there's even a secret menu

a non eventful week. but a few highlights:

well, it's mr. yogato of course. with mochi!!! ahhhh!! so good!!!

my admission to ben: sometimes i get nervous when we go [to yogato] because i keep thinking, 'this is so cool.'
and there's a secret menu of 37 toppings. it's our new quest to figure it out.

we made some taco salads for lunch and used this new cilantro dressing we got at T.J.'s. there's a sticker on the bottle that says, "must be refrigerated at all times."
and so I said, "how are you supposed to use it?"
ben replied, "you put it on when you're in the refrigerator."

these little English daffodils from t.j.'s also made me happy. you buy them in a bunch for about $1.20 and then you just put them in water and they brighten your grey day :)

goodbye febtober!! until next time :)

new york city, you're so pretty

over the weekend, we ventured to new york city on the megabus. we went to visit, brandon, ben's friend from college... and to just have fun and eat a lot. one of the nice parts about new york is that, even if you do eat a lot over a weekend getaway, there is no worry about getting enough excersize to keep the pounds off. i love the productive-soreness-happy feeling i get, post ny visits.

waiting for the train. penn station.

on the [free] staten island ferry. i hearted the green chairs.

ellis and liberty island from the [free] ferry. i love free stuff.

the city behind us. notice the awesome wakeboarding wake ;)

such a cute little ferry logo. i couldn't help but feel bad for the borough of staten island... (no one visits there, really)

i thought these mossy green dock thingers were pretty

this the most popular "market bull" i've ever seen. i finally had to say, "it's our turn to take a picture, thanks." near wall street.
statue of washington being inaugurated. i think it's a cool shot with the stock exchange and the flags and all. ben took this.

trinity church

ground zero. there has been a lot done to this since 2004 when i last saw it.

starting our "right of passage" walk across the brooklyn bridge.

a look at the city from the [almost] promenade in brooklyn.

"i'm gonna make you a pizza you can't refuse." hehehe
inside grimaldi's.

yummm. and we actually didn't have to wait that long.

power nap on the train!

the natural history museum. it was a $30 "suggested" price for us. we'll pay $7 thanks :)

pearl river. we had to get more chopsticks and high chews of course.

rice to riches. ok: it was really good. and clever. "we serve rice pudding. if you don't like that, you can have rice pudding. if you don't like that, you can have rice pudding."

a little walk in little italy

we walked through chinatown... and decided we wanted to be in koreatown. korean bbq= sooo yummy and getting a steamed facial all in one!
and we had the cutest waitress. (i have a soft spot for cute koreans ;)) she totally wanted to get brandon's number, but boy did he blow it :)

pinkberry. it was a korean sort of evening :)

brandon lives in long beach. his house is about a 3 minute walk from the boardwalk. awwwesome.

it was a very montauk-eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind sort of beach. in a really good way.

we love da beach.

don't worry ben, we'll come back when it's warmer.

oooo i loved this, the cutest shoe boutique ever!! i was surprised that the shoes were more expensive as you went farther into the store. but i guess that's how it works at malono.i love you elevator man!!

the big apple. literally.

some cool architecture (taken by ben).

buttercup bake shop. good. really. but umm... georgetown cupcake is better.

awww! i love the green.

a little squirly getting a bite of the s.s. fries.

the place where you eat burgers and then "shake" to work off the weight (my shout-out to shayna, who used to think "shake shack" was a dance club).

he was sooo excited (as was i) for our final-feb.-2009-new-york-meal.

a nice foggy send off from the empire state.

thanks again brandon!!

our president's day: gettysburg

we trekked to Gettysburg for our day off. we thought it appropriate to visit such a historical site for President's day. it's only about an hour and a half away and we even hit some traffic on the way home. we were in three different states yesterday! it's so cool how the Eastern states are so close together. it makes me laugh sometimes.

these yummy of all yummy tummie treats make me laugh too

we felt very welcome

can't you see the resemblance?

i liked Ben's Lincoln face better.

a look out from a cannon

the Virginia memorial with General Lee on top.

windy watchtower

it was really pretty. even in the dead of winter. it was worth it--- to avoid the crowds of summer.

reading to Ben about the Twentieth Maine Regiment.

gotta love self-timer

the Devil's Den--- i loved these big boulders

the Pennsylvania memorial.
Ben said, "why is it so much bigger than the rest??"
I whispered, "we're in Pennsylvania."

we had a really fun time and we are glad we went. we read the Gettysburg address, just as we finished the "auto tour" where Pickett's charge took place (Pickett's charge is what ended the battle at Gettysburg). In the Gettysburg address, Lincoln said the battle would not be remembered, but little did he know, the entire battlefield would become a National Park and people would come from far away places to tour this battle memorial.