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Posts Tagged ‘Fairway’

A Little Canadian Turkey Day Celebration in Manhattan

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on October 10, 2010| 2 Comments »

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

I am writing this post as the incredible aroma of a cooking turkey is wafting through the apartment.  Ron is making a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the Sunday before Columbus Day.  Why?  Because even though we have moved to the United States we are having a bit of a tough time giving up some of our old customs and traditions, Canadian Thanksgiving being one of them.

A & R are getting really excited about Hallowe’en.  Last week they asked if they could start putting up the Hallowe’en decorations.  We pulled out the box and found our Hallowe’en decorations and our Fall Harvest decorations packed in together.  The topic of Thanksgiving came up and Ron and I explained that there was a long weekend coming up and that it was for Columbus Day NOT Thanksgiving.  A big long discussion began about US Thanksgiving, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and of course the age old question- “just who the heck IS Christopher Columbus?”  Luckily, a library book on good ole’ Christopher helped us answer the last one 😉

Ron and I talked and we decided to go for it and celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving.  It would be a nice touch for the girls and we could have a lot of fun by inviting and including our ex-pat Canadian friends. We ordered the Turkey from Fairway, where the butcher politely asked if we were perhaps a month early and then extended the invite to friends who laughingly loved the idea.

So, here I am, sitting writing this post feeling a little nostalgic but also incredibly thankful.  The apartment is clean, we have layed out the decorations, guests will be arriving soon and a new tradition is born. We have had the extreme good fortune to start out on this new adventure and experience brand new things but sometimes it is okay to carry on with the traditions that we hold so dear to our hearts.

This is a new chapter in our lives and I look forward to starting to develop our New York family traditions. Even if it is a bit ironic that the first one is Canadian, eh?

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Namaste, it’s Friday!!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on September 3, 2010| 5 Comments »

Soo, the other day I made the delicious mistake of walking into Pure Yoga.  Mistake for my bank account that is.  The place is like walking into pure heaven.  It is quiet, relaxing, smells incredible and the people are super friendly.  Did I mention that it is quiet??  A lovely woman at the front desk asked me if I had time for a tour and of course I had time, just by walking in there my blood pressure had dropped and my stress level had decreased.  Ooom, ya! Needless to say the place does not disappoint.  The locker room is gorgeous- brand new, spotless, showers that actually well, work, and there is a STEAM room.  I was sold after the locker room and that was before I had even seen the beautiful yoga studios.  Hell, I didn’t even need to practice yoga, I just wanted to go hang out on the comfy couches and use the steam room.  I walked out with a membership and lets just say that it is a tad more expensive than Hubby’s gym membership- oops!

These gorgeous doors were calling my name...

Now I actually have to practice yoga, I don’t think Ron will be too pleased if I just go there to hang out on the couches and read- then again he wouldn’t really know, would he? I went to my first class the other night.  I had the initial pre-class anxiety of “what if’s”. What if I release a toxic smell during the class?  What if the class is filled with hard body types who look at me with athletic judgement? What if I am totally un-cordinated and can do none of the moves? And worst of all- what if I get into an awkward position that I can’t get out of? And then I walked into the magic cone of silence and did an amazing thing, I relaxed.

NYC can be a pretty intense, action packed, overwhelming place.

Trying to get into Fairway on the Friday before a long weekend. You thought I was joking yesterday, right?

Sometimes you just need a place to go where you can calm the voices in your head and tune out the never ending sirens (not that I don’t appreciate the men in uniform). Oh, and sometimes I just really need to get away from my children too 😉 Did I mention that it was quiet?  Wishing you all a wonderfully peaceful Friday and a fabulous long weekend.

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It’s Been Two Months Since the BIG Move…

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on September 2, 2010| 6 Comments »

And here are 10 Things that I have learned about NYC (in no particular order):

1.  If you have enough money you can buy ANYTHING or get ANY SERVICE here.  Case and point:  Your dog is having a hard time adjusting to doing his business on the concrete sidewalk instead of  the cushy grass in a backyard, don’t stress, hire someone to teach your dog to do the deed.  No joke.

2.  People are strange and wonderful, that is what makes this place soo incredibly interesting.  The other day I saw a woman walking her bird in its cage, along the river.  She was talking to it. Who am I to judge?  I talk to myself and wait for an answer.

3.  Do NOT go to Fairway (the local grocery store) at peak hours- EVER!!!! It is a mad house.  People are pushing, swearing, jockeying for position and that is only to get through the door.  Don’t even get me started about the deli line…

4.  Central Park is amazing.  Every time I go into the park I find a new incredible space.  It is a little piece of heaven that is easily accessible to escape to when you need a reprieve from the concrete jungle.

A View of Turtle Pond from Belvedere Castle, Central Park

5. Get out and meet people.  Don’t be afraid to talk to your local news guy, your neighbour, the doorman on your route, the local Starbuck’s barista or the person sitting next to you on the subway.  New Yorkers truly are friendly people and I believe that they give back to you, what you give to them. If you are an asshole, expect a whole lot of attitude back.  And yes, I have actually have heard people say “Fuggedaboutit” as one whole word.  It’s okay, because it makes up for the fact that I still end a lot of my sentences with “eh?”.  I have already met some incredible people who are helping me navigate through the insanity.  To you- you know who you all are, thank you 😉

6.  People in my neighbourhood take their strollers incredibly seriously.  I have seen strollers that cost more than a small car.  This is the mecca for the trendy, cutting edge stroller.  Kids (and dogs- yes, I have seen dogs in strollers!) are riding in style. Check out this bad boy that can turn into a bike for mom or dad if they are getting tired of the whole pushing thing:

All this can be yours for a cool $1500.00

7.  It is HOT in the summer.  And yes, the sidewalks smell like urine, garbage, vomit and everything else that has landed on them in the heat of the day.  You get used to it.  Suck it up princess… the rain will eventually wash it all away.

8.  You need to keep your sense of humour!!  This is essential.  With soo many people invading your personal space it is better to be positive than negative.  If you don’t like people this is the wrong place to be living. I am already finding that I have little patience for tourists and then I remember that this is how I first found my love of the City and yes, it is an awe inspiring place that makes you just want to stop and stare.

No comment.

9. Look UP!!!  There are soo many incredible things to see all around you.  Sometimes I find myself overwhelmed by everything and I forget to really look at what IS around me.  The buildings are truly spectacular.

Empire State Building

10.  Don’t forget to exercise!!!  This might sound strange because you WALK everywhere, but while you are walking there are tooo many tempting things to eat- cupcakes, famous hotdogs, deli sandwiches, pretzels, cheesecake, Shake Shack Burgers, BEER, Margarita’s, ice cream, fabulous restaurants… you get the idea.  So, my September resolution is to pound the pavement in my running shoes, get my relaxation on in the yoga studio and bike my way around the Island.  We will see how it goes… why don’t you come visit me and see how I am doing? 😉

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