Shred Betties | Team Blog | Halo: Knee Surgery

Shred Betties | Team Blog | Halo: Knee Surgery

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What I did today

Started out at Bruce Playground in Greenwich, CT Exit 3 off 95.http://www.weddingmapper.com/g/ct/stamford/vendors/view/21697. Then we drove to Bedford, NY through all the horse stables, and farms, and country estates to Richard Gere's restaurant where he was sitting outside at a table. No one else was allowed to take an outside table at the time he was out there so we got a table inside directly in front of a window with direct view of actor and his company. I was frustrated at not being able to go and shoot photos but afraid of being disrespectful and kicked out I wondered how paparazzi ever made a living doing just that. But I did manage to get one shot on accident when we first pulled out without even knowing he was there or that that was him.I had spaghetti with garlic and tomatoes, well two orders actually. I'm not kidding. And a lemon meringue tart. The prettiest tart I've ever seen with dollops of marshmallow cream. My son had a cupcake. It was really good.
               Next was hiking at Mianus Park, Ct with my son and one of my dogs. The other is not social with other dogs. It was a full day and now I just finished watching Bruno on dvd expecting it to be really stupid i was surprised we laughed the entire time.

My Favorite Restaurants in Westchester, NY

                  Today I got to hit up a waterfront favorite in Irvington, Red Hut Bistro at 1 Bridge Street #150. A little hard to find because you enter a parking lot and walk along the water past one brick building and there you'll find it,another brick building with a rooftop deck and chairs and tables outside. I always get good food, and good service here and today was perfect weather to sit outside. I had a beet salad with goat cheese and a Marinated skirt steak with a cucumber salad. I didn't have it today but i do recommend the lemon tart.
                     Tarry Lodge, 18 Mill street, Port Chester, NY.http://www.tarrylodge.com/. This is an extremely gorgeous place in a very unexpected location. They offer parking across the street. This place is three stories and offers impeccable food and service. I recommend the sweet peppers as one of the appetizers. I recommend the marinated skirt steak. I have had the cannelloni which is also fantastic. You can't go wrong here and they have an amazing wine list.
                     Bedford Post Inn, Bedford NY, 954 Old Post Road,http://www.bedfordpostinn.com/. Set in the heart of stables galore you will see patrons showing up for lunch in equestrian wear. Sit outside on a gorgeous day under the trestle or if you sit inside in the small lodge downstairs you will be tempted by the glass display bakery. Their menu changes often.
                    BLT Steak, 221main Street, White Plains, NY,http://www.bltsteak.com/.Inside of the Ritz Carlton is an ultra-modern lounge with dark wood floors and high ceilings and one long wall of glass. The long bar has beautiful dark cabinetry. A must is the parmesan gnocchi that melts in your mouth.
                      Harvest On the Hudson in Hastings on the Hudson is a waterfront gem with a fresh herb garden and large playground on site outdoor seating, a large fireplace, and high ceilings similar to a mountain lodge.http://www.harvest2000.com/hoh/ 1 River Street is a must do on the checklist.
                     L'escale, 500 steamboat Road, Greenwich, CT, http://www.lescalerestaurant.com/. Waterfront bliss. Yachts are parked beside the restaurant. You must valet park and request outside seating because it is so gorgeous.  Tuna carpaccio, tuna nicoise salad, are my regular plates but you can't go wrong here either. This place is straight from a travel magazine

