Weekending it

Just catching-up here...I should have posted this yesterday.

This weekend my dear friend Stephanie was visiting us from Philly.  She had a four day weekend since the Pope's visit to Philadelphia was shutting down her place of employment.  She and I went to undergrad together at Cornell College in Iowa.  We were the star Stephanies of the history department.  She is finishing-up her dissertation at the University of Delaware (will defend this year) and ever since I moved to NYC six years ago she has come to visit at least once or twice a year.

Since we have kind of already done the touristy things together, this time we decided to go apple picking.  It was on Dan and my Fall Bucket list and I feared this was our only weekend it would work.  Fortunately, Stephanie was game.

We took the Metro-North train from Grand Central up to North Salem New York.  We went to the same orchard that Dan and I went to last year but this time we went during the peak of apple picking instead of at the dead end.  The place was packed with people and music and food and sunshine.  It was a perfect apple picking day.

Dan and I waited in line for grilled corn on the cob.  It's the only way I enjoy eating corn.  We also got hot from the fryer cider donuts.  Yum.

That night we took Stephanie to our local Indian restaurant and introduced Stephanie to the game Dix-it.

On Sunday, Dan and I did our regular church gig.  Whether it was my attitude, a miracle, or our new curriculum I don't know but my pre-k/kinder/first class went really well.  The kids were angels and I actually got the lesson across.  This success markedly improved my mood for the rest of the day.

We played games and watched movies the rest of the day.  The perfect way to spend Sunday afternoons.

That night we watched the lunar eclipse and failed to take good phone pictures of it (like everyone else) but it was pretty cool to see in person nonetheless.

Since Stephanie couldn't get back into Philadelphia over the weekend she stayed through Monday afternoon.  I took a vacation day from work and we enjoyed breakfast together and hitting major success at TJMaxx.

I had a nice time with my friend and sharing her company with Dan but after all the Pope hoopla and hosting, I am ready for a quiet week back with our normal routines.  

Rant follow-up, that whole Pope business

I apologize to my unplanned blog break.  Things have been busy. 

Friday was a wild day with the Pope coming to visit the museum.  As predicted, it was an epic waste of my time.  Here was my view of the Pope:

Oh you don't see him?  Yeah, me neither.

I slept terribly the night before because I am always paranoid about sleeping through alarms.

I got to lower Manhattan at 6 am and was posted at the meet-up location for staff, two blocks away from the memorial, until 1 pm.  My job was to provide back-up to my team captain in case she got called on the radio to go somewhere else.  I was to stay put.  So I sat, with the muffins and sandwiches, all.day.long.  It was freezing cold and unbelievably boring.  But I did see the sunrise which was pretty.

Fifteen minutes before the Pope arrived they radioed that all available staff could go through the security check points and onto the plaza to see his arrival.  I had no radio so I never received that message and my captain never passed that info along.  So I missed my chance.  My once in a lifetime chance.  Ultimate frown-y face.

I was disappointed and frustrated because I served no purpose whatsoever and I hate feeling like I wasted my time.  But I couldn't just get-up and leave.  Eventually, I made friends with the two cops posted in the same area.  I approached them because I thought they might be Secret Service and I wanted to meet them.  Turns out they were narcotics cops from Staten Island detailed to Pope duty with the rest of the NYPD.  I learned all about the drug market in Staten Island (you know, like how much heroine is going for) and all about how I could join the force (the police force, not the drug force).  They convinced me that with my educational background I could easily become an evidence cataloger, which actually sounds really intriguing to me.   I'll add that to my list of back-up careers behind ice cream scooper and laundry folder.  They also told me about a good place to get a burger in Bay Ridge.  Those guys were the best part of my day.

My good friend from undergrad, also named Stephanie, came into town on Thursday night so we enjoyed a fun weekend with her and that helped to clear my mind of my my Papal disappointment. Check back later to hear about our weekend adventures. 

Every Girl Link-up: Kitchen Coordinates

Guys, I was a hot second from not joining this link-up today.  Astleigh and Rachel's Every Girl Link-up today is Home DIY.  Honestly, we can't really take-on major DIY projects living in an apartment.  We don't have the space, the supplies, or the freedom to knock down a wall or build a table from scratch.   But, Astleigh shared a craft DIY, see it here and Rachel refurbished a table here.  So, I decided to resurrect a draft post about our kitchen decorations that I've been meaning to share for awhile and tweaked it for today.  

