1st Avenue.

We ate dinner with the Burtons in Harlem last night at Cafe Ollin. It was a beautiful night, so we decided to walk all the way home (108th - 76th Street, about a mile & a half). Not humid. A just- perfect 72-ish degrees. And when Mike looked at the sun shining on this building as we passed he said, Picture??

It's the little things.

I did something today that I've never, ever done before. Ever.

I went to Costco. Alone. With my very own, brand new card. In Manhattan (!!).

I've never, ever done this before. Always with Mike's family in New Canaan, or friends this fall in Manhattan after it opened (I should mention here that a Costco in Manhattan is nothing short of a miracle - it's amazing). I actually felt quite proud of myself & immediately added it to the "I guess I'm really an adult" list of accomplishments. I suppose I'm growing up*, one little step at a time**.

*Confession: Then I went & ate Donut Pub donuts for dinner with Suzi on her couch while our husbands kept the world of financial services afloat. Being an adult also means that I get to make my own decisions regarding my meal choices. Good times.

**I should also probably mention that I've killed off all of my plants. All of them. After 5 years, they're all dead. Oops.

Harlem.

We bundled up in our winter gear on Saturday because we knew that the snow storm was coming. The snow started falling just as we got up to Harlem.

Lunch: Cafe Ollin on 108th Street. We give it 5 stars. Real Coke! Food straight from Puebla, Mexico. Cemitas. Spicy! Delicious. We'd love to go back soon.

I gave Mike a mini-lesson in shutter speed (stopping motion vs. letting it blur) when we got down onto the subway platform. I'm helping him get more comfortable with the camera & we practiced for a few minutes with the subways whizzing by. I like our out-takes. Just ignore the fact that I'm wearing a black jacket, blue-ish jeans & brown boots.

(This is Mike saying, Brr!! Let's go!! It's cold!! It's snowing!! Brr!! It was cold.)

Central Park is therapeutic. So is Bloomingdales.

Friend Jill & I ventured to Shake Shack for lunch today, & then walked back to the East side through the park. I love Central Park. I really, really do. The people watching, the dogs, the trees. I get lost in The Ramble every time I go, but it's okay.

I think I've got my mojo back.

I've been feeling all out of sorts since I came home on Sunday, sort of overwhelmed at being back in the city. It hasn't helped that the weather has been so blasted hot.

But today - my Shack Burger was better than I remembered, the park was therapeutic (+ breezy & cool), & so was Bloomingdales, & I feel much better now. Jacob at the Mac counter was super friendly & helpful & taught me lots of new tricks while making my eyes look pretty with various shades of brown (I love brown eye shadow). After I told him I was a recent tinted moisturizer (vs. foundation) convert, he told me to never use theirs (it just came out). Stick to Aveda or Laura Mercier, he said. I like people like that. He's working Fashion Week this year & apparently it's all about tinted moisturizer + concealer + blush. Light, light, light. Good to know, good to know.

Speaking of food, Mike & I ate at the Bistro Truck on 5th Avenue down in Chelsea last night. I love New York because you can get a plate of amazing authentic Moroccan food for $7, from a truck on the side of the road. It really was great. We'll definitely find it on Twitter & go back.

Oh, & on Monday - I met Suzi, Kelsey & Kylie for lunch at a small East Harlem French restaurant called (wait for it) Yo in Yo Out. I had a crepe with mushrooms & goat cheese. It was delicious, & only $8. I stole some of Kylie's salad (with poached pears, yum!) & it was delicious, too. I'll go back, especially for their desserts, which looked lovely.

Anyway.

Did you know that navy is apparently the color of the season? It is. So says Gap, JCrew, Anthropologie & Bloomingdales (I need to branch out - I'm boring). I've always had a love / hate relationship with navy. Actually, more of a hate relationship. Sometimes it looks blue, sometimes it looks black, & unless you choose a fun color, you have to wear brown shoes. It's ambiguous, & that's frustrating to me. But alas, I bought a little navy headband today which will go nicely with the navy cardigan that I'm wearing in the photos we're having done tonight. I do have a few navy things in my closet. I'm just not ready for a takeover. Anyway. It's raining. Let's all cross your fingers that the rain clouds pass over Central Park very quickly.

I go to Girl's Camp next week. I'm in charge of the 15 year-old group. I'm excited & terrified. Please send happy thoughts + a lot of good luck my way. When our Stake's camp director called me & asked what my favorite part about Girl's Camp was, I had to tell her, I'm sorry, I only went once as a teenager & I hated it so much that I never went back (sorry Debbie - it wasn't your fault). I was a teenager with a probably-bad attitude & it just wasn't my thing. Neither was 6am seminary (sorry again, Debbie), although I always went & graduated with all four years completed. And now, here I am.

Girl's Camp + Seminary. I think someone is trying to teach me something.

Dinosaur in Harlem.

We went with friends Mackays & Burtons up to Dinosaur Barbeque on last night. A cab driver first told me about it a few years ago & I've had it on my list ever since. Mike & I have had reservations a few times, but have always cancelled at the last minute because we didn't want to make the trek all the way to west Harlem, but it finally happened. The place is fun. Huge, noisy, messy, big open windows, biker gangs, bottomless Coke... It was great. My favorites - the salted potatoes, macaroni & cheese, & the wings - even though I'm really not a meat-on-the-bone kind of girl. The sauce was amazing. The pulled pork was yummy. I wish we would have saved room for dessert, but I already mentioned that we had arepas for lunch. That noise you just heard? My stomach protesting.

We even played a little game of spot the other Mormons in the restaurant. It's not hard. Generally attractive, quite wholesome, knee-length shorts or denim skirts, mysterious undershirts + men all wearing matching white undershirts under their polos. Oh, & cute kids. Mike made a loud (intentional) mention of Brigham Young & of course their heads turns & introductions were made. Funny.

Oh - after much discussion, Mike & I think that the best barbeque in New York Cite vote still goes to Blue Smoke, as good as Dinosaur was. The sweet potato fries? Absolutely amazing. I'd go just to eat those as a mid-afternoon snack. Anyone, anyone?

In the promise of another tomorrow, I'll never let you part, for you're always in my heart.

Friend Erin & I ventured up to Harlem yesterday afternoon to pay tribute to the King of Pop via a massive big screen with a live feed of the memorial service. I must say, I think that this probably goes down in the books as one of my very favorite New York City experiences. The crowd was quiet, almost reverent. I maybe almost shed a tear. Almost.

The amount of MJ paraphernalia was actually quite impressive. Proving that he is just that cool, Fox picked up a jazzy little hot pink number. We even snagged a small little onesie for our small friend Wyatt. I didn't get anything myself, but it was sure fun to look around at the buttons, tshirts, water bottles, umbrellas, commemorative buttons, posters, original art & key chains that were for sale.

Afterwards, we walked down to 116th Street to the oft-heard-of Make My Cake. We really didn't love it very much (although the frosting was tasty), but they did have Grape Crush Soda. That took me back.

I should also mention that it was wonderful to walk around & see all of the artwork dedicated to our beloved President Obama. We resisted the urge to stop into Obama Fried Chicken for lunch.

Oh - it turns out that Erin & I are famous, too. Friend Suzi spotted us on the evening news. We are basically rockstars, now.

Germs.

Germs. Scratched on the train platform door at 125th Street. Absolute truth. I think it's hilarious.