Airport delays mean new airport lingo

After forgoing a gourmet dinner at a NYC restaurant for a burrito at the airport, who doesn't want to be inspired by random quotes? Not this girl! Two thumbs up to Tammy's words of wisdom colorfully highlighted in the CLE food court.

I had quite the adventure with airport delays this week (although nothing like our infamous 2008 Vegas trip). On Monday, I stuck it out for two flight cancellations and then turned around and went back home...almost before I remembered that I had checked a bag.  Because I was flying out to make a morning meeting and didn't want to be rescheduled for a flight later in the day, I had to go through a process called "deviation" to get my bag back. It boiled down to a lot of typing and some paperwork from the agent, but it was pretty painless. Definitely much better to be stuck in your own home city v. elsewhere.

I tried again to make it to NYC by rescheduling my trip for a one-day extravaganza on Thursday. Success on my morning flight, but then multiple delays/flight switching to get home. But, I did make it to my own bed that night, and before midnight to boot!

Pickle shots & writing on the "real" Facebook wall

Yesterday was a fun travel day. Since I've been in this job for the past year or so, when I travel to NYC, I pretty much stick to Tribeca since that's where our office is based. Yesterday brought me to Midtown for a brainstorm at Facebook's NYC office, so I rode the subway in the city for the first time in a WHILE. Took the fun way home via Grand Central Station and Times Square and bought the Pickle a mini #6 train from a toy store in Grand Central.

Facebook's NYC office is pretty much what you'd expect: high-energy and creative with hilarious conference room names (think Shake Weight) and lots of young execs flitting from place to place. Got to autograph the Facebook wall above and dine in the cafe.

No late-night work session, so I had drinks with co-workers, including a crazy, never-to-be-consumed-again shot: the Pickleback. What is it? Jameson chased by pickle juice. Totally disgusting and I swear I still tasted it in the middle of the night. I detest pickles (except my favorite 2-year-old), but peer pressure sucked me in.

Capped off the night with a trio of yummy cookies from Milk Bar and attempted to star spot since The Other Woman is filming literally right outside my hotel. No luck. :(

A working mom's travel warts

I've always been told that I'm a smiley girl. I tend to look on the bright side. I love writing about stuffing my face at a great restaurant or conquering a new city. But post-babies, travel comes with more downers than delayed flights or crappy service at a restaurant.

These days, happy sighing after inhaling a luscious dinner is followed by a little guilt when I get a report that the kids screamed bloody murder when the sitter came (tonight).

A work roadtrip might entale alternating between tweaking a PowerPoint deck in the front seat and suiting up in the back seat with a hooter hider contraption and my b pump (true story: road trip to Indy earlier this month).

And, at least through the next few months, it definitely means pumping in gross airport bathroom stalls and often arguing with TSA agents about my non-threatening pump while going through security.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining (well sort of) -- I'm just admitting that travel is not all glamour and gorging. (That stuff is just what's fun to write about.)

Lean in or out -- I'm a big believer of doing whatever you know is best for you. I love my profession. I know I'm making the right choice for my family and racking up experience to draw from when my kids seek out career advice. I'll keep doing what I'm doing as long as I enjoy the stimulation and personal growth that a career can offer and have the unparalleled support of my amazing husband. It just makes me feel better to put out there that the balancing act is hard.

3 cities in 3 days -- and a new state!

VIP manipedi + visiting baby, fun at Charlotte yummy restaurants

You know your travel schedule is a little crazy when foursquare gives you kudos for checking into three different airports in three days...

First trip was a mama-and-me visit to Charlotte with the baby to see my college friend Jen. I realized that I hadn't visited since right before I got pregs with the Pickle...long time.

I ate well at Soul Gastrolounge and The Crepe Cellar on Friday night while Jen's husband Matt did a bang-up job of first time babysitting. The tiny Soul reminded me of a hipster Michael Symon joint since pork belly and fried brussel sprouts were on the menu. At The Crepe Cellar, we created a new menu item by concocting a mashup of the brownie and banana fosters crepes...mmmm!

