the district.

As I mentioned last week, we took our little show of two on the road at the beginning of the month for a week of vacation.

After two busy and wonderful days in New York, we took the train to DC for two busy and wonderful days with my best friend, Kourtney.  I made a pilgrimage to the nation's capital last year, but Andy had never been before -- isn't that crazy?  We walked miles and miles, saw the monuments, a few of the Smithsonian's, indulged in dozens of $1 oysters, and ate the best pate of my life.  You did us right DC.

 My favorite guy from Illinois in the foreground, America's favorite guy from Illinois in the background

new beginnings.

Have you seen this beautiful video/ad from the New York City Ballet?  

The footage was shot at sunrise on September 12, 2013 -- one day and eleven years after the horrific attack on my home town.  I got goosebumps watching this video, the way I get goosebumps when someone talks about that day, the way I close my eyes when footage plays on TV, the way I know I'll have a pit in my stomach one day a year, every year.  

The ad agency for the NYCB said, "Our hope is that 9/12 can  be rebranded as a day of optimism and new beginnings."  How incredible is that idea?  To celebrate that morning when we all woke up to the sun, as we do everyday, but this time thankful and united and loving our city more than ever.  Let's start to remember 9/12 too, for the memory of the ones we lost, and the memory of the ones still here.

vacation (all i ever wanted).

Hey, remember when I posted A WHOLE MONTH AGO?!  C'mon, Torie!  Anyway, besides taking a hiatus from the blog I've also recently taken a hiatus from work and had a whole week long vacation.  Can you say heaven?

Our week of vacation started off with a blissful weekend at home in New York with my nearest and dearest.  My in-laws had never been to New York City before and as a true and, stubborn New Yorker I set out to fix that, so we all met on Central Park South and it was all very dreamy.

We had two jam-packed days of playing tourist and going to some of my favorite spots and, despite all the walking, everyone survived!  The best part of the trip was that it was incredibly stress-free, I got to spend a few precious hours with one of my best friends Alie, and, most importantly, my mom spent all of Sunday with us.

Here are a few pictures from the trip, if you'd like to see.

Central Park as seen from Top of the Rock :: Can't beat classic Jewish deli

 Housewares mecca Fishes Eddy :: Book mecca The Strand

 Beers at McSorley's :: Pre-dinner seafood tower at Fish

 Hers and His favorite exhibits at the Met

Oh, also...

We met Andy Cohen!  Mazels all around!

Not pictured: three large pizzas from John's, steak for five from Peter Luger, and all the general New York beauty.  Check back this week for an update on the rest of our vacation including a trip to DC and painting our apartment -- oh the glamour!

Follow me on Instagram at @toriehajdu to see more!

september in new york.

Remember in March when I announced with much aplomb that Andy and I would be taking a belated anniversary trip?  Well, in true Abramson fashion, we've cancelled the trip.  I'm somewhere between heartbroken and okay with it.

Truth of the matter is that we're really not in a situation right now where we can just run off for a week and pay for an entire week of hotels and lobsters (no matter how "cheap" they are).  Plus, I've heard that Maine is pretty cold in September, which makes me feel really good about my decision because who wants to eat a lobster roll by the ocean and have to wear layers?  No thank you!

Speaking of layers, we're still going to New York with my in-laws, as planned.  And that means one thing -- New York in the fall!  Well, early September/technically still summer but fall schmall!  It's been exceptionally breezy and fall like this past week in Chicago (summer schmummer?) and I've been online window shopping for new clothes for my favorite season like mad.

New York Times t-shirt, Dolce Vita Booties, J Brand Jeans, Foley + Corinna Purse

Thinking I all of the above for our trip to New York, don't you?

noms.

A few weeks ago I posted that Andy and I were test driving a CSA to do our part locally and be more conscious about what we're putting into our bodies.  I have to admit, it has been incredibly fun so far!  

We got quite the haul from our first box which consisted of four pounds of ground beef, one pound of ground pork, two t-bones, two pork chops, eight bratwurst, two pieces of chicken breast, an entire chicken, and one dozen eggs.  Sorry if the picture of meal freaks anyone out, but for me personally (which is what this blog is all about anyway), it's important to me to share this -- we're being good people here!  

