Photo Shoot Friday: Small Bites, Big Flavors

Recently my boyfriend encouraged me to take more pictures so that I don't continue to have "throw away posts" for Photo Shoot Friday. (Umm, I think he was talking about last week!) So, I brought the camera out with us last Sunday for date night numero dos—yes, two in one weekend. (Date Night one was recapped here.) 

We went to Macondo, a Latin American tapas restaurant on the Lower East Side. I've only been there once before, maybe a year or so ago—I can't believe it took me so long to go back!

To me, atmosphere is almost as important as the food. I love the cool, low-key vibe. 

We started with plantains topped with shrimp in a red sauce. I looove plantains—it's miraculous that I just had this one bite. Willpower WHAT?!

For my main meal, I got the black bean stew and topped it with citrus, cheese and tomatoes. Interesting combo, huh? It was delish!

Hola mis amigos! 

I'm typically a fan of anything smeared in a creamy orange sauce, but these potatoes were only a'ight. I just had one so I could save room for this:

I had a couple bites of one short ribs slider and plenty of fries. Hold up, let's get a closer look...

Mmm. I love flavorful bite-sized dishes—you don't need much to feel totally satisfied! 

Sometimes I look back at what my boyfriend and I eat together and wonder if it's normal. Did we totally pig out or what? I really can't tell. And it's hard to know exactly how much you've eaten where you're having bites here and there. I've been doing a pretty good job of ordering what I want when I go out to eat, but not stuffing myself to the point of discomfort—that's the worst. Progress people, progress!

Ohh and what's everyone doing over the long weekend? I'm hopping in a car to go to Southampton as we speak! (Eek, I'm the one driving!) Our house has Wireless—WooHoo!—so I'll be updating the blog with our fun adventures over the weekend. Check back in, ya hear? Whatever you're doing, be safe and have tons of fun! MWAH!

So what about you: Do you eat more when you're dining out with certain people? I definitely eat the most when I'm with my bf—sometimes I forget that I really CAN'T match him bite for bite! 

Welcome to the Lower East Side

My favorite 'hood in Manhattan by far is the Lower East Side. Here, you can get the real New York experience—great food, fun bars, stylish locals—without all the pretentious bullshit.

One of my favorite features on my new camera is the panoramic option. Here are three of my favorite street corners all in one pic! 

A lot of movies have been filmed on Orchard Street—The Devil Wears Prada being one of them. Has anyone seen P.S. I Love You? I never did, but I noticed in the previews that Hilary Swank runs around this corner and swings around the pole of that clothing store. I love when I watch movies shot in NYC and know exactly where the scene is taking place. 

Today my boyfriend and I went to one of my favorite cafes for brunch—Orchard 88. It's cute and cozy and the food is yummy. Every time I go, there is new artwork on the walls—today it was panoramic photos of a city, which I assume was Manhattan, but I didn't look closely enough to see for sure. Oops! 

Muffins, pastries, bagels, croissants, cookies as big as your head—they've got it all. Mmm..

I've never been there when it wasn't crowded, so we had to go to the basement to grab the last available table. You can't do a great deal of people watching down there, but it's still cool—it feels like you're in a dungeon. You can even bust out a game of checkers or Scrabble while you nosh.

More artwork...

My usual order: Granola and berries with skim milk. It's too tasty to be as healthy as I want it to be, but it's so worth it. Yum!

Ok, so this is what I look like sans makeup. Not exactly a mug that would win a beauty pageant for vertically challenged Greek girls, but hey, it could be worse. Riiight?!

Alright, well I have a couple of work-related things to do as well as make a trip to the gym before I get my Saturday night started, so I gotta biz-ounce offa herrre. (Sorry, I'm listening to Eminem's Relapse right now and feeling just a bit ghetto. Dr. Dre just said, "If at first you don't succeed, it can't hurt to smoke some weed." Sound advice, Dre. Kids, you listenin'? Kiiiidding). 

So I'm curious to know: Girls, do you wear makeup on the weekend during the day? Guys, do you like the au natural look? One of my New Year's resolutions is to fix up more consistently (not just when I'm going out), but I didn't exactly get off to a great start!

Photo Shoot Friday: Smell ya later 2009!!!

Happy New Years everyone! Guess who doesn't have a hangover today? It's a bloody miracle! I hope I don't get a delayed hangover that hits around 5pm—that's the worssst. New Year's Eve is always a stressful night—there's so much hype and more times than not, it just doesn't deliver. I've learned a lot about how to do NYE in Manhattan over the years—the best way to be is laid back. My first year in the city was a nightmare. I paid $100 to go to a bar that was way too crowded; it took 20 minutes to get a drink; the food that was promised was nowhere in sight; the strap on my top broke and I lost my purse and all my friends. I was a hot mess. Times ten. Anyway, I'm happy that I have a much better experience to report back to you this time—I had a great night!

I had absolutely nothing to wear—gone are the days that I rush to Bloomingdale's to spend money I don't have on an outfit I don't even know if I really like, just for ONE night. Liza saved me though, and hooked me up with this cute purple leopard print Rebecca Taylor dress!

We started the night at Erin's place for cocktails and snacks. How cute are these party horns? 

And these masks! Erin always knows how to add the perfect touches to make a party feel special. 

Sadly, I don't think I had even a sip of champagne, but maybe that's also why I don't have massive headache right now.

