let's go back

to october 7th.

migas (or at least a version of them) made with leftover tortilla chip crumbs, with some sort of cheddar sliced over the top. sliced tomatoes (from the roommate's boyfriend's CSA). steamed broccoli (gimme a break. i like it steamed--just not too steamed). a session black (cheap and delicious and in adorable bottles). tortilla chips (i love those $2 bags).

not bad for a monday night.

nacho friend.

oh my goodness. big love.

36 hours in new york, new york.

about a week before this adventure, dominic, my friend and husband of one of my bestest friends, emails me to ask if i would be interested in coming to new york to surprise yelena (said bestest) for her birthday. he's throwing her a surprise party in their apartment and would like to get me a plane ticket to doubly-surprise her. of course i agree. he asks about my dissertation; i tell him that it can wait for another weekend. and thank him all the times for the offer. (a note: yes, this is an ode to the nytimes "36 hours" series in its travel section.)

FRIDAY.

noon
1. ready already.
i actually look out the window as the plane touches down at LGA, already a little nostalgic for it all. though i was in new york last summer, it feels like decades ago, and i know i won't be back until the fall. i had planned to take a bus to y+d's apartment but i am too excited and get in a cab. i text dominic, who is at murray's cheese. i am happy to meet him there (doesn't everyone love that place?), but he'll be home by the time i get there.

130pm
2. the one person.
since i am to be a surprise, i have pretty much told no one i would be in new york (except for my friends in north carolina who i have begged to watch chloe (one of them agrees) and take me to the airport, which i end up paying someone to do, and my mother, who would lose her mind if she later found out i got on a plane and she didn't know). the one person in new york who knows i'll be there is april, who i am hoping is grossly pregnant but mostly looks like she just ate a burrito (it's too soon for the giant belly anyhow). she nervously meets me at y+d's apartment and we go to mile end for lunch, consuming much of the vegetarian items on their menu.

we also venture to gristedes to pick up items for the party and i almost lose my mind because they sell tins of charles chips and mallomars, both of which i do not buy. because it's ridiculous.

400pm
3. the constant surprise.
at this point, i am mostly hanging out with dominic, cutting peppers and making barefoot contessa's onion dip, which something i promised to do (i used to make this dip if i was throwing a big party; it's always a hit and it's really important not to think about how fattening it probably is.). he gives me myriad instructions about setting out food, who is coming over, and how this will happen. i am nervous about the potential for late-arriving guests and early-arriving yelena, who is texting him to pick her up early from work. it's easter weekend and everyone's gone and it's her birthday, for christ's sake (she wasn't that demanding).

friends begin to arrive (i am a surprise each time, to varying degrees of excitement), as does the cake (and cake plate!) and strawberry shortcake decorations and streamers. we begin drinking who-knows-what. a note: we later learn that yelena does not know who strawberry shortcake is, because, well, USSR.

700pm
4. yes, yes, they are in the building.
it's all actually a surprise. she had no idea. it's insane. dominic's web of lies lead her to the apartment and we were all there with loads of drinks and foods and lots of vine-ing and cake and chatter and helium sucked from the balloons and suddenly it was 100am and friends are having very serious, very drunk conversations on marriage.

SATURDAY.

1100am
5. we've got to do our taxes.
we caffeinate. y+d go to have their taxes done (i know this is going to happen before i even arrive. moving this tax appointment would have added to the complexity of the surprise.) i need to buy jeans, as i am wearing a pair with a repaired hole in the crotch and another one forming (i blame the bike-riding), and am happy to walk around and look at people who don't look schlubby (get ahold of yourselves, UNC students) and remind myself that new york is lovely and remains the nombril du monde.

the new jeans already have bike grease on them.

130pm
6. all the merry.
we reconvene at five points because they have pitchers of bloody marys and eggs rancheros. it is at this moment that i remember that brunch in new york could probably be had as late as 300pm but in north carolina, we are lucky if anyone serves it at all (or it's worth leaving the house for).

300pm
7. not opening ceremony.
the three of us stroll around soho and its surrounding hoods, sucking down australian coffees (i had a flat white) from happy bones and looking for the next, newer opening ceremony. yelena buys a shirt that resembles a shirt she was photographed in when she was four (not to be confused with 3-year-old yelena at the top of the post).

we pass pearl + ash, a restaurant apparently named for me (y'all know yelena calls me pearl, right?).

we've barely finished brunch at this point and are thinking about dinner, but decide against this place because it's so meaty (she later reports back that it's pretty awesome if i want to consume some animals).

800pm
8. named for its hood.
part of the birthday lie was there would be a big dinner on saturday night at vinegar hill house. it was not true (ha!), but there was no reason why it didn't have to be. the only subway ride i took in my trip was to dinner and dominic even paid for my ride (he's really a catch, that guy). tracy joined us--really, it was like i had gone back in time, having dinner with these ladies on a saturday night. i can't really remember what i ate: beets, brussels sprouts, some sort of pasta something. more drinks.

by the time we left, it was late and my flight was early early. we went home and drank amaro (gifted to yelena the night before) and passed out.

SUNDAY.

