Long time, no blog

The one person who reads my blog wants an update. Let's see... We didn't do much over the summer.  I didn't bother Adam too much about going anywhere like usual.  Also, traveling with a baby is pretty taxing.  Eleanor has been on 8 trips (21 airplane rides) and our seatmates mentioned how good of a baby she was.  It is starting to get harder. 

Anyway, will update more soon.  If its not on the blog, it didn't happen?

Spring Break 2015

I feel like this winter hasn't been so bad (knock on wood)?  I know the temperature is low but not as much snow?  

I wasn't planning on going anywhere for spring break.  Adam has been very busy with classes and the thought of traveling with a baby scares me.  Well, Adam wanted to get out of the cold and have some warm weather time. So in our regular fashion, we booked flights to Miami last minute.  I'm excited.

LA LA Land

Just came back from a whirlwind trip from Los Angeles.  It was a solo one since Adam had taken a lot of days off from work the past couple of months he didn't want to miss anymore.  

I was in town to celebrate my nephew-to-be.  The first in our little family.  We are so happy.

I also got to see a lot of people.  I have friends who want to see me! haha

It was a busy and fun trip.  I love LA (but just to visit).

image via: pinterest

Mock Family Vacation

I can't even believe I'm saying this but... I prefer Michigan over Portland.  

I guess it didn't help that heading back to Michigan, we flew over a thunderstorm and everyone on the plane thought we were going to die.  Scariest flight of my life.

Will update Portland soon.

LA

Just came back from a whirlwind of a trip from LA.  Adam is really happy.  Ben took two days off from work to hang out with us.  I was such a third wheel.

Will update photos from the trip which included a ton of eating.  Good stuff.

photo via

walking shoes

I want to look stylish especially when we are heading to New York.  The weather report said that it was going to be rainy and a little bit cold, so I decided to bring my swedish hasbeens.  They are pretty comfortable straight out of the box.

These boots have been popular with Brooklyn/Tomboy celebrity set (ie. Chloe Sevigny, Michelle Williams, SJP, etc).

I guess I should remember that when we head to a city, we will be doing a ton of walking.  Anyway, we missed a bus to a subway stop so we ended up walking to that stop.. plus walking around the MOMA, my feet were killing me.  We made a stop to the Niketown and Adam bought me some new sneakers. Spoiled!

I got a ton of compliments from waitresses and strangers on the street.  Adam said that he would see people looking towards us but they were checking out my shoes.  Adam said he wanted to tell them, "she ain't that cool." Haha.

Anyway, note to self: ALWAYS bring sneakers to NY.

Detroit

Detroit is slowly becoming one of my favorite cities.  I've only been there like three times though. haha.  It is listed as number 1 most dangerous city in the United States (Forbes article from 2012).  I don't ever feel like I am in danger... maybe cause i'm from the mean streets of LA (which wasn't on the list?). I try to bring Clif Bars to give out (I don't carry much cash) to the homeless.

This is kind of a guide when we have visitors?

Breakfast: New Center Eatery

When my family came to visit last fall, we went to New Center Eatery for breakfast.  Since they were coming in from the west coast, the best thing to do to get rid of jet lag is eat foods at the time of your destination.  They arrive early 5:30am and waited for me at the airport.  Our first stop was breakfast at New Center Eatery.  When I yelped them, a reviewer wrote, "better than Roscoes."  It's true.  They were really nice there and gave us a discount because it was my mom's birthday and my brothers wedding anniversary.  It was awesome.  The place is pretty clean and the customers were all locals (equals the place to eat!).

Museum: DIA



Okay, so I have yet to go to the DIA but it has been on my To Do forever.  It has the famous WPA Diego Rivera mural which is considered his best works and was recently named a national landmark!

Coffee: Astro Coffee

I have been coming to Astro Coffee every Detroit trip.  It is a little hipster but Michigan version so they are nice and friendly.  The coffee is delicious and the pastries are really good.  A nice place to take a break.  It is in a neighborhood called Corktown which is starting to have a revival due to Astros and our next place Slows.