Buddy had the best New Year's ever—this was the second appetizer he snuck off the table. He seemed so excited, I just didn't have the heart to stop him!

Me, Liza and Natalie with Erin, the cutest hostess ever!

The British Invasion: Mark and Bruce! After Erin's, my boyfriend and I met up with some pals at a chill German bar called Loreley on the Lower East Side.

Here I am with my good buddies Ajla and Lorraine. Heeey, why didn't I get a New Year's hat?!

Eff you 2009!!!

All in all it was a great night—I hope all of you had a good one, too! What did you do last night? Did you have fun? Do you have any nightmare NYE stories like mine?

Photo Shoot Friday: I'm too hungover to think of something clever

Hey friends! Sorry for the late post today! Last night was my birthday party at Los Feliz in the Lower East Side, and it was off the HIN-GES, y'all. For realsy reals. Pics are a bit blurry, per the usual, but not for much longer!!!

Liza and I got there a bit early, which of course started making me anxious about when people would arrive. I know most people show up to parties (even their own) late, but I'm just not cool like that. Los Feliz is an awesome place to have a party--I highly recommend it! The atmosphere was really cool and there was plenty of room. It's fairly new--I hope people don't start discovering it because then it will get crowded and pretentious, and those are two things I just do not deal with.

Just as I was about to reassure the bartender that "people would be coming any second," Logan walked in. Phew! He's like a foot taller than me and always feels the need to slump down to my level in pictures. Look how cute he is with his messy hair (that's messy for Logan) and hoodie.

Cupcakes! I always get embarrassed when people sing Happy Birthday to me--I don't know why? I guess that's normal. My boyfriend got the purple ones for FnF. Represent. I didn't pimp my blog as much as I had planned though because I was too busy having fun!

I always feel the need to thug it out when I take pics with my friend Matt. I hadn't seen him in a while, so it was good to catch up. Of course though, you never get to talk to people as much as you'd like to on your birthday because you have to bounce around to everyone, which kinda stinks. I forgot exactly everything we talked about, but I do recall Matt telling me he went to the Lovely Bones premiere the other night. (Helllo Mark Wahlberg! So jeals). He gave me a full review of the movie, but I don't remember that either. Oh well, I know I'm going to see it regardless!

The best surprise of the night was my friend Dan showing up! He's so much fun. He convinced me to ditch the boring Pinot Grigio I was drinking and switch to mojitos. Umm, I guess I know who I should blame my headache on! Actually, my friend Kathleen surprised me too, which I was equally excited about. She's a pal from my last job (where I got the axe), so it was great catching up. And by "catching up" I mean gossiping.

Jenn, Nancy and Melissa: The Asian Invasion! So hot. Umm, Melissa, I'm having total hair envy right now just looking at this picture. I tried to hate you, but I can't--you're just too darn nice. (Hot and nice? Bitch. I kid, I kid). PS. Nance went to the Lovely Bones premiere too and actually MET Marky Mark. She said he was sooo sweet. Sigh

Here I am with Tiffany. She gave me the most thoughtful present. It was a book called Blessings, which is a compilation of personal essays written by a bunch of talented writers. I haven't started it yet, but I have a feeling it's going to be inspirational. Can't wait to start it--thanks, Tiff! (What I loved even more was the wrapping it came in--magazine covers! It was so cool!)

My friend (and FnF reader), Mary Allen, is such a trooper. She broke her foot and is on crutches, but still made it to my party and stayed until the very end!

The drunker I got, the more blog promoting I did. I put these FnF labels on my face and then stuck them on other people and beer bottles and..well, just about everything in the bar. I offered cupcakes to strangers and told them the only payment I needed was for them to check out the blog. (Hey people, you better be reading--those were some damn good cupcakes!)

I had such a fun night--thank you EVERYONE for coming! I'm not going to get all mushy and shit because that's not my style, but I really am so appreciative for all my friends who came. It means A LOT! Ok, enough of that. Now how should I deal with this hangover???

What's your favorite Sunday brunch?

An egg white ham and cheese omelette with whole wheat toast used to be my brunch meal of choice, but recently oatmeal has taken it's place. I used to always go back and forth about whether I was in the mood for something savory or sweet (even though I knew I'd end up getting the omelette), but with oatmeal I never feel that way. I can look at other people's fluffy blueberry pancakes and eggs benedict dishes without regretting my choice. Today Luke and I hit up Brown Cafe on the Lower East Side, both of us with intentions of getting oatmeal. Well, here's what I got:

I started off my meal with my favorite beverage, a skim latte. Skim lattes usually all taste the same to me, but this one was really good. I think the big mug may have given it bonus points.

I ordered my oatmeal with strawberries and raisins, maple syrup on the side. I'm aware that too much sugar can quickly turn it into an unhealthy meal, so I drizzled just a little syrup on top. Luke was too tempted by the egg dishes on the menu, so he passed on the oatmeal and got:

Baked eggs with wild boar sausage, rustic bread, potatoes and mixed greens. Yumm. I had a bite of the eggs and bread, it was delicious!

With trips to Spain and England and lovely meals like this, I'm sure no one is feeling sorry for me and my current unemployment self. I don't blame you. I can't tell you how appreciative I am for everything, regardless of the annoying complaining I do from time to time.

Anyway, tell me: What's your favorite brunch meal? Do you go out or cook at home?