In a whirlwind of sickness and a very busy social calendar, I completely ignored my blog and abandoned my Photo a Day project halfway through May. I wish I hadn’t gotten sick (twice!), but I certainly don’t regret filling up my days so much that I’ve become lax with my social media presence. I originally created this blog to force myself to do more, but I’ve found it a lot less necessary now that I’ve moved to a fun neighborhood that’s also minutes away from midtown Manhattan. BUT, I still do feel the need to document what’s going on, so here’s a summary of what I’ve been up to:
I explored the neighborhood quite a bit with Mike and discovered a nearby ramen shop (Tamashii Ramen) that also serves curry rice, takoyaki, and okonomiyaki.
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| Mike being silly |
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| Me being… contemplative? |
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| Takoyaki |
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| Curry chicken cutlet |
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| Ramen |
We also discovered The Strand, which is a cafeteria-style BBQ/Beer Garden, where we spent an awesome Friday night and also had a fantastic brunch
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| Pulled Pork, Burnt Tips, Brisket, Pickes |
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| Kim |
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| Me, Kim, and Katie |
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| The Strand’s Mac & Cheese is my favorite! |
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| Mike waiting for brunch |
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| The Strand’s Granola French Toast – House-baked brioche coated in crispy oatmeal, topped with whipped cream and strawberry preserves. |
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| The Strand’s PBLT – House smoked crispy pork belly, candied jalapeno aioli, lettuce, tomato, on a brioche bun, served with house salad. |
We also found a wonderful Greek bakery in our neighborhood with delicious cakes and pastries called Artopolis. They had specialty Greek items too, such as a really good spanakopita and sooo much baklava!
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| Tiramisu from Artopolis |
We wandered around Long Island City and found a place with cheap frozen sangrias and margaritas ($5-$6) called Blend.
We also visited Communitea, where apparently plenty of the “Brooklyn” scenes in the first season of Gossip Girl were filmed.
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| Dirty chai, brownie, and chocolate chip cookie |
I visited the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens a week after the Sakura Matsuri festival with some friends.
Mike and I did a quick walk in Chinatown and Little Italy to try Joe Shanghai’s soup dumplings and fried mozzarella.
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| Fried mozzarella in Little Italy |
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| Soup dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai |
We also discovered some decent graffiti in Little Italy.
And I found these cheap little treats (2 for $1) called “Hokkaido sponge cakes” at a bakery.
I was invited to the Momofuku Ssam large format ribeye dinner by my friend Katie, where I had possibly the best cake I’ve ever had in my life: Momofuku Milk Bar’s popcorn cake.
We did some jogging in the neighborhood, energized by the views of Roosevelt Island and Manhattan.
And bought my cat some bling (and apparently, a dog tag, which Mike refuses to replace).
I discovered that my neighborhood Japanese grocery sells green tea KitKats.
And finally got around to cooking again. This one’s my attempt at tofu sisig, a Filipino dish.
We spent quite a bit of time on the rooftop of our new building.
And did some BBQ-ing with friends and family.
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| Mexican-style grilled corn. YUM. |
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| Catching up with my high school classmates |
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| Catching up with my high school classmates. I’m the one being so obviously Asian. |
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| Kim, Katie M, Jack, and Katie |
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| Kim’s fruit tart at our Memorial Day BBQ |
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| My lovely niece Victoria and her dad at our rooftop BBQ |
Apparently, my family wasn’t the only one interested in hanging out at the rooftop.
I spent quite a bit of time with family doing things like celebrating my nephew’s first communion and my niece and nephews birthdays.
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| My lovely sisters at my nephew’s first communion celebration |
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| My nephew |
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| My niece (aka princess) |
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| Me and my lovely niece |
And celebrated my friend’s birthday by doing a BBQ at the park, enjoying some Filipino food, and watching Mike play some softball with the guys.
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| Fried chicken, rice, salted egg salad, and some lumpia (spring rolls). |
Last but definitely not least, I finished three books this month. They allowed me to travel from the war-torn city of Kabul in Afghanistan, to Cinque Terre and the Ligurian sea in Italy, to a fictional world where ash falls from the sky and dark mist comes out every night, all while snuggling in the safety of my sofa.
All in all, I would say I had a fantastic month, despite getting sick and forgetting to blog until now. 🙂
