Artful Stew: ENGAGED!!

OMGosh the ring!! Isn't it beautiful?

Since most of my readers are my good friends, you probably already know that your very own Artful Stew got engaged last week!!!

Isn't it exciting!?

I couldn't be happier. My fiance is the most wonderful man in the world. So wonderful that he's the one who bought me my Harry Potter ebook collection the day it was released as my early birthday present! It doesn't get any better than that! We're not sure when or where the wedding will be yet, but we're thrilled that we're going to spend the rest of our lives together. Also, saying "my fiance" is a ton of fun!

He proposed at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens on the first seventy-degree day in NYC. Absolutely perfect. Here are some flower photos to show you how lovely it was:

We spent all last week eating at wonderful restaurants around the city - seven places we had never tried before - including DB Bistro Moderne (using a gift card), Eataly, Chikalicious, Locanda Verde, Buvette, Ciano, Northern Spy Co (best kale salad!), the Spotted Pig, and our favorite place to celebrate, Harry's Cafe and Steak. Unfortunately, our favorite waiter wasn't there to share the news, but we're going to email him and make sure we return on a day he's working so we can celebrate with him. After all, he's been there for most of our anniversary and birthday dinners! Plus, we got some engagement cupcakes from Magnolia, just for good measure.

Below are some fun food photos, too. Enjoy!

Delicious chicken and fancy fries at DB Bistro

Desserts from Locanda Verde

Formerly a sundae at Harry's

His burger and my salad at the Spotted Pig

OMGosh engagement cupcakes!

Laduree in New York City!

Real French macarons have landed in NYC!

Beloved French tea salon Laduree has finally (finally!) opened a store in New York, at 864 Madison Ave.   Renown for their delectable macrons, Laduree has been hinting at opening a New York branch for years, but only now have they officially opened their doors in America.

As you will recall (from the above picture), this was the bf and my's favorite dessert in all of France. We didn't know how much we would love the little almond cookies until we ate twelve in about ten minutes (after waiting in line for half an hour). The flavors are bold, the cookies crisp but yielding, and the goo holding them together is, what I believe to be, the essence of happiness.

The bf and I are still on vacation, so after a scrumptious Restaurant Week lunch (which I will describe in detail in my next post), we headed over to check out the new shop. We arrived at 2:50pm and were out by 3:15pm, so only a 25 minute wait. Not too bad for the first week. Plus, the line was entirely indoors, which made the wait much more pleasant. We got eight macarons - two chocolate, two vanilla, one caramel, one coffee, one pistachio, and one raspberry - for $23, which is insanely expensive ($2.70 per macaron is more than a Magnolia cupcake!), but worth it as a rare treat.

My favorite is the vanilla, and his is the caramel. The vanilla has the strongest vanilla flavor you can find in the United States aside from eating a vanilla bean straight up. I was amazed, but somehow they tasted just as good here in the United States sitting on a bench in Central Park as they did in Paris watching the sunset from the apartment. Unbelievable.

Serious Eats has a much more descriptive article here. They spoke with David Holder, the chairman of Laduree (he also runs Paul, the delicious bakery from our Paris adventure). He claims that we'll be seeing a Laduree tea room with a full kitchen in Soho or the Village sometime next Spring. What a treat! Although, I'm sure reservations will be incredibly difficult to get and the prices will probably be through the roof, but it will certainly be worth it.

TV Smooches Mash-Up!

Happy Early Valentine's Day!!

Courtesy of TV Squad, here is their greatest TV smooches mash-up!

It's really cute and romantic. They even have the Best TV Kiss of All Time - Veronica and Logan's first kiss - in there! Of course, they cute that one off way too early, but I'm fine with it. They've got other really great ones, too: Pushing Daisies, Bones (Boothe and Bones under the mistletoe, so it doesn't totally count, but I still love it), Friends (Ross and Rachel, but I would have preferred a Chandler and Monica smooch, personally), Scrubs (before it got bad), Buffy (aka another excuse to put in a David Boreanaz lip lock - woo hoo!), and many, many more.

Let the smooches begin!

Awwww, doesn't that just make you want to snuggle?

