That floppy old bag of money is going to be dead in like a month.
It's been an unexpectedly busy weekend.
On Friday, I got to sleep in, lounge around, and generally revel in slackerdom. I had made extremely tentative lunch plans with friend, J, who I have made tentative plans with before and whom never manages to actually make his way to them (which is fine for the most part--I just make backup plans nowadays instead) but this time he actually called! And we went to lunch! I was caught completely off-guard by this turn of events, but pleased, and we had some delightful conversation over some delicious Vietnamese food. Afterwards, I took advantage of the lovely day and went to the New York Aquarium, which is small, but charming in its own way. I have discovered a deep and abiding love for aquariums in the past few months, and enjoyed the Alien Stingers wing (jellyfish and anenome) and the shark tank (there was an extremely large sting ray in the shark tank I could stare at for ages). After I returned from the aquarium, I was startled to get a call from my friend, C, who invited me to an impromptu group dinner at a Peruvian restaurant, which I of course jumped on, since I've been wanting to try out more Latin American food for a while. The dinner was fun, I got to catch up with C, and then I went back to my apartment with a fantastic amount of leftovers (paella, yuca fries, chicken).
Saturday, I forced myself up early in order to take advantage of free admission to the New York Botanical Garden, which is all the way up in the Bronx by the Zoo, and surprisingly lovely. The grounds were huge (250 acres) and my favorite part was the Peggy Rockefeller rose garden. Really, rose gardens of any sort are nearly always my favorite thing at any garden; aside from being beautiful, they remind of some of the few happier memories of my childhood.
I had big plans for what I was going to to do Saturday after my trip to the garden, but instead I found myself sitting in my apartment, relaxing and lazy instead. I can't complain though--I am firmly of the opinion that an occasional lazy Saturday afternoon is precisely what is needed to raise flagging spirits (of which mine have been, given the unforcomfortable fullness of my week). I did manage to make some sugar cookies, though, and clean out my fridge a bit, so at least that is something. Since the Great Move Out Week of this past summer, wherein a friend of mine along with her roommate both moved out of their apartment, and my previous roommate moved out the same week, and I ended up inheriting all of their condiments, I have been experimenting with all sorts of different sauces now occupying my fridge and shelves. Some have been less than thrilling, but others have truly magnificent gems of discovery; right now I have fallen deeply in love with Peter Luger's Steakhouse Old Fashioned Sauce. I don't know what I'll ever actually put it on steak (mostly because I don't cook steak for fear of accidentally poisoning myself) but served as a marinade to pretty much everything else--well, I couldn't ask for more, really.
Today, I think I will finally get to all the errands I have been putting off this week, and be immensely relieved not to have to worry about them anymore.
ETA: I can't believe I forgot this, but! Ever since my trip to DC where I went to the botanic gardens there (are you sensing a theme in my wanderings?) and saw the amazing room devoted to all varieties of succulents, I have been on a quest to find some cacti of my very own. I have a spotty track record with keeping houseplants alive--at best--and cacti are such hardy and independent creatures (not to mention seriously adorable) that I thought I'd give them a shot next to my three little herb pots. I shopped around at some local florists but sadly, their cacti offerings were decided lacking. But then I went to the NY Botanical Garden gift shop and lo, there were succulents galore! I had to restrain myself and only buy three things instead of a whole shelf. So now I have two pots of cacti growing on my shelf alongside a little pot where I planted some forget-me-not seeds. Looking at the pots still fills me a strange and unbridled glee. Perhaps when my new phone arrives I will take photos of them and post them.
On Friday, I got to sleep in, lounge around, and generally revel in slackerdom. I had made extremely tentative lunch plans with friend, J, who I have made tentative plans with before and whom never manages to actually make his way to them (which is fine for the most part--I just make backup plans nowadays instead) but this time he actually called! And we went to lunch! I was caught completely off-guard by this turn of events, but pleased, and we had some delightful conversation over some delicious Vietnamese food. Afterwards, I took advantage of the lovely day and went to the New York Aquarium, which is small, but charming in its own way. I have discovered a deep and abiding love for aquariums in the past few months, and enjoyed the Alien Stingers wing (jellyfish and anenome) and the shark tank (there was an extremely large sting ray in the shark tank I could stare at for ages). After I returned from the aquarium, I was startled to get a call from my friend, C, who invited me to an impromptu group dinner at a Peruvian restaurant, which I of course jumped on, since I've been wanting to try out more Latin American food for a while. The dinner was fun, I got to catch up with C, and then I went back to my apartment with a fantastic amount of leftovers (paella, yuca fries, chicken).
Saturday, I forced myself up early in order to take advantage of free admission to the New York Botanical Garden, which is all the way up in the Bronx by the Zoo, and surprisingly lovely. The grounds were huge (250 acres) and my favorite part was the Peggy Rockefeller rose garden. Really, rose gardens of any sort are nearly always my favorite thing at any garden; aside from being beautiful, they remind of some of the few happier memories of my childhood.
I had big plans for what I was going to to do Saturday after my trip to the garden, but instead I found myself sitting in my apartment, relaxing and lazy instead. I can't complain though--I am firmly of the opinion that an occasional lazy Saturday afternoon is precisely what is needed to raise flagging spirits (of which mine have been, given the unforcomfortable fullness of my week). I did manage to make some sugar cookies, though, and clean out my fridge a bit, so at least that is something. Since the Great Move Out Week of this past summer, wherein a friend of mine along with her roommate both moved out of their apartment, and my previous roommate moved out the same week, and I ended up inheriting all of their condiments, I have been experimenting with all sorts of different sauces now occupying my fridge and shelves. Some have been less than thrilling, but others have truly magnificent gems of discovery; right now I have fallen deeply in love with Peter Luger's Steakhouse Old Fashioned Sauce. I don't know what I'll ever actually put it on steak (mostly because I don't cook steak for fear of accidentally poisoning myself) but served as a marinade to pretty much everything else--well, I couldn't ask for more, really.
Today, I think I will finally get to all the errands I have been putting off this week, and be immensely relieved not to have to worry about them anymore.
ETA: I can't believe I forgot this, but! Ever since my trip to DC where I went to the botanic gardens there (are you sensing a theme in my wanderings?) and saw the amazing room devoted to all varieties of succulents, I have been on a quest to find some cacti of my very own. I have a spotty track record with keeping houseplants alive--at best--and cacti are such hardy and independent creatures (not to mention seriously adorable) that I thought I'd give them a shot next to my three little herb pots. I shopped around at some local florists but sadly, their cacti offerings were decided lacking. But then I went to the NY Botanical Garden gift shop and lo, there were succulents galore! I had to restrain myself and only buy three things instead of a whole shelf. So now I have two pots of cacti growing on my shelf alongside a little pot where I planted some forget-me-not seeds. Looking at the pots still fills me a strange and unbridled glee. Perhaps when my new phone arrives I will take photos of them and post them.