Update

Wow, it's been a long time. Life is very different since the last time I posted. I've moved back in with my parents (how fantastic at almost 28 years old!), spend hours every day commuting to work, and Mr. Z is no longer Mr. Z. I feel like I'm 15 again- I don't have a car and live with mom and dad- only now I've got bills to pay and a broken heart, too.

Thank goodness for this fuzzy face. Coming home to her is the best part of my day.

Island Time

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live on an island. The weather last weekend was glorious and Mr. Z and I spent it on the eastern end of this little island in the Atlantic we call home.

We started the day at the Montauk Lighthouse, which I haven't visited since my parents took me and my brothers close to twenty years ago. It was beautiful!

This path took us to the beach and around the lighthouse, where we climbed some enormous rocks, watched fishermen snag dinner and sunned ourselves on the pebbly shore.

Overall it was a lovely afternoon at The End.

Our next stop was Sag Harbor. Let me tell you: amazing. If I could afford to stay in this town I'd never leave! Also, just after I took this photo Dee Snider from Twisted Sister went jogging by. That's the second time I've seen him in the last couple of months! I think he's following me.

We ate fresh seafood in a park by the harbor and then grabbed some ice cream and watched the sun set. What a great day!

Other random things we managed to pack into the weekend?

A tour of Long Island wineries.

Beach time in the Hamptons.

And bowling! Mr. Z kicked my butt in all three games, but I watched him nearly fall out of his chair while doing a cocky dance, so it was worth it.

Can't wait for this weekend! Summer, summer, summertime!

Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries

My brother isn't a cake, cookie, or cupcake kind of guy. So for his birthday this past week I baked a cherry pie. We put candles in it and sang the happy birthday song; we don't need no stinking cake! Seriously though, it was nice to have something different and the fresh cherries were delicious. I think I should try out pies more often!

Pretty simple: Just flour, cornstarch and sugar.

Beautiful, fresh cherries.

It wasn't perfect, but it sure was tasty, trust me!

And it looked pretty all gussied up in its birthday suit!

Happy Birthday, Stephen! 

And I'm Back!

It's been a while, I know. My grandma's been sick and so life has been a little more stressful and hectic than usual. And what's the best stress reliever? Baking! I made these carrot cake and cream cheese cupcakes for a coworker.

Aren't they purdy?

I'm off to the beach tomorrow and then spending Sunday with my daddy. Have a great weekend!

Off to see the birthday boy!

I will be in Upstate New York this weekend for the first birthday of my best friend's son, River!

How beautiful is he?!

Tonight I'll be busy making those cute duckie cupcakes from a few posts back. Last week I had the brilliant idea of topping them with white chocolate and marshmallow frosting. I gave it a run-through to make sure it would work..and guess what? It doesn't. At all. The marshmallow was way too sticky and, once I was able to get it out of the bowl, it pulled apart the delicate cupcake top when I tried to spread it on. So, no fancy pants frosting. Simple buttercream it is. 

See you tomorrow, Kay! I'll have a suitcase full of cupcakes and presents!

We Have To Go Back!

 Tomorrow's the big day. After six years, Lost ends. My family is getting together for a finale viewing party and we're making all kinds of Lost-themed goodies. I just finished making these:

And then I did this with them:

Many thanks to Kendra at My First Kitchen for the great idea and recipe! 

I made Charlie cookies too and stuck them in some mini cupcakes. I admit they're a little frightening looking, sort of like the dead coming out of graves, but I kind of like them! And they're sort of appropriate, considering Charlie's sacrifice. No? Okay, just scary. 

I have to say, it's been pretty cool living in New York leading up to the end of Lost. People walk by in Dharma jumpsuits, there's a clock counting down to the end in Times Square, and you unexpectedly come across little gems like this:

Oh man. How I'll miss this show. But it's never been just about the show. It created a shared sense of awe and interest. It gave friends and family an excuse to get together every week for modern day story time. It encouraged talk of mysteries around the water cooler. You could take it at face value, a cool, mysterious show, or go further down the rabbit hole of philosophy and religion, mythology and science. 


Never have I been so invested in a television show! While I iced the Oceanic cookies my mom leaned in and said "So, does this make us some sort of Lost trekkies?" I think it does! And the "Not Penny's Boat" t-shirt I will be wearing tomorrow proves it!

Puppy Love

Fellow dog lovers will tell you that there is nothing like the loyalty and love of our furry, four-legged friends. 

 

This is my baby, Serafina. She's a fairly rare breed (Wirehaired Pointing Griffon), and four years ago I flew to Michigan to get her, when she looked like this:

It's crazy that four years went by so fast and amazing how much I love her! My little girl is all grown up!