On Saturday, we shopped and basked in the 77-degree weather while the Cleve got a dusting of snow (sorry).

On Sunday, Jen pulled some strings (she's so VIP) and got her regular nail and massage places to open up just for us...can't think of a better way to spend St. Paddy's Day! However, I bet Matt would disagree as he was my babysitter and baby chauffeur...at one point, he delivered Sienna to me for a feeding while I was having my toes done!

Flew home on Monday morning to spend the day with the Pickle before a work road trip to Indianapolis. Yay for a pin on the map for Indiana!
 

Delightful dishes at Late Harvest Kitchen, roadtripping to a new state, my packing "helper"

Found a great local spot thanks to Urbanspoon called Late Harvest Kitchen.The locally sourced chicken thighs and gnocchi were amazing! Sticky toffee pudding was good too.

Now, back in NYC until Friday. Time to kick off March Madness and finally fill out my brackets!

5 year blog anni - better late than never

I'm back in TriBeCa for work and am finally sitting down to take a minute to think about how much life has changed since I started writing this blog five years ago from London.

• I've been on about 31 trips to 16 states and 4 countries
• I've been part of March Madness - twice
• I finally got to Asia - twice (Thailand and Japan)
• I ran a crazy ass race that involved four miles and 12 donuts
• I'm flown 8 times while pregs (2 babymoons) and capped off my last pregnancy with a penthouse suite at the Trump SoHo
• I've welcomed two mini traveling companions to the world and took each of them on mommy-and-me trips
• I've learned to live through the annoyance of breastfeeding and biz travel
• I've traveled most frequently to NYC (14) and Vegas (3)

Next up in 2013 is a baby-and-me trip to Charlotte later this month and our first vacation as a family of four in Hilton Head this summer!

Bubby's!

If you're ever in Tribeca in NYC and are looking for a breakfast spot (and aren't on a diet), go to Bubby's for delicousness!

I've had their biscuits (breakfast), goat cheese tart, and Sicilian meatball sandwich with mac n cheese (lunch) and all were amazing.

I'm dying to try their midnight brunch that features hamburger and pancake specials...mmm!

Christmastime in the city

I love being in NYC during Christmastime! The city lights are even prettier with the holiday glow. At my previous job, I used to time my trips to meet with reporters for this time of year so I could see the tree at Rockefeller Center and buy gifts at the Bryant Park holiday market. I used to always stay in Midtown, so they both were nearby. Now that I stay in TriBeCa, not sure that I'll get out that way.

Since this trip is my first one to NYC as a mom of two, it made it extra special that my hotel left me some welcome back gifts (I crushed all of those yummies after dinner)!

I got to my hotel close to 8 p.m. so I was STARVING. Checked the menu at Locanda Verde and I could not stay away. Place is so busy that even the bar has a waiting list for seats. Got one pretty quickly and feasted on burrata (my most favorite cheese!) with butternut squash, leeks and truffle dressing followed by an amazing pumpkin agnolotti (mini ravioli). Divine! Tried a gin inverno holiday drink with rosemary and prosecco and practically skipped back to my hotel.

Last night was the first time Phil and I used FaceTime with the Pickle and he loved it! We spend a lot of time looking at photos on my phone before bedtime anyway, so it was perfect (I hear, "Mama, look at pictures?" A LOT).

Moroccan and meatball magnificent meals in NYC

Katelyn and I met a colleague at Café Mogadore, a charming, delicious Moroccan restaurant in the East Village Wednesday night. At our colleague’s urging, we tried the best halloumi skewers ever (sorry Nighttown), chicken tangine, a strawberry rhubarb crumble and a pear and cranberry pie. Everything I tried was sooo good. I’m not a huge chicken fan, but the chicken that was roasted in the tagine was incredibly flavorful and tender. It also was free-range and organic…yay! I ordered the casablanca sauce, which featured chickpeas and raisins, and the dish was served over cous-cous. There were other meat, sauce and grain options – I was happy with the choice my server recommended.

