God Bless Regular Mark...

It's no secret that I love bacon. And what is a more thoughtful gift for someone than something they love? I can't think of anything. I'll start this story by rewinding back to last summer when Sean and I threw a BBQ reception to celebrate the fact that we were secretly married with no witnesses. We may not be the typical wedding type of couple, but we do like to party. So we had the BBQ, and our friends brought gifts (an overwhelming amount of gifts that still makes me emotional when I think about it, thanks again everyone!) The morning after the party Sean and I were off to a cute little B&B in Plymouth, MA to have a mini-moon (this is where we took the awesome photo that became our Thanksgiving card). So, we figured the presents could wait to be opened when we got back. Upon our return we discovered that our friend Regular Mark had gone to the trouble to make us CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON! I was so excited and moved by this meaty gesture, that I almost forgot that it had been sitting in our living room for 4 days. In June. Oops. So, of course we couldn't eat it. And I had to tell Regular Mark how we neglected the gift he took the time to make for us. I felt bad. BUT! This story ends happily!


For a Christmas gift, our wonderful friend Regular Mark, one upped himself! He gave me, I mean us! He gave US a dreamy bacon gift basket, including more homemade CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON!
And a close up... Oh MY GOD was it good! Are you kidding me? If I wasn't already married to Sean, I'd get married to Regular Mark's chocolate covered bacon. If it was a boy of course. I haven't tried the bacon soda yet. I wanted to save it for a special occasion... like New Year's Eve! You can ring in the new year with champagne if you like, but I'll be poppin' bottles of bacon soda. In fact, I think my resolution will be to eat more bacon.

GOD BLESS YOU REGULAR MARK! XO.

BINGO!

Last night, Katie from Pulse and I went to BINGO! At church. With her Grampa. We didn't win anything but, Dick Tracy did. That's right, Katie's grandfather's name is Dick Tracy. How cool is that? BINGO was a new experience for me, and the regulars take it VERY seriously. I found the whole thing to be very amusing. It was a fun night and I hope we get invited again!

Sunday, Fun Day...

Yesterday, we had a BIG, WET day in NYC. Despite the weather (we were soaked!) it was a fun filled adventure of a day. So much fun, in fact, that I didn't even think about taking a single picture! Oops. This will be a blog of mostly words, sorry. I'll be brief...

I took a bus into the city with my girlfriends. It was a holiday work trip for one of them and the rest of us were happy to tag along. We had tickets to a show, and were planning on a nice lunch before. However, it was chucking buckets when we got to the city, so we decided to take cover in the first open restaurant we came across. After a so-what lunch at an "Irish" pub (there wasn't any Irish food on the menu) the rain had thankfully stopped and we were able to walk the 6 blocks to our show, without taking on too much more water. We were meeting my husband, Sean and our friend Dan at the theatre and we were all excited to see The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway!
It was great! The set looks exactly like you want it to, and there is a ton of audience participation. Paul Reubens is awesome, the show was fantastic and fun, and my cheeks and abs are still sore from laughing. If you are a fan of Paul or of Pee-Wee I highly recommend this show!

After the show it was pouring again, so that put a damper on our other outdoor city plans. We all headed to a nearby watering hole to pass some time and have some drinks. Before we knew it, it was already time to head back to the meeting spot for the bus. My girlfriends were getting ready to go, and my husband and our friend were getting ready for dinner. That's when I said, "Sorry girls, I just can't get back on that bus!" Luckily I have understanding girlfriends, so they headed back to the bus and I headed to Ninja New York with Sean and Dan.Talk about a fun meal! I had heard great things about Ninja from friends who have been. As a matter of fact, Joe Capobianco is who I first heard about Ninja from. Ninja New York is more of a dining experience than just a restaurant. The food is delicious, the presentation is mind blowing, the service was great, and the ambience alone is worth a trip there. I don't want to give too many surprises away, but I definitely screamed more than once while we were there! What can I say? I am easily surprised by Ninjas. After dinner, a magician ninja provides table side entertainment and that just tops the whole experience off. Great time! Eat at NINJA !

Sounds like a fun day, right? WAIT! There's more! Who wants to go to a secret Glass Jaw show in Brooklyn on the way home? I DO!!!! I DO!!!! So we did! They of course killed it, and the new songs are AWESOME!!!!! Sorry for the almost picture-free post.* Here's one to spice it up a little. Sean was thoughtful enough to take a shot of us in Time Square during a short break in the rain.
*I obviously did not take the pictures I've included here, I ripped Pee-Wee and Ninja from their websites and I believe the GlassJaw photo was taken by the one and only Julian Gilbert. Check him out here.

I Left My Heart in...

SAN FRANCISCO!

Sean and I went out to the left coast to celebrate our first wedding anniversary in November. I have only ever been to Southern California so this was to be my first northern California experience, and I definitely loved it. It is one of Sean's favorite cities on earth, and we have some awesome friends out there, so I definitely experienced everything San Francisco had to offer and with style.

Here are some pictures of our adventures...

We stayed at an adorable English Bed & Breakfast, The Union Street Inn, and I highly recommend it if you're planning a visit to SF.
We visited Chauncey and his little friend Walter.
We acted like tourists at Fisherman's Wharf.
We ate a delicious meal by the sea on our actual anniversary. We spent an amazing and beautiful day in Napa Valley with Cage Palko. We took a boat to Alcatraz.
We visited our friends at Last Gasp Publishing, where they only distribute the BEST books available... (Maybe I'm biased?)We had a great dinner date with Mr. and Mrs. Aesop Rock.We TRIED to see the Golden Gate Bridge. And I had my first In-N-Out burger.We ate our way around the city, saw the sights, and enjoyed time with friends. I loved San Francisco and we hope to go back ASAP! Thanks to all of our friends for showing us such a great time.