This is Keely, a Wheaten Terrier:

She was my mom's 40th birthday surprise from my dad and she still ranks as the absolute number one present ever! Keely was six years old when Sera came along and, truth be told, she wasn't very happy about it. Sera was the annoying puppy who followed Keely around pleading "Play with me, play with me!" She also thought Keely was her mother and tried to nurse, ouch! Poor Keely.

They're buddies now though:

This is my youngest brother, Erik, with Keely and Serafina.

This post reminds me of a great book I read last year called The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. 

It's about a mute boy whose family raises a unique breed of dog and it's beautiful. It's the author's first book and I obsessively check his website (www.davidwroblewski.com) to see if he's working on anything new.

Give your dogs a belly rub and a treat today!

So Lost!

What will I do after Lost wraps up its final season?! I've been a dedicated fan since the very beginning and I'm dreading the end. No more Hurley! (Dude.) No more Sawyer! (Son of a bitch!) No more panting from Jack; long, meaninful stares from Kate or calls for Chaaalie or Aaron from Claire. ::Sigh:: How I love this show. Also, how amazing has Terry O'Quinn been this season as Locke/Smoke Monster? Give that man an award!

My brothers and parents also have the Lost bug and we'll be throwing a viewing party for the final episode in a few weeks. I plan to make some kind of Lost-themed dessert. Maybe something like this:

Image courtesy of cdn0.matters.com

For those of you who follow the show, where have Ben and Richard been? Also, what did you think of last night's episode focusing on Jacob and the Man In Black? I can't wait to read Doc Jensen's analysis on ew.com later today. If you're not familiar with Doc Jensen and you're a Lost fan, you need to go here to catch up!

Lost, don't leave me!

Happy Mother's Day!

I celebrated Mother's Day a day early by volunteering with my mom for Habitat for Humanity's Women's Build. We spent the day working with other mothers and daughters to help build a house for a single mom. She's from Brooklyn, NY and is so excited to be owning her own home! It was an awesome day! We made some new friends and it was amazing to see what a little girl power can do! We'll definitely be volunteering with Habitat again.

If you would like more information about how to donate, or (even better!) how to volunteer, please visit here.

I Can't Help Falling In Love With You

Six years ago today my grandmother passed away. My family called her Grand Z and she was, without a doubt, the center of our world. Widowed at a young age, she raised three boys and then spoiled five grandchildren rotten. She was strong, intelligent and feisty. She was a loyal and charitable friend and fiercely protective of her family. She loved Elvis, the Yankees, instant coffee and the occasional candy bar. She married the love of her life and stayed true to him until the day she died.

Grand Z told me I could do anything. She loved me and laughed with me, she kissed me and held my hand, even after I'd grown half a foot taller than her. She sang and she danced with me and scolded me with a smile. I knew, we all knew, we could do no wrong in her eyes.

There is so much more I could say, but it would never be enough. I understand completely why my grandfather fell in love with her, I couldn't help it myself.

Bookworm

If you read only one book this year, make it one of these two:

The first, The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy is organized in such an unusual and fascinating way. As a lover of books and a (sometimes) writer, I found myself rereading parts to figure out "How did she do that? How did that work and come together so beautifully?" I won't give away any details and you can read the synopsis here, but suffice it to say I am now a huge fan of this woman's writing and I eagerly await her next work. I laughed out loud reading it during my lunch breaks and occassionally brushed away a tear. Read it!

If you have any love for the great city of New York you need to read this book! Another one with an interesting organization, I think the dialogue and interwoven relationships really shine. The author was awarded the 2009 National Book Award for this novel and also earned himself another fan- I finished the last page and walked straight to Barnes & Noble to buy another of his books. Mr. McCann, I love you and your love of NYC! Click here to learn more.

Hello!

Hello and welcome to my blog! I'm Z, a 27-year-old native New Yorker. I'm in love with this beautiful city, addicted to good books and baking, and hoping to learn more about myself as I become, well, myself!

I'm not exactly sure what direction this blog will take, but that's why it's fun and exciting! I like taking pictures of my adventures in baking and may start doing the same with my outfits in an effort to learn more about my style and watch it evolve. Do I even have style? I guess I'll find out; that's what I'm here for!

On to the pictures! My best friend has a son who turns one at the end of May. She's throwing a party with a duckie theme (after his first word, how cute is that?!) and I'm baking cupcakes. I said "I can make duckie cupcakes!" and then figured I'd better try them first to see if I actually could. Here are the results:

I think they're pretty cute.

I colored white fondant to make the ducks, though I think I'll invest in some pre-colored fondant next time to save myself a lot of time and days of food color-dyed fingers.

So there you have it! My very first post!