Brookie Sandwiches

Things are getting back to normal in the Wilde household.  Last week I stayed with friends on Long Island so that I could get to work without spending more than six hours a day commuting.  I learned how to play Texas hold-em (I know, I'm the last person in the world to learn), got to sleep until 7:30am and baked banana bread at night. 

This week, the Long Island trains normalized and boyfriend offered to drive me to Secaucus junction.  It meant that he had to wake up an hour early and work an extra long day to pick me up on the way home.  Isn't he sweet?  By Tuesday, New Jersey transit opened up the Midtown direct connection and trains were running only three miles from my house and come Wednesday I was taking my normal train, albiet at an unusual time. 

I'm excited to be back in my apartment and sleeping in my bed.  Boyfriend in enjoying his extra shut eye.  Hopefully my Long Island friends will be happy when I bring them cookies.  My kitchen is happy to have me back, or sad because I'm going to make it messy again.  I'm not really sure.  Come by this weekend for the nut butter "Why Bother 2012" challenge post.  With living in Long Island and weekending in Montreal, I haven't had a chance to get back into my kitchen!

If you have been affected by the hurricane, I hope that things are getting back to normal for you.  So many of my friends just got power back this Sunday!  If you were outside of the storms path, I hope you are almost ready for Thanksgiving.  I can't believe it's next week!

Wilde in Montreal

No recipe today.  Why?  I was kidnapped this weekend!  Don't worry too much, Boyfriend did the kidnapping and it was a surprise for my birthday.

This weekend I celebrated my 31st birthday!  It was a very long week and I was looking forward to celebrating and having some good old New Jersey fun with BF.  I had spent the week with friends on Long Island due to the major problems with New Jersey transit.  Mid-week the coast was hit by a Noreaster and we woke up to 9 inches of snow.  At least all of our meetings at work had been cancelled while everyone recouped from the hurricane.

Friday night I made my way back to New Jersey, meeting BF at the Secaucus train station.  He handed me a birthday present and told me to open it right away.  Along with a sparkly bag filled with costume jewelry, there was a card.  It said to dust off my French language skills and get ready to fly away to Montreal! 

We celebrated my birthday weekend eating lots of delicious foods, walking around Old Montreal and riding Le Metro.  I thought I would share some of my phone pictures and try to convince you to make a trip to the Great White North.  And don't worry too much if your French isn't up for public debut, most everyone I met spoke perfect English.  In fact, they sounded like New Yorkers.

One of the most interesting colas I've ever had.  A traditional cola flavor with the aftertaste of christmas.

(At Lapin Presse - Cafe & Grillcheeserie)

  

Patisserie Rhubarbe offered a great brunch, but we decided to just pick up a Tarte Citron for dessert.

Montreal has so many beautiful churches, including a Notre Dame of its own

Marche Jean-Talon, I wish this was my neighborhood market

A trip to a French region isn't complete without a box of macarons. (La Maison du Macaron)

Poutine - a reason in itself to visit Montreal.  Fries, curd cheese & gravy

Look how open Le Metro is!  The NYC subway feels so cramped in comparison.

Tim Hortons - a Canadian tradition!

I may have gained a few pounds this weekend.  I can't imagine why!

Bonne Anniversaire a Moi!  Now plan your trip to Montreal.  They have beautiful summers and looked to be a beautiful place to spend the holidays.  Pack an extra scarf.

Pumpkin Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

Things around here are slowly getting back to normal. Yes, I've only been to work two days out of the past seven. Sure, my train line was washed out and will take weeks to fix. And yeah, BF had to wait in a long line this morning to get gas (it's an odd day, so he could fill up today). I can't complain because so many others are so much worse off.

Since I live in New Jersey and work on Long Island, I wasn't able to get to work last week. The one day I tried it took me four and a half hours to get there in the morning and five and a half hours to get home. Not a recipe for a happy girl. I was forced to work from home. Which, if you're a lab scientist, is very difficult to do. You run out of things to do rather quickly. I spent some of my work hours baking and working out. Between thinking about science and reading literature of course.

I made it to work yesterday in a record breaking tree hours. I have since taken a friend up on their offer to stay at their place on the island until train service becomes tolerable. I've been told that it's okay and encouraged for me to bake while at their house.

It's kind offers like these that I've seen throughout this disaster. Friends, neighbors and strangers helping each other. Humanity really shines when times are tough and people in the tri-state area are looking pretty bright. Stay tough everyone out there, things aren't great right now, but they'll get better.