Chicken tagine with casablanca sauce and cous-cous

Strawberry rhubarb crumble

Pear and cranberry pie

A friend from work in Cleveland (thanks JHo!) made me promise to try one of The Meatball Shop locations during a NYC trip, so I had it on the brain on Thursday. This place grinds their own meat, sources their ingredients locally and also makes homemade ice cream sandwiches, using different cookies (you can mix and match!) for the sandwich.

Meatball smash with spicy pork balls, pesto and mozzarella

I tried a Meatball Smash, which includes three balls with your choice of meat (or vegetarian option), choice of sauce and cheese on a yum bun. A light side salad comes with it. I ordered spicy pork balls with a pesto sauce and mozzarella. The serving size was perfect – not too big and not too messy and YUM!!!

How could I not try the homemade ice cream sandwiches? I sampled caramel ice cream sandwiched by a snickerdoodle and chocolate chip cookie. Amazing!
 We ordered takeout to make it back for a meeting despite a full house, and our order came out in about five minutes.

House made ice cream sandwich with caramel ice cream and a snickerdoodle and chocolate chip cookie

Go to both of these places. They were awesome and I’ll go back to each of them.

Out with a bang in NYC…Trump SoHo penthouse style

Since I’m 7.5 months prego, this trip was my last jaunt to NYC pre-Kabongo. It was a pretty great one! Wednesday night, we lucked out with an invitation to share a duplex terrace penthouse suite at the Trump SoHo that our colleague scored via a complimentary upgrade. Think The Hangover villa, but two stories, no tiger in the bathroom and I’m coming home with all of my teeth. This mofo goes for $7,500!!!!!!!!!


Our home away from home was the Mac Daddy of the penthouses since it was the only bi-level option with two bedrooms on separate floors, two living rooms, three bathrooms, two entrances, a kitchen, a dining area and a kickass wrap-around terrace with amazing views of the city (including a telescope focused on the Empire State Building). Oh and our couch was a Fendi.


My pics don’t do the views justice. At 2,300 sq. ft., this baby is bigger than my house. I was most excited about the ginormous tub with floor-to-ceiling views and the extra fluffy and extra- long bed pillows…both are a prego lady’s dream

Our colleague invited some work peeps over to enjoy our lux digs and the great views so this mama stayed up WAY past her bedtime. Totally worth it!


The bar has been set for hotel rooms. I challenge the universe to dazzle me at some point in my life with an option that’s even more amazing!

Mad for Momofuku

It all started on Monday when I spotted one of these cookies on a counter at work. I bit into the blueberry and cream one, moaned in delight and then read the packaging to see it was from Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC. That's all it took to get a Momofuku fix. Chef David Chang is amazeballs.

I ate at the Ssam Bar for lunch a couple years ago and still remember how yum the pork buns were. I googled locations close to Tribeca and thought my coworker Katelyn and I could try to grab dinner at the Noodle Bar despite them only taking rezzies for large parties. Uh no. There was a 60-minute+ wait in the teeny tiny entrance.

Tried Urbanspoon for a backup rec and it pointed us a few doors away to Momofuku Ko. Deny #2. Although, checking the menu prices afterward, that might not be a heartbreaker.

We decided to grab some Japanese fare across the street and I had a udon dish with curry and tofu. A bit salty, but I heart udon and was happy.

When Katelyn said she could go for something sweet (this girl eats veggies all day long), I mapped the closest Milk Bar, googled the hours (open till 12 a.m.!) and off we went. I had THE BEST milkshake I ever had (sorry Michael Symon). It was the perfect size (petite), consistency (not thick) and taste (chocolate-covered pretzel...nice malty flavor). YUM!!!!!! Katelyn bought us a cookies assortment and we split the compost cookie with butterscotch, potato chips and a host of other deliciousness. I will kill her if she eats the cornflake-marshmallow one without me.

In other good news, I am back on track with manis in NYC. Even got a pedi tonight and it was warm enough to sport my flip flops to dinner (sorry wintry-mix Clevelanders). My prego tootsies are good as new!

Back home tomorrow night.

New luggage!

Mama got some new luggage!

