Weekend in Reveiw Vol.#4- Meeting the newest family member + NYC

This past weekend was really nice! I was able to meet the newest little family member (baby Jaydin) who is a little over a month old now and SO adorable! I also made a quick trip to NYC and did a little browsing (while my brother was auditioning). It was such a beautiful night in New York yesterday, you almost didn't need a jacket...

The holiday lights were draped on the tree lined streets and it seems everyone is starting (or possibly finishing) their holiday shopping already! In passing, I heard a few people saying that they've finished their shopping and I can't even fathom that idea, because I haven't even started! Although, there won't be much shopping for me this season, but I will be doing a little something *wink*. Have any of you finished your holiday shopping yet? I often wonder how early people start!?!

I stopped at Paper Presentation (which is one of my favorite stationery stores in NYC) where I picked up a few novelty pieces of decorative paper. While I was there, I also discovered a new stationery line that I'd never heard of before; Bonnie Marcus Collection- Where Fashion Meets Paper. I love her style- where she combines fashion illustration with stationery for all occasions! Check out some of her collections if you haven't already!

And lastly, the view of the Empire State building from 18th st. & 5th ave. was beautiful (in honor of Veterans Day). I hope you all enjoyed your weekend too! xo


Photos taken by: Wahkuna

Weekend in Review Vol.#2- Halloween weekend in NYC

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend and if you were as lucky as me to get stuck in the snow storm of October 2011, I hope you were safe and didn't lose power! I can definitely say I wasn't prepared for the snow that hit the north east this weekend, however I survived nonetheless, and still made it to the Halloween party! It was a great weekend, full of quality girl time with my good friend and fashion stylist Tiffani, of Accidental Chic. On Saturday (the day of the storm) we lounged around with a hot cup of tea and scoured through a bunch of her great magazines for new inspiration, before heading out that night to a Halloween party that our friends were having in Brooklyn. On Sunday, I had lunch at Chocolate by the Bald Man in Union Square (best place for all of you chocoholics!) followed up by drinks at Heartland Brewery to cap off a great weekend! So all in all, it was a good time! Happy Halloween! xo

 photo taken by; Brad Johansen-Pirates of Brooklyn

Photos taken by Wahkuna (unless otherwise mentioned above)

A diamond in the rough...

 Living in a bustling city like New York definitely has it's pros, like the fact that you can always order-in no matter how late (or early) it is. The nearest "Bodega" or (corner store as we call it), is never further than your nearest corner, for all of those household emergencies, at any hour. But most importantly the best shopping & inspiration you'll find around. I love to wonder the streets of NYC in search of a new gem, a place that is bursting with culture and history. A place like Tinsel Trading Company! This store is one of THEE places to visit for vintage trims, treasures and notions! It's unbelievable and the story behind it is even better. Check out the book dedicated to the finds from this lovely place and if you're ever in the area (37th St. between 5th & 6th ave.) stop in for endless inspiration and lots of new possibilities! It's a crafter's oasis!

I've heard that this shop is one of Martha Stewart's favorite places...and I can totally understand why. I'm so very thankful that my job is literally down the street and around the corner. If I'm in the mood for an inspiring lunch break, I just walk on over and I'm in paradise! :-)

(Images; vintage spools of thread-www.suchprettythings.typepad.com; outside image of shop-www.knityoursocksoff.blogspot.com; flowers-www.colettepatterns.com; book-french general  )

Bringing in 2011!

Happy New Year to all!

It's about that time again, we're out with the old and in with the new! I hope you all enjoyed your NYE festivities! We kept it low key this year, but enjoyed ours very much. There were dinner reservations at 9:30pm, the food and service was excellent and we were home by 11:15pm. We turned on Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve celebration and watched the ball drop in the comfort of our own home with a bottle of beer and a glass of wine. It was simple, yet fun and we enjoyed every minute of it!

So now it's on to a new year, new possibilities and new goals ahead. I have many things I'd like to accomplish this year, but I'm going for a simpler/smarter approach. I want to do what I say and not just say what I want to do (as I have in years past). This will be the year of talking the talk, walking the walk and putting the money where your mouth is (so to speak). I have a few important resolutions, but I will keep them to myself and with each passing day of 2011, I hope to prove to myself, silently, that all things are possible and will be achieved.

I'm wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! Live, Laugh & Love often but most importantly, cherish the moments that matter most, the small ones, the everyday ones!

That's all for now, enjoy the rest of your weekend...be back soon. ;-)

Fall in the City

Its officially Fall in the city and I'm loving every minute of it. The weather is not too hot and not too cold, it's just right :-). Humid days are now few and far between and the two block walk from Penn Station to the office is much more comfortable. Leaves are changing color, the boots are coming out and pumpkin coffee is back at Starbucks, these are signs of the change in season.

There are many things I love about this season, but one of the main things is how apples are ripe for the pickin' and there's so many things you can make with them! Since I was a little girl, apple pie has been a fall staple in the family. It was my grandfather's favorite and he always relied on my mom to make it from scratch. She's what I call the Apple Pie Pro, she even makes her own crust, its delicious! So naturally I learned to make this tasty treat and for me, it's never really fall until I've made my first pie of the season!

Unfortunately life has been so hectic lately, that I haven't had much time for baking, but I did manage to sneak in a little Apple Crisp yesterday in honor of the season and Football Sunday. What I like about apple crisp is that it only takes 1/2 the work of an apple pie, still smells the same and contains all the yummy flavors. It's almost like apple pie cheating...who knew it would be so sweet!

So with all of this talk of yummy goodness, I'd like to share my tried and true recipe for Apple Crisp. It's simple, quick and tasty, so there's no excuse, you MUST try it!

*this is a picture of only half a recipe baked in an 8x8 pan*

Apple Crisp II

(All Recipes "Tried & True Favorites" cookbook www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

10 cups thinly sliced apples

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup water

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13" pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.

3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.

4. Back at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

Serve warm

Suggested toppings- Vanilla Ice Cream (preferably Vanilla Bean *smile*) or a dollop of Cool Whip.

(I apologize for the picture, but we were so excited to dig in, that I forgot to take a picture of the whole crisp once it came out of the oven!! Ooops!) Enjoy!

What are your favorite fall recipes? I would love to hear about them, I'm always looking for new recipes to try!

A Crop Weekend!

This weekend I attended 2 crops which were back to back Friday night and Saturday night! They were the first crops I've ever attended and very amazing might I add! I met some WONDERFUL women and enjoyed every minute of it!!! I will definitely be attending again!

The crop I attended Friday night was sponsored by The Manhattan Scrapbooking Meetup Group, which I'm a member of (http://www.meetup.com/Manhattan-Scrapbookers). The organizer is Cheryl and she is an amazing woman! Very talented and very sweet! It was a very welcoming and friendly atmosphere, not to mention a very inspiring group! I will definitely be attending more throughout the year!

The Saturday night crop was held at Portrait Bug, a brand new scrapbooking store on the Upper West side of Manhattan @ 92nd & Broadway (http://www.portraitbug.com/).
The store is great, there's lots of really cool scrapbooking supplies and they had a whole tool bar setup that we could use to help create our LO's or cards. The snacks were really yummy too! I highly recommend you attend one if your into scrapbooking or paper crafting. I promise you won't be disappointed! :-)

I wish I had some pictures to share, but unfortunately my camera was not cooperating this weekend! Oh well...there's always next time! ;-)