NYC Bucket List

The military life is one that is always on the move, and since we won't be in the New York City area indefinitely, I put together another bucket list (with a few repeats from my summer and fall lists) to tackle this coming spring and summer. Of course, you could live in NYC for years and not experience all the city has to offer, but I'm determined to see and do as much as I can so that when we do leave, I'll know the time we did have was well spent and full of adventure.

Without further ado, here is my ambitious bucket list, in no particular order:

• Go ice skating while it is still wintry out! Nice rinks in Bryant Park or Prospect Park
• See a Broadway show (recommendations welcome!)
• Wine tasting in the North Fork of Long Island (or Brooklyn)
• Explore Brooklyn Bridge Park and take a spin on Jane’s Carousel
• Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset
• Finally eat a Shake Shack burger (I’ve been to the original Shack in Madison Square Park, but I didn’t eat a burger!)
• Picnic in Central Park and say hello to the animals at Central Park Zoo
• Shop the Brooklyn Flea Market, and explore the surrounding Williamsburg neighborhood
• Check out the Statue of Liberty, up close or during a harbor cruise (or even from the Staten Island Ferry!)
• Tour the National September 11 Museum (we've been to the memorial but didn't go inside the museum)
• Walk through the breathtaking St. Patrick’s Cathedral
• Play date at Coney Island
• Stroll through a city garden: Brooklyn Botanic Garden or New York Botanical Garden
• Take in the view from the Top of the Rock
• Chow down on some great New York-style pizza (I heard Lombardi’s on Spring Street or John’s of Bleecker Street are excellent)
• Shop and dine at Eataly
• Explore the shops and restaurants along the charming cobblestone-streets in the West Village 
• Visit more museums! Especially the MoMA, again, to see the Jackson Pollock exhibition, and the Whitney Museum of American Art
• Spend a sunny day exploring Prospect Park
• Journey to Roosevelt Island and/or Governor’s Island
• Attend a performance of The New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center
• Eat an authentic Italian meal in Little Italy
• Check out the New York Public Library
• People watch in Washington Square Park and take tons of photos of the stately marble arch (OTTO, a Mario Batali pizzeria is nearby for lunch)
• Head to the Jersey Shore for a beach day? Better yet, head to the Hamptons!
• For G: Go to a Yankees game and attend a basketball game at Madison Square Garden

So much to do, so little time! Would you add anything to this list? Recommendations and tips happily accepted. While I may not hit every item on this list, it's exciting to dream about and look forward to the possibility of all these fun adventures. 

New York art prints (1, 2) 

via Rifle Paper Co.

Fall Bucket List

Fall is in full swing here in Jersey/NYC and this California girl is not ready at all. The seasons changed so swiftly here. One day it felt like summer, the next I was needing a sweater and boots! Having grown up in Southern California, I'm not accustomed to true seasons, and the change between them is typically slow and subtle. Suffice to say, the sudden cold snap caught me off guard. I am not yet enjoying the frosty morning and evening walks with the dogs where we are all shivering, and yet as cold as it feels to me right now, I know that it's going to get a lot colder—and I also know that I don't really know what I'm in for!

Nevertheless, I'm not ready to hibernate for the winter and I've heard New York is really beautiful in the fall. So in addition to getting a new pair of boots (I'd love these classics) and a warmer, East Coast-appropriate coat (this one with a fur-trimmed hood caught my eye), here's a list of activities I'd like to accomplish this autumn season:

Go apple picking. I've never been and now we're living in a region where it is possible! We're just an hour-long drive from Wilkens Farm and Masker Orchards.

Indulge in fall flavors. Give acorn squash another try with this apple, cranberry and sausage stuffed recipe that should make the hubby happy. Bake the apple tart I wanted to make last fall. Put an autumnal spin on one of our favorite dinners with butternut squash risotto. And on an especially chilly evening, whip up a batch of mulled apple cider, spiked for extra warmth.

Experience Broadway and the ballet. I don't have a specific Broadway show in mind (recommendations welcome!) but I would love to see the New York City Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.

