uber stranded/making the best of it

Okay, so remember how I was stranded? Well now I am here until FRIDAY! Holy smokes. After a minor freakout I decided to breathe, call work, figure it out, and lace up my running shoes. Of course, this morning it was sunny and beautiful here in NYC (REALLY Southwest?!) so I was pretty pumped about a run on the Hudson River Trail.

So beautiful! Of course, there were some crazy icebergs in the river too.

I spy the Statue of Liberty! I ran a wonderful 6 miles in about a 8:30 pace. I took my time, brought my camera, and loved every second of it. I also got to wear my sweet glove mitten dealies.

The mitten flap tucks in the back of the glove! How cool is that?

After my run I met up with my amazing friend Jes from my second Bike and Build trip. Can you believe that I was so excited about what we ate for lunch and seeing her that I didn’t take any pictures of us together! Here’s what we looked like on our cross country cycling trip.

We ended up at Max Brenner’s, which Morgan actually suggested this morning! Check out that sweets menu! We both wanted to eat “real” lunch too, and we ended up getting paninis.

Tomato, mozz, and basil. Of course, the waffle fries didn’t hurt either.

You better believe we ordered desert! We decided to share the chocolate eggrolls (complete with peanuts and banana)

Holy freaking smokes. These were insane. We each had 1.5 and moaned through every bite. There was also chocolate and caramel dipping sauce.

Ohhhhhh yeahhhhhhh. During lunch I got the call from Southwest that I won’t be getting out of here until Friday, so Jes and I made plans to meet up either tomorrow or Thursday! So good to see you lady!

After lunch I stopped at the grocery store to gear up for the storm of the century. There were SO many people there! I grabbed my essentials (of course, these are Madeline essentials which meant sweet potatoes, yogurt, and brussel sprouts) and then headed back to my bro’s apartment for a nap! After my napski I worked on a couple of things, read a little, and decided that it was time for dinner. Since I went a smidge overboard on lunch today I kept things pretty light.

Marshall does not have a functioning oven, so I needed to limit myself to the microwave and stove top! Sweet potato topped with sauteed brussels was just what the doctor ordered.

Oh, and check out what my new haircut looks like when it isn’t professionally styled!

Hey there no makeup face! I am really loving my new do!

Okay my friends, I will be holed up here watching the Biggest Loser and fending off the snow! Michaela doesn’t have work tomorrow due to the storm so if the trains are running we have big plans for a romp in the snow.

Have a great night everyone!

stranded

It’s never a good day when you start it crying on the phone to an airline! My flight back to Phoenix that was supposed to leave this morning was canceled last night. I re-booked it for first thing tomorrow annnnnd that one has already been canceled too. I’m now on the last flight to Phoenix for tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed for me! The biggest thing for me is that I know this is screwing over the people I work with because we have such a small staff! I’m trying to relax and enjoy my “freebie day” but knowing that other people have to work extra because of me makes me feel horrible. I know there are lots of people in my shoes in the Midwest and here on the East Coast today, so I’m trying to do my best to breathe and deal with it!

Enough pessimism this morning! Lets talk about yesterday afternoon. Remember when I said I got my haircut? Wellllll I went from Helena Bonham Carter

to very short and sassy!

(bad photobooth picture, sorry!) I love love love it! I stumbled upon this little salon and a funny little guy named Billy cut my hair while singing The Who songs the whole time. My hair was getting so shaggy and said and I think it’s loving being footloose and fancy free!

After my haircut my brother and I met up with our cousin Corban to go to an organic vegetarian restaurant called Counter. The picture I took of the outside was pretty shaky so I’m not even going to bother posting it! I had high hopes for the food after being incredibly impressed with the menu! I wanted to order one of each! I ended up with a potato, apple, and pear flatbread.

It was so pretty!

The verdict? It was good, but not fantastic. Maybe I just ordered the wrong thing? This was a vegan flatbread and I really think I missed the cheese on this guy! I AM from Wisconsin after all! I still had a blast with Marshall and Corb though! We went over to Corban’s little studio which just so happens to be just about a block away from Marshall’s (they are besties. How cute!) and watched the KU game. After the game it was time to crash!

