Road Trip

I've been really busy and haven't had time to blog much int he past 2 months and now that I am finally on here, I am still not really blogging. I just wanted to share this link with you all. My friends Vince, Vlad, and Sal are on a road trip. Not just any road trip- a 30 day road trip going from New York to California and back to New York. Follow the boys as they go cross country:

http://www.roundtrippin09.blogspot.com/

The CPA Exam is PAINFUL

This is me:

The CPA exam is taking over my life. I passed the first section and now have until December 31, 2010 to finish the rest of the exam. I'm taking another section on Saturday and am hoping to have to home exam done by January 2010. Maybe then, I will be able to do something with friends and live a care free life. Until then, I'll be stuck with my nose in a book.

Thanks Drew!

Its restaurant week in NYC. That means I gorge myself day after day in New York's best restaurants. Tonight Vincent and I went to Tribeca Grill, which is owned by Drew Neiporent. Drew is one of the city's most famous and successful restaurateurs. Despite owning 5 or so restaurants in NY alone and much to my surprise, Drew was at the restaurant tonight. I think its great that he is involved in his ventures each and every night.

What we ate:

Appetizers: Warm Asparagus Salad and Tomato Salad
Entrees: Roasted Striped Bass and Grilled Birkshire Pork Chop
Dessert (of course..no meal is complete without it): Roasted Peach Tart and Chocolate Mousse Cake

The appetizers were good but nothing special. Vince's pork chop was amazing. I don't normally eat pork chops but this was amazing and would def ordered it again. Overall this is a great place for a meal. Some entrees are a little expensive for what they are but they will taste great. Yum!

Paris

Are you sick of reading about my trip to France? Probably. I am definitely sick of writing about it even though it was such a fun time. My dad had to work during the day so it was mainly just my mom and I touring around. We had both been to Paris numerous times but it had been about 10 years since the last time I had been so we started over and did lots of the basic tourist stops like:

The Paris Opera House, which inspired the Broadway hit, Phantom of the Opera



My favorite Parisian museum, the Musee D'Orsay which has a lot of great impressionism art


We walked by the Louvre but did not go in. One time was good enough and I intend never to go back inside that massive museum again.

Went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was incredibly freezing but provided a great view of Paris.

Visited the Arc De Triomphe and walked down the Champs Elysees

Notre Dame

and the much more impressive (at least in my mind) Saint Chapelle. This place seriously has the most amazing stained glass windows.

Paris was exhausting and but was a great time. I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do, but that only means I have to go back soon!

France Day 4

Our next day was a continuation of Day 3: More D Day stuff. We started spent most of the day at the Normandy American Memorial and Cemetery at Omaha Beach. There were some really touching films shown, WWII history and memorabilia in the museum. Since we were there on the 65th anniversary of D-Day, we had the chance to meet and listen to stories of some of the men who survived the horrific day. I never full out cried but I was on the verge of tears all day. One man told the story of a bunch of guys who hopped in the water and drowned instantly because their backpacks were so heavy. HUMBLING is the only word I can use to describe the feeling I had that day.


After going through the museum, we walked down to Omaha Beach. Omaha Beach was a beach stormed by the American troops. Of the 50,000 troops who landed their on D-Day, 5,000 (or 10%) died. I don't think the pictures convey it very well but this was one steep hill they had to climb up. I was tired at the end of our walk back up and I cant even imagine what it would have been like running up it with a heavily backpack on and bullets flying at me.

After our long haul back up the mountain, we visited the cemetery where 9,952 Americans are buried. It was sad reading the gravestones. Most men were ranked Private or Private First Class. These were not men, they were boys who barely knew how to use a gun and died for our country, for France, and for liberty of all mankind.

These are the graves of the Niland brothers, in which the movie, Saving Private Ryan was inspired by. For any of you movie buffs out there, this cemetery was where the opening scene in the movie took place.

After the cemetery, we headed over to a different part of Omaha beach. There are still pieces of German bunkers remaining and HUGE craters left from bombs that were dropped here.

I know some/most of this is boring for you all to read, however, I would really like to encourage EVERYONE to go to the D-Day beaches so that you can more fully understand and appreciate the free world we live in today.