I've had a hodge podge of bags for a while so when I saw Heys USA on Rue La La, I scored a new set of super lightweight luggage with awesome spinner wheels (these things cannot tip over). Love them so far and so does The Pickle.

I'm buying a condo in NYC

J.K. I've just been to NYC a lot in the past two months (5 times). I'm woefully behind in posting about my last two trips (3.14/15 and 3.28/29). I think it's because I jinxed myself in my last post about manis helping to make a biz trip awesome. No manis during my past two trips! However, I do have a gift card to use at a nail salon there next week and I did still score dinners, albeit so-so.

So, here's a quickie recap of yum dishes:

Sarabeth's Tribeca on Greenwich: The risotto was underwhelming, the beet salad was better, and the raspberry bread pudding was mmmm.

Pecan: Still my go-to breakfast spot (and sometimes lunch). I got short-changed with my sweet potato waffle last time! During my first sampling, I got just blueberries. This time I got blueberries, strawberries, bananas and nuts! I didn't think this dish could get better. AMAZEBALLS!

Bread Tribeca: Allison picked this spot for lunch on Friday, and it was good! Got the soup/panino combo (tomato soup and proscuito/mozz panino). Nom nom.

Rosa Mexicano: Disappointed with the atmosphere and eats, so I'm not posting pics. I hadn't been to a NYC location, just D.C., but a colleague had and she agreed the quality and atmosphere were lacking.

I hadn't had a chance yet to shop during one of my trips, so we played hooky before our flight and stopped at Topshop (I’ve been to both U.S. stores now…and bought nothing at neither).

Our lux dinner consisted of Pinkberry and then Auntie Annes at LGA, and honestly, they hit the spot!

Headed back to the Big Apple next week...I've only got so many potential trips left before my belly is forbidden to fly!

I love Hodges' tots so much I flew out of CAK and didn't complain

OK so the second part of that statement is a lie. I totes bitched about my 6 a.m. flight out of CAK last week. I'm still recovering, which is why this post is so late (ba da bing!).

I accepted an invite to a blogger preview dinner to Hodges before planning another trip to NYC, which Phil was super excited to attend. If you know my hubs, you know that super excited is not a state he's in often, so I could not bear to disappoint him and took a super early flight out of CAK to make a meeting since I couldn't fly out Wednesday night.

OMG. Even though I stayed at a hotel near the airport the night before, it's not really fair for anyone to be around a six-month prego lady who had to get up before 5 a.m. But enough complaining, and onto the food!


I cannot be more excited to be working so close to Hodges! Chris knows his potatoes, of course (TOTS!), and I've loved the food I've sampled. The hangar steak entrée is a winner for both lunch and dinner, and the French onion ravioli is a unique dish worth trying. Here are so picked from the two meals I've had so far:

Baked potato tots

Pork and beans app

Scallop with English peas from the Chef's Garden

French onion ravioli (lunch portion)

Cool check presentation

I'm supposed to go for lunch tomorrow, and it will be my third visit in just over a week. Yay April!

If I can score a mani and a good meal, then it's a good work trip

True story: regardless of most other circumstances, if I can get a quick mani and eat a fantastic meal, then I'm usually pretty happy about my work trip overnights. Checked off that list when I was back in NYC on Tuesday night and Wednesday, and got a bonus hotel room upgrade to a suite with a lovely morning view (see above).

I traveled with a co-worker who drooled over my Nobu dining last trip, so I had to bring her there. I ordered more of the rock shrimp, veggie tempura and veggie roll to share and this time, we added skewers (I had scallops with a tasty sweet terryaki sauce) and dessert. Check out my fun Bento Box below (chocolate lava cake and green tea ice cream).

Before dinner, we tried a new nail place, YaYa Nails on Grand in Tribeca, and I found a new polish that I LOVE: OPI's I Have a Herring Problem from the Holland Collection.

For breakfast Wednesday morning, we went back to Pecan on Franklin Street, but this time, had time to sit and eat, so I ordered a sweet potato waffle that I had been lusting after since my first visit last month. It did not disappoint!

For lunch, we tried Peace & Love on Greenwich, and I had a yummy chicken, mozzarella and avocado panini.

