Here and There

I have successfully disappeared completely from my own blog! The last few months have been busy (that 9-to-5 life is something, huh!) but mostly in a good way. During that time, I have:
* Bought my first car, a Ford Fiesta ♥
* Been to NYC 3 times to see 3 old friends from different times of my life
* Went to Jones Beach for a weekend of beach fun and Kesha/Pitbull concert
* Been reunited with old addictions: Daft Punk, Arrested Development... and lots more to come this summer!
* Finally started watching Mad Men ;)


I'm going on a little getaway to Vermont this weekend, I can't wait!

McLaughlin Vineyards

My computer's been in the out for repair for over a week and I'm slowly going crazy! Good thing I still had these shots on my phone + a little help from Pixlr, here we are!

But on to this little post: A couple of days before Christmas, my family and I went on a late-afternoon adventure to the McLaughlin Vineyards for a little wine tasting (thanks, Living Social!). This winter-y view here doesn't seem like much but the property also includes a wooded hill on the other side of the house. Besides wines, the owners also make maple products (needless to say, we walked out of there with lots of food!) and organize outdoors-y events all year around. I just might have to go back for one of these events in the spring/summer and see what's going on up that hill!

Address: McLaughlin Vineyards - 14 Albert’s Hill Road, Sandy Hook, CT.

Back to School

Silly me left my camera in my coat, at coat check, so no good food pictures this time.

A few weeks ago for my mother's birthday, my parents and I went to the Schoolhouse at Cannondale, a cute little New American restaurant in the middle of the wild and dark forest in Wilton (I may be exaggerating ;)

This place seems to be in high demand around here; we actually tried to get a (kinda last minute) reservation a while ago but no luck then. This time around, my father called much earlier to secure our evening of great food. I had frois gras for starters (picture on the right), then squab with gnocchi & greens, and finally we all shared the chocolate soufflé for dessert. After that amazing meal, my dad announced that this was "the best meal he's had in the United States" -- ain't that something! My wallet couldn't handle me eating there too often, but it's definitely worth the trek!

Address: 34 Cannon Rd, Wilton CT 06897

Christmas Cheer

Let me stretch my fingers and dust out this place a little, ahem...
I took a quick trip to NYC last Sunday to check out some Christmas decorations (christmas trees, store windows, all that!). Unfortunately we didn't see anything too amazing... maybe they're putting them up late? maybe everyone decided to tone it down? who knows.

But we made a stop at Dylan's Candy Bar and filled up on all kinds of chocolate
(NOT the bacon flavored one though)!

Rockefeller Center delivered as always.
And we even caught the little light show on the facade of Sack's Fifth Avenue!



Alright, off to my chocolate bars now -- Caramel, Red Velvet, Dark Chocolate & Raspberry, and S'Mores!

Dolphin's Cove

My parents and I swung by Dolphin's Cove last night for some lobster! My parents like to do that every summer, eating seafood by the water.. seems only fitting! I gotta admit, the only time I had been to this place was for their Sunday night parties (ha!) but the food last night was great: I had the Lobster Dolphin's Style and we shared their Portuguese Flan for dessert - all delicious :)

Dolphin's Cove, 421 Seaview Ave, Bridgeport, CT

As it is the last day of August, it's also the end of August Break! Honestly, I didn't have much to share these last 2 weeks, but it was great to participate only to discover new blogs/bloggers!

Quiche and Links

Shrimp Quiche I made the other day; it was delicious! Here's the recipe (in French)!
And while I'm here, I'd like to share a few fun links I've discovered lately:

Pinstrosity: this site reminds me of my DIY adventures, especially the last one I'm struggling with, ugh.

Golden Retriever Puppy Cam: the most adorable puppies!

The Sun Hasn’t Set on the Drive-In: someone pleaaase get me to a drive-in!

