Baby O

Happy Monday! This Monday is exceptionally an exciting one. Why, you ask. Well, it's because this is the week I am going down to Florida to meet my second nephew! Baby O made his debut on Saturday morning at 7:26 weighing in at 8lbs and 4 oz. Hubs and I skyped with the new family of 4 (plus my parents) for a solid hour while they sat and talked in the hospital room. They put us (the computer) in the corner so we could view the entire room and just "be" there with them. Even though we were states and states away from actually being there with them. It was so fun to see the little man patting his new brother on the head and then being told "gentle, gentle." I'm going out of my skin sitting up here while all that is going on down there. But soon enough, I'll be right there in the middle of it!

Besides that our weekend was relatively quiet. Although, I did let out a shriek when Hubs came home on Friday night with a box of these babies...

These are my all-time favorite! Started back around the age of 4 when my dad took me here on one of our Saturday morning "dates." Hubs and I then had them at the end of our wedding reception. Hubs knows exactly how to get to my heart...not flowers, doughnuts! The rest of the weekend was spent running around the city doing errands (and burning off the doughnuts.) Of course here are precious pictures of the new little boss...

"Gentle, gentle"

Part of the time we spent skyping

Oh did I mention that my family also had doughnuts (without us knowing) to celebrate the birth of the little boss?! Funny how our family thinks alike, huh?!

I hope yall have a great Monday!

Spring snow and Baby O

Could it be that I see a hint of Spring popping through the snow this weekend?!?! Well, probably not but I'm looking forward to this weekend just the same. Hubs and I have a whole lot of nothing planned except lounging and being with each other.

Came across these enormous flowers in Midtown over on Madison.

I'm also praying that this little man's brother will decide to make his debut into the world this weekend!!! He's apparently not as excited as we all are about meeting him. Little man below is pretty pumped as well. I was told he asks every morning "is baby O is going to come today"

Baking and Blueberries

Yesterday I filled you in on our weekend with E&J but I didn't tell you about the cake. J's birthday is in mid-March and since we don't live close we won't be with them on the actual day. So in order to somewhat start the celebrations I made a blueberry pound-cake. I heard through the grapevine that he liked fruity desserts which lead me to this little number. It's easy and as always fast to make - is there any other way?! It's also light which is unusual considering it's a pound-cake. However, I forgot to take a picture of it. So the recipe and my word with have to suffice.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg white
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8-ounce) carton lemon low-fat yogurt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg white, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 tablespoons flour and blueberries in a small bowl, and toss well. Combine remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in blueberry mixture and vanilla; pour cake batter into a 10-inch tube pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool cake in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl; drizzle over warm cake.

Our Weekend

Yet again I'm recuperating after a fun but busy guest filled weekend! Hubby's little sister and bro-in-law came to visit this weekend. We had so much fun showing the sights and just hanging out. We walked all around, stopped to get a second wind by eating cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery and of course did some shopping. Once night came upon us, we had a great and long relaxing tapas dinner at Alta in the West Village. I highly recommend this spot but you should know that you'll need a reservation a few days in advance. After our tasty dinner (where we tried about 10 different plates) we headed over to The Rusty Knot for yet some more food. We got there early enough to grab one of the few tables in the bar and immediately ordered a pretzel dog and four drinks, named none other than Rusty Knots. Hubs and I were introduced to this dive bar over on the West Side highway by some good friends when we were looking at apartments a year ago. (I can't believe it was a year ago) After watching the bar fill up with people and getting dirty looks for continuing to sit at a table we decided to call it a night. These were some of the highlights of the weekend but just walking around, etc was great! I'll let the pictures show you the weekend.

Yummy Magnolia Bakery cupcakes

Running off the recently eaten cupcakes

Seeing the sights

Now its time to say goodbye.

Party Dips

Wow! This week has flown by - probably because we had such an awesome past weekend. However, we have more special visitors this weekend! It might just require making some party dip. I made this 5 layer dip for our super bowl party a few weeks ago and forgot to take pictures as well as post the recipes of all the chosen food. So since these are the only two pics from the entire party/half of the food spread here is the recipe for a dip which is worth making this weekend! Enjoy your weekend.

Easy 5 layer Dip-

10 Servings
15 Minute Prep
15 Minute Cook

Ingredients

* 1 15 oz. can refried beans
* 1 jar salsa
* 1 1/2 cups guacamole
* 2 cups shredded jack and cheddar cheese
* 1 cup sour cream
* Black olive slices and/or diced green onions for garnish

Directions

1. Heat the refried beans in a pan over medium heat.
2. Once hot, spread the refried beans into the bottom of an 8 × 8 glass baking or serving dish.
3. Add the salsa, guacamole and sour cream, spreading each out to form layers.
4. Top with cheese.
5. Garnish with olives and/or green onions.
6. Serve with tortilla chips.

Fun Pop

Since we are getting a glimpse of some Spring weather this week it has motivated me to crank out some new Spring pieces! I must say that I really like the Spring line this year. Here's more necklaces to add some fun pop to your Spring outfits...

Tribeca Cafe

I hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day yesterday. Hubs and I celebrate Valentine's Day normally with a pizza and movie but last night Hubs went all out and cooked me dinner! He came home with this menu and then ran to the store. We ate a delicious meal and I actually went out and bought a bottle of wine that cost more than $4. What a treat! I love having a night off from cooking and being pampered!

Weekend Blowout!