Love all these places for eats and can't wait to discover more spots when I'm back next week.

Celebrating 4 years of travel blogging at Nobu

Pic: courtesy rodrigues.se

I'm celebrating my four-year blogging anniversary today!

Since I was in NYC again for work, I marked the occasion with a fantastic dinner at Nobu last night. If you remember (What? You don't remember where I ate during my trip four years ago?), I went to Nobu in London - the trip that sparked this whole blog. Like in London, I dined at Nobu in Tribeca alone, but this time by choice instead of being stood up by a reporter. :)

Since my dinner was fairly late and I wasn't that hungry, I noshed on small plates: rock shrimp, a veggie roll (no awesome sushi since I'm pregs) and life-changing veggie tempura. I tried avocado (OMG), sweet potato and pumpkin. (For a Cleveland veggie tempura experience, try the broccoli tempura app at XYZ Tavern in Gordon Square.)

I checked for rezzies earlier this week and since none were available for 29 days (!), I sat at the bar, which was actually a great spot since I got to watch all of the sushi roll prep.

So, after four years about writing about my travel adventures, what observations can I share? Here are my top 5:

1. Even after two trips to Asia, I'm still clumsy with chopsticks
2. When in a new city/country, if you're polite and make an effort to assimilate, locals will help you
3. I'm so fortunate to be able to travel because of the jobs I've had, which make for low-risk and low-cost trips
4. Having the means to travel, makes me appreciate being based in Cleveland, which is a wonderful place to live
5. Since I've become a mom, it's important to me to instill a love of travel and culture curiosity in my kids

On that last note, it's funny -- after a trip we're planning for April, Dylan will have been in five states before he turns two. I still have more than half of all of the states to visit! And, I've still not been to Mexico. Once kid #2 comes along (Kabongo), travel will become more interesting (and expensive), but I'm optimistic!

Eating my way through TriBeCa

Per foursquare, the last time I was in NYC was in April, but I can't remember why I was here for the life of me. (Just checked the blog, and it was for a mini conference.) The purpose of this week's trip was to get to know colleagues based in NYC whom I'll be working with on one of my new clients (first biz trip for the new job!). I'm used to staying in midtown Manhattan during my trips, so it was nice to spend some time in TriBeCa this time.

I stayed at the TriBeCa Grand, a lovely boutique hotel, which sports Malin + Goetz products, which I just read about in this month's issue of Lucky (yes, this type of thing is important). Since I like to sleep with a white noise machine at night, I loved that my room could pipe in it automatically with the turn of a dial (shut up).

Yummy, yummy eats during my visit. First Shake Shack for lunch at its new Battery Park location. I had the fantastic 'shroom burger with a caramel shake. Then dinner at Locanda Verde, a new authentic Italian hot spot helmed by a chef from Cleveland (thank you Cleveland Foodie for the rec). It was packed!

My colleagues and I shared plates of burrata (love affair), beet salad, wild boar and brussel sprout papperadelle pasta and scallops. We did not share our desserts. :) I had a delightfully warm caramel apple crostata tart with goat cheese gelato.

For breakfast and lunch (unplanned) today, we went to Pecan for muffins, smoothies, soups and sandwiches. Cute and cozy.

Besides our meals, which were close to the office, I didn't get a chance to venture out much. We did score manis before dinner last night, so that was a treat.

As I get onboarded for my new job, I'll be making a few more visits over the next month or so. Looking forward to getting to know more of TriBeCa. (P.S. TriBeCa stands for triangle below Canal Street...I had to look it up.)

Travel 2.0

I'm in the Big Apple for a last-minute, quick work trip. I was happy for the chance to go to NYC, but navigating my new responsibilities as a mom can be a pain. Here's what can be frustrating:

1) Coordinating schedules with Phil to make sure he can be home when I'm away
2) Waking up god-awful early to catch a flight since I need extra time to feed the baby
3) Lugging my pump everywhere...Marc Jacobs, please, please partner with Medela for a kick-ass bag
4) Pumping on the road...desperation yesterday led me to a bathroom in Five Guys in Greenwich Village. Not awesome. A shot of tequila about five minutes afterward did help, though.

