I’m ba-aaack!

One, I’ve returned from a week and a half vacation reuniting with my long-time love (New York City) and discovering new ones (basically all Turkish people, ever…it helps that they fed me. Very, very well.) Two, it’s time this little month-long blogging hiatus came to an end.

It’s been a crazy last month that on my end only involved 7 – 7 work days trying to make time for The Great Turkish Adventure. But it’s not all work over here – Finding Tiffany’s Lydia was busy becoming a published author (by someone other than ourselves)! It being a story about Italian food only makes it that much more exciting…just imagine all the delicious “research” this piece entailed. Congratulations, Lydia!

As for New York and Turkey, I could probably write a whole novella. For now, though, I thought I’d at least share some of the highlights. Up first, New York City:

Smorgasburg. Um, delicious. Picture walking in sunny 70 degree weather through tents of fresh food, sipping a refreshing Apple Ginger soda then picnicking along the banks of the East River admiring the skyline. Highly recommend. Plus, I always love me some hipsters, and Williamsburg is basically their home base.

Newsies on Broadway. Dream come true. Even though you can’t see my fangirl Google search history, the occasional Newsies reference on FT might have already given me away as a long-time proponent. I was a little worried this cast couldn’t live up to Christian Bale and co., but I was blown away by their voices, dancing skills and how completely magnetizing this Jack Kelly was even when just in the background of a scene. New goal: go back and pay for the very front row of the mezzanine. Worth it.

Brunch at Hudson Clearwater. You know when you look up directions to a restaurant and the only ones that come up are from a blog including the words, “When facing North, take fifteen paces to the left and you should find a small, unmarked green door” that this is going to be a food adventure. This place had all the trendy makings to be as pretentious as they wanted to be, but I’m happily surprised to say they were some of the most welcoming servers I’ve met. Sean didn’t even look at us that funny when we told him we were writing a haiku about their french fries because they were so good they tasted like poetry, which, let’s face it, he totally would have been entitled to.

We also got to spend some fantastic time catching up with friends from high school and college, without whose hospitality this trip really couldn’t have happened. Let the saving begin for Round Three!