I know it’s already the new year, but I’m making it a point to keep up with everything in real time as possible, but in order to do that, I’m going to have to do some backtracking!

The BEST hot chocolate from City Bakery in NYC

The view from Rockefeller Plaza

A couple of my friends and I from college have gotten together every year to exchange secret santa gifts, and this year was no different! As we are getting older and have a bit more disposable income to spare, we celebrated at Blend on the Water in Long Island City. The views are AMAZING from the restaurant and when you walk along the riverside.

Chicken Fried Rice from Blend on the Water

My best friend’s holiday cookies (they’re as good as they look!)

The birthday cake from Momofuku Milk Bar

In addition to some holiday celebrations with some old friends, I also took my mom and aunt around the city during one of my days off to be a tourist. Our first stop was for some Filipino brunch at one of my favorite spots – Maharlika.

Maharlika’s Flip’d Chicken & Waffle -Batterless fried chicken, purple yam waffle, compound anchovy-bagoong butter and caramelized macapuno syrup

I managed to sneak a photo from the Guggenheim as it was my first time there. Not permitted, I know, but I really loved the layout of that museum!

The great meal we had at Catch. 

I was also left with some holiday goodies from my company and secret santa in the office – especially since our Christmas party was at Marquee again this year!

And no lunch break during the holiday week is complete with some soup dumplings from Chinatown.

I also tried my hand at a few new recipes during the holidays:

Flour-less chocolate chip banana pancakes. 1 banana, 2 eggs, and a handful of chocolate chips later and you’ve got yourself a healthy breakfast! Well, mostly healthy, assuming you didn’t drown your pancakes in syrup and chocolate chips the ways I did.

Christmas treat box – Yes, I made everything here! I’ve mastered chocolate covered pretzels, finished up some cupcake mix I found in our cupboards, and add a few festive candies to my chocolate chip cookies to make them more festive.

Veggie pasta in a creamy pesto sauce – my sister got me the veggie spiralizer I’ve been asking for, and I quickly used up the rest of the carrots in the fridge. Didn’t realize how many carrots I actually need, so I ended up with mostly toppings! It was still delicious though 🙂

Currently writing this from the Bubble Puff cafe in Honolulu, so I am almost up to speed! I’m thinking 2-3x is a good cadence if I ever feel like building an audience? I’ve got a couple of great things to share so stay tuned if anyone is reading out there!