2010 Reflections: Artful Stew

4. I made it to 365 posts on Artful Stew this year. We did it, readers! I know I wrote (or at least conglomerated) the stuff, but I couldn't have made it without your patient eyes and thoughtful comments.

Who knows what next year holds for old Artful Stew. Maybe we'll get a 17th reader, maybe not, but I'm proud of what we accomplished and am hopeful that next year will be even greater.

2011, here we come! Let's do this thing!

2010 Reflections: Love

3. This is the first year that the BF and I have lived together. It's better than I ever could have imagined, and I can't wait to have our first whole year together. We even got a new loveseat and bookcase to celebrate! I'm very much looking forward to some New Year's Day Ektorp assembly celebrations.

The fact that he gave me tickets for a romantic trip to Paris this year has me a little more excited than usual for the New Year, as well! He's the best!!

Happy Summer Solstice!

Hooray! The first day of summer is here!

Of course, whenever we get to the first official day of summer I realize that almost a whole month of summer has already come and gone. Where did it go!?

At least this year's better than last year. It's sunny and warm instead of raining and cold. I very much approve.

Anywho, go out and enjoy the day! Have fun! Have a picnic or a BBQ or at least bask in the fact that the day is super long. I know I will.

The only thing that could make today better is if I was on vacation. Sigh.

San Diego is So Pretty!

Some pretty flower pictures I took at the San Diego Botanical Gardens. Why don't I live there??

Happy Two Year Annivesary!

To me and my boyfriend. We did it! Hugs all around!

[This post has more tags than words!]

State of the Union 2010

Before everybody comes over and rains on my parade with their spin and "he did too much but not enough," I'm just going to come out and say it - that was a great State of the Union address.

He discussed and elaborated on everything I wanted him to. He made proposals which I found strong. He was tough on his adversaries and his predecessor, but still found the moral high ground to admit his own setbacks. He called on the Democrats to (for Jeebus' sake) get things done (HEALTHCARE PLEASE!). He called on the Republicans to stop blocking every piece of legislation that comes through the door. He called on Congress to man up. He even knocked the Supreme Court for being corporatist d-bags. And all the while, he still talked about how he and Congress could work together to make America better for us now and for generations to come.

Because while our President may not be perfect, he's trying so hard to make things better for all of us and you just know that he will not give up until he does; that's why I admire the guy.

Well, that and because the looks exchanged between him and Michelle tonight made me blush by just how crazy in love with each other they are. They nearly beat me and my bf for Best Couple Ever (nearly!).

So just take a night, America, to lay down your critical, cynical arms, and embrace the fact that this is our guy and we can get it right just this once. Please. For me?

I Want to Go to Here

Biggest Chocolate Fountain Ever.

Screw gambling. Gimme chocolate.

Ukrainian Sand Animator

Pretty amazing.



Go here for a synopsis, as I suspect you (like me) do not automatically understand all of Ukraine's history.

Commence Commencement!

Gah! Graduation! For realz! Cap and Gown! Diploma! FEELINGS!

So...

This is how it began. Why am I not surprised, yet still disgusted?

Which do you think I would have been stoned to death for 35,000 years ago in Germany? Beating my village's elders upside the head with this figurine, write a sketch about said figurine, or made my own, more awesome figurine?

Probably all of them. In which case, I would come up with the sketch in my head first, then beat my elders with the sculpture, duck in the woods for a while with the figure in tow, recarve the figure to my own choosing using woodsie materials, and then bring it into a nearby hamlet as a peace offering. Yes, that's precisely what I would have done.

OMG COLLEGE IS ENDING!

Why did it only hit me today that I will miss college?

I have no idea. Maybe it was because today I had my last lecture and workshop classes in college. EVER. Maybe it was the cool breeze and the perfect temperature outside that just made me want to lie in the grass and think about life. Maybe it was those delicious (vegan!!) brownies we had at my last screenwriting class. Maybe it was realizing that I won't see the familiar faces from my Columbia world anymore: my professors, my class-friends, the random movie posters that line the walls of Dodge. Oh jeez, I'm going to need to start using Facebook as a friend-maintainer!

