New York City!

- The Drive -

We got an early start (around 5am) from the Cleveland area.  Despite taking a longer alternate (and more scenic) route by mistake, the trip there wasn't too bad. 

- Times Square -

We arrived in NYC around 2ish, and once we settled into the hotel room, we started walking through Times Square (less than a block away).

This photo of the "Naked Cowboy" is actually from our last night in the city.

- More Sight Seeing -

After Times Square, we continued on to The New York Library, The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and NBC Studios.

- Drinks on the First Night -

This pub was cool and the bartender was really nice, so we stayed for a couple drinks.  It was called Malloy's Irish Pub.

- 9/11 Memorial,  Freedom Tower & The Financial District -

Thursday morning, we took a cab down to the Financial District to see the 9/11 Memorial and the new Freedom Tower.  The Memorial's twin reflecting pools are each nearly and acre in size (so much bigger in person than they seem in pictures or on TV).  The waterfalls within the reflecting pools are the largest manmade waterfalls in North America.  It's kind of an eerie feeling knowing that these pools sit within the footprints where the original Twin Towers once stood.  Being there and seeing all the inscribed names of those who perished was so moving.

The Freedom Tower (now America's tallest skyscraper) was such an impressive structure.

Does anyone know what the structure is that is being built near the 9/11 Memorial? I thought it was really interesting, but have no idea what it is.

After visiting the memorial, we continued on through the Financial District to see the New York Stock Exchange and (after much searching) the Charging Bull.

- Staten Island Ferry & Statue of Liberty -

We hopped on the Staten Island Ferry, which provided us with a view of the Statue of Liberty and the Lower Manhattan skyline.  Best of all, the ferry ride was FREE!

- Lunch at Roast Kitchen -

We just walked past this place and the food looked good, so we went in.  Let me just say, this was probably some of the best food I've ever had.  We need one of these places in Cleveland immediately!  Sadly, they are only located in NYC.  :(

Anyway, it has the same kind of style as Chipotle (the whole order-whatever-ingredients-you-want-in-a-bowl thing), except they have SO many more options.  You choose your greens, 4 mix-ins (fresh veggies and herbs), sauce, grain, and a meat.

I got:

Bok Choy, Kale, & Spinach

Avocado, Cilantro, Zucchini, Roasted Summer Corn

Salsa Verde Sauce

Jasmine Rice

Spicy Chicken

It was soooooooooooooooooooo good.

Check them out here.

- Miscellaneous Sight Seeing -

Tiny old building amongst skyscrapers

A back alley at South Street Seaport & a couple more photos from the Seaport.

The Municipal Building

Street Performers

- Little Italy -

- China Town -

- Grand Central Terminal -

- Chrysler Building & Radio City Music Hall -

- Drinks on the Second Night -

We found another Irish Pub near our hotel.  It was not busy at all.  We were kind of surprised that the bars and pubs weren't busier near Times Square.  This pub was called Emmett O'Lunney's Irish Pub.

- The Plaza Hotel -

- Central Park -

Since the park is so huge, we just walked around the very south end of it.

(At this point, we knew we'd probably be leaving at the end of the night, so we went back and got the car and drove ourselves to the rest of our destinations.)

- Cathedral of St. John the Divine -

I couldn't wait to see this place again.  I remembered it being one of my favorite things from my 2009 trip to NYC.  

There were massive pieces of art hanging from the ceiling of the cathedral.  They were large dragon-like birds.  Steve and I inspected them and found that they were made from a random assortment of car parts, bamboo, fabric, steel beam, tools, and tiny LED lights.  The exhibit is called "Phoenix" by Xu Bing.  Read more about it here and see more pictures here.

These are messages to the artist, Xu Bing.

- Tom's Restaurant -

Steve and I were both really looking forward to seeing this.  I didn't get a chance to get a close view of it last time I was in the city, and it was Steve's first trip to NYC.  We were actually really hungry at this point to we decided to to stop in and have lunch.

- The Brooklyn Bridge & Manhattan Bridge -

- Spray Paint Art in Times Square -

I had seen videos of this before and I wanted Steve to see it.  He was so impressed, he bought the first one he saw the guy make!  Here's the video of his being painted, and a picture of the finished product.  It was made using only spray paint a couple random tools......pretty amazing, huh?

