Getting By, Dreaming Big

This is a blog for me to share my thoughts on my favorite things: books, traveling, food and entertainment!

Tuesday Travels: Atlantic City March 31, 2009

Filed under: Tuesday Travels — readerbean @ 12:36 pm


Saturday was the awaited day – our first trip ever to Atlantic City – I was not expecting much but I was super excited just to go somewhere new! The plan was to drive down to AC, check out the casino, check out AC, then have dinner and go to the LIVE (as in the band) concert at The House of Blues at The Showboat Resort & Casino.

Unfortunately for us the weather was less then cooperative! It was misty, cold and certainly not a day to stroll the boardwalk and check out AC. I was so happy that I ran in NYC before driving down as opposed to doing my run on the boardwalk as I had originally planned. On top of it all Jon had a conference call that began at 4PM right as we arrived there and went pretty much until our friends Gary & Tiffany arrived. Matt (my brother-in-law) and I checked in to the hotel, got everything squared away with our room and then decided to hit the casino (neither of us big gamblers!) He played some online poker, I played some slots, he played some slots, he won $50, I lost $10. We had not realized that in the casinos you can still smoke (I’m sorry if you are a smoker and you’re reading this) which makes being in the casino not a very enjoyable activity. We got sodas, watched some of the basketball game, got a lay of the land (ie: found the concert venue) and then Jon was off the phone!

We all decided to walk down the street to a bar that guest services recommended to us to watch more NCAA March Madness action. We only walked 3 blocks and it was pretty miserable. We had one beer left and went back to the hotel and got in line for the House of Blues restaurant for dinner. Our dinner there started off great – a round of Miller Lites, fun apps for the table, dinner is served, plenty of time until the concert….and then….I found a lady bug in my ceasar salad! A lady bug (maybe I’ll have good luck in the near future!) The manager walked by asked us how we were doing, Jon mentioned the lady bug and good things started to roll…50% off our dinner, a free round of Miller Lites and a free round of shots later we were off to watch LIVE up stairs in the concert venue. (I guess in away you could say I did win big in AC, just not in the typical gambling fashion.)

The place was just a huge open floorplan. We got as close as we could to the stage and the opening act began. They were awful, really awful! So we chatted and kept ourselves entertained. Then it was time for the real performace – LIVE! We were all so excited as were our “new friends” standing around us. They were awesome. Jon and I saw them last March (me for the 1st time) in Sayerville, NJ at the Starland Ballroom and they were amazing. I’ve been listening to a lot more of their music getting ready for this concert and once again they did not disappoint. They played a lot of songs I was unfamiliar with but they still sounded amazing!!!

Our 5AM wake up call, to get Matt to Newark Airport for his flight to London, came soon after our heads hit the pillow, but we got him there by 7AM and were back in NYC and in bed by 10AM after breakfast with my parents in NJ (we tried Bagelicious’ competition, Fair Lawn’s Hot Bagels…definitely not as good as Bagelicious!)

All in all it was definitely an interesting Saturday and I enjoyed exploring somewhere new, but I’ll be honest, I’m in no big rush to get back to AC. Maybe if we had had a nicer day….

Post in Comments:

Have you been to AC? Did you like it? Did you win big?

 

Monday Bookworms: Lucia, Lucia March 30, 2009

Filed under: Book Reviews,Monday Bookworms — readerbean @ 2:49 pm


I picked this book up based on a recommendation from my friend Amy. She read this book a couple of years ago and I was recently perusing her reads looking for something good when I stumbled upon Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani.

Lucia, Lucia is of course the story of Lucia Sartori, a young woman 25 years of age, who lives in Greenwich Village during the 1950′s. Her Dad is from Italy and owns the local Italian Groceria, her mother stays at home, and her 4 older brothers work with her father. She works at B. Altman’s creating custom dresses, wedding gowns, suits, etc for the wealthy women of New York City. She is fiercely independent and struggles to find a balance between meeting her families expectations of getting married to an Italian-American man from the neighborhood, keeping house, and raising a family with her dreams for herself of being a career woman.

We follow Lucia as she meets the man she thinks will enable her to “have it all”. Then as always life gets complicated!

This was an enjoyable and entertaining read. Of course as someone who lives in New York City reading about life in New York City during the early 1950′s up to present is always interesting! The cast of characters in this novel or loveable and you’ll feel like you’re in the Sartori’s kitchen at Christmas eating Tartuffi!