I really like clean, simple, and classic style (think neutral hues and elegance).  I love people who can pull that style off well, like Astleigh and Rachel.  But, alas, despite how much I like it, it's not mine. I need a little wild.  I'm not over the top rainbow and unicorns but I'm not smooth and mellow either.   My style is more like a fun and fancy free with a little bit of bold pops and touches of cute and whimsy (to me, cute means hedgehogs and flower hair accessories.  Whimsy means twinkly lights and scented candles).  Dan just lets me do whatever I want and he seems to like it.

I decided with our kitchen if I picked three bold colors I could do a lot.  When you pick bold colors and an assorted style it's easier to get away with mixing and matching (this is just my theory I really have no authority to discuss style).   The pots and pans that I got as wedding gifts are Rachel Ray and have orange handles so I decided on orange, plum purple, and Fiestaware turquoise as our kitchen colors.  We got a paint color to match the turquoise and painted my old counter height table and stools when we first moved in. 

See that beautiful runner?  I made it.  I've talked about it before. It was my first ever sewing project on the machine.  Thank the Lord that cousins Kourtney and Kaleigh were staying with us at a time when I tried to use said machine.  They gave me so many great tips and pointers.  Let's face it, they pretty much made it.  I had the idea and did the cutting.

The runner is reversible.  I picked two fabrics, one with a chevron pattern in orange to match our chair cushions and one in a turquoise more busy pattern.  Mandy told me the best way to mix patterns is to pick one geometric pattern (like chevron, stripes, polka dots) and one floral or busy pattern.  With two contrasting patterns and colors I chose the plum purple to be the solid that pulls them together.  I got a stripe wall decal in purple that I put on the wall below the cabinets as a faux back-splash.  You can see it best in the photo below.  The decal has held-up really well.  

I flipped the table runner over for fall.  Because pumpkins are orange and orange equals fall right? 

I used the extra fabric I had to make a fun bunting for the kitchen to hang from the walls.  I mentioned this project back here.  Kourtney made the first one, thankfully, as I would have likely destroyed the sewing machine out of rage. 

I made the bunting and runner in April and cut the fabric for the tablecloth and then just stopped.  I finished the matching tablecloth this summer.  Right now I have a fall tablecloth on the table.  

Oh, and remember how Mandy made my feltie flower shadow boxes to match?  They are hanging above the table on the wall.  She has an adorable listing in her shop of something similar here.  Get it before I do.

None of this is perfect, in fact FAR from it but the point is I finished it and no human, husband, or sewing machine was killed in the process.  It's a unique look, it fits my style, and I'm trying my darnedest to be happy with who I am and what I have.  Be Your Own Rainbow.

Rant

With so many unofficial false starts, there is no denying it now.  Fall is here.

Boo.

Also, in case you didn't know, the Pope is coming to New York City.  If you didn't hear that you must be a rock because it is literally the only thing anyone can talk about right now.  Truly.

And, yes, he is coming to the museum and no I will not see him.  Lucky me, I have to be at work at 6:30 AM on Friday and I will be posted three blocks away in a staff food tent during his entire stay.  I will see NOTHING.  Typical waste of my time. Oh but I do love all of the exhausting anxiety dreams I've been having this week about being late, running through the city streets trying to make it to my post before the secret service locks down the area, accidentally wearing jeans and a t-shirt instead of something professional and respectful.  Why do I even care?  I'll be babysitting sandwiches all day. 

Okay, rant over.  I'm mostly just upset that fall is here and it's Wednesday...the next worst day next to Monday.

Weekending it

Saturday the plan was to get on the Long Island Rail Road and join a few of my friends from grad school at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay.  Despite having lived here for six years, it was my first time to Long Island.  It's quite gorgeous...made me feel very "Great Gatsby."

Sagamore Hill is the home and museum of Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt.  It is a historic house and grounds, with a museum, trails, and a little beach.  We got there at noon and were surprised to discover all the house tours were sold-out until the 4 pm slot. We decided that since we had made the journey out there we might as well stay for the tour.

To kill the four hours we had before the tour, we took our picnic lunch to the beach by the bay.  The weather was still lovely and summery with some big heat from the sun.

The marshy area out to the beach was filled with oysters...mostly all dead.  But wow!

Rather than smooth sand it was a pebble beach.  Dan and I skipped rocks and I collected a few shells.

After we tired of the beach we went to the museum and learned all about Teddy.  Something I didn't know was that Teddy was Governor of New York but some politicians didn't like how progressive he was so as a way of booting him out of office they nominated him for the Vice Presidency under McKinley, because that position had little influence.  Well, after McKinley was assassinated, Roosevelt became President.  That's a pretty big backfire. 

For only living to the age of 60, Roosevelt did SO much.  A firecracker, for sure.  Oh, and side note for Jessy and Mandy:  They mentioned that Roosevelt regularly visited with News Boys.  Sadly, no mention of our Cowboy. 

