New York à la Keiko: nykeiko play: Here's what I have been up to....

I have been MIA and I am back with some updates! Here's what we have been up to...

+ We went to our first holiday market hosted by Renegade Craft fair at One Hanson Place in Brooklyn. I absolutely love this building and we love holiday markets/fairs although we rarely end up buying anything! Meeting artists and designers and seeing some really unique gifts is pretty refreshing although some things can be repetitive, there's always a standout. I did have my eye on a baby alpaca blanket but Dave told me dishing out $200 is not fiscally responsible. Maybe he should attend all the samples sales with me so I can be more fiscally responsible.

One Hanson Place

+Holiday parties are upon us and it started with a farewell party for a colleague which was held at my boss' luxurious condo on the Upper West side facing Central Park. We love that apartment and would do anything to go back. It helps he is neighbors with Phil Collins. Some of us were looking for excuses to meet him such as the good ol' "ran out of sugar" trick. We behaved and didn't embarass our noss.

+Before Thanksgiving, Dave and I were struck with a virus of some sort. So did 5 of my coworkers who all went to the same party. There was fever, headaches, chills, nausea and some vomiting. Not a pretty picture. I was throwing up on my way home, into a bag, during rush hour. I did get off the train to do that so I don't freak people out. Highly not recommended. It took us two days to recover and we came back strong and healthy just in time for a Thanksgiving feast at Dave's grandma's in Jersey. I am not sure if I was recovered 100% because I passed on the turkey on turkey day! hmmm.

+On Thanksgiving, we found out wild turkeys can fly.

+We both went back to work on Friday and were so, so busy even though we thought it would be a dead day since everyone was out of town. And that's right, I did not go shopping on Black Friday. Sure, I purchased a body lotion and eyeliner from Sephora at work to take advantage of a 8% cashback from ebates but I didn't physically go to any stores at all! I applauded myself while Dave gave me a sarcastic gold medal for my effort. Update: I returned and repurchased the items using a $20 VIB gift card I received days later. yay!

+During the weekend, I accompanied Dave to do some shopping. Dave? Shopping? Incredible! But alas, it was not for himself but for the less fortunate kids in New York city who wrote to Santa with a wish list. Santa Dave! He purchased a scooter and helmet for a 10 year old boy and necklaces from Forever 21 for a 12 year old girl! I made a necklace for the girl using real gold plated stuff. I hope no one steals it from her at school :S

+For the past two weekends, we have been drinking. I am trying to build up my tolerance to alcohol because it is just so pitiful how fast I get tipsy. Ok, I don't really care because it saves money when I don't need much to get tipsy right? So, this past weekend, we decided to go to Pocha32 in Ktown popular for their watermelon soju bowl. The bowl is a godamn watermelon! It wasn't as strong as we thought and so we were able to finish the entire bowl and walk home without falling.

Pocha32 swatermelon soju

+We also tried out the new H&M runway in Times Square. Yay! My first time on a Times Square jumbotron!

Dave trying out the H&M runway in Times Square

+Philipino food was ingested on Sunday!

+ We also finally picked up our wedding reception video DVD! We didn't watch the whole thing. I like watching myself but Dave hates it so we have yet to sit down together and watch the whole thing. We got a couple of copies to share with our parents. Maybe they will enjoy it more. I want to extract the part where all our close friends got on the dance floor to do a backstreet boys routine we all learned together!

+We passed by an amazing yard sale across the street from our apartment. A theater was shutting down for the season and was selling all their props which included a lot of authentic antiques. Too bad our place is so small so we got what we could. We bought a marble egg (heehee), a small wooden drawer and three antique frames all for $7.

+ A longtime friend was visiting NY with her family and her 15 month year old daughter. We got to catch up a little. It's always good catching up with a friend especially when it is at the Union Square holiday market. A very popular holiday market worth checking out by the way but pricy (the rent is high!).

+And finally, on Monday, Dave and I took the day off so we can attend a taping of the Daily Show. It was soooo much fun! I'd love to go to the show every day if I could...only minus the waiting!