I can’t believe that I’ve gone over a week without putting up a post! I feel really bad but we’ve just had so much going on with the holidays and going away for New Years. It’s been a busy past couple of weeks but I’m looking forward to settling back into a routine.

We got tons of new cookbooks and food-related items for Christmas and Hanukkah, and I’m looking forward to putting them into good use. Cookbook highlights include Mastering the Art of French Cooking, More Best Recipes from Cooks Illustrated, and a slow cooker recipe book. We’ve had a slow cooker for a few months now and have yet to even crack open the box!

In terms of kitchen tools, we got an electronic wine opener and a pretty white oval casserole dish that I have some ideas for. I also got a gorgeous assortment of flavored oils and balsamic vinegars, including a truffle oil that I’m eager to try. I don’t care what people say about truffle oil, I think it’s freakin’ tasty stuff and I’d pour it over almost anything.

On the blogging tools front, Josh got me a sweet new point and shoot camera since my old Nikon Coolpix conked out. It’s a super slim Canon Powershot with low light features that I’m eager to test. While we still try to use our DSLR to take most of our food pics, sometimes it’s a pain to lug around a bulky Nikon D3000 so I always keep a point and shoot in my purse just in case I need it. As sort of a Christmas present to ourselves and to the blog, we bought a new macro lens that will hopefully help us take even better shots of food, especially close up.

We did a lot of good eating in 2010 but I was not so great at keeping up with the blogging. Plus my computer crashed midway through the year and I lost a lot of photos. Between that and my laziness, I didn’t write about some interesting meals we had at some pretty renowned restaurants. We had a spectacular meal at Eleven Madison Park for our anniversary, and some lackluster meals at Jean Georges and Daniel. The Jean Georges pics I think were lost with my computer, but I might just post the pics of our meals at EMP and Daniel. My memory is a bit fuzzy so I don’t remember all the little details about the meals, but I’ll try to do my best with the descriptions.

Looking forward, yes I still have to finish up my Peru posts. The Huayna Picchu post is taking me a long time because it’s probably the longest post I’ve ever written, plus I still need to sort through the hundreds of photos we took that day. After that it should be smooth sailing, since we finished up our trip hanging out in Cusco for a few days doing nothing but shopping, eating, and drinking. I also still need to post about our long weekend in Iceland, especially since we had lots of great and interesting meals there. I’ll catch up eventually, I hope.

I’ve been trying to wrack my brain thinking of ways to change or improve the blog but lets face it, I’m not that creative. I still don’t have a niche or a hook, but I really do enjoy remembering our meals and trips and writing about them. I don’t have the discipline though to keep things consistent, so I just write about what I feel like on each day. There is no rhyme or reason to the order of my posts, and sadly I do sometimes let a few months lapse before I write about a certain restaurant.

Regardless, I hope that you guys will keep on reading – I appreciate all of your comments and support. I’m looking forward to another year of exotic traveling and good eats!

We’re off to NJ for the next few days to spend some quality time with our families. We’re so excited that our nephew will be making the trip up from Charlotte! We hope everyone has a very happy and healthy holiday weekend. Here’s a little pic of the original two fat bellies who want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Santa Claws (Rupert) and his little Elf (Stewie)

Cheers!

We spent the July 4th holiday in NJ but made sure that we got home in time for the Macy’s fireworks show in the Hudson River. We were really excited that they decided to hold the fireworks on the west side again, because we knew we would have a great view from our apartment. Last year we went up to the roof to watch the fireworks, but it was really crowded and hard to see because the fireworks were actually below us.

We were smarter this year and stayed in our apartment, with the air conditioner on, and watched the spectacular show from our bedroom window. This year the fireworks were at eye level, and we were so close to them that the “booms” rattled our windows! Josh had the SLR set up on a tripod and managed to take some really neat photos, as shown below:

The basil plant's perspective

The party boats gathering in the Hudson River

The barges that shoot the fireworks all lined up

Helicopters circling overhead (from the bamboo plant's perspective)

The sky slowly grows darker...

Ka-boom!

The finale was out of control and so bright that it was hard to capture in a photo!

We had the radio tuned to 1010 AM so we heard the music that accompanies the fireworks, something we also missed out on last year. It really was a pretty impressive show, and I hope that it’ll be on the west side next year as well (we recently renewed our lease for two years).

After the fireworks ended, we had a lovely meal with caesar salad (made from CSA romaine) and mozzarella, tomato, prosciutto and basil on toasted bread from Amy’s Bread. A wonderful cap to a great evening!

Sorry everyone, we’re having some computer issues, hence the lack of posts. Not sure when the problem will get fixed but we’ll try to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Hopefully we’ll be up and posting again soon!

Josh and I will be heading off to NJ after work tomorrow to spend the long Easter weekend with our families. My brother and sister-in-law will be driving up from NC with our nephew in tow. We’re super excited to see him! Plus my sister and her husband recently moved back to the east coast so it’ll be like a family reunion for us.

I probably won’t have time to do much posting over the weekend but no worries, we still have lots to write about. Some highlights include a food filled afternoon in Flushing and an incredible farmer’s feast at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where we even got to meet Chef Dan Barber. Please stay tuned, and have a happy Easter!

We just had an incredible meal at Daniel and are so giddy that we can’t stop smiling right now. The food was fantastic, the service was impeccable, and it was simply a wonderful experience.

Today, February 10, is the anniversary of the day that Josh and I started dating. We were juniors in high school and he asked me out on the phone to see Titanic on Valentine’s Day. The rest, as they say, is history, and we’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since. Being the romantic guy that he is, three years ago, Josh proposed to me on the same exact date. As such, this day has a lot of significance for us and we were thrilled to celebrate it at such a great restaurant. We hope to post about our dinner soon, after we’ve had some time to digest and reflect.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from the stroll we took through Central Park on our way home. The park was just gorgeous – peaceful, white, and pristine. It has just been a really lovely evening overall, and a great way to celebrate our 12 year anniversary as a couple.

In NJ for the holiday. Hope you are all enjoying yours. We’ll update you on our indulgences on Monday. Happy holidays to all our reader(s?).