Wish I Could ~Take 2~

Some of my most recent pins to my Pinterest board for Christmas~

Wish I could make this decadent dark chocolate cake with a quaint little winter scene!

Wish I could cozy up in a soft, hand-knitted, infinity scarf!

Wish I could drive around town with a fully lit and decorated Christmas tree!

Wish I could gaze out of a pretty pom-pom'd window and see lotsa snow!

Sorry for the lack of posts!

I've been super busy with work and it's ways to dark out by the time I'm ready to take pics...

Oh c'est la vie!

~Naomi


P.S. Have you been to Bevel Trunk Show's brand spanking new website? I am loving the idea behind it! They find wonderful designers and feature their goods in an online exclusive trunk show. Use access code NYC150 to enter ;)

~My favorite: "Slice of sand" ring by Nettie Kent~

A Stroll in the Park

I love it when my husband takes the pictures for the blog.

The life!

It's so different from my usual: set timer, run, pose, click.

These are taken after church on Sunday before we went out to see "Skyfall" with our friend Yens.

I changed into jeans and a hoodie for the theatre because I always freeze during movies!!

I can't remember the last time I wore a hoodie... 

Anyhoo.... LIFE!

We parked behind this pavilion so I had to hoof it to the park.

Abe thought this the perfect rock for sitting, I objected to it's filth but sat nonetheless.

I declare this to be the most painful shot. The sun burned my eyeballs out!!!

I just love this one. The gazebo is so lovely.

New tights! I just had to get them as I love bows so so soooooo much!

And heading back to the car :)

Can you believe it's only Tuesday?

I have been working 6 out of these 7 days and am SO ready for a day off on Thursday!

~Naomi

Coat: Ellen Tracy via Marshall's

Blazer: Worthington for JCP (old)

Tank: Isaac Mizrahi for Target (old)

Dress: Francesca's

Tights: Emilio Cavallini via Century 21 in NY (similar)

Clutch: thrifted

Shoes: F21  

Top of The Rock, Top of The World

I can't believe it's been a week since I was in NYC with my sister!

I spent 3 whole days there, these pictures are from the last day.

My sister was working during the day, so her roommate Val and I had lunch at her favorite Mongolian eatery and then went to Rockefeller center to go to the Top of the Rock!

We rode up 70 stories and climbed some stairs to get there.

It was crazy how quiet it was!

Val! Isn't she so cute?

Central Park!

After our little adventure in the clouds, Val and I went to visit my sister at her restaurant.

Poor Val was coming down with a cold though, so after our mochas and bruschetta, we went back to their apartment so she could rest and I blogged :P

Cozied on the couch!

When Sarah came back from work, we had a nice night in with wine and Netflix and cuddling on the couch.

I left to go back to PA the next morning.

I miss her already!

Can't wait until she can come visit me!

~Naomi

Sweater: thrifted

Jeans: American Eagle

Coat: NY & Company

Purse: Urban Expressions

Necklace: F21

Socks: H&M

Pumpkin Biscotti

Did everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving?

I was working, so I celebrated with my fabulous co-workers as the hospital provided a huge spread of yummies for lunch.

I got in the baking spirit and knowing that most nurses love their coffee as much as they love vacations, I made biscotti for dunking!

They were such a hit!

I was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out, as I had never made biscotti before.

Pumpkin Biscotti

• 2 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• Pinch of ginger
• Pinch of cloves
• Pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of pumpkin purée
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and spices into a large bowl.
2 In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, and vanilla extract. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Give it a rough stir to generally incorporate the ingredients, the dough will be crumbly.
3 Flour your hands and a clean kitchen surface and lightly knead the dough. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. Form the dough into a large log, roughly about 15-20 inches by 6-7 inches. The loaves should be relatively flat, only about 1/2 inch high. Bake for 22-30 minutes at 350 F, until the center is firm to the touch. (Feel free to also form two smaller logs for cute two-bite biscotti; just cut the baking time to 18-24 minutes.)
4 Let biscotti cool for 15 minutes and then using a serrated knife cut into 1 inch wide pieces. Turn the oven to 300 F and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Cool completely.
Biscotti may be still a tad moist and chewy, so if you prefer it crisp let it sit uncovered overnight in a dry space. Serve and enjoy.

(source for recipe)

I doubled it so I had enough to share! I also recommend not dipping them in frosting like I did, but dip or drizzle melted chocolate over so they stay crunchy!

P.S. Anyone going shopping today for Black Friday sales? Not Me! I will do the rest of my shopping online to avoid crowds, haha!

~Naomi

Macarons, Mochas, Movies

On Sunday, my second day in NY with my sister, she had to work most during the daylight hours so I went exploring by myself.

I attempted to wear heels again, but after walking 5 blocks or so to the subway, my tootsies had had enough.

My main goal was to stroll Madison Ave and visit Ladurée, the famous Parisian macaron shop.

It wasn't half as busy as Magnolia was the day before, thank heavens!

I would have loved to try one of each, but alas I did not want to spend $75+ on gourmet cookies!

I settled for a cute little box of 6, getting two Pistachio of course.

From there, I walked about Central Park with a little bag of warm honey roasted almonds!

OMG they are friggin tastey!

I knew Sarah wasn't to get out of work until 5pm, but it was past lunch time and I was starving.

I had been to her restaurant before and the barista Joe makes a mean mocha!

So to W. 69th Street I headed, now in horribly uncomfortable flats! haha

After dining on Kosher Italian yumminess, I window shopped some more along Broadway and the area.

I made my way to Lincoln Center and The Juliard School and sat on a lovely bench to chat with my husband back home.

After Sarah's shift, we looked up movie times for Pitch Perfect!

We missed the closest one so we hopped a train to Time Square and visited our friend Basil at Lucky Cheng's for a few drinks.

The bartender and drag queen, Coco, made us this ummmm interesting drink... called Hood Water.

It warmed me from head to toes!

And from there we walked to the movie theatre, watched Pitch Perfect (hilariousness!), and then back home.

Once home, we made yummy s'mores bars and then fell asleep!

The End of Day 2!

 ~Naomi

Dress, gold belt, jacket: thrifted

Necklace, sunglasses: F21

Black belt: Ross

Scarf: Chinatown

Purse: Urban Expressions

Shoes: 'Me Too'

Sister Saturday

Friday night, after my 12hr shift at the hospital, I drove 3hrs to Queens, NY to stay with my sister Sarah.

I crashed on the couch right away and woke up "early" the next day at 8am!

 

 

 

 

 

We had our coffee and then headed out to Brooklyn to browse the flea market, where I introduced Sarah to pupusas.

 

 

 

After eating 3 each, we walked around a bunch more (in heels, ouch!) and didn't buy anything because I didn't want to spend $85 on a dress :(

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then ventured to Magnolia Bakery in Rockafeller Center and I was a bit disappointed in my snickerdoodle cupcake.

But I enjoyed the sights!

 

 

 

After feeding the last of the crumbs to pigeons, we took the subway back to her appartment and took a 2hr nap on the futon!

We woke up laughing and feeling like a couple of little old ladies, and put on some flats before we headed out again to this funny little bar full of gay cowboys that her friend is the bouncer of.

Two whiskeys later, we were ready to head to the next bar!

 

 

 

 

 

There, we met up with some of her other friends, drank a Fuzzy Navel, downed some Wild Turkey (eww!) and fell asleep on Sarah's shoulder on the subway back home.

 

The End of Day One!

~Naomi

 

 

 

Dress: H&M

Cardigan, Tights, Boots: Old Navy

Jacket: Vintage

Purse: Urban Expressions via TJ Maxx