Walnut Beach Creamery

Sunday was a good day to stop by Walnut Beach Creamery and grab a Nutty Yankee (dried cranberries, coconut and almond) - delicious! By the by, this cute ice cream spot was featured in the New York Times last Friday in their Cold, Creamy and Locally Made article!

WALNUT BEACH CREAMERY: 17 Broadway, Milford, CT - right by Silver Sands State Park!

Miya's Sushi

My brother was in town a couple of weeks ago, so we decided to take a little trip to Miya's Sushi in New Haven to taste their awesome fusion sushi!

Gotta say, we were all pretty impressed! After spending 30 min going through their lengthy menu, we selected a few plates of rolls including the 2 pictured above: Romping with the goats (tilapia + goat cheese goodness) and Diego's Rivera Roll (salmon + asparagus tasty explosion). Each of those orders had 5 pieces, but I was too famished to think of taking pictures of the plates before eating, yep.

The only "bad" thing about our dinner at Miya's was our waiter. Sure, the restaurant is very casual and friendly, but this guy took it a little too far for me by taking several drinking breaks with his friends at the table next to us during his shift. Hopefully, that won't be a problem next time...


Here is the "one bite" dessert, the Seven Deadly Sushi, with its many components that I can't recall (banana, strawberry, nuts... with a little homemade ice cream on top). Amazing as well!

Address: Miya’s Sushi - 68 Howe Street, New Haven, CT

NYC

While I'm waiting for my DIY supplies to arrive, here are a few pictures from my week spent in New York! It was so strange to visit the city with the boy like a real tourist: the Empire State Building, Central Park, Statue of Liberty, lunch at Katz's, Brooklyn Bridge,... we did it all! It was the first time I visited all these attractions in one go; it was exhausting and chilly, but great :)

For part of the trip, we stayed at the New York Loft Hostel in Brooklyn and it was great! Pretty good location (although we were unlucky enough that the L train was not working during the weekend due to renovations), warm and clean bedrooms, and free breakfast every morning! What else do you need?



Have a great weekend!

HK - Day 2 (Central)

Weeks may have gone by, but I did not forget about the HK posts :)


The second day, we started off by walking around the busy streets of Central, checking out the markets, going up the Mid-Levels Escalators, then a little detour in Soho, and lunch at Lin Heung Tea House.




Hong Kong and Shanghai have a lot of similarities (nice and bright buildings next to the old, falling apart ones, for example), but with all the signs hovering over the streets, I thought HK had a stronger "Chinese" feel than Shanghai. I loved it!

Mid-Levels Escalators
Going downhill in Soho
Dim Sum at Lin Heung Tea House - the place was crazy packed!
It was difficult to get some food at first but the locals at our table were nice enough to help us out.

Pudong

Quite a few things changed in the last weeks and I'm having a hard time to schedule some blogging-time into my new routine. Anyways, the HK posts will continue soon but first, I'd like to share a few pictures of Pudong (east side of the Huangpu River in Shanghai) from last weekend. I had forgotten my camera (yet again), so please excuse the meh quality - these were taken with my phone.


The Oriental Pearl Tower
I've been to Pudong quite a few times and yet, I've never been up the Pearl Tower. Frankly, I don't think the view will be worth the expensive entry ticket...

That evening, the boy and I decided to chill on the Pudong Riverside and admire the view of Puxi (west side of river in Shanghai). People (mostly tourists) usually go to the Bund to look at Pudong's skyscrapers (Oriental Pearl tower, The Bottle Opener, etc).. but this side is quite nice, actually! And there are definitely less people than on the Bund - always a plus ;)

On the way home, dinner at Pho Yummy

Today for brunch

Since I have to share a "kitchen" that consists of a microwave and two hotplates, I love my friends who have their own kitchens! And I especially love those who can cook in them! ;)
Yesterday afternoon, while it was raining cats and dogs outside, Joel and I prepared some crepe dough so that we'd have a yummy brunch today. They were delicious!