Recommendation

If you are going to see a Penelope Cruz movie, I highly recommend Elegy. (This trailer does not do it justice.)



Personally, I won't be seeing this one.

On a lighter note...

More cupcakes! (Sorry Lise!)

Someone got it right! I have never seen this blog before, but he even reviewed Amy's, which I think are some of the best in the city, if not the best, but most people don't pay attention to cupcakes from Amy's Bread.

Pictured here is the Yellow Daisy cupcake from Billy's, which is what I had on my birthday, so it's got to be good. And yes, the PB&J cupcake from Buttercup is really good--better than I had imagined.

I can check off most of these as ones I've tried, which is pretty good. The one I haven't tried is that chocolate souffle cupcake. They are located in my old neighborhood -- too bad they weren't there when I lived there.

One word...

Incredible!

Sonya, LCSW

This happened to be posted on my birthday. I'm taking it as a sign. Of what, I don't know.

Pistachio Cupcakes: Believe the hype

I started my birthday celebration on Friday night after work with a cupcake. I have heard about the pistachio cupcakes at Sugar Sweet Sunshine a lot over the past few months. Although I had been to this beloved bakery a few times over the years, I had never indulged because I always want what I want, which is usually the yellow/buttercream cupcake. Since I rarely go to the LES, I just haven't had the chance to branch out much, until now. So I'm here to say: I can bear testimony that the pistachio cupcake (pictured here on the right) is delicious and worth all the praise. The one on the left is the pumpkin spice and is also quite delicious. And Sugar Sweet Sunshine cupcakes are still only $1.50, compared to Magnolia, which are up to $2.50.

Another reason I love Sugar Sweet Sunshine is that a few months ago, when my agency was doing our annual Celebration for the kids, they really came through for us. For as long as I have been involved (11 years) and probably many more than that, we have gotten our cake from a very well-known Italian bakery in the east Village. This year, they called the morning of the Celebration and said that they had been shut down by the health department and would not be able to deliver the cake. My co-workers scrambled and called SSS to see if they could help us out. They were able to make cupcakes for 100 people with just a few hours notice. They are heroes!!

That's Correct!

My last posting was about my decision to go see JM in Hartford, CT. We made the schlep to NJ to get the rental car, then we were stuck in traffic all the way on the Cross Bronx. We got lost in the suburbs of Hartford looking for a fabric store (this is what you do when you have access to a car for one day). The two things we planned to do in Hartford were to visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe house and the Mark Twain house -- but because of the traffic and getting lost, we were too late to visit the HBS house. We were still able to take a tour of the Mark Twain house, which was very interesting. The whole time I'm thinking, "Why do I do this for a concert? Why do I spend the money and the time for all this craziness?"

Then we went to the concert and said, "Totally worth it!" Then I woke up yesterday, the day of my actual birthday and said, "Why didn't I plan to go to Saratoga Springs to see him play there?" I'm just a junkie and I can't get enough!

It was a GREAT show! Definitely in the top five. We were sitting far enough to the left of the stage that we could see backstage and his parents were there. He dedicated "Stop this Train" to his parents, which he rarely plays, about getting older and the fear of losing parents. Before the show, Kathy and I made our wish list again. I think they were the same, but this time we decided to do our three choices of his songs and then instead of an alternate, we chose one cover song. We both chose "I'm on Fire", which he did not play. But he did play "Why Georgia" and "Belief" for me. He played all of Kathy's, "Why Georgia," "Gravity," and "Waiting on the World to Change." In the middle of the show, he did five songs in a row, all acoustic. I loved it! Then he switched gears and went into a blues number, "Mercy," which was about 10 minutes long (this link isn't from our show).

One more thing... I was excited to have my new camera to use at the show because it has a super zoom and I could get some great photos. However, because it's new and I'm not used to it, I didn't think about the fact that the battery might die (it did) and that it would run out of memory (it did). Even so, I got a few good shots.

Here are some photos of the two homes we visited. Did you know that HBS and Mark Twain were neighbors? Literally, they lived next door to each other.

Mark Twain's home (look at that great balcony -- right off of his writing/billiard's room)

And here's Harriet Beecher Stowe's house

My birthday weekend

I decided to see JM tomorrow in Connecticut instead of on my actual birthday. For one thing, he always does a better performance when playing in front of a hometown crowd (and that can include anything in the tri-State area of NY, NJ, CT). Since I've never seen him perform in his homestate of CT before, I thought this one could be the best of all. For another thing, it's a Saturday so I would have a better chance of finding someone to go with me. My birthday is on Monday, so I would have to bribe someone into thinking my ridiculous obsession is important enough to take a day off. I decided it wasn't important enough to anyone but me, thus, we are going on a Saturday.

