A friend who lives in Jersey prepped a speedy bar hopping extravaganza for me, complete with trivia tidbits along the way. It was a fun night even though I was running on 4 hours of sleep.

Special thanks to Matt for listening to me drone on about my life for the latter half of the evening. ;)

Next time you’re in Manhattan, I recommend any and all of these bars. If I HAD to choose my top 2, I’d go with the first two stops. Enjoy!

ZUM SCHNEIDER
107 Avenue C @ 7th Street

Nothing beats starting the night with an authentic Bavarian indoor Biergarten. Opened in 2000 by a native of Bavaria and longtime Alphabet City resident, Zum Schneider features 12 German beers on tap – including 4 Hofbräuhaus Traunsteins available exclusively here. They also have an extensive Bavarian-German menu that gets great ratings from foodies in town. Plus, they serve the beer in authentic German glass steins. You can’t go wrong! Oh, and no credit cards accepted here, folks. Cash only.

Remember my beer tasting class adventure? Well I was thrilled to see my favorite brewer – Hofbräuhaus – was a tap here! So I quickly ordered a glass and soaked in the atmosphere. I would LOVE to return here for Oktoberfest. I can only imagine the chaos and absolute awesome time it must be.

Photo Credits (all): Zum Schneider

MCSORLEY’S OLD ALE HOUSE
15 East 7th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues

McSorley’s Old Ale House has been a gathering place, a watering hole, the subject of art and literature and even a Supreme Court controversy. Established in 1854, McSorley’s can boast of being New York City’s oldest continuously operated saloon. Everyone from Abe Lincoln to John Lennon have passed through McSorley’s swinging doors. Woody Guthrie inspired the union movement from a table in the front – guitar in hand -, while civil rights attorneys Faith Seidenberg and Karen DeCrow had to take their case to the Supreme Court to gain access. Women were finally allowed access to McSorley’s in 1970! (direct from McSorleysNewYork.com)

As a lover of small bars, I could not be more thrilled as we approached McSorley’s. There was barely space to move through to the bar, drunken groups spontaneously burst out in song, sawdust was strewn on the floors, and the walls were littered with random collections blanketed in years of dust. It was like a little slice of heaven.

When you order, you have two choices: dark or light beer. And cash only here too – there’s not even a real register, let alone a credit card machine. Beers are served in pairs, and new duos will find their way in front of you without even asking (a tricky little method I must admire – because you know you’ll drink it if its there). And take a good look at the walls, catching items dating back to the 1800s. One thing I found particularly interesting – the wishbones hanging from a lamp, from neighborhood patrons during one of the World Wars who never returned to retrieve their contribution.

Flickr Photo Credits (clockwise from top): LibraryGroover, chriki24, DoctorWho, Vincent Desjardins.

HORSESHOE BAR
108 Avenue B @ 7th Street

The exterior of this dive bar may look familiar – and with good reason. Its served as a movie set for both The Godfather II and Crocodile Dundee. Inside, wood paneling coats the walls and the horseshoe-shaped bar surrounds a towering array of liquors. There are also 31 beers on tap and an extensive selection of beers by the bottle. In the back, you can see a selection of pinball and video games – perfect for the notably younger crowd (though I’m guessing the daytime regulars are an older set).

This stop was pretty quick, more of a movie trivia stop, which I did appreciate. Had I of been in the mood for liquor (I stuck with beer the whole night), one of the several special shots listed in the blackboard surely would have been of interest. I wish I could’ve found the video clip from Crocodile Dundee to share – but no such luck. But remember the scene when Mick discovers the girl hitting on him is no sheila? Yep, this is the bar. (Followed by the street scene when they leave.)

