Shoo-Fly Diner Baltimore

          After passing a cute place called Shoo-Fly Diner many times I grew curious about what it was, so I dragged my friends along one night to find out what it was all about. Everything it serves is farm fresh. The restaurant has a very cool vibe. It is like you are in a nice barn but it is still trendy at the same time. Over the bar hangs a big American flag. It has three floors, the upstairs is a dining area, the middle floor is a bar and the bottom floor is a diner.

            Basically everything on the menu comes with an egg, and if it doesn’t come with an egg there is an option that you can add an egg to anything. All of the food is very gourmet and sounds more like breakfast for dinner. All of my friends ordered cheeseburgers and I ordered something different, one of the specials for the night that sounded so interesting. I needed to try it. It was bacon steak with a poached egg on top over hash browns and a delicious sauce. I learned that an egg tastes good and complements almost anything.

The diner is located on Belvedere Ave across from Belvedere Square Market. Another fun fact and cool aspect about the restaurant is that it is opened late night. On Monday-Friday it is opened from 4pm-1am. On Saturday-Sunday it is opened from 9am-1am. Shoo Fly Diner is affiliated with the Woodberry Pantry where everything is made on the premises, ensuring that it has the freshest ingredients.

Museum of Natural History in NYC

This weekend I visited the Museum of Natural History in NYC with my sisters. My two favorite exhibits at the Museum were the North American Mammals and the Hall of South American Peoples. When I first walked in the first thing I saw were the underwater animals. I was very shocked and disturbed to see how large they were.

Look at the size of the crab in comparison to the lobster! 

I went to the Hall of North American Mammals first upon hearing from a tour guide that it was “fire,” whatever that meant. I really enjoyed seeing all of the different animals and it made me want to travel around the world to see new things. There were animals like foxes, bears, mosquitoes, mountain lions, and lynxes. They are all taxidermied animals, which is creepy to think about.

The next exhibit, the Hall of South American Peoples was very interesting and disturbing. I was most interested to read about there war rituals in the process of the shrinking head. After battles the people who won would cut off the losers head and then shrink the skin and put it over a rock. Later, they would hand the shrunken heads around the village to prevent the avenging souls from coming back. They showed all of the different outfits of the warriors of different time periods which were very interesting because they ranged from full body amour using sea shells to covering themselves in very thick bundles of hay, all very unique outfits.

Armor made of shells

Shrunken Head

On a lighter note, the gem exhibit was very pretty to look at. I’ve never seen diamonds or gem so big. Some were bigger than the size of my head. A girl can dream! What was ever more interesting is that most of them were donated to the museum, which means people actually owned and wore them!

Hungry & Adventurous

After a long day in the New York City garment district with my family, we worked up quite the appetite. In the hopes to find a restaurant fast we turned down 38^th street where we saw two restaurants across from each other. One was a steakhouse and the other we weren’t really sure what kind of food it was but we had to rule the steakhouse out considering it was Good Friday. The restaurant was called Arno and we were feeling hungry and adventurous.  

Arno Ristorante serves traditional Italian food. It was bustling with business; tons of people clearly on their lunch break. The restaurant has tons of table space and an upscale old-fashioned Italian feel. Our waiter enhanced the whole Italian vibe with his Italian accent and ability to speak fluently in Italian. Out waiter was very enthusiastic and adamant about the food and giving us the best Arno experience that we will never forget. Naturally, we all ordered meals with shrimp. He kept calling us “bellas.” Between all of us we had every mean with shrimp on the menu. By the end of our meal, our plates were completely clean, so I can conclude that you cannot go wrong with any shrimp dish on the menu.

The walls of the restaurant were decorated with large pictures of fashion related things, like a woman holding a Louis Vuitton bag and a woman walking in nice heels. The restaurant felt kind of out dated and the pictures on the walls were faded, but after all it has been around for over 20 years. Our waiter informed us that celebrities like Michael Jackson and Beyoncé have dined there.

At the end of the meal our waiter promised to sing to us in Italian, and he sure did. Not going to lie, it got pretty uncomfortable because he was singing in a very low-pitched voice, very close to our faces, making intense eye contact. We couldn’t help but laugh, but it definitely served as great entertainment. I’m so glad we stumbled upon this hidden gem and we would definitely go out of our way to eat there again! I didn't get any pictures of the food, probably because I was too excited to dig in.

Santa Monica Pier

We decided to do something different, it was about 3:30 and we headed to the Santa Monica pier. My parents hadn’t been for a while and my sisters and I had never been before. We contemplated turning around because there was very bad traffic (what else is new in California) and we didn’t have hotel plans for the night yet, but we were already half way. 

It ended up only taking 20 minutes to get there, it seems as though everything is 20 minutes away from each other in California. It was a beautiful day and turned out to be a beautiful night at the pier. It was nice to be in a different atmosphere that was care free and casual. The smell of funnel cake filled the air. And the wind was strong I had wished I was dressed a little warmer. We stopped at the beginning of the pier at Bubba Gump Shrimp and had drinks and shared the coconut shrimp.

 We then walked the beautiful pier down to the end, where there is a Mexican restaurant. Of course we had to stop in and have drinks and a bite to eat because we can only make it so many steps without more food. There we had guacamole for the second time that day (The Ivy’s was better). It came time for the sun to set and my sisters and I left my parents and went outside to watch. It was a beautiful yellow orange and pink sunset that then turned into cotton candy skies. 

The ferries wheel was lighting up all different colors and patterns and the view was magical.  It was time to leave and find a last minute hotel to stay in. We ended up staying in the hotel we always stay at, the famous Roosevelt Hotel. Marilyn Monroe was a resident there and rumored to be haunted by celebrities who have past. The hotel feels like home so we can get a good night sleep and wake up early eat a quick breakfast at Mel’s Drive In before heading back to New York. Its safe to say that one-day felt like three days with the amount we did.

