Five on Friday

Happy Friday! It’s been a marathon of a week since last Friday! It was a big week for my daughter! Let’s get into the details! 

1.  Hudson Valley Restaurant Week  – Friday night I was invited to 179 Bar and Grill for HVRW. My husband and I enjoyed a delicious dinner that included the fried calamari pictured above. You can see the entire meal in this Instagram reel. I love trying new-to-me restaurants. Sadly, due to lack of time and funds, the list is much longer than I can realistically get through! However, HVRW is when you can get a great deal on a three-course lunch or dinner.

2. Reading – This week I finally finished reading Anita De Monte Laughs Last. Unfortunately, I didn’t love it as much as I hoped I would. 

3. Track Meets – Saturday we spent most of the day at my son’s track meet. This was a huge, multi-school event. It was freezing and rainy. I of course didn’t dress appropriately so was pretty cold and miserable. Fortunately, Tuesday afternoon was spent at a different track meet and it was a beautiful, sunny day.

4.  Birthday Dinner – Saturday evening we took my daughter and her friends out to dinner for a birthday celebration. She chose Polpettina in Eastchester. My husband and I dined separately and enjoyed a delicious dinner. These eggplant chips are our fave.

5. NYC – Sunday we drove into the city to celebrate our daughter’s actual birthday. She turned 18!!! We first made a quick stop at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. There are only a handful of these fast-food restaurants in New York City and none anywhere in Westchester County that I’m aware of. My son requested a stop and he rarely asks for anything. So we had to make a stop for him.

The purpose of our trip into the city was so my daughter could get a tattoo for her birthday. Her tattoo is in memory of our cat Salem who passed away over the summer. I love that the artist personalized the tattoo with my daughter’s birth flower and the flower of the month that Sal passed away. It was mom approved!

We enjoyed dinner at Bua Thai Ramen & Robata Grill. It was a very aesthetic restaurant with flowers hanging from the ceiling.

My daughter of course needed a mocktail pina colada served in a pineapple!

We shared a couple of scoops of ice cream from Van Leeuwen before heading home. We tried Honeycomb Fudge Ripple and Peaches & Cream. I think this was my first time trying Van Leeuwen’s ice cream and it was so good!

6. Bed Party – Monday my daughter’s friends came over to give her a surprise bed party for her birthday. They did such a great job!

7. Youth Court Graduation – Wednesday night my daughter had her youth court graduation. She’s been attending this program for the past 10 weeks to learn more about law and the judicial process. She can now sit on actual youth court cases. This program along with her Intro to Law Class really influenced her decision to study on a Pre-Law track.

No additional blog posts this week! Sharing with Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! This week was busy and this weekend is going to be even busier! Lots of fun things taking place as we celebrate my daughter’s 18th birthday. Here are five from this week:

1.  Earthquake – Last Friday while I was at work I experienced my first and hopefully only earthquake. I was in my office when the floor started rumbling and everything started shaking. It lasted only a few seconds but was scary! New York does not usually get earthquakes of a noticeable 4.8 magnitude!

2. Reading – This week I didn’t finish anything. My reading time has been pretty minimal and this weekend isn’t looking great either. I feel like I’ve been reading my current read Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez forever!

3. Track Meet – Track meet season has started. My son had his first track meet Tuesday night, which was also their senior celebration. This year he’s mainly jumping and competing in the long jump and the triple jump.

4.  Solar Eclipse – The area where we live in New York did not experience a full eclipse. However, I got glasses at work and went out to see the almost full eclipse Monday afternoon.

5. Cooking – This week’s menu was mostly quick and easy meals. I adapted this Sun Dried Tomato Pasta recipe and omitted the chicken. We made Sheet Pan Blueberry Pancakes. I don’t know why I haven’t made a pancake recipe like this until now. It’s so much quicker and easier than making individual pancakes! We also had pierogies with sauteed zucchini and Tofu in Patak’s Korma Curry Simmer Sauce with rice, roasted broccoli and Trader Joe’s garlic naan.

6. Puzzle – I did finish this Re-marks Monsters puzzle last week. It was a fun but fairly easy puzzle to complete.

ICYMI this week on the blog: 

Monday I shared posted 5 Things to Know Before You Visit Resorts World Catskills.

Sharing with Five on Friday. Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! It’s been a relaxing and fun week. I took a couple of days off of work for a little getaway. I just wish the weather was nicer. Here are five from this week:

1.  Easter Brunch – Sunday we hosted family for Easter and to have an early birthday celebration for my daughter. We had a delicious spread that included a Cheesy Egg Bake, a Croissant Bake, Apple Pie French Toast Casserole, Seasoned Roasted Red Potatoes, a ham, hot cross buns and cinnamon buns.

