#now i have the next two weeks ish to finish the dinner and dessert menus

[ineffable-gallimaufry]

breakfast and lunch menus for the sunlite all-day café are done!

(edit: full menu here)

[katattacktime]

Self Care (Asmo x GN!Reader)

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NSFW, V Soft, making love

4,400 ish words

I haven’t written in like 8 years and this was written all at once until like 4 in the morning because Asmo Simping Hours

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It had been a long, long week at RAD. You arrived back at the House of Lamentation and trudged through the entrance hall to your room. Every step weighed heavier as the exhaustion set into your bones. You took your bag and unceremoniously dumped it on the table in your room, a heavy thunk from overstuffed tomes and clinking of writing utensils rolling against each other. You let out a deep sigh, shuffled over to your bed, and flopped face down, letting out a groan as your shoulders relaxed at the promise of the weekend to look forward to.

You pulled your DDD out of your pocket and scrolled through your notifications. Group chats with new messages, a missed text from Satan asking if you’d seen the book he’d started last night followed by a “Never mind. Found it.” less than a minute after. A few notifications from the popular Devildom social media sites. Devilgram in particular seemed to be booming tonight; demons ramping up for a Friday night of parties and drinking to celebrate the well-earned break.

A soft knock sounded at your door. You sat up and jerked your head away from your phone toward the intruder.

Asmodeus leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed, eyes raking up and down taking in your appearance.

“You,” he said pointedly, “look like you could use a self-care night.”

You could feel your cheeks get warm at his assessment. “Is it really that bad?”

Asmo chuckled good-naturedly.

“No, dear. I promise. I would never let you walk around like that without telling you, no, but, I did see you walk in here like a zombie and heard you toss everything related to school as far away from you as possible.” He grinned.

You groaned. “It wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t starting from nothing with magic and knowledge of the three realms in general,” you pouted.

“Well, what do you say you and I go relax in my room? It takes work to stay this pretty for my admirers and I’ve got a new bath bomb I’ve been dying to try out. Company as pretty as me will make it that much more enjoyable,” he flirted.

“Hmmmm. I dunno—“ you drawled. You flashed a smile at him and coyly pretended to consider your options. “In all seriousness though, how would we do that without being disturbed? I love you and your brothers dearly, but you all have a habit of causing problems for each other at the worst moments.” You grimaced at the thoughts of all the quiet moments you’d had with each of them that had been suddenly ruined by an ill-timed appearance of someone else.

Asmo smiled, “I have good news for you then. It’s just you and me home tonight.”

“What? Really? Where did everyone else go?”

“Lucifer got called to some meeting at the castle. Apparently they forgot something while at the council meeting earlier,” he counted on his fingers for each brother he named, “One of Mammon’s witches called him for something last minute. Satan is holing himself up at the library with Solomon until really late tonight. Supposedly, they found something or other in a manuscript that could ‘change the concept of curses as we know it.” He rolled his eyes and continued. “The twins are at Hell’s Kitchen with Levi. Levi lost a bet with Belphie, and now he’s paying the price, literally.” He grinned and held up six fingers to you. “So that just leaves you and me! And I was in charge of dinner tonight anyways, so this works out in my favor too that no one is here,” he stated.

You chuckled. “I am always impressed with how up-to-date with everything you seem to be,” you complimented. “I would love to have a self-care night with you tonight, Asmo.”

Asmo smiled broadly and you could swear a blush dusted his face before he turned to lead you into the kitchen situated next to your room.

“I figure we might as well order in tonight, my treat, since it’s just us two. No point in messing up the kitchen, and we can get started that much sooner.” He grabbed a few menus from under a magnet on the side of the fridge and spread them out on the butcher block island in the center.

“What are you hungry for? I was thinking we get something from that little restaurant across the street from Madame Scream’s and follow up with some dessert from Madame Scream’s too. Maybe some bufo egg tea to sip on while we’re at it?”

You looked down at the menus spread out before you and considered for a moment. “Sounds good to me!”

Asmo pulled out his phone and called both places to make your orders while you gathered up the menus and set them back under the magnet on the side of the fridge. You piped in here and there as needed, but soon enough, your food was ordered, on its way, and at the front door ready for you. You helped Asmo bring it in, while he made small talk with the delivery guys and shut the door.

He grabbed some of the bags from you and gestured for you to lead the way.

“After you,” he said politely.

You smiled at him and you two sauntered into the dining room to eat together. Asmo, being ever attentive, made sure to ask about your week and if there was anything he could help with, complained about the work load at RAD, and gossiped about who was throwing parties and who wasn’t.

When you asked why he wasn’t out and about, he waved his hand in dismissal stating that even he needed a night off every now and then. He grabbed a cupcake out of the box of sweets you’d ordered from Madame Scream’s.

“If I went out and partied every night, my skin would never forgive me. That and sometimes I get tired of being in big crowds too. I have my parties that I host a couple of nights a month anyways, so I can’t let everyone be oversaturated by my presence. Then I become boring, and that just wouldn’t be fair to my admirers,” he explained.

You hummed in acknowledgment and swallowed the last bite of the sweet you’d ordered. “Well, I’m glad you’re here with me. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d been suddenly alone.”

Asmo smiled at you and the both of you stood up to clear the table.

You thought about what your night might have turned out to be had he gone out instead of staying in. You’d completed your homework earlier before you got home. You could have watched a movie, scrolled on your DDD endlessly, maybe dressed yourself up just because you could. Your face heated when you realized that if no one had been home you could have spent hours unwinding in another, more carnal way with yourself without worrying if someone would interrupt. It had been a while.

If Asmo noticed the blush on your cheeks, he didn’t say anything, instead opting to usher you by your room for pajamas and through his room to the bathroom for your joint pampering session. He snapped his fingers and lit the candles in the room to create a dim, calming atmosphere.

“So,” he began, “I’m going to gather everything together in one place and pick some things out for you. It’ll take me a bit because I want to make sure everything I pick will suit your skin well, and I have to fill the bath and figure out where I put that bath bomb. We’re not going to do anything tonight that you don’t want to do, so if you really just can’t stand the texture or smell of something let me know, we can skip it or I can find a substitute.” He pointed a look over to a countertop filled with organized bottles and containers. “I have plenty to choose from.”

He turned and walked to the glass-paned french doors that lead into his closet, opening them and disappearing inside the mood lit room for a moment. He returned with two soft, silky, cream robes and matching slippers.

“I need you to hop your lovely self into the shower and get clean. I need a clean canvas to work with so that everything will soak in better.”

