I want to be these girls...

I wish I was fearless and liked speed. But I like to play it safe more. But doesn't this look like fun?

Baby Brunch

On Monday, Dan and I went to brunch here (soooo good! go eat there!) with my co-worker/friend Patricia, her husband and the new baaaaaaby!
He's really cute. And they're doing such a good job at figuring out a new baby.





We got some really good food. Dan got the breakfast burrito and I got eggs Benedict 'cause I should weigh 500 lbs (that's what my mom emailed me after I had posted multiple baked goods--"good thing you go running!" I heart ma mom : ). It was really good food and it's fun to be able to go somewhere up in our neck of the woods instead of having to travel way down town. And you know how Dan loves brunch. Mmmm mmmm! If you live up in WaHi or Inwood, we highly recommend it. Heck even if you don't live up here, you should get your tooshi up here and see that even in Manhattan there are houses and old school suburbs. Good times!

Fire Escape BBQ fail

On Sunday night, we had some friends over for dinner. We wanted to BBQ as we have that ity bity BBQ we got when we went to the beach. So Dan got it all set up on the fire escape which I'm sure broke lots of laws and rules, but it smelled so good and BBQ-y!

However, with all that wind and air moving around, the coals burned way too fast I think. It had a hard time staying very hot so it took forever to cook the meat. I think from the time we put the first legs and thighs down until Dan took the last ones off was maybe 2 hours, maybe even more. One of our friends brought watermelon and I made this cucumber salad. I highly recommend it. I also added some tomatoes to make it a little bigger. The tip about salting the cucumbers and letting them drain for an hour is awesome! It was still kind of liquid-y but not half as bad as it would have been. The salad has a perfect sweet and spicy flavor. The salad, watermelon and BBQ chicken made the perfect end of the summer meal. Yum-o!

Banana Toffee Pie

I found this recipe on Pinterest but this is the original link. This pie is super easy (carmel/toffee is a bit time consuming) and yuuuummy. It's definitely on the sweet side, but as long as you don't add any sugar to your whipped cream, I think it's not overly sweet.

First you make some clouds. I recently discovered clear vanilla extract. That's what I use now when I make frosting or whipped cream to keep it looking nice and bright white.
Here's the cast. Whipped cream, caramel, bananas and graham cracker crust.
Now the most amazing part of this recipe is the whole boiling sweetened condensed milk for 2.5 hours and making magic. It's definitely time consuming, makes your apartment too hot, and you have to make sure you keep checking and adding water so it's always covered, but it's sooooo good! If you make more than one can at a time, then you have cans ready for a few more future pies or some awesome ice cream topping. I was cursing my dang can opener (is there any that work well and don't die after one or two cans?!) for how slow and difficult it was being. It was trying to keep me away from the goods!
You mix it up some and then pour it alllll over those 'naners.
And you keep a little for yourself, cause you're working hard.
Then you plop some of those clouds on top.
And wha-la!
Let it chill for an hour or two and then serve. Try to take a picture but fail because everyone is snarfing it down.
mmmmmmm piiiiiiieeeeee
And like the girl in the original recipe said, this can be even easier if you use a store bought graham cracker crust and cool whip. Easy schmeezey!

Labor Day 2011

Dinkin' around on Pinterest, watching the US Open
Taking naps
lots of naps
I think we've done pretty well at resting from our labors.

sweet surprises

Did you notice Dan's little love declaration yesterday?
We didn't finish the painting over the weekend, and Dan worked on it a little bit while I was at work. Then when I got home, I noticed this little surprise over the door. I don't think the super will like it much...
but it sure made me feel special : )
I heart that Dapper Dan Man.

Paintin'

So over hurricane weekend, Dan and I kept busy with painting our bedroom. I am soooooooo happy with how it turned out. It's the perfect gray and it makes everything else in the room stand out rather than blend in like it did with the nasty "white" walls. I think it's my new favorite room.

Dan, painting the last little bit!
And it forced us to clean out all those corners that get piles of things stuffed in them...
In real life it's a little bit darker than it shows in the pictures
This one probably is the most accurate depiction of the color.
Yay for breathing new life into living spaces!