*

We've also been going to the farmers market every Saturday morning to stock up on our produce for the week.  Above we have the makings for gazpacho as well as some squash and fancy pants mushrooms.  Question: Does anyone else hate gazpacho?  Andy loves it and loves making it but there is something about the cold chunks I just cannot get past!

We've always been big planners when it comes to meals, but having $100+ of frozen meat in our freezer has made us become even more stringent about keeping to our plan. This weekend we used our CSA chicken breast and eggplants from my father-in-laws garden to make the most delicious eggplant parmesan stack.  You're looking at a layer of breaded eggplant, a slice of mozzarella, a slice of tomato, a slice of prosciutto, a piece of chicken, topped off with another slice of mozzarella (duh) -- that's seven layers of heaven.



* Bonus points if you can spot Sprocket's photo bomb.

book challenge update (part ii).

Welp, I don't have much to report.  Since my last update I've only successfully completed ONE book.  Oy!  As previously predicted, I quit reading Empire Falls after many weeks and very few pages.  No offense Mr. Pulitzer, but it just didn't do it for me!

What did do it for me though was Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.  I tend to like to describe things with a single word or phrase, and if I had to do that with book number eight I would say that Where'd You Go, Bernadette was a real gem of a read.  In other words, I loved it.

This review by Janet Maslin of The New York Times sums it up perfectly: "Comedy heaven.... This divinely funny, many-faceted novel...leaves convention behind. Instead, it plays to Ms. Semple's strengths as someone who can practice ventriloquism in many voices, skip over the mundane and utterly refute the notion that mixed-media fiction is bloggy, slack or lazy.... The tightly constructed Where'd You Go, Bernadette is written in many formats-e-mails, letters, F.B.I. documents, correspondence with a psychiatrist and even an emergency-room bill for a run-in between Bernadette and Audrey. Yet these pieces are strung together so wittily that Ms. Semple's storytelling is always front and center, in sharp focus. You could stop and pay attention to how apt each new format is, how rarely she repeats herself and how imaginatively she unveils every bit of information. But you would have to stop laughing first."

So, eight books down, FIVE to go.  Think I can do it?  I sure hope I can.  Next up is The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, which I started way back when Andy and I started dating and I visited Chicago for the first time.  Now that I actually know the layout of the city beyond Mohawk Street, I'm ready to devour this fan (and critic) favorite.  Right along side the bestseller I'll also be reading Waiting to Be Heard, the Amanda Knox memoir -- it's for book club but I'm confident enough to say that I'm not so secretly excited to read it.  And then after that one, I'm planning on picking up Divergent, which is said to be the new Hunger Games (need I say more?).

I've been loving this "challenge" so far and can't wait to successfully complete it -- fingers crossed!

decisions, decisions.

In an effort to feel better about myself and this often complicated world we live in, I've made the decision to make more conscious decisions about what I eat.  I wouldn't be being honest if I didn't admit that a decent amount of it is due to the fact that I've felt like a big ole blob of grossness for the last few months, but now that I've been on this path for a few weeks it's about more than that.

Andy and I have been talking about joining a CSA for the last few months but with his crazy travel schedule we never sat down and really looked into it.  Last week I discovered Meadow Haven Farm, a family run farm out of Sheffield, IL.  After perusing their CSA options (only meat and eggs, we can great vegetables from the farmers market) I took a run down to Green City Market to buy some of their product and find out more information.

On the recommendation of the very nice man I spoke with, I purchased two pork chops and happily kept them in the freezer until Andy's return.  I knew they'd be good -- thick, juicy, bone-in, ain't nothing wrong with that! -- and last night we finally got to fire up the grill.

I wanted to keep the seasoning and preparation really clean and simple (a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley on each side) so that the natural flavor of the chop could stand out.  This was a glorified taste test, really, because we wanted to make sure that if we're dropping a lot of money every month it would be worth it.  And worth it is an understatement, friends.

This was one of the better meals we've cooked at home, no joke.  The chop was tender and delicious -- I'm talking real restaurant quality here.  I followed this recipe for grilled romaine as a side dish and it was a perfect accent.  I mean, look at how beautiful this plate is!

We're going back to the farmers market tomorrow to buy a piece of their red meat to try, but I'm fairly certain we'll happily be giving Meadow Haven Farm our business.