{Out & About} Girls in the City - Days 1 & 2

A couple of weekends ago the girls and I headed down to New York City (I know, I know... again?!) to play tourist and for some bachelorette festivities for Michelle!

It was hot, my feet were beat, and I'm still catching up on lost sleep, but it was worth it to reunite (4 from Toronto, 1 from Winnipeg) and hang out before everyone runs off and gets married!

The Flatiron Building and the 9/11 Memorial.

Shake Shack at Madison Square Park. Yum! Not sure about that hour long wait though... I don't think I've ever waited that long at the Midtown location. Or at Burger Joint which I might prefer more.

Of course I took them to Georgetown Cupcake. The free, secret flavour of the day was "your choice" because the 'DC Cupcake' episode that night was of the opening of the SoHo location.

I want that mixer. White Chocolate Raspberry, New York Cheesecake, and Red Velvet.

At the MoMA. Some Keith Haring (top left) and an 'interactive' piece (bottom left) where patrons are encouraged to take some candy (apparently it gets replenished).

Resting tired feet at the MoMA.

Admiring Jackson Pollock at the Met.

At the Met. There's a REAL deer in the middle picture just above!

Resting at the Met (see a theme here?) and some Warhol (bottom right).

On the steps of the Met. We just need some yogurt and it's like a scene from 'Gossip Girl'! Minus the expensive wardrobes and trust funds though.

After the Met, a walk around Central Park to visit Alice in Wonderland and the Conservatory.

Overlooking Turtle Pond and the Delacorte Theater (where I'll be next month!).

I took a picture of the map so that we could walk the East side of The Lake to cross Bow Bridge, but somehow we ended up on the West side instead. All the trails/paths look the same!

I wanted to hit up a bunch of food trucks but lack of time and tired feet didn't allow that to happen. One of the ones I'd heard about was Wafels & Dinges. I also knew that one of the ones I really wanted to try had a cart location in Central Park, but I couldn't remember which food truck it was. When we were in Belvedere Castle, I saw a yellow cart across Turtle Pond and thought it could be Wafels & Dinges, so we headed over and IT WAS! Best random sighting ever!

From top to bottom: Whipped cream and speculoos spread/Dulce de leche and bananas/Speculoos and strawberries. The order form on the back of the box. The inside says "you lucky dinges!". The cart where the magic happens. 
The 'wafel-0-meter': Studies have shown* that altruistic attitudes might shift dramatically when wafeling. Check your wafel-o-meter prior to sharing to avoid serious side effects.
*Study conducted by Belgian Ministry of Culinary Affairs, Department of Wafels.
Left to right it goes: Plenty left to share ... Think twice before sharing ... Forget about sharing at this point.
Dinges [ding-uhs] noun, plural: Used in place of the noun or proper noun, when you can't remember the name of: (1) a thing, (2) a person, (3) your wafel toppings, (4) like, uh, you know: stuff

Getting slightly lost in Central Park. The bottom left photo is of turtles, not in grass, but in the algae filled Lake.

At Bethesda Fountain. I had to remind them of that one scene in 'Home Alone 2'!

Bethesda Terrace.

The Mall.

Then it was back to the hotel to nap and getting ready for dinner.

Back in our hotel (minus one) after some bachelorette 'fun' ;)

Photos from day 3 to come later... there's way less since I didn't take many photos from day 4.

I did realize when we were back home, however, that I failed to take them by Rockefeller Center and the New York Public Library/Bryant Park and we should've tried to fit in a trip on the Staten Island Ferry. Oh well, there's always next time!

{At Home} So Close, Yet Sofa

So we had scheduled the sofa to be delivered on the 6th and it was.

We unwrapped the plastic and found this beauty:

A nice big rip on the bottom of the sofa.  *womp womp*

Ignore the drawers in the back. I'm so close to finishing up painting my dresser and just bought a foam roller for a final coat since it was still really streaky after 4 coats with a brush, but progress has stalled once again.

The tear was the length of my hand!
 

And not only was there a rip, but two of the four legs didn't fit properly. The holes for the screws didn't line up properly, so we called customer service and were basically told to wait for a callback to determine when they would drop off a new one and pick this one up.

So in the meantime we put the recliner together.

They finally dropped off the new sofa and took the reject on the 15th and so now it sits in the middle of the foyer until we have time to put it all together. I'm surprised it took another 8 days to get a new one though considering the saleslady said we could've gotten the original order in 2 days since black is always in stock.

Hopefully it's okay!

{Out & About} Weekend Shenanigans

What a miserable weekend weather-wise! Friday evening was spent at the National Ballet of Canada for 'Hamlet', which I enjoyed more than most Shakespearean plays I've seen because my brain can never grasp the language quick enough.

Of course by the time the ballet was over it was full on pouring rain and we had to hop scotch our way back to the car to avoid all the puddles. Didn't work - my shoes and pants were still soaked! Although that wasn't as bad as what people had to endure at Union Station which had flooded in the afternoon.

Jack & Rose barely made it out! 

(Not sure what the original source is as this got tweeted and re-tweeted over and over.)

A few of us drove to Stratford on Saturday and we had our fingers crossed that the rain would hold out until we were in the theatre at least (at most it was just light rain).

Cumulus clouds hovering over fields along Hwy 7/8.

Downie Street in Stratford.

Lovely stained glass ceiling at Coffee Culture.

The Avon Theatre where we saw the matinee of 'You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown'  and 'The Pirates of Penzance' in the evening. 

Bieber used to play on these steps and I swear I've seen him before! I remember seeing a blond kid and thinking, "Where are his parents?!" (Laughing all the way to the bank now...)

A vending machine for live bait...

So yes. I saw Shakespeare at the ballet and not Shakespeare in Stratford...

On Sunday I went to look at some finishes at a decor centre (not mine, unfortunately) and I hope my builder has less options (which I think they do)! It's just so much to think about and visualize when you're essentially visualizing from a floor plan!

So many cabinets! I want this kitchen. But maybe with white uppers instead.

Cabinet styles on the left with the stain options behind the doors and bathroom and floor tiles on the right.

Hardwood, engineered hardwood, carpets, more cabinets, granite, and laminate countertops! Decisions, decisions.

Some of the options for railings.

So many choices!

Some of the back splash options.

So then I got a little tour of the new neighbourhood which is still in my town. Who knew this existed here?! Certainly not me, despite living here for 24 years! I tend to stick to the southern portion of my town and this is way more North than I ever go.

It's a bit of a hike to get to, but worth it!

I wish I had a cottage and that this was my backyard.

I'm so excited for this place to come together and it's not even mine!