Weekend Update

Some fun stuff going on this weekend that I recommend.




Also added to tonight's WhAAM show is Gone But Not Forgotten.

NYC Update

New York has been fantastic so far!



First off; if our experience in the city so far is what it would be like to be here permanently, I could easily live in New York City.

I love being in Manhattan and looking down the road and seeing endless skyscrapers. Something about that is so exciting to me. I love the subway and how easy it is to get around. I am going to be sad to have to go home and drive again. Cars are for chumps, seriously.

We've hit up three museums so far (and will be seeing at least two more in the next 3 days) - The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), PS1 Contemporary Art Center and the Gugenheim. All three were pretty different with MoMA being my favorite so far. Unfortunately we didn't get to see all of it since we slept in, but I really liked the variety of the collections and size of the museum. I really look forward to The Met and the Museum of Natural History. I can only look at so many solid black canvases before going crazy.

The food has been pretty damn good, too. The best by far has been Soy and Sake, a vegan restaurant. The service toward the end of the meal was lacking, but the food was incredible and we loved the atmosphere of the place. The buffalo wings, Philadelphia rolls, eel, and coconut chicken - all delicious and meat-free. Man, I wish we had stuff like this at home. We also hit up Vegetarian's Paradise 2 and a few other random spots we happened to find (pizza, thai, etc). I expected to spend a lot more than I do at home for a meal, and that really hasn't been the case. I splurged at Soy and Sake and spent around $25, but other than that it's been very reasonable.

We've also hit a bunch of record stores (I spent $80 at Generation Records), saw Anamanaguchi at the Union Hall in Brooklyn and checked out the very crowded Barcade (p.s. Ground Kontrol is way better) and looked around Video Games New York.



I'll probably be posting more if I get a moment, but now it's off to bed. My feet need rest!!

Also, our host Traci wasn't kidding when she said that the cats might open the freezer when hungry! We just heard crashing and found the freezer open and wine bottles (thankfully in tact) on the floor. These cats are awesome, but crazy!

New York, New York

New York, I will be inside of you tomorrow! Expect some blogging from the Big Apple in the days to come.

My boyfriend Trent and I will be staying at a friends place in Brooklyn, who are going on a honeymoon and need someone to feed their four cats. We have a bunch of plans - shows, museums, galleries, vegetarian restaurants, record stores, game stories, breweries, etc., but I am still looking for some recommendations. Any suggestions of places to check out?

Street Fighter 2: The Movie That Should Have Been

I'm sure Jackie Chan made a better Chun Li than Kristin Kreuk in this movie:



But at least it doesn't look as bad as DragonBall Evolution.

DIY Pizza Fun

Yes, I know everyone reading this probably made DIY pizza back in first grade. Until a co-worker told me how well hers came out, I hadn't made a pizza since I was a kid, too. But I had fun! I headed out to Trader Joes and picked up everything I needed for cheap; garlic and herb pizza dough, pizza sauce, a full pineapple, olives and mozzarella cheese.



Honestly, the hardest part was dealing with the dough because it was so sticky. Pro-tip: Be sure to put lots of flour on your workspace and on your hands when stretching it out. It only came out a little burned because my oven is a POS. I am excited to do this again soon! It fed three people and was cheap and easy. Plus, you can put whatever you want on there. Next time, I'm definitely including goat cheese. See the process by clicking the link below:

Ferndale Sonic!

I haven't seen so much buzz surrounding a fast-food opening since Krispy Kreme. I'm guessing it's because we've been teased by commercials of tantalizing Sonic drinks for so long via commercial, that we've been brainwashed to want this stuff; even though there was no Sonic anywhere nearby until now. Today was a special invite-only event. All orders were 50% off with 30% of the proceeds going to the Ferndale Boys and Girls Club. So that's pretty awesome. Plus, everyone had roller-skates on!

We were a little apprehensive when we got there since we had orders for about 8 people. The service was very friendly, extremely quick for the amount of food, and from what I heard, everyone seemed happy with the quality. The only problem we experienced was a few missing items, but I guess that's to be expected unfortunately.

Being a vegetarian, I ordered a breakfast sandwhich without meat, jalapeno poppers (that I didn't get!), cheesy tots and an apple limeade. It was all pretty good, especially for $3.00. The tots were crispy and didn't have too much cheese on them, the limeade was refreshing (but came in a thick styrofoam cup - bummer!) and the sandwhich was what I expected - egg and cheese on toasted bread. I'll definitely be checking it out again soon, perhaps during the happy hour (2-4 PM) with half-price drinks.

The Ferndale Sonic opens to the public tomorrow morning.

Craving to Bake

So I've been adding food blogs to my RSS reader lately, and I've been feeling inspired to at least bake soon. Click on photo to be taken to the blog / recipe.

CHOCOLATE GRIDDLE CAKES WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE


RAINBOW CAKE (perfect for your coming out party!)


CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH CUPCAKE


OREO CAKE


VEGAN GREEN TEA CINNAMON ROLLS


IRISH CAR BOMB CUPCAKES (whiskey and beer are in these things!)

Events This Weekend

(Click to enlarge)

Tonight's WhAAM show should be pretty sweet for indie-music fans. I'll definitely be stopping by while on the Downtown Gallery Walk. I just hope the weather gets nicer. As for tomorrow's Winter Commission; check out all that free stuff! Visual art, music and film! For $0. You really have no reason not to be there.

Rick Steves Presenting in Bellingham

My mom and I have thrown around the idea of taking a trip to Europe together for quite awhile now. And I am hoping this presentation by Rick Steves, a well-known travel guide author and TV show host, can motivate us to start saving and making serious plans.

View the details HERE. Tickets are only $6.00!

You Know You Think About Records Too Much When...

... you dream that you found a Pearl Jam "Alive" 7-inch test press for $10.00 in the back of Aladdin Lamp Antiques, and then get really excited about how much this will probably go for on ebay.



Maybe this dream had something to do with the records I was stoked about getting at last night's Helms Alee show. They were really, really good and somehow I managed getting up to the very front of the crowd. Kick yourself if you weren't there.