baking upon arrival

My roommate wanted to bake cookies for a cookie party at her work and enlisted my assistance. Kudos to those who bake from scratch for cookie parties, rather than resort to default pansy maneuvers like buying from store. If you buy from a bakery, that is a step up. I wanted to be adventurous and made these five spice cookies. I really liked them, and I think that was the consensus of those who tasted them too. 

 M selected this peanut butter, chocolate chip number. They were also tasty, but I think our first couple batches could have stayed in the over for a little longer. They were more crumbly than the above variety. We ended up with a lot of cookies.

decked out

New York City is like a tourist trap for much of Manhattan below 59th Street. Due to mild winters, I think it must not deter tourists from approaching in the winter. Oh, the hoards of foot traffic obstacles! I cut my losses this last year I'm here to check out the festivities near Rockefeller Plaza. For this holiday season, there were sleazy Santas, heightened security, extra fences, and photos aplenty.