77. Go on a date with J once a month. (October 2010)

J and I were so busy this month! Between visiting friends in Washington, DC; State College, PA; and Albany, NY - the only weekend we were home was my birthday weekend! J's sister K surprised me and came to visit for the weekend.  Even though this wasn't a "date day" we had a great day out for my 26th birthday.  We went to a NYC street fair and then went bowling at Bowlmor lanes.  It was a great day to relax and spend time with K and J!

77. Go on a date with J once a month. (September 2010)

To celebrate our future wedding anniversary (364 days!) J and I competed in the NYC City Chase.  Part scavenger hunt/part amazing race - we had a great time.  We completed all 10 challenges and finished in the top 200 out of 700 teams!

77. Go on a date with J once a month. (August 2010)

While in Boston last weekend for Mike and Julie's wedding (CONGRATS on ONE WEEK OF MARRIAGE!!!)  J and I spent a morning together exploring The Old State House.

I should also mention, J and I love history, true stories, and John Adams.  So I apologize in advance for the history nerdy-ness to follow :)

Built in 1712, it served as a market exchanged, meeting place, and an assembly location for elected officials.

The bottom floor houses a vast collection of artifacts from the events leading up and from the Revolutionary War.  One of the coolest parts of the museum was the "phone tour" - where you could call from your phone, and listen to an audio tour and as you moved through the exhibits. Very cool.

Afterwards, we went upstairs to the balcony where the Declaration of Independence was read on July 18th, 1776.

This was also the same balcony which overlooked the events in which the Boston Massacre transpired from.  The little circle inside the traffic triangle is the marker for the massacre.

Afterwards, we walked around Boston for a bit and then met back up with K and L to head back to NYC - what a way to end a perfect weekend in Boston!

94. Take a sailing lesson / Date Day July 2010

Over 4th of July weekend, J and I took a sailing lesson to celebrate J's birthday.  (Happy 25th & <3)  We had fantastic weather.

We were placed on a smaller 20 foot boat along with two other sailors and our instructor, Reilly.

After raising the sails - we headed out.

Love you!

We even got to steer the boat!

We learned to jib, tac, raise the sails, adjust for wind and currents, steer the boat - we had a fantastic time and learned so much!

Us with our boat.  Happy Birthday J!

77. Go on a date with J once a month. (June 2010)

Seriously - June flew by.  J and I escaped the New York City heat by heading to Canada for a few days - but I wouldn't count that as a "date".  We did however score tickets to the King Tut Exhibit in Times Square through Groupon - perfect for our June date day.

I would classify this a much more of a date - minus the whole eating-in-McDonald's-because-it's-the-only-place-without-a-5967838 person-wait-for-dinner thing :)

The exhibit was seriously awesome.  Like nerdy awesome. It was well put together with lots of fantastic artifacts and tons of information about them. 

It was more of this...

Less of this...darn.

For instance - when Tut was King the pyramids were ALREADY 1,000 years old.  Ridiculous, I know. 

Some of the artifacts, particularity the one's found in Tut's tomb were so well preserved it was hard to grasp that they were actually THOUSANDS of years old.  Seriously, if you have the chance to see this exhibit - do it - you will not be disappointed.  Now, if you excuse me, I need to go google Steve Martin's King Tut skit.

77. Go on a date with J once a month. (May 2010)

Last week, J and I headed to see The 39 Steps on Broadway for our monthly date day.

I have one word ...

hilarious.

The show consisted of a cast of 4 who played all 150+ characters. The story revolved around a man who witnesses a murder at a theater show and the adventures which follow. The creative use of props, sets, and lighting, truly made this a pleasure to watch. We had never been to a play before on Broadway - and I am so glad we picked this one!

To avoid the rain outside - we had dinner right next to the theater at Mother Burger.  J had a regular burger, I had a veggie one, and we both enjoyed the happy hour specials and HUGE plate of cheese fries. Yum!

77. Go on a date with J once a month. (April 2010)

Last friday, J and I embarked on quite the adventure.  Let me explain.

I love Cirque du Soleil.  Everytime I am at Disney World with the fam, we pass by the La Nouba theatre in Downtown Disney.  I always wanted to go but the price range of tickets always presented a problem for me - mainly - going to the show would mean I would have no money afterwards.  sigh.

Enter J.

J is awesome at finding deals.  He falls into them.  He has incredible luck.  It's really quite ridiculous.  Good thing he's on my team.

Long story short, J found a ridiculous deal on tickets to the new "OVO" show here in NYC and bought two.  The cost - over 75% off. Sold.

The show was held under the Big Top on Randall's Island, which is a small island between Manhattan and Queens.

We took the Zephyr Ferry to the island.  Plush seats, check. Inside seating on a cold day, check.  We were happy campers.

Ready for some Cirque du Soleil!

After a very leisurely sail up the Hudson River, we disembarked and were greeted with this:

Welcome to the Big Top!

The show itself was amazing.  It is loosely based on insects and bugs.  With so many different costumes, acts, and characters it was easy to forget everything was taking place in a tent!  It was fantastic and the live band did an awesome job with the music.  One of my favorite acts were these little balancing ants: 

Awesome.

After the show we headed home on the Zephyr - full of popcorn and yummy soft pretzels.

My verdict:
It was totally worth the years I have waited (and a 75% off ticket dosen't hurt the checkbook either :) )

77. Go on a date with J once a month. (March 2010)

On March 27th, J, J's sister K, her boyfriend L, and I decided to venture out in the below normal temperatures to view the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA.
First of all, I love MoMA. I love all the crazy awesome pieces of art there. I love the architecture of the building.