This morning my brother headed to the airport at 4am because he is off to visit his lady in LA. For some crazy reason his flight hadn’t been canceled. Of course, he is now stuck in Chicago. Swell. I guess I should be thankful that I’m stuck here in his apartment rather than in an airport, right?

To leave on a positive note, here is another picture of me at the Today Show yesterday!

I am going to do my best to make today a great day! I hope you do too!

that time I met matt lauer and other adventures

So seriously, I don’t want to leave. I am ready to pack my things and move out here and live in a tiny box of an apartment! Maybe some day… Anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to since I defrosted from the race yesterday!

First off, I got dressed.

I was so excited to wear this dress I decided to brave it in the cold! Of course, I wore a long sleeved shirt and two pairs of tights under it…

At this point Marshall and I were starving so we headed over to the Grey Dog for sandwiches.

This place was so freaking cute and had an amazing menu full of delicious looking sandwich and salad options. I opted for the Green Apple which had turkey, green apple, and raspberry wasabi mustard on cranberry walnut bread.

The bread was fresh from the oven and oh so good! We topped it all off with a peanut butter chocolate cookie.

Seriously. Delicious. Cookie.

After all of this tastiness Michaela came down to the Village to go shopping and then head over to her place. We found her a couple of great things for work and I had a blast trying on thigh high cowboy boots.

Now I love me some cowboy boots, but these are a smidge on the absolutely ridiculous side.

After we were all shopped out, we headed out to Mic’s place in Astoria. We were starving (that seems to be the theme of this trip) so we headed right to dinner.

Bareburger has some pretty nutso burger options

I ended up going with a semi normal Avocado California veggie burger.

It was pretty fantastic.

It was then time for us to curl up with some popcorn and watch the Super Bowl! Of course, we ended up gabbing all night and only watched the commercials, but I was still pumped about the Saints! Yay team!

This morning we woke up bright and early so I could fulfill my lifelong goal of meeting Matt Lauer. I watch the Today Show every morning, and I have since high school so I am kind of a big fan. Michaela is the only person I know who would get up at 6am to go with me!

I was pretty thrilled. Michaela took more and better pictures than I did so I’ll post them as soon as she emails them to me! But I DID get to say hi to both Matt and Meredith AND I shook their hands!

I love you Matt Lauer. And I WAS on tv during the weather forcast! Thanks Al Roker!

After we became celebrities, Mic and I wandered around for a bit before heading back downtown to pick up a few things my mom asked for. Since we ate breakfast on the early side we were hungry for lunch around 11:30 and decided to hit up Mamouns for falafel.

My brother was kind enough to join us (probably because I told him I’d pay).

Okay, so it has actually been a really long time since I have had falafel. Why? Well, when I was in college I got falafel from this place on campus and something in it made me sick. Really sick. Disgusting sick. I have not had it since! Today’s verdict? Delicious! I don’t know if I can put all of my trust in falafel just yet, but it might be back in my food rotation soon!

After lunch it was time for me and Michaela to part ways. I had SUCH a blast hanging out with her these past few days and I can’t wait until our path’s cross again!

I miss you already poodle!

You are now all caught up! Phew! I am contemplating getting my haircut this afternoon, we shall see! Only 15 more hours in NYC then I am back to the desert…

Make it a great day everyone!

leisurely stroll through central park…

Okay, remember when I said whose bright idea was this? Well it definitely wasn’t this kid…

Not a happy camper, especially when he checked weather.com and saw that it felt like 7 degrees outside. Because of the cold we decided to cab it over to Central Park. Because of the cab we got there a little early and had to wait for about 40 minutes in really cold weather in our running stuff (because we decided it would be easier to not bring extra stuff. Definitely easier. Maybe not so smart).We still managed a smile.

Okay, I managed a smile. Now keep in mind that I am the one currently living in Arizona and Marshall is the one living here in New York…

At least he had his mittens! Okay, okay, I was pretty freezing too.

