Entertainment Weekly 9.23.17

It's Caroline and Patrick's wedding weekend! I'm writing from my brief layover at DTW, where I am

Reading: The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee. I do love my YA lit, and this is a good one. I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the trilogy! She has a great blend of a potential future world with the humanity that will never change.

Listening: Common. I will often read and listen to music at the same time, but I just can't do that with his music-it requires my full attention.

Watching: I just started Drop Dead Diva on Netflix and it is super cute. A little reminiscent of Legally Blonde at times, but I'm ok with that!

Have a great first weekend of fall (that feels like summer)!

xoxoxo
Emma

Eating Elsewhere: Madison

I had a quick trip to Madison to celebrate with my friend Caroline for her wedding shower and bachelorette-but still managed to fit in an impressive amount of food! Not quite as crazy as when Dad and I went to Denver, but still...

Her shower wasn't until the afternoon on Saturday, and I was staying with my good friends Erica and Erik, so the three of us decided to have some fun before. In the morning, Erica told me she knew the best doughnut place in Madison, so of course we had to go there. She wasn't wrong! Dough Baby Bakery is sooo delicious and I need to go back to try more flavors. Perhaps when I'm there for the wedding? We had the blueberry, mint lemonade, and chocolate almond toffee flavors-I think the blueberry was the winner for both of us. It was such a clear and strong flavor, and a little different from what is usually available.

Of course we stopped by Colectivo Coffee as well-one of my fave coffee places in Madison.

For lunch we joined up with Erik and went to a delicious restaurant, Alchemy, that I had actually been to during Lucas' graduation weekend. The stuffed grilled cheese sandwich and seasonal salad were killer.

Caroline's bachelorette began at her and Patrick (her fiancee)'s favorite cocktail bar, Graft-which also has fantastic food. It's heavy on the seafood and meat, so I could only enjoy some of it, but what I had was great. The jasmine rice salad in particular was delicious-enjoyed by vegetarians and meat eaters alike! Everyone else seemed to especially enjoy the scallops as well, and the brussels sprouts were great.

The next day I went to brunch with Erica-the rest of the bachelorette party (Caroline included) seemed in no shape to enjoy delicious food, ha.

We walked over to Heritage Tavern, yet another great restaurant in the Capitol area. I can never turn down a breakfast sandwich, and this one was particularly well done. I like to assess brunch restaurants on their potatoes and Heritage didn't disappoint-they essentially made potato pancakes.

One is not allowed to go to Madison and not consume cheese curds at least once-Erica, Erik, and I decided to hit up the classic Old-Fashioned in the afternoon for said treat and a drink before I went to the airport.

Now, to plan out where I'll eat this weekend when I return...any hot tips?

xoxoxo
Emma

Entertainment Weekly 9.16.17

The kids came back this week...oh boy. It's been good to have them, but it definitely makes getting anything done a lot more challenging!

Lately, I've been

Reading: Wine All the Time by Marissa A. Ross. I would highly recommend this-it has totally inspired me to learn more about and experiment with wine! A totally accessible (and hilarious) guide that is still extremely informative.

Listening: I've been getting some shit for my choice in music lately (that I don't listen to anything new)...but I do enjoy some newer stuff! John Legend, for example, is pretty much a perfect human.

Watching: 30 Rock is going off Netflix on October 1st, so I'm finishing up my rewatch! One episode left...

Have a great last weekend of summer! Bring it on, fall...

xoxoxo
Emma

21 hours in NYC

This summer (following our Denver adventure), Dad and I drove down to NYC just for a day. Sounds crazy, right? It may have been-but it was also 100% worth it, because we were going to see HAMILTON! When we selected our tickets last winter, it felt like the day would never come-but it finally did!

On Tuesday after work (I had a training so I even got out a little early), I drove down to Providence to meet Dad, and we immediately hit the road. We got insanely lucky with traffic and made it to the default bar by my friend Kate's place (where I was staying) by 8:00, so Dad dropped me off and went to his hotel in Queens.

When Kate finished up her yoga class, we headed over to a new wine bar that had recently opened around the corner, Pop & Pour Cafe. It is a tiny space but adorable-and has delicious food and drink! I had also started to forget the joys of happy hour but was soon reminded. Come on, Boston-please hop on that train!
Despite having no plans until brunch before the matinee, I woke up early (of course), but took full advantage of that to enjoy the perfect summer day. I hopped on the train-oh how I love NYC public transportation-and went straight down to Central Park. After walking from the bottom up to around 72nd St, I stopped by Le Pain Quotidien for a croissant, fruit, and cappuccino to tide me over until brunch. Unfortunately the scaffolding outside kept a lot of light out, but it probably is my favorite chain so it was definitely worth it.

I also swung by Alice's Tea Cup for some looseleaf tea to take back with me-the Kashmiri green chai is such a treat with almond milk and honey.

Dad and Kate then met me by the Bethesda Fountain for a little stroll. Dad had never been to Central Park just to spend time there, so we went through the ramble on our way back up town. It's pretty amazing that you really can forget that you're in a city while in Central Park-and even get lost!

We brunched with Kate, her friend, and his sister at a great place right by her apartment (also, weekday brunch? The greatest!) before heading back down to Times Square.

Waiting in the line to get into the theatre was crazy-we all had tickets already, yet were in a crazy long line to get in. Everyone was so excited and there were clearly a range of people in terms of all demographics.

What to say about the show itself? It was amazing. I had such high expectations for it given all the hype and how many times I had listened to the soundtrack, ha-and it lived up to them. I was a little concerned because it of course wasn't the original cast and a couple of the leads are played by their swing performer for the matinees. However, I didn't need to worry-everyone was fantastic!

Dad was not nearly as familiar with the show as I was, but I think loved it just as much. He was astounded at some of it (especially loving the timely line "immigrants-we get the job done") and has since purchased the biography-it's sitting on his coffee table!
After the show, we simply drove back to Providence and then I continued on to Boston since I had to work the next day. We didn't get quite as lucky with traffic on the return trip, though it was still 100% worth it.
Dad-thank you so, so, so much for taking me to see Hamilton! It was well worth waiting almost 10 years :)

xoxoxo
Emma

Entertainment Weekly 9.2.17

I guess it hasn't been so weekly lately...again with the traveling! Someday I'll get caught up on all those posts too...maybe on this long weekend? Though I will definitely be trying to make the most of what's left of summer as well, along with fully embracing the start of football season! Go Blue!

Reading: I was so excited to find The Admissions at the Ann Arbor Public Library-Friends of the Library book sale. I've been on the hold waitlist for it for ages, so I was totally willing to spend $2 on it. It was definitely really engaging and wrenched at my heart-I highly recommend it!

Listening: I listened to A LOT of my usual podcasts while I was driving to and from Michigan last week, as well as singing along to musicals at the top of my lungs and an audiobook. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was actually a great one to listen to-and I am pretty picky about what I will listen to rather than read myself.

Watching: I began watching the Defenders while at camp with James, so have been working on that. I just have 2 episodes left-can't get enough of superheroes making sarcastic and witty comments!

Have a fantastic Labor Day weekend! Oh, and GO BLUE!

xoxoxo
Emma

Eating Elsewhere: Denver (Part 2)

Our second day in Colorado was not much shorter, despite flying out that night (I believe our flight was at 11:59pm), but we didn't manage quite as many food stops. We still fit as much in around the christening and family party, though!

Of course we had to eat before heading to the Boulder area, but had to leave early enough that we didn't have time to take advantage of the many fantastic breakfast/brunch restaurants. Thankfully, Lucas knew of a great bagel place, Rosenberg's Bagels and Deli. I had a classic bagel sandwich, as did Lucas, but Dad amped it up with cream cheese and caviar on his. I was also pretty happy to take advantage of their nitro cold brew-so yummy! The combination of current and modern certainly created a fun atmosphere.

As we drove back into Denver after our (extended) family time, we had to make a stop at one of Dad and Lucas' favorite breweries, Black Shirt Brewing. I really enjoy beer, though don't drink it as often as they do, so was happy to take advantage of their flight-otherwise I certainly would have only been able to try one!

Their music theme is also super fun-they sell some awesome artwork, both prints and original, and the name of the brewery comes from Johnny Cash. Plus, their taps handles are microphones!
We finished the evening with dinner and drinks at the Rackhouse, a taproom that shares space with C Squared Ciders and Bierstadt Lagerhaüs Brewery. The restaurant is located above the cidery and brewery, so we were able to look down on their production.

I really enjoyed my cider flight-the lavender was particularly good! I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but it was delicious. 

The food was also excellent. Dad immediately noticed the soft pretzel on the menu, so naturally we started with that. I then loved the banh mi (subbing in fried green tomatoes) and mac & cheese. 

By the time we left, Dad and I pretty much had to be rolled to the airport, but it was totally worth it! There's only about 98 more breweries (no exaggeration) and many more restaurants to explore!

xoxoxo

Emma