Hands down, this past weekend was one of the best this year! We had 2 of my bridesmaids and their husbands come visit us - slumber party style. Literally - since we have a loft we would all get in our beds/sofa bed/air mattress and then proceed to talk to each other until we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer. We jammed a lot of sightseeing and food into 36 hours. Our legs and stomachs are still recouping today. But it sure was worth the weight gain and the leg pain!

Friday, I cooked lasagna and ate in the apartment. But then decided we needed to get some fresh air and walked a few blocks to Terroir Wine Bar which is a great little neighborhood place we go to on occasion.

Saturday morning we woke to Hubby playing "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys which of course got us all in the mood to get our game face on and tackle the city. That is exactly what we did! We walked through TriBeCa then SoHo and finally made it over to the Lower East Side to our destination brunch location -Essex. It was my first time eating at Essex and I now know why it is known for being one of the best in the city. Delicious and affordable!!
After a long relaxing brunch we jumped on the subway and made our way to Midtown and did some shopping while the guys hung out up by the park. We of course joined them in the park and decided to play with a rabid raccoon.
We talked it out and came to agreement that it might not be the smartest idea to continue playing with this little guy. So we moved on to Time Square. We had a first-timer with us and so this was a must see. The temperature dropped significantly so we headed back to the apartment and revived by some hot showers. And then headed back out to the West Village for dinner to a little understated Italian restaurant named, Bar Pitti. (We were introduced to this spot by our small group leaders - we are lucky enough to come here Sunday nights after small group) The food is wonderful and real Italian. (You might also spot a celebrity or two) Since it's a great local place -there was an hour wait (even at 9PM) So we headed to the Blind Tiger for a drink next to the fireplace until it was time to eat (at 10PM) At 11:30 we were scooted out because there were still a few people waiting to eat. We were all so excited about our great food that we walked down Bleecker St and played some darts at Bleecker St Bar. Finally, came home to have another slumber party.

Yesterday, we woke up and made breakfast at the apartment and then walked all around Ground Zero and then hit up the Young Designers Market for some jewels. Then walked back down through Chinatown and got to the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked across and attempted to eat at Grimaldi's but of course there was a line and we had 4 people who had to catch a flight. So we instead ate at another pizza spot right around the corner and under the bridge. It also was great! By the time we finished our late lunch/early dinner it was time to pack up and say good-bye.

It was a fantastic weekend and can't wait to do it again - when its warm! Thanks for coming!!!

Blushing Nudes

To continue with Spring's trends, lets talk about color. There are lots of colors we can talk about but one important color story is the neutral/blush tone happenings. And basically that is the whole story. So grab yourself some nudes and maybe a bright orange outfit to go with those bell bottoms from yesterday!

Shopbop - collared shirt and orange pants

Anthropologie - tops

JCrew - peach cardigan

Spencer Morgan Designs - necklaces

Home Centric Etsy shop - orange pillow

70's Baby

When people asked the question, "If you could live in any time period, what would it be?" I most always answered with the 70's or 60's. Basically because I love the freedom in the fashion. So I am of course pretty excited that it is back in a serious way! Remember back in September when I posted that bell bottoms and flare pants are forcing their way back in? Well, they've pushed their way in and they're ready to be worn for Spring. So go grab some heels or super comfy thong sandals and throw on that long free-flowing maxi dress or some flare pants - and feel the love! I'll of course have to wait on that dress and sandals until mid May when it actually warms up here...

Peace man! XOXO

Painting???

You all know how much I love "the little man" and you can go and see why at Sister's blog. Check out the second "painting" video. Happy Monday!

http://rachelspencersmith.wordpress.com/

BBQ Obsession

Hubs and I went on a great date last night! We began by getting on the J train and going up to the Lower East Side to a cozy little place called Georgias Eastside BBQ. It seated around 20 people and served awesome southern BBQ. We ended up running into some of our friends there which made it feel that much more like home down south! I'll let you see for yourself how great a freezing NYC evening can be through the pics.

This subway stop was massive - 5 platforms

Hubs - he's a pretty big deal

Hubs' dinner of meat and collards

Can you see how narrow and small this place is?!

We got a great window seat to enjoy our PBRs.

I hope you all have a great weekend and have fun watching the Super Bowl!

Ever Been to the...

Circus???? Well, until 3 weeks ago I hadn't either. But while I was down in Florida for the Jewelry Extravaganza I tacked on a bit of fun with the family before I flew out. ( I almost missed my flight but would have been worth it) My parents took me, Sis/Bro-in-law, and of course the main reason we went - the little man. It was different than I expected but quite impressive. The little man was in toddler heaven!! He absolutely loved it and couldn't get enough! So if any of yall have little ones out there and need a break from being cooped up inside then find a circus - or hire a clown. Check out the pics ...

the man coming out was on stilts and was about 30 feet in the air

Hooray! Can you believe what we just saw?! Worthy of clapping for sure!

The elephants were my favorite part

That's all - Have a great day!

Dreaming

We're getting hit by another snow storm today and I keep dreaming of being back in Florida at my parent's beach place laying in the sunshine. If you asked Hubs his dream he would say he's dreaming of going back to our honeymoon location or another island where he doesn't have to lift a finger... I wouldn't mind that myself. But alas, we are bunker down here in the storm and only dreaming of hot tropical weather. Did I mention that I've been dreaming of what I want my Spring wardrobe to look like? This necklace goes with a few outfits I've picked out.