Happy Friday loves!

Surprisingly, I cook most nights of the week and I’ve recently started baking more than I ever have! Yummy! That being said, I’m always looking for new recipes and thanks to Martina McBride’s new cookbook– I now have a delicious array of fresh recipes to try! Her new cookbook ‘Around the Table: Recipes and Inspiration for Gatherings Throughout the Year’ includes seasonal recipes, menu planning, entertaining tips and gorgeous photos! Martina McBride is a standout country music star and through her amazing ballad vocal range, she has even been compared to the iconic Celine Dion.

Barnes and Noble (off 5th Avenue) hosted the talented signer and author on Tuesday and she arrived early looking just beautiful! Like most actresses and singers, she is super tiny in person!! Maybe I should tell her about cronuts? 🙂

Martina’s fans were lucky, as she agreed at the last moment to personalize autographs and pose for photos!  Martina was very polite to each person she met, yet she seemed reserved and shy. Shy or not, I can’t wait to try out some new Martina-inspired recipes!

Martina McBride’s new cookbook is one sale now at Barnes and Noble! Hope you have a GREAT weekend!

They say “anything is possible in New York City” and today, I’m quite certain it’s true! It has been sixteen years since the entire group of the Fleetwood Mac band have performed together! Sixteen years! Christine McVie (singer and keyboardist) returned to join Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham and John McVie for a Today Show concert in Rockefeller Center! I’ve always wanted to see Fleetwood Mac in concert after discovering their albums Rumours (1977), Fleetwood Mac (1975) and Fleetwood Mac: Greatest Hits (1988) and after a Tom Petty concert when his surprise guest for the duet song ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ was none other than….Stevie Nicks!!!

Loyal Fleetwood fans arrived before dawn to grab a spot in line–some camped out overnight, others took off work, some let their children stay out of school and several tourists even planned their entire trip around the concert! Despite the chilly temps and early wake up call, the crowd was full of energy and excitement!

The concert was soooo good! Stevie Nicks was shaking her tambourine and Lindsey Buckingham was killin’ it on the guitar! Fleetwood Mac played four classic hits starting with ‘The Chain’, ‘Little Lies”, ‘Gypsy,” and ‘Go Your Own Way’ and everyone knew every. single. verse. There was symbolism in their song choice ‘The Chain’ in reference to Christine McVie’s return and despite the odds, the chain can not be broken. Best of all, Mick Fleetwood announced that Fleetwood Mac is officially touring and will continue the tour through 2015!

Interested in attending one of the Today Show concerts? Visit the Today Show website to view the entire schedule of upcoming shows and to sign-up for a VIP Pass!

Hello Hello! Hapy HUMP day!

Blast from the Past! As a child born in the 80’s, I grew up watching the new punk rock musicians make their mark on the music scene. During this time, music videos and music television rose in popularity–glorifying rockers like Billy Idol. Billy’s hits included ‘White Wedding’, ‘Rebel Yell’, ‘Dancing with Myself’, ‘Mony Mony’ and ‘Cradle of Love’.

Today, Barnes and Noble off Fifth Avenue hosted the legendary Billy Idol for the release of his new book ‘Dancing with Myself’. After purchasing the book, I began flipping through the pages with no real intention of starting the book while waiting in line. However, after the first few pages…I was hooked! Honestly, I was quite surprised at the depth and perspective of his writing. He has certainly lived one interesting life and although I’m only forty pages in, I’m pleased with the book thus far.

The actual book signing with Billy Idol was very brief and no photos allowed but I did manage to sneak in one photo 🙂 Billy Idol wore a black leather jacket and black sneakers while signing each and every book for his fans. I didn’t know quite what to expect seeing Billy Idol after all these years. You always imagine these aged rockers to be a washed up mix of Keith Richards and Ozzy Osbourne…years of living in the fast lane finally catching up to them. Surprisingly, Billy Idol looked healthy, seemed happy to be interacting with fans again and was very jovial with everyone. Today was definitely a “never thought that would happen day” in New York City!

