Target Updates

Target has some pretty subtle pieces right now.  I love the Mossimo Open Cocoon Cardigan that I recently bought in brown.  It is incredibly cozy and oddly classy.  I'm trying to incorporate more pieces that remind me of Olivia Pope from Scandal into my wardrobe.

Screenshot of Mossimo Cardigan from Target site

Cardigan with Led Zeppelin t-shirt that I drunkenly bought on Etsy and a cozy pair of flannel pajama pants.

Another Target find was this Threshold plaid throw.  It is so soft.

Threshold Plaid Throw

Our couch with the new throw and two new velvety orange/red Pier One pillows.  I'm getting ready to hibernate.

The throw and pillow are kitten approved.

World Market at UES Bed, Bath, and Beyond

I was so excited to see that World Market has a food section at our Bed, Bath, and Beyond on 1st Avenue and 61st Street.  We went there yesterday and I went a little overboard.

They had an owl cupcake kit that I had to convince myself was a bad idea.

These red and green nachos make me want to make some homemade Nachos Navidad.

You can take the girl out of the Midwest, but you can't take the love of Taco John's out of the girl.

This chipotle garlic enchilada sauce should be interesting.

World Market coffee might be even cheaper than Trader Joe's coffee.

Some Desert Pepper Trading Co. Black Bean Dip

Galaxy Bar and Galaxy Minstrels are my favorite chocolates, so I decided to try the Bubbles and Caramel bars.

When I visited my sister in London years ago, I ate soo much Galaxy chocolate. 
Between this, Côte d'Or, and Milka, Europeans do chocolate better.

Lemon Poppyseed Scones Mix - I'll use my new biscuit cutters from Whisk when I make them.

They had a big ole tub of Nutella.  It was cheaper here than Food Emporium.

Friday Night In

Here is a little window into my cozy Friday night.  I ordered some Chinese/Sushi and am on my second glass of wine.

Dinner from Asian Eatery on 59th Street

Small chicken fried rice and an egg roll

An Alaskan Roll - totally mixing genres here, but that's what we do in NYC.

Fortune Cookie

For the record, I don't think I know everything about anything.

Don't tell anyone, but I'm drinking a glass of red wine out of a white wine glass right now.  Shhh...

Taco Bell Dinner

People who eat Taco Bell for dinner do not appreciate judgements.  At least I classed it up with an actual plate.

Doritos Locos taco, bean burrito, and nachos with cheese

You want the Doritos Locos taco to be bad, but it's not.  It's really good.

Num Pang Bahn Mi

When my husband's mom visited last week, we took her to one of our all-time favorite places: Num Pang on 12th near Union Square.  This  Cambodian sandwich shop serves the best bahn mi I have ever eaten (I have tried their shop near Grand Central and it is not as good/authentic).

I nearly always get the skirt steak bahn mi.  Nothing compares.

Occasionally, I'll get the cauliflower, which is also delicious.  The skirt steak sandwich consists of skirt steak, shredded carrots, cucumber, cilantro, and spicy mayo on yummy toasted baguette.  

So flipping good.

We also got the grilled corn on the cob, which is nicely charred and served with spicy mayo, shredded coconut, and a lime wedge for zest.  I found a recipe on Oprah.com:
http://www.oprah.com/food/Grilled-Coconut-Corn-with-Chili-Mayo-Recipe

This is how much I love Num Pang!

They have a cute Mylen spiral staircase.

Sriracha is on the counters upstairs and my husband douses his food with it.  He'll put Sriracha on pretty much anything.  

For our two year anniversary, I got my husband this Sriracha t-shirt from Urban Outfitters.

And my husband bought me these precious owl mugs from Anthropologie.

Both of our gifts fit with the two year anniversary rules.  Traditionally, you give each other something cotton (the t-shirt), but the modern rule is something ceramic (the mugs).  I feel very blessed to have been married for two years to the sweetest man on earth.

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread

It's a cozy Sunday night at home for me tonight.  The last few weeks have included getting the flu (and feeling nauseous for two straight weeks), having my mother-in-law stay with us for nine nights, and our two-year anniversary.  

I took this weekend as a restorative one and didn't do anything ambitious at all — brunch at Le Pain Quotidien yesterday and some Godard short films at the Film Society of Lincoln Center (this place is awesome).  My husband's still out with some friends, and so I decided I would use my quiet time to bake something autumnal.

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Mix

All the ingredients: Mix, half a cup of vegetable oil, two eggs, and a cup of water.
All of the glassware featured in this post is PYREX®.

All ingredients thrown in a bowl

Mix well with a rubber spatula.

Grease bread pan with butter or cooking spray and pour in batter.

Throw in a 350 degree oven for an hour and you have a nice loaf of pumpkin bread.

Pó Restaurant on Cornelia Street

I went to Pó for the second time the other night and it was delightful.

White Bean Bruschetta - they give this to you automatically, but we ordered a second round for the table.

I have some cannellini beans in our cupboard and a sliced up baguette in our freezer and plan to try a version of this recipe.  Did you know that white beans and cannellini beans are the same thing?

Bread and oil - simple

I had an amazing plate of pappardelle with duck ragu.

Ducks are so cute and I feel a little guilty, but this was the best pappardelle I've ever eaten.  I had pappardelle at Babbo that was good, but what I like about Pó (formally a Mario Batali restaurant) is that it's not over-hyped and it's very intimate/you don't feel like people just come here to see and be seen.  It's simple and amazing Italian food in a quaint setting.

Spinach tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce

For our "contorni" we had a pumpkin fregula.  AWESOME.

This place makes me want to go home and replicate all of their dishes.  Fregula is a tiny Israeli couscous-type pasta that is so yummy and has an interesting texture.

My husband is obsessed with the affogato for dessert.  It's coffee gelato, cappuccino, and caramel sauce.  Sounds like pure decadence.

I had a piece of warm apple tart.  Apple tart or a lava chocolate cake is my go-to restaurant dessert.

I cannot recommend Pó highly enough — amazing food and great service in a cute setting.

Our Little NYC Kitchen and New Spice Rack

Here's our little NYC kitchen.  It's little and we have to use every nook and cranny to store things.  You can see that we put baking pans and sheets above the cabinets.  The walls are scratched up and the not so pretty linoleum floor has holes in it, but it's a functional little kitchen in a rental apartment and we like it.

Out little NYC kitchen.

The Magic Molly Potatoes that we bought at the Union Square Farmers Market
The name Molly has a special significance for me and I love potatoes.

 My husband loves buying random spices and one of our cabinets was overflowing with them. To make more space and to make the spices more easily accessible and viewable, we bought a shelf at Urban Outfitters to use as a spice rack.

Urban Outfitters Triple Decker Shelf in bronze - we purchased it for $44 in store, but it is currently $34 online.  Son of a B.

Not all of our spices in the spice rack, but this makes a lot more room in our cabinets.

 If you like spices the way my husband does you should go to Kalustyan's at Lexington Avenue and 29th Street, which I previously mentioned here.

I saw the pumpkin on the left from a distance at the Union Square Farmers Market and had to have it.  I love fall!

Urban Outfitters Jewelry

I found two great pieces of jewelry at Urban Outfitters today.

Adorable necklace

Necklace on Urban Outfitters website

Me wearing the In Circles High/Low Necklace

Bracelet on website

I love this turquoise stoned cuff bracelet