Secondly, I love Tim Burton and his crazy self.
So for me, this outing was a win-win topped off with some delicious Indian Buffet from Bombay Place in between sculptural and photography viewings.
The exhibit itself was amazing with many pieces coming from Burton's private collection. Also included was an entire room full of movie memorabilia ranging from Batman's mask from Batman Returns to sketches of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. Overall - this was an awesome exhibit - well worth the 8:00am wake-up and $4 Starbucks coffee to get me going on a Saturday. :D

77. Go on a date with J once a month. (February 2010)

For Valentine's Day - J and I headed to our favorite neighborhood restaurant Amelia's. 

For Love Day - Amerlia's suprised us with a few items not on their regular menu. 

J and I split a caraf of their fabulous sangria.  J had a fabulous steak while I dined on miso glazed sea bass. yum.  We even ordered a delicious (and huge!) brownie sundae with all the toppings and then returned home to promptly fall asleep while watching the olympics.  I blame it on the food coma :)

77. Go on a date with J once a month. (December 09)

Ah New Years - that time where we can say adieu to the old and welcome the new.  


Living in New York, New Years is kinda a big deal...the ball dropping, ridiculous amounts of tourists, 1/2 days at work to avoid said tourists.  


This year J and I had a low key celebration due to the ridiculous cold weather and snow.  We went high class and I made yummy cheddar-beer fondue with all the fixings, stuffed mushrooms, and chocolate toffee. 

A bottle of Korbel and a game of monopoly later - we started 2010.  All in all - a stellar date night with J. 

77. Go on a date with J once a month. (November 09)

Saturdays.  The older I get - the more I appreciate the ability to sit around, do whatever I want - no agenda.    I am the type of person who likes to constantly be on the move - which is probably why as a child and teenager - I ALWAYS had to be doing something.  Every-once and while a girl just needs to wear PJs all day, lay on the couch with her macbook, and veg out...all in her own apartment of course.


Such was what was accomplished during out date day weekend.  Lots of laying around, PSU football, big breakfasts, and decorating the apartment for the holidays.  (Also - I am well aware that it is the weekend before Thanksgiving - but J will not be here for the next few weekends - and the fam is coming to visit.  So I wanted it to be all New-York-City-Christmas-esque.)


So we started the day with yummy omelets. J is a the best breakfast maker.

omelet + turkey bacon = lots of ketchup 

J is wondering if he can eat yet.

And lots of decorating.

Complete with Linus's security blanket as a base.

And baking. (Mini Pecan Tarts for my work Thanksgiving Party/Staff Meeting)

And eating.

And I loved all of it.


On Sunday - we had made reservations at Rare in the West Village.  After sleeping in - we finally dragged ourselves out of the apartment around 12:30ish for lunch.

Now being the ridiculous person I am - I WOULD agree to a restaurant where 98% of the food items included red meat - my personal nemesis.  But this is only because I had read some great reviews about their portobello burger...

Naturally, after being presented with this - I knew I was not going to be disappointed.  Plus - we got the sampler basket of fries with dipping sauces.

Score.  


I liked the sweet potato fries the best - and J was in heaven with his Bleeker Burger which had some kind of NY strip steak meat and lots of toppings.

Afterwards we walked around, did random errands, and stopped in to Starbucks to feed my addiction to their seasonal gingerbread latte.


Overall, a top-notch date day weekend. :)

77. Go on a date with J once a month. (October 09)

On October 28th - J and I went on our monthly date day. After work on Wednesday we went to the Olive Garden for unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks. Now this might not seem like a great time to some - so let me elaborate: 1. We had a gift card... = Free food, 2. I LOVE the salad, and 3. We had a window view overlooking Times Square. Sound better now? 

Afterwards we headed to Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center for a performance by the

Escher String Quartet.  

Quartet being 3, Violins, 1 cello, 100% percent amazing. All of the performers were so talented - and the music was fantastic. A few of the movements were 30-45 minutes long - yet after they were finished - I felt like only a few minutes had passed. Performances like this really makes me wish I wouldn't have given up the clarinet in 4th grade. sigh.


Regardless - it was a wonderful time.  I am truly blessed to be able to attend events like this - all in my big, smoggy, concrete jungle of a backyard...

...and I wouldn't change it for the world.

# 77. Go on a date with J once a month. (September 09)

Today J and I had our monthly "Date"day. We decided to see the new planetarium show at the Museum of Natural History. Before we went inside, we had a picnic on the steps of the museum and ate some of the best gyros I have had from a street cart. I think the cart vendors are vastly underrated. I, for one, LOVE hotdogs from street vendors - and the gyros are just as awesome.

The planetarium show was great - I love all the science and learning in this museum. Such a vast majority of different interests. It very much reminds me of my favorite Cold Spring Elementary field trips to the best place ever - The Franklin Institute.

Of course - I also took this opportunity to showcase my dream job - baby dinosaur handler. :)

After the museum, we walked around Central Park. The best part about this outdoor arena is - of course - the people watching. If you can imagine someone doing any activity in a park - chances are you will find that someone in Central Park.

Also - since we didn't get to ride the Ferris Wheel in Chicago a few weeks ago - J and I spontaneously decided to ride the Central Park Carousel. I'm sure glad we were strapped in - that thing can move.