Billy Idol’s newest album ‘King and Queens of the Underground’ will be released October 21st and he will begin touring November 5th. His new book ‘Dancing with Myself’ is on sale now at Barnes and Noble!

Happy Monday Sugarplum! Hope you had fantastic weekend!

YAY! Hooray! I’m giddy with excitement to be teaming up with Double Black Designs for a super cool GIVEAWAY!

Sunsets! If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you’ve probably discovered my love obsession with sunsets. I simply love the nightly tradition of watching the sun go down on the ever changing horizon. Imagine my surprise, when one of my sunset photos actually inspired Elise at Double Black Designs! Elise created a custom HANDPAINTED hat of my gorgeous New York sunset!

Y’all, this lil’ hat of mine makes my heart so happy! It honestly reminds me of so many things…my love of New York City, my beloved sunsets, adventures, home and truly talented friends! Living in a city filled with millions of people, I’m really diggin’ the fact that I’m the only one rocking this hat in NYC! Original and wearable art!

Elise is one uber talented gal! She is a marketing and graphic design specialist, creates Colorado Ski Trails jigsaw puzzles (so cool), paints custom trucker hats, and she was recently featured in Women’s Health Magazine! She is one to watch folks! She is going places!!

Feeling lucky? Enter to win using the Rafflecopter widget below and the winner will be announced next Tuesday! Good luck!!

Double Black Designs Trucker Hat // Winner can select custom art or photo for hat

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Friday Loves! The weekend is almost here 🙂

Last night, Barnes and Noble in TriBeCa hosted actress and writer, Emma Thompson for the release of her new children’s book ‘The Spectacular Tale Of Peter Rabbit’. She previously penned two other children’s books, ‘The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit’ and ‘The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit’ to commemorate the 110 anniversary of Beatrix Potter’s release of  ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’. Emma’s newest adventure for Peter Rabbit is cleverly written, features beautiful illustrations by Eleanor Taylor and includes a story narration CD by Emma!

The London Lady, Emma Thompson has been very successful as an actress and has starred in numerous films including Sense and Sensibility, Love Actually, Nanny McPhee, and Saving Mr. Banks.

Emma Thompson arrived early (love that) wearing a unique black leaf dress and white sneakers. Her dress also had pockets and little Peter Rabbit was tucked snuggly inside her pocket. What I noticed almost immediately though was her genuinely warm smile!

She treated the audience to a reading of the entire book (cover to cover) in a theatrical performance only Emma Thompson could give! Emma shined and really captivated the entire audience with her quick wit and different character voices. Following the reading, she plopped herself down to sign each and every copy of her book! Most people bought multiple copies and she patiently signed books while striking up conversations with little ones! She seems to really love children and asked two kiddos ahead of me “what shall I write about next? Any ideas for me?” Emma signed my books and said “thank you sweet Katie for coming tonight and I do hope you enjoy the book” in her elegant British accent.

Emma Thompson’s new book ‘The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit’ is on sale now at Barnes and Noble.

Hi Loves and Happy Tuesday!

The Today Show’s Toyota Concert Series is still rockin’ with Nashville’s country group, Lady Antebellum performing in Rockefeller Center this morning! Lady Antebellum released their fifth album today titled 747 and kicked things off with a live concert in New York City!

In conjunction with the album debut, Lady Antebellum is promoting a 7 for 7 Project–for 7 days they will surprise one deserving fan with a dream come true!  Today, they invited American International College student, Katharine Laventis onstage and completely surprised her with a $10,000 scholarship to help pay for nursing school! Katherine lost both her parents when she was young and was paying her way through school. I really LOVE this amazing 7 to 7 Project concept to truly give back to deserving fans! Makes my heart happy 🙂

Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood formed the group back in 2006 and since then they have sold over 10 million albums, won multiple awards including Song and Record of the Year for “Need You Now”. They put on a great show this morning singing “Long Stretch of Love” and their hit single “Bartender”! I had an absolute blast this morning!! I had the chance to meet the anchors, score some free Today Show swag, grab some air time, and I had an awesome view of the stage!