Then we just sat around until tour time.  Dan and I got one of these National Parks Passports which you get stamped at National Park locations.  Seemed like another fun way to document our adventures.  Too bad we didn't have one back during our Philly trip.

At four, we headed to the house for the tour.  Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside the house but it was pretty amazing.  Roosevelt died in the house at the age of 60 in 1919.  His wife remained at the residence until her death.  In the 1960s it was taken over by the National Park Service.  This past summer the house reopened to the public following three years worth of restorations.

The house has 23 rooms left relatively untouched with most of the original furnishings, books, animals skin rugs, trophy taxidermy, and other possessions owned by Roosevelt and his family.  Here is a NYT article which includes photos.  

The day ended up being much longer than we had planned but we had a great time.  We got Shake Shack for dinner back in Brooklyn before heading home. 

As for Sunday, no comment.  It was a pretty miserable day for both of us.

And now we are back to another moody Monday. 

Peeks from the Week

Happy Friday!!  Did you know it is the last official weekend of summer?  Summer doesn't end until September 22nd but, obviously, people have been on the fall kick for like a month.

This week was pretty busy.  Monday brought our first real weather drop and it did feel like fall.  Fortunately, we picked-up a heat wave and are still riding it through the weekend.  Hello 87, I love you.

One thing I have really loved this summer is going outside to eat my lunch.  My office is right next to a beautiful promenade in Battery Park City.  Sunnies do wonders for my mood and soul.  I will miss these views when the weather forces me indoors shortly.  

Monday night was my first night back at tap class.  I didn't participate in the summer season because - laziness.

This is the ultimate cheese face...just keeping it real, no beauty queens here.  This is my 4th season of tap and I'm not so bad anymore!  After taking nearly three months off I picked-up everything right away and remembered all the warm-up dances.  Woot!

Tuesday night we went to friend's house and had L&B Spumoni Garden pizza.  Apparently it's really popular and we enjoyed the unique Sicilian style slices.  They got it for take-out and we played Long Shot.

Wednesday night, Dan and I watched a crime thriller called The Factory starring John Cusak.  There was an epic twist that neither of us were expecting.  Great movie in our opinion.  It's on Netflix.

Last night we had a friend over for a combo dinner and meeting to discuss the pre-k/kindergarten Sunday school class.  I made German pancakes again...because it's easy and a crowd pleaser.

Yay for Friday!!  Plans for the weekend: crafting, going to Sagamore Hill (Teddy Roosevelt home and museum), and baking...oh and the usual weekend shindigs. 

Says the Camel to the Hedgehog: Napkin Notes

People, I am not a pack-rat or a hoarder.  In fact, I get a high off of throwing things away and de-cluttering.  But sentimental things...I have a problem.

Even when I was a kid I had a shoe box under my bed where I kept special things that I didn't want lost or tossed.  In the dining room of our childhood home, Mandy and I each picked a cabinet in the hutch and called them our "special drawers."  It's where we kept projects, crafts, and other things that we felt attached to.  Mostly all small things.  We had a thing for small stuff.  Other people would call those cabinets "junk drawers."  Anyways, they are empty now.  Unprotected since my sister and I moved out, they became victims to my Dad's toss-it habit.  It's ok, we managed to salvage many of our favorite toys in a plastic tub in the basement clearly labeled "DO NOT THROW AWAY."  The tub contains our original Polly Pocket collection.  The legit Polly Pockets that actually fit in your pocket.  This collection is our future children's college fund.

But still, I have photo boxes now, six to be exact, that store old cards, notes, ticket stubs, and other knick-knacks.  Two of the boxes are Dan's where I stashed all his special things when we moved into the apartment together.  Another two are filled with treasures from our relationship.  Playbills, cards, tiny things to remember our adventures together, and now napkin notes.

I have three Ziploc bags filled tightly with old paper napkins.  Since Dan started stashing these notes in my lunches most days I couldn't part with them.  I kind of cringe thinking about how I am keeping these.  But they are so sentimental.  In my often fatalistic track of mind, I fear some day these napkins will be all I have to hold onto of those special moments.  So I hoard them.

I have shared past notes here and here.  This next batch is pretty creative and clever.

This one is my favorite.  Look at the cute scraggly camel.  "Hope you have a humpilicious day.  Says the camel to the hedgehog."  Obviously, that note was in my lunch on a Wednesday, hump day.

I mean, would you be able to throw these treasures away?  They are historically significant.  Researchers of the future will need these to write a thesis about the lost art of napkin notes.

Thank you Buddy, for loving on me in such sweet and sentimental ways.