Brooklyn Bridge Sunrise

Yesterday morning I managed to convince myself to get up at 5:30 to get some pictures from the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise. It started out pretty grey and cloudy, but eventually the sun peaked out. I got home just before 9 and slept for a couple more hours! Here are the pictures.

Brooklyn:

Manhattan:

The only thing I don't like about these pictures is that Brooklyn is grey and cloudy and Manhattan is bright and sunny. This does not reflect my feelings about Brooklyn! I love it!

It's been awhile!

Sorry I haven't updated in a week! It's been busy!

Here's an quick recap of the week. (There aren't a ton of pictures because I've been very tired of lugging my camera around all the time. I promise (you and myself) I will have my camera with me every day now!)

Last Tuesday after work I went to a place called Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles that Dad saw on the Food Network. It was Guy Fieri's pick for The Best Thing I Ever Ate in a Bowl. I ordered vegetable pan fried hand pulled noodles. Guy must have ordered something different because was not in a bowl and was not even close to the best thing I ever ate. It was tasty, but not more than any other noodle place. Also, the service was awful. This kid who looked about 15 sat me and then didn't take my order. About 15 minutes later a girl came buy and said "you've ordered, right?" and I told her no and she took my order. Keep in mind this place is smaller than most people's living rooms and there's not an extensive menu. I forgot to take a picture of the outside.

I do, however, have a picture of the journey there (only a few blocks).

It's my pharmacy! I officially can't change my career path, become a pharmacist, and open a self-named pharmacy in New York. Oh well. It's spelled right!!!

I am happy to announce I've found my regular coffee shop! It's Think Coffee of Mercer. They make delicious chai (among other things) and the atmosphere is exactly what I was looking for!

I tried several other coffee shops, but they weren't quite right. Even one of the other two locations of Think was just not as good (neither was their chai). I always thought it was strange that characters on sitcoms had a single coffee shop they went to every day. Now I get it! It's particularly nice when you don't have to drive to get there. Think is conveniently located a few blocks from Washington Square (my favorite outdoor hangout) and is a short train ride from many places, including work.

It's my Central Perk

Or, of course, my Cafe Nervosa!

(Please excuse my shoddy photo editing. This was done in about 2 minutes with an online editor, not Photoshop.)

I saw this truck sometime in the past week and had to take a picture for Dad.

I thought it was going to be beer, but it was a clothing company.

Today was my last day at work. I'm going to miss the people from the office. They're super super nice! They assured me I can contact them about anything in the future. They'll write recommendations or even offer advice! I am so glad I got the opportunity to work there.

After work I set off for a nice chai and some knitting time at Think. On the way there I passed a place called Go For A Bite. It's a tiny place with Belgian waffles and other desserts. I got their standard Belgian waffle which is a waffle with maple syrup, chocolate, and a sprinkling of powdered sugar. It was amazing! The lady working there was very nice and since it was my first time there she had me try a cream puff for free! I didn't have my camera, but I wish I could have taken a picture! The next time you're in New York you must try it! It's on 3rd St.

Here are some pictures from their website:

The waffles. The one I had isn't on there.

The creme puff. Yum! Free!

That's pretty much it. Tiny!

I have plans tomorrow that will provide hopefully beautiful pictures! Check back!

Weekend with Grandma

Grandma's surprise party turned out better than we expected! It was so wonderful to see everyone!

Grandma and my cousin Tina

Grandma and great-granddaughter Sara

Grandma hugging a friend

The classic Grandma hug (that's Dad)

Grandma dancing

Grandma hugging two of her kids. My uncle Allen from New Jersey and aunt Brenda from Virginia. She didn't expect to see them.

She's so cute!

The surprise!

Be back next week

I'm home for the weekend to celebrate Grandma's 90th birthday. Don't say anything if you see her! It's a surprise and she has no idea! Be back next week!

