cupcakes, wine and pizza, oh my

The best thing about being entry-level at a big company is the strict adherence to labor laws....which means, I am NOT encouraged to work more than 40 hours if I am not being paid overtime. So, since my hours are usually up by 2pm on Friday, I get to skip out early!

Having year-round summer hours is pretty dangerous. In a way, I guess I don't stop working--I usually walk out of the office and straight into stores, a little "comp-shopping" you might say. A dangerous way to begin a weekend, freshly paid--some H&M, Forever 21... all the crazy, jam-packed-with-tourists shops in the 34th street madness. Hours fly by and suddenly it's 5:30pm and I venture on home under the guise of a normal working person.

Usually I collapse on Fridays, but tonight I made plans with KB and her coworker. First stop? Happy hour at Sweet Revenge in the West Village for a $10 cupcake and wine pairing.

I got the Dirty cupcake [dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate truffle icing] and Pinot Noir. R got the coconut cupcake with Pinot Noir and KB got the Not So Dirty [chocolate cake with MILK chocolate icing] with Sauvignon Blanc. Yum. Is it bad if I wanted second helpings?

The place was cute, and the barista/server/owner[?] nice and knowledgeable.. but we got stuck on stools at the bar, which is awkward enough without coats and scarves and hats to sit on, so we didn't really feel like lingering.

We got outside and decided to walk to a pizza place on Bleecker EVERYONE has been talking about: Keste. There was a short wait outside (during which the Italian-from-Naples owner brought out the specialty pizza of the night, some yummy lemon-mozzarella concoction) and then we were seated. Having had dessert already, we all ended up taking enough pizza back home with us to satisfy dinner for another night, too. All in all, perfect dough and crust, yummy cheese, but probably not the best choice post-cupcakes.

I love NYC nights like these, even if it's crazy how easy it is to blow all the cash you just took out of the ATM. Tomorrow, though, it's supposed to be beautiful--over 50-degrees-and I plan to take advantage and hit the shops... I'll let you know how it goes!