It is a quick, light and easy read although I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed. It’s the perfect book inbetween some heavy reading that has your brain working overtime as it will certainly not tax your brain to read this book.

Overall, I’d give it 3-3.5 stars.

 

Favorite Things Friday – Bagels March 27, 2009

Filed under: My Favorite Things — readerbean @ 4:19 pm

This Friday I’m going to share my love of bagels with you all! Ever since I was a really young girl I’ve always loved bagels. I would only eat plain bagels until the age of 19 when I was working at Cool Beans (the coffee shop on campus at Holy Cross) and I needed to eat breakfast. They had all sorts of bagels but no plain that is the day I became an adventurous bagel eater. Now I like poppy bagels, marbe bagels, cinnamon raisan bagels, wheat bagels, and my two favorites are the Everything Bagel and the Onion Bagel!

When I lived in Boston I was a Brueggers girl. There bagels were small (and probably healthier for us for that) but they were by far the best in Boston (IMHO). My favorite bagels from my hometown of Ridgewood, New Jersey come from Bagelicious Bagels on Broad Street in town. They are hands down the best bagels I’ve ever eaten in my life! If you ever roll through Ridgewood check them out.

Moving to NYC the bagel mecca of the US I was psyched to find the perfect bagel. The two that stand out the most to me are: Smilers (across the street from my office) they have a damn good bagel for a deli and Pick-a-bagel a true New York Classic I’m told! The one that I have yet to try is Esse bagel – maybe I’ll give it a go this weekend.

Regardless, bagels are the perfect comfort food breakfast, unfortunately you can’t eat to many of them a week because they’re not great for the waistline. They’re a special treat!
Post in Comments:
Do you have a favorite bagel?
Do you have a favorite bagel place?
If you live in NYC, what’s your favorite bagel place in the city?
 

Entertainment Thursday: I Love You, Man March 26, 2009

Filed under: Entertainment Thursdays,Movie Reviews — readerbean @ 4:08 pm

Thursday night I went out to Astoria to have dinner and catch a movie with my good friend Jen. She made a delicious dinner of stuffed shells (a variation that I had never had…but may have to try in the near future!) and we shared some wine and then headed over to the movie theater to watch I Love You, Man.

The premise is that Paul Rudd’s character, who just proposed to the girl of his dream, his girlfriend, realizes that he doesn’t have any close guy friends. When he realizes that his future wife is concerned that she’s going to have 7+ bridesmaids and he won’t have any groomsmen he sets out on a series of “man dates” to find a Best Man.

Enter Jason Segel, as Sydney Fife, a fun loving guys guy that Paul Rudd’s character, Peter Flaven, hits it off with. As they bond over their love of the band RUSH, and start spending all of their time together, Peter’s fiance, Zoe doesn’t appreciate their new formed friendship.

I’ll be honest, I don’t watch How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM), and I know I should start, but the few times I’ve seen it Jason Segel seems really young to me (in real life he’s a year younger than myself). In this movie however he seemed much older and it took me about half the movie to reconcile that in my head. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments, and plenty of awkward Peter Klaven moments where you just were cringing in your seat embarrased for him! It was definitely a feel good movie, that goes exactly where you think it’s going to go and then brings it back to finish exactly how you want it to finish.

I would say that it’s a definite rental – 3 stars!

 

Recipe Wednesdays: Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs March 25, 2009

Filed under: Cooking,Recipe Wednesdays,Recipes — readerbean @ 9:56 am

Last week I made another Giada creation: Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs. Once again, it was delish!

If you would like the recipe you can click HERE. It was fairly simple, more prep time than cooking time. It was more flavorful then I thought it was going to be. The chicken meatballs were divine and I was nervous seeing as I had never used ground chicken as a base before in place of ground turkey or beef.

This meal heated up great as leftovers, I ended having it for lunch most days last week. I just added a little bit of chicken broth each morning and some salt, pepper and cheese and it was delicious once heated in the microwave for about 2 minutes.

This is definitely a recipe I would recommend!

