Photo inspiration: upstate NY

Although it saddens me that summer has been officially over for a few weeks now, I get super excited when I start to see the leaves change. It's one of the best things about living in a region where the seasons change, and every year it amazes me how pretty things get (before all the leaves get washed away by the chilly autumn rain).

This picture was taken in beautiful Warwick, NY- look at those leaves!





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A FriendlyBrown dream...

Well, my local yarn supplier (Joanne's in Colonie) recently remodeled. I didn't think it would really affect me, but when I finally found the yarn section, I was pleasantly surprised that they increased their inventory and straightened things out quite nicely.




Everything was laid out so nicely, so many colors and textures! I saw a lot of yarns that I had never seen before, and I'm super psyched to try some out.




This was my section- Vanna's choice!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cupcakes on Central

Last week I got word that the local bakery, Coccadotts would be traveling around the capital region with their cupcake truck. I was SO EXCITED, and decided to bring the girls for a field trip over lunch- MUCH needed!

And there she is- can't miss it!

They had plenty of varieties on display...

We decided to get a 4-pack to share!

My choice- chocolate and peanut butter. I think that this may have been the majority's favorite. Wonderful rich chocolate cake with creamy pb frosting with a peanut butter cup for garnish!

Michelle's pick was a lemon cupcake, and my second favorite. It was such a light, delicious contrast to the chocolate peanut butter goodness above. The frosting on this cupcake was to die for!

Our favorite Georgia peach's pick- red velvet cake! How adorable is this cupcake with the pearl garnish?!

I'm not the biggest fan of red velvet with its cream cheese frosting, but I had to say, this is one of the best red velvet cakes I've ever had.

We collectively decided on the smores cupcake- I'm so glad we did! Wonderful chocolate cake (that actually was different than the chocolate pb cupcake) with vanilla marshmallow frosting and a marshmallow garnish. This cupcake was original and delicious and wonderful!

Best. Lunch. Ever. Coccadotts- please come back soon!

You know what's awesome?

Pizza. Since I was a child, pizza has been one of those foods that I've always been in the mood for, and I've always loved. Being 26, this still rings true!

You know what's better than pizza? Homemade pizza! That's exactly what happened the other night. The good old iPhone was in tow to document the occasion.

Whole wheat dough (from walmart, don't worry, it was delish!) Keep it from sticking to your countertop with some cornmeal. The great thing about using an unbaked dough is you can make the crust as thin or thick as you like (thin!)

Mmmm... Mozzarella cheese, sliced nice and thin.

Note: I forgot to photograph a very important part of this process here- the sauce! Matt made an awesome sauce that I spread so quickly onto the crust that I forgot to take a picture of it! Trust me though, it was amazing!

Italian? Yeah, we're going to need some wine!

And here she is, a wonderful pie. (after a disaster pie that stuck to the pan and was really hard to get off of the pan but was still delicious!) Make sure to use oiled foil people, it definitely makes a difference.

Sorry local pizza joint, I think I'll be making my own pizza from now on!

Posted using BlogPress from iPhone

In memory of one of my favorites...

No, she not dead, she just moved down south to be with her boo, and I miss her terribly. You know who you are!

Anywho, I ended up at Tandoor Palace on Lark Street last weekend, and she used to work there. The smell of curry still makes me think of her!

Really though, everything at Tandoor is delicious and YOU should go there. Here are some shots from the meal. Couldn't take too many, I was busy stuffing my face!

Naan!

Sauces!

Curry!

And that's all you need!

Go there, eat some naan, and think of my dear friend Ashley, she's a doll!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Midtown...

No, not Manhattan. The Midtown tap and tea room in Albany! We ended up at this very place last week after almost 2 years of hearing awesome things about it and wanting to go! I went to an amazing tapas restaurant in Baltimore a few months ago, and have wanted to go to one in the Capital Region ever since. Midtown has a really cool atmosphere, and we got there at the perfect time to snag a table outside. Although I was a little disappointed that the tapas selection weren't technically "tapas," we loved our meal and had a great time!

I loved sitting outside and getting awesome light to take plenty of pictures of these beautiful plates:



It's summer! I had to start with a mojito!




Fried goat cheese with caramelized onions... I came to the conclusion that I don't like goat cheese, but aren't these pretty?