Photo Credits (all): Shanna Ravindra, New York Magazine

HOGS & HEIFERS SALOON
859 Washington Street @ 13th Street

Most will know this hole-in-the-wall Meat Packing District bar as the inspiration for the movie Coyote Ugly (and all the subsequent spin off bars). It opened in 1992, and the dancing atop the bar actually began because when it opened, it was an unseasonably cold winter and the bar had no heat. Michelle Dell, now the bar’s sole proprietor, started dancing on the bar simply to keep warm. It became its trademark, along with women shedding their bras to add to the more than 11,000 now hanging. Underneath the thousands is even one from Julia Roberts, among other celebrities who have considered a dance on the bar a rite of passage.

While this was the only bar we visited that required a cover ($10 each), I think it was worth it just to see the shenanigans inside. It was just like the movie… Scantily clad female bartenders insulting patrons over a bull horn, while imposing bouncers looked on. The bartenders got up on the bar and did an impressive line dance (seriously, it was great), followed by drunken girls taking their stab at it as well – most wavering from one too many drinks. The amount of bras hanging was beyond what I could have imagined. And I’m sorry to disappoint you all, but I neither danced on the bar nor contributed my bra to the collection. (I know, completely went against my “Adventures in Trying” quest.)

Flickr Photo Credits (clockwise from left): mrtruffle, noricum, Stacey Huggins

During my recent trip to Manhattan, we passed by the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Fifth Avenue. The first day, there were masses of tweens outside, vying for a photo with the two scantily clad hotties out front. We just laughed at the idiocy of it all (including the line that wrapped around the building).

And then came Day 3 of our visit, and while strolling about the city again, we encountered those same two boys. But the crowds were gone and my friend couldn’t resist a chance to put me in a funny situation.

So, she convinced me to pose with the two models for a photo to send to our co-workers locked away in our Orlando office. And yes, my “first” was making a “Mandi Sandwich” as my co-worker so proudly declared in her reply text. Ah, the little things I do to make you all laugh. It’s a hard life.

I grew up with holiday decorations my mom had painted. Everything from a Santa and reindeer, to a bunny dragging a barrel full of Easter eggs (including some with our names on them). So, needless to say, I’ve always had an interest in painting my own pottery. To be honest, I can’t believe it took me 30 years to get around to it.

All Fired Up is a great little studio shop, with brightly colored chairs, shelves full of pottery to choose from, and their own creations either hanging on the walls or scattered throughout. The choices of pottery change often, and I wanted something small and easy to decorate for my first time. I went with an adorable little gnome carrying a suitcase (about 5″ tall, priced at $16). All the prices already include the studio fees and all painting supplies. And if you have a big group, I suggest reserving a table ahead of time (they’ve been slammed lately with all the Groupon buyers – 2300 of them were purchased!)

After claiming our table, one of the studio assistants went over the supplies and how best to use the paints. There is one whole wall full of different colors, with square tiles showing what they’ll look like after fired in the kiln (with 3 gradients each). You could either paint on with a brush or use a sponge. But for the small details – or small items like my own – they suggest using the paint pens. I heeded their advice and used the paint pens for my entire gnome.

I have to say, choosing the colors was the most difficult part. I ended making his outfit UCF Knight colors. I also gave him a white beard with light grey streaks, and a brown suitcase and shoes. After painting the suitcase, though, it was just a little too blah. So I decided to add little travel stamps (Travelocity’s Roaming Gnome was obviously stuck in the mind).

Those stamps took a lot of patience! Unfortunately, they didn’t come out as great as I would have liked – but everyone else loved them. I’m just too much of a perfectionist I guess. But the designs include the Eiffel Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge, skyscrapers (NYC), a sailboat, a sunrise, and grapes (for wine country).

While we were there, we also saw others creating some great pieces. My partner in crime made a cute vase that was yellow with black polka dots. A couple others were painting coffee mugs or plates. But we were most impressed with a girl painting a small bowl with intricate flourishes. It reminded me of something you’d find at Anthropologie. (I was quick to make a note to do some of those in the future.)

