Tag Archives: Food

Our time in Shirley, Long Island

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I’m incredibly grateful my family has a beach house in Shirley, Long Island. Two weeks ago, my husband had off, so we took advantage. The weather wasn’t great, but we had a great time regardless.

My daughter, Maxine, was obsessed with counting how many mermaids were in one of the rooms.

We took advantage of the time we had outside as much as possible.

Maxine loved walking and running on the grass.
💕

My Uncle was nice enough to take us out on his boat. Maxine was not a fan of the boat going fast, but she was all smiles after awhile.

My Uncle and Aunt’s dog Tessa.
💕

The beach is about a 10-15 min walk from the house. It was so windy, and no one was around because it was cold. It was extremely peaceful, regardless. Maxine did not care for the beach. I think it was too windy for her.

While we were out east, we enjoyed the Animal Farm Petting Zoo in Manorville.

🥰
The chicks were only a day old!

They also had really cool playground areas within the zoo.

We also enjoyed some yummy food from the area. On our first night, we ordered from Fratelli’s Restaurant and Pizza.

Best chicken marsala with linguine I ever had.
The linguine with alfredo sauce was also very yummy.

One night, we steamed some clams my Aunt and Uncle caught; they were so tasty!

We also stopped by Varney’s in Brookhaven. They are known for their muscles, which were delicious (the red and white sauces were both good). I also couldn’t resist the lobster roll.

We also got ice cream and shakes at Carla Marlas Ice Cream Parlor and Candy Shoppe in Bellport. So good!

Hopefully, we will be back soon to create more amazing memories.

Celebrating Mother’s Day

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I had a fabulous Mother’s Day last week.

Here is my mom and my little munchkin.

I greeted all the extraordinary women in my life and got plants for my mother, mother-in-law, aunt, and sister-in-law.

Mother’s Day gifts

I treated my mom and myself to a seafood feast!

Shrimp
Snow crab legs!
Clams
Banana pudding
Beignets!

My husband bought me flowers and I made beautiful arrangements with them.

Overall, a great day!

Celebrating Easter

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I’m a bit late, but I want to share my Easter this year. It was extra special because I helped organize an egg hunt at the New York Junior League (NYJL), and I had family from California visit.

We had approx 70 kids participate in the egg hunt at the (NYJL). The kids decorated their egg-hunting bags, bunnies and chicks, and photo frames. It was a huge hit.

Here are pictures of my family enjoying the event.

Maxine creating her bag
Savvy and Maxi
Eggs with Tita!
❤️
Family Pic

For Easter, I did most of the cooking. I wanted to cook ham but couldn’t find any, so chicken it is!

With my family from California.

This year, I went a little light with the Easter baskets. Less is more!

Maxi’s basket
My nephew’s basket. Went with a board game.
Got a dot activity book for my niece.

For family activities, we did cookie decorating and classic egg coloring.

Nothing better than spending quality time with the family.

Proudest Moments of 2022

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I know March is approaching, but I haven’t genuinely parted ways with 2022 yet. On my quest to look back and build my goals for this year, I wanted to call out some of my proudest moments of last year.

My proudest food adventure last year was making these dumplings from scratch for Lunar New Year. What makes them even more special is that they are my redemption dumplings. I screwed up the first time but didn’t give up and made a kick-ass bunch.
My proudest date night with my husband was Sushi on Me. We had so much fun that night. The food was AMAZING, the restaurant had a cool speakeasy vibe, and we had free saki all night.
My proudest mom moment was Maxine’s first day of school. She didn’t start until December 1st because she was turning two that month, so it was a regular day for everyone else but her first. She wasn’t scared, and she went right in. I was a mess but so proud.
My proudest family moment was attending my cousin’s dance recital. My cousin Marcus (wearing the ‘Senior’ shirt) had a solo and was one of the only guys in this dance troupe. We were all so proud, yelling for him. He did a fantastic job. It was great to see him perform, but it was also great to see many of my family members.
My proudest moment with my parents was when I got them to go on a family vacation with me, and they went swimming and enjoyed themselves. My parents are not into activities, but I try to involve them in as many things as possible. It was great to see them let loose and enjoy themselves.
My proudest personal achievement last year was that I took the time to learn how to play Mah Jongg. I always wanted to play, and I was able to make it happen in the Fall.
My proudest professional moment was being asked to speak about my experience with the New York Junior League. I’ve volunteered with the organization for many years and built a lot of strong skill sets here. It was such an honor to talk to young professionals looking to join the organization.

