Hi Kitchen, I'm Jess. Have we met?

So I'm getting almost as bad about actually using my kitchen as I am about updating this blog. And that's saying a lot. Whoops :) At least it's been less than a month... for the blog anyway.

I truly do enjoy cooking, but between having an absurdly small dysfunctional kitchen, having little to no free time to cook let alone find a recipe I'm interested in making, and trying to have a social life I just eat out way too much. I always wish I'd just make the time for more meals at home, but every week nothing changes.

Until now.

My lovely friend/coworker Lauren and I have made a pact. We're not allowed to eat out for the next month. Coincidentally, a month from today happens to be both Lauren's birthday and the night I'm flying to GA for a much needed reunion with my beloved Athens. Both clearly cause for celebration. So you can bet on September 17th we'll both be eating fantastic meals in some of our favorite restaurants! But until then... we're both in this together.

I'm not sure what the hardest part will be - finding the time to prepare good meals or passing up social events with our friends (they can't believe we're not even going to break the pact for brunch). It's very much a part of my job, social life and the culture we live in to go out to eat. You're probably wondering why we're voluntarily giving that up for a month?? It's a combination of trying to save a few dollars and challenging ourselves to do something that really kind of scares us.

Luckily we do have two exceptions: Sarasota (we're going home for Labor Day weekend and will absolutely be taking advantage of yummy Florida seafood and some of our old favorites), and dates. Well really any meal that someone else pays for.. so dates, work functions or if friends pity us and want to buy us dinner (but that's kind of cheating). So here goes... time for some quality time in the kitchen.

Playing Tourist

One of my absolute favorite things about living in NYC is that people always seem to be visiting. Not only is it always great to catch up with old friends (that goes without saying), but it's also fun to have an excuse to do the touristy things I wouldn't typically do on my own. New Yorkers seem extremely averse to any sort of tourist attraction, but I have to admit that sometimes its just fun every now and then! Sooo here are some of the highlights of my touristy weekend with my darling friend Mindy, who is also way better at taking pictures than me so I have her to credit for the majority of these...

Top of the Rock

There are a lot of touristy things I'm okay with, but it takes a lot for me to take pics in Times Square! Mindy you're lucky I love you..

walking over the Williamsburg Bridge

Back in Manhattan

Finally went to Katz's! This picture doesn't even do this sandwich justice, it was the biggest thing I've seen in my life

"If people read your blog, they would think all you do is eat"

Yes, that was a recent comment from my Dad... and I really can't argue with him (he's referring to my picture blog, which by the way does feature a disproportionate amount of food pictures). I think what he really meant to say is "you're using that gym membership we got you for Christmas right?"

I can't really nail down whether it's a result of living in New York, having the job that I have (which involves a lot of great food/food related events), or hanging around with a group of girlfriends that are equally obsessive, but I've somehow managed to become a bit of a foodie. I guess I can't fully claim it, since being a true foodie in this city is a bit out of my (and many people's) price range, but as one of my darling friends said this weekend... my friends and I are "ballin' on a budget." We're all constantly sending eachother e-mails about the latest restaurant we have to try, latest bar, etc. Yes, we even have a Google Doc of all the restaurants we want to try so we can cross them off the list as we go (our "restaurant queue" if you will).

Anyway, my foodie friend Lauren recently told me how she has a Zagat guidebook and highlights each restaurant that she's been to - I love it! Soo I ordered mine on Amazon, should be arriving any day now, and I can embark on my goal of trying every restaurant in NYC. We'll see how my wallet (and waistline) handle this...

NYC friends, any must-try restaurants? I have a few that are top of mind, and we have quite an extensive google doc started, but always up for suggestions!

Street Fair, Tim Burton and Naked People

My favorite thing about living in New York is there's always somewhere new to go or something new to see. I was talking with a friend today about how I feel like you could spend your whole life in this city and barely scratch the surface of trying all the restaurants, and visiting all the galleries, museums and landmarks. Having a "9-to-5" job (do those even exist anymore?) makes it even harder to get out and experience all the city has to offer, but since moving here I've tried to squeeze as many fun activities into my little free time as possible. This weekend was the perfect, filled with interesting experiences...

Saturday we went to the Hester Street Fair, which just opened this weekend and is filled with vendors of all kinds - food, coffee, smoothies, art, clothes - you name it, it's there. Apparently this area was once the home of NYC's oldest and largest pushcart market, who knew? Anyway, it was fun to roam and around tasting everything and checking out the art and jewelry... They're open for the next few months so stop by and check it out if you missed the crazy opening weekend!

Unlike Saturday, which was a beautiful spring day in the city, yesterday was completely miserable and rainy. Fortunately a friend and I had already snagged tickets to the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA, which was in its last weekend after being sold out basically since it opened so we spent the day indoors and quite entertained.

The exhibit was really interesting, and definitely made me want to go watch all of Tim Burton's movies immediately. Must finally get around to signing up for Netflix...

We also wandered through a few other random floors (I've been to MoMA a few times and can never manage to see everything), but the exhibit we still needed to see was "The Artist is Present," by Marina Abramovic. I use the word "by" loosely, since the artist actually is the exhibit. You can read all about the idea behind it in this article from the New York Times, but essentially she's sitting at a table staring at whoever is next in line to sit across from her. Based on the picture on the Times article, she seems to at least wear different clothes day to day... it's a pretty bizarre exhibit, and continues upstairs with people in various positions, some clothed and some not.. I won't go into all the details, but it's definitely worth checking out. If nothing else, it seems like it'll be something everyone in NYC will be talking about soon so it's worth knowing what all the fuss is about. New York just may be one of the only cities in the world people will pay and stand in line to see someone sitting at a table and staring straight ahead..

PS, if you're a Sex and the City fan, you may recognize the picture with the ladder from the episode where Carrie meets the Russian... remember the crazy woman on exhibit not eating, drinking or sleeping? Same as the one we saw today :) Who said Sex and the City isn't cultured?

These Are A Few Of New Yorkers' Favorite Things

Every city is known for certain food: Philadelphia has its cheesesteaks, Boston has its clam chowder, New Orleans has its crawfish. However, if I had to pick one thing New York is known for, I'd have a pretty hard time. While the most common answer would probably be pizza, there are a few other random things I've noticed New Yorkers are obsessed with.

Frozen Yogurt. I'm partial to Pinkberry, but there are thousands of places in the city that are the exact same concept. It's not that bad for you, especially when topped with fresh fruit instead of chocolate sprinkles.

Cupcakes. Of course everyone loves cupcakes, but New Yorkers seem to be particularly obsessed with them and there are fancy cupcake shops every where you look (Crumbs, Magnolia Bakery, etc.)

Bagels. I'm pretty sure people in the South don't even know what real bagels are. True story: I had friends home from school for Spring Break and they really didn't know what to do when my mom brought us home a dozen bagels (we all know Florida is more similar to New York than the South when it comes to food/just about everything).

Falafel. I'll be honest, I had my first falafel experience last night so that may be why I felt the need to include it in my list. There are stands on every corner, they're super cheap and soo good! Side note: gyros are equally as cheap and delicious. 

The list goes on, but these are a few of my favorites that I've noticed seem to be widely appreciated throughout the city. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to end this post before I try to eat my computer screen...