He shot a flirtatious look at you. “I would join you but I’m afraid we wouldn’t get anywhere with our pampering night unless you wanted me to pamper you another way.”

“Maybe once my muscles don’t feel like knots,” you acquiesced and blushed at the innuendo.

Asmo grinned and exchanged the pajamas from your arms for a robe and slippers and pointed you over to the walk-in shower behind him. A half wall with a glass partition and glass door separated it from the rest of the bathroom.

“Everything you need should be in there. There’s even a fresh razor should you want to shave anything and I just changed out the washcloths last night, so everything is new. There’s a sugar scrub on the shelf in the wall and a bunch of other things you can feel free to test.”

The shower itself was easily as spacious as his bath. Smooth, unbroken, white marble formed the walls with a tiled ceiling. Plenty of room for several people to enjoy the steamy water and relax. A tiled bench stood prominently in the center of the shower room (as you were now calling it) for resting under the stream of the rainfall shower positioned above it. Towels sat rolled neatly on a shelf by the entrance.

You placed the robe and slippers onto the shelf and stripped down. You neatly folded your uniform and placed it aside, unsure what to do with it otherwise.

You turned and made your way deeper into the room to the knobs on the wall, fiddling with them to figure out what turned on where when you messed with them. You found a hot, soothing temperature you could bear and stood under the stream, melting away the knots in your shoulders and back.

Curiosity overtook you and you took your time to explore his products as you relaxed. A couple you even decided to pamper yourself with since he so graciously offered. You cleaned yourself as you normally did when you weren’t rushed for time and shut off the valves when you finished, toweling dry.

You peered through the glass partition over the half wall into the rest of the bathroom. Asmo, dressed in his cream robe and slippers, had poised on the rim of his tub while you showered. He watched the water fill the bath and swirl the bath bombs and flower petals he had dropped in. You shrugged on the robe, tying it loosely in front of you, and placed your feet in the slippers before opening the glass door leading out.

Asmo glanced up at you and raked his gaze across your frame. Soft music played from a speaker he’d set up.

“As beautiful as ever,” he commented appreciatively. He shut off the water and removed himself from the side of the bath. He grabbed a tray of items he’d gathered.

“Feel free to go through these and remove anything you don’t like. The bath is ready, and I’ll join you as soon as I’m done showering.” He strutted toward the shower, but you grabbed his arm before he passed.

“Thank you, Asmo. Really.” You leaned toward him and pressed a chaste kiss on the cheek of the Avatar of Lust. “This all really means a lot to me.”

Asmo looked down at you in surprise, a deep, coral blush painted across his face. He lifted his hand to where you’d kissed his cheek and looked away.

“Y-you’re welcome. Of course I’d do something as simple as this,” he gestured to the room around him, “People as beautiful as us have to make sure we stay that way, right?”

“Of course,” you smiled at him softly and walked away from him toward the tray to go through the items he selected.

Asmo stood there for a second longer than he intended, watching you languidly make your way through his bathroom, completely relaxed around him. His heart swelled as he watched you take an interest in the things he’d spent so much time curating with you in mind. He turned toward the shower before he couldn’t bear to be away from your side any longer, determined to continue with the night on your terms when you were ready.

You untied the robe and gently set it on the side of the tub, sitting beside the silky, folded fabric and kicking off the slippers next to the tub. You swung your legs over the edge and lowered yourself into the warm, cloudy light pink water. Specks of gold glitter rolled around your legs as you disturbed the bath, yellow petals swirling gently on top. The scent of chamomile, honey, and almond milk wafted up as you sunk in.

You settled yourself onto the bench encircling the bath and stretched your arms high above your head, before resting them on the edge behind you, enjoying the contrast between the warm bath and cool, smooth tile. You closed your eyes and laid your head back against a pillar and dozed.

Asmo emerged from the shower, his robe draped over his shoulders and towel wrapped around his hips. He walked to the bath across from where you’d situated. Your eyes opened slightly to acknowledge him, and you smiled sweetly at him before patting the top of the water to invite him in with you.

He peeled off the robe, dropped the towel to the floor, and stepped over the side of the tub, humming contentedly as the water rose above his hips up to his waist and chest. The water swirled around him as he waded to the tray of items he’d collected and picked one up: a small blue glass container filled with some sort of face mask.

“I wanted to start us out easy with something simple. This is a mask good for exfoliating and brightening your skin. It’s had a ton of rave reviews and I’ve used it for a while,” he explained.

Asmo scooped some product out with his fingers and warmed it in his palms. He gently smoothed a layer onto your face and settled next to you as you sat up to do the same for him.

You rubbed the mask between your fingertips and swiped long, tender touches over his forehead, nose, and warm cheeks. Asmo leaned into your touch; a soft sigh escaped his lips. He gazed into your eyes as you studied his face, fingers memorizing every plane.

Your fingers dipped back below the water’s surface to find his hand and hold it between yours, rubbing loving circles over his knuckles. You brought his hand to your lips and kissed it softly before resting your head on his shoulder.

He pressed a kiss into your hair and grabbed your hand back, intertwining your fingers together. You enjoyed each other’s presence and touch. Asmo quietly hummed to whatever song played on his speaker into your hair.

You washed the masks off your faces and continued going through the tray of serums and essences Asmo selected for the both of you, giggling together when you pinched each other’s cheeks or booped his nose. Playfulness came easy with him. All the stress from the week had sloughed off your shoulders thanks to his caring and attentiveness.

When you were done, the water had cooled. Asmo stood and pulled the plug from the drain and stepped out. He grabbed your robe and extended his hand back to you to help you out, throwing your robe over your nakedness as soon as you were safely out.

“What we do from here is up to you,” he stated. He rested his hand on the back of his neck and tried not to stare too much as you adjusted your robe, watching your reaction as he put on his own robe and deftly tried to cover his growing problem. “We can get in pajamas and watch something together or, if you want to do something else, we could do that instead.”

You thought for a moment. The bath ended almost too soon for your liking. You still wanted to be held and enjoy his company, not to mention the warmth that had pooled in your belly from being so innocently intimate and affectionate with him. You looked up at his expectant face, waiting for a response.

“I think I’d like to touch you some more and actually show you how much fun tonight has been for me and how much I appreciate all this.” you answered. “Lotion would be a good place to start.” You blushed and looked away from him. His gaze quickly heated at your suggestion.

“I don’t know if I can keep my hands off of you if you do that,” he warned.

“Good, because I don’t want you to keep your hands off me.”

