My husband Andrew had never been to New York City before, so I planned a trip for the two of us as a celebration of his birthday (September 29). We saw so many sites and famous landmarks and even got to watch a Yankees game and a live taping of David Letterman’s Late Show!
We did a lot of window-shopping, too. Andrew was so incredibly patient with me as I made my way through various gourmet food stores and paper shops. (I tend to geek out in those types of places!) And when the hustle and bustle got to be too much for him, he waited patiently outside the shops so I could finish getting my “fix”. 
On Aunt Cristi’s recommendation, we made our way uptown to Zabar’s, a huge family-owned gourmet food store.
BOY, do I love cheese! And this store had HUNDREDS of kinds…an entire section of their grocery area was dedicated to CHEESE!!
Around the corner from the cheeses was the bakery section. All of their cakes looked so gorgeous in the huge display case (if I could justify the need for a display case in my own house, I would totally own one! I think they are so cute.)
Petit Fours…small cake, not-so-small price…at $2.89 apiece, each bite costs about a buck (maybe I should relocate?!)
A couple days later, Andrew and I made our way to Little Italy for an authentic Italian meal and a cannoli! The pastry shop we visited was so darling. Rows upon rows of puff pastry, eclairs, fruit tarts, and cheesecakes.
There’s the cannoli on the bottom row…so many kinds from which to choose!!
OOH, and tiramisu cheesecake. Yowza!
Andrew gave the chocolate-dipped/chocolate-mousse-filled cannoli a try. I caught him mid-bite, and he’s still handsome as ever.
After Little Italy, we stopped at Kate’s Paperie so I could get my paper-fetish fix. I’d looked on their website before we left home, and there were so many products I wanted to see in person. I was immediately awestruck by the amazing decor above their check-out area: flowers, all made entirely of PAPER! Gorgeous!
If there’s anything I love more than paper and art supplies, it’s organization. Or bulk. Or organized bulk! I saw this rack first. (When I squealed, Andrew took that as his cue to wait outside for me. ha!)
These floor-to-ceiling displays were set up throughout the store. So awesome!
Pretty patterned papers!
Then I saw their letterhead/envelopes station and thought I’d died and gone to Heaven! Bulk. Paper. Organized. And COLOR-CODED!
If they had had paper cupcake liners, I surely would have fainted.
Now that we are home, I am inspired, re-energized about my business, and ready to grab the bull by the horns!
SEE?!
What simple things in life do YOU enjoy? Share your thoughts with us!