With all that said, I know the most annoying things are temporary, and I'll figure out the rest. Certainly not worth forgoing adventure...

Happy New Year!

Hello, 2011! 

 

Yesterday, my brother and I were chatting about the Back to the Future Movies, and he said one was set in 2015...where are our flying cars, yo? We've got four years to bust them out. 

 

2010 was a milestone year for me. I welcomed a new travel companion into the world, and wow, is my life different...in a good way, of course. Before I had a baby, I had always hoped to be really mobile with my child, and The Pickle is a trouper. (He's actually helping me type this, which is why an early draft published before I was finished.)

 

Here's a recap of 2010:

• I survived first-trimester nausea on a work trip to Chicago
• I took a road trip to D.C. while still hiding my bump. I discovered my new prego bladder-emptying threshold (every 45 minutes)
• Phil and I took an amazing babymoon to Key West
• Dylan and I took our first trip together to Dallas (it was a blast, but I came home exhausted)
• I took my first work trip to NYC and endured the pain in the ass of mobile pumping (airport bathrooms blow for this)

Here's what's coming up in 2011:

 

I'd love to take an international trip with Dylan...can you imagine how cute his passport will be?! There are two possibilities for this: a Morocco trip with Sarah or somewhere in the Caribbean for a friend’s destination wedding. Fun!

 

Most likely, I'll have multiple Vegas trips, both for work and fun (Phil and his best friends will be celebrating their 40th this year). Dolla dolla bills, y'all!

 

Happy travels to you all!

NYC 5th Avenue Holiday Windows

During this biz trip, I had about a 30-minute break each day to walk outside. That's not enough time to shop (Phil is rejoicing), so I settled for second-best: window shopping. Luckily, this is the best time of year to do so since the department stores go all out with their holiday displays. Plus, this article in the Times, which previewed the windows, got me in the mood.

I didn't make it to Barneys or Bergdorf, but here are highlights from Cartier, Saks, Fendi and Hollister. 

 Love, love, love the big red ribbon on Cartier's building. Big gold boxes that opened and closed with jewelry inside were in the windows.

A snippet of the windows at Saks, which were very whimsical. There was a light show at night, but I missed it. Sorry for the bad photo. At least you get a glimpse of me in the reflection! :)

Fendi's display was my favorite! The lights looked like icicles dripping.

While not Christmasy, Hollister's giant panel of a live feed of California waves was pretty cool.

Happy holidays! Any big trips planned to close out 2010?

Back to work and back on the road

I've been back at work for a month, and today was my first biz trip (and the longest time I've been away from The Pickle). I'm in NYC for an overnight, and so far, so good. The weather forecasters freaked me out a little last night because of the anticipated snowfall in Cleveland, but my trip to the airport and flight were smooth. Fingers crossed for an easy trek home tomorrow night. 

Initially, I thought about having Phil bring the baby, but then I realized I'd have little free time and that flight prices were astronomical (I bought my ticket not long ago). I'm glad he's not here because all of the little kiddies I see bundled up make me cringe. They look like little icicles. Poor peanuts.

It's been more than a year since I've been in the Big Apple, and I'm glad to be back. (Seeeee. I told you I'd still want to travel.) However, I think I lost my mojo when it comes to basking in unseasonably warm weather here in late November/early December. It is COLD.

Today I had only 30 minutes of free time so I wandered by Rockefeller Center and Radio City to see the trees. I remember walking by there a couple years ago in December and taking off my wool coat because it was so warm. Not this trip. No sir.

I was reading old NYC posts and came across this one about my favorite places to Christmas shop while in the city. I am a creature of habit! Today I stopped in the MOMA Design Store and I'm hoping to at least get a peak at the holiday shops at Bryant Park. And, I dined at an old standby for dinner, Buddakhan. Hooray for edamame dumplings and rock shrimp! I love taking people there and it was perfect because my client was staying in Chelsea.

During my walk, I saw some pretty holiday windows at the big stores. I hope to see more tomorrow and share some pics. Tis the season!