Being from Indiana originally, I love sports in general and the Super Bowl is always one of my favorites to watch regardless of whether my team made it or not! In the past10+ years of me living in NYC, it also marks the proximity of New York Fashion Week for the presentation of Fall/Winter! But today, it's all about wings, potato salad, bevvies and more! Throughout today, I will be tweeting about a number of Super Bowl items so make sure to follow, @KittenLounge as well as @Cocoabebe. I can't wait to see what commercials are going to be our new faves and how the half time show will be (of course also seeing the winners of the game).

So this is a multi-layered story for sure! I grew up in Indiana (my mom is from Jersey and my dad is from Ohio) and we ate very typical steak and potato dinners growing up. When I got to college, it was the first time that I ate a number of items that were not served at our dinner table. While I was in college, my love affair for Food Network started. I was introduced to so many things and I remember watching Ming Tsai's East Meets West! I'm not a cook and don't do it a lot but I loved seeing what he created and knew that I had to continue expanding what I ate.

Fast forward to today - I'm a huge fan of Japanese, Chinese, Moroccan, Indian cuisines and more! Last week we kicked off Oct with a post about National Sake Day which featured TY KU Sake and this week I ended up being invited to an amazing zen space where I would not only try a selection of their beverages but we would also eat an east meets west menu that was prepared by none other than Ming Tsai! To know that he is also from the midwest, is the chef/owner of Blue Ginger, has his show Simply Ming and has designed a variety of items that you can use in the kitchen and are eco friendly AND is battling to be The Next Iron Chef - I was beyond thrilled for this event.

I enjoyed sipping TY KU Sake which is a Super Premium Junmai Ginjo sake (black bottle) which is perfect to eat with anything and is not just meant for sushi! It has such a smooth finish and is amazing when chilled! I also fell in love with Ultra Premium Junmai Daiginjo sake (white bottle) which is like a celebration beverage. I could definitely imagine drinking this for a special occasion and it is something to enjoy when you're super relaxed or amongst friends. There were also mixed cocktails such as the Upside Down Pineapple Sake Martini - which was beyond decadent. Mojitos were also made from TY KU's liqueur. As we enjoyed the beverages I loved having the oysters which had sake in them, pork dumplings, veggie sushi rolls and then these amazing flattened shrimps.

The setting complimented the food as we were in a gorgeous penthouse that had artifacts and Buddhas everywhere you looked. Everyone was able to mingle and catch up and to enjoy the pairings of the cocktails and the food. At the end of the night, Ming came out and chatted with everyone and to hear his energy and to tell us how he came up with flattened shrimp that we all enjoyed was a great way to see how to turn a possibly bad situation into an amazing one. Apparently, he was making shrimp and it wasn't heating up a certain way but when he flattened it, it worked out and then it became an amazing dish - with the oysters and shrimp alone, I could eat that everyday! I also love that he made us drinks as well and spent time chatting with each of us which was another highlight from the night!

As my plane ascended into the air on my way to my first press trip in Miami, I knew I didn't need any of the magazines that I had brought with me. I intended to read Jon Paul Buchmeyer's 'Alphabet City'. Being someone who came from Indiana and moved out here to make it big and my mark, I knew that there would be some great stories. Written as a sitcom episode, you meet many of the characters that comprise his life! In addition, you see how a guy from Texas finds his way into the world of PR and meets such characters as Tyra Banks, Vanessa Williams and so many more people. Each "episode" he learns about himself and we are taken to a variety of locations geographically as well as within the halls of Conde Nast as well. Much like Devil Wears Prada allows us to live in the splashy world of glitz and glamour while seeing the sacrifices that are being made by the newbie navigating - Jon Paul shares this as well.

We also get to know a lot about Jon Paul as he navigates his family, balancing his work life, finding out what drives his passion and like many of us - finding that perfect guy! As I read this book on the plane I found myself laughing and relating to many of the mishaps that he goes through and you also get a sense of NYC in a time before I arrived. This is definitely a book that I would suggest reading and in fact, I passed mine along to my bestie who had heard me talk so much about this book as it's a great read! If you enjoy Mary Tyler Moore as much as Jon Paul and I do, then you will love his references even more! Find out about his book tour as well as his interesting comments via his blog Alphabet City Blog which reads the same way as his book as well as having quotes from the book in it!

Yes I may be an NYC girl, but originally (and if you checked my Tweet this morning @Cocoaebe) you would find that I am from Indiana. Born in a medium sized town and at the age of 8 moved to Indianapolis! Oh yes and then I went to college at Indiana University, decided that I would head east as my mom moved back to Jersey and here I am a NYC girl. That is some serious traveling and I have never had a cute Indiana shirt except for the ones that I wore for college!

Now I am all about graphic tees - look at my drawer and you know that when I am not in something else, I am in this and I am happier dressed like this. But Festa has taken my love for graphic tees to an entirely different level. They know how to make you look cute while you "rep" your area and they have such a variety that you will start to snag more than just where you're from. With Fashion Week coming and knowing I will attend every show known to man, I am going to need comfy clothes to relax in!

If I posted every shirt that reflects where I am, it would take all day but know that you have a new fan that will be doing quite a bit of shopping on this site. Definitely support this and look for your area! You know I love it when I have two Fashionable Fridays posts in one day!