Picture #2: Juxtapositions on Broadway

 The mixture of architecture styles in New York highlights the interesting features of each building: the ornate spires of Grace Church stand out against the plain apartment building behind it; the details of an older redbrick structure are set off by the gleaming new glass tower beside it. ~A

Recipe #2: Martha's Perfect Mac 'n' Cheese

The first right move we made on this dish was to invite over extra people to help us eat it - and take more home. This recipe is supposed to serve 12 and it is inordinately rich, so a little worried about the dietary consequences of trying to tackle this on our own. But Martha definitely makes a delicious cheesy indulgence perfect for a cold winter night.

MODIFICATIONS: We substituted a horseradish white cheddar for more spice and a bit of regular yellow cheddar for color. I think both worked well. We didn't have fresh nutmeg, however, which may make a difference.

MAKE AGAIN? A crowd-pleaser - and outside the insane amount of cheese grating, not too difficult - so I think this might be a good option for the next potluck or holiday dinner. Thinking about adding carmelized onions or bits of sausage... Click below for the recipe. ~A

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Recipe #1: Soba Noodles in Broth with Spinach and Shiitakes

Heron and I love all things with mushrooms and noodles, so this recipe from the NY Times seemed to be a winner. Turned out fair, though we did find spinach AND seaweed to be a bit overkill.

MODIFICATIONS: Removed all seaweed before serving (not our fave). Added a drizzle of sesame oil to the spinach after cooking, as well as red pepper and bonito flakes to the sauce. No sake in the house, so omitted that as well.

MAKE AGAIN? Eh... Heron wants to perfect it, I'm perfectly happy to head to a local Japanese restaurant. Click below for the recipe.

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Picture #1: Baby Steps to Better Decor

A less defined goal of mine is to steadily evolve our apartment decor from its current hot mess towards the cute looks of hip design blogs. Vases are a new territory for me, but I'm loving our quirky recent additions: recycled glasses and pottery cast from milk bottles. Here's hoping flower arrangement is one of those skills practice makes perfect. ~A

Coffee-Gate

Heron firmly believes my frequent spills are my own personal superpower. This picture proves it's actually a LARGE CONSPIRACY by the sneaky food container companies. This is not by any means my first drippy coffee cup, people... THEY ARE OUT TO GET ME. ~A

Scenes from the Bolt

loving the Boltbus. Phonecam to computer to blog. some excerpts BOS-NYC:

- H

America, For Spacious Malls...

On a desperate quest to score a gym bag before tomorrow's morning practice, I hit up not one, but two malls... the second being the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City. Apparently, it takes its location seriously, as the style inspiration seems to be "Fourth of July Bandstand". (Be sure to note the life-size cutout of Michelle Obama in the corner of the America! store...) ~A

Missing NYC...

Shot from the window as I took the Vamoose back to Arlington... ~A

Summer in D.C.

There are many good things about the nation's capital, including the tasty little Peruvian place where I had dinner last night. But for some reason, one of the first things I associate with D.C. is its crazy-tall escalators... ~A

NYC's a Pretty Town

Let's face it. There are a lot of attractive people in this town. I haven't been to LA, but I imagine that people spend quite a bit of effort, time and money to spruce up their image... makeup, hairdresser, clothes etc....

But there has to be limits.

When your bobby pin drops onto the dog-pee and crap-infested sidewalk that is a NYC sidewalk, putting it into your mouth as you fix your hair is a no-no.

Ech... I almost gagged.

~H