In our wanderings last week, petitesoeur and I also found Beecher's Cheese. I love the smell that hits you upon walking into cheese shops. I had heard of Beecher's, but I had no idea the place was so huge! In addition to the cases of cheese and shelves of food accompaniments and gifts, there's also a lunch counter that serves grilled cheese sandwiches (naturally), salads, and other prepared foods with an upstairs mezzanine seating area. They also make cheese on the premises.
And downstairs, there's a bar called The Cellar with clever cocktails named for notorious New York miscreants (click to enlarge the menu) to read the descriptions, with bar food -- mac and cheese (again, naturally), charcuterie, and small plates.Of course we couldn't help tasting some cheese and taking some home. Coffee junkie petitesoeur naturally gravitated toward the Beehive Buzzed -- a cow's milk cheese rubbed with coffee and lavender. What a unique flavor! The combination was really striking -- after more tastes, you could taste the 2 separate flavors of coffee and lavender, but the blend really worked and was surprisingly delicious. The Carr Valley Cocoa Cardona also caught my eye - goat cheese rubbed with cocoa powder and aged 2 months. I went home with a chunk of each.
Beecher's Handmade CheeseFlatiron District
900 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
212.466.3340
I had a conference to go to in Gettysburg, PA, so on the way home we made a point to stop at Stoudt's Brewing Company and Black Angus Restaurant, which is right off Route I-76, between Reading and Lancaster PA.
I was happy with housemade cheese from their own Wonderful Good Market. We got three to try -- the Elderbritch, an aged cow's milk cheese (from local pasture grazed cattle) named after a PA Dutch prank in which grown-ups would send kids out to hunt for the elusive imaginary Elderbritch; the Ferdinand, a trappist monk-style cheese steeped in Stoudt's own Fat Dog Stout; and the best one -- the Fresh Eliana, a soft Italian-style cheese like a brined Mozzarella. The cheeses were served with walnuts and a spiced apple chutney (which, though tasty on its own, was a little overpowering for the cheese). The homemade bread, also from their own Wonderful Good Market was also great.
The Stoudt family have a full complex on their 62-acre farm there with the brewing company next to the Black Angus Restaurant and Pub. There's also a banquet hall for large events like weddings. Behind that is the Wonderful Good Market and Black Angus Antique mini-mall, and across the street from the market is Stoudtburg Village -- modeled after a Bavarian hamlet, with shops and 60 residential units. Must be a nice place to live if you're a big Stoudt's beer drinker to just stumble right home.
Last time we got together in the city with Petiteseour, she suggested going to Don Antonio's -- a midtown pizza place that her co-worker was a regular at. 
Then we order 3 pizzas for the 5 of us -- the Vesuvio, a stuffed pizza with fresh ricotta, mozzarella and salami inside, topped with red sauce, ham, more mozzarella, mushrooms, and artichokes; the Pope's Pizza, with butternut squash, zucchini, roasted peppers, and smoked mozzarella; and lastly was one of the day's special which sounded really good with gorgonzola dolce, a bunch of other cheeses, figs, and prosciutto, but was disappointing. The figs were too sweet, the gorgonzola too strong. 
I liked the butternut squash and smokey flavor of the Pope's pie, but it was not a hit with Petiteseour. Her favorite and Redneckhunter's favorite was the stuffed pie. I liked the pizza, but Petiteseour thought it suffered from too much volume where the oven doors being constantly opened and closed and not retaining heat led to a less crisp crust. 
George's Place 
Over the summer, our local mall, The Princeton MarketFair, shut down their food court to bring in more sit-down eateries, and we were a little wary of what would come. That changed when we found out one of the new places would be Bobby Flay's Burger Palace.
The menu is pretty simple - 10 varieties of burger topping combos which you can get on Angus beef, ground turkey, or chicken breast; two types of grilled cheese; a regular salad, a chopped salad, or a salad with any of the burger varieties on top; fries, sweet potato fries, or onion rings; and 13 flavors of milkshake (include 3 spiked shakes). 
The beef burgers have always come out a perfect medium rare, the meat flavorful, the buns soft and fresh. All in all, a mighty tasty burger.
What I never realized was that in the early 1900s postcards were sent by companies as a method of advertising. My dad (who was with me) said, "Oh yeah, I remember seeing these for steam ships when I was little." Who knew!
I loved this next set of cards. They reminded me of posters I saw on the streets of Paris.
This next set felt very mod with its bold blocks of color.
Today we send postcards to family and friends from trips, but in the 1900s countries and cities created postcards as a way to boost tourism. I love every single one of these.