Asmo leveled his gaze with you and nodded his head. He turned to the countertop to grab a bottle, taking a second to compose himself. As much as he wanted to ravish you this very second and have you moaning his name under him, he wanted even more for you to relax and feel cherished and important.

He pulled away from the counter, bottle acquired, and placed his hand on your lower back, steering you out to his room. You nestled into his shoulder almost self-consciously and grabbed the lotion from him before you could consider otherwise.

“On the bed,” you instructed.

Asmo grinned at you as he followed your command punctuated by a flirtatious comment. “Only if you join me.”

You smiled back, joining him and kneeling on the bed in front of him. The dusty pink sheets of his bed were soft and cool. You could picture yourself spending hours in them.

You looked down at your robes, the only thing interrupting your progress. “We should probably get rid of these for what I have planned,” you commented.

Asmo chuckled and undid the ties holding the fabric closed on both of you, while you popped the cap open on the lotion bottle. You dispensed some into your hand after he’d discarded your robe and held the bottle out to him, waiting for him to hold out his palm for you to give him some as well. Rubbing your hands together awakened the fragrance and warmed the cold substance. It smelled bright and pleasant and soothing, just what you needed.

Starting at each other’s chests, you smoothed the lotion into tense muscle and along collarbones and shoulders. You traveled down arms and sides, being careful of ticklish spots and sore spots alike. You looked down between you at Asmo’s growing member, watching it engorge as you skimmed your fingers over sensitive areas. You moved closer to him, legs spreading to either side of his knees, and wrapped your arms around his neck, trailing light kisses up his chest as you massaged your hands into the top of his shoulders and back.

Asmo pulled you closer to him, hand trailing up your back, watching you in awe as you shivered at his affection and showered him with love. He captured your lips as you pulled away from one of the many kisses you’d peppered against his chest. He cupped the back of your head and angled you so he could kiss you deeper, harder, unsure of how to describe the fluttering and warmth in his chest but determined to show you.

You moaned into his lips and pressed yourself as close as you could, rocking against him, making him hiss in pleasure and ball his fist in your hair. The action sent more electricity to your core. He cupped your ass and helped you grind against him.

He laid you back against the pillows, hands resting on either side of your face and dipped in for another kiss which you enthusiastically returned. He leaned over to his nightstand and opened the drawer, grabbing some items and setting them on the sheets before returning to hover over you.

He pressed his forehead against yours and kissed you deeply once more. Rose gold eyes met with your own and searched for any sign of hesitation. “Should I continue?”

“Yes, more, please,” you breathed.

He kissed you once more on your lips. His hands trailed down your body, appreciating every inch you had allowed him to see. Deft fingers pinched and rolled your nipples as he began kissing a path down your jaw and neck, nipping and kissing particularly at the sensitive spot under your ear. You could feel the light trace of teeth as he sucked marks into your collarbone, soothing them with a press of his tongue. You mewled at every kiss and bite and touch he gave you.

He moved further down and trailed kisses over your tummy until his face hovered above your heat. You felt his breath ghost over you, teasing, causing you to clench and twitch beneath him, watching him carefully in anticipation. His eyes flicked up to you and he grinned at your rapt attention before cheekily sucking you into his mouth in one smooth motion. He held your hips down and watched your face contort in pleasure with every lick, kiss, and hollowing of his cheeks. You threaded your hand through his strawberry blond curls and tensed against him.

“Hah, A-Asmo,” you panted. He hummed against you and you curled your toes. “Asmo please, I’m so close.”

He placed a kiss against you and pulled away.

“Asmo please!” you begged, not caring for how needy you may have just sounded.

“Shhhh shhh,” he hushed you gently, “I promise I’ll take care of you. Be good for me and let me make sure you’re prepared. Yeah?”

He reached up to one of the items he’d grabbed from his nightstand and showed it to you. A small bottle with a clear liquid inside. Lube you guessed. You groaned but nodded nonetheless, anticipation building in your throat in the form of a whine. You wanted to make him feel good too.

Asmo opened the cap and dribbled lube on his fingers, pressing them to your entrance and spreading the slick over you.

He pressed one finger in and then two, slowly opening you up and making sure you were ready to take him. He felt himself dripping precum onto the sheets as he grinned himself into the mattress to relieve some of the ache. You had no idea what your moans alone did to him.

You begged once more. “Asmo, please, I’m definitely ready! I just really need you inside me now. Please! I want to feel you.” You covered your face with your hands, sure you were redder than you had ever been before.

Asmo cursed under his breath. He couldn’t deny you anymore. Not when you said things like that and begged so pretty for him. He grabbed the condom he’d retrieved from his nightstand earlier and rolled it on. He positioned himself back above you, his cock pressing against you as he slowly pressed in. He threw his head back and groaned as your heat enveloped him and clenched around him.

You felt him press inch by inch into you until he bottomed out, fully sheathed inside you, hips pressed up against you. You panted at the feeling of being fully filled by him, letting out a breathy low moan when he experimentally rolled his hips. You felt his hands tug your wrists and palms away from your face.

“Let me see you.”

He laced your fingers together and rested on his elbows above you, kissing you deeply before beginning to thrust with long, slow, deep drags inside you, gazing into your eyes like you were his whole world.

He kissed you tenderly, taking his time, studying your lips with his. He wanted to remember this forever. Your voice, your smell, the way your face contorted in pleasure with every roll of his hips. He couldn’t hold on for long. Not with the way you had openly admitted to wanting to touch him earlier or the way you’d begged just now. It was part of the reason he’d gotten you so close to the edge. He wanted to feel you come undone around him.

Asmo kissed you once more and sat up on his knees, one hand letting go of one of yours in favor of reaching down between you and rubbing you closer to completion. The coil in your belly tightened impossibly further as he pressed faster into you, the sound of skin against skin and him pumping inside you echoing with his and your moans. His thrusts started faltering, his timing off ever so slightly you could tell he was close too. He squeezed your hand once more and looked into your eyes.

“I love you.”

And you came undone.

Your orgasm took over and caused you to arch your back up, hips pressed down against him, legs curling around his torso. He cursed and followed you over, thrusting a few more times before settling deep inside you to ride out his own orgasm, moaning your name like a mantra. He caught himself as he buckled over you, letting the last of it wash over him.

You cupped his face and pulled him down for another kiss. When you separated, you stroked his face and replied, “I love you too.” You kissed his nose once and twice more on his lips for good measure.

He slowly pulled out from you, both groaning at the loss, but you were both tired and sated. He could see sleep slowly starting to haze your eyes as you struggled to stay awake. He smiled gently at you. You gently smiled back.