 

Tuesday Travels: Top 5 Domestic Dream Vacations March 24, 2009

Filed under: Tuesday Travels — readerbean @ 4:33 pm

Last week I blogged about my Top 5 International Dream Vacations so this week I’m going to write about my Top 5 Domestic Dream Vacations (again in no particular order). I love to travel and it doesn’t matter if it is abroad or in my own country, exploring new places, meeting new people, discovering new running routes, that’s my main objective!

First up is Texas, I know it may seem pretty random but I have had a desire to visit Texas for a VERY LONG TIME and I have yet to get there. I don’t know what it is that entices me but I have got to get to Texas sooner rather than later. Whether it’s exploring great music in Austin, running where Kristin Armstrong runs in the hills of Austin, visiting the Alamo (even though I’ve been told by all that it is over rated), seeing the river walk in San Antonio, going to a high school football game, going to the rodeo, vacationing along the Gulf of Mexico or eating delicious barbque, I just want to experience Texas in all of it’s glory.


Ah, Yellowstone National Park. I love doing outdoorsy things: hiking, white water rafting, kayaking, swimming, and just being in awe of Mother Nature. Where better to experience that then Yellowstone National Park, the grand daddy of all National Parks. My parents recently took a trip there and my cousin visits Yellowstone frequently. I just want to see the Buffalo blocking the middle of the road, visit Ole Faithful with all the other tourists, and walk the trails. I’m thoroughly looking forward to the day that we get to go here…although I will say I’m not much for camping…I’ll do it, but it’s probably the outdoorsy activity I like the least!

Wow, I’m really sharing myself with you guys. Mount Rushmore is one of my OBSESSIONS. It’s bizarre and pretty random, I know, but I am obsessed with Mount Rushmore and my need to visit it. It is a running joke in our household. Maybe it’s because of the President’s, or maybe because it is just so random and cool – faces of our Presidents carved into a rock in North (or is it South) Dakota. I mean look at it – you know you want to see it too!

I don’t know how I’m going to get to Mount Rushmore, as I do not believe there is much to see out where it is except Mount Rushmore. I may have to combine it with my trip to Yellowstone even though I’m not sure they’re near each other….hmmm…this one is going to take some pondering. But when I get there, ahh, I’ll feel I’ve truly accomplished one of my life goals.

Hawaii!!!! Who doesn’t want to go here??? Not only do I want to visit the beautiful beaches, go snorkeling and enjoy the blue blue water, but I also really want to visit Pearl Harbor (a time period in history that facinates me to no end), take the Road to Hana, walk near a volcano, visit the pineapple farms and eat fresh pineapple, among numerous other things.

It might have been the episode of Saved by the Bell or Full House that introduced me to Hawaii (you know which episodes I’m talking about!) Either way it’s beautiful, it’s not part of the continental US, and it’s a MUST visit!


Last but not least, The Grand Canyon. I already have my trip to The Grand Canyon planned out although it requires the attendance of our unborn children. We’re going to spend a week rafting down the Colorado River and then spend some more time hiking and exploring all the nooks and crannies and swimming holes that The Grand Canyon holds.

You have to be 12 to raft on the Colorado River and you have to book the trip 3 years in advance. Seeing as we do not have children yet, and I’m not pregnant, I guess this trip won’t be happening for awhile. Although I’ve already started saving for it because it’s going to cost a pretty penny. It’ll be worth it though when I’m standing at the rim with Jon and our 4 kids looking across the Canyon saying to myself, “We finally made it here!”

Post in Comments:

What are your Top 5 Domestic Dream Vacations?

Have you visited any of mine?

 

Monday Bookworms: A President & A Shopaholic? March 23, 2009

Filed under: Book Reviews,Monday Bookworms — readerbean @ 3:01 pm

For those of you who know me or have been following my blog from the beginning you know that one of the reading challenges I have outlined for myself is to read a book about every President in order. I’ve been working on this for about 4-5 years now and I usually try to read 2 President books a year.

I just finished a book about John Tyler, the 10th President. I chose a book from the American Presidents Series. These books are good for Presidents that you want to read about but you perhaps do not want to read 600+ pages about. John Tyler was one of those Presidents.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. John Tyler was the first Vice President to replace a President who had passed away in office. That in and of itself is interesting. He was a lot of other firsts as well: The first President to lose their spouse in office (his wife passed away in his first year or second year of Presidency); he was the first President to be married in office (to his 2nd wife); he had 15 children total, the most of any President (8 by his first wife and 7 by his second wife); he was the first President to lose his parties support and be ousted from his party during his Presidency (the Whigs were so upset by his numerous vetoes they told him he could no longer be part of the Whig party!); he was the first incumbent President to not run for re-election; and he was the first President to betray his country (after he was out of office when the South voted to secede from the Union, John Tyler voted with the South).