Wine tasting in the North Fork of Long Island. One of G and I's favorite weekend pastimes in San Diego was wine tasting in Temecula, so I'd love to explore a few East Coast wineries. Apparently, Long Island Wine Country is the place to go (in particular, Shinn Estate, Bedell Cellars and Croteaux Vineyards) and it turns out that merlot, the hubby's favorite varietal, is the signature grape of the region. (For a closer-to-home wine tasting option, we could also check out Brooklyn Winery and Red Hook Winery.)

Bundle up and go ice skating. NYC has many rinks to choose from, and while I'd love to spin around the ice rink at Rockefeller Center, the long lines may lead us to the Winter Village at Bryant Park (bonus: shops!) or Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

Attend the Christmas Tree Lighting at Rockefeller Center. Or, at the very least, visit and snap lots of photos while the famous giant tree is on view this holiday season. 

_______________

There are a few things we didn't get to on our summer bucket list that we could still aim to do now, including visiting Brooklyn Bridge Park (and the bridge itself) and checking out the Brooklyn Flea's indoor winter market. There is so much to see and do in NYC and we might not be able to do it all, but we are going to have fun trying! What's on your fall bucket list? 

(New York Autumn Art Print 

by Rifle Paper Co.)

A New York City Summer

After an accidental sabbatical from blogging, I'm jumping back in today by sharing my NYC summer bucket list. Now, I know summer is almost over (tear!), but still want to make the most of the warm weather while we can and explore the city's "great outdoors." The hubs should be home next week and will (fingers crossed) get on a more normal, predictable schedule come October.

Without further adieu, here are ten adventures I'd like to take before the cold sets in.

(Sources: 1, 2, 3)

Hanging out in Brooklyn Bridge Park, including riding the carousel and checking out Please Touch the Art.

(Source)

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, taking in those spectacular Manhattan views, preferably at sunset.

(Sources: 1, 2)

Chowing down on juicy burgers, salty fries and creamy frozen custard at the Shake Shack's original Madison Square Park location.

(Sources: 1, 2, 3)

Strolling along The High Line, an out-of-use 1930s freight rail line, elevated above the bustling city streets on Manhattan's West Side, that was converted into a gorgeously designed and landscaped public park.

(Sources: 1, 2)

Enjoying a summer evening of art and wine on The Met's rooftop, which overlooks Central Park and boasts panoramic views of the city.

(Source)

Picnicking in Central Park. Gotta remember these tips on where to lay out our blanket in that vast expanse of greenery and what to eat if we don't pack our own basket. (Bonus points for rowing boats on the Lake afterwards!)

(Sources: 1, 2, 3)

Shopping for vintage, antique and handmade goods at the Brooklyn Flea, and taking another day to be an absolute glutton at its weekly food-focused market, Smorgasburg.

(Source)

Spending a day whiling away on Governors Island, which closes soon (Sept. 27). Located in New York Harbor, it is only 800 yards away from Manhattan but it claims to feel worlds away from the big city. All I know is that Hammock Grove is calling my name.

_______________

This is somewhat of an ambitious list and we may not accomplish everything this summer, but I'm looking forward to getting adventuring soon!

(Top photo of Central Park reservoir 
taken and edited by me)

Art & Architecture : The Dali Museum

During our last weeks in St. Pete, I felt the pressure to accomplish the remaining items on my bucket list. Fortunately, the hubs and I were able to make it out to The Dali Museum one Thursday evening (to take advantage of the discounted admission) to check out not only the surrealist art inside but the stunning architecture of the building itself.

The Hallucinogenic Toreador.

If I’m honest, I was initially more excited to tour the grounds than look at the art. I’m not much into surrealism. But I was pleasantly surprised when not only I but also G thoroughly enjoyed the Dali’s permanent exhibition. And it was all thanks to a docent-led tour. If we had simply strolled the galleries on our own, we never would have appreciated or, heck, even noticed all the nuances and optical illusions present in Salvador Dali’s work, never mind the significance of such details. My husband is most certainly not an art museum-loving kind of man, but while looking at the paintings on the tour and listening to the docent’s explanations, I was giddy each time I heard him murmur with interest: “Oh yeah. Whoa. I see it!” While I’m grateful that G will accompany me on these types of cultural excursions, it’s even better when he actually enjoys himself and we can talk about what we saw and learned together.

