My week started with a very important shoe purchase.  I bought these wedge sandals.  I was thinking they were cute and slightly comfortable.  As it turns out, they are very comfortable – score!

Wednesday was the opening day for our little neighborhood farmers’ market.  We can walk to it and the boys love getting a quesadilla and listening to the music of the day.  It is our Wednesday tradition all summer.

Spring onions + asparagus + morels + homemade pasta made a delicious dinner.

Randy took this picture of us.  It haunts me.  Who are those big kids?  And where did my babies go?

The big event of the week was a trip back East for my 20th college reunion.  Not hard to leave Seattle with weather like that.

I went to college in Connecticut but I got to spend two days in New York.  I met my friend Darcie for an incredible dinner at ABC Kitchen.  We shared a bunch of plates and everything was truly extraordinary.  The kind of meal where you wish you were a cow and had 4 stomachs.  The highlight was the beets with homemade yogurt.  I’m totally committed to making my own yogurt after that dish.

The next day I was lucky enough to have time with one of my favorite blogging friends, Stacey of Stacey Snacks.  We have met before on another trip to NY and the time just flies by with her.  She brought me to one of her favorite spots, Corsino Cantina, where we had some incredible food.  The highlight for me was the fried brussels sprouts with bread crumbs and chili flakes.  She said they were great and that lady doesn’t lie.

Stacey is a good customer and they brought us some extras, like burrata with grilled bread and this exquisite tiramisu.

My trip continued with a drive up north to Connecticut College which is in New London.  Darcie (on the left) was the fearless driver.  She and I were very close in college but living on different coasts has made the friendship not as present for either of us.  Having a lot of time with her over the course of the weekend was one of the best parts of my trip.  The lovely lady on the right is Victoria, who was my freshman year roommate and my very close friend.  That brave woman went through breast cancer and came out the other side an amazing survivor.

The one full day we were on campus, the weather was terrible.  It is unfortunate because Conn looks pretty glorious in the sunshine.

See what I mean?

Before getting back in the car to head back to the city, Darcie and I snuck into the theatre.  I spent countless hours in that building and the smell of it nearly brought tears to my eyes – so many memories.  This is the room where we had most of our classes and where we staged small plays.  It is also the room I was sitting in when I decided that Conn was the school for me, on a college visit in the spring of 1988.

My hotel view in Times Square.

One more exquisite dinner.  I’ve been wanting to try Locanda Verde for years and finally got my chance.  Again, we shared lots of dishes and everything was delicious.  I have to say, I liked both ABC Kitchen and Corsino Cantina better although the fresh ricotta appetizer and the lemon tart at Locanda Verde were life-changing.

I had just enough time to eat lunch the next day before heading to the airport.  Shake Shack was across the street from my hotel and I glanced at the menu in the pouring rain and did not notice that there is a mushroom burger that is actually a mushroom.  So I didn’t go.  Boo hoo.

Instead I found a sweet Provençal restaurant that had intoxicatingly smooth hummus (I’m a sucker for hummus and grilled pita) and a Moroccan omelet that was so good, I’m making it for dinner tonight.