The Fountain + Oz

 

This weekend, I had fun hanging out with Chris (and a few other friends) as well as got to spend some time at the mall.  And, of course, ate some yummy food.

On Friday, my friend, Loan, picked me up from the bus station when I arrived in Albany.  Chris is super busy with work these days so she and I went to dinner at The Fountain.  The pizza there totally hit the spot.  There was also some very loud, but good jazz music being performed.  That put a bit of a damper on our conversation, but we still had fun.  Chris finally got released from work and we went to another spot to meet up with him and continue catching up!

Yummy Pizza, Jazz Band, and "Stickers" Pie...

On Saturday, we slept in a bit.  Chris had to work so he dropped me off at Crossgates mall.  There aren't really any malls in my area of NYC so I had a great time browsing around.  I also caught a matinee (for $8.25!!!!) at the Regal in the mall.  That is a great deal compared to the prices in the city!  I thought the movie was pretty good.  It didn't live up to Wicked standards in my opinion, but it was good.  And it definitely helped me pass the time :)

 

On Saturday night, we were able to go to Salsa Latina in Albany.  The food was really good.  I had the tacos.  So tasty!

On Sunday, we lost an hour as we sprang forward (yay!!), but we got plenty of sleep before we headed off to Cracker Barrel for lunch.  It was fabulous as always!!  Then, Chris headed back to work and I was off to Colonie Center mall this time.  I got some great deals there.  And was able to spend some time in Barnes and Noble looking around, too.  Fortunately, we had time for a quick dinner at Olive Garden before Chris dropped me back off at the bus station and I headed to NYC.

Never seems like the weekend lasts long enough, right?  Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Andrea :)

My Guilty Pleasure...

Linking up with Lauren and Tiffany for Tuesday Topics....

I am sad to see our Tuesday Topics coming to an end this week.  Hopefully, there will be another round again soon!!

As far as guilty pleasures go, mine is most definitely CUPCAKES!! 

If I could, I would have one everyday.  I love making and decorating them.  I love the mini ones.  I love the ones with toppings.  I love finding the the best cupcake in town when I travel.  I love them ALL...well, except maybe chocolate ones...not a huge fan of those!

CUPCAKES + ME = HAPPINESS :)

What is your guilty pleasure??

Andrea :)

American Songbook + Date Night

 

I had SUCH a fun weekend so I am linking up with Sar and Syndal to tell you all about it!

On Friday, a friend offered me a spare ticket to American Songbook at Lincoln Center.  I quickly read the online description of the show and said I would absolutely take the ticket!! It was AWESOME!  I went to the show presenting the broadway songs of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey.  They are most well-known for 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning Next to Normal, but have another show in the works currently.  The music was FANTASTIC!!  And I got to hear Alice Ripley, Brian D'Arcy James, and Idina Menzel (from WICKED!!!) perform at the event. I was so glad to be able to attend.  It was phenomenal.

On Saturday, I slept in and did some laundry.  Took it easy most of the day.   Chris arrived around 8:30 for a late dinner date night.  We went to Padre Figlio.  This was a new restaurant for us, and we really liked it.  The atmosphere was great.  Very nice place and had some live (and very entertaining) music.  The food was amazing, too!!

We shared the Chateaubriand.  I had the cannoli.  He got caramel flan.

On Sunday, we went to church.  Then, we headed over to another new spot for lunch - Mr. Biggs.  Chris was able to watch the end of the Pitt game before we ate lunch.  Hooray for them winning on Senior Day!  Since it was a nice relaxing atmosphere, we ended up hanging around to watch the end of the Knicks-Heat game as well. That one didn't have quite the outcome he was hoping though.  The restaurant was a little off the beaten path, but the food was good and it was a cozy little place.  We'll definitely be back.

Sadly, Chris had to leave around 6pm to get back to Albany for the week.  I hate seeing him go, but it was great to be able to spend a little bit of time together this weekend!!

Grand Central Terminal is celebrating 100 years!

What did you do this weekend?

Andrea :)

Book #6 - The Time Keeper

Before I get to the book review, I want to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my brother, Jordan!!  You can check out his blog here!

This week I finished The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom.  He is my favorite author and most definitely did not disappoint with this book.

The book follows three individuals - Dor, Sarah Lemon, and Victor Delamonte.  Each has their own unique story, but they are all intertwined as well.

Here is the Good Reads synopsis:

In this fable, the first man on earth {Dor} to count the hours becomes Father Time. The inventor of the world's first clock is punished for trying to measure God's greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.

He returns to our world--now dominated by the hour-counting he so innocently began--and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: one a teenage girl {Sarah Lemon} who is about to give up on life, the other a wealthy old businessman {Victor Delamonte} who wants to live forever. To save himself, he must save them both. And stop the world to do so.