Gah! Why do I suddenly have the urge to apply to graduate school? I wanted it to be over so badly, but I'm going to miss my weekly screenwriting sessions, my bitching about work that I secretly like doing, my obsessive need for approval by my professors, my making friends in classes and secretly hoping that when they get famous they'll help me out, and, weirdly enough, even the deadlines.

Thank goodness I'm signed up for Improv 101 at the UCB already. Now I just need to play the waiting game until another Sketch 301 shows up.

Can I start making my own deadlines? Or, more realistically, can I meet them? Who will tell me how to fix my writing now? I thrive on feedback! I am a feedback machine!

So, I guess what I'm really asking is: Anyone up for assembling an elite writing squad?

Sugar-Induced Dreams Return!

Over the last week, I've had about two or three pretty terrifying nightmares. I don't remember what they were or what happened, but they were mean and uncool. Fortunately, last night I had the following dream*:

First off, I was a member of some elite sorority where everyone had these amazing connections and all got great jobs everywhere. I, being one of these elite, chosen few, was stuck. Here I was getting job offers, but while all of my friends were going for their dreams, my opportunities were primarily janitorial or mass-produced-coffee-making-atorial. I was bummed, but willing. I mean, think about the economy, right? I'm not that great of a writer/artist/person anyway, right?

That's when the painting came to life. No joke. The random androgynous person portrayed in this super abstract, brightly-colored portrait on the wall that I think either two people were carrying or, more likely, was hovering midair burst forth in all their weird abstract color from the painting. It was like what I imagine a 3D movie looks like (I've never been, so this is definitely an incorrect portrayal, but whatevs), where the character, a 2D object, sticks half-in, half-out of the painting like a character in a pop-out book.

Any, he/she goes off on this very uplifting rant about how amazing of a person I am and how I should reach for my dreams and grab those stars up in the sky because they're mine for the taking, etc etc etc. He/She also very much enjoyed my screenplay. It's the first time I've ever had an ultra-confident mentor in my dreams, but I liked it, even if it did come from a 2D abstracted man-woman on a painting in a sorority that doesn't exist and I am not a member of. Interesting...

*Note that, as with all remembered dreams, this is fairly piecemeal and incoherent, whereas the dream itself made a lot of sense.

I Am The Supreme Master of the Universe

Because today, I, Artful Stew, completed a feature-length screenplay.

That's 114 pages of kickin' comedy sizzlezips flying at your FACE!

Life Goal: Achieved.

A. Boo. Yah.

Cookie War!

The first Battle Cookie takes place tonight.

To the victor, go the tummy.

To the loser, go the tummy. But, you know, with less honor.

Place your bets! It's gonna get messy.

Bo'bama Rama!

Why can't there be news like this, this, and this everyday!?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I want more videos and more pictures and... and...

Oh, what am I saying, I just want to squeeze him and let him lick my face!

First Post!

Hello friends!

Welcome to Artful Stew, my new blog, and thus one of my first steps into the world of technology that we all need to succeed in life. Yes, because you cannot get a job these days without a blog, and also I thought it might be fun.

Well, as the title says, this blog is going to be a stew, which I figure is pretty open to interpretation. As I journey out into the real world, there are a lot of things that I will need to learn, a lot of things to add to whatever metaphorical stew I am creating via my life... perhaps we can call it my life stew:

1) Healthy cooking. Well, cooking at all, really
2) How to get a job, and also picking the right job if options present themselves
3) How to keep whatever job I am able to get
4) Apartment hunting and subsequent maintenance
5) Furthering my comedic/writing(ic) potential career
6) Enjoying NYC outside of a university setting
7) I don't have a seven, but it's my favorite number. Deal with it.

So these are things that I will probably post about in a humorous manner. Other topics may or may not include: NY Times Science articles I think are neat, tips/rantings for recent kidney transplant recipients, general musings, and possibly adorable links to puppies courtesy of the Daily Puppy.

Topics aside, this blog is about stew. Stew that is artful. Decide for yourself what that means, and for now, I'll keep the ideas a'brewin' in my noggin' of chunky, sloppy, gulpable, word chowdah.

Yes, that was a shout out. Holla!