I know everyone has their list of favorite places in Paris and what’s the best thing to do, but here is my current list of favorite activities I did this past month while in Paris.
Restaurants:
This restaurant was recommended to me by a french friend — and it was perfect in every way. VEGETABLES, ONLY FRENCH, ROOF TOP, BEAUTIFUL. I loved every second.
Hello! Or should I say Bonjour! I am so sorry for the lack of posts in the past two weeks — it has been a whirlwind of 10 days of sightseeing and being a tourist in Paris, and am now finally in Provence with a slower pace of life. So much to write on all different subjects (the best Parisian restaurants, French beauty products, must do’s in Paris, etc…) but as I ease my way back into connecting with the internet, and with the posts, I thought it would be best to write a post on Games! We picked these two games up in Paris and we LOVE them so much that we cannot stop playing them. I highly suggest getting them for all your summer fun — they are quick, easy to learn, and fun for every age group.
When we were in Paris on a rainy weekend, we ended up at my exchange sister’s home for a snack, which turned into dinner and games. It was so much fun as I have a long long history with Elsa, my french sister, who I love very much. And it was so fun to be with her husband (sadly her kids and parents were not there), but we had a great time. AND LEARNED these games!
HOLY CRAP IT IS JUNE AND I AM IN DISBELIEF AND SO BEHIND IN EVERYTHING WITH LIFE. Including blog posts. Apologies, here I am! It is one thing after another and next week, I have to take my dog to Oregon and the week after, I leave NYC for the summer. Gulp. Lots to do. So without further ado, here is what I am currently loving!
Detroit style pizza — crusty, scrumptious, cheesy, and ever so delicious. Highly recommend.
Inspired by a Tik-Tok trend, my daughter with her friends planned a “board night.” Basically, a fancy rebranding of a “potluck,’ The girls with their partners created “boards” with different themes — dessert, movie, candy, drinks, savory dip, sweet dip, and sushi. Then, they all came together to assemble the boards and have dinner together. It was a perfect way to celebrate the end of school — truly a great night.
Girls getting together and putting their boards together.
I absolutely love the Brant Foundation in the East Village. Years back, they featured Brant’s collection of Basquiat, and it was so amazing that I went back 3 or 4 times (with my girlfriends, kids, my brother, etc…). The space of the foundation itself is magical and beautiful, and the artwork itself is incredible. So, this past weekend, I went with my son and his brother-from-another-mother (aka his best friend), and we visited the newest exhibition, Andy Warhol. This collection contains over 100 pieces of artwork — all but one personally owned by Peter Brant. The only piece of art not owned by Brant is this huge Mao silkscreen on loan by The Met (and Brant donated it to the Met years ago). This exhibit is open to the public until July 31st and I HIGHLY recommend going. Plus, there are so many fun and different restaurants nearby, that you can make it an extra special outing!
You start on the top floor (4th) and then walk down the stairs to the rest of the floors.
Thank you for tuning in to see what else I am loving this month! So here it is! What I am loving!
Love all El Arroyo signs, and especially this one. It is true….tequila.
2. Inspirational quote
Over the weekend, we wanted to eat a delicious sandwich (any kind of sandwich, just delicious), so I did some research (thank you google) and came across the BEST FRIED CHICKEN SANDWICH in New York City. It was absolutely incredible and warranted this title. So if you are in NYC, crave a fried chicken sandwich, then I *HIGHLY* recommend traveling to the Upper West Side and going to Chick Chick.
Chick Chick opened a year ago by chef Jun Park, who wanted to create a restaurant with his two most favorite foods: fried chicken and ramen.
I feel like we just got back from Spring Break, and now it is almost May. How does that happen? Literally time flies after the last school break and wooooooshhhh almost summer. Here is what I am currently loving this month.
1. Poems in Central Park
I love walking and strolling around Central Park on a beautiful weekend day and seeing so many different sights, people, performers, sounds. There is SOOOO much to look at. You don’t need to go to a Broadway show!!! Last weekend, I especially liked this woman who was writing poems for people. “Custom Poems on Demand.”
For the first time in my uncle’s life, he recounted his Holocaust stories publicly this past week. Every year for the past 24 years at my daughter’s school, there is an Upper School assembly for Holocaust Survivors to share their stories. After a discussion with a faculty member of the school on my father’s family’s history, a call was placed in early March, inviting my uncle to speak to the school. Even with such short notice, Dr. Wlodek Proskurowski (my uncle), at the age of 87, decided it was time for him to speak so flew from Los Angeles (where he lives) to NYC. And what a memorable event, it was!