We wandered over to the start line and found our green corral.

I was jealous of that guy’s face wrap. We started getting a little antsy at this point. It was cold, we were ready to run, and Marshall and I aren’t very patient.

FINALLY the gun went off and we got started! We had initially planned on running together, unless one of us was feeling “really fast,” and stuck by each other for the first mile. Some where along the way I kicked it up to pass a couple of people, looked over my shoulder, and Marshall was no where to be found. I decided to just keep on running and I’d catch him at the finish (I know, bad sister). I kept my pace right around the 8 min/mile mark pretty easily. I had decided before hand that I was running this race for fun and not for time so I wasn’t going to kill myself at a 7:30 pace and not completely take in the fact that I was running in Central Park! I have been to the park many times, but I have never run there before today! Since today is the Super Bowl they had a spot where we could run over a mat for the team we are rooting for (Go Saints!). It was also definitely a hillier route than I am used to running in Phoenix! I loved every second of it and crossed the line in 32:47, an 8:11 min/mile pace! (I was late stopping my Garmin, but otherwise the times were spot on.) I finished just a minute or two ahead of my bro.

Did I mention that it was Marshall’s first race?! Yay brother! I had initially planned on meeting up with some fellow bloggers that were doing the race, but seeing as we didn’t bring other clothes and we were definitely getting cold after we cooled down a bit (Marshall was getting REALLY cold), I decided to skip it and head back to his apartment. After tea and warm showers we are feeling MUCH better. Now we are off to brunch!

This is probably the last you’ll hear from me until tomorrow night because I am spending the rest of today and much of tomorrow with Michaela. Yes, this means we are having a grown up slumber party. I’ll catch you guys tomorrow! Make it a GREAT day!

whose bright idea was this?

This would be the question Marshall moaned at me this morning as our alarms went off at 7am. We are gearing up to run the Gridiron 4m in Central Park! Granted, it’s early, it’s 17 degrees out, and we were out until 1am last night. Oops.

So what happened yesterday…

We ventured uptown to pick up our race packets. The New York Road Runners Club is housed in a beautiful building right off of Central Park (jealoussss). We thought about staying up there and wandering around but it was very very windy and cold yesterday. So decided to go eat lunch instead.

This place is a stone’s throw away from Marshall’s apartment and basically serves you a bowl of hummus and you get some pita to help scoop it into your mouth.

I’m considering making this picture the background on my computer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prettier bowl of hummus! They also brought out warm, fresh from the oven whole wheat pita bread

Oooh yeah. After we ate we wandered around Soho for a bit before the cold drove us inside. Marshall and I ended up taking naps and watching episodes of house until it was time for me to go to the Pour House to meet up with my good friend Syvenna for a drink and to watch the KU game. Of course, I’m a horrible blogger and I forgot my camera, but it was great to see her and KU won! Good times! I had half of a Bud Light because I’m crazy like that. Marshall and Corban (my cousin) ate pizza while they watched the game, so I grabbed something fast on my way back to Corb’s apartment.

More hummus? Yes please. This time it came from a place called Mamoun’s, which is actually listed in the book of 1001 Things to See Before You Die!

I think the falafel is really the thing to order, but sometimes it does weird things to my stomach and I didn’t want a falafel belly for the run today!

After I ate we headed out to Brooklyn to cool bar/art gallery to see a showcase of bands that are signed to the lead singer of Grizzly Bear’s (who I love and actually got to talk to last night!) record label. The bands were great and I am kind of in love of the crazy paper cloud deal they had behind the stage.

We had grand plans to be back to Marshall’s apartment at midnight, but we didn’t end up leaving there until about 12:30. I think I finally fell asleep around 1:30, which made the 7am wakeup call a little on the early side… But now it’s time for us to get ready to go! I’ll be back with a race recap!