Once you’re done painting (it took us about 3 hours), you have to wait a week to see the final product! Okay, so its not that long – but I know I was eager to see how mine turned out. And I think for my first paint-your-own-pottery experience, I did a dang good job. ;)

In between other obligations, I managed to pop into the Midtown locations closest to my hotel. I only tried one cupcake at each, and didn’t really choose two that were similar in any way – but I’ve definitely chosen a favorite.

Location: Crumb’s Bake Shop, Broadway @ 53rd Street (near the Ed Sullivan Theatre)
Time of Day: Just after lunch, around 1 p.m.
Cupcake: Raspberry Swirl
Verdict: I’m not a huge fan of dense cupcakes and this was unfortunately just that. I didn’t love the cake itself – but the raspberry preserve filling was tasty. The frosting, on the other hand, was intriguing with vanilla cream cheese swirled with more raspberry preserve. Yum!

Location: Magnolia Bakery, 6th Avenue @ 49th Street (near Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall)
Time of Day: 9:30 a.m. (yeah, you read that right)
Cupcake: Vanilla Vanilla
Verdict: Even though it was entirely too early for this much sugar, I couldn’t resist eating every last drop of this cupcake. The vanilla cake itself was light and fluffy. The vanilla buttercream frosting was so amazing, that I immediately found the recipe online.

Had I of chosen a cupcake with buttercream frosting, I may have liked Crumbs Bake Shop more than I did this go-around. But for now, given this taste test, the winner is most definitely Magnolia Bakery. I guess next time I’m in NYC, I’ll have to give them each another go – you know… to be fair.

The Orlando Aerial Arts studio is located on U.S. 192 in Kissimmee (next to Chili’s and Cracker Barrel), about 3 miles east of I-4 and just 1.5 miles east of the 417 toll road. Try not to be deterred by the exterior appearance (sorry, I lost my photo of it!). Its in an old Movie Rider building with rundown landscaping and no signage on the outside. To be honest, we thought we were in the wrong place until we saw a girl dressed in workout gear walking in.

Inside, the studio reminds me almost of a gymnastics studio. No special design – just the essential equipment, in this case several sets of silk, padded mads, a couple aerial hoops, and a dozen eager participants.

The beginner-friendly class starts with a warm up – as the instructor warns us that we’ll work muscles we typically don’t, and will most likely feel the after effects for a couples days (great!). There was plenty of Pilates-style stretching and we each had to do 15 wide-set push-ups (hate those!).

Then, the fun began. We started by learning how to wrap our foot for a Russian hold – first on the ground then standing up. This is a basic wrap that is used constantly. I have no clue how to explain it in writing, but let’s just say you have to hold yourself up by your arms while simultaneously wrapping the silk around one foot.

We then graduated to a second – more complicated – knotted foot wrap, whose name I cannot recall. But this one was difficult and I could never quite accomplish wrapping the silks around both my feet. I apparently don’t possess the arm strength nor the coordination. Ha!

My favorite part of the afternoon didn’t take too much skill, but will give you an awful dose of dizziness. The instructor tied a knot with both silks. Then we positioned ourselves in it and flipped back to hang upside down (that’s me looking all graceful in that pose above). Then she’d twirl us around slowly. When she did it, she went insanely fast… I don’t think I could handle that.

After that, she let us play around and do whatever we wanted. She also showed us some more advanced moves where she used the Russian hold to climb high up the silk, then twirled and twisted around. It looked crazy fun, but I don’t know if I’ll ever graduate to that level!

It was a great experience and I’d definitely take some friends in the future. And the instructor wasn’t teasing! My arms and shoulders were killing me for a couple days following this class – a great sign that continuing it would be a great way to get those sexy arms I’ve always wanted. ;)

Our LivingSocial deal was $10 for a one hour class – but its only $20 on a normal day. They also have 4-class combo packages that can save you up to $16. Most classes are during the week, but there is a 10am Saturday class. Just be sure to call ahead to reserve your spot.

If you’re completely lost with what this class really is, watch the video below from the Meals and Miles series on IZONOrlando.com.

