Five on Friday

Happy Friday and hello to the official start of summer! It’s been a busy couple of weeks. The record breaking heat wave we’ve been experiencing has been unbearable. Thank goodness for air conditioning! Here are five from this week:

1. Graduation – It’s official! My daughter graduates high school tonight and I’ll officially have a college freshman. It hasn’t totally sunk in yet! 

2. Father’s Day – Last weekend we celebrated Father’s Day on Saturday, since my daughter had to work Sunday. We went out for an early dinner before going to a NY Boulders game. They lost in a pretty uneventful game, but we enjoyed funnel cake and fireworks after the game.

3. Reading – Last week I finished The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. I had heard so many good things about this one, but thought it was just an okay read.

4. Eating – We ate so many good things this week including ice cream from Zoe’s Ice Cream Barn. This cup had a scoop of Strawberry Lemonade, a scoop of Orange Pineapple and a scoop of Peach ice cream. They were all so good!

This Strawberry Burrata Salad from Zeus Brewing.

This bagel with cream cheese and lox from Bagels & Bites.

5. Strawberry Picking  – I had vacation days that I needed to use up so Tuesday my husband and I went strawberry picking at Saunderskill Farm in Accord. 

6. Movies  – it was so hot strawberry picking that we cooled off at a local movie theater. We rarely go to the movies so I didn’t even know what was playing. We opted to see Inside Out 2 which we thought was cute. 

7. Meme – This seemed super fitting for this week!

8. Puzzle – I finished this The World of Charles Dickens puzzle recently.

Sharing with Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

Happy  Friday! Another week in the books! This was a super busy week filled with end of year events. Here are five from this week:

1. Track Luncheon – The week started with my son’s end-of-season track luncheon on Sunday. Although our school is small, we have a fairly large track team. One of the girls on the team even made it to States and is competing today at the State Championships.

2. Reading – This week I finished both my books from last week. Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth was a decent suspense read. However, I found Good Material by Dolly Alderton to be just okay.

3. Cooking – This week’s meals included Big Mac Casserole (using vegan beef crumbles), Vegan Meatball Subs, 20 Minute Ramen Carbonara and homemade pizza.

4. Award Ceremonies – Tuesday was the Senior Awards Night for my daughter. Today I am attending the sophomore awards ceremony for my son. I’m so proud of my kids’ for their accomplishments and for another successful school year.

5. Crumbl Cookies – A Crumbl Cookies just opened today in Yorktown Heights. We used to have to drive 40+ minutes away to get these cookies. Now, they are only 10 minutes away. This is going to be so dangerous! LOL!

6. Band Concert – Wednesday was my kids’ high school spring band concert. It was my daughter’s last concert. Both my kids are in the jazz band, pictured above, which performed before the wind ensemble. We are always so impressed by these performances.

7. Senior Prom – Last night was my daughter’s senior prom. The prom was held at the Thayer Hotel at West Point. There was a huge gathering for pre-prom photos at one of her classmate’s house. It was sooo hot and humid and I felt bad for all of the girls who got their hair done, only for it to fall flat in the humidity. However, we were so thankful that it didn’t rain, since the forecast called for thunderstorms. I don’t post a lot of pics of my kids (and don’t want to post a pic of her boyfriend for privacy reasons), but I had to show off her amazing dress!

ICYMI this week on the blog: 

Last Friday I posted June Events in Westchester County. 

Thursday I posted about the new Crumbl Cookies store opening.

Sharing with Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

Hello Friday! And just like that it’s the end of May! It was a short week and I am so thankful that we are at another weekend! Here are five from this week:

1. & Juliet – My husband and I ventured into the city on Sunday to see a Broadway show. It’s been years since we’ve been to Broadway so we went to the TKTS booth. For those that don’t know, you stand in line the day you want to go to a show and can get discounted tickets to shows. We opted to see & Juliet and ended up with orchestra seats in the center of Row G that were amazing! The show was so fun with lots of pop hit covers. It continues the story of Romeo & Juliet, where Juliet doesn’t die.

2. Reading – Sadly, I didn’t finish a book this week. I’m in the middle of two books, since I brought a new book with me to read to the city. I’m almost finished with Darling Girls and halfway through Good Material.

3. Cooking – This week’s meals included Sheet Pan Beef & Broccoli with rice, Dorito Casserole (after making this, we agreed this would be better without the Doritos and eaten as a dip with tortilla chips), Impossible Burgers with potato salad, macaroni salad and corn-on-the cob and Breakfast Burritos.

4. Eating – Sunday we went to Urban Hawker for lunch. This is a Singapore-inspired food hall with all different types of food stalls. We shared Singaporean noodles with seafood gyoza and a Chrysanthemum Tea and an Indonesian Curry. We can’t wait to go back and try more of the food stalls!

5. Prom #1 – Last night my daughter went to her boyfriend’s prom. Sadly, she has school today so it was a late, but fun night for her! Then they go to her prom which is next week.

6. Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park – Saturday it was a beautiful day so we visited the Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park in Dobbs Ferry. We visited the Keeper’s Home and only walked for about a half hour on the 41-mile trailway.

