free friday at the moma

One of the things on our must-do list was the MoMA. We took advantage of the free admission on Friday night and wandered around the museum for a couple hours. Sara and Klane probably appreciated it more than Mike and I, since they know about good design and Sara has studied art. For me it was cool to see everything and to expand the way I think about art. There are a lot of things in there that you wouldn't think of as art, but when you think about it and notice the way it's designed or the concept the artist had, you can see the art in it.

Mike's reaction to a lot of the modern art. I can't say I totally disagree.


Listening to the audio tour, next to a jeep which is apparently art.



Tiny trees on an architectural model landscape.




Before the security guard yelled at me to "STEP AWAY FROM THE PAINTING, MA'AM." because when I pointed at it he thought I was going to touch it. (I wasn't. I'm not stupid.)


And... after. Sara abandoned me! (Just kidding, Sar.)

boys vs girls

Yesterday we split up. The girls spent some quality time shopping and eating cupcakes (Butter Lane). Sara got chocolate cake with coconut frosting, I got banana cake with cinnamon frosting. That place never ceases to disappoint. We then wandered around Midtown shopping, and found some great deals. The boys bonded while viewing war paraphernalia on the USS Intrepid. It was a good call to split up since we all had a great time, and neither pair was very interested in participating in the others' activity. :) The boys had the camera, so here are some pics.

trip to caracas

We love arepas so much, we had to take Mike and Sara to Caracas to try them. It was sooo delicious. This is one place that I will surely miss when we leave New York.

Sara and I went to sample frostings at Butter Lane while we waited.



decisions, decisions... there are a lot of yummy choices, and every one we've tried we loved!


Mike appreciating the deliciousness of arepas.

thursday, and a tkts booth disaster

On Thursday, we...

shopped around Midtown

saw lots of cool stores but didn't buy anything


met Klane for lunch at Goodburger ("home of the goodburger"). It was delicious.
(did anyone else watch Kenan and Kel as a kid?)

grabbed a raspberry chocolate curl cupcake from Crumbs, then headed to Times Square where we planned on waiting in the Tkts line to get cheap tickets to Phantom of the Opera for that night. It was such a great plan in theory...

We just didn't count on the torrential downpour we got caught in... without umbrellas. I sprinted through Times Square through the sheets of rain to buy overpriced umbrellas at Walgreens. But alas, I was too late, and by the time I got back to Mike and Sara, we were all thoroughly soaked.

And now let me tell you a story about the Tkts booth. On Wednesday we went to the box office to see what the cheapest tickets available were for Phantom on Thursday night. The cheapesst available were $66. We assumed that we could get them for way cheaper at the Tkts booth. I mean, obviously if people wait for hours in that line, it must be a dang good discount, right? Right...?

So, we waited in line for two hours on Thursday, only to get to the front of the line and find out that the 30% off tickets they had, still cost $96!! What the heck is the point of a discount ticket booth if they only sell the most expensive seats at a discount?! I wish we had known this before getting drenched and waiting for two hours. We ended up leaving defeated and empty-handed, and went to the box office - again. Sara and I got tickets to the show for $86 a piece, and our seats ended up being on the 7th row, in the middle.

In the end, we still had fun and it was mostly a funny experience waiting in line in the rain. Especially when we got the cupcake out and the bag was all soggy. Luckily the cupcake survived, and was delicious. And Sara and I had a fun girls night out at Phantom of the Opera. The play was great!

fun at f.a.o. schwartz

What could be better than a giant toy store?

Never too old to play dress up. Especially with Harry Potter hats.

He's made entirely of legos. Amazing!

baseball

Yankees beat Mariners. We ate hot dogs and cheered for Ken Griffey. Good times had by all.

union square farmer's market

We got delicious sandwiches at Toasties in Union square, bought yummy juice and fresh cherries from the Farmer's Market, and had a picnic on the grass.

Grilled Pastrami, Corned Beef with Swiss Cheese, Cole Slaw and Russian Dressing on a roll. I highly recommend it.

Then we walked around the Farmer's Market taking in the beautiful sights, tastes and smells. I want to buy something from almost every stand; the fresh flowers, produce, bread, preserves, meat, and honey. I just don't know what I would do with it all when I got it home.

I wish you could smell these peaches. Reminds me of August at my mom's, picking peaches in the backyard. Hers are the BEST.

If money grew on trees, I would have fresh flowers like this in my house always.

frozen yogurt: the way to any girl's heart

In Utah, we liked going to Hello Yogurt with Mike and Sara. (And sometimes I would go by myself if I'd had a particularly hard clinic day...) If you're in Utah, get yourself on down to University Parkway and treat yourself to some high quality frozen yogurt bliss. Here in NY, Yogurtland is a good substitute. It's fantastic. I'm convinced you get way more for your money here than you would at Pinkberry/Red Mango/Yoasis, etc. Anyway, we love it.

Start by picking as many flavors as you want. Taste it a little but don't let them see you.

My choices: banana, strawberry, peach tart (yum!), blueberry

Now the toppings...

strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, chocolate syrup, and one slice of kiwi, for the heck of it

Look how happy it makes us!

lol

We enjoyed our creations on a bench by this lovely little fountain.