Two for Tuesday

If you've at all been following the news, you know that a hurricane has hit the East Coast.  Fortunately, I am okay - have power, but internet has been shaking.  In honor of the days events, I offer you two photos of NYC in the hurricane.

Water pouring into the 9/11 Memorial -

The corner of my 2nd apartment in NYC (that's right, it's like a river now) -

There are so many more photo's and video's I can share, but rather then depressing everyone, I want to remind you all, that while I am safe and sound, there are millions along the East Coast that aren't.  If you can, consider making a donation to a relief organization (such as The Red Cross) or volunteer if you are in the area.  There is much we can do.

We are NY.  We will rebound and recover.  It's what we do.

Hope where ever you are, you are safe and sound.

New kitchen gear

This past weekend was super productive.  I got the following in: 2 Power 90 workouts, 11.3 mile run, brunch with a friend, the library, 2 trips (yes, 2 - once to purchase and one to return a couple of items) to both Target and Marshall's, a trip to Old Navy, baked muffins and cookies & made dinner on Sunday night.  Phew!  I am exhausted just thinking about it.

I had a lot of pumpkin left over after my pumpkin dip batch, so this weekend was all about pumpkin.  All three recipes involved pumpkin.  I am working on the posts and will try and get them posted this week/weekend.

But my favorite part of this weekend?  It was like Christmas in the Sarah in the City household (i.e. me).  Between all of my trips to Marshall's and Target, I scored some awesome new kitchen gear.  I love kitchen stuff and am running out of room in my kitchen for places to put it!  I can not wait until I have a house and I get to have a full kitchen!  My tiny apartment kitchen leaves a lot to be desired (for example, I had to roll my cookie dough out on the table in my living room!).  I am constantly pinning inspirations for my future kitchen - I'll just need multiple houses for all my ideas!  Fortunately, everything I bought was either on sale or just cheap in general.  And most was needed.  I'll leave you to guess which items of the below list was not needed.

- Dough scraper
- Rolling pin
- (2) leaf shaped cookie cutters
- Fall whoopie pie pan (with leaf and pumpkin shapes)
- OXO 'Be a good cookie' cookie spatula
- Brownie Bowls
- 4 cups measuring bowl/cup (what do we call those?)

If you guess the whoopie pie pan and brownie bowls - you'd be right.  So unnecessary.  But who doesn't want to be able to make brownie bowls whenever they want?

I also (finally) opened up and started to use my new pots and pans.  Why finally?  Long story short, I got these pans back in June as a 5 year thank you gift from my last job.  They are a nice Farberware set and I had been dying for new pots and pans.  My pots are a hand me down from someone and my pans cost like $9.99 at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  But I didn't want to spend the money when I had ones that were fine (even if they didn't match and weren't the best quality).  So when the opportunity came to get some nice new ones for free - that's what I did.  And then...they sat in my living room for 3 months.  What can I say, I've been busy!

Happy [early] Christmas to me!

Book Club Friday: Sweet Valley Confidential

Happy Friday everyone!  And because it's Friday, that means it's time for Book Club!

This week I'm reviewing Sweet Valley Confidential.

From Barnes & Noble:

The Wakefield Twins—and the whole gang from Sweet Valley High—are back!

What terrible secret has torn Jessica and Elizabeth apart?

Ten years after graduation, the Wakefield twins have had a falling out of epic proportions. When Jessica commits a complete and utter betrayal, Elizabeth flees to New York to escape the pain and immerse herself in her lifelong dream of becoming a serious journalist.

Jessica remains in California, dealing with the consequences of her heart-wrenching choices. She’s built a full life for herself but dearly misses her sister. With Elizabeth as her enemy, Sweet Valley is no longer the idyllic town of their youth.

Jessica longs for forgiveness. But Elizabeth, always the “good twin,” can’t forget Jessica’s duplicity—and soon decides the only way to heal her broken heart is to exact sweet, sweet revenge…

My review

I won't lie, reading this book made me feel like a 12 year old again - and I loved it!  Brought back all my old memories of reading the Sweet Valley High books and desperately wanting a twin sister.  And to be blonde. This was definitely a nice easy read - perfect for the beach or a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon (when I read it).  Since this was published some additional short story e-books also came out, which I am looking forward to reading.

Was anyone else a Sweet Valley High fan?  And before that - the Babysitters Club (can we get an adult version of that series?)

Two for Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone!  It's a gorgeous fall day in NYC today.  Hope wherever you are the weather is just as nice!

I discovered this TV lineup over the weekend on MTV2 - Saved by the Bell!  I miss SBTB being on TBS in the mornings - I used to watch it while getting ready.  Now I get to watch it on Saturday afternoons.  Awesome.

