BRUNCH AT BOULEY

Yay for being back in the city! The past week was the first week in a while that I've actually spent in the city (though I am now in Boston). What did I do to take advantage of the break from traveling? Why, I made sure to spend lots of money on food of course! 

I made sure to pop into North End Grill as it has become one of my staple restaurants in New York. It's probably one of the only good restaurants in the financial district. Plus, the fantastic scotch collection doesn't hurt. I followed that up with a lovely dinner at Tocqueville, which has been on my must visit list for the past year or so. It definitely did not disappoint, though it did burn a significant hole in my wallet. 

Finally, I was able to celebrate a friend's very belated birthday at Bouley on Saturday with some of my favorite ladies. Somehow we all independently decided that yellow was the color of the day. Besides the odd confirmation rule and the slight morning mishaps, I really liked Bouley. Everything about the restaurant was quirky but comfortable. It's one of those sleepy places that you would miss from the outside, but the inside was reminiscent of a scene from the Renaissance period. My favorite was the wall of apples in the foyer as you walk in. The lunch tasting menu (5 courses for 55) was well worth the price and absolutely delicious!

Enjoy the pictures!

CHARITABLE CAUSE: LIBERTY HOUSE BOOK DRIVE

Readers, 

I really wanted to take some time today to write about a great charitable cause I've been supporting during the past year or so. I've been working with a group of inspiring individuals at work on an initiative supporting Liberty House here in Manhattan. Liberty House is a domestic abuse shelter located in Manhattan that is dedicated to providing temporary shelter and services to victims of domestic abuse. As a group, we are currently involved in leading weekly one-on-one workshops that teach skills such as resume writing and interviewing to aid the women in gaining financial stability and ending the cycle of abuse. 

After speaking to the women at the shelter and some of the program coordinators, it became apparent that the shelter has a dire need for more books to provide to the women and their children. Thus, we've decided to organize a book drive to help support the shelter. We are looking for books of all types including educational and leisure reading for readers of all ages and levels. I will be very grateful if you could lend your support to this cause and contribute some books! 

If you have any questions on how to contribute, please leave me a message or email me at colorofwhimsy@gmail.com.

Thank you, 
Michelle 

CURRENT OBSESSION: HUNTER GREEN

Ever since I purchased my pair of mint green pants from Zara this spring, I've been on a green craze. Given my mint green obsession, it only seemed like the natural progression that my favorite trend this fall is hunter green.  Ever since I saw a feature on People Style Magazine (my airport guilty pleasure) in July, I've been fervently hunting down every pair of autumn appropriate hunter green pants. In my search, I narrowed it down to the three pairs below.

GAP 1969 Leggings | Zara Skinny Jeans | Tory Burch Ivy Super Skinny Jeans

Each of the three pairs, while each slightly different, all had attributes that I was looking for. While the Zara ones were a little brighter than the other two, it was still in the same family of color that I was considering. Furthermore, the price of that pair more than offset any downsides associated with the color. I grew up as a GAP junkie and to this day, there's just something that draws me to GAP jeans. This pair of 1969 leggings was no exception. It was comfortable, affordable, and just the correct length. The Tory Burch pair was absolutely breathtaking. Color wise, it was my favorite as it was a true Hunter green, and it had a richness to it that the GAP pair lacked. The fit was perhaps the most flattering - my legs were elongated in them and I looked like I was at least one size smaller. However, they were not made for a short girl. With inseams of 35 inches, I would have had to get them altered. Since I've inherited some of my parent's frugality genes, I found it to be very difficult to justify the additional tailoring costs as they were already $195 dollars to start. Ultimately, I ended up going with the Zara pair for cost reasons. The GAP pair was twice as expensive as the Zara ones and seeing how I wanted red denim as well, I just couldn't justify the GAP pair (though I did buy the GAP boyfriend jeans - more to come on that in a later post!). Costs aside, I really felt that the Zara and GAP pants were equal on all other fronts and it really boils down to personal preference.