France Day 3

Our third day in France was June 6, otherwise known as D-Day. To avoid the crowds and craziness that goes on with all the dignitaries being present at the D-Day beaches on D-Day, my parents and I went to the Caen Memorial Museum. The museum was amazingly touching and informational. It went through the history leading up to WWII, WWII, and the aftermath of WWII leading into the cold war. I learned about these events in history classes growing up, however learning these events through the French perspective furthered my knowledge. I normally get sick of museums but not this one....we spent almost 5 hours there.

From Caen, we drove to the town of Bayeux. As we got to Bayeux, we caught the tail end of a parade to commemorate D-Day. Maybe I am a big dork but I thought this was really cool. Apparently, the US brought a ton of jeeps and other equipment to France with them but decided it was too expensive to bring back to the US so they just left it in France. A lot of people have kept these cars and passed them down to the following generations. Each year to commemorate and thank the US, British, and Canadian soldiers that liberated their country, people dress up in period military uniforms and drive around in their old military vehicles.



Some soldiers


A jeep with netting on the front


Me with a jeep, and yes it was really cold and windy


After the parade and finding a place to park our lovely car, we headed to the Bayeux cathedral. During WWII the archbishop of Bayeux wrote to the US, requesting them to not bomb Bayeux as the city would provide them with no strategic advantage. The US granted this request and as a result, Bayeux is one of the few towns in Normandy that is well preserved.


The Cathedral in Bayeux




Our next stop was to see the Bayeux Tapestry. Growing up, my grandparents had a replica of the Tapestry. I never understood what it was a child so getting to see it in real life and learning all about it was really cool for me. The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of the Norman Invasion of England and is over 1,000 years old.


Even though we had already done a ton of stuff that day, there was still more to do. We drove over to Aromanches. From the top of the town, you can get a great view of Gold and Juno Beaches, which were stormed by the British and Canadian, respectively.

The beaches here were really beautiful. I found it so sad that so many people lost their lives in such a beautiful place. The beaches all had such a solemn feeling about them. I don't know if I would call the experience spiritual but it definitely was a very moving experience to walk these beaches. Right now we are just a few days away from celebrating our country's independance. Going to the Normandy beaches was such a profound experience and made me feel sad at how much we take advantage of free world and how often we take it for granted.

France Day 2

After a great stay in Versailles, we were off to our next stop: Mont Saint Micheal. Mont Saint Michael is an abbey built atop an island off the Normandy region of France, after a local priest received revelation that he needed to build an abbey. In medieval times, people would go on pilgrimages here across the coastal flats. It was really amazing how from how far away you could see the abbey and what a site it must have been for those on their pilgrimage.




Getting a little bit closer...


Those little ant like looking things are modern pilgrims coming to St Michael



My parents


The abbey was so huge and impressive however there are only 5 monks and 3 sisters living there. Here one sister is walking up the steps of the abbey.


My FAVORITE part of St Michael was the cloisters. They were beautiful!!!

France Day 1

I am really happy to be blogging about day 1 of my trip to France with my parents. I almost didn't make it due to some craziness with the airlines. I thankfully met my parents at the airport and we jumped in our rental car and headed off to the Chateau Versailles. I had been to the chateau 10 years ago but had kind of forgotten a lot of things so it was great to go.

Here's my mom and I at the entrance. This place is MASSIVE!

We got the audio guide so we'd know what we were looking at. Here's my mom rocking out with her audio guide.

On our tour we got to see lots of amazing things like the chapel where royalty and other members of court worshipped...

....and the hall of mirrors

My dad and I outside, behind the chateau

I think all of our favorite part was going out to the gardens and to Marie Antoinette's hamlet

Summer Sabatical

My Company offered a summer sabbatical program, meaning, you could take anywhere between 4 and 12 weeks off of work while getting paid at a reduced rate. I immediately took them up on this offer, found a subleasor, and was off. I'm half way through my time off so I figured I should start documenting it. Look for upcoming posts on my trips to Rhode Island, France, my parents house, and the Outer Banks!

