Vanilla-Lemon Berry Parfaits

If someone were to ever plant me a lemon tree outside my home, I'd consider that a proposal. Who the hell wouldn't agree that having a lemon tree in your yard would be the most heavenly accessory to any ordinary existence? Man, I love lemons. And pine. 

I just ate this parfait for breakfast - and other than it being ridiculously easy to make, it was just a delight to eat (possibly 'cause it tastes like dessert). And please know that I'm not even into breakfast and I loved this. 

Ingredients

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 (3.5-ounce) containers fat-free (or sugar-free) vanilla pudding
2 tablespoons bottled lemon curd (I couldn't find this at my apparently-peasant-like grocery store so I didn't bother with it. Though, since it's just more lemon, I'm sure that if you find it and use it then it'll taste even better.)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons honey
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup strawberries (since that was all I had - add blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. if you have them)

EAT IT!

Recipe adapted slightly from Health.com

The Copycat Wendy's Frosty Recipe on Pinterest

I've seen this recipe too many times to count, so I (finally) tried it this past weekend. If you're on Pinterest, you know which one I'm talking about. This one:

3/4 cup almond milk 

15 ice cubes

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1-2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 of a frozen banana

Verdict? GARBAGE! Tastes like dirty ice chunks. Stay away. FAR AWAY. 

You can find more terrible Pinterest pins over here.

“For angel-soft hands, keep a bottle of hand lotion directly beside your dishwashing soap and use it after each time you do the dishes.”

— #lizadvice

NYC Subways "Recycled" To THE OCEAN

Doesn't this seem nuts? I don't mean bad nuts, just nuts nuts. Apparently the disposing of old subway cars in the ocean "creates habitats for marine life and supports recreational fishing". New York City Transit has "provided" more than 2,500 retired subway cars to several states along the east coast of the U.S.A. Before the cars are buried at sea, they are stripped of potential environmental contaminants and then steam-cleaned.

Isn't that wild?! I would love to meet the person who came up with this idea. They've already been doing this for at least six years! How am I just hearing about this now!?

Gallery Thursday Nights in Chelsea

Museums in New York can be amazing. They can also be pricey (unless you know where to go to pay no admission). If someone's visiting New York, looking for some non-touristy things to do, I will always tell them to go to Chelsea on a Thursday night because they will likely love it. I first went when I was twenty and I'll still agree now that it's such a good way to spend an evening in this city, 

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Every Thursday night between 6pm and 9pm, there are a ridiculous amount of (free) gallery openings in Chelsea. There is such a variety of what's showcased (one place could focus on electronic media and the one next door could be purely installation) and it changes so frequently that you'll rarely see the same thing upon two visits. There's also free wine and sometimes food at all of them, since, well they want you to come. You can take a look at what's scheduled ahead of time at sites like Art Cards or Meet Up - but that isn't really necessary to do since you can just pick a street to start on and walk around from there. Most venues are between 22nd and 27th Streets (and from Seventh Avenue to Tenth Avenue), but there are definitely some more spaces (less congested) spread along the outskirts of Chelsea.

Mirror in the Kitchen

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”

— Virginia Woolf

The Paris Theatre in NYC

This is in my top three of favourite movie theatres still operating in the city. If you get a chance, definitely go see something here. They only have one screen, but every so often it'll be a good movie. And the curtain still opens and closes! It, obviously, doesn't have to - but it does! Which adds to the beauty, in my opinion.

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The fact that there's balcony seating is what makes it so lovely and appealing. And with Central Park so close by, this is just a romantic day waiting to happen. Check here for listings. 

Dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns

I've often tried to explain to you how lucky I am. I don't know what happened in a past life, but this one continues to treat me tremendously. The dinner that I had at Blue Hill at Stone Barns was the most elegant and (at twenty-plus courses, we stopped counting) definitely the most luxurious meal I've ever experienced. In a word? Epic.

How could I afford a farm-to-table restaurant like this? How could I even hear of such a magical spot nestled forty-five minutes outside of New York City? Who on earth would treat me to this decadent night of gluttonous desire? The one and only Paul. A man who repeatedly takes birthday celebrations to another level. There will never be an appropriate way to thank him, so I'll just have to outdo him come October 20th.

I was not at all joking when I mentioned that there were over twenty courses. We didn't even get bread until course nine! The plates began very modestly and tiny, then continued to grow and grow with no end in sight. I'll never know how we ate what we did that night. It's still sort of a haze. Here's one example of the beauty that we devoured.

When you arrive, you let your server know if you have any allergies and off you go. This place is not a restaurant, this place is an adventure. The menu changes with the seasons and whatever is at its peak in the season will be dominantly featured in the majority of the courses. We went in mid March, so we got beets. I know what you're thinking because at the time I thought it, too. But this night turned me into a lover of beets. It still feels weird to even say that. I don't know how to tell you how incredible everything tasted. I really wish I knew the words that would express how fresh and alive each course felt. It felt like hours of work went into each ingredient. God, the venison? Fuck. Never in your life are you gonna taste meat the way they cooked it here.

We even got taken into the kitchen to have a course at a table set up in there, which made me feel like a judge on Chopped (ie. better than you). There were over thirty people doing a billion things in there and it was neat as hell to see how a place like this could be run.

At the end of the night when the waiter came to our table with a birthday candle in a piece of cake, they had another waiter walk infront of him (blocking him) all the way to the table so that the candle wouldn't be visible. Is it just me or is that classy as hell? 

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Whenever I try to explain this night to anyone, I make sure that 50% of what I say will describe how amazing the food was - and the other 50% is devoted to the GORGEOUSNESS of the presentation of it all. I swear we probably saw one actual plate the entire night - food was instead served on slabs of heated rock, in eggshells, hanging from plants. I can't even begin to describe the dessert FOREST that was the finale. Does it sound like I'm making this up? It should, because these details are ridiculous AND WONDERFUL. I wish I would have taken more photos, but we were too busy enjoying it all. 

I can only describe the experience as holy. Am I trying to say that my friend Paul is God-like? I guess I am. He's the most generous person I know and I'll never forget this night as long as I live.

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Thank/love you, Paul