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Sunset and dinner in Astoria

Today Lauren and I trekked up to Astoria to catch the sunset. Our original intent was NOT specifically to catch the sunset, but due to the crapaliciously unpredictable weekend subway schedule we got there much later than expected. With the unseasonably mild weather and optimal afternoon lighting, how could we not end up by the water? As we all know, I love me a good bridge (or two), so we stationed ourselves between the Triboro and Hell Gate bridges and snapped away as the sun went down. I wasn’t thrilled about my shots, so I was extremely liberal in my post-processing of the shot below.

After sunset, we headed back into Astoria in search of some good, ethnic eats. Per usual, we wandered around indecisively for awhile before ending up at an old favorite, Mundo Cafe. It’s a really nice, cozy Turkish restaurant with healthy, veg-friendly dishes. This time I had a massive veggie wrap, spicy fries, and hot spiced red wine. It was very similar to the glögg (Swedish mulled wine) I had for Christmas, but the German version of it, called glühwein. It’s the perfect wintry drink!

I’ve only been to Astoria a few times, and each time I say I have to come back and spend more time there. I’m sure there’s much more to it than the few bits I’ve run across. Ah well, next time we’ll have to start our day earlier!

Desserts by Tawny Ong

2010 marks the official start of my photography business, and as such, one of my top priorities is to develop a network of wedding vendors. I am methodically deciding which vendors to approach, based on two main criteria: 1). Their clients are the type of people I would like to work with with regards to wedding photography; and 2). They are insanely and uniquely talented, so much so that I would hire them for my own wedding.

One of my first vendor friends is Tawny Ong, who is just about the sweetest person I’ve met in NYC. Her mother is equally sweet (and undoubtedly her biggest fan), and the two of us were photographing her latest trunk show appearance like crazy! After many years in finance, Tawny switched careers and became a baker, which I can totally relate to as a previous investment bank employee-turned-photographer. She has her own take on southern comfort desserts, specializing in light yet sweet creations in the form of cupcakes, cakes, and other treats. What I really like is that she tries to minimize sugar and use organic ingredients whenever possible, which makes you feel like you’re eating healthfully rather than cheating on your diet. Even without exorbitant amounts of sugar, her desserts are so delicious and flavorful!

I got to sample several of her mini cupcakes, including red velvet, pumpkin, carrot, and devil’s food cake. They are even more delicious than they look (and seriously, how cute are they?). Check out her menu and drool! She’s done both cupcakes and cakes for weddings, but the cool thing about the mini cupcakes is that they make for great table settings or wedding favors for guests.

I’m excited to work with Tawny, and I strongly urge everyone to place an order with her. You will not be disappointed!

Christmas 2009

I went back home to CT for three days around Christmas to spend time with the family. Those three days were spent baking, watching movies, and being ridiculous. I made chocolate cream pie and coffee cake completely on my own for the first time (what an accomplishment!), and discovered the secret to my mom’s annual sweet & sour meatballs: the sauce is made out of chili sauce and grape jelly! Never would have guessed that! It’s surprisingly delicious, I swear. We also watched ‘Love Actually’ and ‘The Hangover’, two movies I love and could watch over and over (this is rare for me, someone who has probably seen less movies than 98% of the US population).

And then I chased around my cats and sisters with my camera and took lots of pictures. Shannon secretly loves the camera and steals all of my pictures for her own personal use, it’s a fact. But I allow it because she’s pretty much the perfect subject – she’s her own personal stylist, makeup artist, and hair dresser and spends an insane amount of time on her ‘look’ every day, not even just for special occasions. I may scoff at this and think it’s downright silly/impractical, but she always looks amazing and makes it so easy to take beautiful pictures. AND she’s down for crazy posing and funny faces, what more could I want?! My other sister Jamie is pretty cute and stylish herself, and I wish she’d be more willing to be my guinea pig… buuuuuuut I’ll work on her! :P