Mother's Day

My parents stopped in New York 2 weeks ago on their way up to Montreal for a business trip, which worked out great because I got to celebrate Mother’s Day with my mom! True to form, we spent a lot of our time eating out at great restaurants. My fav meal was Mother’s Day brunch at Tavern on the Green. Tavern is always good but it is exceptionally good on holidays. I def recommend it if you haven't been there. After our ginormous 3 course meal we walked around the park until it was time for my parents to leave. Thanks for coming mom and dad!

1 Week, 2 Plays

Goal #5 from my New Years resolution is definitely being reached this year. I’m not quite so sure about the other goals but I am rockin’ goal #5 (go to plays, the ballet, and museums more often).

Two weeks ago my friend Jamar told me he was going to see Avenue Q on Broadway. I was sooo jealous! When I originally heard about his play I was like “puppets on Broadway….that’s stupid!” However, after countless raving reviews from friends, I changed my mind but didn’t have anyone to go see it with.

One of the girls Jamar was supposed to go to the play with, unfortunately, missed her flight back to New York, so fortunately for me, I got her ticket and got to go see Avenue Q! Its definitely not a play for everyone, especially those easily offended, but we had a blast!

That weekend my parents came in town for Mother’s Day and we got tickets to go see The 39 Steps, based on an Alfred Hitchcock story. It was hilarious! And unlike Avenue Q, it was completely family friendly. My favorite thing about the play was that there were only 4 actors so the actors had to be really creative. I found their acting skills way impressive. Here’s to me becoming a more cultured individual. Cheers!

Cooking at ICE

Last night my friends Carly, Sara, Liz and I took a cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) and had a fabulous time. Our class was called Anytime Appeteasers which focused on how you start entertaining your guests no matter what time of day it is: with appetizers! We made 12 different appetizers throughout the night at were divided into groups to do the mis en place and then regrouped together later on to learn from our instructor Daniel how to actually assembly and cook the food.

I was assigned to make a smoked trout salad in Endive. It was pretty easy to make except for having to flake the trout and making sure there were no bones.



Liz, Janelle, and Jinelle helped me with the assembly.



And the final product! Not only did they look pretty they tasted good too!

We also made curried crab wontons


and moroccan spiced chicken phyllo cigars

sundried tomato and herb goat cheese rugelach

savory pecan shortbread with a creamy blue cheese

artichoke fritters with a roasted pepper sauce

Thanks for the great night girls!

sublease my apartment PLEASE!!!!!

I really need someone to sublease my apartment from me for the month of June. I am going on a sabbatical for work and am going home to VA to study. It will be available from June 1-the weekend of the 4th of July. If you want to come to NY, if your friend wants to come to NY, if your friend’s friend wants to come to NY, if your friend’s friend’s friend wants to come to NY, please let them know about my place. Rent is $1400 but I am so desperate that I am giving a $400 discount and renting my room for only $1000. My building has a doorman, free gym, laundry, dry cleaning, parking garage, and a roof deck. Here are some pictures of my place if you are interested. Email or place a comment in the “comments” section and we can work something out.

"WHOOT WHOOT" the little owl

I have been dieing to go to dinner at the little owl for a really long time. So long, I cant even remember. My friend Jenn and I realized we both had this desire in common a few months ago and FINALLY we went tonight.

Let me tell you....we built this restaurant up in our heads so much and it did not disappoint one bit. This place seriously is at the top of my restaurant list in New York. I consistently read New York Magazine's Adam Platt rave about the meatball sliders. They were amazing! If you go here, order them! (note: a single order comes with 3 sliders so if you are there with a friend, ask to have a 4th slider so you don't have to share)

I had the gnocchi as my entree and Jenn had the halibut. Although they were both delicious, I couldn't help but be jealous of the couple seated next to us eating the stuffed pork chop. Next time I eat at the little owl, I will definitely be ordering the pork chop. As always, we saved room for dessert, which consisted of raspberry filled beignets served with a chocolate sauce for dipping. Seriously amazing. Most places would cut the corners and just put some kind of raspberry jelly or something of that sort, but the little owl went all out and used fresh raspberries. Eating dessert on this Friday night was the closest to heaven I've ever be.

Girls Weekend

Last weekend my sister Cari, cousin Meagan, and Aunt Barb came to New York for a visit. We did tons of fun stuff like:

Went to the flower show at Macy's (and did some shopping too...)