7. Mosaic Art – I was wowed when we got off the subway in Times Square and saw this mosaic art from artist Nick Cave. I love mosaics and there were several walls of his work that were just amazing!

8. Cute Cate Pic – We bought a new cat bed for the cats. We nicknamed it “the Muppet” since we think it looks like muppet fur! Ollie is the only one who was brave enough to try it and now he’s in it all the time.

9. Meme – This was this past three-day weekend. I know, I know….everyone says I’ll miss the days of driving my kids around. And I know we’re at the end of it soon, when my son turns 16 this summer. However, it still stinks that our plans (over a 3-day weekend!) revolve around the kids’ plans. However, we did our best to work around drop-offs and pick-ups and having him get rides when possible.

Sharing with Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday and Happy Memorial Day Weekend! I am looking forward to a three day weekend. My daughter only has two weeks of school left, most of which are filled with senior fun and festivities. My son has almost three weeks of school and then his finals and regents tests. They also get to enjoy a five day weekend, with today, Monday and Tuesday off! Here are five from this week:

1. Promposal – My daughter’s boyfriend pulled off a surprise promposal. Since he goes to a different school she will be attending two proms in the next couple of weeks. Earlier this week she walked in to the house and he was standing in our living room holding the sign, flowers and bear. Plus he had brought letter balloons that spelled out prom and had pink helium-filled balloons filling the ceiling. He put in so much effort and she was very surprised! 

2. Reading – This week I finished Funny Story by Emily Henry. This book was such a treat! She’s become one of my favorite authors and this is a great summer romance read. 

3. Cooking – This week’s meals included these Maple Sriracha Tofu Bowls, Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti, Sheet Pan Cauliflower Fajitas and Breakfast Burritos. 

4.  Watching  – I haven’t watched much this week. Last Friday night we watched the season finale of the Amazing Race. The winning team was much deserving of the win!

5. Geese Family – Every year this Mama and Papa Goose have goslings. Driving to work this week I had to stop as they crossed the road. It was so nice to see the new goslings. Last year, their babies were run over by a car and it was so sad. 

6. Brunch – Last weekend my husband and I went out for brunch in Tuxedo Park before we hit up the Woodbury Common Outlet Center. We went to Dottie Audrey’s which is about a 15 minute drive from the outlets. They had such an expansive menu it was hard to choose what to get. We shared the Crispy Polenta and Jam With Eggs and the Wild Mushroom Toast. It was so good! While that looks like a scoop of ice cream on the plate, it was actually an herbed ricotta. We can’t wait to go back!

7. Winner Winner – I won a giveaway on Instagram and received a box full of treats from Bisousweet that was delivered this week. So far I’ve sampled the blueberry doughnut muffins and the linzer heart cookies and they were so good! These baked goods are available at Deccico & Son stores located throughout Westchester County. 

8. Cute Cat Pic – And leaving you off with a cute cat pic! Ollie has come such a long way since we got him back in late December. He previously hadn’t wanted to be held. Now he is a purr monster and loves being pet and given head scratches. I snapped this pic when he allowed my husband to hold him for what felt like forever, but was probably a couple of minutes.

Sharing with Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! We are just cruising through May! Here are five from this week:

1. Mother’s Day – My daughter was working on Mother’s Day and weather-wise, it was an overcast, chilly day. My husband, son and I went up to Eastdale Village in Poughkeepsie and enjoyed a little food tour. I started with an everything bagel with cream cheese with lox and ended with an ice cream sundae. We also had an eggplant sandwich and arancini and brought home some macarons. My daughter was home for dinner so we got to enjoy a family dinner, which we hadn’t had in a long time, with everyone’s busy schedules.

She and my son got me an orchid (which I’m really trying not to kill this time), a candle, new hand towels and Mother’s Day balloons. It was a great day!

2. Reading – Last weekend I finished Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering. It was an okay suspense book. 

3. Cooking – This week’s meals included these Harissa Meatballs with Whipped Feta (the pic doesn’t do this recipe justice. It had a hint of spiciness but was really good!), Tofu Pineapple Fried Rice (no recipe), TikTok Baked Feta Pasta and Spicy Honey Balsamic Salmon Bowls.

4.  Watching  – I haven’t watched much this week. Besides The Amazing Race, my husband and I have watched some of the newest season of Top Chef. 

I’ve started watching Chrissy & Dave Dine Out (Hulu) and the first couple episodes of the newest season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

5. Listening – As a cat lover, I found the most recent episode of the podcast Am I Doing it Wrong? titled “Making Your Cat Happy with Dr. Mikel Delgado” interesting.

6. Internet Meme – This is me!

I hope you all have a great weekend! Sharing with Friday Favorites!

Hello Friday! I am very much looking forward to the weekend. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers. I hope you enjoy your special day! I’m not really sure yet what our Sunday plans are. Here are five from this week:

1. Track Meet – Last weekend started with an almost all-day track meet on Saturday. My son usually only jumps (both the long jump and triple jump). But there were over 50 schools at this meet, so even jumping took a LONG time (no pun intended)!