My Favorite Restaurants in NYC for the Atmosphere

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              These places I'm listing serve great food don't get me wrong but they are mainly designed to attract large groups and cater to high volume so the service may be lacking because it is so crowded. I never crave the food from these places. You are always excited to go and you're satisfied when you leave but you never crave the food alone. You crave the who's who glancing at what you're wearing and all the noises. Not to worry, bring your friends or have a business meeting here.The decorators have your short attention span in mind and have also propped conversation pieces for ice breakers.
            Tao starts with huge wood, medieval doors that came off a castle somewhere i'm guessing. You turn left at the hostess stand where a few young ladies prompt you into their den. Downstairs is a small seating area near a super dark bar and beyond is fancy eating hall with a 2 story Buddha statue. Upstairs is a loft with a large bright bar and meat market area with a tiny sushi bar in the corner.42 east 58th street is a must do for tourists and locals. In the meatpacking is a deceiving building that looks more like a retail store. Buddakhan is a huge two story warehouse. There are so many creative rooms in here you can get lost after a few drinks trying to find your company on a crowded night. 75 9th Avenue. Try to get seated downstairs in the library room or if you have a large party reserve the communal table downstairs as well. I saw Christina Aguilera and her husband here.They have to eat too, right? Phillipe 33 east 60th street is a loungy pan-asian place to have a bite before going out on the town. Music helps a restaurant so much. It can make or break them along with the lighting and food. Do dress up for this meat market. Tables are tight and you never know what hottie will be by your side.
               Buddha Bar at 17 Little West 12th Street is a reservations, dress yourself up, recommended spot. Sit near the bar left as you walk in. The red sofas have a dramatic effect on your smooth talking.I have had dinner here twice and don't remember what I ate. What you won't forget about this place is the DJ booth, the large Statue and good looking women that frequent here. My memory of this place is being with a group that included a silly drunk young man. My girlfriends date thought it was funny to use a toothpick and poke my very pregnant belly with it. LOL. Lucky for me my son is healthy, no holes.
                STK steak is directly across from Buddha Bar so obviously a perfect night on the town would be dinner at STK then drinks at Buddha Bar right before you hit one of many night clubs in the meat packing.. The crab salad with avocado appetizer is all I remember but i did finish two. These places are social settings. You come with a group and have a few drinks and you basically use the food as a base layer for your night of abuse. STK is a very promiscuous setting with curved white leather booths. bathrooms are upstairs and do hold on to the rail on your way down.26 Little west 12th Street.
                    And Lastly I'll recommend Megu at 62 Thomas Street. This place has tempura asparagus that comes in a  flower pot. Very pricey but you deserve it.

                     Nello, 696 Madison Avenue is a very polished fine Italian restaurant. Looks more like a small boutique inside. I got the idea to eat here while i was watching NY Housewives. I used to follow their hot spots. But it isn't as loungy and loud as the others. A fancier place more suitable for a romantic date

My Favorite Places In NYC to Eat For The Food Itself

Before I got pregnant I lived on 43rd street and 11th avenue. I resided in this awesome one bedroom until I was 8 months pregnant and we moved into a house 30 minutes away in westchester. Well, none of those factors have affected my dining in NYC. When we have a craving we go. My son has eaten out in more glamorous restaurants than any other non-celebrity kid I know of. When he was an infant we thought this was a cinch because he would sleep through dinner right in his car seat carry out.As he got older and sleep was unnecessary we went to Walmart and got the greatest tool of parenthood- a dvd player- and we don't go anywhere with it. Helpful on flights and anywhere else. My only advice is to keep it charged. I'm only going to mention restaurants with damn good food and these places are slightly steep on the price but your belly will be happy. Quality, ambience, service. First off is Geisha, upper east side. Yum, yum, yum.This place is a maze. Booths to the right of the bar a small room and sushi bar in the back and tables in narrow corridors upstairs. good food, great service.33 E 61st street.Next is Vento in the meat packing district. It's a tall triangular brick building dead center in the fork of the road touching Hudson St.Their menu changes but what's consistently good is a simple margarita pizza. I've been know to finish two after a hangover. 675 Hudson Street at 14th street. Aquagrill downtown on Spring street is excellent on service and the freshest fish. You will consistently get an excellent meal here. Fresh clam and oyster bar. I'm a regular of the tuna carpaccio and the lobster salad. If you do bring your little one there is a huge playground right around the corner.I've been going here for 3 years and if you can make it on a weekend the blueberry pancakes will be the best pancakes you ever have.210 spring street.Next is Hearth only open for dinner. Saw Dustin Hoffman here. Excellent wine ist and if you can sit at the stools in the kitchen. They used to have snapper crudo which I literally ordered and finished 3 orders of. Yes I can eat! But sadly, they took it off the menu, maybe it's seasonal and will be back. they have a replacement that is equally good and I think it's red snapper hamachi. Pastas are always homemade and you're not going to get these dishes anywhere else. One of a kind. Brick walls small bar, reservations recommended. Across from a small skate park. 403 East 12th street.Mercer kitchen is a hotel that caters to models and actors and anyone who wants to see or be seen. saw Hugh Grant here recently.99 Prince Street is in the heart of shopping town. Shop after shop after shop. I love the beet salad with goat cheese. The roast chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans is a yummy classic. The chicken is so moist and tender. The bar is lit purple and there are communal tables next to the open kitchen to peak in and watch. Take the K in the elevator from the hotel to get to the lower level or take the stairs but warning wearing a short skit for the patrons below. Across the street from Mercer Kitchen is another favorite downstairs. Lure can only be seen on street level as nautical windows.Once inside you are on a yacht. Large leather booths and wood lacquered floors. You have to get the shrimp tempura-slightly spicy, the yellow tail hamachi and the lobster croutons. The lobster croutons are so expensive but the salty ocean water taste will leave you blissful and try to find them anywhere else.142 Mercer Street,Lure. A personal favorite of mine is Chinatown Brasserie and I have to emphasize the fact that I hate Chinese food. This place doesn't look like much inside but they de-vein their shrimp! need I say more? Not many places de-vein the shrimp in their shrimp fried rice. So buttery and good. I honestly finish an order by myself plus at least 6 orders or steamed dumplings. I know you think i'm making this up. I'll have to post a video one day. orders aren't enough. They come 4 dumplings in each steam bucket. we switch off between the shrimp, the shrimp and snow pea and the mushroom and buck choy. There are no mystery fillings, no MSG, all dumpling and meat and vegetable. No cheap stuffing that you wonder what your chewing on. there is nothing else but wholesome goodness.I could eat here every day. Pic shown. 380 Lafayette
The best steak in the whole wide world gets owned by Del Friscos. 1221 avenue of the Americas. Be prepared to spend but you will be so happy you did. The best, the finest, most craved after steak is only here. Start with crab cake because i'm still searching for another crab cake in lobster bisque just like it and without luck. This one melts in your mouth. When i'm bad I go really bad with a side of garlic and oil pasta.

