New Teapot!!

Yay! So I finally have a teapot. After searching Crate and Barrel, Macy's, Wal-Mart, and Target, I finally decided on this cool Michael Graves one from Target. The shape kind of reminds me of a pot from the 1700s but with a modern twist. Also, it has this slide across opening on the top instead of  a pop off small, annoying lid. Here it is...I'm pretty excited.

NYC trip, pre-Christmas (yes...I know I'm behind)

     The Christmas holidays are finally over, so I feel like now I can relax and blog a bit. Before we went to Minnesota for a couple weeks of Christmas celebration, Karl and I  spent a couple days in NYC since our flight was out of laGuardia. One of the things we like to do is eat at places that we have seen on tv shows like "The best thing I ever ate" and "Throwdown" with Bobby Flay. This time we made it to 2 places- Levain's bakery for their dark chocolate chocolate chip cookies and J.G. Melon's for their hamburgers. Both places were featured on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on the food network. The first place we went was to Levain's. This little bakery is easy to pass by if you're not looking for it (which we did) (and we were looking for it). It basically consists of a small small kitchen filled with industrial sized appliances. There is a counter with a cash register, but that's about it. Oh there's also two stools and a counter facing the street.

When we spotted Levain's there was a line out the door. We peeked in any spied a sheet of the famous cookies being put in the oven. Each plop of cookie dough was the size of a baseball. I kid you not.

But it's not only because they're large that they're popular. Levain imports their chocolate for both their dough and their chips. Each cookie is moist, chewy, and of course decadently chocolately. Karl said it was "the most intense cookie experience I have ever had."
 In fact, he had to take breaks eating it! Despite it's $4.00 price tag the cookie was worth every penny, he says. Also their coffee is good and it's only $1.25! They different varieties of cookies that can be found on their website:http://www.levainbakery.com/. Oh and they also ship so you don't have to make a long or expensive trip to New York.
 Our second and final food place was to J.G. Melons, famous for their  handmade burgers. Situated on a busy corner, this restaurant reminds me of a little town bar in England. Not that I've ever been in one, but I have seen "The Holiday" a dozen times and this is quintessential of what it looked like in the movie. The quarters are cozy and the lighting is romantical. When we went around dinner time, it was pretty crowded both at the bar and in the restaurant portion. The waiter told me it would be at least 40 minutes. Right then a couple got up to leave and I asked if we could sit there. Ha, you're so lucky, he told me. Apparently, if you have a large party ( meaning 3 or more) it's pretty difficult to get a table without waiting for a substantial amount of time.

Ok, so back to the food. Burgers (plain, no cheese or bacon) are $8.95 and their cottage fries are $4.75. They have a limited but interesting menu, mostly burgers/sandwhiches, salads, entrees, and desserts. The back side of the menu card is drinks- wine, champagne ( including Dom Perignon for $175), beers, and soda for $2.75 a glass, no refills. I'll cut to the chase.

 I was a little disappointed  with both the burger and the fries. The burger was a little too dense, thick, and had a lack of flavor. Besides the cool shape of the fries, they were fine. Potatoes can taste better. In my opinion, if you want a good burger and fries, go to Shake Shack. And get a Concrete Mixer.

From Christmas

Today is our first Christmas as a married couple. We've just opened gifts and I am having great fun with mine. Before I tell you what it is let me give you some background information. I've wanted an iPad for a long time but always thought of it as an extravagance rather than a necessity. However, the more I fiddled around with them at the store, the more I realized how practical they were and how much you could do with them. There's no way you'll ever get one in a million years, I thought (well, it just might take a million years). So as a half-jest I mentioned how I would just love an iPad for Christmas and how I could do this and that with it and use it for so many things. Karl scoffed and laughed since anything from the apple store is so expensive (and we are poor). Ok, well I tried. As Christmas approached, I kept looking for signs of an iPad around the house. Zero luck. Christmas morning came and the gifts were handed out. The first gift  I opened was a small square box which contained a pad of post-its with "i" written on the top. Haha, how clever. (and disappointing. and budget friendly).
The next gift was a box shaped just like an iPad- right size and everything! I got my hopes up and found a book wrapped in paper with an iPad drawn on it. On the screen was written "redeemable for 1 iPad at the time of your choosing."

 I was a little shocked and confused at this and looked breathlessly at Karl. He prompted me; "so what time do you choose?" (my mouth drops open at this point.
 "I choose now!!! I choose now!!!" then comes a gift bag from behind the Christmas tree. (drumroll please) It's an IPAD!!! At this point my mouth drops open and stays that way. Karl captures the moment.

     So far, I'd have to say it's been pretty sweet. I'm enjoying learning all the features. So far I've uploaded some cooking and recipe apps as well as the new food and wine magazine. (did you know you can get a free subscription for your iPad?) Karl made sure I uploaded some games like checkers and such for our trip home.
     Well, I guess I've taken a long enough break from practicing for now, but stay tuned for some great pictures, food, and recipes!