My second favorite part of the day? Yes, the architecture and the grounds, of course. The building’s exterior is such a curious and fantastical thing. The "enigma," a large, free-form bubble made up of 1,062 triangular pieces of glass, seems to be bursting out from the simple concrete walls. The geodesic dome reflects the beauty around it: the blue sky, the clouds, the palms, the bay and the museum garden, which is a lovely area to just sit for awhile, and let time melt away (on the melting clock bench, no less). A colorful, whimsical art installation has formed on a tree, where people hang their admission wristbands. Inside the museum, a spiral staircase—resembling the helical shape of a DNA molecule—takes on a life of its own, reaching toward the glass ceiling and the sky above. Before we left, gray storm clouds were rolling in, typical of a Florida summer evening. It’s an ever-changing scene out the Dali’s massive window; nature is painting a new canvas all the time. 

Many more photos from our evening at The Dali after the jump (click the Keep Reading button below), including a look at some of our favorite works!

Weekend Recap : Arts & Eats in St. Pete

What a fun weekend it was! Perhaps a little too fun, since I feel like I'm in recovery mode over here, making for a not very productive Monday. (Though, to my credit, I have managed to do a few interviews for another freelance story assignment my former editor sent me; yay!) If I had to sum up our weekend in three words it would be these: arts, eats and drinks. We only have six weeks left here in St. Petersburg and I am determined to make the most of our time and cross off items on my Florida bucket list (which I've added a few more must-dos to). 

To that end, on Thursday night we went to downtown St. Pete to check out the Museum of Fine Arts, which offers discounted admission on Thursday nights: $5 after 5 p.m. We browsed two of the current exhibitions—"Monet to Matisse" and "Life's A Beach"—and quickly explored some of the museum's permanent collection before running off to meet friends at Red Mesa Cantina for a birthday dinner. On Friday, the hubs and I had a little date night, starting with drinks at The Canopy, The Birchwood's gorgeous rooftop lounge (which I previously wrote about here and here), and then dinner and dessert at Annata, the tapas-style wine bar where Jen and I had a fabulous girls' night back in February. I knew G would love it as much as we did and Annata didn't disappoint; it was just as delicious as last time. On Saturday, we laid low, cleaned the house, and the hubby slow-cooked a pork shoulder for hours to make us Hawaiian-inspired teriyaki pulled pork tacos for dinner. 

Yesterday, Sunday, we ventured back to downtown St. Pete for the annual Mainsail Arts Festival in Vinoy Park (a few snapshots, above). Unfortunately, the heat and humidity were a bit too much to bear, coupled with a strong gusty wind that kept blowing my dress, shawl and hair this way and that. (I wore the complete wrong outfit for the occasion. Don't you hate when that happens?) So we didn't stick around long and instead sought refuge and cool drinks along Beach Drive. First a late lunch at 400 Beach, followed by leisurely drinks (again) at The Canopy and then a little champagne (for me) and oysters at the Sundial's newest upscale eatery, Sea Salt. 

Now you know why I'm feeling a little sluggish this Monday. But, I have to say, it was all worth it.

I'll be back with more on our visits to the Museum of Fine Arts, Annata and Sea Salt, later!

Treasure Trove : St. Pete's Brocante Vintage Market

Two weekends ago, shortly after returning from California, the hubs and I decided to break out of our jet lag funk and get back out into the St. Pete sunshine. We stopped by the Saturday Morning Market (where we picked up the produce needed to make this delicious brunch) and then headed over to another, completely different but equally spectacular bustling marketplace: the Brocante Vintage Market.

Visiting Brocante was a must-do item on my winter/spring bucket list and I knew we had to go this month or next or lose our chance forever. (Dramatic, I know, but we're moving to Jersey in June, eeps!) Located on the edge of downtown St. Petersburg and open the first weekend of every month, Brocante is a 15,000-square-foot treasure trove sure to tempt and delight lovers of all things vintage. The large space is filled with fabulous vintage, repurposed and reimagined finds of all kinds, from the weird to the pretty, the useful to the kitsch.

