Mike’s weekend visit

Mike was able to add a Brooklyn visit to his work trip over Presidents Day weekend. We had a great time and I was able to capture some sweet uncle/niece moments around the house. I am sure he would have preferred to sleep in later, but it was hard to resist Ellis’s sweet wake-up kisses and her stomping around the apartment. We are always aware of our neighbors and try to keep the noise down in the mornings. Erik had the best idea of putting socks over the wheels of Ellis’s doll stroller. She now slides is silently around the house.

Table for Three: Eat

Our brunch today might have been my favorite new place so far. Embarrassingly, Eat has been around the neighborhood since 2008, but this was our first visit. They serve only organic, locally-grown food in a homey atmosphere on handmade pottery, which they also sell. I had the amazing sweet potato and onion frittata, Erik had the egg salad sandwich and Ellis had the most delicious sweet potato and walnut muffin. We were the first to arrive and had the best seat in the house. By the time we had left, the rest of the neighborhood had woken up and the place was full.

After our meal, we made our way over to the library. I had forgotten how great the library is. Ellis is really into books these days and I always feel guilty just browsing and reading to her in bookstores without buying something. We borrowed three new books a few weeks ago and returned them today for three more. She was pretty excited about their children’s computer as well.

First fort and Valentines

I have great childhood memories of building couch cushion forts with my brother. In my mind we took over the whole living room and had tunnels, different levels and secret hiding places. Erik has similar memories and helped Ellis build her first crib fort. She loved her little nook and was sad when the blanket kept falling down. Weekend mornings at home are really my favorite time of the week. Lazy breakfasts while still in your pajamas can’t be beat. After our fort adventure, I helped Ellis craft a few valentines. She’s really into identifying the shapes and colors of everything these days. She badly wanted to use the scissors (“I try, I try”) but even the child size pair were too much for her tiny hands. A bottle of glue was the perfect distraction while I cut out the hearts.

Table for Three: Chimney Cake

We had a little more than three at our table this weekend and it wasn’t a exactly a restaurant, but the Transylvanian/Hungarian Bakery Chimney Cake was very memorable. The pastries are called Chimneys and I’d describe them as sweet, pretzel like cylinders that peel off in spiral. The equipment to make these and the wooden sign had so much character and history, but the overall decor of the bakery was pretty bare. The chimneys were delicious though and we’ll be picking some up in the future when we visit LIC and the waterfront.

Table for Three: Aurora

Our second dining adventure did not disappoint. Erik and I have wanted to try Aurora in Williamsburg for years. I don’t know what prevented us from going all this time. Their lovely side garden always looked so romantic. When we walked in for brunch, I was pleased to see it wasn’t too crowded and even more excited to see that the actor Hugh Jackman and his family were sitting at the table right next to us! I wonder if this was their first trip to Aurora as well?! Our food was delicious. Erik and I both ordered the $15 eggs benedict/florentine pix-fixe with coffee and a mimosa. We thought Ellis would love the granola and yogurt, but she was more excited about the bread and fresh orange juice. Three other families with toddlers were also there and there were plenty of high chairs to go around. Looking forward to trying out their dinner menu in the Spring!