Date Nights - June

Chris and I found a good mix of new entertainment and old favorite restaurants this month. It was fun to try something new, but also have something reliable to depend on.

Chris found an independent comedy show that was quite a trip. It was a little more exotic than we anticipated, but we definitely had some solid laughs. Not sure if we were laughing with them or at them, but we laughed. We ate dinner at one of our Hell's Kitchen favorites, Bangkok House. I love their pineapple chicken fried rice - so good!

I was super excited for us to go see The End of Longing - written by and starring Matthew Perry. If you haven't read my post about the time I met Chandler (aka Matthew Perry), check it out here. It was certainly a night to remember! I wasn't quite as extreme this time, but I did let him know that I love his work. There was a talk back after the show so we enjoyed hearing more about how and why he wrote this show. Honestly, his answers and demeanor were exactly like what you see from Chandler on Friends reruns. It was awesome. Of course, I waited (in the rain) to meet him and get my playbill signed. He was friendly enough, but kind of just kept it moving. Definitely not Tom Hanks or Bryan Cranston level, but I was happy to meet him in a more traditional manner. Pommes Frites was simply the exclamation point on an already fantastic night. You can't really go wrong with fries by the cone full!

Do you have any go to restaurants for date night?

Andrea :)

Sunscreen - Always Worth It!

"Well, it looks like the report indicated it was malignant melanoma."

I'll never forget the moment Dr. Virgil Hatcher said those words to me. In fact, I don't remember much of anything after he said those words. I immediately began to panic and think the worst even as he assured me that it had been caught at the very earliest stages and there wouldn't be a need for any type of chemo or radiation.

I was completely caught off guard. I mean, yes, I had been the one to notice the mole looked a little different than others and suggested to my primary physician that I have it looked at by a dermatologist, but seriously, I never even fathomed it would be melanoma.

At the initial dermatology appointment, the doctor agreed my mole was a tad odd shaped and the coloring might be off a bit. He definitely wanted to test it, but didn't give me any indication that it might be skin cancer. Besides, it was in such an odd place - my left shoulder blade. While the initial procedure was a tad burdensome in itself, I had no idea I was looking at a second procedure that would involve seven stitches and a permanent label.

When I returned for that follow up visit in late May, I was stunned by the result - malignant melanoma. What?!?!? Totally unprepared to hear that news, I immediately began to tear up even though I knew it was silly to get so worked up when the doctor was so clear about the favorable early diagnosis. The second procedure would simply be to remove more tissue in the margins of the cancerous wound. Granted it would extend deep and wide enough that seven stitches would be involved, but it was mostly precautionary. The main culprit had already been removed.

It was a long week's wait between that fateful appointment and the procedure itself, but on June 6, it was done. Before we left the doctor's office after the out patient procedure, Chris learned all about the care this area would require over the next few weeks. He was a real trooper being the sole person responsible for all the bandaging since I could barely see it in the mirror let alone reach it.

The morale of this story is simply to wear sunscreen and protect your skin. I don't even really like being in the sun and try to avoid it as much as possible, but it still found a way to sink itself into my fair skin. I am certainly more conscious now of the importance of regular skin exams and being as protective as possible. I hope you do the same.

Andrea :)

Photo A Day - June

June was full of lots of races, an unexpected medical procedure, and fun shows and outings!

Chris and I ran in our 2nd annual Long Island City 5k - so fun! I found some time to catch up with my longtime friend, Vanya, in Central Park. Always great to spend time with an old friend. I took some photos of our apartment all laid out before we started packing. Finally, I experienced an unexpected procedure requiring seven stitches to remove melanoma from my left shoulder on June 6. Beware of the dangers of the sun...and that's coming from someone who avoids it all together if at all possible.

I completed my 6th consecutive NYRR New York Mini even though I had to walk the whole time because of my stitches. I never felt more proud to complete a race! I enjoyed some fun treats - a Black Tap cotton candy strawberry milkshake and Levain chocolate chip cookies. I stood in line for rush tickets to Come From Away which turned out to be amazing - loved every moment!

I took a one day memoir writing course. Chris and I saw Matthew Perry in The End of Longing complete with a talkback and autographs after the show. My NYC Matthew Perry story came full circle. Mary and I enjoyed our annual birthday show - Anastasia. And I found myself in a completely empty subway car one night - incredibly rare!

We finished the month off with another race - a four miler in Central Park. Our friend, Omar, made his stand-up comedy debut. Baked by Melissa went out on a limb with some ice cream - not great. I highly recommend The Moth if you love reading short, true stories - very neat!