My daughter requested a lemon blueberry cake. I made the breakfast dishes and my husband made this cake! We also had a store bought fruit tart to serve with the cake, also at the request of the birthday girl.

2. Reading – This week I finished Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter. It was such a cute YA romance! I didn’t realize that it’s part of a series, so now I have to read the others!

3. Mohonk Mountain House – A stay at Mohonk Mountain House has been on my Hudson Valley bucket list for years. Earlier in the week the kids visited my parents in Rhode Island and my husband and I had an early anniversary celebratory getaway. We hiked, played archery, relaxed and read by the pool and had a delicious dinner and breakfast. It was a much needed relaxing overnight and I can’t wait to share more about it in a future post.

4.  Watching – Tuesday night we started watching Oppenheimer. This has been on our to watch list for so long. I couldn’t commit the three hours to finishing it, so we will hopefully finish watching it this weekend.

5. 20th Anniversary  – Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. It’s amazing how quickly the years have flown by! We enjoyed a celebratory dinner at our favorite Westchester County restaurant Brothers Fish & Chips. As usual, we enjoyed the tasting menu where every seafood course was delicious and beautifully plated.

6. College Commitment – Finally, last Friday my daughter committed to SUNY Binghamton! It has been a long and stressful journey to this college decision. But we are excited to have another Bearcat in the family and are looking forward to her new adventure!

ICYMI this week on the blog: 

Monday I shared my March Reads.

Sharing with Five on Friday. Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! Yes, I’m back after a long but much needed hiatus. Check out Monday’s post for some more info on the break and where the blog is headed. I get to enjoy the day off from work today for Good Friday. Then Sunday we are hosting a joint Easter and early 18th birthday celebration for our daughter! I’m still in disbelief that I will have a young adult soon. Here are five from this week:

1.  Oliver aka “Ollie” – I need to introduce you to our newest fur pet, Ollie. We adopted him from the Briarcliff SPCA back at the end of December. He’s been a great addition to our family and has been a play buddy for our younger cat Blackjack. The two have become fast friends. Ollie is not really a cuddler. He enjoys being pet and purrs super loudly but he doesn’t like to be held. So, I was VERY surprised when I was sitting on the couch one night and he hopped up into my lap (as seen here) and then fell asleep! It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it’s huge!

2. Reading – This week I finished reading Come and Get It by Kiley Reid. I really enjoyed her previous book, Such a Fun Age. This one was just an okay read for me.

3. Cooking  – This week we cooked One Pot French Onion Pasta (from Wandering Chickpea), Spicy Popcorn Tofu Nuggets (This Savory Vegan) with boxed mac and cheese and sauteed zucchini, Vegan Korean Beef and Rice Bowls (This Savory Vegan) and Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burgers with fries.

4.  Watching – My husband and I are watching the newest season (36!) of the Amazing Race. We also have been working our way through Season 2 of Fargo. I watched the first couple of episodes of Apples Never Fall (Peacock). It’s based on Liane Moriarty’s book of the same title. I haven’t read the book, as I haven’t really enjoyed her recent stuff. But I’ve heard good things about the show, so I’m giving it a try.

I’m also really excited to watch We Were The Lucky Ones (Hulu). This show is based on the book by Georgia Hunter that I have not read but is on my “Want to Read” list. Sex and the City is coming to Netflix on April 1st and I think I’m going to watch this as well. I never made it through the entire series, so this will be a good binge show.

5. Playing – As if the New York Times didn’t already suck my time with Wordle and Connections, I’ve also been playing Strands and the Mini Crossword daily. They are fun, quick ways to keep my brain engaged.

6. Colleen Hoover Nail Polish Collab – As a huge fan of Colleen Hoover, I am interested in her new nail polish collab with Olive & June. They can be purchased on the Olive & June website and at Target. You can purchase all eight shades in a set for $62 or $9 a bottle. Some of the names/shades include Lily Blooms (shimmery magenta), Same Day Next Year (shimmery sheer blue) and Island Time (shimmery sheer lilac purple). Has anyone tried these yet?

7. Craft Tacos and Tequila – Last Sunday my husband and I grabbed lunch at Craft Tacos and Tequila. The restaurant just opened last Friday. We enjoyed some appetizers and tacos, including this Bang Bang Shrimp Taco.

