Side Of Spaghetti: #9
What the hell have I been up to all week??
Monday 5/12- I woke up dreaming of the beautiful strawberries that I bought the day before from Lani’s. I sauntered into the kitchen and smushed a few into my mouth and headed to the gym for hot yoga. Being that I usually work weekends catering parties, I treat Monday as my fun day off and do things that recharge me and bring me joy. I took a nice long walk, got my nails done and made myself a delicious fried rice for dinner with asparagus, mustard greens, shisho and shrimp, which I soaked in a chili crips and maple vinaigrette…..YUM! I read my Stanley Kubrick book and watched Gone Girl for some reason, even though I don’t care for Ben Affleck or his back tattoo. I was entertained though.
Tuesday 5/13- Made iced coffee at home and ate more strawberries. Strawberries in the springtime make me feel lucky to be alive! I made some dates stuffed with peanut butter and stuck them in the freezer for easy snacking when I have a sweet craving. Went to Pilates and finished Gone Girl on the treadmill. Spoiler alert…..she comes back. For lunch I charred a Trader Joe’s homestyle tortilla over the burner (these tortillas are really pretty good) and slathered it with Sahadi’s hummus and shoved a Greek salad in there. This is good lunch eating. I went for a haircut at Bloom with my dear, sweet friend Preston. He is a hair whisperer, and my cut made me feel brand new. Came home and wasn’t really hungry, so I ate some goat gouda and a few handfuls of popcorn and watched The Larry Sanders Show.
Wednesday 5/14- Fun morning alert! I met my friend Liz for a super cute breakfast date at Salt’s Cure. Despite resenting their lack of syrup, I continue to appreciate this place for their simple and delicious food. Am I becoming a breakfast out person?? Only on the weekdays. I had scrambled eggs, avocado and a perfect hash brown, and we split the blueberry oatmeal griddlecakes. Loved every bite! I know I seem like I don’t work much, but I spend A LOT of time writing. While my book is basically done, I still have a small window of time to work on last minuet edits, so any free time I have goes to that and working on this here newsletter. Popped out for a very challenging hot yoga class, then back home for more editing. I made myself a simple spaghetti with lemon and cherry tomatoes and plopped a big arugula salad right on top! I took a bubble bath and watched a bit of Swingers. Nigh night beautiful babies.
Thursday 5/15- Started with a coffee at Octavia, and the wonderful owner, Dion, gave me a free pistachio latte! What a nice start to the day! Ran on the treadmill and finished Swingers. I was never obsessed with this movie, but it is a really fun and easy watch and Vince Vaughn is great in it. Pumped some iron and came home to eat left over cold spaghetti and salad that I dumped a can of tuna into and ate straight from the quart container. I took myself to see Friendship at Alamo Drafthouse and it was, no exaggeration, the funniest movie I have ever seen. I was so into it that it compelled me to write my first review which will be out very soon! I felt like having a little wine and being cozy at home, so I bought a lovely bottle at Brooklyn Wine Exchange and shot the shit with my friends who work there for a while. Came home and watched It’s Complicated in the background while working on my edits.
Friday 5/16- I woke up and did shopping for a dinner party I am catering on Sunday. Did a little prep, chugged coffee and ate a rhubarb scone from Poppy’s. Then I headed to Metrograph to see Cries and Whispers, which for anyone who is unaware of this Bergman classic, is not only beautiful and haunting, but also perhaps the most depressing movie ever made. It put me in a weird mood so I walked down East Broadway to my friend Allie’s vintage shop, English Major, in the Chinatown Mall. If you like super cute, perfectly curated vintage at reasonable prices, check her store out! I really think she has some of the best finds anywhere. I came back to the neighborhood and met my friend Thomas for dinner at Hibino. There was a little wait so we had a margarita at Henry Public first. We were super hungry so we ordered a big spread. Edamame, miso soup, grilled mackerel with a delicious ginger sauce, ume shisho, spicy scallop and soft shell crab rolls, and salmon belly, amberjack, eel and sweet shrimp sushi. It was a total dream. Hibino is hands down the best spot for clean, simple, reasonably priced sushi, and the vibe and staff is so warm and loving. One of my all time favorite spots in the city! I came home and watched The 25th Hour, what a phenomenal film.
Saturday 5/17- Started with a pistachio latte from Octavia and some shopping for odds and ends for Sunday’s party. I ate a charred tortilla with avocado, and ran out the door to meet my sweetie pie friends AD and Millicent in Greenpoint to canvas for Zorhan, which was so much fun. We were extremely hot and sweaty, but we had a blast. Folks, we cannot let evil Andrew Cuomo become mayor of this great city!!!! Help elect Zorhan Mamdani! I had to hurry to meet Liz for a movie date. We saw, you guessed it, FRIENDSHIP. Just as funny the second time! We ate a giant bowl of dill pickle popcorn and giant Diet Cokes. I had to swing by Pisano’s to pick up chicken for the party, and came home to work on my newsletter. I ordered a small pizza with extra sauce from The House Of Pizza And Calzone, which is the most basic of basic NY slice shops, but that’s what I like. I made an arugula salad with lots of lemon, red onion and pecorino and threw it on top of my slice. I put the rest of the ‘za in a ziplock bag and froze it so I can eat a slice here and there when I have little food in the house, which is always. I watched a new TV show, which is very rare for me, but everyone has been telling me to watch The Studio, and so I did. Loved it! I had a peanut butter stuffed date and went to bed early.
Sunday 5/18- Woke up and headed to hot yoga, then bopped around the hood for last minuet treats for tonights party. I went to Sahadi’s, Caputo’s Bakery, Caputo’s Fine Foods and the Carroll Gardens farmers market. For lunch I had a can of tuna with lemon, pecorino, dill and arugula. Before I know it, it was party time! I met AD and Herman at the clients house in the late afternoon and we got to work setting up. We served asparagus with salsa verde and burrata, chicken parm, fettuccine al limone, broccoli rabe and one of the guests made an absolutely amazing passion fruit birthday cake that I will dream about for the rest of my life. I came home and watched The Studio and passed the hell out!
Let me know about your week cutie pies!
XOXOXO,
Z
