Oh Brother...

If I could compare my brother and myself to a body of water, I would be that bubbling brook that is bumping, jumping, and bouncing over rocks and trees at lighting speed and seems to be going in every different direction at once. They are the ones that go flying over ledges and make beautiful waterfalls only to crash and burn on rocks below. My brother is my opposite. He is the ocean, calm, predictable as the tide, rarely ruffled, even keel, and magnificent. Ten years separate us, he is ten years my junior and as time has passed the tides have shifted. Growing up he was always wanted to do whatever I did, go wherever I went and hang out with my friends. He looked up to me and I adored him more than anything. Now at over six feet tall and almost 18-years-old I literally look up to him! Daniel is a wonderful young man. Shy, quiet, kind, loyal, loving, and crazy smart! He plays baseball like a pro, holds a 4.0 going into his senior year of high school after taking nothing but AP and Honors classes, and he is still the best brother a sister could ask for! It is fair to say I want to be like him when I grow up! Before school started he was able to come out and spend almost two weeks with us, it was a blast! The main event was the Yankees vs. Red Sox game that our parents treated us to. Daniel has always been crazy about the Yankees and although I am the New Yorker it has taken him some work to convert me to a Yankees fan...

The rest of his trip we spent playing video games, hanging out in the park, eating, and playing our childhood favorites: Uno, Backgammon, etc. I am terrified of being hit in the face with any sort of ball. I was hit in the eye as a child and have a deep respect for round things flying through the air at my face! Daniel is patient and after 12 years or so I have become decent at his favorite pastime...wiffle ball. I approach it more like swatting a fly and figure if I hit the ball with the bat then the ball cannot hit me in the eye....I get a lot of hits! I did not find out until later than all of the curve balls are saved for his brother-in-law and I get the nice slow pitches down the middle....I did not tell him that I played easy on him with Guitar Hero! ;)

Our tio (uncle) lives in NYC and is one of Daniel's favorite people! Devin had not been able to meet Tio yet and so we all met in Time Square for some shopping, dinner, and dessert. What a perfect afternoon!

Being so far away from my family is the only thing I still dislike about New York. It is times like these that get me through! Daniel was the first boy to ever steal my heart and although Devin came along and swept me off my feet, Daniel will always be my number one guy! I love Brother, thanks for being you and thanks for coming to visit!

"Bean"-There-Done-That: Bronxville

Today I found myself in my rain jacket and boots sloshing around Bronxville, NY in search of bakery and coffee shop for my weekly coffee date with myself! Something about the rain makes me crave  warm treats and drinks, even when it is still 78 degrees outside!!! I found my treat at Topps Bakery. After much deliberation I settled on their crumb bun and was not disappointed. I found myself chatting with a fellow photography lover and blogger named Tiffany who works there and has a photography blog at simplysnapshots.wordpress.com, check it out, she is a sweetheart and budding photographer with an artistic eye.

 A few doors down I found the Slave to the Grind coffee shop. Unassuming from the exterior and truly beautiful on the interior. This is not your polished-up, spick-and-span spot. Cluttered, old, cramped, and chaotic behind the counter, it is a true "hole-in-the-wall" delight!!! It has character, history, and age which gives it its rough beauty. I loved the chairs with the cappuccino cup cut from the metal back (you can see them in the pictures below).

The clientele was quite diverse. Young, old, preppy, punk, grungy, and businessy all mixed together. A gentleman was completing the last bit of color on a very impressive comic drawing he was working on. Two ladies with amazing British accents sat across from each other chatting intently about the latest sale on handbags at Bloomingdale's. The staff was less than warm and fuzzy with no eye contact and little more than, "that will be $4", but hey we're in New York! As for the coffee it is not for the faint of heart. In the words of my mother, "It is strong enough to put hair on your chest." I tend to like my espresso strong so I managed fine but just consider yourself warned if you like a more mild cup-o-joe. After some studying I headed back to the car and though I am still lamenting over the end of summer I could not resist jumping in a puddle with my rubber boots! It was a good day!

