garden of eating

Ahoy mateys! Hope you all had weekends of the spectacular caliber. Mine was supposed to be low-key and uneventful and it turned into anything but :).

I spent most of the weekend at home, or at least in my local area, and it was paradise. Boston was a patriotic choice for the fourth, College Park / D.C. / Baltimore was an ideal musically collegiate summer break, and Chicago is bound to be a thrill with the much anticipated Healthy Living Summit, but there's nothing quite home sweet home.

Saturday was a "work" day. I ran a few errands and then snuggled into a cozy seat at the Pleasantville Starbuck's for some freelance work with a side of job applications. I was good until hunger hit (aren't we all) and so I headed home to put together a lovely hummus and garden veggie sandwich with cucumbers galore.

Flashback! The night before (that would be Friday photo to the left), I went out locally with my one of my best friends from high school, Marisa. Her and I have so so much history and it was fun to let loose together again.

Anyway, back to Saturday. To reward myself for such productivity that afternoon, I decided to take a walk through one of many Rockefeller parks in Westchester. I invited company too: my sister, our two dogs, and her friend.

The weather was perfect.

 The scenery could not have been more serene.

And there just happened to be a wide, open field made for frolicking ;).

 I could not get enough of the natural paradise.

We walked, and we walked, and we walked before quickly turning around and joining the rest of the family for my dad's celebratory birthday dinner.

For that we drove down into the Bronx for an authentic Arthur Avenue Italian meal. I was nothing short of starving! I'd like to say that the bread was delicious, but although I ate three pieces in less than three minutes (possibly an exaggeration), I cannot, for the life of me, remember what it tasted like. I do, however,  recall their olive oil to be superb. With minced garlic, dried basil, and red pepper flakes, I couldn't imagine anything less.

Despite my dairy-free tendencies these days, I ordered the Eggplant Rollatini from the appetizer menu as my meal.

As a result of my constant green tendencies, I also had sautéed broccoli rabe.

And then I went out again, with that same Marisa, to the same Wicked Wolf. Saturday photo is to the right if you're keeping track ;). It was nothing short of a high school reunion in a good way. I had such a great time catching up and dancing with everyone that the hours all but flew by. I wasn't in bed until 4:00,

yet somehow I managed to spring out of it at 9:30 this morning. Oh internal alarm clock! The drowsiness may have been worth it though because I made it to the farmer's market just in time to snag the last carton of blackberries.

Banana oatmeal with almond butter and blackberries... how I love thee. 'Tis a love almost as intense and pure as that I possess towards the macro mode on my new bundle of photogenic joy. (Apparently I think I'm Shakespeare.)

Later, I reunited with Sagan in the city to see an Off-Broadway. I've been to dozens of plays and musicals, and Falling for Eve still managed to blow me away. The York theatre described the storyline as, "an enchanting second look at the world's first love story." And it was, in addition to creative sets, phenomenal music, a beyond talented cast, and more than a few hysterical lines. Ladies Man-ribs and gentlemen everywhere, I really wish I could tell you to go and buy tickets now, but we saw the last showing. Meet me at Candle Café, where my newest blogfriend and I had our early bird dinner, for ethereal Chocolate Mousse Pie... and we can all wallow together ;).