Red Hot Hockey: BU v. Cornell at MSG

Last night was the first time I've stepped in Madison Square Garden for a hockey game since two years ago at the first Red Hot Hockey BU/Cornell matchup. With a 3-3 tie, I left MSG last night feeling a lot less pumped compared to the last Red Hot Hockey. To be honest, I'm just glad BU was able to tie it up and play more aggressively in the third period. It would have been nice to win in OT, but I was satisfied by the team's performance in the end, outshooting Cornell 13-3.

Nevertheless, with a sold-out crowd of 18,000, the game was fun and nail-biting--everthing I love about going to hockey games.
Now, let's hope BU can keep up the momentum we saw in the third period to this weekend's game against BC, the first time BU is playing its rival (BOOOOO) this season. See you at Agganis Saturday!

Winter Berries, a Floral Must-Have

I LOVE WINTER BERRIES, and all it's pretty plump red roundness. My adoration for winter berries started in the Winter of '05 while serving wine and champagne at an American Bar Association cocktail party in a five-story Beacon Hill brownstone, and I saw a giant 3-foot wide glass vase filled with submerged winter berries--one glance at that quintessential Christmas centerpiece and I was obsessed.

Four years later, I decided to make myself a winter berry arrangement!! The Union Square Saturday Farmer's Market is a great place to get fresh, seasonal flowers. I bought a thick bunch of beautiful winter berries for $15.

The key to a good arrangement is getting the right vase. I suggest a tall, heavy, clear, simple shaped (cylindrical, rectangular or square) vase.
The guy that sold the berries said it should last for months; however, for me, it only lasted two and a half weeks before the berries started to shrivel and lose it's roundness.
To liven up my shriveled berries, I bought a bunch of Christmas tree branches ($3) and white and purple kale stems ($4), also from the Farmer's Market. The arrangement came out very festive and was cheap, so if you're looking for an easy way to dress up your apartment, think WINTER BERRIES.

I Frequent The Dog Park

Greenhouse? 1Oak? Bungalow 8? Nope. There's no place more "happening" than Tompkin's Square Dog Park.

After living three months in East Village, I have realized there are two types of people in New York City:
1) Those who own dogs, and
2) Those who sadly don't own dogs.

You're either in or you're out--literally. Dog parks and their cute, painted wooden benches invite all dog-owners (old, hip, fratty, married, single & ready to mingle) to lounge in this happy land where cute, furry things frolic about, while non-dog owners (a.k.a. me) are drawn to the park like flies and watch from the fences. I frequent the dog park so much, that I have given the 'regulars' names, such as 'Manbearpig' (shown below). I know the dog does not look like a man-bear-pig--it's more bear than anything--but bear-pig-dog just doesn't have the same ring to it.On a nice, sunny weekend afternoon, I recommend stopping by Tompkin's Square Dog Park for a few minutes. Chances are you'll see some dog-on-dog action and dog owner drama, and then you will understand why this place is awwwwwesome.

November Babies **Updated**

Thanks to Valentine's Day (and all the lingerie that comes with it), November is the busiest birthday month ever!! I haven't had time to do much of anything but eat large dinners, drink excessively and celebrate the births of good friends and myself! I turned 23 this past Wednesday on Veteran's Day and am sensing that '23' will be the year of 'maturity' (as opposed to '21 year of recklessness' or '22 year of reckless recovery').

Either way, my birthday was great and I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes and those who made it out to my birthday dinner at Carmine's!

Shout out to all my dearest November Babies: Ilana Fried, Lauren Kobayashi, Tim Holley, Charlie Field, Shelby Inouye (TWIN!), Nina Cromeyer (celebrate tonight!), Stacey Shiigi and Ravi Heugle.

Birthday Recaps:
Ilana's - Delicious Italian dinner at Tony Di Napoli's then FREE World Series Showing at Yankee Stadium
Ariel, Ilana & TammyTim's - About to down a Four Horsemen at Pianos in the LES, then Cake ShopME! - Family-style Italian dinner at Carmine's on the Upper West Side. Ruchy & Steph
Larissa, Tiff & Nina
Jason & Hannah
Thank you Sean and everyone for an amazing, food-coma dinner!I woke up the morning after at 4 a.m. still in my work clothes, bobby-pins protruding from my head, passed out from a ginormous meal of complex carbs and was quite happy that I passed out on my birthday the 'mature' way.

**Updated 11/15 - Happy Birthday Nina!!
Here's some photos from 80s Night at Pyramids