New York! New York! Day 2

Hello, dear friends.  I can't believe it's Friday already!  This is a continuation of my first post chronicling our weekend in the Big Apple.  If you missed it, you can find it Part 1 here. 

We woke up to a gorgeous crisp morning.  We had breakfast at the hotel and then went out to do some shopping.  The Mister was on the hunt for the best jeans ever made for men. 

I'm sure he is googling... What brand of jeans do Brad and George wear?   

St. Patrick's Cathedral has never looked so good.  The church did a great job polishing it to perfection for the Pope.

We met a friend for brunch.  Nancy chose Thalia, which was conveniently located in the theater district.  The food and service were very good, and the company even better.

The Mister and I continued on after lunch to see The Book of Mormon.  I had no idea what to expect with this play.  Everyone I know that has seen it has raved about it.  I was curious.  I couldn't imagine that a play about the Mormon religion could be that funny.

Well, that's how much I know.  The Book of Mormon is laugh-out-loud hysterical.  Granted, there are some off-color moments but, darn, it was funny.  The cast was superb, and I enjoyed every moment of the music and dancing.  I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity to see it. 

I was so excited for Saturday's dinner.  We had reservations at Ralph Lauren's restaurant, The Polo Bar.  I have been dying to go there since it opened.  And believe you me, it did not disappoint.

There is a gentleman outside who checks the clipboard for your name before letting you in the door.  I tried to take a peek to see if there were any famous names on the list.  Unfortunately for me, he kept his list pretty close to the chest.

We arrived promptly at 7 and was told by the maitre d' that our table would not be available for awhile.  Would we mind sitting in the bar and having a drink?  Does a bear Is the Pope a Catholic?  I could not have been happier.  

The bar is very small and the gateway to the restaurant.  Every patron has to walk by our teeny tiny table.  This is practically like sitting front row at the Oscars.   BTW... they serve the absolute best bar snacks in the world.

My first star sighting was Brian Grazer, Ron Howard's partner in Imagine Entertainment.  How did I recognize him?  One word: hair.  The Mister had no idea who he was,  he could have shared an airline seat with him and wouldn't have had a clue.  Lucky for him, my star radar was at its peak.

The restaurant is handsome, in the best sense of the word.  The rich woods, soft leather, and exquisite place settings make for a casually elegant ambiance.  The waitstaff looked like they walked out of an add for Polo.

After we had been seated, I resumed my paparazzi duties.  I needed to keep up my strength, so I had a couple of bites of this melt-in-your-mouth, buttery, pop over.

The Mister ordered pigs in a blanket.  He was curious to see if they took it up a notch.  I think everything tastes better in a beautiful restaurant.

The next star sighting was seated kitty-corner from us.  Joel Grey.  I did everything I could to control myself from belting out Life is a Cabaret, old chum!

Another couple of star sightings... Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of Morning Joe.

And this is the moment the Mister gave me the put the camera away and behave look.

After a fabulous dinner, the waiter brought over these fabulous desserts "on the house" because we were so gracious about waiting for our table.  What a night!!

Before I knew it, I was back in my pumpkin on our way back to the hotel.

Have a great weekend!

Until next time...

Twitter

Past and Future Hodgepodge

Hello, dear friends. We are having some gorgeous Fall weather here in the Northeast.  You know the drill.  If it's Wednesday, it's time for Hodgepodge.

1.  October 21, 2015, is Back to the Future day.  Did you see the move?  The sequels? In the second film, Doc takes Marty into the future to prevent Marty's future son from making a mistake.  They leave 1985 and land on a 'skyway' on October 21st, 2015.  So tell us, What were you doing in the fall of 1985?

I have seen Back to the Future.  In the Fall of 1985 I was a mere child working in a dead end job in Northbrook, Illinois.

2.  If time travel were possible, would you want to go to the future?  The past?

At this stage in my life, I would find it rather frightening to look into the future.  I would like to spend a day in the past with my little girls.  We could play with dolls and watch the OJ trial all day long.

3.  We're not flying cars, but some of the technology imagined in the 80's film indeed come to pass in real life 2015-flat screen TVs on the wall, tablets, fingerprint recognition, video conferencing, on line banking, 3-D movies, motion controlled video conferencing, online banking, 3-D movies, motion controlled video games, drone cameras, and smart glasses (Google glass).  Do you worry technology is growing at a rate so fast we'll soon be unable to keep up with its demands?  Do you think the Internet does more harm than good?

My fear is that I will not be able to keep up with all the changes in technology.  I'm still trying to figure out Twitter. 

4.  Your favorite dish prepared in a slow-cooker? Your favorite fast food?

The Mister doesn't use a slow cooker.  My favorite fast food restaurant is Panera.  I always order the same thing - strawberry poppyseed with chicken salad.  

I don't get to go too much because the Mister prefers fast food places that sell a five-pound side of greasy fries.