700am
9. cabbing back.
i grab a cab and head to LGA. the cabbie repeatedly calls me "princess" and makes me guess where he's from (ecuador). i am home before noon. i could've stayed camped out in y+d's living room longer, but, well, work. and i should really hammer out that dissertation already.

thank you, herr's.

don't you want to know how potato chips are made?

birthdayed out.

ok, so it wasn't like this photo. this is a picture of me eating a burger at minetta tavern in 2010.

but the birthday girl consumed: a 1000-seed date and banana muffin, coffee, a raspberry-filled cupcake with passionfruit buttercream, a diet dr pepper (which tastes NOTHING like the real thing), a handful of fries, half a sandwich (that's all i packed; i knew what i was in for), a carrot, a handful of potato chips, a pint of stout, a burrito, and a negra modelo.

OH yes, i did. people just kept feeding me.

all the football.

in the last 2 weeks, i have not only been to a professional football game, but also tailgated it (defined as drinking beer behind and/or near a parked car) while wearing team gear. on christmas eve day, i witnessed the buffalo bills beat the denver broncos OUTSIDE. they are also one of losing-est teams in the NFL. but that's neither here nor there.

more importantly, i purposely went to a bar to watch another football game YESTERDAY. the university of houston played penn state in the cotton bowl and i was happy to see the ol' alma mater kick some ass. with a 23 oz miller lite. 2 of them. and a plate of nachos and potato skins.

with casey, of course. i could never have done it alone. friends don't let friends football alone.

also, hello, 2012.

in preparation.

this is getting complicated. let's count: there are 2 caseys, 2 alexes, 2 michelles. both caseys have a last name that starts with "w" and both michelles live in new york. there are probably more duplicates but seems as though i am in favor of mentioning caseys and michelles. (additionally, shira has at least 3 friends named amy, 2 in the triangle. we each have a hannah, but she also has an anna and a suzannah. did i mention i am moving in with her? MUCH better things are on the horizon, and more confusion as to which friend is being referenced.)

so, on saturday, casey (who has the hens in his yard) drove me to a million (actually 3) grocery stores plus the liquor store to buy things for the punch. when we came back, i made us some rye toast with cheese and a fried egg. and he put potato chips on top of it! blake and i are huge fans of potato chips IN our sandwiches but never really ventured into the open-face potato chip realm.

maybe because they fall off? no idea. he looks very serious in the photo. a jedi mind trick to keep the chips on top? i hope.

oh, lemon.

liz lemon is really (real-o) cracking me up these days. and, this week, the episode ended with her shouting some sage advice, "put potato chips on your sandwich!" yes.

blake and i have been saying that for years.

remedied.

have i mentioned that i love remedy quarterly? and that i backed them on kickstarter?

well, remedy quarterly is this awesome little magazine put together by some brooklynites and contains food stories and remedies of sorts. today, i learned on twitter that the magazine was seeking remedies for hangovers, so i submitted my favorite: a can of dr pepper and potato chips. i will continue to believe that this is the ideal remedy for everyone, not just me.

as pretty as a lady bird.

a trip to the lady bird johnson wildflower center followed the tacos. a jaunt around the grounds included learning about how long it takes the water to get from there to barton springs, the definition of savannah, a peak into research on green roofs, and lots of cacti. and obviously, a beetle. (a great person used to call me ashley beedle for fun.)
lady bird johnson is responsible for the wildflowers that grow across texas. apparently, she was the reason for the highway beautification act, which includes bluebonnets in the spring along the interstates. unfortunately, not in september.

the water at the center was so good; i kept drinking it at each and every drinking fountain.

on the way home, we stopped to buy the "family reunion" 6-pack of shiner, which had 6 kinds of beer, and bob's jalapeno chips. it was the happiest hour.
and a cactus, for good measure.

one more.

i had to eat one more fried egg before i go to iceland tonight. this was an easy-easy meal. it includes: the last two pieces of sourdough bread (toasted), baby carrots, fancy lettuce salad, and a chunk of jalapeno jack cheese. and i fried the egg in butter instead of olive oil, which made it nice and greasy.

and p.s. i ate some chips too.

those chips.

i was given a bag of jalapeno chips for thanksgiving (even though they are not in the striped bag anymore). i know people don't typically give gifts for this holiday, but blake and beth were really good to me. those texans really know how to make a chip.

favorite food.

i announced to the roommates today that my favorite food is chips. i prefer potato or corn, but i could probably eat any of the chip varieties.

blake and i ate a lot of herr's chips in harlem; he likes the rippled ones. i love love love jalapeno chips, especially the ones that came in the red and white striped bag that i ate as a kid. i have no idea the brand. in new york, i eat dirty's "jalapeno heat." i also love to put chips inside the sandwich, for both crunch and flavor. i think blake hit the nail on the head when he wistfully mentioned that "the sandwich shops should have chips as a topping." yes, sir, i agree.

AN ADDENDUM, october 10: blake mentioned that we mostly ate utz chips. it's true. i was confused in my chip-eating frenzy.

HOT DAMN. ANOTHER ADDENDUM. there is one memory that stands out with the jalapeno chips. i am in the van, a 1986 gmc safari, the car my father loved more than anything, and eating handfuls of the chips and i can't stop because then my mouth will be on fire. (the key was to keep eating them.) we are on our way to port aransas or south padre island for the weekend. it must have been in 5th or 6th grade.