new england.

Last weekend, my friend and I headed north towards the Cape for a weekend away on the nautical shores of New England.
We were lucky enough to stay with a friend-of-a-friend who lives in Marion Mass. and make a pit stop in Newport RI on our way back to the city on Sunday.
Between eating lots of lobster and relaxing in the grass, I garnered a deep appreciation for the fresh sea air. The saltiness of the wind and water was just what this coastal transplant needed to unwind in the middle of a bustling spring.

Red eats: fresh berries & "bugs" 

Highland cow

Sightseeing in Newport

Lunch at The Mooring: Fresh Oysters & Fish Tacos

Salve Regina University

Walking along the Cliff Walk

Back view of an old Vanderbilt mansion - The Breakers - in Newport RI

lately.

A few things from the past couple of days:

A cute new wine tote my roommate brought home from the Smorg:

A trip to Luke's Lobster on the UES (which wouldn't have been complete w/o tees):

Simone, five year old French bulldog, who made friends with me at the J.Crew in Newport RI where she was looking for a new pair of flats:

Present I received in the mail this week from a dear friend recently back from Paris. A cover I've never seen before and the ultimate seal of authenticity:

Premature summer planning: New shoes that have me dreaming of beach weather in South Florida

fast food: asparagus + ricotta.

My impromptu dinner one random Thursday a week or so ago consisted of 3 ingredients:
1. An old baguette
2. Asparagus
3. Baked Ricotta

And wine, of course.

Tired of the old sharp cheddar + Triscuit routine, I had put the baked ricotta together the weekend before as a pre-dinner snack and I ended up with one small baking dish of it left. To whip it up, simply mix the ricotta with some chopped herbs (rosemary, for me), salt, pepper, lemon zest & red pepper flakes. Bake in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes. Drizzle with some olive oil and viola! It was almost as easy as taking the packaging off a block of hard cheese and putting it on a cutting board.

Using the leftovers as dinner, I topped it on some crusty bread and got fancy with roasted asparagus. Living the good life over here.

lately.

What's been going on:

A lone yellow tulip amid a sea of red on Park Ave.

Attempting to make greens taste good: Pineapple + Kale smoothies after a run in Central Park

Greetings from a cute paper shop in Greenwich Village

Insomnia Cookies + Wine + Mad Men = a perfect Sunday night.

Taco night: Broiled flank steak + blackened shrimp tacos with all the fixin's

so long april.

Whenever anyone asks when they should come visit New York, I will forever pronounce April as my answer.

Thanks for bringing the green back to the city and only raining twice. Thanks for all the crazy blooms that make walking on the sidewalk exciting. Thanks for more opportunities to show off an ankle or even a calf so my skin can start to breathe again. 

People are more pleasant, food tastes better and the air is certainly sweeter in April. 

Monet's lillies @ MoMA up close & personal -- One of the many pizza Friday's of April