Many say that he was not a great President, unfortunately for him he was up against a lot. Many people didn’t feel that he should be President, they called him “The Accidental President”. Henry Clay, especially felt very strongly about this. At one point during his term it is said that Clay orchestrated that Tyler’s entire cabinet (minus Daniel Webster) resigned in the same day!

While maybe not the most important President, I still found it interesting to read about his life, his Presidency and his family. I’m finding that sometimes it’s the Presidents that I do not know much about that are proving to be the most interesting reads!


From President John Tyler to shopaholic Becky Bloomwood, my reading tastes are certainly varied! Shopaholic & Sister is the 4th book in this hilariously fun series. I’m sad that there is only one more to go…. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this entire series and it seems to me that each book gets more outrageous and funnier as I get further into the series. I think also having seen the movie that just came out and having a picture of Hugh Dancy & Isla Fisher in my head, had me laughing harder as I imagined them acting some of this stuff out…oh, how I hope they make sequels to that movie!

In this 4th installment of the Shopaholic series, Becky Bloomwood and Luke Brandon are finishing up their around the world honeymoon. After 10 months they decide that it is time to come home to see family and friends and begin working again. However, upon arrival, Becky’s parents seem to be keeping a secret, her best friend Suze has a “new” best friend, and Becky worries about how much she actually ended up purchasing and shipping to Luke’s flat in London. As she discovers that her parents secret is that she has a half-sister, Becky thinks this is grand, she’ll show Suze. She envisions that her and her half-sister Jessica will be best friends forever, that is until she meets Jessica. Jessica is everything that Becky is not, frugal, spend thrift, hates shopping and excesses, and is passionate about the environment and rocks. As Becky tries to form a bond with her new sister, handle stressed out Luke who’s trying to close a new deal, and adjust to being back in good ol’ England, hilarity ensues.

Once again Kinsella managed to capture my heart. I may not be as crazy and over the top as Becky but how can you not root for her again and again as she gets herself into all sort of funny situations. I thoroughly enjoyed this book (I actually had to put it down a couple of times becuase I was laughing so hard my eyes were shut!) If you haven’t read the Shopaholic series I absolutely suggest them as fun, outrageous, light, laugh-out-loud reads – you will not be disappointed! Just make sure to start from the beginning!

 

Favorite Things Friday – Netflix March 20, 2009

Filed under: My Favorite Things — readerbean @ 4:12 pm

Ahhh…Favorite Things Friday! It’s fun coming up with what my favorite things are that I want to write about. Today it is NETFLIX. I became a netflix user in the summer of 2006. We were training for the Chicago Marathon and watching movies every Friday night because on Saturday we had to be up at 6:30AM to get our long runs in. We realized that it was cheaper for us to register for Netflix then it was for us to go to Blockbuster every Friday and pick out a movie plus there were no late fees if I forgot to return the movie on time. In addition, this was the summer when Jon was living in New York City and I was living in Boston so I had many evenings free. With Netflix I was able to rent television shows that I had missed when they were on or just watch chick flicks that I knew Jon wasn’t going to want to watch with me on Friday.

There are many reasons I love Netflix, here are a few of them:

1 – I love mailing things, I know it’s weird, but I do. Mailing my Netflix movies when I’m done is so satisfying.
2 – I love lists (in case you didn’t know that already) so I love that I have a queue that I can add movies to at anytime. I have a problem manging my queue though which is why we currently have over 120 movies in it! It’s a little overwhelming at times.
3 – Netflix has totally broadened our movie watching. Before when Jon and I would go to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video we would just browse the new releases. With Netflix we watch television shows, miniseries, old classic movies, new releases, documentaries and foreign films. We’ve watched movies and shows that we might never have explored if we had kept going to the video store evey now and again.
4 – We love how when all else fails and your plans fall through you always have a Netflix movie or show waiting for you. We rent two at a time, unlimited for the month, so there is always a red envelope with something waiting for us to watch!
5 – You can have friends on Netflix! You can see what they’re watching, what they liked and what they didn’t like, and this opens up your movie watching world as well.
6 – Netflix recommends movies for you. One of my favorite foreign films that I’ve seen, The Dinner Game, was a random French movie that Netflix recommended for me. I’ve recommended this movie to many people who have also loved it. Thanks Netflix!
7 – You can rate your movies. It’s so easy to remember what you liked and didn’t like, just type in the movie and look it up. Netflix keeps track of everything you’ve ever rated. I’m rating obsessed – as soon as we finish a movie (whether it’s at home or at the movie theater) I’m logged on to Netflix to update our queue and rate the movie.

