Blog - Page 642 of 771 - Hither & Thither

Bike bags (anticipatory shopping)

I’d been eyeing this bag from Madewell (for a day when our bikes are no longer buried under snow). Besides being a beautiful purse, it has little loops for attaching to your handlebars! Isn’t that awesome?

But then I spotted this rucksack on Unruly Things–made to order by a designer in Oregon–and quickly snatched one up instead. I can’t wait to pick take it to the greenmarket at the first sign of cherry blossoms.

There are so many great things coming out in stores for spring.

(p.s. Happy Year of the Rabbit!)

Welcome, February

February snuck-up–and all of the sudden it’s Groundhog Day!

Maybe it’s to help us get over the winter slump, maybe it’s in the spirit of Valentine’s day, but there are some pretty awesome month-long specials in the city right now.

It’s time for the Hot Chocolate Festival at City Bakery (home of the awesome pretzel croissant): every day there’s a different flavor of very thick, decadent hot chocolate featured. My colleagues who used to works at the B&N headquarters around the corner from the bakery’s flagship look forward to this month and promised to give me tips as to what flavors are best.

And then there’s the Clinton Street Baking Company, who is hosting pancake month. The poster alone makes my mouth water, and I’m definitely cribbing from these combinations in the future.

Aron also just sent me a notice about a coupon for a month of sausages (in honor of GroundHog day–get it?) at DBGB Kitchen & Bar (though I have to say I’m a bit more tempted by hot chocolate and pancakes, but maybe that’s just me).

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Can I break out the bikini yet?

As beautiful as the snow can be (and thank you all for the wonderful comments about the photos yesterday), I can’t wait to escape to some warm weather. Aron and I are going to take off for a week in February to join my parents in Puerto Rico and then we’ll all set sail for a cruise around the Caribbean. We’re going to be on the same boat–the Celebrity Summit–as we were on two years ago, but with a different itinerary, and I’m so excited. We loved our last trip.

After the cruise, Aron and I are going to stay behind in San Juan for a couple of extra days. Everyone had such great suggestions for Montreal; any tips for our two days in San Juan? We saw a lot on our last trip, but we spent most of our time around the Old Town. I don’t think we have time to go as far as Vieques or Culebra, however. We were thinking about staying around Isla Verde or Ocean Beach–any thoughts? Did you stay at a hotel you really loved? Thanks for your suggestions!