Orlando Aerial Arts.mov

You can also follow Meghann Anderson’s Meals and Miles on her blog or Twitter.

Back in 2007, I created my own wine cork board after painstakingly collecting 198 true corks (no synthetics). And no, I did not drink 198 bottles of wine all by myself. Luckily some friends donated to the cause.

I wish I had step-by-step photos, but no such luck. So I’ll do my best to recapture this project for you. Good luck!

Shopping List (16″ x 20″ wine cork board):

• 198+ wine corks (no synthetic corks)
  You’ll want extras (see step 2)
  
• 16″ x 20″ frame
  I found mine on clearance at World Market. IKEA has inexpensive frames too.
  
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Patience  :)

Step 1: Remove glass from frame and replace backing.

Step 2: Before even touching the glue gun, arrange all your corks. I did this in pairs (see photo). You’ll find many are different sizes, so you have to work with the arrangement. I’m pretty detailed-oriented, so I also made sure all the names were right-side up (or all facing leftward or rightward).

Step 3: Once you’ve figured out the arrangement, go ahead and heat up the glue gun. Just pick up one cork at a time, place a straight line of glue on the backside, then immediately replace and hold down for a couple seconds. Continue with the other 197…

Step 4: Ta-da! You have yourself a wine cork board! Now start tacking on your favorite photos.

You have to love that I despised guacamole and had never even tried it (a typical trait of a picky eater). In fact, I never tasted it – or avocados in general – until after college. It wasn’t until about a year ago that I really started to love it. I give all my thanks to friends who make lime-rich guacamole and the folks at Chipotle, whose version I love.

So this weekend, I decided to make my own Chipotle-style guacamole. It was pretty easy, as all guacamole seems to be, and it made the perfect afternoon snack paired with Tostitos Multigrain Tortilla Chips.

I researched online for various versions of Chipotle’s recipe and came up with the following. It was pretty close to the real deal. Any suggestions on how to make an even better version are much appreciated.

Chipotle-Style Guacamole
Serves 1-2 (depending on how long you sit there eating…)

1 large ripe Hass avocado, pitted and peeled
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 Serrano Chili, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of cayenne pepper

Mash up the avocado with a fork. Add lime juice. Add all other ingredients and mix well with fork or spoon. Serve with tortilla chips.

Not sure if your avocado is ready for guacamole? Here’s an easy guide from TheAmazingAvocado.com:

Lucky for me, a friend handling the publicity shared tickets to a special sneak preview on Friday night (along with many of my former co-workers). As part of the event, my duo each received a $10 Power Card for arcade fun, along with an appetizer to split and an entrée each.

This Dave & Buster’s is huge: more than 40,200 square feet of gaming, drinking and eating goodness – all geared towards adults ages 21+ (I must say, I kind of love that under 21-ers must be accompanied by an adult at all times – particularly for the youngsters).

Here’s a rundown on our experience during this event…

Dining

This was much better than we were expecting. The design of the restaurant is contemporary with mostly booths (my favorite) & hardwood tables and a colorful 42-foot mural on the back wall.

For the appetizer, our waiter gave two recommendations: Mountain O’ Nachos and the Philly Steak Rolls. We went with recommendation #2 and weren’t disappointed. The four crispy rolls were stuffed with Philly steak and cheese, and served with cheese sauce and sweet & spicy ketchup.

For entrées, there were so many choices: salads, sandwiches, steaks, fish, burgers, pasta, even an “under 600 calories” section. In the end, my friend chose the Original Bar Burgers, which were 4 mini-cheeseburgers on King’s Hawaiian® rolls served with fries. I chose The MAC! & Cheese, which combined my favorite childhood treat with bacon and grilled chicken (absolutely delicious, though calorie-packed).

Drinks

To beat the Happy Hour clock (we ordered at 6:55pm and it was up at 7pm), our waiter quickly gave us the rundown on the mixed drinks. Several were intriguing, particularly the Snow Cone and the Candy Shop. But in the haste of the moment, we both went with the Million Dollar Margarita, the flagship cocktail (we recommend!).