He slid off the bed into the bathroom to discard the condom and grab a warm cloth to clean the both of you up. When he returned, you were barely conscious.

Asmo wiped a warm cloth over the mess you had created together on your skin and tucked you into bed beside him. He gently kissed your forehead and wrapped you in his arms, following you into a restful sleep.

[emerygoat26-blog]

Author Nathan Englander Gets His Syrup in New Hampshire - Grub Street

At Mike’s Coffee Shop in Clinton Hill. Photo: Christian Rodriguez

At 30, Nathan Englander was the youngest ever recipient of the PEN award for “excellence in the art of the short story,” and this week he published his fifth book, the comically probing kaddish.com. His writing has been called “genre-hopping” and several variations on “playful,” descriptions that might also apply to his relationship with eating. Like many food lovers, Englander can appreciate a great restaurant as much as he can a well-written recipe — but he also isn’t above eating his daughter’s leftovers. “My wife can’t believe it,” he says. “I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, I am definitely more than happy to find myself eating the kid food.’” Over the past week, he also had time to eat stoop pizza, consider the qualities that make a neighborhood diner great, and think, wistfully, about bagels. Read all about it in this week’s Grub Street Diet.

Thursday, March 21 I wish this had started Wednesday night. My wife and I actually got a babysitter, and went to a grown-up restaurant with another couple. One half of that couple was our friend JJ, who writes cookbooks, and when you go to restaurants with him, things you didn’t order just appear — “lamb chops, compliments of the food mafia!” — and I think that would have been a fun meal to share. But my Grub Street Diet started this morning! And I was doing drop-off, and was late getting our 4-year-old daughter to preschool — as I am every day.

While I packed her lunch, I ate a piece of wheat toast and drank a gallon of Kitten Coffee’s Tandem blend. I don’t like that super-black, melt-your-tongue coffee. I drink way too much coffee for that, and Kitten’s is just the perfect live-on-it-all-day roast. Also, I was once leaving the coffee shop on our corner, and the Kitten guy was delivering, and I screamed, “Hey, I love your coffee.” And he said, “Try this, I think you’ll like it,” and he threw me a pound of something new they were making, and I swooned with neighborhood good cheer.

So, my book was coming out on Tuesday and I was in prelaunch madness. I was stuck in the house, doing assignments, like 500 words on fingernails for Fingernail Digest, and I had a half-hour phone interview that somehow ran to an hour and a half and I was going to miss eating lunch. But JJ checked in, as he does about a million times a day. He was over on Henry Street, and he texted me a picture of the sandwiches chalked up on the board at Lillo, and offered to deliver. And, as with the Kitten coffee, it’s that kind of neighborly niceness that just kills me. He brought me the Mediterraneo, as ordered. It’s Italian tuna, arugula, sweet marinated onions, and tomato. It was delicious. (He also brought a couple of desserts, which I put aside.) And we both worked on our laptops at the table for a while.

Also, while I was waiting for JJ to show up, I ate the cold tortellini from Olivia’s dinner the night before. I’m all about the cold kid noodles from yesterday’s dinners. I enjoy that stuff. It’s not just that I’m eating it, I actually love it. I am definitely more than happy to find myself eating the properly aged fish sticks, and the apples with bites missing. I think that’s a big parent thing, to be like, “Now I’m going to have a second meal that I found on the counter.”

A friend I hadn’t seen in years was in town visiting, and she was coming by for dinner. So, at the end of the workday, I ran over to Mekelburg’s for a loaf of She Wolf sourdough (which we’re crazy for). I also got Firehook sea salt crackers, and some cheddar and manchego and our favorite cheese, Délice de Bourgogne, which is about one inch away from just eating butter with a spoon. I got olives and radishes, and I also got all the fixings for my red lentil soup. I served it over brown rice, and finished it off with wilted spinach and some Greek yogurt, as the recipe recommends. My wife, Rachel, made a butter lettuce, endive, and grapefruit salad.

Also, it was Purim, and Rach got some hamantaschen that we served along with the desserts that JJ had brought. One was a kind of Italian version of a Boston cream doughnut, and there was a blueberry tart with a lattice top.

Friday, March 22 I made Olivia French toast, which was not at all a weekday thing, but she asked for it, and getting to school on time, as I’ve said, is not my strong suit. I had Greek yogurt, banana, and honey. And coffee. And Rach had a version of the same.

It was Friday, which was a gym day. So we do speed things up as best we can. We’ve been working out at CrossFit South Brooklyn for years, even though it’s over in Gowanus. But we love it, and it feels like family now. And we’re pretty religious about our Monday-Wednesday-Friday class, which is a kind of body-weight-centric thing that we love.

When I need to do busywork before writing, I often head to Three’s Brewing, one street over from the gym. It’s not for a post-workout beer. The brewery is closed during the day, but they have a cozy little outpost of Ninth Street Espresso inside that uses the space during the daytime. I headed over and got a coffee and, to ruin any gym-related gains, a cheddar and chive scone (which is just to say, I should have had the French toast).

Let’s sing the praises of leftovers. I cook so much more lately,, and the more complicated or ridiculous, the better. That, is I like to make the things where people say, “Ummm, you know, they sell that at the grocery store. You can buy that a lot more easily than you can make that.” I was recently cooking Middle Eastern food and I was like, “Well, I should also make the pita,” and there were a million steps, and I was really proud, but, man, that dinner would have been a lot easier if I’d just run to Damascus Bakery, or, you know, any supermarket in the whole city. I think it ties in to the writer brain. If I need to fix something I’m writing, I will stay up all night, and I will do it again and again until it’s where it needs to be.

Anyway, there was the leftover lentil soup and the cheese and that giant loaf from She Wolf waiting. And I had plans to meet my publicist, Jordan. We were both swamped, and so she swung by, and we set up shop at our dining room table (by which I mean, our only table), and we had a super nice lunch, but with screens out, typing away.

Rach and I are nutty for Ethiopian food. It’s a favorite. And, luckily, there’s a fantastic restaurant over on Fulton, across from Greenlight Bookstore, my local. It’s a big corner for me: books and Ethiopian food. The restaurant is called Bati. And the owner, Hibist, is an old friend. Back when I started writing and lived on the Upper West Side, I used to go do my work at the Hungarian Pastry Shop. I mean, I sat there all day, every day, and often closed the place down. And Hibist used to work behind the counter. And I love when a person’s dreams come true. That is, I remember Hibist pouring coffees in the ’90s and now she owns her own restaurant — and it’s the best. Also, they’re really nice to our daughter, who has gone from eating everything to a very beige-focused food phase (possibly inherited from my suburban, white-bread roots).