Dinner:  Slows BBQ


Slows is not your neighborhood BBQ joint.  It is clean and a large beer selection and just a few doors down from Astros.  I am not a BBQ connoisseur I can't tell you what to get.  There are a few sampler platters you can share and a large assortment of sides.  Sooo good. So I get some BBQ from here and pick up an espresso and pastry from Astro's  for the drive home.

turks and caicos

We took a last minute trip to Turks and Caicos for spring break this year.  This winter in Michigan has been the most brutal.  A person I take yoga with said that it has been the coldest since the blizzerd of '77.  That blizzard is famous (I've seen t-shirts!).  

 The islands are pretty small and there isn't much to do.  Lots of relaxing and reading.  I like museums and exploring but this was a nice change.

We went on a boat cruise.  A part of it was conch hunting.  Adam was the only one on the boat that found a conch.  I was a proud wifey.

Damn, the beaches were the beautifulest beaches I have ever seen in my life.

Winter #5

It is getting really cold in Michigan.  I do the same post every year, huh?

I can't believe this is my fifth winter in Michigan.  I think I can spot snow clouds.  Does this make me an official michigander?  

Adam is heading to a conference in Florida this weekend so not sure how I am going to spend my time.   Watch a ton of girly movies?  Also, I have a fear of sleeping alone in a house and it will be my first time in the new house.  I'm scared.  

Mount Pleasant with my family

Adam teaches a class and one of their assignments is to build a cardboard boat.  This year, Adam decided to participate.

Adam and his students (both Adam and the girl are wearing my shorts- very baggy :( ).

Omigod, watching him race was hilarious.  He didn't do as well as everyone imagined. Also, the boat was shaking so hard.  It was really funny.  Better luck next year.

Detroit Tour with my Family

My family took a redeye from Los Angeles to Detroit, arriving at 5:45am.  I live two and a half hours from the airport, making my departure time 3:15am.  My brother suggested I drive out a little later and they would wait for me at the airport for a few hours.  

First thing we did when I picked them up from the airport was breakfast!  They weren't hungry because of the lag but I heard the best thing for it is to eat your meals in the current time zone.

We drove about ten miles to New Center Eatery (Detroit has traffic!).  When looking for a brunch spot, I saw a yelp review saying that this place was better than Roscoes.  I was sold on the spot.  Anyway, when we placed our order, sister Elena mentioned it was their one year wedding anniversary and my mom's birthday this weekend, the manager gave us a discount (a nice one).  It was pretty awesome.  The fried chicken was moist and tender, and the meal wasn't too heavy.

Next, we walked around downtown Detroit, the first stop being the Gaurdian Building.  It was built in 1928 and completed in 1929 (the year of the market crash). It took a million bricks to built and sister Elena was a really great and informative tour guide.

We walked a block and stumbled on the site of the Coney Wars.  We were all confused because we thought it was set in New York?  We shared a chili dog with all the fixin's (thirty minutes after our fried chicken and waffles) at Lafayette Coney Island.  I think we made the right choice.

We did a museum (a little dull) and a cool coffee shop with eames chairs! ... Then drove to Slows BBQ for a late lunch/early dinner in a area called Corktown.   Slows is a classy BBQ joint.  I read that Slows is responsible for revitalizing this area.  It was really good.  The meat was tender and also not heavy as one would expect.  I wish we could have tried some of their alcohol drinks.  We were all too tired from the early morning.

Next to Slows is Astro Coffee.  I wanted to go to Astros forever.  We are always in the area on Mondays (when they are closed) and we miss it.  The coffeeshop is hip and people are nice there.  I think it surpasses Comet in Ann Arbor as my favorite Michigan coffee place.

So Friday with my family was very eventful and lots of fun.  Come on visitors, come on over.

October

In a few days my brother, sister-in-law and my mom are visiting us for the first time in Michigan.  This is pretty exciting.  Adam and I haven't really explored that much of Michigan even though we have been here for four years.

Can't wait to do some exploring with the family and show them some midwestern stuff.

via

Home

I just got back from a quick trip to Los Angeles. This was a good trip. People wanted to hang out with me! I actually have friends!

