Macarons from Trader Joe’s

Last weekend, Ken and I went to Trader Joe’s for our weekly grocery shopping trip and stumbled upon these in the freezer section:

MACARONS! They come frozen and are actually really good (frozen or thawed…I actually prefer them frozen!) There are six flavors – cassis, pistachio, orange, coffee, raspberry and caramel:

The macarons thaw very quickly, especially if you get them and let them thaw while you’re in line. If you like macarons, you should definitely try these, especially since they’re much less expensive than buying them from any store in New York!

Ichimura At Brushstroke

A while back, Ken and I had a wonderful date at Ichimura, a restaurant within a restaurant in Tribeca. Ichimura at Brushstroke has a side entrance once you walk into Brushstroke, a David Bouley restaurant. Here’s the entrance:

The decor is very interesting – the walls look like they’re wood paneling, but in reality, they’re books stacked in different directions:

In between the books, there are really interesting clay-made scenes of Japanese streets:

Onto the food – we started with a very delicious egg custard with king crab and black truffle:

Then moved onto root vegetables and cured tunas:

Chef Ichimura plates everything for you while you enjoy the meal – he places everything on your plate like it’s a piece of art:

Preparing the fish, which is flown in from Japan:

The plates were all very rustic pieces that didn’t match but worked well together. This tea cup was especially beautiful:

After dinner, we enjoyed some time together in their seating nook:

Chef Ichimura with me and Ken:

After our wonderful meal, Ken and I wanted a little more dessert so we walked over to Megu and ordered yuzu ice cream and a green tea mielle-crepe:

The meal was really delightful and definitely plan on returning soon.

Brunch at Upstairs at the Kimberly Hotel

The day after David and Laura’s wedding, they organized a brunch at Upstairs at The Kimberly Hotel rooftop restaurant. Cantor, Faire and I spent some more time together before they headed to the beach for the day:

And Faire enjoying her French toast:

It was another beautiful day in New York – after brunch, my parents, Ken and I walked around New York (during the Puerto Rican day parade!) and spent time shopping before heading home and prepping for our wedding!

David and Laura’s Wedding

On Saturday, David and Laura were blessed with absolutely perfect weather for their wedding! We arrived at the mansion early in the morning to start getting ready – here are the photos of us before the actual ceremony and celebration:

Me and Ken during family photos:

My parents with me and Ken:

Me, David and my mom:

Me, David and my dad:

Me and David:

Another shot of me and Ken:

A blurry shot of us in the dining room during dinner:

The dining room while they were setting up the sweetheart table:

And the beautiful chandelier and entrance before they set up the vases that were sent from China – it was so beautiful when everything was set up:

The wedding was beautiful and very fun – it was a European style wedding where you walked from room-to-room for the cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing/dessert. We had such a fun time – on the way back, the buses had Momofuku cookies and water (and before we got on the bus, we picked up some New York style hot dogs and pretzels….but not before we got our fill from the chocolate fountain and dessert stations!)

David and Laura’s Rehearsal Dinner

After my engagement trip, it was back to New York to get ready for David and Laura’s wedding. They had a weekend filled with fun events – we started with a family dinner on Wednesday night (my dad literally arrived from Taiwan an hour before the dinner!). On Friday, they had a traditional Chinese banquet at Mr. K’s in midtown – it was pouring rain that day and we were worried that it would rain all Saturday, too. Luckily, the rain made the city much cooler and the wedding ended up being absolutely perfect. A few photos from the rehearsal dinner:

Me and Ken before heading over to the rehearsal:

Me and my dad:

Me with my mom:

At Mr. K’s, we had a private room and I was reunited with my two favorite kids, Faire and Cantor. They got Google Glasses earlier that day – here’s Cantor playing with the glasses:

And Faire playing with the glasses:

Cantor under the table during dinner:

Our lemon sorbet palette refresher:

David and Laura hired lion dancers for their rehearsal – here’s a photo of Faire and Cantor enjoying the dance:

Me, David and my mom:

And my parents with all of the kids: