Hello blog world! It’s only been a few days but I feel like I’ve been gone forever! After a whirlwind trip to both the Poconos and NYC, I am finally back home in good ole’ New England. No matter how much fun I have on a vacation, I always enjoy coming back home to our cozy apartment.
We spend a lot of time in the Poconos, as you may have noticed from previous posts in this blog. In fact, we actually lived there for a whole summer, and I was able to make my Pennsylvanian theatrical debut at a summerstock theatre about an hour away from the lake house. I have such fond memories of that summer there- lazy mornings out on the deck, homemade sangria, bonfires at night. No matter what the season is, it is always a cozy place to be.
During this particular visit, we were helping Connor’s parents re-tile the kitchen floor. One of the things I admire so much about his family is their ambition to take on huge house projects like demoing a whole room and remodeling it entirely. I don’t know much about home remodeling, and it was so much fun to learn. Tiling a floor is actually a lot easier than one would think- it just takes a lot of patience.
Of course, re-tiling a floor with a dog in the house is also an interesting venture.
As I learned, the first step to tiling a floor (after measuring and making sure everything is in order) is laying them down with thinset and using spacers in between to make sure everything is equal. The next day, we spread the grout in between the cracks to make everything smooth.
Ta-da! To be honest, most of the credit goes towards the other members of the household- I don’t think I did much beyond the grout placement, but it was still a really great learning experience. Up until this weekend, I wouldn’t know the first thing about tiling a floor.
Beyond the house work, the weekend at the Poconos was filled with lots of relaxation, some in-town shopping, coffee, and a great dinner out. Like always, the time went by so quickly!
On Monday morning, I took a train down to Manhattan for some much-needed girl time with my college roommate Elle.
Whenever I get together with my college friends, no matter how much time has passed in between, it always feels like old times – like nothing has really changed. I’ve said it before- when you can go months without seeing friends, and then find that nothing is really different when you do see them, you know you’ll be friends forever. Luckily, it hasn’t been that long this time, but it is still an adjustment- going from seeing a person every day to just a handful of times a year.
The few days I spent in NYC was a whirlwind of drinks, dinners, and shopping. Naturally. On my first night, we met up with our good friends Mark & Roberta for drinks & sushi at Aquamarine. Of course, my pick for sushi is not really sushi at all:
Despite some snafus with the service, the food was pretty good, and the company was even better.
As I mentioned earlier, Elle and I signed up for a cupcake making class at Butter Lane bakery in the East Village. It was such a fun experience, and the cupcakes we ended up making were out of this world.
We were split into groups of four, and we made three kinds of cupcakes (chocolate, banana, & vanilla) with four different types of frosting (vanilla bean, chocolate, cream cheese, & cinnamon).
Afterwards, we were able to mix & match all of the different types of cupcakes and frostings for amazingly delicious desserts.
Even just looking at these pictures right now makes me want a cupcake. We each got to take home nine, although by the time I returned back to Boston, there were definitely a few missing.
I say it every time I leave NYC, but it bears repeating – despite the fact that I love Boston, and feel that it is “home”, there will always be a piece of my heart that belongs to New York. I don’t know if we’ll ever live there, but at the very least, it is a place to visit that always feels like a second home.
Reader Question(s):
Where is your favorite place to visit & travel?
What city would you want to live in if you could trade for a week?
We have missed you….How fun, I would love to take a cupcake class.. I mentioned before I took a cupcake decorating class and it was so fui! If I could live anywhere for a week, it would def be somewhere warm! I would rather it be 90 out than 30!
Yeah, I am not a fan of the cold weather. I love New York & New England but gaaaahhh I’m ready for short sleeves and dresses! Anytime now.
It looks like you had such a great time! Those cupcakes would not have made it all the way home with me, haha.
I would most likely head to the Carolinas. I would love to live in North Carolina or South Carolina someday
I honestly don’t know how I didn’t eat them on the train ride back, or at least lick the frosting.
I love the Carolinas….Elle’s fam lives down in Hilton Head and we used to road trip down there during college spring break. So beautiful!
The tile looks beautiful! That sounds like such a fun time!
I love showing people pics of it & saying I DID THIS! (Or at least helped. Hah!)
I missed your posts!! Glad you had a great time. The cupcakes look awesome
I am glad to be back! I have so much reading to catch up on from all you guys, haha!
I was just wondering where you disappeared to the other day, and then I remembered that you were enjoying a little trip… Glad to hear that you had a good time
Mind sending one of those cupcakes my way? 
I would send you a cupcake but we ate them all.
Ah what could be better than sushi and cupcakes? Yum! Glad you guys had a great vacation. I totally know what you mean about it being nice to be back in the comfort of your own home though!
Sushi & cupcakes…nope…doesn’t get much better than that!
And it’s so true– as much as it’s fun to be away, it’s also nice to be back home to the “familiar”
LOVE NYC! It is absolutely my most favorite city to visit (so far)!
NYC is awesome! Although I truly despise midtown/times square. Nothing brings out my inner raging demon like being in a crowd of tourists on 42nd & b’way.