Anyway, we packed her a little dinner of her own as an emergency backup, which they were really nice about. And as for ordering at Bati, Rach and I haven’t touched a menu there in years. We always, always get a vegetarian combo for two — which had a bunch of things on it, gomen, and buticha, and key sir, and — what really matters to us — always lots of shiro. And, at Bati, I don’t even need JJ for special treatment. They always keep an eye on us and make sure there’s shiro on the tray.

Also, they were out of St. George beer that night, so I had a Walia, which was equally great.

Saturday, March 23 If I’m being honest here, this was a record amount of time for me not to have eaten a bagel. This diary should have already had five dozen or so in it. Anyway, I ate the She Wolf Sourdough toast, day 400 on that bread. If you amortize the initial investment, I was pretty much making money on that loaf.

After dance class (my daughter’s, not mine), we headed over to Tacombi with friends. It’s a great Mexican place with locations in Manhattan, but now we’ve got one across from BAM. I spotted one grown-up couple having beers in the main room when we got there, but otherwise there were lots of kids, and lots in tutus — it seemed to be the new post-dance hangout. We had a big order of kid-friendly plain versions of things, which the staff was really nice about (that is, quesadilla with nothing, rice and beans with nothing). As for this grown-up, I had the seared fish tacos and their Naranja, which is a papaya, carrot, pineapple, and orange juice.

So, it was the Montclair Literary Festival — go NJ! My event was near the end of the day, and, after it was over, I went straight into Joyce Carol Oates’s. Then there was a cocktail party for the festival, and I ate I don’t know what, some hummus and pita, and had a glass of white wine. And Joyce had invited me to dinner with friends, and we headed to a place called Scala del Nonna. The joint was jumping, it was packed out and loud and Saturday night-ish, and one table kept knocking over the wine bucket.

As for wine, apparently Montclair has some ancient liquor law thing, and the restaurant was dry. So my friend Julie ran out to the store next-door and bought a bottle of Gavi, and Joyce’s friend ordered porcini risotto with peas for the table. I got the branzino alla griglia, which was marinated sea bass lightly grilled with scarola Siciliana. And, well, if you replaced all the fish I ate this week with candy and bagels, once again, it would better represent my normal diet.

Sunday, March 24 The day was packed with playdates, which was lovely. My daughter and I headed over to a friend’s who has twins and lives right next to the bagel store — my chance to make a move. But when we got into their house, Melissa had already made a mountain of whole-grain silver dollar pancakes, and a fruit plate with strawberries, watermelon, and pear. And, as always, she put a cup of coffee right into my hand.

We all headed to the park. As the twins headed off, another friend of my daughter’s showed up with her dad. After another couple of hours of wildness, we took the girls for a slice of Luigi’s Pizza and sat on the stoop outside. My slice turns into two, and they keep their seltzers properly freezing in their fridge. Slices on a stoop make me extraordinarily happy in a New York way: I was being nostalgic while it was happening, like, “This is the life.”

For our third and final playdate of the day, we had another of our daughter’s friends over to the house, with her folks. I’d been wanting to make chili, and offered to do so, but — if I’m allowed to break the fourth wall — Oriana, the visiting mom, is a huge fan of this column. She said chili is boring. So we ordered in Vietnamese from Mekong Delta. The restaurant is in one of those neighborhood locations that never works out and keeps changing hands. But Mekong Delta seems to be doing great. We all shared a papaya salad, and I got chicken pho and shrimp summer rolls.

Monday, March 25 It felt like maybe it was one of the last cold mornings before spring kicked in, and even with the pancakes yesterday, I always need to make sure I’m getting enough maple syrup in my diet. Point is, I made oatmeal, and ate it with bananas and blueberries and maple syrup that we buy by the jug when we’re up at our friend’s farm in Sandwich, New Hampshire. So, yes, for the best maple syrup in the world, I’d head straight for the sugar shack at Booty Farm on Mt. Israel Road.

I really want to state again that my body mass is probably about 80 percent bagel. If you cut me in half, I imagine mostly sesame seeds would pour out — as that’s my bagel of choice. So I really can’t believe I haven’t had one since this diet started — it’s the longest stretch since we got back from a year in Malawi (where I broke down and made bagels from scratch).

It was the day before launch. I owed everybody a million things, and was sure I’d be working until the middle of the night. At 2 p.m., I ran over to Mike’s Coffee Shop to grab something. Mike’s has been our home diner since we moved to Brooklyn from Manhattan around a decade ago. And we love it. It’s super homey, and they’re super nice, and it has a proper diner-y, pressed-tin ceiling, and a proper neon sign in the window. You always bump into friends there, and the kids are often given lollipops when you pay, whether they need a lollipop or not. Also, the owners are really good about calmly managing the weekend waiting list when it’s chaos and the throngs of folks are roaming outside waiting on tables.

I sat in the last booth and I ordered a coffee and a tuna sandwich on wheat toast, with lettuce, tomato, and onion. And a pickle spear! If there’s a picture of me up above with a sandwich in front of me, that’s the one. If there’s a picture of me without it, it’s because it’s already in my belly.

The last supper. So, a friend was having a dinner party, and I did not go to that dinner party — though, again, I’d be killing it with the food over there. But, the next day was the launch event at Greenlight Bookstore, and I’d start traveling the morning after that, and except for a night here and there, well, I’ll be hawking books on the road like a brush salesman for the next few weeks. This was basically the last night I got to be home with my wife and daughter and Calli the dog until tour slows down. Also, I usually come home from tour looking like I’ve eaten a bag of salt. That is, I’m so thankful to get to do readings and meet readers and shepherd the novel out into the world, but I will be eating a lot from after-hours menus, and CIBO Express airport food, and the day was gray and cold and some comfort food at home sounded nice.

So Rachel started kid dinner, and my daughter and I ran out to the supermarket around the block. We love going to the supermarket, me and her. We were getting ingredients for my friend Kitty’s chili recipe. When my wife was in grad school (she’s a professor), we lived in Madison, Wisconsin for three years, and our friend Kitty gave us a little book of her very Wisconsin-style dishes, which are great for this kind of weather. At the store, we also got the stuff for a green salad, because it sounded nice and I also wanted to keep my heart from exploding on the road.

At home, while my daughter ate, I got the chili into a giant pot and let it simmer until — as happens in our building — the whole floor smelled like cayenne peppers and onion. For the salad, I just used lemon and olive oil and salt, which is my single favorite dressing. And after our daughter fell asleep, Rach emerged and served up the chili. I chopped up some cilantro and chives for toppings, and we sat down at the table and dug in, with the dog underneath the table at our feet, which is my kind of dinner.

