kids love me.

april 30, 2008 - my nephew brody turns 5 and i am officially WAY older than i like! brody is one of my top 5 favorite people, he is blessed with a sense of humor and is oddly tall for his age...he is the boy version of me at 5! so to mark his official i'm-a-big-kid-i-can-ride-a-bike-and-go-to-school birthday, i promised to make anything he wanted for a cake (last year i made mater from cars the movie and the year before a monkey...so, he shoots high!) he chose the mystery machine from scooby doo which is his major obsession. i hobbled around the kitchen and made this even though it was not gluten-free (i accidentally had a bite) and the temperature was not conducive to frosting, here are some pictures which count as my application for ace of cakes boot camp...i need to learn some real skills, but for now i kinda fake it!

[photo by kristy for thingsihearttoday]

shocker.

i went to new york and all i got was this f-ing tetanus shot!

i'll admit that everything was fun until my foot swelled up and i had to drive home...i am off from work and sitting around with my foot elevated, not feeling so creative though...i'll try again tomorrow.

[photo by kristy for thingsihearttoday]

happy friday.

last thoughts on my trip to nyc, some of my favorite sightings from yesterday:

(strawberry sabayon from last nights AMAZING dinner, courtesy of pete)

(check memo...suberbad)

(my new ride - I WISH! not enough quarters to take it for a spin though.)

(how sweet is this? not my car, but you know i don't live here so that would be pretty great if it was...i like that this bouquet also has sticks in it with the flowers, nice touch.)

last night.

so this is late, and so it is really last-last night, BUT i had an eventful day in various burroughs. to start off after the hammock latte, my friend brandi and i biked through park slope to the botanical gardens (beauty.) and then biked home through the park. then i jetted to astoria to get ready for a silly alumni event for bennington at the new museum. thank gawd for free wine! good to see some people though. then as soon as we had exhausted our wine limit, we cabbed over to hi-fi in alphabet city for drinks...only to cab to astoria at the end of the night. here are some images from my day...when i was brave enough to not care that taking pictures makes me look like a tourist...something i would have made fun of when i lived here!

(@the new museum)

(the taco joint...dinner)

(i'm sorry, i was @ hi-fi and this was on the wall, i unfortunately do not know the artist)

no sleep till...

brooklyn! i'm finally here and enjoying the amazing weather that new york has to offer today. i spent the morning in a hammock sipping a latte made with almond milk, which i recommend highly as a way to start your day! today as i fail to motivate early, i can't decide whether to walk around and enjoy the sunshine on my vacation or go check out the murakami show that is just across the park. either way, have a lovely day and enjoy some views from this morning in the backyard.

laugh out loud.

ok, so i am packing for my trip to NYC (!) and have major ADD...please enjoy something fun while i figure out how much luggage is excessive for a 5 day tour!

reminder.

don't forget about use your words! day 20 and going strong.

sunday cocktail.

with the sun out and warm weather creeping in, it feels like a summer preview has begun in the east...i am relishing these last days before the spring rain starts (cross your fingers & maybe it won't!). so here is the new cocktail that i am dying to try, hopefully i'll get my paws around one this week while i am off from work and in new york city. i saw it on a reality show and props to bethenny for inventing a genius concoction - behold, the...

skinny girl margarita

* 2 oz of clear Tequila (100% agave, Patron Silver)
* (count 1, 2 while you pour, no need for measuring)
* A splash of fresh lime juice
* A splash of Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Triple Sec

serve on the rocks and garnish with a lime and a salt/sugar mix...YUM.

[recipe via bethanybakes]

school's out.

it was too sunny outside today for me to focus now...school for me is out for one week, next week i am off to new york city for a few days and i have a weekend ahead of me to post all the lovely things i found online this week and all the things i didn't do last weekend while under the weather. get outside and enjoy the sunshine, happy friday!

dinner.

ok, so i swear that this is not a food blog! BUT i am obsessed with avocados this week, i think it's the spring fever setting in, i want salad & salsa & sunshine - oh my! so tonight i made a simple fork-mashed guacamole, stirred in a little salsa and topped with 2 poached eggs, cilantro and a dash of hot sauce...one word - YUM. i am still struggling with my sinus problems and i'm about 2 minutes away from completely losing my voice, so pardon the skinny posts this week as i rebuild my immunity;)

hump day.

"rollercoaster" by c.a.

so today was the much anticipated art show! all went well and i am exhausted, but i had to share my favorite piece of the show by one of the little ones at school. PLUS, i am happy to report that my camera is safe and working well...it survived the purse flood of '08! happy hump day everyone.

homework.

so, tomorrow is the art show that the pre-school kids (under my direction) have been working towards. so far between the two age groups we have studied (minus the few i'm blanking on!) : van gogh, seurat, matisse, calder, michelangelo, o'keefe, AND warhol! the last was inserted by me in lieu of mary cassat (apologies to mothers & children worldwide) and while researching him this evening for my opening blurbs, i found the following nugget of warhol philosophy from – The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: (From A to B and Back Again), 1975...i HAD to share.

