I think everybody knows that New Kids on the Block has decided to come out from retirement and make a new album. So when I heard this I thought this was really dumb and that nobody was going to care. I even made fun of the hubs who is a closet NKOTB fan (he swears in Korea guys and girls alike loved them back in the day) and thought their reunion was a cool idea.

But...

after watching this video of them on the Today Show. I'm not going to lie...

I'm a little bit excited about their reunion.

Watching this clip, I was transported back to 1989 when I was a NKOTB fanatic. I even got a lil happy when I saw Jordan Knight, my favorite member of the group. kekek I was surprised they all aged pretty well and are still cute. Oh man, this is a weird feeling...anyone else feeling a little nostalgic watching this clip?

 

Last Friday was Ethan's 29th birthday. When it comes to bdays Ethan and I have differing opinions based on our upbringing and Korean vs. American culture. Growing up, birthdays were always really special in my family. We always made a big fuss for the bday person and let them choose what they wanted to do and where they wanted to eat within reason. Ethan's family did things a little more simply so he never wants me to make a big deal.  (Also, in Korea the bday person treats their friends/family for dinner.) However, this year I really wanted to do something nice for him since the year before we were pretty strapped financially and didn't do much.

Ethan had mentioned several weeks before his bday that he had been craving some good steak and wanted to go to a classical concert. So I made reservations at Porterhouse in the Time Warner building and then got tickets to see the NY Philharmonic. (By the way, if your 35 and younger you can get great seats for $29/ticket through their MyPhil program.)

Here are some pics from the night:
















It was our first visit to Porterhouse. We got the cowboy rib steak and the prime NY strip. The meat was cooked perfectly medium and super tender.


















We also got their special Mr. Pete's creamed spinach w/bacon. Ummm...bacon


   




















I made reservations through opentable.com and left a note that it was the hubs' bday dinner. I didn't expect them to read the note but they must have b/c our strawberry-butterscotch pie came out with a candle.
The steak was really good but we both admitted that Peter Lugar's is still our favorite steakhouse in the City. You might recall our awesome meal there last year for James' 30th bday dinner.


















Here we are at Avery Fisher Hall, sneaking in a quick pic before the concert started. This was our first time seeing the NY Philharmonic. The night's performance featured the pianist Lang Lang playing a piano concerto that the composer Tan Dun wrote specially for him. The second half of the concert was Stravinsky's Firebird.  We both really enjoyed the concert and can't wait for the next 2 concerts included in our MyPhil package.


















Lang Lang about to start the concerto. He was amazing to watch! I was mesmerized the entire performance. I almost wanted to learn piano again, but then I snapped back into reality and remembered how much I hated piano lessons growing up. keke


























heheh. I love this picture!
We celebrated Ethan's bday again with our small group two days later. I made a pound cake with the cupcake baking pan I got for V-day. 

I hope all your wishes come true!!