Free Saturday in the East Coast

Living in LA, I don't have a free day except for Sunday- which is why, as a bad Catholic, I gave up church- and I occasionally visit the East Coast for a period of time. This is when I do absolutely nothing and stay indoor all day except for times I really feel like going out, in which case I'll take the short bus trip into the city of New York. Today I wasn't quite feeling the desire to go out, especially since my in-law had just come back from an overseas business trip and I wanted to spend a good part of the day with the entire family, so I stayed home all day. Staying home will turn out to be a painstakingly boring and headache-inducing, but it didn't start out so.

For one thing, my sister had this awesome idea of baking lasagna cupcakes for lunch- something I just couldn't afford from the HeirloomLA truck (for the price for the amount.)

I watched her build about twenty cupcakes, and it looked surprisingly easy. I mean you have to cook the meat prior to building the lasagna, but that's just an extra step. She also included three kinds of cheeses, so that looked like it was an extra thing that would have to be done as well... you see, I'm so lazy that I can't grab three cheese from the dairy area... lol. Anyhow, she had already made tomato sauce for another recipe, so she layered wonton wrapper-meat-cheese-sauce (repeat) topped with more cheese and baked for twenty minutes or so... Meanwhile I took the liberty of walking the babe in a stroller to a nearby Tous les Jours- a Korean café- for some lattes to go with the much expected lunch. 

this I took in the evening one night... hence the dark skies

After hours of chilling- playing with the kids, watching whatever kids' program is on Netflix (it was Phineas and Ferb today) and someone in this household napping (wasn't me)- the family left for an outing, leaving me alone in an empty house.

I popped in the Workaholics Season Three DVD I'd checked out from the library with two days of past due fee (oops, sorry!) and cackled for about three hours until I realized, I was getting pretty bored of having my butt stuck on the couch all day long... and needed fresh air. 

an eery night!

So I went out. It was pretty scary out because, as it happens, I was walking away from some fireworks at a nearby event at a park, and I thought it was a thunderstorm coming. I'm not afraid of thunder, but man, I do not wanna get wet. I finished a quick stroll around the block, and within minutes, the family returns home. So I'm not bored and I'm not scared. 

Today was a good free Saturday, it's a day that I usually get on a Sunday and having to wish there was another Sunday the day after... but this time, there is a Sunday coming up tomorrow! Planning to go to a spa with the sis tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that. Hopefully I can take care of this crazy back pain I've been having. 

Lessons of the day: 1. Get some fresh air, 2. I don't know if I could live alone, 3. Time together is as good as time apart. 

CHVRCHES

I literally just found the Scottish band Chvrches on NPR First Listen.

I don't remember when I first heard of them, but I really took a liking to the incredibly adorable singer Lauren Mayberry... so when I saw that they'd be at the Fonda Theater in LA, I jumped on the opportunity. Took the Gold Line to the Red Line to get to Hollywood, my first time at this venue was pretty impressive. 

I think this venue was perfect for Chvrches: small-ish, cozy, yet pretty damn fancy once inside. It's located couple blocks away from the Pantages Theatre, in what seemed to me like a "dark alleyway" sort of a block (compared to the size of the Pantages, yes) but super nice and welcoming inside. And easy to get to by public transit. 

I gradually moved from the front to the back of the house, and the picture of the stage is, well, a picture of the stage... nothing more, nothing less. But it's clear that Chvrches is full of energy both physically and musically. 

I love their song "Gun," its hard beats and Mayberry's sweet voice strangely compliment each other. I'm so happy to preview their entire album (yet to be released) on NPR Music, and I hope they visit LA again very soon. Hopefully then, I'll be able to buy a concert souvenir. 

Aimless in New York City

I woke up early on Saturday morning to join my sister's family on their trip to the Bronx Zoo. They have a membership that allows their family of four plus a guest, so I was happy to join them on their day out. It was a good day to get some fresh air as we'd been blessed with a gorgeous weather and also a free Saturday is pretty much a novelty for me.

what a gorgeous day out!

  

So here we are, that blue dot, heading into Bronx- my second time ever!

I didn't "get" to see as many animals as one would expect to see at a zoo, but I was there to have fun with the family... I'd been to zoos a plenty and seen as much! But here was something that I'd never seen before: a nyala.

a grazing nyala. It came up pretty close to me, so thanks for the great pic!

My brother-in-law and nephew enjoyed what seemed to be a split-second camelback ride! 

camel parade!

We went on a Dinosaur Safari Ride, and the kids got scared at these dino figures! So adorable!

                                      

The kids were not so scared of this foot model though, and the nephew insisted I take a shot at this.

At around 2pm, I got dropped off in midtown Manhattan and took the subway to this beautiful neighborhood of Fort Greene in Brooklyn. I debated on attending Smorgasburg in Williamsburg or the flea market in Fort Greene, and I ended up here. The flea market was outdoors, and my phone (camera source) died so I don't have any pictures. I stood at this one vendor's stand for about half an hour- he sold wooden panel signs and pictures- and debated between a Brooklyn sign and a Williamsburg sign... until realizing I don't even know what I'd do with such a thing... a Brooklyn sign in the middle of my room in LA? it's okay. Didn't want to play tourist in my own home.

Fort Greene is so green and beautiful. 

So I left the flea and headed back to the Lafayette station to head to SoHo.

This was the view opposite the entrance to the subway station, and I just love it so much. Picture-Perfect!

Lafayette station has so much character

Once I got to SoHo, I had to find a Starbucks to charge my phone. Luckily, the one I went to was right next to the bakery I'd been meaning to visit for their cronut fame: Dominique Ansel Bakery.

on Spring Street in SoHo, it's smaller than I'd expected.

Salted Caramel eclair- Raspberry Beer Cherry Religieuse- Paris New York

Though I didn't find anything worth talking about here, I did see these three pastries from which I got the salted caramel eclair. It was definitely good, but not worth the $5.50+tax. 

the view of the menu. So much to read and so little time.

Then, it got pretty chilly... and I wanted a hot drink- so I went to one of my favorite cafes: Aroma Espresso Bar. My first time in Aroma was in a NJ mall, and I was so delighted to see one in Manhattan last time I visited. Got my favorite drink here, a chai latte with the most generous spoonful of cinnamon on top with their complimentary piece of chocolate, and kept heading up back towards midtown.

a cup of warm Chai Latte from Aroma Espresso Bar is so the best way to beat the cold.

As I didn't have any plans for the day besides being dropped off in the city, I improvised my dinner and looked for places to eat. I walked so much from SoHo to East Village- found the line at the restaurant I set my mind on to be way too long- headed back to a subway station, took the N train and debated on getting off at 42nd and just going home or passing it to get off at 49th to walk to 52nd.... and I got off at 49th. Now by this time I was hungry, tired, and been wasting my time and money just riding the subway. And of course, the line at this other restaurant is longer than the last one! 

My bus back home is now scheduled to leave in about twenty minutes. I walk baaaack to 50th and hop on a subway (another $2.50 for a single stop) get to 42nd, run for my life to Port Authority, run yet again to second floor, run up the crazy long and slow escalator to the gate, and am safe to board the bus back home that arrives about ten minutes into my arrival. 

I like aimlessly wandering the city, but what I learned from this particular day was... I don't like aimlessly wandering the city on an empty stomach filling it with cold and hot drinks and sugar. Also, always carry a hand sanitizer: I got so sick from being on so many different subways- when I got home, I skipped dinner altogether and slept for 12 hours with the aid of NyQuil. 

What started out as a successful day- turned into a major FAIL. From

Bronx to Brooklyn to Manhattan, at least I got my exercise in...