Larissa's Birthday at Von

Last weekend, Carrie hosted a pre-party for Larissa's birthday before we headed to Von. We had delicious food -- cured meats, cheeses, a delicious salad made by annique and some veggies and dip. We had champagne cocktails when Larissa arrived and then had birthday cake. It was delicious. She was surprised by the cake, took some time to think of a good wish and blew out the candle.

Needless to say, all of this took some time, so we ended up being a little late to Von. The main floor of Von is a bit like a regular bar, but there is a bar downstairs that is a little more lively. We headed downstairs and nabbed a table, threw down our jackets and waited for Larissa's friends and the DJ to arrive.

The party lasted a long time and ended up with a trip to the diner. Annique decided to stay over because it was so late. We moved aside the "Noguchi," which is very, very heavy, and pulled out the sofa bed. It's funny when the sofa bed is out because the whole apartment is like two giant beds. But it works!

When we woke up, we headed to Le Pain Quotidien for some croissant or something. It was fantastic!

Weekend Trip to Milan

Last weekend, a bunch of us took Amtrak to Milan, NY, to spend the weekend at another friend's country house. It's a beautiful old house from the 1700s with gorgeous wooden beams that are held together with those wood pegs rather than screws. It has wide planked wooden floors and an excellent fireplace.

We arrive on Friday bearing some wine and lots of food for the meals throughout the weekend. The first thing we did was light the fire. Then, we opened a bottle of wine and relaxed in front of the fire with Terry's dog, Larry. After that we had a lovely pasta primavera and some Italian truffle cheese that Andrew brought.

The next morning, Terry woke us up by playing Van Halen's "Jump" loudly on the stereo and knocking around some pans in the kitchen while making us cinnoman apple pancakes. Reluctantly, we crawled out of our beds lured by the scent of the pancakes and the brewing coffee. There was real maple syrup and lots of butter. It was magnificent. Afterwards, we spent some more time in front of the fire and felt that we deserved a mimosa.

As soon as we finished cleaning up from breakfast, it was time to start lunch. Andrew made a giant spinach tart, with a much fancier name. It was scrumptious. Once that was made, Terry left to make lemon sugar cookies for our dessert. A glass of wine or two later, it was time for dinner. Andrew and Jeff made marinated pork loin on the BBQ with brussel sprouts and fingerling potatoes. YUM.

We were stuffed, but there was still some time for dancing to some old timey music in the kitchen. Later, after some more quality couch/fire time, we made lemon sugar cookie ice cream sandwiches. (Everyone except for me!) We talked some more and then turned in for the night.

The next day, it was time to clean up the house and get ready to leave. In between washing and changing sheets, we fixed ourselves a huge banquet of leftovers. Everything tasted even better the next day. Andrew dressed it up a little and tossed a delicious salad with a light and refreshing lemon and olive oil dressing. Then, we cleaned all the dishes and mopped the floors.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the train and back to the city. Andrew and I had "business class" tickets, which doesn't really mean anything. It only cost $12 to upgrade and it didn't get you one thing! Plus, all the business people are angry, so it wasn't as fun as we thought it would be.

Girls' Trip to Puerto Rico

In February, I tagged along with a friend from work and her friend and headed to Puerto Rico for her 30th birthday. It was the same weekend as the big snowstorm hit New York City. We felt so lucky to have escaped the snow and to be lying in the sun by the pool.

We stayed at the El San Juan, which is kind of like a docked cruise ship. It has everything you need all under one (pricey) roof -- casino, restaurants, lounges, bars and allegedly the most popular club in PR, Brava. The hotel was beautiful and new with giant chandeliers and modern furniture with a Spanish flair. The three of us shared a room with super comfortable beds (which is kinda unusual) and had a great time.

However, journeying outside the immediate area of the El San Juan was not recommended. It was pretty seedy around the hotel. We were able to take cabs around to Old San Juan and other places. The first night we went to a beautiful restaurant on the beach called Pamela's where we celebrated Lisa's birthday in style. After that we headed to the rooftop bar.

We spent a couple of days by the beautiful pool trying not to get burned and at night we had Puerto Rican food, which is super heavy. One night we had Mofongos and lots of rice and beans and plantains. Everything was kind of heavy and salty.

We tried out several different kinds of bars and even went to the famous Brava, a booming techno club. My favorite part wasn't close to the hotel at all and I think it was called La Placita something. We had a lot of fun at a bar there.

All in all a great time. The flight was delayed on the way home while they removed an iguana from the runway. It was strange!