Giving Thanks.

With the semester blowing by, things have been crazy busy and to think Christmas music is playing everywhere! Between picking secret Santa with my girlfriends, planning our last few weekends before break, going home for thanksgiving and getting a sinus infection (!!!) I’m literally exhausted.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed their time home with their families stuffing their faces, I know I wont be ready to eat turkey again for another year! Here’s a sneak peek of what I indulged in:

I also had a visitor for thanksgiving! My uncle’s bull terrier, Gus, had lovely visit to the country and had fun exploring my dog’s toy box (as seen below).

Finally, as tradition ensues, the day after gluttony is spent decorating the house for the next holiday to come, CHRISTMAS!!! My favorite part of decorating is hanging our stockings; my aunt hand made them for my two brothers and I about ten years ago and I think they're untraditional, yet beautiful.

A quick tip: Since the holidays can be expensive, me and my girlfriends pick secret Santa every year, we set a spending limit and all go out to dinner to celebrate the holiday together. It saves money and you actually get to spend time with each other rather than worrying about how much is appropriate to spend. 

Ex.Oh. 

Hurricanes, Elections & Other Happenings.

Where to begin?! This past week has been hectic to say the least. I hope all you east coasters are doing ok after the wrath of hurricane Sandy, I know I still don’t have power back home. With classes being cancelled for a week students either made the journey home or hunkered down in the Bronx apartments and the dorms. I went to the grocery store right before the storm got bad to see empty shelves and nervous customers preparing for the bad weather. I talked to some friends down in jersey that were finding fish and boats in their yards! There was even sharks seen swimming in someone’s back yard in New jersey- here’s the full article and see the picture below!

After the hurricane Americans were wondering what was going to happen with voters getting to the polls to place their votes. However, by midnight last night they were already projecting Obama’s reelection. It was quite the heated race with Obama and Romney only being within 1% of each other in many states, and with Romney beating Obama with the popular vote for a bit. In the end, Obama is here for another four years and I’m excited to see what changes he’ll be making for our economy.

Some other exciting events, IT’S CURRENTLY SNOWING IN THE BRONX. Our first snow of the season! Since hurricane Sandy apparently wasn’t enough from Mother Nature, we are now getting hit with a Nor’easter. Hope everyone stays safe and warm!

Ex.Oh.

Overwhelmed.

Hi All,

My apologies for my decrease in postings; school, work and my lack of a social life is slowly consuming me. For those of you who think senior year is a breeze, think again. With internships being so competitive you really want to prove yourself at work, while still of course passing your classes so you can graduate on time! To cheer myself up in my tiny amounts of spare time I've been.....

Indulging in some delicious Blood Orange Margaritas at one of my favorite restaurants back home called Bartaco. With raw sugar and rosemary coating the rim I couldn't help but enjoy more than one. 

We also got a small platter, which is an AMAZING steal at $22 dollars. We had six tacos (2 Baha fish, 2 chorizo and 2 chipotle chicken), two tamales, two sides (spicy cucumber salad and chipotle slaw) and chips with guacamole. I left completely stuffed and satisfied. click here for the menu.

I'll post again this week to keep you updated!

Ex.Oh.

Weekend Getaway.

A wine vineyard……

In Long Island?

When one thinks of Long Island, the word vacation doesn’t exactly come to mind, or as I would put it, “it’s nothing to write home about”. However, this past weekend I went to Long Island to stay with my boyfriend’s family and learned there’s a lot to love. We spent Saturday going pumpkin picking at White Post Farms in Melville and six pumpkins, one pie, one bag of popcorn, one box of fudge and one loaf of banana bread later, I was full and exhausted to say the least. We spent the night carving pumpkins; which I of course thought came out amazing.

 (Mine is second from the left which I mimicked the carving from my previous post).

