big apple bbq.

every year madison square park transforms into a giant bbq with dozens of vendors, country music, smoke, and very hungry new yorkers. and look who arrived in the nick of time to attend... little brother! all siblings in one place? three cheers!

bakery chasers.

why our bodies feel the need to eat an average of 4 cupcakes per week is beyond me.

we've tried: crumbs, magnolia, amy's bread

we're planning on visiting: billies bakery, butter lane, the cupcake truck

any others we're missing?

everyone loves a good treat.

valentines day.

to celebrate, my mom and i made these gems this weekend. i learned that i really can't bake and that i have some serious catching up to do if i ever want to live up to the family cooking talent. did you see these? i don't know how she does it.

pie.

my friend jenny asked me to photograph her making apple pie for sarah nielson's tutorial tuesday. it was lots of fun and the pie was delicious of course. be sure to try out the recipe. i was very impressed!

*special thanks to paige & mike for hanging out with us, too

mock thanksgiving.

i promised sister that i would post some pictures from our annual family mock thanksgiving. i had been looking forward to this for a couple weeks and was more than happy to drive home to see my family and eat delicious food. once again, my mom pulled off an amazing presentation and it's a major plus that basically everyone in my family knows how to cook (except for me of course... someday.) we missed you kelsey and robby! can't wait for actual thanksgiving we get to spend it with you in the city (!!!!!!!)

and of course these cuties were there... the best part for me!

brownies with the girls.

we decided to make brownies while the adults went to a fancy dinner and they were a hit. abby kept sneaking her finger in the batter for a lick and poured a whole cup of chocolate milk in because she wanted it extra chocolatey. needless to say, the brownies didn't taste great but it was fun. and a special shout out to cole was such a good sport to play "train" with the chairs. he makes a great caboose!

nyc eats.

we ate such good food while i was in new york. enough said. personally, i think the best part of new york is the ability to go to a new, amazing restaurant every day. it's so fun. i am not an expert on eating in the city by any means, but my sister knows a thing or two. here are a few of my favorites:

the shake shack is a must when you go to the city and everyone knows it. fun, and the burgers are pretty good.

john's pizza is a family favorite. we always go there when we're in the city. never disappoints. sweetie pie was a fun place to go with my girls casey and carly. you can sit in a cage, so naturally, we loved it. after dinner, we stopped at amy's bread on bleeker street and let's just say, we went back the next day to eat another slice of the chocolate cake.

cafe lalo is also an old past time. when i lived on the upper west side with kels, i made her go there with me all the time. can't get enough of that belgium waffle.

tasti d lite has the best yogurt around. many would disagree, but i just love it. i don't know why! and j. g. melon was the best burger i have ever had. i would recommend going there first if you visit the city.

we also splurged on a delicious night out at bobby flay's bar americain. i also loved max brenner for dessert. such a fun atmosphere and their branding is out of this world. and finally, the best pizza i've ever had was at keste pizzeria in the west village. it was just named new york's best pizza by new york magazine. we went with ad lab friends and loved it.

i know what you're thinking... did she ever stop eating while in new york? the answer: rarely. worth it? totally.

famous.

kels and i teamed up sister style and did a article for square magazine's wedding issue that is currently being featured on their website. hosting a bridal shower anytime soon? check it out.

heat.

when he asked for some hot chocolate shots, i wasn't too excited. hot chocolate season is approaching and i'm not ready for the shivers that come along with cold weather. as for now, i'll just eat the marshmallows.

cafe zupas.

doing a few shots for zupas is merely an excuse to hang out with my sister, test the new soups and sip diet dr. pepper... our favorite.

cater.

with robby as sous chef #1 and myself as sous chef #2, we helped kelsey cater an event for about 40 people the other day. overall thoughts? total success. visit here to get more info on her events.

yum.

we had this for dinner last night and i can still taste it.... i'm thinking i'm going to need another trip to borough market this week.