I could NOT put this book down.  I loved it!  It was written in a very unique style and had short chapters that switched back and forth between the characters.  I really enjoyed that aspect of the book.  The subject matter proved engaging as well.   It was a book all about time.  How we rush it.  How we beg it to move more slowly.  How we take it for granted.  It showed three very different perspectives on time through the characters in the book.  I don't want to give much away, but I thought it was phenomenal.  Just like all of Mitch Albom's books.  He is THE best!  I would recommend it to anyone.  And it was a super quick read as well!!

Have you read any Mitch Albom books?  What is your favorite?

Andrea :)

Marty Lyons Foundation

The Marty Lyons Foundation was established in 1982 to fulfill the special wishes of children (age 3-17) that have been diagnosed as having a terminal or life threatening illness.

I heard about this foundation a few years ago when Marty was the guest speaker at an event I was attending.  I was moved by his story about how he decided to start the foundation.  I made contact with the foundation President at the end of the event.  On and off over the past few years, I have been able to help out here and there with this foundation.  This month was one of those times.

Here is Marty's story and vision as it appears on the foundation website:

Marty Lyons was a professional football player in the National Football League, where he served for twelve years as a premiere defensive lineman for the New York Jets.  Early in his career, Marty befriended and became a surrogate father to a three-year-old boy suffereing from an advanced illness.  Three years later, in the spring of 1982, the youngster's death coincided with the sudden death of Marty's father and the birth of his first child, a healthy son.  These experiences profoundly affected Marty's attitude toward life, fame, and his fellow human beings.  With the encouragement and assistance of family and friends, Marty Lyons became determined to establish a foundation dedicated to granting wishes of seriously ill children.

The Marty Lyons Foundation has kept hope alive in the hearts of children with a terminal or life threatening illness by making their special wish come true!  A fulfilled special wish has the ability to sweep the children and their family away from the daily heartache of illness.  It is a joyous time that creates a wonderful memory and a better quality of life.  Every child has a dream, and although we can't promise a lifetime of happiness to these seriously ill children, we can make one dream a reality!

We have granted wishes for a special trip to Disney, meet a celebrity, a computer system, a swimming pool filled with spring water, a shopping spree, special renovations to allow a child to live at home with family, a swin with dolphins, a Cinderella-like "Sweet 16" birthday party and so many more.

Do any charity groups pull at your heart strings?

Andrea :)

Birthday Fun with My Love

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRISTOPHER!!

Chris and I celebrated his birthday this weekend, but today is actually his big day!

We had an awesome time celebrating on Sunday.  We started off with a Newcastle game at his favorite soccer bar in the city.  Things didn't look too good in the beginning when the other team scored early, but Newcastle rallied to win in the end.  It was a lot of fun because there were a ton of Newcastle fans making up their own little Toon Army.

We grabbed some breakfast after the soccer match ended.  Yes, the game ended at 10:30am.  I usually don't even get up until then on the weekends!!  Totally worth it though!  After breakfast, we headed over to Madison Square Garden for our second game of the day - Pitt vs St. John's.  There was some pretty terrible officiating, but Pitt was able to hold on for the victory!  

We were pretty tired at this point so we took a little nap before we headed over to Clyde Frazier's Wine and Dine for dinner.  We had planned to go to a steakhouse originally, but the ones we wanted to go to were closed on Sunday so Chris mentioned he was interested in trying this restaurant.  It was perfect!!  We had a lot of fun there and even got to see the first half of the Knicks game, too!

The drinks were named after Frazier's common phrases.  We got Hustling & Bustling and Bounding & Astounding.  He actually said one of those phrases during the broadcast of the Knicks game while we were there.  Too funny!

Chris ordered a pizza.  I tried the pasta with chicken and zucchini in vodka sauce.  Yum!

We spent the rest of the evening watching the Oscars and just relaxing.  We each had a few of our favorites to win so that was cool...even if the broadcast/host wasn't really that great this year! 

Chris was pumped about his Datevitation coupon book.

We both had a lot of fun!  Too bad birthdays only come once a year...

Andrea :)

Flower Power....

Linking up with Lauren and Tiffany for Tuesday Topics....

Since I'm not a huge fan of flowers, I thought this one would be easy.  Then, I started to think about which two types of flowers were my favorite...and it was harder than I thought to pick just two!

Pretty roses Chris sent me for Valentine's day this year!  Love the orange one!

After much thought, I finally decided on just two - sunflowers and carnations.  

My room growing up was decorated in sunflowers so they hold a special meaning for me.  Plus they are just really cool flowers.

Carnations have held a special place in my heart since college because that flower was used at our pref night party for Phi Mu.  I won't go into too much detail, but since then it has been a favorite of mine.

And since we are talking about favorite flowers, I'll throw in a couple pictures of some flowers Chris sent me last year because they were my favorite of all the flower arrangements I have ever recieved.  I loved them!  The colors and the combo of flowers were perfect!

What is your favorite flower?

Andrea :)