Arrested Development: Bluth's Original Frozen Banana Stand (and Luke Bryan)

I spy an oversize banana,

which could only be:

Some marketing folks from Netflix!

They were giving out stuff earlier,

but by the end of the day there was a line to take a photo

with some strangers.

And on my way home,

outside of Letterman, I saw

Luke Bryan!

(I've never heard of him,

but people seemed enamored.)

Meanwhile my cousin Samantha got her picture taken

with Danny Masterson (Hyde from That 70s Show)

because he was hanging out at her office since he has a friend there.

Mercedes Club Residents Party

The pool in our health club opened today!

It's not even 70 degrees out!

We went to the free party, which featured

some delicious little bites of lamb

on vegetables and a dab of something delicious.

Um, it was delicious.

And there were three different liquor tastings,

including the lovely gin and tonic drink above.

The gin drink was refreshing, but it wasn't as flavorful as my Hendricks.

The best part was the live music:

these two guys playing and singing Latin music.

And, of course, the snocones by Handsome Dan.

A block of ice turned into magic fluffy snow

covered in sugary raspberry syrup and fresh lemon juice.

I think he kind of looks like Jake Gyllenhaal,

so you might want to check him out

and eat his snocones in real life.

Hello!

I had another snocone because it was FREE

and so good.

(A pomegranate with condensed milk--

Handsome Dan explained that the pomegranate was a bit tart

so the milk will set it off--so cute, 

I just want to suck on sugary ice!)

Since someone couldn't eat all the delicious snocone stuff or drink

and had allergies, we left after the guys played "La Bamba."

Poor guy.

Another reason for leaving was that it was really awkward

watching the swimsuit models freeze.

Manic Depression Is Touching My Soul

Sing it, Jimmy.

Sing it.

Fresh Direct Bluenanas Are in Season!

Jon and I ordered a few bunches

of these new bluenanas

before they ran out.

As a blue food they're supposedly

very high in antioxidants

and very good for memory, diabetes, and everything.

I also read that even though the plant

is carnivorous, 

it only eats Smurfs,

so humans wandering 

through a bluenana grove

are safe, 

and it helps keep the Smurf population down, 

thankfully.

But in all actuality,

Jon was pretty excited about this

until he realized it was a joke.

I'd warned him this morning not to be fooled too!

Now he's a bit disappointed.

If bluenanas tasted anything

like bananas and blueberries,

I'd be very disappointed they didn't actually exist too,

but who knows, man?!

Who knows?!

Map of Old Businesses Around Bryant Park

Ergh!

I cannot locate the name of this type of map,

but I know I wrote it down.

Let's just call it a directory of commerce in the area.

I like how it reminds me of a Google map,

but all the little names fit in the littler spaces,

and it's all in a nice font.

A lot of stuff has changed.

Like a lot.

This is from the library exhibit Lunch Hour.

NYC Armory Show 2013: Part 5: This Guy Is Having a Better Day Than I Am

Why can't I be a skull encrusted in diamonds?

Or even the print of that?

NYC Armory Show 2013: Part 1: Intro

It's a pier that you pretend is an armory

for a few days

that houses a huge collection of art from

galleries all around the world and the country.

But here's a better explanation.

Jon and I went back in college and a few other times.

It never seemed as popular as it did today.

It was $30,

but since there were galleries from around the world,

it was like the best contemporary pop-up show

in all the world at that moment.

We could literally see our apartment

from the show,

so it seemed best not to waste the opportunity.

Every cube was a different country it seemed.

Instead of just a few people

who really seemed like ardent collectors,

there were all types of people

who were just interested in seeing new/classic modern art.

It's a nice change that they have real food options now too.

Oh! The Pata Pata Song

So in case you didn't have time to click and learn more about the woman

who popularized African music on the Google banner today,

Miriam Makeba,

here she is singing her famously awesome song.

Sat wuguga sat ju benga sat si pata pat!

Ducktales and Hall and Oates

After reading this wonderful article

about the acclaimed TV show

Ducktales,

we realized that the theme song was much like

the Hall and Oates song: You Make My Dreams Come True.

Thankfully other people on the Internet did too

and saved us the work of mashing it up to prove a point.

Gross: This One's About Feet and Blood

I feel like a voodoo doll! 

Today I got three of my moles removed/biopsied for skin cancer. 

I'm in such uncomfortable pain. 

Right after I left the doctor to get to work, 

my band aid fell off and there was blood everywhere. 

It was so gross. 

SO, SO GROSS! 

Because it was on the underside of my Dom toe.

(What is a Dom toe?

As you might be able to tell,

my middle toe and ring toe are about the same height.

My siblings, Wee and Dom, are twins.

My toes basically predicted I'd have twin siblings, of course.

I call the ring one Dom because he's the later chunky baby twin,

and the middle one Wee because she was the scrawny little baby twin.

I wrote this fact on a getting-to-know-you card in a college English course.)

Anyhoo. Yuck. 

I got to work and I found the band aide floating over by my big toe

and threw that out.

I sopped up as much blood in my shoe as I could.

I wrapped Dom toe in a paper towel.

I washed my hands, and I got to work.

(There are sales materials to be done, people!

And actual books due in stores in May.

What's a little blood?)

Luckily the anesthesia worked for a short while.

I took some Advil too.

It looks like what you imagine it would, but worse.

And this is the bleeding toe from Istanbul.

Anyway, back to the moles story.

These lacerations are going to be ugly scars too. I just know it. 

The doctor was really nice, but she didn't know how to make nice circles. 