Ever since I bought the green Zara pants, I've been aching to wear them, and I took the opportunity this past weekend to debut them in San Francisco. Now I can officially say that Fall has arrived!

NEW CAMERA

I have been horrible at posting the past couple of weeks. In my shabby defense, I've been flying all around for work the last few weeks. I spent a week in Dallas for training and then I was getting back to the rhythm of my weekly New York to Madison travel schedule. 

However, on a side note, I did get my new camera. I decided to go with the T2i since I'm not planning on taking extensive videos with it (and thus could not warrant splurging on the T3i). I've been going shutter crazy with it - especially when I am fortunate enough to escape to Connecticut for the weekend (see below). As I've mentioned before, I firmly believe that the best thing about New York in the summer is being able to leave the city. I love the feeling of lounging around by the lake on a gorgeous Saturday. It almost feels like a verse out of Bruno Mars' "The Lazy Song". Unfortunately for me, that also means that I can excuse myself from my diet and go crazy with my favorite homemade bacon & egg breakfast sandwich. 

Anyhow, enjoy the pictures and leave some thoughts! I promise to update more frequently in the following weeks!

FLYING WOES

It seems like all of my current posts have to do with my flying misfortunes. It turns out that my flight out of New York was cancelled and I didn't find out until I got to the airport. While the agents were pretty helpful, the earliest flight I could get on was an 8:30pm flight. I was generally pretty miffed at the fact that I had to get up at 4:00am for nothing. However, this did get me thinking. If I was not constrained by my business casual outfit requirements (due to work), what would be my perfect early morning outfit?

Airport Glamour by colorofwhimsy featuring short sleeve shirts

Thanks to my mother and her constant threats of late age arthritis and joint problems (don't ask!), I would make sure that I was wearing comfortable pants. As enticing as sweats sound, it wouldn't help the fact that I inevitably feel like a disgusting slob in constant need of caffeine when I have to make an early morning flight. Since the temperature on planes vary from subzero to suffocating heat, it is important to layer! Finally, a sensible pair of flats can do wonders when you are trying to navigate through convoluted terminals - your feet will thank you!

RESTAURANT WEEK IN MADISON

I apologize for the dearth of posts, but business school applications have been consuming the vast majority of my time (mostly due to procrastination on my part). 

A couple of weeks ago, Madison had its Restaurant Week. A three course dinner costed a mere $25 dollars. I took advantage of the deal by visiting two of the most esteemed restaurants - Nostrano and Sardine. Nostrano, a quirky Italian restaurant, is the brainchild of Tim and Elizabeth Dahl (the esteemed former pastry chefs at Blackbird and Boka). Whereas Sardine is a large airy restaurant situated in an old factory. It invokes the feel of something out of San Francisco. 

Nostrano:

Nostrano - Madison, WI

I started with the homemade Strawberry soda that was reminiscent of a jolly rancher. Just like a jolly rancher, you can't eat too much. The first few sips were refreshing, but it soon became too overwhelmingly sweet. 

My first course was a chilled zucchini soup, which was light but oily. The pickled veggies added a disharmonious tangy flavor. Honestly, I could have done without the pickles as it just made everything a little too busy.

I followed with the whole wheat pappardelle. This was perhaps my least favorite course as it took al dente to another level. The dish looked deceptively chewy but unfortunately tasted like bits of chalk. However, I did like the hint of spice with the lamb sauce, and the one piece of perfectly cooked noodle was impeccable. I feel like this oversight was probably due to the fact that it was restaurant week and the kitchen had trouble keeping up with the crazy demand. 

The meal did close on a high note with the crema dessert. The Hibiscus gelato with bittersweet chocolate mousse dynamic was perfect. The blackberry jam added a little tartness. Overall, it was a very delicate balance of flavors, but, the smoked almonds were quite unnecessary.

Overall, I give the experience a 2/5. I really wanted to love this restaurant, but ultimately, it was a disappointing experience. The caveat is, however, I would like to try the restaurant again outside of restaurant week. 