The next day however, is when I realized that LI has a lot more to offer than I first expected. My boyfriend decided to drive me up to the North Folk region of Long Island also known as, “The Wine Country of Long Island”. We spent the afternoon doing wine tastings at three different vineyards: Paumanok, Macari and Shinn. Each vineyard had something wonderful and distinct about it. I was apprehensive at first since I assumed wine tasting can be rather expensive, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it ranges from $9 - $15 for three to five tasting glasses.

A little insight on each vineyard:

Paumanok: Beautiful outdoor seating. Perfect for a small group gathering. Most of the visitors had brought cheese and crackers and sat enjoying the warm sun and delicious wines.

Macari: Largest of the three. Better for a large group or party. You cannot bring your own food, however they sell cheese, crackers and some meats for you to snack on when sitting on their enormous deck while watching the sunset.

Shinn: Smallest of the three with limited outdoor seating. Also, this is the newest of the three vineyards. It has a very cozy cottage type building for you to sit and enjoy your wines. Due to the limited space don’t be surprised to find yourself drinking amongst strangers since you sit wherever you can find a seat.

These are only three of the 50+ vineyards found on the North Folk region of Long Island and I highly recommend you make the trip and explore the vineyards for yourself. Below is a map of all the vineyards to help you plan your own trip!

Ex. Oh.

SuperFan.

Since it’s our senior year, we decided to make a bucket list of 50 things we wanted to accomplish by graduation. Last weekend we were able to check another item off our list by being “Super Fans” and tailgating the Georgetown vs. Fordham game. As we rolled into the parking lot at 10 AM on Saturday morning with coffees in our hands and sunglasses to hide our tired eyes, the parking lot was looking pretty abandoned.

However, as the beers flowed and the time flew, the parking lot became packed and pretty rowdy with charcoal grills, tables of food and footballs being thrown every from every direction. After seeing how much of a good time it was I couldn’t believe this was the first time we decided to do it. Around 12:00 we were even lucky enough to have wings delivered from howl, I mean talk about being spoiled. So after our three hours of trunk open, music blasting, eating and drinking we finally decided to head over to the game. With an exciting first half we couldn’t help but obnoxiously sit in the “Georgetown section” and be rowdy fans. During half time we headed back to the parking lot to find many fans doing the same for a mid-game snack.

The icing on the cake of an amazing day was obviously Fordham’s  38-31 victory over the Hoyas. (-- Click Here for the full game recap) To say the least we had a fantastic day and want to do it as much as possible before our time here is over… well, we can always tailgate as alumni!

Ex. Oh.

OctoberFever.

The first month of my senior year flew by with a blur of papers, beers and laughs. It’s hard to believe that it’s already October. So, since it’s the prime season for pumpkins and apples my friends and I have planned a quick trip to an orchard nearby called Amawalk Farm in Katonah, NY. With the leaves changing and my pumpkin picking quickly approaching I decided to look up some exciting design inspiration for my pumpkin carving and painting. Below are a few of my favorite finds:

A couple other great October treats that are must haves:

·   Dark Rum with Fresh Apple Cider (usually can be purchased at the pumpkin patch or your local grocery store)

·   Pumpkin pie (I know it sounds crazy but the recipe on the back of the “Libby’s” pumpkin puree can is actually the best I’ve ever tasted)

·   Some vanilla spice candles to light on a cozy night in

Obviously the main event for October

HALLOWEEN!

The cutest costume I’ve seen so far……

Please send me any links of great pumpkin or costume ideas!

Ex.Oh.

The "Tramp".

On Tuesday night I had the privilege of seeing the Broadway show Chaplin. It portrays the life story of the famous Charlie Chaplin also known as “the tramp”.

"The improbably epic rise and fall makes a good story, and the creators do nothing to get in the way of that. The pleasant, pastiche-quiche of Chris Curtis's score functions as a sort of an airplane glue, holding everything together and managing a few corky motifs along the way. Rob McClure, a relative unknown, who won't be much longer, proves himself a brilliantly gifted physical comedian, an able clown, and a passionate musical theater performer all rolled into one. At his heights he finds genius in pure play; in his depths, he is a champion thrower of tantrums. And always, always, he is in motion: Even McClure's stillnesses are electrified."

 —New York Magazine

Although the reviews were spectacular, I must question the producers choice to keep all costumes, props and sets in black and white. It made the content of the show kind of “tired”. I couldn’t help but noticing the yawns happening in the audience. The cast was spectacular, with fantastic voices and amazing energy. Rob McClure was able to depict the personality of Chaplin impeccably. However, there were severe parts of sadness with in his life being basically an orphan and being “exiled” after his participating in Russian political protests. Overall, in my opinion the show was a 7 out of 10.

Ex.Oh.

Hot Dogs.

Now, I’m not one to consider myself a “foodie” however, I have tried a lot of hot dogs from Yankee stadium to Chicago-style and it took me a while to experience the best hot dog ever. For those of you that have never been I strongly suggest you get in your cars and drive to Walter’s Hot Dog Stand in Mamaroneck, New York. While in high school my friends and I would drive the 35 minutes to inhale from two to six hotdogs (yes, they’re that good). Now at Fordham being only 20 minutes away the trip is obviously worth it.

With the dogs sliced in half, the buns perfectly toasted and there homemade spicy mustard what’s not to love? Since they only offer hotdogs there’s and few sides to choose from which is hard when they all taste equally delicious to the hot dogs. Curly fries, straight fries, potato puff or sweet potato puffs and lets not forget the milk shakes with homemade ice cream makes the trip even more worth while. Since Walter’s was established in 1919 its now even a landmark, with a large following of happy patrons who pay visits even weekly. It’s also across from Mamaroneck High School, which causes crowds during the lunch breaks.

(Just a quick tip – it’s cash only and with hot dogs for $2.25, $10 will get you decent meal)


Ex.Oh.

Shopping Obsessions.

Over the last couple of years I have incurred what one might consider an “online shopping addiction”. With the huge boom in E-commerce how can you not online shop when all it takes is a click of a button and a few days later, BAM, clothes (and other findings of course) at my front door. Some of my favorite sites include:

• Ideeli
• Ruelala
• Gilt
• Piperlime
• Shopbop
• Hautelook

With the exception to piperlime.com and shopbop.com all the above are “sample sale” websites offering exclusive deals with in a limited time frame; great for girls with expensive taste on a limited budget. Some fall fashion I’ve been drooling over lately:

 Vince Side Button Sweater (Nutmeg)

Current/Elliott 'The Rider' Panel Denim Leggings (Dark Army)

Steven by Steve Madden Friisky (Cognac Leather)

Since the temperature has been dropping in New York I’ve been seeing a lot more printed denim, chunky sweaters and little booties being sported on the sidewalks of Manhattan. So ladies, break out the dark nail polishes, put away the sandals and enjoy the foliage. Hellooooooo Fall. 

Ex.Oh.

Sunday Brunch.

Hello World,

Since this is my first post and first blog for that matter, what better way to kick it off than with a few words of wisdom?

“Do it while you can”.

 (This of course is my group of friends “mantra” for our senior year).

As the last year of our adolescence AKA College, why not take advantage of our final year of bliss before entering the forever frightening and exciting days of our future lives. With that being said, this blog will follow me through the events, sightings and happenings of my final year of college. It will include, but is not limited to, nights out, mornings reevaluating, fashion trends, food finds, opinions, insights, and questions about life as a senior in college. I hope you all will enjoy hearing about my journey as much as I will by experiencing it.

As clearly stated above, the name of my blog is Iced Coffee & Champagne so why not celebrate the birth of my blog by combining the two at the only place applicable, BRUNCH.  With Manhattan being only a stones throw away, Sunday brunch in the city is well worth it when with the girls. Especially since websites such as Savored, offers up to 40% off of over 1,000 restaurants, what’s not to love? Bottomless mimosas and homemade banana pancakes? Who knew waking up early after a long night out could be so lovely.

Ex.Oh.