Make it a great day! Go Saints!

some things never change

Isn’t it amazing when you meet up with a friend you haven’t seen in awhile and it is like no time has passed? Granted, Michaela is one of my very best friends and we still talk on the phone and through emails all the time, but I hadn’t seen her face to face in almost TWO years! Because we are us, we decided to go to the happiest place on Earth for dinner, aka, the Peanut Butter & Co restaurant (Yes, there is a restaurant!!!).

It doesn’t look like much, but check out the menu!

A peanut butter lovers dream! I went with the Bees Knees

Definitely looks a lot like the lunch of a 5th grader, but I loved every bite. Of course, the company didn’t hurt and Mic and I ended up sitting there for 2 hours. After that we wandered around until we found a bar. I got to meet her lovely new boyfriend (who is a speed skater! How cool is that?!) and a delicious pear cider.

Obviously we posed for a picture.

It was so amazingly nice to see Michaela! We are spending most of Sunday and Monday together too! Can’t wait!

Of course, if you have been keeping track of my meals yesterday, you would notice that I really only ate pancakes and a peanut butter sandwich. Unfortunately, this is what happens when you are a busy bee! To remedy this problem my brother and I decided to walk about a mile to this crazy rice pudding place at midnight. Because that is what one does in New York.

Okay, so I LOVE rice pudding and this place had about 25 different flavors to choose from. Marshall went with pecan pie.

I went with cinnamon swirl.

Also, the interior is crazy cute.

It started to snow on our walk home! I may have been the only person in the city to be excited about this…

This morning I ventured out for my daily caffeine fix and made myself a bowl of granola, yogurt, and banana goodness.

It’s no amazing pear pancakes, but it’s pretty darn good!

On tap for today

• picking up race packets for tomorrow
• meeting up with my friend Syvenna
• delicious hummus place
• shopping (always shopping)
• concert in Brooklyn tonight!

Make it a great day everyone!

in case I was wondering what heaven tasted like…

Marshall and I meandered down to the Clinton St Bakery Co for brunch this morning. As soon as I saw this

I knew exactly what I was having. I mean, it’s Pancake Month for crying out loud. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

This put all of my pancake creations to shame. I have eaten a lot of pancakes in my life at restaurants all over this great nation of ours, and these may just have been the best. There was pieces of poached pear in every bite. Holy moly. Marshall got huevos rancheros.

Now that is a pretty looking mess. I definitely snuck a bite and it was drool worthy for sure.

Oh! And I did get out of my pajamas for the trip

Marshall is definitely fired as my photographer. Please excuse my messy hair and the goofy look on my face.

After brunch we went uptown to the MoMA to check out the Tim Burton exhibit.

They wouldn’t let us take pictures in the exhibit, but it was SO FREAKING COOL! I mean, I’m a huge Tim Burton fan anyway, but seeing the caliber of his sketches and the creative process that goes behind every one of his films was amazing. Definitely worth the trip if any of you are in the area!

We spent the rest of the early afternoon wandering around Marshall’s neighborhood (Soho) and trying not to empty out my savings account… We are currently resting our feet before another run along the Hudson. I’m meeting up with my super amazing roommate from college later tonight for dinner and I couldn’t be more excited! Here is a flashback picture of Mic and I from our senior year Halloween.

Britney Spears and K-Fed anyone?

Catch you all later!

rise and shine

Early morning post for you! Of course, it’s almost 8 here, so it’s really not THAT early, but it’s only 5:48 in Phoenix time, which makes it crazy early for a post! My brother is not an early bird, so I took advantage of his keys and hit the streets in my pajamas (my bags were in his room and I didn’t want to wake him, plus, it’s New York, people have seen worse) in search of Starbucks (he is the only person in my family who doesn’t drink coffee. Loser). Luckily, I’m in New York and you can’t walk a block without finding one. My barista had never had a soy latte before so I made him promise me that he’d have one today (this lead to a free 4th shot of espresso, holler) and then I was on my way.

Now that is a sleepy, make up free Madeline!

