11 Questions

Just like Cheryl, I also saw these cute, easy, and conversational questions on Anna's Blog and decided to steal them for myself:

1. If you could live anywhere in the world for just a year - where would you live?

Argentina. I have always wanted to live in South America, not forever but for a year or so. Argentina seems like nice central location to explore the unique forests and the majestic Andes mountains. It would definitely improve my Spanish (another goal) and hopefully it would involve working in some kind of medical clinic, maybe vaccinating children.

2. What were you like in high school?

I was a cheerleader and a dancer. But I also broke the rules, mostly without getting caught. I was always up for a good time. I usually had a boyfriend but never let them tell me what to do, hence most only lasted a few months. I was pretty much more reckless version of my current self.

3. How old were you when you had your first kiss?

I was 13. He lived a couple of houses down the block. We hung out all summer.

4. What is you go-to coffee order?

Winter - Starbucks grande skinny cinnamon dulce latte.

Summer - Dunkin Donuts medium iced toasted almond coffee with skim milk.

5. How many states have you lived in?

4 (not that I like to admit to all of them) - New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and yes - West Virginia.

6. When was the last time you told someone you loved them?

About 10 minutes ago when I got off the phone with my Dad.

7. What is your favorite color?

Pink, but teal is my favorite color to wear.

8. Favorite cartoon character?

Old school - the coyote, as is roadrunner and coyote. I think in a weird (and often treacherous) way, he lead me to believe anything was possible even if it didn't work out the first time.

9.What were you doing a year ago today?

Probably about the same thing, sundays have always been my veg on the couch days.

10. What did you want to be when you grow up?

I wanted to be a doctor. Although that's not exactly what I ended up doing; I was definitely meant to be in the medical field and I think being a Physician Assistant is even better for me. However, there were some brief moments where I also wanted to be in the mob; it seemed so glamorous.

11. Today is going to be a great day because...

I got to relax all day on my couch (with a brief trip to the grocery store) and from my couch I got to talk to my sister in Ireland and will be watching the Academy Awards.

The Most Amazing Birthday DInner

Yesterday was my birthday and my lovely family came to NYC to share it with me again this year. It was awesome. We did something new and totally different - we did a tasting menu. Somehow when searching for a new restaurant to try this weekend, we stumbled upon Perilla in Greenwich Village. It offered the option of a tasting menu chosen that night by the chef. We love dining out, so this seemed like a perfect new adventure to try. My mother, father, and best friend Andrea came in from Pennsylvania and my brother and Angelique joined us as well. Shortly after making a reservation for my birthday dinner, I was playing around on their website and discovered that the restaurant was open by Top Chef season 1 winner Harold, making it even more exciting! It was quite the experience, both because it was so much food and it was a couple hour endeavor. Hands down though this was the best dinner I've ever had in my life. I ate every morsel.

• First Course - A raw fish course of spanish mackerel served with cucumber garnish and a cucumber sorbet. The cucumber sorbet was particularly delicious and intriguing as it tasted sweet like a sorbet but also exactly like a cucumber.
• Second Course - A cooked fish course of bronzino with crispy skin served over potatoes.
• Third Course - Another cooked fish course of sturgeon over chick peas. This was served with a cocoa, coffee "dirt" and blood orange shavings. The chick peas were the most tender and delicious I've ever tasted.
• Fourth Course - A pasta course of gnocchi with shiitake mushrooms served in a butter truffle sauce. I almost licked the plate.
• Fifth Course - A meat course that was a duck duo. A spicy duck meatball with parmesan shavings, which he is famous for and did not disappoint. The second way was a seared duck breast and also delicious.
• Sixth Course - A palate cleanser course of vanilla custard with grape berry sorbet.
• Seventh Course - Finally the dessert course was a double chocolate soufflé served with a coffee caramel sauce, and of course a little vanilla ice cream with a candle on it!

Fabulous doesn't even begin to describe the food we had. The most amazing thing was that if you ate all the components of each course together it was even better than they were individually. Hopefully, I was able to mildly do this meal justice because it is just not possible to capture how wonderful the whole meal truly was.

Prague... Finally!

Since most (all) of you who read this have known me since college; you also know how much I have wanted to go to Prague. In fact, there was a very treacherous drinking day at the BU Pub senior year where Val and I almost booked a quick jaunt over to Europe for a visit. If you remember correctly, after slightly sobering up we reconsidered the travel time and instead went to Miami. But finally now, the day has come!

For a quick catch up as to how all this started, my sister is currently living (and occasionally studying) in Ireland. Naturally, the fam wanted to visit. After coordinating 5 different schedules, we settled on traveling during the first 2 weeks of April. The first week, will be a Brady Bunch style vacation through Southern Ireland. For the second week though, the kids are breaking away and doing a little Euro traveling on our own. Truthfully, I'm really excited about both parts.

The Prague visit really went from a concept to a reality about 3 weeks ago when plane tickets were booked. The kids had planned on making Prague the last city we visited, so naturally that would be where we flew home from. Once that plane ticket was booked, I at least had to make it there for a little bit. But today the hotel was booked! We have what sounds like a wonderful 4-star hotel for 3 nights within walking distance of Old Town Prague with only a few booking frustrations. Most impressively, we found a hotel room for 3 people. After much research, I've learned that most European hotel rooms contain only 1 double bed or 2 twins. Very different than America, where bigger is better. Finding a reasonable triple room, makes the satisfaction that much better. But nothing can beat my excitement that I'm going to Prague AND I'm getting there before I'm 30 years old, which was definitely a goal of mine.