Lounging at the Park / Classic NYC Scenery / DSG taking a study break

Such a fun day - although it was hot, like I needed to take a ice cold shower when I got home kinda hot.  Of course none of the pics of the fireworks came out to well - guess that's a sign I need an upgrade from my iphone camera.

Hope you all enjoyed the 4th as well!

Happy Birthday America!

Even though it's a Wednesday, today is still one of my favorite holidays!  For the first time I will be experiencing the 4th in NYC and am so excited.

On a completely different note did you know it's estimated that over 150 million hot dogs will be consumed today.

Happy 4th Everyone!

Summer Entertaining

One day I hope to entertain like this:

On the water, BBQ, fun table settings - what more could you want.  The perfect way to celebrate America.  Seeing as there's no rooftop on my building I will be heading down to my sister's place in Battery Park tomorrow.  We have a fun recipe that we'll be trying out - I'll share if it goes well.  In the mean time enjoy all the preperations for the 4th!

Weekend Recap

One of the hottest weekend I've experienced in a while...

Happy Hour by the water

Plenty of sun in Central Park

Lots of iced coffee

I also picked up one of these candles while shopping with my future sister in law Sunday afternoon.  It smells delicious - I will be lighting it all week long even if it is 95 degrees out.

Happy Monday!