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Source: http://www.grubstreet.com/2019/03/nathan-englander-grub-street-diet.html

[planetwanderlust]

review: 2017 RC Grandeur 12-day Southern Caribbean

i think this might've been our most relaxing cruise ever! it was 2 full, glorious weeks. it was truly a vacation. and doubly special, we were celebrating our belated anniversary and were in St. Lucia on my husband's 35th birthday.

we absolutely loved the stops on this, since this was much deeper south than we usually go. we were able to visit islands neither of us had ever been to  before. St. Lucia in particular stole our hearts.

and after this cruise, I WILL BE DIAMOND!!!! looking forward to booking whatever is next!

Mon, March 27, 2017 – Baltimore, Maryland (depart 4:00pm)

Tue, March 28, 2017 – At Sea

Wed, March 29, 2017 – At Sea

Thur, March 30, 2017 – At Sea

Fri, March 31, 2017 – Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas (9:00am-6:00pm)

Sat, April 1, 2017 – St. John’s, Antigua (7:00am-4:00pm)

Sun, April 2, 2017 – Bridgetown, Barbados (10:00am-7:00pm)

Mon, April 3, 2017 – Castries, St. Lucia (8:00am-4:30pm)

Tue, April 4, 2017 – Philipsburg, St. Maarten (9:00am-5:00pm)

Wed, April 5, 2017 – At Sea

Thu, April 6, 2017 – At Sea

Fri, April 7, 2017 – At Sea

Sat, April 8, 2017 – Baltimore, Maryland (arrive 7:00am)

Day 1: Monday, March 27, 2017  

Baltimore, Maryland (depart 4:00pm)

we left the house at 7:00am to drive from New Jersey to Maryland. it's about a 3-hour trip, and we arrived just about 10:00am. it was rainy and foggy most of the way, but my husband thinks the drive is easy and we had no issues.

check-in was super fast, and we were already on board by 10:30am! cabins, however, were not ready, and they weren't ready until after 1:00pm.

we stopped by the MDR to check out where our table was, and they pointed us to a table of 8. we had requested a table for 2, and asked to change. they said they'd get back to us, and later we had a card in our cabin with a new table number, for two.

when we went to dinner, it was a table for 2, but obviously they had just added it there. it was ok though, a little too close to the kitchen, but it was ok.

before the cruise, we purchased the new coffee card they're now offering, and the specialty restaurant deal. for the coffee card, we do like our Starbucks which they have on board for a fee. with the punch card, it's $30 for 15 coffees, which makes it totally worth it.

and since we had OBC and knew we'd be going to the specialty restaurants, we purchased their BOGO dinner deal: $30pp, so $60 total for us, for 2 restaurants. we had Giovanni's and Chops (on Day 1 and 2 only which is required). normally that would've been $29pp at Giovanni's and $35pp at Chops, which would've been a total of $128. that's a great deal!

Day 2: Tuesday, March 28, 2017 -- at sea  

we skipped breakfast; woke up at 8:30am to make it to the meet & greet at 10:00am. the meet & greet was in the Viking Lounge. there were some muffins and pastries, but they were already out of coffee when we came in on time (huh?), and there was fresh-squeezed orange juice. there was the raffle (we didn't win anything), no officers came, it was just an activity person and the cruise director (and the CD barely talked). we did lunch in the MDR... and that means: salad bar!! it was also the same menu as we remember, but still all very good.

we saw a movie in the theatre. we find this amusing, because all throughout dating, my husband and i never went to see a movie as a date. funny we never did such a simple, normal thing. the movie we saw today was Ghostbusters (the 2016 new version with all women). we surprisingly enjoyed it. it was entertaining for what it was, and for a remake of such a classic. also nice to see that when they "feature" a movie, it's actually a new-ish one.

tonight we had dinner at Chops. they sang to us for our anniversary. it was a good dinner, but still doesn't compare to our favorite: Ruth Chris in Princeton (specifically this location!)... it's definitely "specialty" but not really worth the high cover charge.

also, right before dinner, we had quite a bit of drama.  at around 5:00pm, we were in the Schooner bar/lounge hanging out before our dinner at Chops at 6:00pm. the captain comes on to announce that there is a medical emergency on board, and someone is in critical condition. first, let me say that i appreciate the captain informing us. i don't think every scenario warrants it (no reason to cause panic), but i was impressed with the way this captain handled this particular situation. this particular emergency was severe enough that we were turning around to get closer to the nearest coast guard station. the captain told us it'd be about 1.5 hours, and a helicopter would meet us at that point to land on the ship and transport the patient to the hospital on land. interestingly enough, all this would not delay us in getting to St. Thomas on time.

by the time we got to dinner at 6:00pm, we could tell we had slowed down substantially and were turned around. the landing pad must've been right above us, because from our table near the window at Chops, we saw the helicopter hover and try to land. he obviously had difficulty (i think it was quite windy at this time), because he had to try several times. at this point, we had finished our dinner and left Chops, and the captain came on again to say the patient was on his way to the hospital. we were back near around Virginia at this time.

overall, the captain came on about 4-5 times to keep us informed. i hope it all turned out ok for the patient. we don't know what happened, or what happened after he was airlifted, but hoping for the very best.

Day 3: Wednesday, March 29, 2017 -- at sea

it's absolutely the perfect temperature today, gorgeous. we had a little incident this morning as we were getting ready for the day... my husband was in the shower and nearly passed out from the lack of ventilation in the bathroom. by the time he finished his *quick* shower, the entire room wasn't just steamy, but everything was dripping in condensation. something was obviously not working.

in addition to that, we felt that the cabin wasn't cleaned properly when we boarded. it was less than par surface-cleaning at best. we have never seen this before. we went to guest services about the shower and the cabin. it was obvious something wasn't done or it was definitely overlooked or rushed. an officer/manager came to our cabin to see, and said that he would order a "sanitation crew" to wipe down the room... but he also offered us a choice between a free specialty dinner or 15% of what we paid for the cruise towards our next Royal cruise. hey, after we figured out what 15% was, we definitely took that! i was worried about how that would be handled, but they gave me an official  hard copy letter and told me an e-mail would be coming with the amount as a gift certificate. ok!

we went to see another movie in the theatre today: Fantastic Beasts!!!! it was very good, and there were some obvious holes, but overall so exciting to be back in the Harry Potter world. tonight we had dinner in the MDR, and they sang to us too!

after dinner, we went to trivia and headed upstairs to lay out on the deck in the nighttime. the movie trivia was a bust; it was movies no one has ever heard of.

it was a beautiful night under the stars. we have this private spot, with loungers, where we know people usually don't wander at night. it's amazing and romantic. :) this time though, we had some visitors and exchanged some pleasantries. one of them made some small talk with us, an ex-army guy, who found it funny and unbelievable that we don't see stars like this in NJ (he was from Wisconsin).