AND I have my period--one of the heavy days. 

I feel like I am being drained of blood. 

It was the worst decision ever. 

Though I'm betting skin cancer is probably more uncomfortable. 

The other one is on my back and the last is on my belly. 

It is hard eating (because my belly expands when I eat)

and laughing (again the belly). 

Grr.

The one on my back just sometimes feels sore/itchy. 

So I put some more Vaseline on it to shut it up.

What a bitch.

David Chang's Noodletown Obsession with Ginger Scallion Noodles

If you read any interview with David Chang,

the chef/owner of Momofuku and that whole empire,

you'll know that he adores the ginger scallion noodle dish

from Noodletown.

Jon's por por lives across the street from Noodletown,

and it's basically the only place we get our cha siu (amazing pork) in Chinatown.

But we've never gotten the ginger scallion noodle dish

until now.

It's pretty hom (that is salty).

I've made David Chang's ginger scallion sauce many times,

and it's never been as salty.

I don't know if I'd get it again.

I'm a chow fun kinda lady myself.

(Oh baby, you wide floppy rice noodle. Mmm!)

But I guess that's the advantage to making a dish yourself

is that you can regulate the salt

and cut the scallions to more easily digestible pieces.

I was so hungry when I ate this that I was choking on the scallions.

Try the noodle at least once if you like,

but always get the cha siu.

Turkish Delight on a Moonlit Night

At a shop at the Spice Market,

we bought at least a hundred dollars worth of Turkish delight.

Insane, right?

I'm not even a big fan of the stuff.

It's nutty and chewy and kinda has a slightly sweet flavor,

but give me chocolate any day and I'm a much happier girl.

They come either as cubes or logs

and they're mostly covered to prevent sticking.

We like to pretend to be grossed out by the long poop ones.

The green ones are covered in pistachios.

The nuts are either pistachios or hazelnuts mostly.

The box was nice.

They vacuum sealed it for the transportation of it too.

My dad claims that this is how one smuggles hashish in/out of the country.

At least if you're stuck staying at the Midnight Express movie's prison,

it's now an exclusive Four Seasons.

I cut up a bunch of Turkish delight for my coworkers to try on Monday.

It didn't go over as well with them as it did with my brother's coworkers,

who already seemed to have eaten at least two pounds of the stuff.

I brought a sandwich bag of the stuff home.

It's not for everyone.

Anyway, loyal blog readers, I hope we can meet up soon,

so I can share some with you!

(Can I mail it to Hawaii, fuzzy?

I'll leave out the hashish.)

Last Dinner at Kajitsu in the East Village

I was dying from exhaustion due to jet lag,

but it was the last dinner ever at Kajitsu in its regular location.

They were moving to Murray Hill in March.

I really just wanted to sleep,

but we drove down to the East Village for dinner at 9 p.m.

and we ate a most satisfying meal.

Jon got the Hana menu.

I got the Kaze.

It was just like the good old days when we went there monthly.

Hopefully when they reopen in Murray Hill

it will be just as delicious.

I'm glad I suffered through my exhaustion

and ate something delicious

in a wonderful little basement restaurant

that felt like home and like being on vacation in Japan.

My 2013 Calendar

This was my 2012 calendar.

It was a great calendar.

It did its job really well,

and it looked cool whenever I looked up.

It was much better than this ghetto thing I cobbled together in 2011.

This year I decided to draw some little scenes:

It brightens up the place.

I used some watercolors and gauche

and some pen ink.

I took some close-up photos,

but I'll post them later.

I'm afraid when my blog gets too food heavy.

But when your hobby is food,

what else do you post?

Glittery Snow

It snowed on Friday.

Superglittery snow.

Like, I guess you get a sense of the glitteriness,

but there were lots more surrounding us.

I finished up a freelance project

and the longest four day work week, ever.

Jon met me at work to go to Bill's Burger.

We sat in a booth and got burgers,

mini corn dogs, and disco fries.

We ate it as if we hadn't eaten anything in a month.

It was Irish coffee day or something,

so their alcoholic shake had Baileys and Jameson.

We passed and got hot chocolates for the long trek home.

(It's been so cold out that getting a cab home has been

scarcer than getting one during a downpour.)

My sister told me about one of her patients

that had a rectal temperature of 70 degrees.

That's cold.

Your butt should be at least around 99 degrees.

NYC didn't seem to bother plowing.

The hot chocolate helped a bit, 

but the snow was hitting our faces.

Jon found it too sweet.

What was pretty about the snow

was that it like shined like little diamonds.

They weren't the fat ones.

They were small and shiny.

This is a photo we took together.

I held the camera and a hot chocolate in each hand.

Jon pressed the buttons to take the photo 

and his held his hot chocolate with each of his hands.

Teamwork!

A Present for Someone Turning Thirty *or Whatever Age

Last year my friend Charleen turned thirty,

and for her birthday

I got a little inspired with the gift-card holder that

I got with a gift-card purchase at Anthropologie.

(By the way, she was getting married later in the year,

so I wasn't being weirdly pushy about it or anything.)

I thought this might be a little inspirational to someone

who's thinking of what to get someone turning thirty,

especially since a ton of us are coming of that age this year.

What's that?

Oh, I mean, we're turning twenty-five!

Ew, thirty is, like, so old.

I guess that for whatever age

this nifty little gift works for a variety of people.

Who doesn't like lists to ponder?

And gift-card money to spend?

I'm sure cash would work well too.

If you do find yourself making one of these,

let me know how it goes!