I thought Adam would have a great time catching up on reading and TV back in Michigan. He ended up working too much and he missed me. Can you believe it?

Whenever I go home on my own, I don't want to leave.  I even got a little teary-eyed at the airport. I wish home was a little closer (but not too close). :)

brooklyn

we hung out in williamsburg like three/four years ago. we were not impressed.. but the cool kids and all of adams friends live in brooklyn. girls is set in brooklyn. so...brooklyn?

we were waiting in line for Rain (exhibit in the moma/reason i wanted to go to new york). the exhibit opens at 9:30 for members (we became members for this). the museum people told us to come early and line up at 8:30am. there is a cute boy (looks/dresses kind of like adam) and his mom who gets in line with us at the same time. he's lives in brooklyn, really nice and tells us where to go in brooklyn. anyway, me being a creeper that i am found him on instagram.  well instagram is the new facebook, right?

first we took the ikea ferry from manhattan to red hook. its free, easy and you get a good view of the city (statue of liberty/freedom tower, etc).  the ride is fun but made me a little nauseous.

he says we should check out a place called fort defiance in red hook. turns out our new friend works here!

the food and breakfast drinks were delicious! i think it was our favorite brunch of the trip.

we also checked out a few coffee shops/stationary shops/ record shops in the area.  red hook is nice.  not crowded at all and there is an ikea.

travel: cleveland

in about a week we will be roadtripping to ohio for the first time (no wait, adam went there a year ago for a conference). it will be my first time in ohio.  adam got tickets to see a show in cleveland. the crystal castles.  dude, i am way too old and unhip to be attending a crystle castles show.  wish me luck.

i think it is five hour drive from mount pleasant... very exciting stuff.

image via pinterest

where gifts go to die...

i'm not sure how it started but every christmas, we get sister caroline stupid gifts. usually the infomercial variety.

i saw this thing on gilt or fab and thought perfect! it is so silly.. i don't know if anyone would actually buy/use this. i would have bought it but $80 seems a little steep to spend on a gag gift that is heading into the junk drawer.

is this a joke?

adam does own this.  i know, what dummy buys that (this dummy did).  he used it for a few oversea trips but it has since been retired.

I want to go to there: Tulum

Is it wrong that everytime I come home from a vacation, I am already dreaming about where I want to go next?

I want to go to Tulum.  Will someone take me?  Thanks!

image via sousstyle

bananas foster

I will write about our trip soon... unless you follow me on instagram (I went pretty crazy).  I even annoyed myself with my photos (sorry).  I think of it as a journal taking/making.. so I am reminded of my time there.

The food in New Orleans is soooo good.  But you know if it tastes good, it is probably bad for you.  I am really bad at eating healthy and really good at choosing the wrong thing.  My new obsesssion of this trip was 1. fried oysters (so good) and 2. bananas foster.  Have you ever had bananas foster?

I dunno exactly what it is.  I think you cook a sauce with bananas.  I got a french toast version and a cheesecake version.  Anyway, I cannot wait to bake a bananas foster cheesecake for our next dinner guests.

image via pinterest

Chicago Weekend (Day 4)

Our final day in Chicago. Turns out that Leslie was also in town visiting friends this weekend. So we met up and had brunch at Lula Cafe.

Mimosas!

Leslie ordered the graham cracker griddle cakes. It was like having smores for breakfast.

I ordered the chorizo and new potato hash. Delicious!

After we ran an errand at the Art Institute, we drove 23 miles out of Chicago to Arlington Heights to go to Mitsuwa Chicago. I think it is the biggest Japanese Market in the Midwest. I really miss all my markets out here.

We had a late lunch at the food court.  I ordered from Santouka. The usual.

Chicago Weekend (Day 3)

We visited the Museum of Cotemporary Art Chicago. The museum store is supposed to be the best store in the US.

We started our day at a brunch place called Nana's.  Adam's huervo rancheros

my nanadict

table scene

my bloody

i took adam to see the bean/cloud. he was pretty pissed because i took too many photos of him.