Smorgas Saturday

This summer New Yorkers from all boroughs have been flocking to Brooklyn on the weekends for a food lovers heaven. Smorgasburg is a food flea market offering some of the most innovative and delicious treats. From flavored horseradish (‘Dish) and truffle honey samples to jumbo ice-cream sandwiches and ramen burgers; this place has a little bit of everything.

The gates open at 11am and my recommendation is to arrive as early as humanly possible. We arrived at noon and were able to make a loop of the area with ample space to meander between vendors and no lines to wait in. By our second loop (about 12:45pm) the space was already getting tight and not even my hunger could justify the length of the lines at some of the top spots.
After committing to a few items (ice-cream, fancy lemonade, tacos and pizza), we took ourselves to the lawn and relaxed in front of the city view.

When we had enough of the warm sun, we jumped in a cab and went down to DUMBO (the area where Smorgasburg is held on Sundays FYI) for a quick afternoon cocktail at Atrium.

A top-notch Saturday afternoon if I do say so myself.

 

 

 

 

Little trivia for you: DUMBO means Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Underpass. Did you know that?

Summer Concert Series (Fête de la Musique)

Fête de la musique was something I never knew existed before living in France. People made a big deal of the annual first day of summer music celebration in Dijon. There were concerts set up around the city and promotion weeks in advance. Because of this I assumed it was a French thing, but in fact it is celebrated worldwide.

This past year I celebrated in a French spirit.  As part of Central Park’s SummerStage festival, the French Embassy sponsored two popular French singers to perform for a packed crowd of Francophiles and native Frenchmen alike.

The afternoon began with Émilie Simon and ended with the eccentric M. I honestly had never heard either of them, but was able to convince my equally as French obsessed sister to join me on this musical journey.

 

Walking up to the grounds and hearing all of the French-speaking was enough to make me pleased with our decision to attend. Of course the music was good too, if VERY French in style (if you are American and have lived in France or have listened to French pop I think you get what I’m saying). All in all, I loved every minute.M wears extreme costumes, sings with an alluring falsetto and knows how to rock it out on guitar all night long. Apparently the band was cut from the sound system at some point in the night but he continued to play with an enthusiastic crowd singing along (we left before this but my French colleague was there and reported back).

It was so fun to do something a bit different and support music!

Sleepy Head

I am in a rut that is leaving me exhausted. I just can’t seem to get out of bed in the mornings. Whether I am trying to squeeze in a workout, finish emails, plan for my work day or just give myself a few extra minutes to read or relax before the day begins, I always choose to hit the snooze and crawl back in bed.

I’ve tried to put the alarm on the other side of the room. I still just get up and then back in bed.

I’ve tried keeping my shades open throughout the night to ensure the sunshine will wake me. This sometimes works in getting me up, but not out of bed. I tend to lay there basking in the sunshine instead 😉

Most recently I decided to sleep in my workout clothes so that I would wake up ready to jump out the door and hit the trail. This failed. Even a compressing sports bra has failed in getting me out of bed people! It’s that bad.

And this horrible routine of mine is beginning to take its toll on my energy and enthusiasm levels. I know full well that exercise in the morning is the best way to put on a happy face and feel energized. I know that giving myself  a few extra minutes in the morning to plan my day and eat right will help decrease my stress levels throughout the work day. But it seems I ignore everything I know and continue to curl up in bed morning after morning.

I’m not sure what it will take to get myself on a quality morning routine…maybe living near the beach? Probably not but I’ll use that excuse to move to one.

Summer Concert Series (Celebrate Brooklyn!)

Back in mid June the roomie and I went on another outdoor concert adventure, this time to Brooklyn. The concert was one of some 30 performances in Prospect Park throughout the summer, most of which are free. Starting in the late 70’s, Celebrate Brooklyn! is one of the longest New York City free outdoor performing arts festivals.

On the docket for us was The National, a band I had never seen live before. It was pretty special to see them in Brooklyn since they live in that area surrounding the park.

 

Unfortunately, this was a weekday concert and I was pretty exhausted from a long day at work in the humid weather. We soldiered on, however and it was totally worth it. With only two of us it was easy to wiggle our way through the crowd and into a nice spot up close. As the sun set strings of lights dimly lit the concert area creating a perfect New York summer scene.

 

travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer

I’m going on vacation to France and couldn’t be more pumped. I might not exactly have the funds for a trip across the Atlantic, but I stand firm behind the title of this post. That’s what credit cards are for anyways, right?

I am the absolute worst at planning, so I haven’t really done that yet, but at least the flight is booked. The trip began as a focus on Normandy, the area of France that I’ve yet to visit. Then it shifted to a beach trip to Saint Tropez and now I am not even sure I’ll go beyond visiting my Burgundy home and Paris (duh).  Honestly I am not upset if it turns into a trip of visiting old friends and returning to my favorite spots, but I hope to at least do a bit of exploring and find some new gems.

For one I now have a few more wine connections and plan to visit the domaines if possible. I’ll keep you all posted if that happens. I have also been connected to some under the radar wine bars and restaurants in Paris, and I am very excited to review them.

Until my trip at the end of the month I’ll be counting down the days by drinking Burgundy and day dreaming of being surrounded by the French language 24/7.