pineapple pancakes and hot hot cocoa

Yesterday Hannah and I set out for the last week of Pancake Month at Clinton Street Baking Co.  As we were waiting to be seated, we watched all the dishes being served and decided we would have to come back for every single item on their menu.  This week's pancake flavor was caramelized pineapple with macadamia nuts, toasted coconuts and warm maple butter.  We added a side of sugar cured bacon and it hit the spot on a cold and windy New York Thursday.

Your mouth is watering, isn't it?

To add to the delicious pancakes, I ordered a "hot hot chili-powder cocoa" and it was perfection.  Who wants to join us for Monday's Chocolate Chunks with fresh raspberries and raspberry-caramel sauce?

This is my idea of a perfect hot cocoa.

the world of subletting

On Sunday, Hannah and I moved into our second sublet in 3 weeks.  The first was a studio in Midtown East with one big room, a separate kitchen and separate bathroom.  It had great views of the midtown skyscrapers and was just big enough to fit our suitcases.  I lived on a fold-out sofa bed for those three weeks with a great metal bar digging into my spine.  For anyone who has seen Seinfeld, I felt like Elaine on the Florida trip she and Jerry take to see his parents.

My lovely bed/sofa for 3 weeks.  It became the landing pad
for everything, including me.

When we moved to our second sublet, it was refreshing to find a real bed to give my back a rest.  Our current sublet is one block from Central Park, about two blocks from the bustling Columbus Circle and is in Midtown West.  It is also a studio but about 1/2 the size of our first.  We have yet to find a place to open our suitcases, much less unpack them.  Luckily, this tiny studio does provide us with plenty of entertainment.  

So far, we have debated on whether or not to submit this apartment to A&E's Hoarders and we've counted 16 mirrors and 13 masks hangings in about a 300sq. foot studio.  Let's just say, we aren't alone in this studio; the masks keep us company.

Our hallway--always single file and sometimes we 
just "slide" through.

The kitchen that does actually work, unlike our
first sublet.

This would be the living room, bedroom, dining room and music 
room, all piled into one mirrored and masked studio.

Just a few of the masks and mirrors this tiny
apartment holds.

An overview of our home for six days--can you count all the
mirrors and frames?

Coincidentally, I was watching my favorite New York show, Friends, and saw that Monica has 2 gold masks hanging on a wall in her apartment.  Is this how New Yorker's really live?

Needless to say, New York City has been very interesting so far, if not for the city itself, but for the accommodations.  We are so thrilled that March 1st is very near so we can move into our REAL 2 bedroom with a living room and no masks--we promise.

welcome

This was one of the first pictures I took in New York at my subway stop.  

It shows the breathtaking view and my street, E 50th.

Welcome to my first blog ever! I decided this was the easiest way to document my adventures as well as keep everyone in the loop--well, everyone who wants to know.  I don't want to detail my first 3 weeks into one blog post, so I'll keep it brief.  

It took me awhile to find a name for my blog, something that would represent a new chapter in my life and that's when I thought of the book my dad has referenced before: "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac.  One of the quotes from the book was "Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways go.  But no matter, the road is life."

When I came to New York on February 1, 2011, I fell in love with the people, the adventures, the buildings, and an actual winter!  My first three weeks here have been filled with exploration, job interviews, and soaking in all of the character that is New York.  As of now, I am still job hunting and learning my way around this new and exciting city that truly never sleeps.

For now, I'll sum up my time here with a few pictures...

The view from our first sublet on E 50th & 2nd Ave.
Otherwise known as Midtown East.

A view from East Village where Alexa and I ate at "Phebe's", a tavern
with a special meaning for both of us.

A lovely evening spent with the birthday girl, Alexa,
at Café Lalo, where we had dessert for dinner and the best
hot chocolate I've had here in New York.

An interesting combination that turned out to be
delicious on a warm day in Midtown West.

Our version of family dinner in our tiny one room sublet that housed 

three people for five days.

Proof that we spent three weeks in a one room 
sublet and survived.

All of our belongings on the street moving from one
sublet to another.  I guess what Jack Kerouac said was true.

Not only was it the first snow since I moved here, but it was just outside
our second sublet at Central Park South & W 58th St.

The great Christopher Columbus covered in snow
in Columbus Circle.