Andrea :)

Date Nights - May

There was never a lack of things to do or places to visit living in New York City. We tried to make the best of exploring Long Island City locally as well as finding fun things to do in other parts of the city as well.

Chris saw a new bowling alley called The Gutter LIC pop up in the area so we checked it out. We had fun even though Chris smoked me in both games. It definitely got crowded in there as the night went on so I'd suggest going early if you don't want to wait around for a lane to open up.

Governor's Island was on my NYC bucket list so we made the trek downtown and caught the ferry over Memorial Day weekend. The whole experience was nice. The island has a fort that can be toured as well as fun play areas and bike paths. There was a food court area on the island as well. It was a beautiful day full of lots of walking. If you've never taken the time to visit Governor's Island, I highly recommend it. It is a peaceful and relaxing escape from the busy nature of the city.

Do you play tourist in your own city or town?

Andrea :)

Murder Mystery Weekend in Vermont

Along with taking improv classes, going away for a murder mystery weekend where you dress up and play characters was high on my list of things to do before we left New York. I had seen these weekends advertised many times, but we finally made in work toward the end of April.

When I called to book the trip, I was asked a series of questions about how involved we wanted to be in the weekend and how comfortable we would be with singing/dancing. We were prepared to go all in and we got some great roles. They emailed those to Chris and me separately so we had no idea what the other one's role would be for the night.

The time period was the 20's and our entire group was really fun. There were a few other couples and even one whole family participated. On the night we arrived, we all met to go over some preliminary notes and socialize a bit. We all stayed at the Big Bear's Lodge in West Dover, Vermont.

We were able to relax and then check out the nearby towns on Saturday before we came back to the Lodge to get into character and report to the dining area around dinner time. Ironically, our group had an actual black bear nearly join us. I wasn't quick enough to capture it, but the room has floor to ceiling glass on one side and we looked up at one point and there was a bear. Eek! So wild...literally!

I won't say much about the actual mystery and our characters and how they interacted specifically, but we had THE best time!! I did have a musical number to perform at the end of dinner. It was a hit...and SO much fun. However, Chris was the star of the night...easily! He even managed to win the acting award at the breakfast vote by all the participants the next morning.

We would highly recommend a murder mystery weekend getaway. We enjoyed every moment of the entire weekend. If you decide to give it a shot, my advice is to go big...you'll have a blast!

Andrea :)

Photo A Day - May

I spent half of May in Kentucky doing a lot of celebrating and taking meetings in Nashville and Columbus in between. I managed to get quite a bit of reading accomplished as well. Fun month, indeed!

I had a blast collecting tickets with Landon at Chuck E. Cheese, jumping all over the place at Get Air with the Jordan and the kids, and celebrating with little miss 5-year old at all her fun birthday events!

I was so happy to see my sorority big sis, Hayley, and finally meet her two kiddos while I was in Lexington!  I spent a couple of days networking in Columbus and picked up Chris there so he could join everyone for McKinley's Medical School graduation fun. Love spending time with my family!

Back in New York, I saw Sara Bareilles perform in Waitress from the side box over the orchestra - so awesome! I managed to develop allergies that kept me inside in front of the TV where I managed to watch every episode of Gilmore Girls on Netflix - yes, please!. Chris and I did manage a fun outing to Governor's Island on a weekend though!

Books and food seem to sum up this last week of May! Nothing beats Pickle Me Pete and our LIC Flea Market outings that Chris loved during the summer months. Those were some delicious pickles!

Andrea :)

Date Nights - April

We had some fun with our April date nights. Chris decided to take me to one of his favorite establishments while I decided to recreate our 1st date.

Chris knows the owner at Bridge and Tunnel Brewery so he likes to support them whenever he can. The place is basically a warehouse where they actually brew their beer selections, but they also have board games and arcade games inside as well. We went to a stand-up comedy night that was a lot of fun there once as well. Chris really likes the place. They also make their own root beer which is pretty cool. I opted for it. It's always good to support a local Queens establishment.

Since this year would likely be our last living in NYC, I decided it would be fun to recreate our first date. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Brother Jimmy's before indulging on some Pinkberry. We own a copy of Date Night on DVD so we watched that when we got home. After seven years, it was fun to recreate this special night. Lots of great memories through the years!

What is your favorite local watering hole?

Have you ever recreated a special date night?

Andrea :)