Went out to eat at tons of yummy restaurants like:

Went and saw a fab Broadway show (I was really excited about my program!)

Got the world's LARGEST sandwhichs from Carnegie deli and enjoyed some time in Central Park (along with the rest of Manhattan....seriously the park was so crowded on Saturday)

This is the only picture Cari made it in since she was the photographer. This photo is evidence that she was in fact was having fun with us all weekend long.

Headed out to the NEW Yankee stadium to watch the Yankees loose miserably 22-4 to the Indians. So sad....but we still had tons of fun!

Restaurant Review

This weekend I tried out two new restaurants in the city. Well, they aren't exactly new, but they were new to me.

Friday night we celebrated Krystal's birthday at Virgil's, a barbecue restaurant in the Times Square area. The company was great but the food was not so great. It was fun getting to see all my friends from church and to catch up with Jenn because its been FOREVER since I've seen her. Jenn and I order the hush puppies with maple syrup butter for an appetizer. This was actually pretty good but you cant screw up fried dough to bad. The barbecue was, on the other hand, was lack luster. The flavor was missing and the meat was a little dried out. On the upside, the service was really fast. I guess it wasn't really that bad for a Times Square place, but the cooks a Virgil's need a little trip down south to try some real bbq and work on their recipes.

Krystal, the birthday girl


Jenn and I

Saturday night, Carly and I went to Upstairs at Bouley, a New American/French/Sushi restaurant owned by Chef David Bouley. Usually I am a little weary of restaurants like this: How can a restaurant with so many different types of food, be good? I typically go with the philosophy that restaurants that specialize in one type of food (ie just French or just Mexican, etc) are better than restaurants with large, diverse menus.

Anyways, back to the the restaurant at hand. The restaurant is small and a little cramped but thats kind of the norm here I guess. They give you breads from the bakery downstairs to start off with and they are amazing. I could almost skipped my entree and just eaten bread it was that good. The kitchen was running slow so we got a complimentary California roll. I ordered the halibut and Carly ordered the salmon. Both of the entrees were delicious as well as the California roll. Upstairs at Bouley proved that a restaurant can have a diverse menu and delicious food.

Future Summer Fun

Not working for the past 3 weeks kind of gave me a lot of time to plan my summer. I have some great plans and cant wait for summer to come. Here's a little preview of the next few months:

Montreal (May 15-18)




Duck Beach with friends (May 22-26) and with the fam (June 19-28)



Newport, Rhode Island (June 12-14)

Plus hopefully a trip to DC for the 4th of July and to Lake Anna for some boating. Hurry up summer!

Torn Labrum

In December I was told I had a torn labrum. "A torn what?" I said. How can you hurt something you didnt know existed? Well it turns out labrum is jus a fancy word for cartilage and that I needed surgery to repair it. I decided to delay the surgery until March so I could help out my engagement team through busy season. January and February went by as a blur and before I knew it, it was time to go under the knife.

After the surgery they gave me this really cool machine that hooked up to this other really cool thing around my shoulder. It basically was like a hydrotherapy. You can tell I am real technical when it comes to medical stuff, huh? Well whatever that thing was it worked because i didnt ever hurt that bad.






Dont mind my hair...its a little crazy i know



This is my new look. Everyday for the past 4 weeks and everyday for the next I get to wear this fab sling. If only it came in multiple colors....

NYCB

Ok its catch up time. A lot has happened so I'm gonna do multiple small entries to make this task of catching up more manageable. Anyways, back in February my amazing roommate Heidi organized a fab Friday night to go see the New York City Ballet. My mom and I used to come to the city every year to go to the ballet but for some reason, I have never been since I moved here. I was so excited to go and had a great time but was kind of sad my mom wasn't there.

They performed 4 short stories and it was absolutely breathtaking. My favorite was a pas de deux from Romeo and Juliette (pictured above). During the spring season (starting April 28) they are going to show a full length presentation of Romeo and Juliette so I'm hoping to find time in my busy spring schedule to go back for more fabulous dancing.