Day 4: Thursday, March 30, 2017 -- at sea

our third day at sea, woah. it's a lot for a small ship, especially one we've been on before. but at the same time, i love it.

today, we went to see another movie. pretty surprised how current these are. we saw the Suicide Squad today, and although it was really meh, it was entertaining for what it was... free. :D we also just discovered that the special desserts at Cafe Latte-tudes (where the specialty coffee is sold) is actually free!! they are much better than in the buffet or other places; not sure where they're coming from, but they were definitely extra special and much better.

Day 5: Friday, March 31, 2017    

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas (9:00am-6:00pm)

after a quick Windjammer breakfast, we went off the ship to walk around the shops and call home. i went back to the ship, while my husband stayed a little longer to take more photos with his new Hasselblad (there were many iguanas). actually spent about two hours in the port, much longer than we thought. and we forgot sunscreen. my poor, poor husband. we later went to nature trivia, which was at a bar and the bartender randomly gave us nuts. which has strangely never happened before. we also stayed for the Madonna music trivia, which of course my husband won... anything music. we made a last minute decision to go to Izumi tonight. and as always.... amazing! we mentioned to them that we were already planning to come back for Jeff's birthday, and they offered us 25% off and a bottle of champagne then!

tonight, there was a late night game show. i went to bed, but my husband attended. it was called "The Big Music Game Show" and apparently was pretty crazy. my husband explained... "it involved 10 balloons hanging from the ceiling, 3 chairs (labeled 20, 19, and 18), one person holding a bucket of balls and another person on the opposite side of the stage holding another bucket. the host would read a clue and then play a song (i.e. name the actors in the movie; "Blues Brothers Theme"), and then people would run up to grab a ball if they knew the answer. if the person grabbed 18, 19, or 20, they would then sit down in the numbered chair. after all 3 chairs were filled, the host would then have all 3 people answer the question. if the person in chair 20 was wrong, then 19 would win if they were correct, and so on. the person with the right answer would then be given a stick with a sharp end to pop a balloon of their choice. a numbered paper would indicate which prize they would win. the prizes ranged from a stuffed turtle to a bottle of wine to a $75 pen. i was able to get 20 on the 4th question and won a bingo t-shirt, a bingo ink stamper, and 9 bingo cards for day 8 of the cruise (our day in St. Lucia, my birthday!)."

Day 6: Saturday, April 1, 2017    

St. John’s, Antigua (7:00am-4:00pm)

we woke up super early, at 6:30am. we had a proper breakfast in the MDR, and then walked off and just wandered around port... it was meh. i think my husband is getting the hint that you should research the islands before you go. :P

we got our shot glass for Antigua, and went back to the ship.

i noticed that my husband's burn was as bright of a hot pink as ever, and he said it really hurt... we didn't have any aloe or anything, so i thought we might try to see if the medical facility did, and they did! we bought a bottle of aloe, which we knew was a total rip off, but my poor baby needed relief. after i rubbed him down, ever so gingerly, he went to take a nap, while i went to get myself some Starbucks and blogged in a quiet lounge.

Day 7: Sunday, April 2, 2017

Bridgetown, Barbados (10:00am-7:00pm)

we weren't due into port until 10:00am, but we actually arrived early, around 9:15am. in Barbados, the pier requires a shuttle to the main area of the port. then another shuttle to downtown. it’s an extremely long port, quite industrial actually, so the ship is quite far. the first shuttle is complimentary, the second shuttle into town is $2. we skipped downtown and just walked around in the port and headed back (making sure to buy our shot glass for Barbados).

there wasn't too much to the port, it was very disappointing (though we probably should've made into town).

tonight, we made a (very) last minute decision to buy an excursion for St. Lucia. my husband was getting sick of just walking around in the ports (oh really?! we could... have... planned...!). i think he was afraid of St. Lucia being the same and it being his birthday.

before we went to sleep, i gave my husband his surprise birthday gift and a special card i made. i did it now, since i knew we had an early morning with our excursion. i had already given him a gift before we left, and knew he wouldn't expect anything on the actual day since we were away. i was exploding inside as we were packing for this cruise, and i was hiding his gifts! he was so touched and surprised, making him happy was the best gift (for me!).

Day 8: Monday, April 3, 2017      

Castries, St. Lucia (8:00am-4:30pm)

TODAY IS JEFF'S BIRTHDAY!! 35!!

we woke up very early, our meeting time for the excursion was 8:45am (outside of the ship where they line up each tour).

Best Views of St. Lucia (SL57)

Port/City: Castries, St. Lucia Activity Type: Destination Highlights Approximate Duration: 3 hour(s) 15 minute(s)

Price: $59 per person

Description: Discover monuments, key landmarks, tropical scenery, traditional farming communities and gorgeous panoramic vistas in Castries and northern St. Lucia on a commentated scenic drive. The route takes you through the capital and across a mountain ridge on backroads that deliver breathtaking views of both the Caribbean and Atlantic. Marvel at lush vegetation, farms and plantations of this fertile, volcanic island. Relax over refreshments while surrounded by trees at the Rain Forest Adventure Park. Highlights: -- Castries Landmarks: See the capital's colorful market, cathedral and a military monument featuring 18th century cannons. -- Howelton House: Enjoy harbor views and a batik demonstration at the boutique inside this rare example of Victorian-Caribbean architecture. -- Scenic Drive: Stops on the panoramic route include the Rain Forest Adventure Park and Marquis Estate, a historic banana plantation.