Whether you purchase anything or not, it's a wonderful way to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon: Hit up whatever food truck happens to be outside—the sweet corn nuggets from Hott Mess didn't disappoint, and neither did our post-shopping beers at 3 Daughters Brewing, which is right across the street—and then walk through each room of the former piano factory and peruse all the market has to offer. Or, if you're like me, take photos of all the things you love and wish you could take home (if only you had the room!). Much of what caught my eye wasn't all that expensive, but we simply do not have any more cabinet space in the kitchen of our one-bedroom apartment to cater to my undying love for cute glassware and quirky plates. Nor do we have the shelves for more bird figurines or antique bottles. G reminds me of this all the time.

But, luckily, the hubby did allow me to scoop up a sweet little cast iron skillet, in a pretty sage green color, with perfectly imperfect rust spots. A great accent piece for the kitchen, I knew I could put it to use on our counter to corral often-used spices. And it was a deal, I thought, at just 14 bucks.

After the jump, more photos from our trip to Brocante Market, if you'd like to see...

Winter/Spring Bucket List

Happy Monday, world! After being mostly MIA last week (due to too many open tabs) I'm back and mostly ready for action. This weekend was more low-key than others we've had, but it was nice to just chill at home. Saturday was spent cleaning and organizing, but we did venture out of the house when we got a last-minute invite to hang with friends, make s'mores and drink spiked hot chocolate. Sunday started with an amazing homemade brunch (complete with Bloody Marys!) cooked up by the hubs, and the rest of the day was spent watching football, researching places to eat during my bestie's upcoming bachelorette party, and live tweeting the Golden Globes red carpet fashion (my fave part of awards show season!), for which the hubs again exercised his drink-making prowess by whipping up a martini for me and a margarita for him.

Now that we're almost two weeks into the new year, it got me thinking about how we don't have all that much time left here in St. Pete. I'll be flying back to California (yay!) in mid-February to fulfill my maid of honor duties, G will join me a few weeks later for my bestie's wedding plus another, and we'll be staying a few days after the wedding festivities are over, through my 30th birthday at the end of March. So once we get back to Florida we will just have April and May before it's time to pack up and move north, to Jersey.

With all that in mind, I thought I should compose another bucket list of fun to-dos I hope to accomplish before leaving this (other, east coast) land of perpetual sunshine, where people vacation but we (currently) are lucky to live.

1. Browse the vintage and vintage-inspired treasures at St. Pete's monthly Brocante Market (which my friend Jen of Letters & Pearls just visited) and Rare Hues in Tampa (I learned of the latter this weekend after spying a friend's gorgeous and functional bar cart). We definitely don't have room in our apartment for me to go on a shopping spree, but it is almost just as fun to check out all the pretty, unique goods we are bound to find.

2. Soak up more of Tampa Bay's art and culture scene. Get lost in the surrealist works at The Dali, wander through "Monet to Matisse" and the photographic exhibition "Life's A Beach" at the Museum of Fine Arts and relish more of my favorite medium at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. This was on my fall bucket list, too, but we've only managed to visit the Chihuly Collection.

3. Admire the architecture and the American craft artwork housed inside the Craftsman House. We've strolled by this bungalow several times but I never realized it was public gallery, pottery studio and cafe. As someone who adores the details and character in craftsman style homes, I just thought it was the epitome of my dream house.

4. Shop and dine at St. Pete's new foodie haven, Locale Market, a gourmet, farm-to-table restaurant and curated marketplace brought to the Sundial shopping center by celebrity chefs Michael Mina and Don Pintabona.

5. Explore St. Petersburg's EDGE District. (The next "Third Thursdays in the EDGE" market is happening Jan. 15.) We've been to the main downtown corridor plenty, but we haven't spent much time in the fringe district along Central Avenue, which is filled with unique boutiques, galleries, eateries and bars. I especially want to try Bodega, a highly-rated spot for Cuban food. The Lechon sandwich sounds delish.