Celebrating Valentine’s Day

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This Valentine’s Day, I wanted to do something special for my daughter, husband, and parents.

I bought flowers for Mom.
I got these beautiful flowers from my husband.
I found these cute food-related Valentine’s Day cards and had my daughter draw on them and give them to family members and her teachers.
I bought these cute cards for Maxine’s classmates. I had to nix the strawberry-scented erasers because they were a little small for the kids.
My daughter’s new favorite show is Octonauts, so I bought her a set of figurines and a dish set.
Chocolates were a must for my parents and my husband.
The way to my heart, and my family’s heart, is through seafood. 😆
I bought 10 lbs of crawfish from the Louisiana Crawfish Company. They came alive and kicking! I gave them a good wash and then cooked them. It was an amazing meal and a great ending to the night.

Taking a look back at 2022

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As the clock turns 12, I wanted to celebrate and look back at 2022.

I started the new year with a challenge, the January Pantry Challenge. The idea was to cook things I already had at home to save money. I ate a lot of soup and finally ate stuff in my freezer. Some of my favs were the shrimp stir fry, red beans, sausage and rice, and dumplings.
In February, I did some fun activities with my parents. We took part in a virtual chocolate tasting and a chocolate-making class.
In March, I did a bit of a staycation and enjoyed the TWA hotel at JFK. It was a lot of fun. It had a fantastic 60s vibe with great food and ambiance. One of the best features is that they remade one of the planes into a cocktail bar/lounge.
For Easter this year, I decorated eggs and did a few egg hunts with Maxine and my family. It was fun to make the eggs with mom, and even better to see Maxine’s face while she was looking for eggs.
I don’t see my friends as often as I would like these days, but it’s always a blast when we do get to see each other. In May, we had brunch at Lucky Chengs and enjoyed a fun drag show.
In June, I was a panelist for a new membership event at the New York Junior League. I have been volunteering for the league for about eight years now and I was honored to be asked to speak.
Dad turned 80 in July! I wanted to throw him a huge party, but that is not my dad’s style. We had an amazing dinner at a Greek restaurant in Astoria instead.
We rented out a beautiful house in the Poconos in August and had a kickass family trip. The place was amazing; it had an indoor pool, a game room, and a movie theater. We also did some hiking and saw some beautiful waterfalls, and did some canoeing as well.
September was all about soaking up the last bit of beautiful weather and enjoying the parks and water sprinklers.
I turned 41 this year and spent my birthday with my family in Atlantic City. We stayed at Caesar’s Palace. I haven’t been to AC in years! I gambled with my parents, and Andrew won big at the roulette table. I ate excellent food and enjoyed the beach, as the weather was nice. Andrew and I even got to have a little date night on my birthday and explored AC at night.
I kicked off the holiday season by attending the New York Junior League’s Golden Tree event. It’s a holiday market where a percentage of the proceeds go to the league. The event also had a great auction where you could bid on various items, including holiday wreaths. I participated in the auction for the first time and won these two beauties.
Maxine turned two in December! Last year, we kept it simple and celebrated at a buffet so this year, I wanted to go all out. I rented a small venue and we had a bouncy house, face painter and balloon artist. Of course it had to be CoComelon themed.

2022, thanks for the memories!

Celebrating Black Business Month – Adá Supper Club

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At the end of last year, I participated in Adá Supper Club’s A NIGHT IN with chef Toya Henry. Adá Supper Club showcases black and female chefs, and A NIGHT IN is an at-home dining experience that occurs quarterly.

I had a fabulous three-course meal delivered to me that included drinks and a personal message from the chef about the meal. Chef Toya’s menu focused on the similarities between her Jamaican & Bajan heritage and Indian, Vietnamese & Cambodian culinary styles.

Boxed perfection
Ground “Scallops” – slow-cooked cassava “scallops”, mushroom stew, okra, heirloom, Himalayan and basmati rice
Herbed Bird’s Eye Chicken- okra, heirloom, Himalayan and basmati rice
Caribe Truffle- cacao, toasted sesame, Vietnamese and Ethiopian coffee

It was a great date night for my husband and me. The food came with easy heating instructions, was rich in flavor, and everything tasted amazing. I recommend the experience to everyone. Check out Adá Supper Club’s website and join the mailing list to receive information about the next dining experience.