Hello Loves and Happy National Coffee Day!

Today I celebrated with a good ol’ cup of joe at the Ground Central Coffee Company with Michael Breach! Michael Breach is a famous international barista artist and has been featured on Good Morning America, The Chew, Rachel Ray Show, The New York Post, and the Huffington Post.

Michael teamed up with the Infatuation and PayPal at Ground Central Coffee Company to make coffee fans a custom foamed art brew! Right when I arrived, Fox News 5 began interviewing Michael Breach as he created an exact replica of a girl’s engagement photo! He uses foam as the base and then uses a toothpick dipped in a coffee concoction to sketch custom faces, animals, logos, etc. Since the line was super long, we were limited to only having our names rather than portraits of faces or pets. Michael created “Sweet Home Carolina” for me and I was pretty amazed how quickly he etched my blog name on the coffee foam!

Be sure to check out Ground Central Coffee Company to view more of Michael’s amazing creations!

Happy HUMP Day peeps! Hope you all are enjoying the amazing Autumn weather!

Today, I checked some items off my NYC Bucket List! Wahoo! Not all Bucket List items need to be “once in a lifetime” events like skydiving or swimming with sharks- they can be “never done that before” and “nice to try at least once” worthy adventures!

1) Sit for a Central Park Sketch
Every time I visit Central Park and pass a Sketch Artist, I think to myself “one day I’m gonna do that” and today I finally let Mr. Yu sketch a portrait of yours truly 🙂

2) Visit the Manhattan Cake Boss Café
Still want to visit the original location in Hoboken, NJ!

3) Try my very first Cannoli
Growing up down South, I wasn’t privy to the existence of the cannoli!! Since moving to NYC, I see them everywhere and have always been curious about how they tasted! Whoa! My first cannoli was super duper over-the-top sweet! Even for a girl who loves the occasional dessert…it was sugar overload! Way too sweet for me!

Hi Darling! Happy Monday to you! Hope you a fantastic weekend!

One of the best things about living in New York is the daily access to so many fun shows, festivals, and events! Last week we visited historic Little Italy for the 88th Annual Feast of San Gennaro festival! This event originated on Mulberry Street when immigrants gathered together to celebrate San Gennaro (Patron Saint of Naples) in September 1926. Today, the Feast of San Genarro is an eleven-day celebration in Little Italy with parades, music, games, and yummy festival food! Italian sausages, cannoli’s, gelato, pizza, fried oreos, seafood, candy apples, cronuts, roasted corn, zeppoles, and funnel cakes. We had a great time strolling through Little Italy, visiting street vendors, sampling delicious treats, and playing way too many games!

Hi loves! Happy Wednesday to you all!

Can you believe it’s been 20 years since the popular sitcom ‘Friends’ first aired on NBC? In honor of the ‘Friends’ 20th Anniversary, Eight O’clock Coffee transformed a pop-up SoHo location into the memorable Central Perk coffee shop! Fans lined up around the block and waited for over an hour to tour the replica ‘Friends’ coffee shop frequented by Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe.

Central Perk showcased show props, cast member costumes, and a wall covered in black and white photos from the show. While visitors waited for free coffee provided by Eight O’clock Coffee, local TV stations were conducting interviews- asking people to recite their favorite ‘Friends’ quotes!  There were also several contests and giveaways for a chance to win ‘Friends’ memorabilia. If you weren’t feeling lucky, you could also purchase t-shirts, bags, and coffee mugs! The tour ended at the famous orange couch, where you can actually sit down and have your picture taken by the coffee shop staff!

Central Perk is located at 199 Lafayette Street in SoHo and will be open until October 18th! Find out more by visiting http://www.eightoclock.com/friends/.