6. Attend and support another market celebrating local businesses and handmade goods: Localtopia 2015! The free event happening Feb. 7 will feature tons of indie artists and makers, a craft beer garden and food court, live music and more. The event is hosted by Keep St. Petersburg Local, the same live-local advocacy group that put on the Localicious beer-focused farmer's market we attended in October.

7. Book a staycation at St. Pete's luxury waterfront hotel, the Vinoy Renaissance Resort (to celebrate our one-year wedding anniversary, maybe?). At the very least, G and I should grab a tropical drink on the pink hotel's front porch since I've heard it is the best place for people-watching, with the added perk of having a stellar view of the bay.

Now, if the hubby was contributing to this list, he'd add the following: take in a sporting event—hockey preferably, but baseball would work, too. (We did catch a Buccaneers football game already.)

That's it! What's on your bucket list, currently? 

(Top image of a recent sunset over Tampa Bay seen from the Gandy Bridge, 

bottom image taken while strolling the waterfront in downtown St. Pete)

The Colorful World of Chihuly

On Saturday afternoon, the hubby and I finally visited the spectacular Chihuly Collection, presented by the Morean Arts Center, in downtown St. Pete. It was an inspiring experience, and I'm thrilled to share it with you today. If you're an art lover, or just an admirer of pretty things, grab a cup of joe and settle in for some eye candy. 

But first, a little about the man behind the work.

“One of the most important inspirations for me is the glass itself—the glassblowing process. This wondrous event of blowing human air down a blowpipe and out comes this form. Many things inspire me including architecture, nature, cars, great films, beautiful objects and books." -Chihuly, when asked where his ideas come from

Dale Chihuly is a world-renowned artist most widely recognized for his vibrant blown glass installations, though he draws and paints, too.

Born in Tacoma, and now living in Seattle, the Pacific Northwest-based artist was always interested in glass, and the way light passes through it, as a kid but it wasn’t until a weaving class at the University of Washington (where he was studying interior design) in the early 1960s that he first used it artistically—he wove small pieces of glass into tapestries, of all things. A few years later, inspired by a poster on his wall depicting a glassblower with its cheeks puffed up, Chihuly gave the medium that has made him famous a try. He melted some glass in an oven and blew a bubble. The rest, as the say, is history.

Well, it wasn’t quite that easy. There was a stint as a commercial fisherman in Alaska to raise money for grad school, earning two Master’s degrees (one in sculpture, one in fine arts), and a scholarship to work at a glass factory on the Venetian island of Murano, where he first observed the team approach to blowing glass. 

That is the way Chihuly works now, following a serious car accident in England in 1976 left him blind in his left eye and lacking depth perception. (He is sometimes referred to as a pirate because of his wild hair and black eye patch.) After the accident, Chihuly stopped blowing the glass himself and started directing his team.

“Glass is very durable, but it’s also fragile and can break at any moment. I’ve always tried to push the medium as far as I could in terms of shape and scale. It is a challenge to see how big we can blow and stretch the material.” -Chihuly, on the challenges of working with his primary medium

Today, Chihuly's work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide. I was first introduced to the colorful, wonderful world of Chihuly as a college student, when Pepperdine University’s small on-campus art house, the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, exhibited—incredibly—some of the international artist’s pieces.

When I stayed at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas years ago I witnessed his work again, giddily pointing up at the massive ceiling installation and whisper-shouting at my then-boyfriend, “that’s Chihuly!” as we walked through the lobby. So when I found out there was a permanent Chihuly exhibition here in St. Petersburg, I knew I had to go.

Marked at the entrance by a 20-foot crimson sculpture (Rose Crystal Tower) created specifically for the St. Pete location, the Chihuly Collection is stunning inside, of course, and not just for the art. The 10,000-square-foot space was thoughtfully designed so that the art and architecture would work together, and that fact, coupled with the lighting, makes quite the showcase for the small-scale works and the large, complex, multi-component glass sculptures like Ruby Red Icicle Chandelier.