I have a Moulin Rouge poster that looks exactly like this next set of cards. I love the wild kicking of the dancer's legs and the bright reds, yellows and oranges in the color palette.
I was surprised and delighted by "The Postcard Age." I skipped to the gift shop ready to purchase many of my favorites and was sad to see the cards they selected to sell did not include any of my top picks!
Since we saw the shot of Gossip Girl in the black hoodie I was convinced it was Eric. It was clear it was a man's body who stole the laptop. I never thought it could be Dan! Never ever.
Chuck on the other hand, the love of my life, arrives looking like a bad 70s prom date in a white suite with a turquoise lapel and a bedazzled bow tie. Horrible!
When we come back from the commercial break, we've fast forwarded in the lives of our crew. Nate steps out of an NY Spectactor branded plane and is being asked by the press if he is running for mayor. Chuck and Blair have an adorable son (in a suit, of course) named Henry. Rufus is apparently with Lisa Loeb. Eric and Jenny are back and by way of a newspaper ad we see that a movie has been made about Ivy's life.
The holiday decor started the moment you walked in. It's hard to tell from this picture, but that wreath was at least three feet across. The gallery also ordered the most stunning bouquets of red flowers to add festive flair to the room.
The annual Art Tasting showcases the small works of the Copley Society artists. The works are physically small in size, but also small in price. Pieces ranged from $150 - $2,000.
As I was hanging my jacket I fell in love with a painting directly next to the coat rack. Dessert? Chocolate? Hearts? In a cocktail glass? Surely I need this!
I was equally charmed by this painting of three red cherries. I loved the gold frame as well. A perfect combination.
Across the room my coworkers and I were all marveling about this painting of a young girl emerging from a swimming pool. I think we all adored it because no matter your personal story, everyone has a great summer memory of splashing around in a pool.
Our group was also in agreement about this painting of five buoys. We loved the bright colors and the summer nostalgia it conjured.
At the back of the gallery they had painted one wall red and in gold letters across the top it read, "Holiday Small Works 2012." I had to ask one of the gallery girls how they got those letters up that high and on that straight!
I fell hard for two pieces on the red wall, the first of which was a painting of the Harvard steeple. I pass it every day on my way home and it kind of feels like my own north star.
I was really enamored with this piece by an artist named Patrick Anderson. I learned from the gallery manager that he always paints scenes from Beacon Hill and that his works are often given as housewarming or wedding gifts. I love the bright colors, the warmth and the holiday charm.
One of the most fun elements of the evening was Copley Society artist Pat Shea live painting. Pat was creating a Christmas painting and you could buy a $5 raffle ticket to enter to win the finished product. Despite being swarmed by guests, Pat remained very focused and was rather fun to watch.
In addition to the small works there were also hand painted Christmas ornaments for sale. I flipped for this one with the fuzzy bird. How cute is that? What you can't see is that the back side of the ornament is all white glitter.
In the center of the gallery there were appetizers including meats from American Provisions.
Bistro du Midi provided these fancy skewers.
After touring the works on the top floor we headed down into the basement level gallery.
The first piece I noticed downstairs was this one of a man rowing a small boat. It reminded me of all my trips to Maine this summer and how peaceful it can be to just float on a pond.
This piece truly amazed me. It looks like a photograph of autumn leaves, but no, it's a painting.
This collection of tomatoes felt like it would make the perfect addition to my kitchen. Don't they look good enough to eat?
On the same wall as the tomatoes were two very small paintings of cupcakes by Rosalie Ripaldi Shane. Look at that blue frosting! You could reach out and touch it!
Rosalie started making these cupcake paintings for her granddaughter on her birthday and now they are one of her signature subjects. I'm obsessed.
The basement gallery also had a red, holiday wall.
On this red wall I noticed a painting of the Boston Public Garden that I really liked. It felt very iconic Boston.
The Boston theme continued with two interpretations of the Boston Public Garden's famous swan boats. Immediately I gravitated towards the one on the bottom left of the single swan.
I ran back upstairs to find my coworkers and tell them I thought I found the one! By this time it was nearly 8:00pm and the gallery was completely packed! 
After talking it out with my group, I decided I would take the plunge and make my first real art purchase for my new home (buying "art" at Home Goods doesn't count).
Now comes the really tough part . . . where to hang it! I am leaning toward one of two places and I need your help to decide.
Or do you prefer it on the plum colored walls of the living room?
I am completely torn! Help me by leaving your recommendation in the comments section.