Outside the main dining room was the large three-sided bar, surrounded by numerous high-tops. Flat screen TVs could be seen from about every angle, including the 103-inch plasma TV. Definitely a good place to meet friends for a drink before embarrassing yourself with lack of skills in the arcade.

*Happy Hours are Mon-Fri 4:30pm-7pm and Sun-Thurs 10pm-close. 1/2 price cocktails and discounted beer.

Million Dollar Midway

There were the classics (skeeball, basketball, racecar driving, Dance Dance Revolution, etc.), as well as some newbies (Derby Owners Club, Big Bass Wheel, Fruit Ninja and others). In all, more than 170 games to choose from. We attempted to try out a variety, but definitely found some favorites.

Our favorite ticket-less game was Big Buck. Yes, that’s right. Us two girls were slightly enamored with a game that involved shooting rifles at various animals while on treks across areas like Africa, India and Australia. We honestly could have played much longer, but our trigger fingers got tired and it was affecting our game. So we gave up.

The two best games for scoring loads of tickets were Color-Rama and the mock slot machines. For Color-Rama, you choose a color you think the ball will land on (corresponds to a set ticket amount). We each scored about 300 tickets there. At the mock slot machines, you try to quickly match rows of 3 symbols. I think I scored about 100 tickets there. We also loved playing the Super Trivia game, where up to 6 people can play at a time and the faster you answer correctly, the higher your score.

Winner’s Circle

Here is where you cash in game tickets. We were expecting a machine to count them, but instead you put all your tickets in a bin and it counts by weight! (Seriously, how do they do these things?) We each had about 550 tickets to spend in the store.

Many items were your typical arcade prizes: stuffed animals, bracelets, candy, Frisbees, etc. We both decided on housewares (we’re such girls): a pub glass for her and a coffee mug for me. I was surprised by some of the high-ticket items: PlayStation 2, a waffle maker (really??), Beatles Monopoly, iPod docking stations and other random choices.

Tips

Visit during Power Hour (Mon-Fri, 4:30pm-7pm) to receive an hour of game play for only $10. Plus, it’s the same time as half-priced cocktails and discounted beer. You can’t go wrong! There are also ½ price games every Wednesday, and the Eat & Play Combo ($15.99 for one select entrée & $10 Power Card) available all day Sun-Thurs or until 5pm on Sat & Sun.

Need to Know

Hours: Sun-Thurs: 11am to 1am, Fri-Sat: 11am to 2am
Location: 8986 International Drive (near the Olive Garden; its the old Race Rock location)
Phone: 407-541-3300
Website: www.daveandbusters.com

Earlier this week, I attended a yoga class at my 24 Hour Fitness gym. Even by arriving 15 minutes early, the line was already about 20 people long – waiting for the previous group class to clear out. Everyone scattered into the space and I was able to carve out my 3′ x 6′ piece of real estate – unfortunately far enough in the back that I could barely see the instructor. In all, I’d say there were about 40 people mat-to-mat in the room.

The instructor, Shanna, is adorable. Very friendly with a great sense of humor. At first, I was a little lost as she quickly called out pose after pose, but by about 10 minutes in I found my groove. That doesn’t mean I was good – just that I was at least keeping with the flow.

The guy next to me was very ambitious. While the rest of us barely made it through intermediate level poses, he was attempting the advanced moves, including an advanced lizard (legs in the air), crow and even a headstand. He didn’t have them perfected yet, but you have to give him credit for trying. (And no, ladies… he wasn’t cute – so don’t even ask.)

My favorite poses at the moment are pigeon, chaturanga (to cobra), any warrior stance, downward facing dog, and of course the child’s pose so I can take a breather. Easy ones, I know.

The class ended with five minutes or pure relaxation. Shanna even walked around lightly spritzing lavender in the air.

Even though my muscles are still punishing me, will I go again? Certainly.