Thursday, March 10, 2011

Gypsy Queen Baseball 2011

Working with a baseball card company comes with a lot of perks- there are the free boxes of cards, the tickets to random Red Sox games, and then of course, the unexpected.  I am talking about the head brand manager approaching you and asking you to dress up as a gypsy to be photographed and put on your very own baseball card.  Yes, you heard me right- MY very OWN baseball card!!!

This year, Topps came out with a new product with an old school twist- Gypsy Queen Baseball.  It's based on old baseball cards that used to be put into cigarette tins (Gypsy Queen Cigarettes) back in the 1800's.  We are bringing it back, and as part of the insert set, there are a number of Gypsy Queens- one of those gypsies being me!

Check it out!!!

Mirela the Gypsy
Oriana the Gypsy
me and my topps cards!!!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

discovering brooklyn...


What better way to pass the time than by searching for the best pizza in Brooklyn?  On Saturday, we decided to try a place by the name of Grimaldi's.  Located right under the Brooklyn bridge, Grimaldi's is known for its coal-fired brick oven pizza.

Grimaldi's!
Grimaldi's under the bridge

me in front of the pizza place!
Grimaldi's pizza is an institution, and very well known-  literally stood in line for an hour with about a hundred other people waiting to get a table in the tiny pizzeria.  Since it was close to 65 degrees outside, and we were right by the Brooklyn Bridge park, we decided to order it as takeout, and go sit and eat pizza in the park, overlooking Manhattan.

As most of you know, I am infatuated with the Bridge, so this was the perfect day.  Not only was the pizza fantastic, but our view was amazing! And I might as well tell you that we simply ordered a cheese pizza with pepperoni, size large- 8 slices.   I ate 4 slices of pizza... it was that good.

enjoying my pizza
the best slice of pizza i have ever tasted...
me with the view

i love this bridge... such a better view from the brooklyn side
After our pizza, we around for a while in Manhattan and then decided to go home for dinner.  We did make a pit stop at another Brooklyn institution- Junior's.  Junior's is known for their NY style cheesecake- I have one word for you... Phenomenal.

Junior's restaurant on Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn

the cheesecake
 It was a huge piece of cheesecake, covered in strawberries, and really just delicious.  I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Brooklyn, but you have to go there after Grimaldi's- you can't have dessert before dinner!

I honestly love Brooklyn- yes, more than I like the city.  There just seems to be so much more in Brooklyn in terms of finding hidden treasures.  And while of course, everyone knows these two places, it's that much more fun when you discover them for yourself on your own time.

Wash it all down with some Brooklyn lager, and you have a full day's worth of Brooklyn- great pizza, decadent cheesecake, and tasty locally brewed beer.  What more could you ask for?

Brooklyn Brewery's Local #2 Ale

Thursday, March 3, 2011

A Weekend in Delaware & The Showdown!

I know, I know... It's been forever since I have written in my blog, but let me tell you, between the promotion and longer hours, the endless amount of laundry I have, and now the triathlon training and fundraising, I'm slacking.  So I apologize; but I come bearing good news- I have an update on what I did last weekend!!

I was able to go to Delaware with my mom to visit my brother!  We had a ton of fun!!  My mom got in on Saturday and we drove down to the University of Delaware to spend the night with my brother!  We hung out all day walking through town and ate at Klondike Kate's that night! It was great to spend time with my brother and hang out with him on campus!  On Sunday we went to the Lacrosse game and watched UDel win in overtime!  It was a beautiful day, and because of the weather, all I wanted to do was take pictures and sit outside!  Here's a recap of the weekend in pictures!!

getting ready for st. patty's day!

we stopped for some delicious gelatto! 

i liked it because it's irish :]

where we ate dinner on saturday night!

i have an obsession with red bikes...

this tree reminds me of the lion king!

UD

coffee at Brew Ha Ha!

getting coffee sunday morning!

The Field House!

Delaware Lax

On Sunday, we drove back to NYC!  Mom and I went to Eataly in the Flatiron District and had an Italian feast while we watched the Oscars.  Not my favorite Oscars to this date, but definitely was fun being able to watch with my mom!

On Monday, we explored NYC some more.  We traveled down to NYU and walked around, then walked to the West Side, had lunch at Chelsea Market, did some wine shopping in Union Square and then headed over to Madison Square Garden for the BNP Paribas Showdown!  I got mom tickets to this event for Christmas and we were able to see John McEnroe play Ivan Lendl and our favorite, Andre Agassi play Pete Sampras.  For me, it was like a dream come true, and for my Mom, well let's just say she was reliving Agassi's career!  It was an amazing time and I loved Madison Square Garden! Check out the pictures!  The tennis ones are courtesy of USTA- I couldn't bring in my good camera, and mine were a little fuzzy!

Washington Square

Greenwich Village

Mom in Chelsea Market!

The Garden

The Showdown- Epic

MSG a little empty

mom and I after the matches!

agassi!

pete and andre

i love this.

lendl, agassi, mcenroe, sampras

msg


As you can see, we had a ton of fun, and even though Andre lost, it was amazing being able to see him and Pete play again.  We had a great weekend- packed with tons of exciting things as usual... when you live in the city there is never a dull moment!! Hope you enjoyed the pictures!!

Now back to training for this triathlon!


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

NYC TRIATHLON!!!

Hello Everyone!

I wanted to take the time to let you all know that I am running the NYC Triathlon on August 7th, 2011 with Team in Training to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society! I am running on a team with my company, The Topps Company, and I am asking for all of your support. Below is the link to my personal fundraising page which will give you all more information on what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and why I need your help! I really appreciate all the help and support I can get- this is going to be a huge feat for me and I know that with the help of my friends and family, I can accomplish this!

Here is my personal page for all of the information you need; please feel free to pass this along to all of your friends and family! This is for a great cause- a cure for cancer & leukemia!
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nyctri11/kspenceeqd

Thanks so much for all of your help!

Katie