Sardine:

Sardine - Madison, WI

Here, I started with the Duck confit. The duck itself was delicious and left me wanting for more. The contrast between the crispy and the tender was great. Unlike Nostrano's, I thought the little details served to elevate the dish.The blackberry balsamic added extra dimension to the richness.

My main dish was the Arctic Char. Overall, it was a well executed dish. The only complaint I had was that the panko crumbs was rather unnecessary. The white beans that came with the dish made it almost stew like. 

I ended my meal with the Gianduja, which was rich with an amazing praline crust. My favorite part was the drunken cherries. It invoked memories of maraschino cherries, but without all of the cough syrupy taste. Instead, it had a light cinnamon-y flavor. Lastly, the hazelnut brittle candy added another textural aspect to the dish. It was refreshingly chewy. All of the different flavors, textures, and tastes worked together seamlessly.

Overall, this was probably a 3.5/5

LONDON POLITICS

While I did not intend to post anything controversial on this blog, I realized that in order to fully capture all the complexities and shades of color in life, I would have to branch out and address some more serious topics. So without further adieu, this will be my entry examining the politics of the Olympic Games.  Please note that a guest blogger will write a post to covering the flip side of the argument! Definitely tune in for that perspective!

Every two years I tune into the Olympics with high hopes that it would unite people from all nations in celebrating the amazing achievements accomplished by the talented athletes competing in the games. After all, in the early Greek Olympic Games, wars were suspended and political differences were put aside. For 16 days, I thought we would be able to accomplish the same as our ancient predecessors . Every two years, reality sets in and I am disappointed. Accusations fly and politics kicks in. The ugly side of nationalism shows itself. This year was no different.

Flawed rules incentivized badminton players to lose matches in order to gain an advantage in match draws. A timekeeper's error in conjunction with a bad judging call probably cost a South Korean fencer a gold medal. Terrible refereeing in Boxing resulted in suspect results, and finally, a sixteen year old has been continually accused of doping due to her spectacular victories in the pool. All of these examples show how flawed the Olympics are and why there is a need to overhaul the the rules to the competitions ensure that  all parties involved are incentivized to honor the spirit of the Games.

As deplorable as the rampant cheating was, I still find the media's attitude towards Ye Shiwen the most disturbing activity during these Games. Yes, her times were 7 seconds better than her previous personal best, but does that necessarily mean that she's doping? Stephanie Rice dropped 10 seconds in the course of the year to win the same event in 2008. Yes, Ye;s last 50m were faster than Lochte's last 50m, but, as many have pointed out, Lochte's last 50m in his 400m medley was one of the slowest in the men's 400 medley. Furthermore, Ye's overall time was far slower than all but 3 of 36 men who competed in the same event. Lastly, Ye was tested numerous times prior to the Olympics and also immediately afterwards - in all insistence, the tests have come back negativeWith all of these facts, shouldn't she be given the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. After all, we did provide athletes like Marion Jones, Floyd Landis, Roger Clemens, and Lance Armstrong the same courtesy.

While I understand why people are suspicious of Ye's accomplishments, I do not think it gives them the right to outright bully her. What should have been the happiest days of her life has so far turned into a nightmare. She is hounded by the media on the subject matter and her integrity is being dragged through the mud and questioned by every one imaginable. Keep in mind that this girl is only 16! As someone with a teenage sibling, I can't imagine how hurt and upset I would be if someone subjected my little brother to the same level of interrogation and scrutiny. Can you imagine if someone did this to your child, sibling, or someone you loved? Heck, no one, regardless of their age, should have to go through the abuse Ye is going through right now (especially if they're innocent!). As a nation, we do not condone school year bullying done by our children, so why should we allow institutionalized bullying to occur? As we look for our athletes and our children to adhere to a higher standard, we should also hold our institutions and organizations to the same standard. No one should be bullied regardless of the pretense or context of the act.

Readers - I am interested in your perspectives, so please contribute to this dialogue!