Keep Funding the MTA

I am sitting on a broken down train right now. And I've been doing so for over 30 minutes. I left my house at 7 this morning worked for 14.5 hours, didn't get paid overtime, and now this?!? Recently in the news, there has been a lot of talk about the MTA making service cuts and then price increases. The trains are dirty, slow, inconsistent, they breakdown and they want cut train service and increase prices??? Now its almost been an hour and I'm still sitting here. We cannot allow the MTA to make service cuts!!!

Grand Central

When commuting to Connecticut for work, I have to go through Grand Central. Normally,in the mornings I am always in big rush to catch my train and in the evenings I am always rushing to get home to go to sleep. For some unknown reason I was able to leave my apartment not only on time but early this morning. I decided to pick up breakfast and as I was was walking around, I noticed wow this place is pretty amazing. The ceilings are painted the coolest blue green and all the constellations are painted on it to simulate the sky. Even though I find astronomy incredibly boring the ceiling at Grand Central makes me wish I knew more. Overall grand central is such an amazing place to me. Its function is to be a transportation hub but its just so incredible architecturally.

In some ways, refalling in love with Grand Central made me kind of sad. There are so many amazing things to do in New York yet I (along with all other New Yorkers) are so busy with work and life we don't get to enjoy the great things that make New York, New York. Is it better to come to New york as a tourist so you can appreciate everything the city has to offer? Or are you not able to be aware of all New York offers unless you live her?

Jess Dont Go!

So I think Friday tied for the second most sad day of work. After my many pleas for her not to leave, Jessica didn't listen and said goodbye to KPMG forever. Im slightly jealous of her but am still kind of mad at her. This year at the Christmas party, Jessica fed me because I was slightly disabled. So not only am I am worried about who I am going to talk to at, I am worried about who is going to feed me at the Christmas party. I know Christmas is 10 months away but yes I am already concerned about it.


Anyways, to celebrate her leaving, we had an amazingly fun happy hour and here are some highlights:

Evan and I

Even though the tops of our heads are cut off, I still really like this picture

Noelle acting like the tough girl from Queens that she is

Jessica and Anthony (How cute!)

Dan Sandler and Noelle

Jess and Angela

VILLANOVA friends

Me and Michelle, my GG lunch buddy

Dont leave me Jess!!!

Jess and Michelle

The girls

Valentine's Day, I love you!

Yup. I'm single. And I had no one to celebrate Valentine's Day with. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way. This years Valentine’s Day seriously was one of the best Valentine’s Days I have EVER had. There were no flowers, romantic dinners, or hot make out sessions. There was however 5 hours of ME time.

I have been really stressed with work and life lately that I decided to go to a day spa in Tribeca. My massage, facial, manicure, and pedicure melted all the stress away. Between my treatments I got to hang out in one of their many saunas or pools, eat fresh fruit, and chocolate (I was really sad they had no diet coke but I guess not everyone is as addicted as I am). It was truly amazing and I was kind of glad I was single this year because instead of spending $300 on Knicks/Cavs tickets like I did last year, I got to spend all that money on me. Single or not, I love Valentine’s Day!

Month 1 of 2009

Normally New Years resolutions only last a few weeks but this year I am determined to enforce them throughout the year. I decided the best way for me to be able to meet my goals was to publicly announce them and I am going to give a public update each month to monitor my progress. This may be boring to you so dont feel obligated to read.

1) Read more (both scriptures and regular books)- well I have not read any books other than the Doctrine and Covenants. Even though I have not read any "regular books" I feel like I am doing good in this goal because I am about 1/4 through the D&C

2) Exercise 4 times a week- I decided to hold off on this goal until April but I am definitely going to be hiring a personal trainer come late April and I am really excited for it. Yeaaa NYSC!!!!

3) Deminish friendships that dont enrich my life and improve friendships that do- Deminish bad friendships- CHECK!!!! Improving friendships is a work in progress. Last Friday I went to my friend Libby's birthday party and it was great to see her. She lives 4 blocks away but we never get to hang out due to my crappy work schedule.

4) Increase my savings- I did my taxes on January 16 and already got my return so yup the savings are increased but theres still room to grow.

5) Go to plays, the ballet, and museums more often- My fab roommate Heidi invited me to go to Swan Lake in February. We haven't bought our tickets yet but I am way excited!

