We’re a week into November but I still have some goodies to share from last month. I spent most of October in New York City, working during the week and playing on weekends (and attending the theater most nights). I’ve already shared some of my adventures so I’ll mention those briefly first…

My dad’s birthday provided the perfect excuse to take a day off and drive through the prettiest parts of Connecticut in search of lush fall foliage. Check out our Leaf Peeping Road Trip:

I took a day trip to the village of Sleepy Hollow (near Tarrytown, New York) and soaked up the ambiance of Halloween and crimson foliage. This place is a stunner:

A few weeks ago my family went apple and pumpkin picking at Lyman Orchards in Connecticut — quintessential fall highlights:

My sister threw a monster bash of a Halloween party at her New Haven apartment. Check out the spooky decor and fun costumes — my favorites are Leslie Knope and Ruth “Baby” Ginsberg:

And my sister and I recently stopped by the Peabody Museum in New Haven — we admired their famous dinosaur exhibit and especially the gems and minerals display. Of course we got pizza, too, because when in Rome…

Now let’s move onto the things I haven’t shared yet…

I went on a few local walks in Connecticut. One took me by the Choate Rosemary Hall football field during practice:

My hometown church honored the hilarious and super kind Mr. Marquardt, who has been teaching 4th grade Sunday School for 40 years. I was in his class in 1994! In high school he used to bring me his wife’s copy of Soap Opera Digest every Sunday; I would hide it inside my Bible and sneakily read it throughout the service. The church put together a lovely surprise tribute in his honor and I am so glad I could be there to say congratulations in person.

Photo taken on a walk with my parents along Tyler Mill Road in Wallingford:

Visiting my sweet Grandma:

Autumnal views from our windows:

That wraps up the Connecticut portion of my month; on to New York!

I spent the month at my friend Jacquie’s apartment in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. She had just moved into this giant space and she’s since decorated it beautifully — I snapped these photos early on. I am lucky to have stayed here.

Drinks with my month-long roommates, Jacquie and Christina, on my last night — I miss them already!

I do not miss the subway commute, however — NYC’s public transit leaves me puzzled. I’ve been on metros in so many other big cities around the world that are much more efficient. The trains here are overcrowded and infrequent, plus I routinely encounter crazies on my ride home.

On the morning before I departed for Sleepy Hollow, I walked around Bushwick a bit.

This is Little Skips, a hipster coffee joint not too far from where I was staying.

I got the maple latte… yum.

View from the subway platform at Myrtle Ave.

Another Sunday morning I meandered around Brooklyn, logging many miles. This borough is huge and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the various neighborhoods here.

Pizza at Roberta’s in Bushwick! Beyonce, Jay Z, and the Clintons have all eaten here.

I went with my friend and co-worker Sabrina and we almost made the mistake of waiting for a table… but there is a trick to avoiding the hour-long wait! Place your order at the take out counter and it will be ready in 10 minutes, then bring your pizza to the picnic tables by the bar.

Other meals from October… I ate way too many times from the hot foods counter at Brooklyn Fare in midtown, right near our rehearsal space for The Wiz Live. They have an array of very tasty veggies and meats; you can select your favorite three items and they’ll box them up for around $11. I also ate at Burgers & Cupcakes one evening (I got a chicken dish, go figure). And Glaze Teriyaki in mid-town between shows on a Sunday. And I ordered the oddest combination at The Grey Dog one night — sautéed kale and a pecan pie bar… I call it balance.

Twice this month I saw a photo on Instagram of a particular dish and then went out to try it on the weekend. Thank you, friends, for the recommendations!

First up: the perfect bowl of pasta at Vic’s — it’s called the Mafalde and it has caramelized onions, prosciutto, caraway, and nutmeg.

And then fig ice cream in a phyllo basket from Molyvos in midtown. YUM.

I stopped at Bibble & Sip in midtown for a caffeine fix before going to the theater. They have a great lavender latte, which I got iced. Their baked goods looked tempting but I’ll have to go back another time to try them.

I saw 14 shows between Sept. 29th and Oct. 29th — three on Broadway, eleven off-Broadway. I’ll write more about them next week, but here’s a preview:

I read and absolutely loved Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I’m currently almost done with the first book in the Outlander series and it’s just alright; I suspect I’ll like the TV show more.

My dear friend Tally from Australia was in NYC visiting with her boyfriend and parents!

It was such a treat to see them. Tally and I were roommates on our Morocco tour last year and hit it off. It was like no time had passed.

I spent one Saturday afternoon along the walking path by the Hudson River. The weather was perfect. I spotted these kayakers:

And it turns out it’s part of a free public kayaking program! If I lived in the city I would definitely take advantage of this.

Other miscellaneous photos from my walk…

This is an art installation by Ken Shih called Can Love Pervade Space?:

Lincoln Center by night:

One other weekend morning I got off the subway at Wall Street and found myself standing very close to the NY Stock Exchange:

But my real purpose was to visit the 9/11 Memorial, as I’d never been.

It’s pretty overwhelming to see it in person — the sheer scale of these two tower tributes is immense, as are the flood of memories that invariably creeps in as you walk around. I didn’t go inside the museum but it’s a point of interest for anyone visiting.

I’ll wrap up this post with a shot of my current location: glamorous Hicksville, Long Island! We’re out here rehearsing The Wiz Live which airs on NBC December 3rd. I’m really proud of this project.

I packed so much into October. Do you know what my plans are for this weekend? Absolutely nothing, outside of Netflix and Not Your Father’s Root Beer.

P.S. Iceland posts are coming soon!