A Food Filled Day

       Today we started the day off early. We wanted to head over to the Beverly Hills Hotel for breakfast in their famous Polo Lounge, however, since the after party for the Oscars was held there last night, that was no longer an option. We then decided to head over to The Ivy Restaurant on Robertson Blvd for a nice brunch. The Ivy is another very well known place where celebrities like to dine. It is a tiny, quaint and beautiful restaurant. The tables are close together creating for a cozy environment and the whole place is flourished with vibrant pink, red, yellow and orange roses. The menus are bright and floral and the plates are covered in painted ivy. The restaurant is enclosed with a cute white picket fence and the fabric of the pillows on the chairs are that of a classic picnic blanket, red and white checkers. Now onto the food, which is to die for. I ordered strawberry lemonade that was perfectly sweet and sour and the same time, and very pretty! 

        We started off with guacamole with soft and warm freshly made tortillas. I have to say, this was the best guacamole I have ever had. For brunch we ordered two of the pizzas, lobster pizza, and salmon and cream cheese pizza. I had this lobster pizza last time I was there with my friend and had been craving it ever since. It was just as good as I had remembered. We ordered dessert because I think we just weren’t ready to leave the amazing atmosphere of the restaurant yet. We got the banana split platter that came with a side of hot caramel and fudge; my mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

        It is a good thing we ordered dessert because in walked Kathie Lee Gifford and her daughter. They were seated two tables away from us and I had to make my family aware of her because they did not notice. There were two women sitting next to us who casually asked Kathie Lee to take a picture of them, not knowing who they were asking to take a picture. But Kathie Lee did it no problem and even offered to take another if they didn’t like that one. The TMZ tours and sightseeing bus passed by and stopped in the middle of the street to tell a little history of the Ivy, and scout out any celebrities. After continuing driving they began backing up in the middle of the street yelling “Hi Kathie!!!” “Kathie I love you!” and snapping pictures. Kathie waved back and joked “Who did this!” The restaurant grew a little hectic since everyone now knew she was there. My dad began talking to Kathie Lee as they have a mutual friend and she ended up sitting down at our table to take a picture with us. She was so nice and down to earth.

            After leaving the Ivy we shopped at Kitsons clothing store and then continued down Robertson Blvd. My dad grew curious about the red awning in the distance so we decided to find out what it was. My dad was and sister were excited to find that it was the restaurant Petrossian. A place my dad has been eager to go to because of there exquisite caviar. After only eating an hour and a half ago, we sat down to eat yet again, but more for the flavor and experience. My mom and little sister don’t like caviar but they were good sports about it. We ordered the caviar pizza (because we were already on a pizza roll) and caviar. It was so amazing. 

We are now in the car and onto the next adventure!

Thats all for now,
xx Ashton

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel- Downtown LA

After two long days of working at The Make Up Show LA my family and I were excited that it was over with and time to watch the Oscars. It was killing me that we were so close to where the Oscars were taking place yet so far sitting in our hotel club room at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown LA. 

I asked my Dad if we could watch it somewhere cooler, like I don’t know maybe across the street from the venue. Little did I know, he told me people actually come here to watch the Oscars because many Academy Awards have taken place right here in this very hotel. Another fun fact, many movies like Ghostbusters, National Treasure, Wedding Crashers, and Spider-Man, and TV shows like That 70‘s Show, Ally McBeal, Beverly Hills 90210 and ER have been filmed here. 

I was then satisfied and content watching it here a the Biltmore. I regretted not watching the movie Gravity with Sandra Bolluck considering it dominated the awards show. Gravity won seven oscars. The awards included Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Director. Gravity was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Production Design. Sandra Bullock looked overwhelmed with emotions as they took home plenty of wins, however, I could not tell if she was upset because she did not win Best Actress.

I’m excited to get to bed early and get off my feet after standing for 10 hours straight. With only one day left to explore California, we have a lot of activities to cover in little time tomorrow. Maybe we will have a celebrity sighting and we will definitely eat good food. Hopefully all of the celebrities aren’t exhausted and hung-over from the Oscars. There is a very good chance they will all be sleeping in tomorrow morning.

Thats all for now.
xx Ashton

The Make Up Show LA

            This past week was my spring break from Loyola University Maryland. As opposed to your typical spring break, traveling to a destination filled with college students, partying, and lots of sun, I flew from BWI to LAX, where I met my family. We traveled to California for The Make Up Show LA. The Make Up Show is a professional beauty trade-show dedicated to artistry, networking, community, inspiration, and education.

The people who attend the event are anyone from top-notch academy award winning professionals, who have been in the industry for a long time, to beginners just learning the ins and outs of the industry, to people who are not professionals but simply love beauty. You can rub shoulders with Hunger Games make up artist, Ve Neil, Joan River’s make up artist, Adele Fass, Pretty Little Liars make up artist, Cindy Miguens, and many more of the industries best. Make Up Forever, Nars, Dermalogica, and Lime Crime are some of the big brands at the event.

            The reason I attend this event is because my family owns Alcone, a professional make up company serving average people, famous actresses, models, TV personalities and socialites since 1950. At trade shows all over the world, we work the Alcone booth as a family. My Dad likes to joke that we are the “Von Trapp” family. We’ve traveled to London, Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, California, and our home city New York, all for these shows. Each show is exciting, tiring, fast-paced and crazy. The event is filled with awesome special FX make up and unique characters.       

  

                            My sister Laurel and I played around with colored contact lenses.