Watch the NYC Marathon!

The New York Marathon was fun as always! Of course, as tradition would have it, I watched from the Upper East Side! I went to our favorite bagel "and appetizing" spot on 78th Street, on 1st Avenue, and had a bagel with cream cheese and Lox (yum!)

Of course watching the "Elite" runners is always so inspirational:


In NYC, dogs like to watch too!


One final piece of advice: Make sure you are on the side of the street where you live (or want to be!!) - I had to make a stop-over in a cafe and do a bit of brunch since I was barred from crossing the street to my home-sweet-home!!

Join the Marathon! - www.ingnycmarathon.org

East Side Bagel and Appetizing
1496 1st Avenue @ 78th Street
New York, NY USA
212.794.1403

ArtWalk Party to Benefit the Homeless

The ArtWalk party to benefit the Homeless was a touching and fun event! There were some really fun and diverse art pieces up for silent auction.


Alec Baldwin and Richard Gere led the live auction:


Now, generally, I think cupcakes for adults are ridiculous! But these cupcakes were simply amazing! We each had two!!


One of the best parts of the evening was the fantastic restaurant food stations, and plenty of bubbly Champagne!!!

Print Fair at the Armory

The IFPDA fair at the Armory is always worthwhile to check out. You can find a huge variety of prints from all kinds of artists, from more recent creations by Damien Hirst and John Baldessari to etchings by Durer, to Japanese wood block print books to artists you have never even heard of. Galleries represent different states and countries, and it is great fun to chat with them and find out more about any works that interest you, or even just ask them what their favorite piece is and what the history/provenance is. Maybe you can even find something to take home!
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue @ 67th Street
New York, NY 10065
www.armoryonpark.org
International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) - Print Fair

Behind The Scenes at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City

It was a fantastic time in the three hour behind-the-scenes tour of the Metropolitan Opera house in NYC, through their Young Associates member program.

It was Saturday so everyone was getting ready for two shows that day - a matinee and evening performance. Performances are always rotating so that means setting up two different shows! We learned that there are stages on each side, behind and below where the additional stage settings can sit when they are not on the Main Stage.

I couldn't believe that all the sets (not to mention all the costumes as well!) are made in-house, upstairs. The sets look realistic to the audience, but are in fact made of lightweight materials, and all sets are put on wheels - so they can be moved on and off the stages easily.

It was interesting to learn that even with a full house, only half of the cost of putting on the opera for that show is attained. The opera is an expensive but beautiful art form, and the Met relies on the generous contributions of donors and high level members.

Check out their website for mor information on joining the Young Paatrons Group, which is a great memberships for those under 40 who love the opera and wish to meet other New Yorkers who share this passion, and get access to some great behind-the-scenes events, as well as special champagne receptions at certain operas.
 

The Metropolitan Opera

Lincoln Center - New York City
Young Associates

Recipe: Easy Apple Cake

This recipe is so great to make with fresh apples from the NY Farmers Markets!! Even better if you use a couple different varieties for contrast. Alternatively, you could also make this in the Spring/Summer with peaches (remove the skins first!)


2 1/2 C flour
2/3 C sugar
3 eggs
2/3 C unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
Grated zest, 1 organic lemon or small orange
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
Some wheat germ and ground flax seed, if desired
1/3 C milk (additional if needed)
2-3 apples, skinned, cored & thinly sliced

-Preheat oven 350.
-In large bowl, combine dry ingredients, then stir in wet ingredients (add more milk if needed for texture.)
-Butter and flour circular or rectangular pan.
-Add batter to pan. Arrange apple slices on top (let them sink into batter a bit)
-Bake 50 minutes - 1 hour (use toothpick to test if done)

Serve room temperature or warm. Delicious for breakfast with hot coffee or tea!!

A Night of Parties For Charity and Art!!

The first stop of the evening was to the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Benefit cocktail reception held on the 4th floor of the Tiffany & Co. Store on Fifth Avenue in NYC! It was a glamorous black-tie gathering before the formal dinner at the 21 Club.

After that, we were off to the Whitney Studio Party at the Whitney museum!! It was a very lively evening as their parties always are!!

The dresses were a great mix of long and short, but all put together with a quirky artsy twist. The setting was so great, and they transformed the usually dismal pit into a fun club-like atmosphere, by putting tents up over the outside openings, and covering the outside floor with black carpeting. There were even palm trees and a disco ball!

A fun interactive artwork was set up in the "outdoor" area, and everyone had fun getting the screen to react in colorful bursts to their movements.

Whitney Contemporaries - Membership
Lenox Hill Neighborhood House - Special Events

Art Openings & Belgian Beer - A Pre-Halloween Extravaganza

The second event at the Whitney in the same week was the opening for "Modern Life: Edward Hopper And His Time". It would have been better to see more Hopper works, and less of the rest. Also, the show could have used more descriptive text panels for all of the works shown.

This guy had the coolest sneakers! Of course I had to accost him in the reception portion of the evening taking place downstairs in the pit. He said he is one of the artists with a video piece on display upstairs in the second floor galleries.

Mexican Brunch Eggs With Tortillas and Green Sauce

This is a healthy update on a favorite Mexican inspired brunch. Adding vegetables means you can use less tortillas and still have great texture, while making this dish even more flavorful!

What to Wear, Where: CT

Stamford, CT - Summer 2010

Ladies:
- racerback tank tops / dresses - all colors, fabrics
- shorts - shorter the better (yes, even with heels to go out dancing at Butterfield 8)
- Gucci accessories - (don't worry if you don't have the real thing - fake bags seem to do just as well! - just make sure you have a big Gucci label so everyone is sure to know you have classy taste!)

Recipe: Mexican Eggs with Tomato

This recipe is so delicious - especially when using fresh tomatoes from the Farmers Market in the summer!




1 very large very ripe tomato, or several smaller very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 small yellow onion, finely diced
1/4 - 1/2 fresh jalepeno, finely diced (with seeds for spicier outcome, no seeds for milder flavor)
Salt
Dried oregano
Fresh cilantro (optional)
Cheese (such as mozzarella or Jack - optional)
Oil (such as grape seed, or vegetable)

- Heat some oil in a large pan. Add onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent. Add jalepeno and cook another minute. Add tomato. Cook for a minute, add oregano and salt, stir.

- Break eggs over top, careful not to break yolks. Cover pan, cook on low heat for a few minutes.

- Cook until eggs are to your liking for doneness. Turn off heat and sprinkle cheese over top. Let rest with lid on until cheese melts.

- Serve in a bowl with some cilantro.

Recipe: Fabulous Easy Banana Bread!!

2 C flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp baking soda
Ground cinnamon
Grated nutmeg
Ground flax seed
Wheat germ
Salt
2 slightly beaten eggs
6 very ripe (brown) bananas mashed
1 C sugar
.5 C olive oil
Walnuts
Dark chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 bread pans.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Make a well in the center.

Combine wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix into dry mixture. Stir until just combined. Add nuts and chocolate chips.

Divide batter between the 2 pans. Bake 45 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove and finish cooling on a plate.