friday morning ferry ride

Jenn and I have been trying to make it to the monthly Creative Mornings breakfast series when it works with our schedules. The talks are always interesting and who doesn't love free breakfast and coffee? They are normally held in an event space in DUMBO, but this month we took a ferry from Manhattan and convened on Governors Island. Leslie Koch, the President of the Trust for Governors Island, talked about how the island fits into this month's global theme of "urbanism" both in the past and heading into the future. 

It was foggy, drizzly morning, so everything seemed to be a uniform level of gray. The top of the Freedom Tower was even hidden in the clouds! Thankfully we didn't get rained on, so the ferry ride was fun and it was nice to ease into Friday with a peaceful morning. There are chapters all over the world, so find a Creative Morning in your city! 

#nycdonuttour @ dominique ansel (take two)

Jenn and I got cronuts! After our disappointing first attempt, we were determined to try again but I was less than motivated to get up so early to get in line in time. Thankfully, Jenn is a morning person and held our spot in line at 6am! I sheepishly rolled in 45 minutes later (bearing coffee at least!) and we stood around until the bakery opened at 8 and the lines started moving. Even with such an early start, I was shocked at how many people were in front of us. I had a tiny fear that we wouldn't get any again but thankfully it eventually became clear that we would be some of the chosen few to receive cronuts that day. 

Even once we got inside the store, the line still took forever. It gave us lots of time to observe the bakery happenings and admire all the gorgeous pastries. Finally our time came and we collected our two cronuts each and a few other baked goods (Dominique Ansel's other options are delicious as well!). Unfortunately, August's flavor of the month is coconut which isn't my favorite, but it was still decadent and delicious. I would have preferred a more snazzy flavor but the donut itself was still light and fluffy and the creme filling was a nice surprise (although it was a little runny when I finally got around to eating it later in the day...I suggest consuming immediately). I don't think I'll be getting up that early anytime soon for another one but it was pretty tasty. Our cronut quest was definitely an experience!

housewarming! (+mini apartment tour)

Kurt and I recently got around to having a housewarming at our new apartment. It was a wonderful time with lovely friends. I had so much fun and like to think I was such a good hostess, I didn't take a single photo of our guests. I only got a few prep shots when Kurt and I were readying the custom label wine and variety of bruschetta.

For party food, Kurt and I decided to create a whole range of bruschetta...well, some fun toppings on bread, at least. They were a huge hit and we were able to cater the options to our vegetarian and gluten-free guests (with special GF bread). Peach: ricotta, basil, peach, honey. Lox: cream cheese, red onion,capers, smoked salmon. Veggie: herbed ricotta, zucchini from Kurt's garden plot, red peppers. Pork: Kurt's extra special balsamic pulled pork recipe. Pesto: ricotta, pesto, cherry tomato.

We asked our friends to help us stock our bar and they far outdid any of our expectations. We have the best friends! Thank you so much! We're going to have to another party for them to help us drink it all!

And since I got no photos with people IN the apartment, I thought I would take some after shots while it was still halfway presentable to guests :) Keep in mind, it's a work in progress still! Here is the entry and the kitchen. Black doors! Those babies deserve a post of their own.

The living room complete with two couches (ready for football season!) and a sizable dining table (and Aubie in the window). That couch by the window is begging, no, pleading, to be recovered. In due time, sweet couch!

View from the living room towards the entry. You can catch a glimpse of our gallery wall and the item that makes me the coolest girlfriend ever. Yep, that's right. I got Kurt a 4'x6' Ohio flag for our anniversary. Sometime's it's visible from the sidewalk and we've gotten a few Ohio hoots already :)

The bedroom. It's the room giving me the biggest panic attack currently. It needs some work and will hopefully receive the TLC it needs in the coming months.

In addition to the copious amounts of liquor we received at the party, Kurt's friend Runit and his family gifted us this gorgeous wall hanging. It's from India! How exotic! :) It is currently the only thing on the walls in there and I'm okay with letting it guide the rest of the space. You've got to start somewhere!

And finally, the bathroom. Small spaces are hard to capture but it's a far improvement from the starting point (if you want to remind yourself). It needs more color and things on the wall and more storage and organization but it works! 

Thanks for taking the tour! I hope to have more polished,explanatory pictures in the future.

drinks to die for

This summer, the Brooklyn Historical Society has teamed up with Green-Wood Cemetery and Brooklyn Brewery to host a monthly happy hour on the cemetery grounds called "Drinks to Die For". 

Other than historic trolley tours, the cemetery doesn't often hold events (you can't even bike or run through it...walking only), so this sounded like a pretty interesting opportunity. They even had a band playing in the chapel. Rock n roll?! At Church?! My inner Catholic was a little distressed. Oh, but the alcohol in church? I'll let the Protestants sweat over that one :)

Sadly, as soon as we arrived, they ran out of the good beer and had to offer us Coors Light instead :( And then they eventually just ran out completely even though we still had drink tickets to burn. I guess they weren't expecting such a crowd. Who wouldn't want to hang out in a graveyard to have a few drinks? I think they've struck gold with the idea. And the proceeds benefit the Brooklyn Historical Society, so I guess I can't be too bummed about my "donation".

Here is Kurt looking really upset about his sub-par beer. What. A. Hipster.

There's only one more Drinks to Die For event this season. Don't miss it on August 22nd! Get there early for the good stuff and to find the best tombstone to hang out by!

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Because we are crazy and can't seem to sit still/stay in one place for a few days, Kurt and I are travelling with friends to Portland, Maine this weekend to explore and eat our body weight in lobster. I! Can't! Wait! Wish us luck! Maybe I'll post some pictures...right after a few Charleston posts...oh, and our apartment updates...sigh...one of these days! Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend!