Adventures in Tea

There is a place in the West Village known for it's amazing tea.

Jaida and I popped over there the other day to see what magic we could find. 

Inside, it's quaint and tiny and full of tea--it was only the two of us in there when we arrived, and it was a good thing. With several customers at a time, it'd be hard to move around.

It also smelled amazing.

I'm a fan of just about all kinds of tea, but I was especially in the mood for something fruity and decaf.

This is what I found.

One sniff and I knew this had to be mine (I seriously wish there was a way to turn this blog into a scratch and sniff post)!

The little shop was lovely and you can bet that I'm going to head back. If you're in NY and you have a thing for tea, you should definitely stop here.

After we left, we stopped into Sushisamba, a new favorite of mine. We were waiting for handsome Paul and the boyfriend, but we were suddenly starving.

I downed this amazing Berry mixed drink (non-alcoholic), and then we split some shishito peppers.

The boys showed up just after we'd finished, and we ate and talked and laughed before heading home.

As the night came to a close, I made some of my new tea before bed.

It tasted as good as it smelled.

My Own Little Bit of Romance

I've said it before but I love romance. I watched Battlestar Galactica for the Starbuck/Lee Adama love story. I have a list of book boyfriends that I swoon over (Jonah Griggs, Mr. Darcy, Clayton Danvers, etc). And of course, it's the romance that inspires my own writing. 

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that recently I've had also my own bit of romance.

It's all thanks to this guy.

He's helped me make a lot of my dreams come true already. He's the guy who inspired Unraveling and Ben Michaels, and he makes me laugh like no one else.

I could describe him in great details, but I'm not sure I'd be able to give you an accurate picture of him. So instead, I saved some of his own words.

I give you the some recent compliments the boyfriend has given me:

This song (Every Breath You Take by Sting) reminds me of you. Because I'm always watching you. 

You're just so beautiful it makes me physically ill. Like sick to my stomach. 

I love your calves. I just want to take a bite out of them. 

I love you so much I want to put you in a locket and wear you around my neck. 

You're too cute. I just want to sell you on eBay. 

You have a really cute nose. I just want to eat it. Would you mind?

These are not actually the weirdest ones I've gotten, and despite their originality or maybe because of it, they always make me smile and laugh.

It all went down on a Thursday. He planned a date--and was adamant that it would be an epic date. He even sent flowers with a note saying a black car would pick me up at 4:30 pm and I shouldn't wear heels.

He didn't leave his name on the card, but I knew it most likely the boyfriend and not a serial killer inviting me out for a night on the town.

The car showed up on time with the boyfriend in tow and we headed up to 5th Avenue and then Central Park. The boyfriend had a picnic basket with a bottle of chilled white wine. 

We debated where to go for a moment, but quickly decided to be touristy and rent rowboats. The boyfriend did all the rowing so I just enjoyed the view.

We split the bottle of wine and when we passed under this bridge, the boyfriend stopped rowing and took out a box in that beautiful shade of blue.

And then he proposed.

It was prefect.

And if you can't tell, the ring is also perfect--very me.

I sort of have a thing for the color purple.

This proposal was a complete surprise for me. It's true that the boyfriend and I have been together for about/almost four years and that he moved to New York because I lived here, but we hadn't really talked about it. 

After we rowed back to shore, we did dinner at Sarabeth's (one of my favorites). 

Then over the weekend we met up with my sister and her husband to celebrate before hitting up an improv show. 

 We got to regale them with the story and hear about their two week honeymoon in Maui which meant it was just about the best weekend ever.

A Secret Adventure

Last week Danielle asked if I had plans after work on Wednesday. I said I didn't. She replied, "You do now." It was time for a grand adventure.

I thought Danielle was the mastermind and that we were all at her mercy, but in fact Jaida, Jackie, and Jess were all in on it too and I was the only one who had no idea what we were doing.

Good thing I trust them....sometimes.

Danielle did not get stuck in the subway doors this time which was a good thing. We headed down to the Lower East Side.

And headed into an alley. 

 

Per usual, Jaida humored me with poses while everyone else tolerated/ignored my picture taking.

At the end of the alley was a restaurant: Freemans. This is one of the many hidden restaurants and bars all over the city, and naturally, we're interested in checking out all of them.

Inside was a cozy restaurant decorated with candles, flowers, and some taxidermy (not my favorite but it made the place feel rustic). There was even a Neil Gaiman look-a-like tending bar. 

We got our table--right under this guy.

With this view.

And we chatted and ogled the menu. Then we ordered and chatted some more. Then the food arrived.

It was a glorious surprise. It didn't end there though. For dessert, I talked everyone into heading over to BabyCakes for gluten free cupcakes (for Jaida). All their desserts are vegan and gluten free, kosher, and low on sugar.

We were quite absorbed when we first arrived. There were so many gluten free options.

Danielle, Jess, and Jackie all ended up with lemon cupcakes.

Jaida went for a churro and some cookies to go.

I stuck with my favorite: red velvet.

We sat outside and ate and people watched and then we noticed the cutest hipster gift store ever: Top Hat.

They have everything from cards and stationary to old books that have been hollowed out to hold flasks, and things to put on your feet to make you sound like a horse.

So yeah, naturally that's how the night ended.