All the stuff that is happening in the "news" lately detracts from my feelings about the whole thing, so I have to just get back to the basics. Here are the basics:

Question...

Why are new CD's still so hard to open?? Why haven't they fixed that yet?

I spoke too soon (as usual)

Over the weekend, I saw that I have two new tomatoes growing.

Grease is the word!

Since I am writing about theater, the other show I saw recently is Grease. The two leads were from the show "You're the One that I Want" from last summer that let the audience vote. (and yes, I voted.) These were not the winners, but I remembered them from the show (Danny was good, Sandy was terrible). Also, Taylor Hicks was in it, which I guess was a draw for some people. One of my clients wanted to see it and I told her that since she has been working really hard lately, I would take her. We both loved it! It was different enough from the movie to keep it interesting for me, since I've seen the movie 8000 times (but still love it and would see it again in a heartbeat). She loved it because she knew most of the music. It was her first time in a theater and she had a million questions. Afterwards, we waited outside with all the other tourists to get the autographs of the cast and got a photo with Danny. (He did actually pose for a photo with my client, but I can't post it.)

Hair -- the musical

Saturday night I went to see the musical "Hair" at the Public Theater in Central Park. I only went because someone got me a ticket because, as you may know, I'm not the biggest fan of musicals. There were a few numbers that I liked, like "Age of Aquarius" which isn't a song I like but the performance of it was incredible. As I had suspected, I was a little bored during the show, checking my watch like our president at the Olympics Opening Ceremony. And then the last bit comes where the boy goes off to Vietnam and comes home dead and he's lying on the American flag and the cast is singing this song with so much passion, you can feel it. I have to say, I think it was the most powerful thing I've experienced in theater in my life. (This is the cast, but not in the Delacorte theater.)

New camera!

With my birthday coming up, my parents asked what I wanted for my birthday. I couldn't really think of anything... and then my camera broke. So I asked for a new one, and I got it today! yeah! I don't usually open my presents early (I'm weird that way) but I already knew what it was and didn't want to leave it at work since things have a tendency to walk (I'm still bitter about a peach someone took off my desk a few years ago).

Here's the first photo... Heidi at her desk.

A lot has happened in the few years since I got my digital camera. I was one of the last people to get one. Before that, I always used disposable cameras. For the group that I am running with teen girls, I bought a bunch of disposable cameras and asked them to take some pictures to make into some sort of an art project. I dropped the cameras off and they told me it would take at least a week to get them back! I said, "But you used to do it right here!" She told me that they don't do that anymore, and they actually lose money developing old fashioned film. I had to go back to group on Wednesday and tell them that they were not going to get their pictures for a while. I was pretty surprised.

Thanks everyone!

my first tomato

I picked it this morning! I'm pretty sure this is what it's supposed to look like. I was getting worried because it didn't seem to change for the longest time, but finally started to get some red this week. So I have this one from my Brandywine plant, and three on my Bucks County plant, but that's it. Is it too late for any more to grow? It's the middle of August! If this is, indeed, the only one I get from this plant, then this tomato cost $20 when you factor in the plant, the dirt and the pot that I had to buy.

Flight of the Conchords

Do you recognize it?

Celebrate good times, Come on!

To celebrate my new found freedom (the end of my intern's internship--which took up a lot of time and A LOT of energy), I decided what I wanted most was to visit the waffle truck. If you remember, I am a fan of eating food from a truck. So, Heidi and I left work last night and tried to find the waffle truck that was supposed to be parked on 14th Street... on the friggin' East side, no less... and it wasn't there. Heidi was on the case, as always, and had the number for the waffle hotline. She called and got the recording and learned that we were in the right place at the right time, but still no waffle truck. How disappointing! So we walked south to St. Mark's Place and made a return trip to the Dessert Truck. This time, we tried the Creme Brule, even though they had Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Mousse.

So, I still have to try the waffle truck (and I guess there are two for me to try) as well as another dessert truck, Treats Truck.

Seriously....

...will people please leave her alone?

Cupcake Tour

My friend, Jenni, sent this link to me about some people that have a food blog and did a tour of some of the best NYC cupcake joints. It's from last year, but since it's new to me, I'll address it.


My comments are these:

If you are eating only chocolate/chocolate cupcakes, like these jokers did, it's true that Magnolia won't be on the top of the list. I call this Cupcake 101. However, if you get the yellow/chocolate cupcake or the yellow/buttercream cupcake, you will be in heaven. Just as everyone was in heaven over the weekend when my sister made some of these for a party. I think because Magnolia is credited for starting the cupcake craze, people expect a lot from them and maybe are disappointed. They also don't have the variety that other bakeshops have. But from my point of view, they are definitely some of the best (as long as you don't get the chocolate).