Overall, it was a good Christmas. Christmas day with my mom’s side of the family was a little weird without the grandparents (one died this summer, the other was sick and couldn’t make it), and it just didn’t feel right this year. Surprisingly the day after Christmas with my dad’s family was more enjoyable – we drank glogg (a Swedish treat: red wine + vodka + cinammon, heated) and watched our first cousin, once removed trot around the house and play with toys. He’s only 14 months old and can already walk! The best part was when he stole my blackberry and lens cap and went running around with them. Then he put my phone on a little chair and started pushing it through the house, as if delivering it to someone. We had the brilliant idea of calling my phone while he had it, except Miles kept silencing the phone as soon as it lit up and vibrated, usually before we could hear the ringtone! What toddler knows how to work a cell phone?! Seriously. It was hysterical, especially when we COULD hear ‘baba o’reilly’ go off. Then he’d grab the phone, silence it, and put it up to his ear (backwards) and say hi. Cutest damned thing I’ve ever seen! I have NEVER, EVER wanted babies… but man, seeing my little cousin almost makes me rethink that mentality. How much fun would it be to watch a little kid of your own creation run around and be so damn cute?? :)

First snow of the season

I’ve had a pretty flaky relationship with snow throughout my life. When I was little, of course I loved it – the snow days, the sledding, the hot chocolate… I mean, what’s not to love? But then once I got older, I began to hate it. Snow was ruining my plans, not to mention it completely terrified me to have to drive in it. It became an inconvenience, an annoyance.

But now… I like snow again! I can still get wherever I want to go in NYC when it snows, I don’t have to drive in it, and it doesn’t ruin my plans. I can frolic to my heart’s content without a worry. And that’s exactly what I did on the first official snow day this winter. I wandered around the new neighborhood (yes, I moved again, to Greenpoint, Brooklyn) and got distracted by all the Christmas decorations. It was pretty fantastic.

And then I finally finished my gingerbread house! I’ve always wanted to build one from scratch, so since I seem to have oodles of free time this year (ya know, not having a job helps), I finally decided to do it. I followed this recipe and ended up making it in about 6 separate parts: the dough-making, the piece-making, the putting-together of the walls, roof, and chimney (3 separate endeavors), and the decorating of the house. It took an exorbitant amount of time, but was so much fun and oh-so-gratifying to make from scratch. I’m pretty happy with how it came out – and surprisingly, we had no collapses! :)

Then later on, I dragged Lauren down to Prospect Heights, where I met someone to buy their Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens – of all the lenses that were stolen from me on halloween night, I’ve missed this one the most. So excited to get it back! After that, we wandered around the area so I could take pictures for the Brokelyn blog. We stopped at Washington Commons and I made Lauren get a beer so I could photograph it (har har), and we had dinner at a cute French cafe called Le Gamin, which served the most delicious bread! And the waitress kept refilling it even though I don’t think she was supposed to. My veggie sandwich was pretty spectacular as well. All in all, a good night – nay, a good day.

Dyker Heights Christmas lights

Ever since I moved to NYC nearly two years ago, I’ve wanted to see the famous Christmas light display down in Dyker Heights in southern Brooklyn. I never made it down there last year, mainly due to the fact that it’s such a pain in the arse to get to and takes over an hour via subway. But this year, being unemployed and all, Lauren and I had plenty of time to make the trek. Plus, we’re suckers for everything Christmasy. But oh man, it was so worth the trip! The neighborhood is full of house after house of excessively-decorated houses adorned with all sorts of lights and inflatable characters. It’s almost like being in Disney World! And if that weren’t enough, the houses alone are huge and gorgeous and worthy of gawking even without decoration.

I must admit, I was slightly disappointed to see that most of the displays were done by companies hired specifically to decorate for Christmas. I was hoping it was sort of a neighborhood spirited thing where all the families slaved over their yards, stairs, and windows for days to make them all lit up like that… but no, they just throw money at people who specialize in Christmas decorations. Which I suppose turns it into a *who can hire the best company and choose the best decorations to adorn their house with* competition. Either way, it’s beautiful and wonderful and I absolutely need to make it back before I go home for Christmas! There are so many other houses I’m sure I missed this time.

Oh and afterwards, we stopped at Vegas Diner for fries and cheesecake. We’d gone here over the summer once on our diner tour and loved it.