My uncle is in incredible health – and at the age of 87 is very physically and mentally active. He hikes every week with the Sierra Club, and is very involved with the Plato Club of LA.
Last year during the Spring/Summer/Fall seasons, Wollman Rink turned into a rollerskating rink from its original ice skating. This year, during the warm months, Wollman Rink has become a Pickleball Haven! 14 courts of pickleballs on real pickleball surface for open play or full court reservations. So of course we had to go play (and we will be back!)
It is the same inside, but with lockers, rentals, and better option food (Roberta Pizza!)
OOPS. My kids had spring break for two weeks, and apparently I decided to not ever be on my computer, and not do the blog. Apologies! I brought the computer with me on all the travels, but WOOPS, didn’t write. So here I am. Back in NYC, kids back to school, and now back to the blog! Here is what I loved over Spring Break and am currently loving!
Best book I have read in a long time. Loved every minute and hated the fact that I read it so fast because then it meant it was over. HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
I know that it is almost Spring, but it has been freezing in NYC. So cold that I have been wearing my “wearable sleeping bag” and let me tell you — IT IS AMAZING AND WARM AND THE BEST. This wearable sleeping bag is from Selk’Bag and comes in every size for the whole family!
It is exactly what it sounds like — a sleeping bag that you wear. It is warm, comfortable, and absolutely perfect for outdoor hikes, sport watching, walking the dog, sitting by the fire – you name it.
And just like that….Spring Break is right around the corner. Here is what I am loving this month.
Located near the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, this new statue of BIG is set up on a hill and is fun, colorful, and different. As a huge fan of BIG, I love it. VERY MUCH.
As many people have, I too, have become totally enthralled and obsessed with the story of Flaco the Owl. For those of you who do not know Flaco, Flaco is an owl that escaped a month ago from Central Park Zoo. After eluding many different rescue attempts, Flaco now lives in Central Park freely and most likely will continue to live a free life away from the zoo. Flaco escaped the zoo on February 2nd, once its enclosure was vandalized. Flaco has lived in captivity at the zoo since 2010, and everyone has been worried if Flaco would be able to survive alone in the wild. But sure enough, Flaco is not only surviving, but thriving in the city. There was an incredible story in the NYTimes “Everyone Loves Flaco the Escaped Owl. But Why, Exactly?” and I highly suggest reading it — maybe you, too, will become interested in finding and spotting Flaco!
This past weekend, we went searching for Flaco — almost the whole day Sunday.
Since September 2022, once a month, I drive up to Newburgh , New York (upstate NY) to work on a Habitat for Humanity house. I became involved through a friend, as her mother and the mother’s church group started going in honor of her brother who passed away who once worked with Habitat for Humanity. It is an all day affair full of hard labor, but I absolutely love my time doing the work. It is incredibly rewarding and eye opening to all the work it takes to build a house.
My friend’s brother was named Johnny, and so many of the houses we build in honor of the brother are called ‘Johnny’s House’ based on the donations from the family in honor of Johnny.
This particular house, I have worked on and seen it through so many stages.
One day, I spent the entire time stapling some type of plastic (yes, obviously I have not learned any of the terminology) to the wall.
The town of Newburgh is fascinating because it is extremely poor with a lot of gang violence. But the town itself is beautiful set in a gorgeous setting on the Hudson River.
I am bad with all knives, and somehow managed to not cut myself here (not sure what I was doing).
In action. 99.9 percent of the volunteers are older, retired people. If you have any interest in volunteering, get involved and do so! It is so rewarding.
The church group — but you can volunteer on your own. I am not involved in the church but come when they do, because it is more fun to drive up with my friend, Katama, then to go solo.
One time, we built stairs!!!!
Me, Katama, and our hard hats.
Carrying rubble to a dump truck — workout of the day!
Stair building.
Completed stairs, and me being brave and walking up them.
FINITO.
Me and my work bags.
The cement truck — we had to transport the cement to the backyard — HARD workout.
The patio.
Us volunteers getting the cement to pour in the backyard.
Even more scary — me on this power chainsaw.
Not not scary.
Spackling all morning long….
You get so dirty and dusty — but it doesn’t matter. All worth it.
