Blog - Grits in the City - discounts and faves

date night at black barn

January 25, 2017 by Lara Leave a Comment

T and I hadn’t had a date night since Q’s arrival. Both of us have been hesitant to introduce babysitters into the mix – not at least until Q is much bigger. When his mom came into town to spend some extra time with him before Christmas, we decided it was a perfect opportunity for us to bust out of the house for one night and indulge in hot food and yes, even a few adult beverages.

I’d been curious about Black Barn for quite some time. Bordering Madison Square Park, I always noticed it during the day off to the corner. It just had that look like it would be our style. You know how sometimes you can tell that from the facade of an establishment? It totally had that in it’s favor without my even looking up reviews or menus online. T let me choose a bottle of wine and I went with a dry white from Stellenbosch, South Africa. Made me think of my wonderful trip to the region back in 2012. [Read more…]

2017 resolutions

January 2, 2017 by Lara Leave a Comment

I was taking a look back at last year’s resolutions. Boy, did these get abandoned pretty quickly once we found out we were expecting. My writing this past year was not very much a focus of mine and I definitely have not been reading like I would like. I sat down with a cappuccino and a treat from Financier Patisserie to jot down this year’s goals.

I’m taking a bit of a different approach and I’m making three overarching themes my “resolutions” for the year. Most of what I really want to accomplish this year lines up with these three, so I’m hoping to draw some inspiration from them throughout these next 365 days. [Read more…]

au revoir, 2016

January 1, 2017 by Lara Leave a Comment

Oh hello, 2017. Fancy meeting you here. Usually I get this post out by December 31st but this year, not all things are happening according to old schedules – and I’m okay with that.

This was quite the year. A year of ups and downs, as always, but some very big firsts and changes. Think what you will of 2016 (and I know from reading so many posts that many of you don’t really think that much of our friend ’16) – I’ll forever think it was one of the most special years yet. [Read more…]

dinner at urbanspace vanderbilt

December 30, 2016 by Lara Leave a Comment

Over the holidays, we had both my parents and my mother-in-law in town at different points. Neither T nor I had been to Urbanspace Vanderbilt. We’d heard great things about Delaney Chicken, so thought it was a great opportunity to give it a shot.

On our first visit, we had to start with Delaney Chicken. Both T and I really enjoyed our visit to Briskettown so we figured that we would love his take on fried chicken as well. [Read more…]

eggnog cupcakes at magnolia

December 29, 2016 by Lara Leave a Comment

It’s been a while since I’ve popped into Grand Central, but I ended up going twice during the holidays. Once to go to the train show and another time to have dinner at UrbanSpace.

While I was there, I wanted to check one holiday “to do” off my list – grabbing an eggnog cupcake at Magnolia Bakery. This year, there’s no rum and eggnog for me, so substituting this seasonal treat in cupcake form sounded like the perfect solution! [Read more…]

6 gift ideas for new moms

December 23, 2016 by Lara Leave a Comment

The clock is ticking. Just over 48 hours to go until Christmas Day. This year, Hanukkah is as well! Still have some presents you haven’t bought yet? No worries. I’m the last person who is going to judge you this year.

If you’re looking for something for the new mom in your life, you’re in luck. There are a number of great options that can get to you pretty quickly, some of which you can even have in hand and ready to go. Here are some of my favorite items I’ve found especially useful as of late to get you thinking.

Lalabu Soothe Shirt. This is one of my favorites! Moms with a new little one will love this option, which allows you to keep your wee one snuggled up to you while they are between 7 and 15 pounds. The shirt is available via their site or also via Amazon (and yes, with my favorite – Prime shipping). They even have a version of this one available for new dads!

[Read more…]

holiday recipe round-up

December 23, 2016 by Lara Leave a Comment

This year, I’ve been behind on holiday prep on all levels. If you’ve found yourself right up against the holidays and haven’t begun to think through some holiday recipes, here’s a round up of some of my favorites to get your thoughts going. These have been some favorites for our family and friends. Hope you’re able to enjoy some of these as well!

manhattan holiday must dos

December 22, 2016 by Lara Leave a Comment

There’s nowhere like New York City during the holidays. Once we pass Thanksgiving, all stores start to decorate for the holidays. Decorations range from cheap drug store style to bigger operations, like the stores along Fifth Avenue and Macy’s flagship location. It all adds up to one magical city.

There are so many things that go on around NYC during the holidays that it can be hard to check out even the few that you’ve decided on for a given year. With our move continuing to creep closer, this year’s plans have even more significance. Here are some of the top types of holiday activities with some thoughts on which one is the best in each.

[Read more…]

snow brunching at la loteria

December 19, 2016 by Lara Leave a Comment

This weekend, we had our first snow in NYC. It didn’t matter how much snow accumulated Friday night, I knew that come Saturday morning I was going to be making my way to the West Village to La Loteria. It was my friend JB’s birthday, which also was the first time I was getting out with a group of friends since Q’s arrival. So. Excited. I can’t even begin to summarize how much I have been looking forward to this. This photo sort of begins to get at it though!

[Read more…]

holidays at chelsea market

December 15, 2016 by Lara Leave a Comment

This Polar Vortex business really managed to put a kink in today’s last minute holiday shopping. As opposed to prior years where I wrapped this all up by Thanksgiving, I’ve found myself scrambling at the last minute, having been distracted all these weeks with getting into a routine with Q. Thankfully, I knew there is one spot in the city I could go to and have quick access to a number of vendors under one roof.

Chelsea Market quickly became one of my favorite spots in the city. I think I was a bit inclined to like it a lot from the get go, seeing as so many of the vendors there are food-related. I really like their spice market and I can spend forever, if allowed, sampling all of the amazing olive oils, balsamic vinegars and salts at The Filling Station. [Read more…]