5.  No time like the present, down time, face time, pressed for time, in the nick of time, make time, mark time... which timely saying most relates to your life right now?

No time like the present defines my life now.  The Mister and I are fortunate enough to have the time and good health to enjoy life.

6.  Tell us about a place you went as a child or younger person that's no longer there or is now something else.  How does that make you feel?

One of the places that hold a warm place in my heart is Camp Tegawitha', which was located in Tobyhanna, Pa.  Unfortunately, it closed in 1994.

 I spent numerous summers swimming in Lake Lynchwood, awkwardly participating in every sport, and devouring the homemade bread and desserts.  I think that I was the only kid that went to camp and gained weight.

GO WHITES!!!

Another place that no longer is in existence, is my college, Barat, in Lake Forest, IL.  Hopefully, the nuns chucked the transcripts so that if I ever go back to work, my prospective employer will have to take my word for it that I was a straight A student.

7.  Describe your comfort zone.

I would need these two crazy characters

along with 

these two crazy characters to create my idea of the ideal comfort zone.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

The Mister and I had the most enjoyable afternoon Sunday.  We met Chili's real brother.  She was found on the streets of Houston with her bro and taken to a shelter.  Shaggy Dog Rescues saved both of them.  Her brother Alan was adopted to a wonderful couple in Connecticut.  His Mom, Patti, and I have been in touch on facebook and we arranged a meeting at a lovely park half way between us.  

Chili and Alan had the time of their lives.  I really think they remembered each other.  Alan's Mom and Dad were so much fun and we plan on getting together again.

This is what he does now when I tell him to smile.

Chowdah stayed at home and was not happy about it at all.  Now he wants to join Ancestry.com and trace his relatives.


Until next time...

NYC - Day 1

Hello, dear friends.  I hope that you enjoyed your weekend. This post covers the first day of our visit to the Big Apple.

The Mister and I hopped on Amtrak in Boston.  The ride is just under three hours.

A couple of things I want to say about Amtrak.  Going to NYC, we were in business class and coming back due to availability, we rode coach.  There is very little difference between the two.  As a matter of a fact, I like coach better, and I'll tell you why.  For the 3 hours that we rode in business class, the entire car was "privileged" to listen to a woman on the phone shouting orders to a lucky subordinate of hers.  The more dirty looks pointed her way - the louder she got.  Between you and me, I don't think anyone was ever on the other end of the line.  

On the way back, we sat in what's known as the "quiet" car in coach - no cell phone use allowed and strictly enforced.  The seating was as spacious as it was in business class.  The only real difference was that the seats were cloth as oppose to leather, which didn't bother me a bit.  

One brilliant young blonde was on her phone and the conductor politely told her to end the conversation or move to another car.  Evidently that threw her thong into a bundle and she asked in an impatient voice,  how in the world would she know it was the quiet  car.  He pointed to the large sign clearly in sight.  There's got to be a dumb blonde joke in there somewhere.

We passed the town where it all began.  This is where I first laid eyes on the Mister.  The rest is history.

Views from the train.

We lucked out and had a beautiful suite.

49th floor.  Yikes.

Spectacular views.

We decided to stop at the Lambs Club for some nourishment.

We arrived in the early afternoon, so we had a light lunch and a couple of glasses of wine.  Great service, food, and generous pours made this the perfect meal to begin our adventure in NYC. 

Typical NY restaurant- sleek and cool, just like us.  

My parents used to take my sista and me to Radio City at Christmas time every year when we were young to see the Rockettes.  I couldn't wait until I grew up to become tall and skinny with long legs so I could become a Rockette.  I'm still waiting.

That evening, we went to one of Daniel Boulud's restaurants, db  bistro moderne.

The food and service were very good.  I will say that the restaurant was very loud.  So rather than chat, the Mister and I were reduced to making goo goo eyes at each other.

After dinner, we stopped into one of my favorite places for a night cap, Sardi's.    

I met my new best friend, Joe.  He has been a bartender at Sardi's for over forty years.  I asked him of all the celebrities that he met, who was his favorite.

With less than a second's hesitation, Joe said that Jack Lemmon was one of the nicest gentlemen that he ever had the pleasure of meeting.

The other celebrity he mentioned was Paul Newman.  Joe said he was a wonderful guy.  He also told me that when Paul would venture to the men's room, his wife, Joanne would accompany him and escort him back to deter any female interruptions.

Maybe I should start walking the Mister to the men's room.  Or better yet, maybe he should begin escorting me to the ladies room.

Stay tuned to Part Two which includes a great play and a few star sightings.


Until next time...

Daisy

Beautiful Zita, a lab rescue from New Orleans

My friend, Ann, sent me these pics of her grand furbabies.  While babysitting the little darlings, Daisy decided to have some fun with the trash compactor.