The rundown neighborhood.
If at all interested in volunteering, let me know, as I would love to go more often. It is extremely rewarding and you see your hard work in a finished product. Doing good FEELS good. I hope you have a great week!
The cookbook I use the most so far in 2023 has been “Smitten Kitchen” and the two recipes I cook on a weekly basis are the broccoli rabe with burrata and the charred salt and vinegar cabbage. I COULD EAT BUCKETS OF CABBAGE because this recipe is to die for. This is absolutely amazing and I highly suggest making it (even if it sounds weird) — I promise you will love it.
Ingredients:
Here we are, already a week plus a couple in the second month of the year. How does time fly by so quickly? Before you know it, it will be spring break and then school is over and then POOF summer. Here is what I am currently loving this month.
1. NY Times article: Future Cringe
One of my favorite articles in 2023 — a must read if you haven’t seen it already!
It was VERY, VERY, VERY cold over the weekend in NYC. It was hard to do much of anything because of the frigid air. Here is what I suggest doing if you are in NYC when it is very cold outside.
I went the other weekend to celebrate the Chinese New Year and see a special dance performance. It was fun to be in the museum (the actual performance was so so), but I love how beautiful the structure of the Met is and how you can get lost in it for days.
In my constant search for the best undies (always through Natori), I have found one of my new favorites: Beyond Brief. Yes, my everyday go to undies will always and forever be the Feathers undies, but it is always good to switch it up, too. And I am loving these Beyond Briefs. Very similar style (aka not a thong) but different. Same same but different.
Look at the cute tush.
I posted this breakfast hack several years ago, but it is so good that I think it is important I tell you AGAIN just in case you missed it the first time. TWO ingredient pancakes. They are beyond easy and so delicious that everyone in the family will like. The two ingredients: banana and egg. Et voila, 2 ingredient pancakes.
You take 1 banana and 2 eggs (or 1/2 banana and 1 egg) and smash it together. yes, if you use a blender, it is smoother and nicer (but that also means more of a mess to clean up). So I am A OK with clumps, and just smash it and mix together in one bowl.
Is this month over????? Always SOOOOOOO long. Luckily it has not been THAT cold in NYC this past month. I mean, definitely hat and jacket weather, but not my big BIG coat. Here is what I am currently loving.
1. Feel Better Live More Podcast
Super insightful and love all of his shows. A must listen to.
My absolute favorite restaurant in the United States is now in NYC! Gjelina is an LA based restaurant and by far the best dining experience I have ever encountered — scrumptious food, great service, easy and laid back vibe — all perfection. When I read that it opened up in NYC for breakfast and lunch two weeks ago, I knew that I needed to go. And sure enough, I went not once but twice this past weekend. It is SOOOOOO good. Everything. The date cake is my absolute favorite, and not yet on the NY menu, but I still love it regardless.
Photo taken by the NYTimes. It is a two story restaurant, with a waiting room in the front, as no reservations are accepted.
I came across the cookbook Smitten Kitchen Keepers over the holidays, and since then, I have made dozens of recipes. It is HANDS DOWN my favorite cookbook. Everything I have made has been absolutely delicious (and there have been many repeats) and literally everything in the cookbook, I want to try and eat. So if you want to be inspired in the kitchen, get this cookbook! I AM IN LOVE.
I love absolutely everything about this cookbook — the recipes (most importantly), the photos, the writing, all great.
In the past month, we have been going to Brooklyn for brunch. There is something and fun and different to get in our car, drive to a different borough, and eat where we are not going to know a single person. Recently, we ended up at Sunday in Brooklyn, on a SUNDAY in BROOKLYN (very meta). It was after I researched where “the best pancakes are served in NYC,” and this was at the top of every list I came across.
It takes reservations, but on the Sunday we went, there were not any available spots, so we walked in, and put our name on the waitlist and walked around Domino Park — which had beautiful views of Manhattan. Windy and cold, but still beautiful and picturesque.
Last month to celebrate the end of school, I took Cruzzie and his friends to a graffiti workshop in Brooklyn. I thought it would be a fun and unique outing — something different — and sure enough it was. We were all a little skeptical (the teacher was late and the building that the class was in was a little unusual), that said, it was so fun and the boys had a great time and learned so much. I highly recommend — but if you do it, just know that there might be a couple kinks but it will all work out.
A quick background on the history of graffiti and then a lesson on how to do it.