6) Make a scrapbook of my trip to Turkey- no progress

7) Plan a fun trip to a foreign country- no progress :( but I am hoping to piggyback on one of my parents many European trips

8) Move into an apartment in the Village- no progress but it WILL happen come September

And even though this wasnt one resolutions, I would like to announce that I have gone 18 whole days without shopping. Yea me!

ahhhh The Life of a Senior Associate

So its snowing and the car is covered in ice and snow. Who has to clean the car off? Not me..thats what staff are for! Look at what hard workers they are. Just kidding. We all took turns cleaning off the car in the mornings. We only had one scrapper so it really was a one person job but this one morning I ended up sitting in the car while my staff cleaned off the car and for some reason it just made me laugh/feel like a jerk watching her clean off the car.

I swear it has snowed more this year in New York than it had any other year I have lived here and it is particularly annoying being out of town and having to drive int he stuff. I am totally ready for winter to be over. I've got one more week in Jersey, 4 weeks in Connecticut, 2 weeks of surgery recovery and then hopefully winter will be over by the time busy season and surgery recovery is over.

31 Dates in 31 Days

There are so many AMAZING blogsout there but I think this one myight top them all: 31datesin31days.blogspot.com.My friend Tamara might just be the most amazing person. She is going on 31 dates with 31 different guys in 31 days for at least 31 minutes and under $31. Enough of me writing about, check out her blog and see for yourself.

XoXo

Shopaholic Does New York

So I had to go to my office tonight (tis the season). As I was sitting in my cab on the way home, I drove by Ann Taylor and all I could think is "Oh, I wonder if they have anything cute in there I can buy." Then, I realized, I dont really need any new clothes and made a new challenge to do: NO SHOPPING FROM NOW UNTIL MARCH 12 (my birthday).

I came home and counted the number shirts I own to make sure I could really do this. In my closet, I have 45 shirts hanging. Given that some of my clothes are dirty, some are in my suitcase, some are at the dry cleaners, and some are in my drawers, I am estimating I own approximately 70 shirts. After this count, the importance of this challenge really increased. Who needs 70 shirts? Well apparently I do/did.

But how do I plan on ending this challenge? By going shopping on my birthday...

Note- there are a few exceptions: I am getting 2 new pair of work pants (I am paying with a gift card so it doesnt count) and a pair of brown heels (bc I've been trying to find a pair that fit my small feet for the past 2 months with no success)

Christmas in the City

Christmas has been over for a little while but I still thought I would post this. My sisters spent Christmas with their in-laws so my parents came up to NYC and celebrated the holiday with me. It was a blast.

We visited the big Christmas trees around the city but all of our favorite was the Wall Street Tree and lights.






Went to see the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular (a little cheesy at times but absolutely one of my fav NY Christmas activities)

Walked down 5th Ave to look at the store windows

My dad made the NAUGHTY list

We also went to Carnegie Hall to see a performance of Handel's Messiah, visited our friends the Whitings, went to Mass at Our Lady of Victory, attended a choral concert at Trinity Church, baked all of our traditional Christmas treats, had the missionaries over for Christmas morning breakfast, and spent some time hanging out at my apartment.

Even though my apartment is pretty small, I think we were able to make it look pretty nice for our Christmas Eve dinner.


This is me with my Christmas tree and gifts. My tree was a little bit smaller than the usual 16 foot tree I make my dad gets me when we are home in Virginia.

Anyways, Christmas in the City was super fun and I hope we get to repeat it again.

XOXO

Bride Wars- GiRLs NiGhT OuT

It all started with an email from Heidi to 5 girls and it turned into 19 of us going to see Bride Wars. We were quite the group. We asked a random guy at the theatre to take our pic since there were so many of us there and I think everyone around us was confused as to how we got such a big group of girls together. The answer: Relief Society! yeaa for church!

Anyways, I loved the movie. It was definitely a chic flick but unlike most chick flick's whose story lines tend to be girl meets boy, girl falls in love with boy, girl and boy encounter problem, girl and boy overcome problem and live haoppily ever after, this movie really was more about friendship. So all you ladies out there need to have a girls night out and go see Bride Wars!