Crafts and Cupcakes

I'm getting a little tired of being in the sun and the heat (a little burned too), so I spent the morning at home. After lunch I went to a coffee shop called Grey Dog. It was a pretty cute place, but I didn't stick around long. I was hoping to people watch and get a little work done on my computer, but the setup wasn't very good for people watching and no one had a computer out. I couldn't find a sign that said computers are not allowed, but a lot of coffee shops in New York have rules about that. Then I walked a couple blocks to the library to return some books and stayed in there for a bit. I looked up a couple more coffee places to check out and went out into the heat again.

I'm so glad I decided on this place! Sweet Revenge!

They have all kinds of food and wine, but are known for their cupcakes. This one, called Sweet Revenge, is described as "Peanut Butter Cake, Ganache Filling with Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting". It was amazing! I wish I had a prettier picture, but they put it in a cup so it would travel without smooshing.

Halfway through the cupcake. Yummy ganache on the inside!

Around 5:30 I left the apartment for a craft night at the Etsy.com labs in Brooklyn. It's a free night of crafting! They have a couple crafts that they show you how to do and then you make your own. Tonight was cupcake night (how appropriate!) and they were making embroidered cards and felted cupcake pins. The felting was so much fun! You basically set a piece of felt on top of a piece of foam, lay another piece of felt (cut into a shape) on the other felt, and poke it with a pin. The fibers of the top felt stick through the bottom felt and they bind together. My cupcake didn't look anything like a cupcake, so I made knitting needles.

The studio at cleanup time.

I wanted to take pictures during the event, but I was too busy felting!

Giant stuffed typewriter

Giant stuffed phone, stapler, and coffee mug

Giant stuffed clock with giant stuffed pushpins on the bulletin board!

Awesome handmade stuff! Check it out! Etsy.com

My felted knitting thing. What should I make with it?

Here are the fibers sticking through the back. Pretty cool!

Washington Square Park

After a lovely morning of NPR's Saturday programming I went to Manhattan for a slice of pizza at Joe's of Spiderman 2 fame. On the way there I walked through Washington Square Park and found my new favorite place!

First, there's this awesome fountain in the middle. I am definitely going back without the camera to play in that!

The best part is you don't have to feel weird about not being a kid. Adults with kids and without kids were there too.

Periodically, the fountain would go off and the kids would get so excited when it came back on.

Aww

This little kid was so funny. I also love the look on the face of the kid on the right!

Even dogs get to play!

Here's a pretty dog after a swim.

A cute mom and daughter. I love the little girl's hair!

One of my favorites.

My favorite of the day.

In addition to family fun, there is also a lot of art going on. The woman in the middle seemed to be running things. She had the chalk and invited people in the park to add something to the circle.

This guy was there for a long time. If I just saw him walking through the park in his wife beater I would never have guessed that he would be so into this! Very cool!

This might actually be my favorite. Let's make it a tie.

Another chalk artist.

Color change!

Fancy chalk smudging!

This guy was doing crazy stuff with sand.

There are also a lot of musicians. Several guitar players and a couple drummers.

This guy had his piano disassembled and started setting it up. It took a long time, so I didn't end up hearing him play.

The piano sure was cool looking!

I'm pretty sure she's the next Regina Spektor!

I asked if she had any recordings of her work and she said she's in the process of making a CD.

Her first name is Gabrielle and she told me her last name, but I don't know how to spell it! I've been working on finding her online.

She sounded French.

I'm kind of obsessed...

Then this trash tub pulling guy walked by and pulled out his harmonica. It would have been magical if his harmonizing wasn't pretty much non-existent. Oh well. The thought was cool.

Then I finally got to Joe's Pizza. I'm not sure if it's the same location. I think the sticker on Peter Parker's helmet in the movie said Bleecker St. and this is about 4 doors down from Bleecker. It's close enough for me! (Lisa, feel free to check the movie for authenticity for me. I've tracked down the addresses of Peter's apartment and Aunt May's house too!)