New York Day One

I love NYC. I just love it. So the day that Mom and I left for New York, I was super excited. In the morning I watched some more Game of Thrones, and at 12:45 pm we left. According to Google Maps, the drive should take 3 hours and 39 minutes. It took us 5 hours and 30 minutes to drive here. But no matter, the views from the Whitestone Bridge were beautiful despite all the traffic.

We are staying at the Affinia Dumont, which is in the heart of Midtown. We have stayed here once before and loved it. The rooms are nice, clean and modern with great views. You just can’t beat a nice view of the Big Apple.

After freshening up in the room, Mom and I took a cab to the Upper West side to meet with my aunt and her husband for dinner. We met at Bustan, a Mediterranean restaurant on Amsterdam and 83^rd.

For starters, we got the shrimp with garlic, soft shell crab and an egg burek (which is an egg inside some Moroccan dough and then fried). I didn’t have the egg, but the shrimp and crab were yummy!

For my entrée I got the Moroccan spiced poached halibut that was served in the small pot that it was cooked in. It was really cool looking and yummy. It came with Israeli couscous and garbanzo beans.

And of course we had to get dessert. We decided on the Moroccan doughnuts with a trio of dipping sauces (guava, chocolate and raspberry). It was amazing. I mean, what could be better than doughnuts and chocolate?

After dinner, as we were walking and looking for a cab, I spotted a sign for 22 Jump Street that someone had graffitied. It is a nice message about media and violence, especially after all the recent shootings that have occurred in the US recently.

Thanks for reading! And I’ll see you tomorrow with New York Day Two!

Nails, Hair, and Food

Well the last few days have not been exciting enough for daily posts. On Tuesday and Thursday I ran errands to Target and Whole Foods. I have learnt that I should never be allowed in a Whole Foods by myself because I want to buy everything.

On Tuesday Mom and I got our nails done. On my toes I have Big Apple Red because tomorrow I am going to the Big Apple. On my fingers I (think) I have ElePhantastic Pink which is just a nice peachy pink for summer.

Wednesday, I went to an Aveda salon to get my hair colored and cut. I decided to go ombre from dark to light. At first I was a little nervous, but I love it!

Sorry for the silly face!

That night I made Shrimp and Grits using some of the grits that we had bought in Charleston. I used a recipe from Saveur. It was yummy, but not traditional nor my favorite. I love Shrimp and Grits so I have to find another recipe! Anyone have any good ones?

On Thursday I made Piri Piri Chicken, which is the specialty of the British restaurant Nando’s. The recipe is from Sorted Food, which is always fun to watch for the recipes and the guys. I will definitely use more of their recipes in the future for they are always delicious. I served the chicken with some orzo. YUM!

While I was at Target, I found the new Ben and Jerry's line of "core" ice creams. I got the "Hazed and Confused" one with hazelnut and chocolate ice creams with a core of chocolate and hazelnut. It was so delicious! It tasted like Nutella! YUM!

I also started watching Game of Thrones on Thursday and I am on season one episode four. And it is amazing! Why didn’t I watch this sooner? I now need to watch all of it this summer! Right now I am in love with Daenerys Targaryen, Arya Stark and Jon Snow. If you watch Game of Thrones, then who is your favorite character? If you don’t watch it, then you should!!

Thanks for reading and I will be back this tomorrow with Mom and I’s trip to New York City to see family and friends, to eat delicious food, and to see Of Mice and Men.

Bye!

Memorial Day in Boston

After waking up late (Well late for me, like 8:30 am), Mom and I had a lazy morning before heading off to breakfast. We went to a local place called D’Amici’s where we both had the Uno sandwich with ham. It was very busy, so we had to wait for a little bit, but the sandwiches themselves were very good.

Then Mom and I headed to Massage Envy for a one-hour massage, but I don’t have any pictures of that!

After the massage, we drove into Boston to wander around the North End. The North End is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Boston because of all the history and FOOD! For those of you that don’t know, the North End is the Italian neighborhood, so there are so many Italian restaurants.

We first went to Quincy Market and watched the Red Trouser Show. They were really entertaining, funny, and one of the best street shows that I have ever seen.

Before eating, however, Mom and I walked to the Paul Revere house, which she had never been to. I could not take any pictures inside, but I have some of the exterior.

We also went to some of the little boutiques on Hanover Street, which runs through the heart of the North End. I got a sweater (I know, really useful in summer), shorts and a hat. I always love going into these shops because I know that what I get will be unique.

Continuing our walk through history, Mom and I went to the Old North Church. Two years ago, our family had stayed at the Skinny House about a block away from the Old North Church. It was really nice to be able to stay so close to the North End. The Old North Church is famous for its role during the American Revolution, but there is more history than that. We also enjoyed taking pictures in the garden outside of the church.

When we were getting a little peckish, Mom and I went to Quattro restaurant at the corner of Hanover St. and Parmenter St. The inside was really clean and sleek, and the menu is amazing. We decided to order an appetizer of a mozzarella, prosciutto, basil and tomato salad. It was fresh and delicious.

For our entrée, I got the Napoletana pizza with cheese and Mom got the fig, arugula and goat cheese pizza. Both of them were amazing because of the brick oven.

As you can see, I loved mine!

For an after meal drink, Mom and I went to a new coffee shop called The Thinking Cup. I got a hot chocolate and Mom got a latte. The hot chocolate was nice and bitter, better than Starbucks.

We also got two cannoli (the singular is cannolo) for later, but I didn’t get a chance to take a picture because we ate them so fast. They were yummy, but not as good as Mike’s.

That evening, Mom and I watched the film Pitch Perfect with Anna Kendrick. I had heard a lot about this movie, and I have wanted to see it for a while. Lets just say that I will watch this movie many more times. It was hilarious and cute and touching. The singing was also amazing! We also started the newest Great Gatsby movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, but I won’t say anything until we finish it (hopefully tonight).

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment telling me what you think. I’ll be back tomorrow with how I made Shrimp and Grits for Mom and I. Bye!