I bought this spatula this past weekend as part of a kitchen gear extravaganza of new stuff (more on that later).  My favorite part of this spatula is that 50% of the proceeds of each one sold will go to pediatric cancer research as part of OXO's partnership with Cookies for Kids' Cancer, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.  Not only is it adorable, but it's for a good cause.  Get your own here

Power 90: Week 2 Recap

So this was week 2 of Power 90 and I have to say it went pretty well.  Getting up before work is getting easier and it's been so nice to be done when i am done work.

Workouts:
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: Sculpt
Wednesday, Friday, Sunday: Cardio + Abs
Saturday: 11.3 mile run

Diet
Still need to work on this.  Definitely not as controlled as I should be, but trying to take it one day at a time.  Also, with Halloween coming there is candy all over my office and I have no self control.

Thoughts for week 2?
Not sure when this video was recorded, but the music is starting to get on my nerves.  Given the music (and the outfits they were) my guess is sometime in the late 90s.  Fortunately, they have an option for no music and I have been playing my own music (which is so much better!).

Well, on to week 3!  Here we go.

Pumpkin Dip

So I had a post all written for this...and then somehow the whole thing got deleted!  Ugh.  Sometimes I think the machines are out to get us.  Won't be long before they take over the world.  (ok, technology rant over).

Anyways...back to the original purpose for this post.  Today, I'm joining a link up about 'All Things Pumpkin'!  My kind of link up.  I have already looked through the current posts and have a ton of new pumpkin recipes to try.  Thanks for hosting Steph's Bite by Bite and Part Time Housewife!

This is one of my favorite pumpkin recipe and a go to one during fall.  I got this recipe from my friend Angela who probably got it from somewhere else, so thanks to whoever did create this one!

Pumpkin Dip
Courtesy of Angela, courtesy of someone else (most likely)

6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar (I use just under 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup, plus 1 large spoonful pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Assorted dipping items (I like apples and graham crackers)

1. Mix cream cheese, brown sugar and pumpkin together with an electric mixer until well blended
2. Add in maple syrup and cinnamon and mix until blended and smooth
3. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving
4.  Enjoy!  And try not to eat it all in 1 sitting (it'll be hard)

And that's it!  Couldn't be simpler.  And as someone who has made this many times - below are a couple of pointers that will help make this as delicious as possible:

- Make sure your cream cheese is really softened.  It makes all the difference in the consistency of the dip
- Use real maple syrup, not the kind that you buy in the grocery store that comes in a bottle shaped like a woman.  I'm just saying... that's not real maple syrup.  Splurge on some good stuff.  It's worth it.

What's your favorite pumpkin recipe?

Book Club Friday: The Passage

I read this book a while ago, but as Book 2 in the trilogy was released this week, I thought it was time for a review of the first one.

According to bn.com:
An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy—abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape—but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.

My Review
I loved this book.  Yes, (small spoiler alert), it has vampires in it, but this is not a True Blood/Twilight vampires can be good tale.  This is a 'it could kinda happen, holy cr*p' kind of a tale.  I wasn't sure what to expect when I started it, but once I did I could not put it down.  Two nights in a row I was up until 2am reading and then for another 30 minutes while I convinced myself it was a book and no one would be coming to get me while I slept.

I know this review was kind of vague, but I don't want to give away any spoilers!  I am waiting to get Book 2 from the library and can't wait to dig in.

Anyone else read The Passage?  Thoughts for book 2?  Hit the comments!

Wanderlust Wednesday: St. Petersburg, Russia

The book I am reading right now takes place in Russia during the end of the Romanov monarchy.  It's making me want to take a trip to Russia!  It's definitely a country I want to visit and hope to some day (soon).

In honor of this - today's wanderlust takes us to St. Petersburg.  Anyone ever been?

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Power 90: Week 1 Recap

In case you missed my multiple posts last week (where I declared 1 thing and then immediately changed my mind), I am embarking on a new fitness routine - Power 90.  It's by the creator of P90X, but less intense and more manageable (in my opinion).  With the first week down, thought I'd do a quick recap of how it is going.

Schedule
6 days of workouts alternating between a strength workout and cardio/abs, with 1 rest day

Completion
I am proud to say I have completed all 6 days!  Originally, I had planned to do all 6 in a row with today (Monday) as my rest day.  But since I had a wedding Saturday night and was hurting yesterday, ended up taking yesterday off and doing the last 1 today.

Eating
Still definitely need to eat better, but I tried to eat better this week.  I did pretty good until Sunday when my massive hangover required lots of junk food.  Oops

Feeling
One week in and I have to admit I do feel better already.  I just don't have that gross feeling anymore so that is good.  The first couple of days of getting up early to do it before work were tough, but it did get easier.

Overall a pretty good week.  I did also do a 6.5 mile run on Saturday since I am still in training.

Travel List Challenge

Earlier this week I read about the travel list challenge over on A Home Away From Home and was immediately started wondering how many places I have been to.  The places I have visited are in bolded in blue.  