As soon as I can rally the troops my brother and cousin and I are heading over to my favorite breakfast spot in the city, the Clinton Street Baking Company. Holy freaking yum. If you haven’t been there and you either live in the city or have plans to visit, add this to your list. This is a picture of my friend Rudy the last time we were there.

I think he’s diving into some kind of heavenly french toast concoction. I’m about 5 seconds away from jumping on Marshall’s bed to wake him up so we can hurry up and go!

On tap for today-

• best breakfast ever
• MOMA (Tim Burton exhibit!!)
• vintage shopping (clearly my choice) and a repeat trip to Topshop
• possible run
• dinner with my college roommate/hetero life partner Michaela! Her and I are spending all of Sunday and Monday together, but we had to get some early bonding time in because I haven’t seen her in WAYYYY too long! Actually, the last time I saw her was in New York and it looked a little something like this

Ryan is the distracted one on the cell phone. I’m the one with the puppy.

I have been to New York enough times (I went to school a couple of hours away so we would come down a lot, LOTS of my college friends live here, and when I lived in Maine we would come down every month or two) that my trips are now all about friends, shopping, and food. The way life should be, right?

Catch you all later! Make it a GREAT day! I know I will!

new york, new york

Greetings from Manhattan! I’m currently sitting on the floor in my brothers apartment trying not to fall asleep. That’s what happens when you wake up at 4:30am…

This morning I got to the airport with just enough time to spare, so I didn’t get to make a Starbucks stop (grumble grumble), so breakfast became an apple and a Dr. Will Bar.

An InStyle magazine, a bottle of water, 3 pieces of gum, and 4 hours later, I was in Baltimore and then 45 minutes later I found myself in New York!

I met my brother at his apartment and he suggested a run. Since I basically stand all day at work my legs do NOT like sitting down for that long so I jumped at the opportunity! Marshall lives right near the Hudson so we ran along the river trail. I forgot to bring my camera, but it looked a lot like this.

(source) Plus long tights, more ice, and gloves. I’m bringing my camera tomorrow! I’m so jealous that he gets to do this beautiful route all of the time!

After our run we met up with my cousin Corban (or Corb-Face as I’ve called him since we were little. Best nickname ever) and walked around a little bit. I forced the boys into Topshop. Holy swoonage. I will be forcing Marshall back in there tomorrow so I can try stuff on.

We were all kind of hungry so we decided to go to an early dinner at Jane.

Sorry for the blurry picture! It was cold so I was rushing to get inside. At this point I hadn’t eaten too much real food (lunch was another Dr Will Bar and a couple of 100 calorie packs on the airplane. Homegirl did NOT think ahead on this one) so I was so stoked to see a bread basket.

Corb-Face has been here a couple of times and ordered us the super crazy intense gnocchi (I somehow think this wasn’t the actual name of the dish) to start. I grabbed a couple of bites.

It was alllll about the crispy cheese on these guys! I decided to order the salmon because living in the desert has left me in a serious fish drought (pun absolutely intended)! It was so incredibly worth it.

Hiding under my perfectly cooked salmon was baby carrots, brussel sprouts, onions, and the most amazing caesar vinaigrette. Well played Jane. Well played.

I think we’re calling it an early night so we can pack it in tomorrow! Keep on rocking in the free world!

going green

Fast seems to be the theme of the day today! I have to finish packing (ugh, why do I have so many clothes?!!!) for New York!

Today’s lunch was super fast and super delicious thanks to another packet of Justin’s Nut Butter! This time I went with the cinnamon

And hot damn was it good. I don’t think I’ve ever had cinnamon with pb before, but this combo is here to stay!

Dinner tonight was a quicky compilation of things I didn’t want to go bad in my fridge/on my counter while I’m gone for a week.

Curry powder was definitely the star of the green show here. I spy with my little eye a sweet potato hiding under that mound of greens!

My brother just sent me a text telling me to bring towels (because he needs to throw his away) and toothpaste (because he is out). I’m such a good big sister. Be prepared to see a lot of this kid in the next couple of days!

If only he would have stayed this small and cute…

“See” you in New York! (Or the airport if things get really boring…)