Chicken Marsala: really not my idea of a tapas plate, but this was yummy!



Mmmm... Crabcakes- yes!



Beautiful plates! We didn't get dessert, because we went to Crisan on Lark afterward. That post to come tomorrow!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Photo inspiration: home...

Here I am, driving back from the train station after an absolutely amazing weekend with old friends. But as nice as a little vacation was, it's always nice to come back to the place you call home. I've had a lot of "homes" over the past few years, but there's just something about this place that I love. I dont know how long ill stay, but you've really showed me some grood times. Thanks for being you, Albany.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Spring on Jay...

For me, spring is all about breaking out the grill, dusting off the porch, and kicking back with a beer. We've enjoyed many a night on our small back deck. Unfortunately this weekend hasn't been the best for grillin' and chillin', but a girl can dream, no?




Veggies and meat... All you need baby!



A great bottle of beer in a bright green setting....



Finish it off with a glass of wine and some knitting... Perfecto!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

5 things i love about the wine bar...

Maybe I just wanted to get drunk off wine, maybe I just needed some jamacian jerk ribs, or maybe I just wanted to blog about it.... Whatever it was, we went to the wine bar on lark street this past weekend, and it didn't disappoint! I love the wine bar because:

1. It's within walking distance
2. They have exactly one million delicious wines
3. It's a great place to chill and have converstion with friends
4. Ribs!
5. Awesome and intimate back deck

It's super dark so the pictures aren't great, but of course I whipped the iPhone out...





Delicious and refreshing wine





Bread a olive oil for dipping




Yummy dips...




Our meal...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

PA weekend extravaganza...

This past weekend I traveled to my home state of PA to celebrate my sisters 21st birthday (oh shit I'm old!) and best friend from high school's wedding. I'll spare you from the smiley pictures, that's for Facebook, but I wanted to take this post and show you the beautiful sunset on the way home. Check back later this week for fun with booze, hotel antics, and of course, the dress!













- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Daily dose of inspiration: May 1st

Starting the new month off right, I took a look around and found:




I love urban landscapes, and this pair of tires really inspired me to take a closer look at seemingly mundane and ugly objects. Hopefully this will inspire me to do some sort of photographic series. Stay tuned!

What's inspirational to you?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

just another day...

and my how beautiful it is around here! I took these picture just walking down the street! This block rocks!






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Photography has taken over...

As of late, Etsy sales are dwindling, and I've been more occupied with cool photo apps for my phone than FriendlyBrown knits. I'm sure in the coming weeks and months you'll be seeing more photo posts than knitting, but I wanted to dedicate this post to both of my loves. I've been commissioned to make a knitted stuffed lamb as a gift from a colleague of mine. He even supplied the pattern in this amazing book:









It's really great because it has adorable projects with easy to follow instructions, as well as information on how to complete all of the stitches used in the book. Truth be told, this is the first project that I've actually used a pattern this detailed for. There are a lot of stitches that I've only read about before, but I seem to be rockin' out pretty well so far. Wish me luck!








The needles I'm using...








The body and the head on different sets of needles, needing to be stuffed (thanks in advance crystal!)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Miniature bowling...

Last night I went bowling with some friends. Turns out, I'm a terrible bowler, but I did manage to get some cool shots while we were there. I have a tilt shift generator app on my phone ( it's FREE- go and get it, it's awesome actually, it's not free, but it's a buck, which is pretty cheap, no?) that makes photos look like miniature replicas of the originals. I thought it worked especially well for these bowling alley shots.





Psychadelic ball man!




Doesn't it look tiny?

Easter brunch

I'm not a religious person in the least, so Easter isn't a big deal to me, but I wanted to do something special on this beautiful Sunday. We decided to head over to Iron Gate over on Washington Ave for some brunch, and it was delicious! I had only ever been there for sandwiches, but their brunch was just as amazing- I'll definitely make a trip back sometime soon.





Yes! A beautiful day, and some pretty christmas lights!





2 cups of coffee please!





Nothing says Sunday brunch like a mimosa. Only problem- I wish it was larger!





I opted for a healthy breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and granola- yum!





Matt had an amazing omlet with the best homefries I've ever had. They tasted just like French fries that you get at the fair.





Aaaand here I am sporting a FriendlyBrown original striped summer scarf.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone