Gingerbread & Ginger Cat! December 10th

I've been stressing over everything so much lately, that I've been getting really bad migraines... like once a week. So yesterday I was sick again. And it has gotten so terribly cold here, that staying inside sounds like the better option to me everyday! I decided to order lunch from Qi Asian Eatery... they offer free delivery, they are so close by, and cheap! Plus their food is FANTASTIC. I will truly miss living so close by to this place! Here's what I got...

I got their mini mushroom spring rolls for my appetizer (which is FREE btw). These are SO good and the sauce they give you with it is excellent.

For my main course I got my beloved pineapple fried rice. I cannot say enough good things about it, except that it's delicious!

This afternoon I decided to make the gingerbread house. I got this kit for $10 at Bed Bath & Beyond a few weeks ago. Being that this is Peanut's first Christmas coming up, he's never seen a gingerbread house before, and boy did he have fun making it! :)

Peanut gearing up to "help" me...

Here he is going nuts over the candies! It was hard to get pictures because my hands were messy, but he was doing such cute things!

The finished product...

Ok, so it doesn't look like the one on the box, but I tried!

Peanut's work is never done though. He loves to "help" with the laundry too!

Doing the classic "duddy" position (for those who aren't familiar, that's what we call it when he puts his arms over his head and "duddies" them about. lol)

Getting sleepy...

As you can see, we had a very busy day!

I can't believe Peanut will be 9 months old soon (on Dec. 13th)... Time sure is flying by! I hope you've all enjoyed watching him grow up as much as I have. I'd like to feature Peanut more, but it's hard to get so many pictures of him! Feel free to comment and let me know what you'd like to see more of on this blog... I know a lot of you have told me that you like seeing all the cool veggie restaurants I go to in the city... but let me know if there's anything else! That's all for today, my lovelies!

Petit Fours & Peanuts! December 8th

This morning my Swiss Colony petit fours (and other assorted goods) were delivered. We order from them every year around the holidays. I took pictures of what we got soon after they arrived! :)

First, my favorites, the red velvet cake petit fours!

Next, was a set of their 24 petit fours in all different flavors. These were free, believe it or not! They have a lot of good deals around the holidays (check out RetailMeNot *hint hint* :).

Also free, were these chocolate covered macadamia nuts!

For breakfast this morning I tried a new find that I got at Whole Foods. I was always a big fan of cinnamon Pop Tarts, but once I found out that they were covered in gelatin, I quickly lost my appetite! lol So instead I found these vegetarian ones by Nature's Path. I got the frosted brown sugar maple cinnamon ones, and they taste just like the cinnamon Pop Tarts I was used to, only they're better! It just goes to show you, the people at Kellogg's could use vegetarian (aka non disgusting) ingredients if they chose to, but instead they continue to plaster Pop Tarts filled with artificial (and I'm sure, cheaper) ingredients. These are all natural and I highly recommend them!

I had to head downtown to run some errands today anyway, so I decided to take a slight detour and try one of the last vegetarian restaurants that I never got around to trying, Village Natural (on Greenwich Ave. in the West Village). They are very similar to Vegetarian's Paradise 2 and Red Bamboo, and strangely, all 3 restaurants are really close to one another! However, despite the better atmosphere, I really wasn't wild about the food!

I started off with their spring rolls. I was surprised at how big these were, and they were good, but not nearly as good as a lot of spring rolls I've had. I wasn't wild about the sauce they gave me to go with them either (unlike Wild Ginger's-- now that sauce is incredible!!).

I got their "dim sum" or steamed vegetable dumplings. These were very bland tasting-- nothing special. And again, they gave me the same sauce that they gave me to go with the spring rolls (which I wasn't wild about).

I also got a side of brown rice. They gave me some weird colored sauce to go with that too, but I was too afraid to try it. lol

So overall, not a winner. I still recommend Wild Ginger and Qi Asian Eatery as my top asian restaurant picks (that are veggie friendly, of course!).

Now on to Peanut. His new favorite game involves chasing his tail on the back of the toilet! lol He does this EVERY SINGLE DAY now. It's really cute. Here are some pictures I got...

Notice in the last picture he looks ashamed that I caught him in the act! haha He is SO freaking cute though! Today I bought him a snuggie at Petco! I couldn't help it, it looked so cute (even though they are technically for dogs!). The trick will be getting him to wear it though!

Tomorrow NYC is expected to get a storm of some sort, so I'll probably be staying in and doing my gingerbread house. I swear, the fun never ceases! ;)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! December 6th

Today was the first day that it really felt like winter. It was only in the upper 30's and there was that wonderful chill in the air, so it was a great day to go see the tree. I went up to Rockefeller Center early this afternoon and my God was it crowded! The tree looked beautiful, as always. After all, it is America's Christmas tree, so they'd better do a good job with it! Now keep in mind it was sunny, and being that it was daylight, you couldn't really see the lights that well in the picture. But here it is, up close and personal!

I was going to have brunch at Rock Center Cafe, but it was closed for a private party. This really irked me, because every year I attempt to go to this restaurant around the holidays, and every single year my plans are foiled! I suppose the restaurant just doesn't want me there! lol So I decided to go to Brasserie Ruhlmann instead, since it's right across from the tree. Thankfully the service was really quick despite how crowded it was. I got blueberry pancakes. :)

Afterwards I pushed my way through the crowds and ventured into Saks Fifth Avenue. Saks is always beautifully decorated for the holidays, but hey, with what they charge, they can afford all the decorations! lol Here's a tip for any out-of-towners... You want free chocolate? Go to the chocolate shop on the 8th floor and ask for a free sample! They give them out everyday and it's a great way to get a truffle without paying $20 for it! Today's sample was a pink champagne truffle. These are terrific btw!

When I got home Peanut was "helping" with the laundry.

I also forgot to post one of my favorite eats during the month of December yesterday! Every year I get a chocolate advent calendar. This year I happened upon this one at a kid's store right across the street from my building! It's from the Vermont Christmas Company.

As you can see, I'm desperately trying to get into the holiday spirit here, despite the massive problems I'm facing now. Between trying to find a place to live, a job, and my boyfriend woes, I'm kind of beside myself. I even bought a gingerbread house kit at Bed Bath & Beyond the other day to further distract myself (so look for that in an upcoming blog post!). Oh, and I have some petit fours coming from the Swiss Colony. Hey, if Christmas sweets don't fill the void, nothing will! lol That's all for now!