Blogger's Favorites -- Ashley and Aron of Hither & Thither

image of aron and ashley's apartment via jane

{First up the winner of the hello splendor necklace giveaway -- congrats Danielle!}

This week marks my first ever "his and her" blogger's favorites list (stay tuned for a couple more of these in the future), and I couldn't be more excited, as the authors, Ashley and Aron, are passionate travellers, consummate foodies... and well, a completely lovely and inspiring couple.

It's altogether possible that I'm a little bit (ok a lot) addicted to their blog, hither & thither, which chronicles (in their words) "musings on travel, food, design, inspiration, and navigating life in New York City." I love peeking into their world via their dual perspectives. It's completely fantastic really...

So without further ado, we'll kick things off with Ashley's favorites... Enjoy!

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As others have attested, narrowing down a list of favorites is surprisingly difficult. (Though please do note that I did slightly better than Aron—we were shooting for just ten between the two of us! Okay, only slightly.) His noble addition of “scrubbing in for surgery,” and my much less noble “Romantic comedies with that handsome devil, Hugh Grant,” just couldn’t make the cut this time ‘round—honest as both may be.

We had a lot of fun coming up with these, Joslyn. Revealing our answers to the other was a treat in its own right, but mostly we’re incredibly flattered to have been invited to share! Thank you!



Sharing a meal at Diner: Set in an old street car under the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn, this restaurant is the epitome of the great food we have found in the city. It’s all about locavore, New American Seasonal cooking, in this cool, casual setting. It’s far from the only place with this angle, but the folks behind Diner and Marlow & Sons do it so well. The menu changes daily, and is scribbled on the table. The only constant is the grass-fed burger (which also happens to be the best I’ve ever tasted).


Salty-sweet: Case-in-point: the sea-salt caramel and chocolate pie at Marlow & Sons. But salty-sweet is the best. Things that combine peanut-butter and chocolate are big winners, as is caramel popcorn. I have a major sweet tooth, so I’m actually not too picky when it comes to dessert. And in the mostly-sweet category, I’d add Key Lime Pie, Cookie Dough, Vanilla cupcakes, Pistachio Gelato, Berry crumble, Tarte Tatin, See’s Butterscotch squares, Bananas Foster... Okay, somebody stop me. {photo by Andre Baranowski, via Saveur}


Watching the CBS Sunday morning show: From bed. Pre-brunch. It’s the closest thing television has to This American Life, and I find myself thinking about the stories again and again throughout the week. But this is just one example of my true favorite: well-told stories. {photo of Mo Rocca, via CBSnews.com}

Summer: Which used to mean vacation, but now means, primarily, eating outside on hot nights (preferably with candle light and/or twinkle lights)--and hot nights are tops with me. Summer also includes that earthy, peppery smell of vine-ripened cherry tomatoes (they taste good, too), drinking Rosé, long days, swimming, and simple clothing.

Traveling: I tried to come up with a less obvious, umbrella term, but traveling is really one of my favorite things of all. I am always planning the next trip. There are those places and those moments that stand out, but I have to say that the act of traveling itself is really the best. (It probably doesn’t hurt that it’s also tied to the more simple pleasure of vacation.) And while “traveling” really means new places and being out of my routine element, it also includes the journey (road trips and train rides and walking, in particular). Caveat: I’m not as happy as a solo-traveler as I probably should be. I prefer to share the experience with others (one “other” in particular). Which brings me to…

Aron: Also a bit obvious, but he’s the most constant favorite of all.
I feel like so many of the things I like best about my life and even about myself are thanks to or have somehow been enhanced by him. He’s my best friend and I just can’t get enough of him—even after ten years. Bad joke? He’s tall, doc, and handsome.



And now for Aron's list...

Seeing a crowd around a street food cart: There’s a lot to like about food-- it can be artful, it can be creative and inventive. But one of the things I like the best is that it can give insight into a culture. To this end, perhaps my favorite discoveries are those delicious dishes made on the street. One of my favorites involved finding a man in Thailand--on our honeymoon--who, with artful flips of his wrist, made a rice-based crepe that he then pan-fried with bananas and palm sugar.

A camera: It helps me see beauty in so many things.

Setting off on a trip: The feeling of being pushed back into your chair as an airplane accelerates to take off…There is such excitement at the start to a new trip; I don't even mind folding my 6'8" frame into the ridiculously small airplane seats.

Breathing underwater, swimming with fish: Pretty much anytime I can get under the water I'm in heaven. I spent a year studying abroad in Australia and was underwater--snorkeling or SCUBA diving every chance I could get. The Great Barrier Reef was amazing, of course, but I also really loved diving in the freezing water south of Tasmania and in the waters around Sydney. Fortunately, Ashley shares my interest, so we tend to make this a part of our ongoing explorations. Sometimes I think I could just float watching the life below me for hours.

Home: New York City, but also our tiny apartment. I was at first nervous about moving to the city and into an apartment three times smaller than our last place. Work can be stressful and the city can be crazy, but coming home to our space is like taking a deep breath (thanks to Ashley).

Using "shortest distance" GPS feature on a road trip: It is almost never a freeway or the fastest way, but it's almost always the best way.

Ashley: I can't help but mention her. The list would be glaringly incomplete without her, and she was the first, second, and third thing I thought of for this list.