we were told that the bus may or may not be air-conditioned. oh the horror! but ours was! oh heaven above, thank you! :D most of the tour was on the bus, with several stops along the way. we had a tour guide with us as well, and he talked to us throughout. he really talked non-stop, and was really interesting. he mentioned a lot of various points of interest during the bus ride, and our first stop was at a school campus, where there was a monument/park that gave us really awesome views from above. then we were off to the Howelton House where we saw several demonstrations on how things on the island are made: cocoa, batik (batik is a method of dying fabric), and coconut oil. there were several places while walking throughout this property that also gave us amazing views. on the way to our next stop, we stopped at a roadside place where it was the "million dollar view" and it was indeed! the tour guide bought a big cinnamon bun (sort of like a cinnamon bun?) to share with everyone on the bus as his favorite island food. he didn't have to do that, it was really sweet (the guy and the bun!). our next stop was the rain forest! there was entire venue there (excursion-type activities), but we were only here for about a half hour or so. we stopped at the front of the rain forest, and at the gift shop was the "snack" that was included. it was a special drink, banana, muffin, and fried fish. none of which i had, but my husband tried it all. we hurried through this so we could get some good photos here. and we sure did! it was gorgeous! definitely a place to go next time, just to here specifically (see my flickr for these photos!).

after we came back from the excursion, we had lunch, relaxed for a while, showered, and went to our birthday dinner at Izumi! we got our bottle of champagne, and dinner was spectacular as always. and 25% off. :) we actually saved the bottle of champagne (we didn't end up opening it). so we took it home, like our quintessential bottle of wine, and i marked it up as well, especially since it was my husband's 35th! a bottle to mark the cruise AND his birthday! <3

Day 9: Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Philipsburg, St. Maarten (9:00am-5:00pm)

this is a favorite and we were looking forward to it. we took ferry to downtown, walked around, and made a point to stop in at my husband’s favorite little shop. a local mom & pop, it sold artwork and painted objects entirely painted by artists on the island, in contrast to most island shops which feature the same cut+paste art style with a different island printed on it. it was authentic in every sense of the word, and the shop owner was so lovely. we bought hand-painted syrup dispenser (we use it for sugar, actually), a small hand-painted salt/pepper shaker for my parents, and she gave us a free shot glass too! we already have one for St. Maarten from a previous cruise, from this exact shop, so this time we got one with the painted flowers i really loved).

it was such a beautiful day, that we then rode the ferry back and forth a few times to get shots from all angles. the breeze, views, and crystal blue water is literally what heaven must be like! after that we came back and had lunch at the buffet, relaxed for a while, showered, and had dinner at the MDR.

Day 10: Wednesday, April 5, 2017 -- at sea 

and now, another 3 days at sea...

while i slept in, my husband went to an early morning sudoku challenge and got breakfast. while i got ready, he went and brought me breakfast too. i'm just the luckiest girl in the world.

we took our time and then went to get coffee and relaxed. we went to the 3:00pm bingo session with the cards that my husband won from the game show, but they were all a bust, no wins.

we were excited for tonight, to go see a movie poolside at night, under the stars. it was "La La Land" and after everything we heard about it and all its accolades, we were really looking forward to it. well, to our surprise, not only was it bad, but it was so bad that we left after 30 grueling minutes.

Day 11: Thursday, April 6, 2017 -- at sea

we slept in, skipped breakfast, and had lunch at the buffet today.

we relaxed in Schooner, walked around the ship, and hopped from lounge to lounge until we ended up back in Schooner. we skipped movie tagline trivia (might have won that), and then noticed our "trivia friends" so we joined forces for Beatles vs. Queen trivia, earning us light-up rings (ooooh, a "new" prize!). we were excited to give these to our niece and nephew.

tonight we had dinner in the MDR. they had the parade of chefs so we were glad we ended up in the MDR today. and we were given extra desserts by our waiter, besides the extra we ordered. the table was overflowing and our waiter was absolutely tickled, it was hilarious.

later, we sat outside in the rain with towels to cover up with (under the canopy), while ignoring a crappy Mark Wahlberg movie. it was pouring and it was absolutely lovely.

overall, it's still quite warm. it was cloudy today, and increasingly stormy throughout the day, and of course the storms and pouring rain in the evening (with wind and lightning), which made for sitting poolside quite entertaining. it looked like very choppy water out there, but the rocking was not bad at all. that is, until overnight, the rocking got pretty bad. nothing like my husband and i rolling into each other in the middle of the night. delicious. :)

Day 12: Friday, April 7, 2017 -- at sea

our last day. we slept in again, especially since we didn't get much sleep, it was a rough night at sea. we made it to lunch just in time, then sat around for a little bit with coffee before going back to the room to begin packing.

we went to trivia again, the first being a "top 5" where the best googlers easily won (there was a group that obviously had internet and were using it -- it's not that serious!). the next trivia was "songs with color" where our trivia buddies joined us. we got 2nd place, but the 1st place cheaters/team donated their prizes to us (lol). it was a large kitchen magnet which included little smaller magnets in the center with all kinds of cruising words, like magnetic poetry. but the coolest part was that when you remove the little magnets, the big magnet becomes a frame! that's a great prize! between that and those glowing rings the day before, we can now safely say we have any and all items of RCCL merch ever made. :D

today was cloudy and foggy but it cleared up by lunch. and it's back to the cold!

dinner tonight in the MDR was fabulous. and we're so glad it's where we ended up again: there was another parade! this time, of all the wait staff. it also gave us a chance to give our tip to Aster and Eva. our waiters were absolutely amazing this cruise, so wonderful.

we had finished packing so we went to hang out in the atrium, where we had another chance to say goodbye to Gina and Bob (our trivia buddies). they were around our parents' age, but i still regret not asking for any contact info or Facebook or anything. we don't remember their last names. :( we even talked about possibly booking a Spain cruise together while we were on board! we still think about it to this day, we're really sad over it. they probably weren't sure to ask either because we were so much younger. UGH! we could only hope that one day we run into each other on the same cruise again.

later we went back to the cabin to wind down and sleep. we actually didn't get much sleep because we ended up talking all night. it was like back in our dating days. <3

also! today was another day of drama -- what a cruise. at about 4:00pm, while we were in Schooner, the captain announces that we have another critical patient and that he was speeding up to get closer to the coast where the ER boat will meet us to pick up the passenger. a few hours later, around 7:00pm, we came to a dead stop and were heavily tilted to one side, where the ER boat came to the side to pick up the patient.

Day 13: Saturday, April 8, 2017  

Baltimore, Maryland (arrive 7:00am)

and we're backkkkkkk... dare i say, 2 weeks is too long? throughout the cruise, the weather was perfection literally every single day! the islands were hot, but breezy, and comfortable in the shade. but we still sweat like crazy.

our cabin's bathroom was a good size, but having a shower curtain is gross, and the sink faucet sucked. but overall, we had a great cabin, it was a great mid-ship category -- close enough to elevator but was far enough away that it was quiet. the oceanview window was huge, but we SO miss a balcony.

the food overall, especially in the MDR, was really great! the buffet was ok, good for a buffet. and we already miss frozen yogurt.