I don't know about Buttercup chocolate cupcakes. From my memory, they are much more moist than Magnolia. I think I have enjoyed everything I've had from Buttercup, but these people said it's the worst. These people must be on crack. Try the lemon!

Crumbs is the best? These people really are on crack! You may as well eat Entenmann's, because their cupcakes are pretty much the same thing. Yes, they look beautiful, but when you bite in, there's something missing. Heidi says they're too dry -- I say they are too airy and therefore sort of tasteless. Don't get me wrong... they will definitely do in a pinch (as will Entenmann's).


Cupcake Cafe definitely have the most beautiful cupcakes (seriously. check out the link). I used to live about 7 blocks from there and everytime I walked by, I fantasized about having some huge celebration so that I could buy this cake with sunflowers. Since then some work people have ordered these cakes for someone's retirement party and another for a graduation so I have had them on several occasions. They are definitely not the most delicious cakes. I think the cake has the consistency of poundcake and the frosting isn't sweet enough. To prove my point, at said graduation, when they brought out the cake, I ran upstairs to resist it. If it had been from somewhere else, I probably would have indulged, but in this city, you have to pick your battles. Cupcake Cafe lost this one.


The other one they tried, Make my Cake, is new to me. I had never heard of it before, but I will be going there someday to try it and then I'll let you know. It's in Harlem, and the only time I go there is to go to the gym because it's the closest to my apartment. I guess I could always do an extra 30 minutes at the gym and then go there. We'll see about that...

Down the Shore Everything's All Right

I spent the weekend at my sister's house in Boston. Since I was getting my niece dressed this morning, I put her in this shirt. I have one just like it, but I think she looks cuter in it. We're all Jersey Girls!

Flight of the Conchords

I have a new favorite show. I like it because it's funny, quirky and New York still looks cool, not sanitized like most shows and movies today.

The Boss -- concert #2

I know I have been posting a lot about concerts. It may seem that I go to a lot of concerts, but it's really a fluke that I have been to so many this summer. Yes, I do see JM a lot, but other than that, I hardly go to concerts. Part of the reason that I made the decision to see JM so often is that I figured that someday he will be so popular I won't be able to get tickets anymore. This is based on my experience with Springsteen. When I was at my second Springsteen concert on Thursday, I realized that I have been a fan of his since the 80's and I've only seen him perform one other time in 2000. That's crazy! The other thing that I was thinking about at the show was that I remember telling a friend in my early 20's that I would only marry someone if he was a fan of Bruce Springsteen. I think I shot myself in the foot on that one since I was also trying to marry someone that shared my religious beliefs and Mormon men my age are much more likely to be fans of Howard Jones (!) than Bruce Springsteen.

here's the set list for concert #2

Summertime Blues
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Radio Nowhere
Prove It All Night
Two Hearts
The Promised Land
Spirit in the Night
Light of Day
Brilliant Disguise
Pretty Flamingo
Blinded by the Light
Cadillac Ranch
Candy's Room
Night
Because the Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
Mary's Place
Incident on 57th Street
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands

* * * Encore* * *

Jungleland
Born to Run
Bobby Jean
Dancing in the Dark
American Land
Jersey Girl
Rosalita

The highlights for me were (1) Jungleland. This song is one of my favorites and it was wicked awesome performed live! (2) Tenth-Avenue Freezeout (the ringer on my cell phone), (3) Rosalita, (4) Prove it all Night, (5) Badlands (just as good second time around), (6) Spirit in the Night, and (7) Jersey Girl, which he sang, by request. and, yes, I was wearing my Jersey Girl shirt!

The concert started late due to some insane accident on the Turnpike and they were "nice" enough to start the concert late. So it started at 9:30. Part of me wanted him to go ahead and play all 3 hours worth of music and the other part of me wanted to go home and be in bed at a decent hour. Well, he went ahead and played a full set and I got home at 2:30 am. Which would have been fine if I didn't have a training the next morning that started at 7:45 on the East side.

Something else of note about this concert was the crowd. A few different friends went to the show and we all waited for the bus going back to the city together. In totally independent conversations, we all said that we had not seen a dude-fest like this before. For the show on Monday, our seats were pretty terrible. Our seats were the worst ones, the worst you can get (upper tier), but in the second row. The only people I could see were the two couples in their 50's in front of me and the one to the side of me (the woman right next to me plugged her ears the whole time). But on Thursday, we were in the lower tier about half-way up, so we had a good view of the audience. There were a few couples, but mostly groups of men high-fiving each other when a new song came on, singing the words to each other, and shaking their fists to the music. It was pretty interesting.