Weekend Roundup

Hey there loves, how was your weekend? Mine was pretty busy, productive and relaxing all in one, which for me indicates that the weekend was a success. I live for weekends like this, doing a little bit of everything and doing it with great company.

Friday

I was so excited for Friday to get here, it was my first week back at work after living overseas and I knew it would be an adjustment getting back into the swing of things and by Thursday night I was so exhausted.

 Another reason I was looking forward to Friday was the grand opening of Sprinkles Cupcakes in NYC, I am a cupcake junky and a sucker for Sprinkles. So on my lunch break I headed over to Sprinkles on 60th and Lex and waited with the other cupcake conesuers for about forty minutes to get my hands on some yummy goodness. Well it was definitely worth the wait, I went a little overboard to say the least, I left Sprinkles with 18 cupcakes, some to share with my co-workers and some to bring home to my family My nephews were coming up to visit so I had to have sweets for them, or I'd be the worst aunt ever.

I made sure that I stuck to the classics on this visit to Sprinkles, I would broaden my horizons on my next visit. So I purchased an assortment of vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, red velvet and black and whites. I couldn't wait to dig in, I had to control every urge in my body not to jump behind the counter and go to town on the racks and racks of cupcakes. I managed to keep my composure until I brought the box into my parents house, they were just finishing up dinner and I insisted we have the cupcakes, "NOW!" Once they saw what was inside box they concurred. Everyone agreed with me that Sprinkles were most definitely better then Magnolia cupcakes but not quite as yummy as my sister's Fat Bottom Cupcake creations. I chose the classic black and white, which consisted of yummy vanilla buttercream icing and deliciously moist chocolate cake.

It was great to share these sweet treats with my family. What a way to end the busy work week on a sweet note! This was the first time my immediate family was all together since Christmas, I could tell my mom and dad were in their glory and this put such a smile on my face.

Another sweet surprise on Friday was the delivery the manfriend and I recieved at our new place. Our landlord sent us some homemade cookies and the sweetest card welcoming us to the neighborhood. It was such a kind gesture and I'm so happy to have such a great landlord, I know some people who haven't been so lucky.

Sprinkles Cupcakes NYC Grand Opening Day

 

The yummy cookies our landlord baked for us.

Saturday

Saturday was a very funfilled day for me, which started with meeting my running team for practice. Despite the early meeting time, I truly look forward to this every weekend. Coaching has truly become a huge passion of mine and my team makes it so enjoyable for me and let me tell you they are making amazing progress. The race they are training for is three weeks away and I know they are going to beast it. I am so proud of them and their determination, oh and did I mention they are raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, these ladies are truly BAD ASS!

Once practice commenced I headed over to my Nana's house to spend some quality time with her, which I seriously don't do enough. There is something about Nana's house that makes me feel so cozy and safe. For a woman in her 80's she has  quite the memory and I love hearing the stories of her youth. On top of that she made one of my favorite comfort foods, homemade macaroni and cheese. Her recipe is amazing and it really hit the spot.

After my Nana visit, I spent some more necessary  quality time with my sister. I hate that I don't see her as much as I'd like, she is my best friend and living far away from each other truly sucks. We spent most of Saturday afternoon doing what girls do best, SHOP! I love going shopping with my sister because we always leave buying more then we actually need. I helped her pick out an outfit for a dinner she was going to and I knew she would look stunning as usual. I'm excited because I will see her two times in less then two weeks, which is always awesome.

Saturday night the manfriend and I had a date night at our favorite restaurant, Beso. This is a Spanish restaurant which is known greatly for their amazing tapas style cuisine. I always get a little giddy when I know I am going to Beso, the food is that great. We got there pretty early because it gets extremely busy and they don't allow reservations for parties smaller then five. We waited well over but the service is great, they set us up at the bar, got us our usual order of sangria and we ordered their infamous chips and guacamole. When they called our table, I was ready to chow down.

We have a routine when it comes to ordering at Beso, we each pick two items off the tapas menu, so four in total and we always choose the sashimi tuna along with the beef medallion with grilled blue cheese on top (they are out of this world). Then we like to try something new, I picked the BBQ baby back ribs and Kyle went for the eggplant wrapped in bacon. Well our picks didn't let us down, especially the ribs, the meat came off the bone like butter and the smoked bbq flavor was so amazing.

It was another successful trip to Beso. The highlight of our night out was the gentleman sitting at the table next to us, asking me if I was a food critic. He asked this question because I am notorious for taking pictures of any and everything I eat. The poor manfriend has learned to become extremely patient with my habit and I love him for it. I did get to plug my blog which is always cool.

Beso Chips and Guac

Yummy bread and olive dip.

The best sashimi tuna out there! (At least in my eyes!)

BBQ baby back ribs.

Beef medallion with grilled blue cheese

Eggplant/bacon combo.

Sunday

I was bummed sunday morning, because I had to cancel practice with my team due to the horrendous thunderstorms, boo! I was really looking forward to seeing everyone and getting in a great run with my team. Because it was so gross out I decided to do a yoga/core session in the apartment, it was such a great workout and set me up for a great day.

The manfriend and I had a very productive day and got a lot done with our new place. We did our weekly food shopping, went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and got some apartment essentials. But the biggest achievement of the weekend was my acceptance of a piece of furniture that I've fought against for the last few months.

We went to a furniture store to look for a chair to accompany our couch in the living room. I wanted a nice oversized leather club chair, which I've been lusting for the last decade. The manfriend had another idea, he wanted a recliner or as I like to call it a "MAN CHAIR". I was so against this, I didn't want a chair that belongs in a "man cave" in my living room but I am learning to pick my battles. This is just as much his apartment as it is mine and a if he wants a recliner why shouldn't he have one. So we picked one together and I must say it was very comfortable. I will be happy when the day comes when we actually have a house with a "man cave" so I can happily surrender the recliner to the room it was destined to be in.

We then spent a good part of the afternoon at Kyle's parents house. Every Sunday his mom makes delicious sauce and meatballs, which I always look forward to. We enjoyed our yummy food and actually watched, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. You'd think we'd be sick of all things Greek, since we lived there for 7 months but I actually found the movie funnier then ever after living amoungst the Greeks.

All in all is was a wonderful weekend. I got in great workouts, which always makes me happy. Got to do some work on our apartment that is really becoming our home and also got to spend time with the people I love. I wish every weekend could be like this.

Oh yea, how could I forget to congratulate the Chicago Bulls for beating the Miami Heat in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals! Sorry I am a Heat Hater. :)