ICYMI this week on the blog: 

Monday I posted NY Foodie Family is back!

Tuesday I wrote about Craft Tacos and Tequila.

Thursday I shared April Events in Westchester County.

Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!

Hello Friday and hello October! It’s been a busy and exhausting couple of weeks. I didn’t have time last week to write a Five on Friday post! This past week I was home isolating with COVID for most of the week. Last night we had Back-to-School Night for my teens. Fortunately, my husband was able to go as well, so we were able to each follow one child’s schedule! I am looking forward to a three-day weekend where I can actually go out! Here are five from this week:

1. COVID – Last Friday I woke up not feeling well. I got progressively sicker throughout the day. Saturday I took a COVID test and tested positive! I’ve had to isolate at home for five days. I was cleared to return to work yesterday and have to wear a mask through the weekend. I’m feeling much better and now only have a lingering cough, like I experienced the last time that I had COVID.

2. Amazfit – I recently purchased an Amazfit Band. I’ve used a Fitbit in the past and it was okay and I don’t need or want an Apple Watch. I want to be able to track my steps and my sleep and this band has received decent reviews. So far, I’m happy with it. It gets the job done for a super affordable price. I’m not sure if coughing impacts heart rate, but I took this picture right after a coughing fit, and ten minutes later it’s down to 83.

3. Reading – Last week I was able to finish reading Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington. Overall, a super unbelievable YA suspense read. I also finished Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena. This was an okay suspense read.

4. Eating  – Last week I enjoyed this Spicy Shrimp Tempura Roll from Whole Foods.

This mushroom, roasted pepper and mozzarella sandwich from Cam’s Deli.

This week, my husband has taken on all the cooking duties – which have included 20-Minute Ramen Noodle Stir Fry, Spicy & Crispy Peanut Tofu with Green Beans, Veggie Burgers and Fries, Soup and Grilled Cheese and tonight Broccoli Rabe Calzones.

5.  Watching – I’ve started watching Bachelor in Paradise.  I got through about half of The Golden Bachelor, but it’s just not keeping my interest. I’ve also been watching Dancing with the Stars, which I normally don’t watch, plus RHONY and Real Housewives of Orange County. I’ve had a bit more time to watch television recently!

I watched the movie Champions on Prime Video. Woody Harrelson is a basketball coach who is court ordered to coach an adult special needs basketball team. It was a real feel good movie!

6. Field Hockey Games – My daughter’s field hockey team is currently 11-1. I’ve had to watch her two most recent home games streamed on my laptop but it’s still been so exciting! There are four more games to the regular season as well as her upcoming senior game. As of now, they are currently first place in their league.

7. Memes – Some posts seen on the internet this week:

8. Puzzle – I’ve been working on this Nickelodeon 90’s 3,000 piece puzzle (again) for weeks. Having to stay isolated for days gave me time to finish it. Even though two pieces are still missing, I’m keeping it, since it’s such a challenging puzzle.

Also, current situation. I’ve saved this old puzzle box to help sort pieces on whatever current puzzle I’m working on. But both my cats like to sleep in the box!

Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!

Hello Friday and happy fall! I can’t believe how quickly the days are going by! We have Monday off for Yom Kippur and I am looking forward to a three day weekend. Here are five (+2) from this week:

1. Birthday – Saturday was my birthday. I went out to dinner but otherwise it was a regular, busy weekend day. My daughter worked Saturday night and came home from work with this cannoli cake for me since she knows it is one of my faves.

2. Birthday Dinner – My husband and I went out to our favorite restaurant Brothers Fish & Chips. We did the tasting menu again and enjoyed eleven delicious courses. Our first course was this shrimp ceviche with a fried lobster claw. Every dish tasted so good and was so beautifully presented!

3. Reading – Sadly, I haven’t had much reading time this week. I am reading the YA mystery/thriller Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington but haven’t finished it this week. I try to read a few minutes before bed but I’ve been so exhausted that I can barely keep my eyes open.

4. Cooking  – For dinners this week we had Taco Pasta, breakfast burritos, spaghetti with Beyond Meatballs, fried rice with Trader Joe’s scallion pancakes and vegetable dumplings and popcorn shrimp with mac and cheese. Mostly quick and easy dinners!

5.  Watching – My husband and I have been watching Painkiller (Netflix) and we are really enjoying it. I haven’t had much time to watch anything else this week.  

6. Field Hockey Games – We’ve been to 2 field hockey games this week and my daughter’s team is killing it. They have a 6-1 record almost halfway through the season! We are hoping they make it to Sectionals again this year.