2. Reading – I finished Just For the Summer by Abby Jimenez this week. It was just as good as I was expecting it to be.

3. Cooking – This week’s meals included Easy Tamale Casserole (using Beyond Beef), restaurant leftovers and pierogies with roasted broccoli.

4. Cinco de Mayo – We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with dinner at El Coyote with friends. Our sons are all friends and it was nice to for the adults to get a chance to catch up. My husband and I shared Chiles Rellenos and Vegetable Chimichangas. They aren’t very photogenic, but they were delicious!

5. Watching – My husband and I finally finished watching Baby Reindeer (Netflix). It was such a dark and twisted show.

By Friday I’m exhausted so our normal routine is to make homemade pizza and watch the newest episode of The Amazing Race (Paramount+) before I crash for the night. I also finally finished watching Apples Never Fall (Peacock). I don’t have any interest in reading the book, but the show wasn’t bad.

6. Birthday Celebration – Monday was my mom’s birthday. She and my dad just got back from a European Viking cruise. We went out to dinner Monday night with them to celebrate and to catch up on. We went to Oscar’s in Yorktown Heights, one of their favorite restaurants. I enjoyed this Eggplant Rollatini.

ICYMI this week on the blog:

Wednesday I shared by April 2024 Reads.

Sharing with Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

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Happy Friday! I’m still in disbelief that May has arrived! The school year has flown by! It was another busy week, but I think things are finally starting to slowly wind down. On the horizon are AP and IB exams, the senior prom, senior week and graduation! Here are five from this week:

1. Rent the Musical – Last weekend our high school put on their spring musical which this year was Rent. I saw this twice on Broadway back when it first came out. My son is on the stage crew and several of his friends were in the production. It was nice to see the culmination of the months of work they’ve put into the show and they did a phenomenal job!

2. Reading – I didn’t get in as much reading time this week that I would have liked to. However, I am halfway through Just For the Summer by Abby Jimenez and am loving it! She has become one of my favorite authors! I am hoping to finish this over the weekend.

3. Cooking – This week’s meals included Crispy Potato Taco Bowls, Korean BBQ Tofu Bowls, Shrimp Alfredo Pasta (using jarred sauce) and Beyond Burgers with Fries. Please let me know if you have a favorite jarred alfredo sauce. While I much prefer homemade alfredo sauce, the jarred variety is so easy when I need a quick dinner. I just haven’t found one that I really like.

4. Admitted Students Day – Sunday we drove up to Binghamton for Admitted Students Day. We took one of my daughter’s friends, who had just committed, along with us. It was an informative day and my daughter is more excited to begin her new journey!

5. Snacking – Although I eat salads for lunch (see below for a link to some of my favorites that I just posted), I do my fair share of snacking. These Buffalo Style & Blue Cheese Flavored Potato Chips were a fave this week. I didn’t get much blue cheese flavor, but they had a nice tang.

I had to stop at the grocery store on the way home from work for just a couple of things. I saw this piece of Turtle Cookie Cake and had to get it. It is two layers of cookie cake with layers of chocolate icing, sprinkled with pecans. I’m not a huge sweets and chocolate eater. I much prefer savory over sweet. However, this looked so good and was an impulse purchase. Reminder to never go to the grocery store when you’re hungry! It was definitely on the sweet side, but I’ve been eating just a couple of bites every day.

ICYMI this week on the blog: 

Thursday I shared my Four Go-To Lunch Salads. 

Sharing with Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! This week flew by! I’m glad that I was able to relax this past weekend because I have a crazy weekend ahead of me! Here area quick five from this week:

1.   Eating – Last weekend I enjoyed takeout from Go to Greek. I love a good falafel pita!

My husband and I also enjoyed a lunch date at Augie’s Italian. We shared fried calamari, a crab cake and this mushroom truffle pasta.

2. Reading – This week I finished reading Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. This was another book that I didn’t love, which is disappointing, since my reading time is so limited. However, I picked up two new books from the library that I am excited to start reading.

3. Cooking – This week’s meals included Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos with Avocado Crema, Beer Battered Cod with roasted potatoes and broccoli, , Chinese Lemon Tofu with rice and roasted green beans and Creamy Broccoli Pasta.

4. Watching – I’ve been watching season 1 of Life & Beth on Hulu. My husband and I tried watching this together when it first came out but we weren’t into it. Since season 2 just came out I decided to give it another try and I’ve been really enjoying it.

My husband and I watched the first episodes of Fallout (Prime) and Baby Reindeer (Netflix) this week. Very different shows! Fallout was very confusing and violent. I may give the second episode a try but will likely need to read the online episode summary again to help explain what is going on. Baby Reindeer was kind of disturbing. I’ll be continuing watching this show because I’m so intrigued. It’s based on a true story which is kind of scary.

5. Warm weather and cute cats – It’s finally starting to warm up and actually feel like spring. We were able to open the windows a couple of days this week. Blackjack was sitting and enjoying himself in the kitchen window when Ollie had to come up and squeeze himself in. There will hopefully be lots of open window time next week when the temps are supposed to hit 81 on Monday!

ICYMI this week on the blog: 

Wednesday I posted May Events in Westchester County. 

Sharing with Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

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!