- The Search for Fireworks -

Funky Junk Boutique

While walking through the Village of Seville's annual yard sales today, my mom and I decided to pop into the Funky Junk Boutique.  They have just recently (about 4 weeks ago) moved to a different and much larger location just across the street from their old location on Main Street.  Their new location used to be a gas station, but they have spruced the place up beyond imagination.  I didn't want to leave the store.  Everything was so beautiful, I couldn't stop staring.  I am obsessed with anything vintage or antiquey, and I love to re-purpose old things (or as the girls at Funky Junk call it, upcycling).  This place is drippy in shabby chic, and I seriously LOVED it.  I'll definitely be going back.  There are so many different things for sale: upcycled/vintage furniture, pillows, clothing, jewelry, candles, and lots of other random locally made items and vintage/antiquey things.  I wanted to buy everything!  I was surprised at their prices (in a good way).  I find that usually places that upcycle old furniture and such end up charging you an arm and a leg for the finished product.  I didn't find their prices to be too bad, honestly.  If you're into shabby chic, and finding the beauty in old things, I definitely recommend making a trip to this delightful little gem.  They're located on Main St in Seville, across the street from the Seville Sweet Shoppe.

(I apologize for the poor quality of photos, I was only armed with my iPhone.)

 They carry a full selection of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (amazing - check it out if you haven't), and have a huge color chart for mixing things up to create your own special colors.  My mom and I wanted a pale minty blue for this hideous yellow dresser we want to paint (I will be making a blog post about the transformation this summer), so we opted for Duck Egg Blue.  We thought about mixing Provence with Cream, but decided maybe we could just mix Duck Egg Blue with the white (I think it was Pure) we already have to make it a little more pale.

Be sure to check the boutique's event section of their facebook page for classes on painting furniture and "refunking your junk."

From Mom's Kitchen: Baked Mac N' Cheese

This recipe of my mother's was one of my favorites growing up.  I have requested in on many of my birthdays.  I hope you enjoy it just as much as I have over the years!

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil

Olive oil baking spray

6 TBSP butter

3 TBSP flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 cups milk

18-20 oz Velveeta cheese (cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes)

(each package of Velveeta is 32 oz, so if you're eyeballing, I would use about 2/3 of the package)

12 oz macaroni (or pasta of your choice - I used bow tie pasta)

Bread crumbs (for topping)

About 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Boil water in pot with a dash of salt and a couple tbsp of olive oil (the olive oil helps keep the pasta from sticking to the pan and to itself while cooking).  Add the pasta to water and boil for 7 minutes.

 After pasta is finished, drain, return to pot, drizzle with a couple TBSP of olive oil, and set pot aside (in this case the olive oil helps keep the pasta from drying out while you're preparing the cheese sauce).

While pasta is boiling, you may start preparing the cheese sauce.  Melt 3 TBSP of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once butter is melted, gradually add flour, salt and pepper and stir until smooth.  Gradually add milk and stir until smooth, continue stirring over medium/high heat until the mixture begins to thicken (this may take several minutes).

The mixture may still seem slightly runny, but that is okay.  The pasta will absorb the moisture, and it will ensure your finished product doesn't dry out and is smooth, thick & creamy.

Remove saucepan from burner, add Velveeta cheese cubes, stir until melted.  If you find it's taking a long time for the cheese to melt, return the pan to the burner (turned off) to distribute a little more heat.

Pour sauce over pasta in one of the saucepans and stir until all the pasta is coated with cheese sauce.

Pour the pasta and sauce mixture into a baking dish (sprayed with olive oil baking spray).

Mix bread crumbs with 3 TBSP melted butter and sprinkle over the top of the mac n' cheese.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until top is lightly brown.

You may either sprinkle the 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar on top and bake for about 1 more minute, or sprinkle it on each helping as it is being served.

Enjoy!

(Makes about 6-8 servings)

I'm Featured on Midwest Living's Website!

I was approached last week on Instagram by Midwest Living Magazine, asking if they could feature one of my photos in a segment on their website called "20 Cleveland Instagram Photos We Love."  Of course, I said yes!  I was very excited to have one of my photos be featured in something for the first time!  I guess all those times I sat on the roof of my parking garage at work waiting for the perfect sunset/skyline pictures has paid off!  Hopefully, I can be featured in something else very soon.  Thank you so much Midwest Living Magazine!  To see all my Instagram photos, follow me @cheydiorphoto

Click here to view all 20 photos!

Women Are Like Apples

I remember my mom printing this "poem" out for me one day when I was having a hard time with a break-up.  It was so inspirational and really lifted my spirits.  I decided to tweak it slightly, and share it with all of you.  Hopefully, by posting this,  I can pass along that good feeling my mother passed to me years ago.