Summer To Do List (in progress)

It has been quite a while since I’ve written. However, I am proud to say that this has been an amazing summer. I prefer living over writing about it any day. As the summer comes to a close I think it’s an appropriate time to revisit my Summer To Do List. And my plan is share some of my adventures over the next few weeks.

1. “I Love NY” shirt DONE 4.5.10

2. A trip DONE

a. 5.29.10-6.5.10- To Abaco

b. 8.18-8.31.10 To Memphis and Minneapolis

3. A roadtrip

4. Food challenge (pending Minneapolis State Fair)

5. Runamuck Festival (not done)

6. Yelo

7. Six Flags

8. Ride a motorcycle DONE 7.31.10

9. Hamptons DONE Mother’s Day

10. Dance class

11. Atlantic City

12. Learn new recipes (10) Chicken Parmesan DONE 6.25.10

13. New hair DONE 5.24.10

14. Karaoke DONE 6.9.10

15. craft

16. Chip Shop

17. Eleni’s Bakery

18. Red velvet search

19. Cavo

20. Four

21. Broadway show DONE

a. 6.24.10 Fela

b. 8.17.10 The Lion King

22. MANGO 3 points

23. Hotel Grace

24. Learn to double dutch

25. Rock climbing

26. Skydiving

27. macbar DONE 5.27.10

28. Weekend Getaway: Fire Island DONE 6.25.10-6.27.10

29. Attend a wedding DONE 8.21.10

What have you accomplished on your Summer To Do List?

Mmmm...macbar

I am proud to report that I have checked off one more thing on my Summer To Do List. I don't remember how I found out about the macbar, but since hearing about it I've wanted to do. In a serendipitous way, while at a networking event that I really wasn't feeling, I noticed two women eating out of macbar containers and asked them where it was. A few contacts later I made my great escape to start my quest for the macbar.

I have to admit that it was bit smaller than I expected, but I soon realized that this little noodle shaped establishment had a lot of personality. Offering macaroni and cheese with a variety of embellishments including spinach, corned beef, and lobster, they have definitely taken the mac and cheese we all remember from our childhood to a whole new level. Yet they somehow still evoke that nostalgia with the noodle shaped lunchboxesque containers (which you get to keep!) they serve the meals in.

Naturally I went with the Mayan Chipotle, which includes chicken diablo, chihuahua cheese (which I found out is actually a real cheese), and green onions. Even though it wasn't as spicy as I would've liked, the red pepper flakes and sriracha sauce readily available rectified that minor detail. My little noodle packed a big punch. Garnished with green onion shavings, which added a little extra flavor and an eversoslight crunch with each bite. It was definitely topped with an extra helping of cheese before being baked. After penetrating the initial layer of cheese, I found savory chunks of chicken that had enough flavor to stand on their own.

I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed my experience there. It was quaint. Everyone was friendly. It was an interestingly run operation. While there I noticed that they deliver...by skateboard! and that detail just fit too well.

Also while in the area I discovered a bookstore that was just too cute. The seating area had little personal sized tables that folded like books; The wall was lined with pages on a novel; And there were books suspended from the ceiling as light fixtures. When I have a reading room in a house of my own it will definitely have the feeling that I felt there.

Summer To Do List: I want to go higher!

Thanks to this assignment from Guts.Glam.Grace. Magazine, I have added rock climbing to my Summer To Do List!

And thanks to Life booker I'm adding skydiving to the list too.

Gotta Love NY: Brooklyn Bridge

As I mentioned in my post about my Summer To Do List, I am wasting no time in kicking off my summer activities. Today was way to beautiful to not seize the opportunity to start the summer fun. A solo journey into Manhattan proved to be a rewarding one.

In my short sleeve shirt, I leisurely walked several Manhattan blocks, simply taking in the warmth of the sun that my body has been craving and has been deprived of for so long. In the spirit of starting my summer, I accomplished one thing on my Summer To Do List: I bought an I (heart) NY t-shirt. I have lived in NY for most of my life (minus the four years I spent in Atlanta for school), and I have never owned one of these shirts. 1. Because they are primarily geared towards tourists, but if anyone loves NY, it's the natives. 2. They've always been huge t-shirts that you wear to sleep (maybe I did have one of those when I was younger). But now that they have cuter and more fashionable ones, I felt it only right that I have one of my own. I stuck with a classic white, but I may add a few more to my collection before the end of the summer. I don't have a picture of it to show off, but it will certainly show up in a number of my pictures throughout the summer.

Another one of my accomplishments involved some photo fun on the Brooklyn Bridge. After tackling the Brooklyn Bridge last summer, I can now walk across it with a feeling of triumph. What I love about the bridge is that it seems to bring together more than just two boroughs. Man, woman, child, biker, runner, nun, boy scout, cars driving by, helicopters flying over, and boats sailing under, all of this I witnessed while there. The bridge is a form exercise for some, a means of transport for others. It can be romantic, relaxing, educational, fun. All of that hidden in this huge structure that so many New Yorkers have yet to experience for themselves.

Even though the day was uneventful in some sense, it was exactly what I needed to kick off my summer. Stay tuned because I will be sharing my many adventures...and there will be many!

What do you have planned for the summer? Have you ever walked across the Brooklyn Bridge?

Photo courtesy of yours truly. I'm stepping up my photography game.

Summa Summa Summatime

Even though we just stepped into Spring, I’m so ready for some Summer fun. Specific titles are merely a minor detail. All I know is that the sun is shining and fun needs to be had. I created this Summer To Do List last summer, but unfortunately last summer just did not live up to my expectations. So I’m wasting no time, I’m getting a head start.

Here are 23 things on my Summer To Do List, which will continue to be updated. (I've added a few things since writing the original list)

1. “I Love NY” shirt DONE 4.5.10

2. A trip DONE 5.29.10-6.5.10

3. A roadtrip

4. Food challenge

5. Runamuck Festival

6. Yelo

7. Six Flags

8. Ride a motorcycle

9. Hamptons

10. Dance class

11. Atlantic City

12. Learn new recipes (10) Chicken Parmesan DONE 6.25.10

13. New hair DONE 5.24.10

14. Karaoke DONE 6.9.10

15. craft

16. Chip Shop

17. Eleni’s Bakery

18. Red velvet search

19. Cavo

20. Four

21. Broadway show: Fela DONE 6.24.10

22. MANGO 3 points

23. Hotel Grace

24. Learn to double dutch

25. Rock climbing

26. Skydiving

27. macbar DONE 5.27.10

28. Weekend Getaway: Fire Island DONE 6.25.10-6.27.10

The best part is that I will be sharing these experiences right here with you. Stay tuned!