Those are some of the many reasons that Netflix is one of my favorite things. Tonight we’re watching the last episode on The Wire, Season 2: Disc 3 then we get to return it for Disc 4!

Post in Comments:

Do you have Netflix?

If so, what do you most love about Netflix?

 

Entertainment Thursday: Phantom of the Opera – The Play vs. The Movie March 19, 2009

Filed under: Entertainment Thursdays,NYC Experiences,Theater — readerbean @ 4:00 pm

On Friday Jon and I saw The Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theater. It was a treat to ourselves. Back in December orchestera seats were on sale for $60 per ticket which is essentially buy one get one free in the orchestra. We had each seen Phantom once before. I was definitely in middle school when I saw Phantom and Jon saw Phantom for the first time in 2003. We both love love love the music from this show and decided that at buy one get one free it was time to see it again!

All I have to say is Phantom and Les Mis, in my opinion, are just in totally different stratospheres compared to other Broadway shows and it’s not just the music, it’s the entire theatrical production that puts them on such a different level. When the Phantom takes Christine to his lair and their in the boat and you just feel like they’re really floating on water with the fog and the lighting it’s just amazing (possibly my favorite scene besides the opening or masquerade)!

I cried at the end because I just think that The Phantom of the Opera is such a tragic character. His one desire is to be loved but he doesn’t understand what love is….I don’t want to say more in the event that anyone reading this blog post hasn’t seen the show or movie!

On our 15 block walk home Jon and I were singing songs from the show, talking about our favorite scenes, disecting which performances we liked the best and which the least, and just in a general state of europhia from seeing a live show on Broadway.

As we were walking we started comparing the show to the movie that was released in 2004 starring Gerard Butler as Phantom and Emmy Rossum as Christine. We saw the movie in the theater and then later purchased it and have watched it quite a few times. We LOVE it – it allows us to see the story & music unfold again and again without having to pay the hefty theater ticket price. However, over the past 5 years as I’ve spoken to people about it there seems to be a strong dislike for the movie among those that love the show in the theater. Jon and I agree that of course while it’s better in the theater, we feel that the movie is a good representation of the show and the music and sticks very closely to the story which we like.

Regardless, of which you prefer, The Phantom of the Opera, in my opinion, is a must see theater experience. My favorite songs from the show were Music of the Night, All I Ask of You, Point of No Return and of course The Phantom of the Opera. I think after writing this blogpost I might have to put the CD on:)

Post in Comments:

What is your favorite song from The Phantom of the Opera?

Do you prefer the theatrical production or the movie? And why?

 

Recipe Wednesdays: Comfort Food March 18, 2009

Filed under: Cooking,Recipe Wednesdays,Recipes — readerbean @ 10:05 pm

This Sunday I was making my meals for the week and I made one of my favorite dishes that is totaly comfort food for me – Skillet!!! Skillet was something that we ate all the time growing up. I don’t know if my mom just made it up or if she got the recipe from someone but I have very fond memories of skillet night (my brother and sister might feel differently!)

Here is the recipe:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion
1 box of frozen peas
1 box of beef rice a roni

Chop up the onions and cook them with the ground turkey. Drain the fat from the ground turkey. Add the margarine/butter and the rice to the pan and brown the rice. Add the water, seasoning packet, ground turkey, peas & onions to the rice and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

On a cold day I find a piping hot dish straight out of the pan extra yummy! The great thing about this meal is that it heats up in the microwave well so it’s great to have for lunch for the week.
The drink in the background is my new concoction – 1/2 seltzer water and 1/2 grape juice – yum!
Post in Comments:
What is your favorite comfort food?