"What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca Cola, too. A coke is a coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it." ~ Andy Warhol

ok, so, um.

today has been a pretty ridiculous day, but in trying to turn my frown up-side-down...i leave you with nice thoughts and some pics i quite enjoy which are discards from use your words. have a good evening;)

"be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still."

~ Chinese Proverb

"if we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves."
~ Maria Edgeworth

"the world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning."
~ Ivy Baker Priest

YUM.

this is my evening snack today...luckily i remembered the avocado on my shelf, i am notorious for forgetting about things left on the counter until after they have passed their prime. and these grape tomatoes have been my staple for a week, thank goodness the tastes of spring are returning to my fridge!

listen up.

ok, this is from perez a.k.a music tipster! one of my favorite songs covered by two of my favorite girls, close your eyes & enjoy the watson twins doing the cure's just like heaven...

pizza pie.

YUM. today i was wondering what to have for dinner. i picked up a gluten free rice crust pizza at the market earlier in the day - plain cheese - so i raided the fridge to see what i could pile on top for goodies. the decision: lotsa sweet onions, garlic, red & orange bell peppers AND bacon! i cooked up the bacon first and then added the veggies along with some red pepper flakes (note! i would drain some of the bacon fat before adding the veggies next time, this time i ended up putting the veggies on a paper towel to drain after they were completely cooked). i cooked up my frozen gluten-free delight and then piled the bacon & veg on top - watch out, you may become addicted to this! the good news is that i have plenty of leftovers and what i don't put on pizza, i will mix into some brown rice that i cooked up in some vegetable broth while i was standing at the stove anyway. happy weekend everyone :)

snack of the day.

this is my new favorite salty indulgence: corn nuts! who knew? my mom and i were perusing the natural food aisles at our market today and this was in the serve-yourself-pour-in-bulk section. we opened them up on the trip home and had to FORCE ourselves to close the bag up! it's like eating fritos without the guilt that happens when you dig your salt covered paw back into the chip bag for another and it has the crunch of, well, a baked corn kernel. i had my salt intake for the week within minutes, and i am more than ready for more...

sweet dreams.

"creativity is a drug i cannot live without."
-- cecil b. demille

it is friday and as i count down the minutes to sleepytime, i will be dreaming tonight of a better organized room/life, items checked off my to-do list, a sewing project to be started AND finished, a new recipe tackled (if i can find the secret ingredient!), a book finished, another scarf made (i have plans for the yarn above!) and some quality time without an alarm clock set. i am very excited to work on some projects this weekend (picture of materials over at use your words), so check back next week for some pics of the results...or the top 3 reasons why i ran out of time! have a great weekend, i hope it's not raining wherever you are :)

listen up.

i was tipped off to this new tune by sera, previously known as my technical guru, who is now also my musical director! upon first listen i thought, this song is like standing in sunny summer rain and not caring about about anything except finding where the rainbow in the sky is.

it's like kites and pier fries and first kisses. i officially adore it, take a listen & enjoy lykke li.

g'night.

olaf night owl




orson night owl

alright, so there is a little boy at the pre-school where i work who is just the cutest thing i have ever seen. he is also up for adoption and i (having my angie/madge moment) would like to adopt him. my friends and family think i'm cuckoo, i do not care, i cannot let this go...the only setback(s) are: i have major debt, i live with my parents, i'm 28 & single...not the ripe candidate, but i am just going to keep putting it out into the universe and hope that someday i will bring him to a real home and on that day i will give him a goodnight owl...i just can't decide between olaf and orson! you can find either of them and their friends here.

[images via rabbitsmoon]

killer.

well, now i have your attention! that's what i thought when i saw this and then when i clicked through...it got even BETTER!

it's a bouquet.
wow. this is JUST top, top, top! (to quote jaime oliver) this faster pussycat kill! kill! lunch box comes filled with a dozen roses & 6 mini gerber daisies, how cool? i know someone (ok, sera, it's you!) that would appreciate this WAY more than tulips, plain roses or a frickin' orchid (mine is doing much better for you concerned regulars!). shipping on these charming fleurs is tricky so check out hunter moon design's profile for info.

[images via huntermoondesigns]

j' adore.

checking out pickypicky's shop on etsy gives me one feeling - love, love! i love her french charm jewels (especially the non ring!). i am also just laughing over the name of her golden banana necklace - velvet underground & andy warhol are jealous of your banana pendant necklace - how great? you can also find pics of her work here and the sweet deerhead reminds me of a tiny deerhead christmas vase that i won on ebay a year ago (i will try to sneak into storage to share it with you because it is share-worthy!). so enjoy these sweet treats today, (sorry i was missing yesterday!).

[images via pickypicky]