Category Archives: Places to go

A visit to the Bronx Zoo.

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This weekend Mr. Sweet & I decided to pop in the car with two friends and take the short drive over to the Bronx Zoo.  It was one of those perfect Saturday’s where there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the temperature was in the 70’s with a cool breeze and you didn’t want to spend your time indoors.

With 265 acres of wildlife habitats and attractions, the Bronx Zoo’s size and impressive exhibits make it impossible to see everything in a single visit.  If you ever decide to go, don’t forget to wear sneakers.  You will be doing a LOT of walking.  You also have to go in with a plan, which of course we did.  We hit all of the major sites we wanted to see: Butterfly Garden, World of Reptiles and African Plains.  We then leisurely walked back to the gate we came from popping in and out of exhibits.

Ever since I was a kid I always loved visiting the zoo.  It isn’t simply an excursion to see animals from the wild, but also a way to learn about them and a way to feel inspired to help protect them.

If you are ever in the NYC area I suggest you take a trip to the zoo.  It is fun for all!

Note: Be aware that there are several exhibits and attractions that are not included in the regular cost of admission, including The Children’s Zoo, The Bug Carousel, the Butterfly Garden, camel rides, the zoo shuttle and the Congo Gorilla Forest.  We bought a VIP pass ($29.95) which let us into all attractions.

The search may finally be over!?!?!?

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Back in June of 2009 I wrote a blog post about the absence of French macaroon’s in New Jersey. I had been in search of the perfect French macaroon and was beginning to think that the bakeries in my area were not going to provide me with the deliciousness that I needed. I thought about opening my own bakery, I am a good baker, but not that great. I know the ins and out of kitchens and ovens, but not the ins and outs of owning my own business. Plus I just don’t have the funds or the time right now to start up my own company.

In the beginning of May I received a reply to the blog post. It was letting me know that a new dessert shop was opening the first week in June  in Little Falls, New Jersey.

Could my dreams be coming true?

A place where I could get my macaroon fix on?

Yes!

The new dessert shop is called Asalt & Buttery. From what they told me they are going to have numerous flavors including salted caramel (always a favorite of mine), chocolate, pistachio, green tea, raspberry, cherry, yuzu (a Japanese citrus), fiori di Sicilia (a creamsicle like flavor) and many more.  They also will have pavlovas, real sicilian cannoli, eclairs, cupcakes, cookies (choc chip, punitions, sables and more) caneles and scones. Oh my!

Their website is under construction but you can follow them on Facebook.

I am looking forward to checking them out once they open. I hope that if you are in the Little Falls, New Jersey area, and are in need of a macaroon fix you will too!

Asalt & Buttery
480 Main Street
Little Falls, NJ 07424

Hermits need to eat right?

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 82. Try 15 new restaurants (1/15)

Lately K and I have been hermits. We have been staying at home way too much. No going out, no visiting friend’s houses or having them come to us. It has been quite nice to just enjoy each others company and the many movies and shows we have caught up on.

So yesterday I finally said enough is enough. I had a bad “one of those days” at work and felt that we needed to get out and do something. So instead of staying at home and cooking dinner we decided to check out a new place that opened up in our town, Zinburger.

Zinburger is a new restaurant that has a selection of gourmet burgers, salads and sides, along with shakes and desserts and a selection of wine. The restaurant offers a full bar with cocktails, 20 wines by glass and 12 beer selections with 4 that are on tap. The wine is actually the main reason that I wanted to go to this place on this particular day. I didn’t want to open a bottle at home, so I thought we could enjoy good food and a glass of wine. Of course I ended up getting sangria instead of a glass of wine, but hey sangria has wine in it, right?

The atmosphere of Zinburger was sleek and contemporary with a lot of wood and earth tones. The waiters were upbeat and very friendly. K and I both decided to order one of their gourmet burgers. I went with the Samburger (applewood smoked bacon, american cheese and thousand island dressing) and K went with the Plain and Simple Burger (but added cheese and wild mushrooms). Each burger was perfectly done with juicy patties and topped with premium ingredients. Since the burgers do not come with french fries we decided to order a side of sweet potato fries. Afterwards, we both ordered shakes to go. I went with the Banana Foster and he went with the Butterfinger.

Ooooh my goodness the shakes were heaven. I wish I could have had the Banana Foster Shake today as my lunch.

Everything was delicious. We enjoyed our meal out, but I do have to say that this place can be a bit pricey. The burgers themselves can be anywhere from $10 to $15 (without any sides). A side of fries will run you $5 and the shakes are $6 each. Wines can be ordered by the glass or bottle and all start around $5 and go up from there. At the end of our meal we ended with a bill of approximately $60 for two people. If you are looking for a new place to check out and something out of the ordinary Zinburger is the way to go. Just be aware that you will spend a bit more on your meal then the usual burger joint.

86. Go on three random day adventures and I use my GPS to find my way home (2/3)

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# 86. Go on three random day adventures and I use my GPS to find my way home (2/3)

This week K had off from work. He needed to take his vacation days or he was going to lose them. So when I found out he was going to take the next week and a half off I jumped at the opportunity to take a couple of days off myself. We have been working hard on the wedding and just needed sometime to get away and do things. Our first place we decided to go was the Yeungling Factory in Pottsville, PA. K has always liked breweries and we thought that this would be a nice little road trip.

Our friend D decided to came along with us. I love long road trip with friends. Especially friends that make me laugh hysterically. We had so much fun on the drive just talking, listening to music and laughing. The trip was long, but worth it. Once we got to the Yeungling Factory we hit the gift shop and decided to take the tour. If you have never been to a brewery it is definitely cool to check out. It was quite interesting to learn how everything was made before it gets to your local bar or restaurant.

The Yeungling Factory is the oldest brewery in America. It was established in 1831 and has been solely owned by the Yeungling family and no one else. Our tour guide was amazing and funny. She even gave D the “teachers eye” when he started talking during her tour.

{The beer flew by!}

I especially loved the part of the factory where we were able to see the assembly line and the underground caves where the beer used to be housed.

Internet. The time sucker.

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Ever since I have gotten engaged all I keep doing is reading through bridal blogs. I look for ideas and sometimes even find DIY projects for the wedding. I love reading about other brides and knowing that they are going through the same things I am. I see that brides have done weddings in less time that I have (we only have 6 months). That things can be done with a reasonable amount of money and effort. They inspire me to go that extra step and to really put myself and K into the wedding.

I don’t know about you but sometimes the internet just sucks me in. I’ll log on to check my email and then next thing you know I’m reading reviews about new movies coming out and filling my online shopping cart with aprons and things from Etsy. The internet. It is a time sucker. You log on and next thing you know the sun has gone down and dinner has not been made.

No matter what…whether it be a wedding, having a baby or just logging on to check my e-mails the internet will always suck me in.