7. Movie – Did anyone else read Lessons in Chemistry and love it? The show is premiering on Apple TV+ in October and I’m very excited!

Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! Another week has flown by! It’s been a long week, so making this short and sweet! Here are five from this week:

1. Reading – This week I finished reading Cul-de-sac by Joy Fielding. I had to take a hiatus on reading this book when I was trying to finish my library’s book bingo. One of the boxes was to read a one word title. I took a poll in my Instagram stories as to whether Cul-de-sac is one word or two since my husband and I couldn’t agree. I thought it counted as one word but my husband didn’t. The poll results were fairly split, so I chose to read a different book.

I read Stamped by Jason Reynolds to complete the box. It’s a non-fiction middle grade/YA read about history and race. It’s very well written and informative.

2. Cooking  – I made Three Cheese Baked Pasta and there was enough for leftovers, which saved us a night of cooking! Other dinners included Trader Joe’s Spinach Tortellini with Alfredo sauce and salad, veggie burgers and fries and pierogies with roasted broccoli. No major cooking going on since we are so busy.

3.  Watching – My husband and I watched Adam Sandler’s You Are So Not Invited to My Bar Mitzvah (Netflix) last weekend. I thought it was pretty good. My teen daughter enjoyed and recommended it. I was impressed by the acting ability of Sandler’s daughters, who play his daughters in the film.

4. Field Hockey Games – Our world currently revolves around my daughter’s field hockey season. They had a game last Saturday and this past Wednesday and Thursday, all of which they won! I caught this sunset at last night’s game. As always, the picture doesn’t do justice to the beauty of the actual sunset.

5. Guilty Eats Posts: I’ve still been writing for Guilty Eats. Here are some of my recent posts:

Jeng: Adult canned cocktails

Circle K HeroBadge Collectibles

MTN DEW VOO-DEW

Apple Flavored Snacks for Fall

ICYMI this week on the blog: 

Wednesday I posted Westchester County Lunch Deals.

Hello Friday! School officially started Wednesday for my kids! Here’s to a great senior and sophomore year of high school! We didn’t love the 95+ degree temps. Thankfully, I work in an air-conditioned office because it was brutal! The kids’ activity schedules have already started getting crazy which is taking some getting adjusted to, so I’m exhausted! Here are five from this week:

1. Senior parking spot – A senior tradition at our high school is painting your assigned parking spot. Sunday our family spent most of the day finishing up painting my daughter’s spot so it was ready for the first day. It’s hard to see the different shades of orange in the sunset and the bright orange sun from this picture.

2. Reading – This week I finished reading The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding. This was a good suspense read!

3. Cooking  – We will be eating a lot of frozen, already prepared foods for the next couple of weeks. I am hoping to get to Trader Joe’s this weekend for a stock-up! This week we made Spaghetti with Crispy Zucchini, chik’n sandwiches and fries, salmon rice bowls and Kung Pao Cauliflower.  

I also made these biscuit breakfast sandwiches over the weekend which were a big hit with the family.

4.  Watching – I haven’t been watching much TV this week. There just hasn’t been time! My husband and I are still watching Only Murders in Building (Hulu) and Top Chef (Peacock). I finally finished watching the first season of The Summer I Turned Pretty (Prime) and bawled my eyes out watching the season finale!  I’ve started the second season and don’t know what I’ll watch when I finish it!

5. Drinking – I haven’t been drinking alcohol. However, my husband and I shared this Angry Orchard Blueberry Rose. When I did drink more, hard cider was my drink of choice. And this blueberry rose is really good!

6. Meeting my new nephew – Saturday we visited my brother-in-law and his family in New Jersey. We got to meet my new nephew who is now 9 weeks old! He is adorable! We just wish our kids were closer in age! There is a 17 year age gap between my daughter and her new cousin.

7. Field Hockey Games – This week my daughter only had one field hockey game, since one was cancelled due to the heat. They had their first win of the season and we hope they continue their streak at their tournament this weekend!

8. Too Good to Go – I’ve written a blog post about Too Good To Go. Sunday night we ordered a surprise bag from new-to-us Morris Park Pizza Express and got all of the above for $5.99 (plus tax). It was a cheap and tasty dinner.