In case you haven't seen it, The Travel List Challenge has 100 "must-see" destinations from around the world.  

Here we go....

1) Alamo

San Antonio, Texas

2) Alhambra

Granada, Spain

3) Andros Island

Bahamas

4) Angel Falls

Venezuela

5) Angkor Wat

Angkor, Cambodia

6) Atlantic City Boardwalk

Atlantic City, New Jersey

7) Ayers Rock

Australia

8) Big Ben

London, England

9) Bora Bora

Polynesia

10) British Museum

London, England

11) Canals of Amsterdam

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

12) Cathedral of Seville

Seville, Spain

13) Cave of Crystals

Mexico

14) Christ the Redeemer

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

15) Cinque Terre National Park

Italy

16) Colosseum

Rome, Italy

17) Crater Lake National Park

Oregon, USA

18) Dead Sea

Israel/Jordan

19) Death Valley National Park

California

20) Devil's Tower

Wyoming

21) Dome of the Rock

Jerusalem, Israel

22) Easter Island Statues

Polynesia

23) Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh, Scotland

24) Eiffel Tower

Paris, France

25) Empire State Building

New York City, NY

26) Forbidden City

Beijing, China

27) French Quarter

New Orleans, Louisiana

28) Galapagos Islands

Ecuador

29) Gateway Arch

St. Louis, Missouri

30) Gettysburg Battlefield

Pennsylvania

31) Glacier Bay Basin

Alaska

32) Glacier National Park

Montana

33) Glowworm Cave

New Zealand

34) Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, California

35) Grand Canal

Venice, Italy

36) Grand Canyon

Arizona

37) Grand Mosque in Mecca

Saudi Arabia

38) Great Barrier Reef

Australia

39) Great Mosque of Cordoba

Cordoba, Spain

40) Great Wall of China

China

41) Hagia Sophia

Istanbul, Turkey

42) Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Hawaii

43) Hollywood Boulevard

Hollywood, California

44) Iguazu Falls

Argentina & Brazil

45) Kiyomizu-dera

Kyoto, Japan

46) Kremlin

Moscow, Russia

47) Lake Titicaca

Peru

48) Las Ramblas

Barcelona, Spain

49) Las Vegas Strip

LasVegas, Nevada

50) Leaning Tower of Pisa

Italy

51) Louvre Museum

Paris, France

52) Macchu Picchu

Peru

53) Matterhorn

Switzerland

54) Mayan Pyramids of Chichen Itza

Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

55) Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York City, NY

56) Mount Everest

Nepal

57) Mount Fuji

Japan

58) Mount Kilimanjaro

Tanzania

59) Mount Rushmore

South Dakota

60) Napa Valley

California

61) Ngorongoro Crater

Tanzania

62) Niagara Falls

New York

63) Notre Dame Cathedral

Paris, France

64) Pacific Rim National Park

British Columbia, Canada

65) Pebble Beaches of Nice

Nice, France

66) Petra

Jordan

67) Petronas Twin Towers

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

68) Portland Head Lighthouse

Cape Elizabeth, Maine

69) Puerta Del Sol

Madrid, Spain

70) Pyramids of Giza

Egypt

71) Redwood National Park

California

72) Rock of Gibraltar

Gibraltar

73) Rocky Mountain National Park

Colorado

74) Ruins of Athens

Athens, Greece

75) Ruins of Pompeii

Pompeii, Italy

76) Sagrada Familia

Barcelona, Spain

77) Willis Tower (formerly Sears Town)

Chicago, Illinois

78) Sedlec Ossuary

Czech Republic

79) Sistine Chapel

Vatican City, Italy

80) Smithsonian Institution

Washington, DC

81) Space Needle

Seattle, Washington

82) St. Peter's Basilica

Vatican City, Italy

83) Statue of Liberty

New York

84) Stonehenge

England

85) Sydney Opera House

Sydney, Australia

86) Taj Mahal

Agra, India

87) Temple of the Golden Pavilion

Kyoto, Japan

88) Teotihuacan

Mexico

89) Tian Tan Buddha

Hong Kong, China

90) Times Square

New York City, NY

91) Varanasi

Uttar Pradesh, India

92) Victoria Falls

Zimbabwe

93) Wailing Wall

Jerusalem, Israel

94) Walt Disney World Resort

Orlando, Florida

95) Washington Monument

Washington, D.C.

96) White Cliffs of Dover

Dover, England

97) White House

Washington, D.C.

98) Winchester Cathedral

Hampshire, England

99) Yosemite National Park

California

100) Zion National Park

Utah

Turns out I have only been to 18 of the places!  Makes me want to jump on a plane and visit some more.  Guess just more to visit in Wanderlust Wednesdays.  

How many have you been to?  Hit the comments and let me know.