“Surround yourself with artists and see as much art as possible. Go with your gut and create something that nobody has ever seen before.” -Chihuly’s advice for aspiring artists

With my humble iPhone camera I did my best to capture Chihuly’s creations in all their color and beauty (you’ll see why the man says he’s never met a hue he didn’t like) but I highly recommend visiting an exhibition if you ever have the chance. It is truly incredible getting up-close-and-personal with these unique works, especially when you think about all the time, energy and vision it took to forge each one.

Now, let’s go on a journey through the Chihuly Collection (with the opening act of “Tidal,” a complementary mini exhibition of sea-inspired glass sculptures by Kait Rhoads)…

Weekend Recap : Saturday Morning Market

This weekend the hubs and I were pretty productive in terms of crossing items off my list of fun to-do's, also known as my fall bucket list. We finally visited The Chihuly Collection (but more on that later). And we picked up the ingredients necessary to make a simple apple tart, though Sunday ended up being dedicated to football, of course, and barbecue: We turned our leftover Thanksgiving cranberry sauce into a BBQ glaze (loosely following this recipe) and slow-cooked a pork shoulder for eight hours to make pulled pork sliders. So, the tart didn't get made—yet.

But we did make it out to St. Pete's Saturday Morning Market. It took some time and patience to get there—turns out there were a lot of other events happening in downtown St. Petersburg this past Saturday, including a boat show, the annual Santa Parade and Snowfest—but we eventually made our way through the congested city streets and parked with still plenty of time to browse the weekly market.

Today is all gray skies and sprinkles, but Saturday was a gorgeous, sunny fall day; a perfect day to walk around the outdoor bazaar filled with farm-fresh produce, ready-to-eat and take-home treats, handmade artisan goods and wares, and much more. We picked up some gourmet dry pasta (rosemary garlic linguine), homemade dog treats, and dried herb seasonings that make delicious olive oil dips and rubs for meat. G ordered up some pad thai for lunch and, just before we left, we both got a fruit smoothie to cool down (pineapple-mango for me). 

Though we didn't buy any that day, I loved looking at all the beautiful produce. We look forward to going back in a week or two and doing some grocery shopping. Nothing better than fresh-picked fruits and veggies, don't you agree?

Here's a look at our trip around the market...

(Fun) Weekend Goals

[ Christmastime in St. Pete. ]

Sightings of tinsel, twinkling lights and other festive holiday decor. Carols playing on repeat in my head. The fact that I've already begun my Christmas shopping. Attending St. Pete's tree lighting last Friday night. All of these things are making me feel like winter is here, and making me reflect on those fall bucket list items I have yet to complete. Luckily for me, the first official day of winter isn't for a few more weeks (Dec. 21, if you're wondering), not to mention it still feels like autumn here in Florida, so I still have some time to check those fun to-do's off my list.

A quick recap of what my fall bucket list entailed:

• Make a hearty soup from scratch. (Specifically, this chicken stew with butternut squash and quinoa.)

• Visit The Chihuly Collection. (I already have the tickets, just gotta go!)

• Explore the Tampa Bay area. Done, but we could definitely explore more! We attended Oktoberfest in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, visited Oxford Exchange not once but twice (and even another time just for the delicious coffee), walked around the University of Tampa campus, and even went to a Buccaneers game.

• Pick our own fall veggies. (Unfortunately, we missed our chance and the farm is closed. We'll have to wait until spring.)

• Browse the St. Pete Indie Market. Done! I'd like to check out the much larger Saturday Morning Market in the heart of St. Pete next. And we can get fresh-from-the-farm veggies at the market; a good second to the above item.

• Bake an apple pie/galette/crostata. (I did make a pie for Thanksgiving that had apple in it, but this apple fan still wants to cook up the real deal, with no pumpkin or pecans competing with the Granny Smiths for attention.)

If the hubs and I are super proactive, we could probably accomplish the soup, the galette, and the visits to the Chihuly exhibition and Saturday Morning Market this weekend. But maybe that's too ambitious? I'll let you know how I fare on Monday.

Because we also need to get our own holiday tinsel and twinkle... before Dec. 21.

Do you have any fun plans for this first December weekend?