Last Rites Tattoo Theater, Chelsea nyc

http://www.inkydreadfuls.com/GalleryHome.htmlhttp://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/17679/http://darkimages.com/

This might just be the coolest tattoo shop in the world.I wouldn't get a tattoo anywhere else. This place is a dream for any Halloween fanatics, alteranatives, very dark individuals, and Goths.I don't have a tattoo. I just went i to have a peak and found it hard to leave. So much eye candy. Statues, tombstones, skulls, blood red painted walls, and dark art. A must see when you are in nyc

Halloween, my favorite time of the year

Last year I drove from NY to Philly to go to the Easter State Penitentiary which was alot of fun because we made a day of it and biked through downtown the stopped at a bar directly across the street. It was a haunted prison. Adds alot of ideas for your own party to take the time to visit a professional haunted venue. Obviously few people will have the budget to hire actors but getting into theme is always fun. Another venue we went to which was out of this world was Headless Horseman in Ulster Park, NY. I vow to return here every year. The budget for this place is unbelievable. The property they own is limitless, about 45 acres. They have a corn maze, a fleet of tractors that carry about ten people at a time through there amusement, and the most extravagant animated props. I was totally impressed. I would have paid double for whatever our ticket cost because they went all out. http://www.headlesshorseman.com/

With the space I had and the budget I used about two months prior to Halloween to prepare and shop online. I got alot of great stuff and ideas from Grandin Road,http://www.grandinroad.com/ which is an affiliate of Frontgate.Martha Stewart is also involved with their designs and they have realistic tombstones, skeletons, serving plates and glassware for the occasion.Not sure if you ever did research on the price of real goblets.Actual Gothic goblets can go from $45 and up into the hundreds! I purchased a ton of Gothic battery operated candles from them. They have amazing designs and around 4 tombstones. The only product I was disappointed in were the two scary black cats because in the photos they look great but in person they look cheap. So those were returned I kept the owls. I also did alot of searching on ebay. I actually became obsessed with ebay for props and discouraged and how pricey the large animated stuff was. made me want to go to school just to learn how to make them.
I was really lucky to know someone who works for Ruby's Costume Shop and was able to get me a ton of stuff for free or at a huge discount. we got rolls and rolls of black fabri which is ideal for making a maze.I got all the masks and the skeleton door frame and fireplace mantel from Ruby's. We were lucky to have an unfinished basement. If yours is finished that's okay too but then you can't staple the material to the ceiling like we did. So with the fabric cut it into long strips and made a dark narrow maze. Not very narrow but creepy enough where corners can hie surprise and at every corner was a prop. Lastly and most importantly because the $100 fogger we got did not work on command was lighting.Purple lighting green lighting perched above each prop. Oh and a CD of ghoulish horror. Screaming of course like a torture chamber. I even let my guests bring a battery operated candle down with them if they wanted. Fireproof. Less worries for you. What I learned the hard way is not to let anyone bring down their drink. Glass bottle broken was not good. To fill in any empty nooks and crannies you don't have to spend alot to create a grand theme. Target has a lot of decor as well as costumes. SCroll all the way down to see added pics.