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! I cannot believe that it’s the first of September! It was a pretty busy and fun week! Summer is officially winding down with our last weekend before school starts! I’m hoping to enjoy these last few days before the crazy schedules begin. Here are five from this week:

1. Sushi Lunch – Sunday my daughter had a rare day off. Knowing that  this was our last opportunity to go out to eat together as a family before school started, we asked the kids where they wanted to go. They both agreed on Kura Revolving Sushi. We got there super early and enjoyed delicious sushi without a wait! We enjoy this place so much, that there’s an entire post on the blog about the restaurant. Then we headed to the Palisades Mall to do some back-to-school shopping for them.

2. Eating  – Saturday I was in Danbury shopping and picked up some Crumbl cookies. I hate that these are so expensive, but they are so good! 

This weekend we visited Sweet E’s, a new ice cream shop that opened this summer in Cold Spring. My husband and I shared this homemade cider doughnut stuffed with honey lavender ice cream. It was soooo good!! They have homemade ChocoTacos and mini ice cream cone flights that I need to go back and try!

I don’t think that I’ve ever posted about these Trader Joe’s corn chips. I’ve been eating them all week at lunch with my Chik’n Caesar Wraps. They have a little kick to them but are very flavorful. Be careful though, the packaging of the regular corn chips looks very similar to these. I’ve made the mistake of getting the regular corn chips by mistake and being very disappointed!

At The Dave Matthews Tribute Band (see below) I enjoyed this shrimp roll from Captain Lawrence. It was surprisingly very good!

3. Reading – This week I finished reading Hot Dog Taste Test (for the food related book) and Tokyo Ever After (for the location in title book). These are for my library summer reading BINGO challenge or I would have never picked them up on my own! Tokyo Ever After was actually a pretty cute YA book.

4. Cooking  – Not a lot of cooking this week! We made Grilled Goat Cheese Stuffed Zucchini with Caesar salad and roasted potatoes and Creamy Shrimp Pasta with Corn and Tomatoes. Tonight we have homemade pizza.

5.  Watching – My husband and I are watching Only Murders in Building (Hulu) and Top Chef (Peacock).

I’ve been watching the first season of The Summer I Turned Pretty (Prime). I read the first book in the series ages ago and don’t remember it at all. It’s very teen oriented but I’m really enjoying it. Plus, I’m still watching my Housewives (RHONY and Orange County).

6. Trivia Night – Tuesday night we went back to DogHaus for another trivia night. Sadly, this time we didn’t come anywhere near close to winning! But they have good food and serve lots of local beers.

7. Field Hockey Game – My daughter had her first field hockey game of the season. It was against the best team in the area. They aren’t even in our school’s league, since their district is so much larger than ours. So, they didn’t win, as expected. But, I’m glad they played this team first, and they have the rest of the season to win!

8. The Dave Matthews Tribute Band – Last night after the field game we went to the Kensico Dam to see the Dave Matthews Tribute band. This was a free concert put on by the Westchester County Parks Dept. It brought back such great memories of high school and college when I was very into DMB! The band was so good and sounded just like the real Dave Matthews Band!

ICYMI this week on the blog: 

Wednesday I posted September Events in Westchester County.

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! The countdown to school has begun with only 11 more days until the first day. My daughter’s field hockey season has begun, so she’s been at practice for four hours every morning. Here are five from this week.

1. Caramoor – Friday night my husband and I went to see Neil Francis at Caramoor. It was our first time at this venue and the concert was outdoors on the lawn.

2. NYBG – Saturday we went to the New York Botanical Garden. We went on an unplanned guided  bird watching 101 tour, which was fun. We also got to visit the Ebony G. Patterson exhibit that I had been wanting to see.

3. Reading – This week I finished reading Look Closer by David Ellis. This was a great suspense novel with lots of twists!

4. Cooking  – This week we made Crispy Tofu and Rice Salad, Pesto Pasta Pie, Spicy Soyrizo & Orzo Skillet and tonight cheese calzone. 

5.  Watching – I haven’t watched too much television this week. I watched The Bachelorette finale this week. I knew Charity was going to pick Dotun. But I’m so glad Joey is the next Bachelor. I really like him! I also caught up on RHONY and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

6. Bath & Body Works – This past weekend Bath & Body Works had their soaps on sale for $2.95 each. I love their foaming soaps but don’t like the regularly priced $7.95 a bottle. So I stocked up on a bunch of fall scents! Not shown are Marshmallow Pumpkin Latte and Sunshine and Lemons, that my daughter picked out for her bathroom.

7. Memes: This week, they all seem to have the same theme of I’m getting old! LOL!

I am recording songs onto a cassette tape old!

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!