Vintage Fleas

Labor Day weekend some dear friends of ours invited us to a large flea market with them about an hour and a half north of NYC. Getting up so early on a Sunday morning was slightly painful but the drive was beautiful, the company superb, and the treasures many! Devin and I headed home with a carful!

Here is a list of our new antiques:

·         A chair from the 1920s

·         Vintage cut glass and silver pitcher

·         A telegram from the 30s

·         A pair of old spectacles

·         Dr Livingston’s – Explorations and Adventures in the Wilds of Africa

·         French Novel – 1869

·         The Complete School Algebra – 1894

·         A Bible from 1854

·         One of the first designs of combination locks

·         An old safety pin

·         Three booklets of ration stamps from the World Wars

·         An antique fire iron

·         A Newspaper – The New York Tribune from 1882

·         A page from a botanical book (Already framed for another project!) – 1880

·         A book of needles

·         Old postcards

·         A lantern

·         A 5-gallon water jug in crate – complete with 5 dead mice inside!!!!

I was so excited and have enjoyed finding places for our newfound treasures in our home. The mice were much less welcome and I have yet to take the bottle out with a hose and some bleach…sigh. Here are some close-up pictures of what we found.

The name flea mart has always given me the willies, so I opted to name it the vintage tag sale. While chattering to my mom the day before, she mixed the two and told me to enjoy the "vintage fleas!" After all of the amazing finds I am hooked…YAY for vintage fleas!!!

DIY 7 of 26: Never Left Hanging - T.P. holder

There is nothing worse than being over at someone's house and going to use the facilities, not realizing that there is no toilet paper until it is too late!!! I have a lovely little powder room with absolutely ZERO storage in it. So being I had to find a way to supply much needed TP for my guest without it being an eyesore. I thought you may like to make a TP holder of your own? It is quick (15mins), easy(it took 15mins, right?), and super cheap(about 3 dollars), here is how:

Supplies:

• Four rolls of toilet paper
• Four decorative papers
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Twine
• Clear packing tape

#1: Cut three pieces of twine, each about 6-7feet long. Knot the three pieces together at the top, then braid the entire length of the twine, knotting at the end as well.

#2: Cut the paper into strips, 2.75inches wide. Depending on the length of your paper and thickness of your toilet paper rolls you may have splice pieces together to make it long enough to wrap around the roll of T.P. and overlap about 0.5-1inch.

#3: On one end of the paper put a piece of packing tape lined up on the edge. Trim the extra off of the sides.

#4: On the other end place a piece of packing tape, cut narrower than the paper, half on and half off the paper.

#5: Wrap the paper around the T.P. roll and attach tape in the back. Place the piece of tape that is hanging off of the paper to the tape that is secured on the opposite end. This allows you to remove it and wrap another roll without ripping the paper!

#6: String the first roll on the twine like a bead.

#7: Bring the two ends of twine together and thread together through the center of the second, third, and forth rolls.

#8: Tie a bow at the top and hang from any hook or nail in the bathroom.

Here is how mine turned out...

Hope you enjoy this little project and never leave your guests hanging in the bathroom!

Farmer's Market Dinner

I have always wanted to be that “Saturday-morning-farmer’s-market” girl. This past weekend I finally did it. Devin and I were up and out early with our reusable grocery bag and spent the morning meandering around an adorable farmer’s market trying samples and planning dinner as we went.

We decided to purchase everything needed for a fresh dinner and what better meal to take advantage of the yummy breads, cheeses, veggies, and meat than grilled burgers with watermelon and fresh homemade lemonade! We bought a basil and garlic homemade soft cheese with pita chips for an appetizer then enjoyed fresh ground beef from an organic and biodynamic (sustainable) farm on our burgers. I made lemonade, something I remember my dad making every summer growing up. We purchased these adorable Mason jar cups with stainless steel straws and they were just perfect for lemonade and an outdoor dinner on the patio.

The burgers turned out perfect! With such yummy meat I am sure it was impossible to mess them up. We mixed in some spices, an egg white, and chopped up veggies (carrots, various sweet peppers, onion, and garlic) for flavor.  Probiotic latin spicy chili cheese, kosher dill pickles, and local produce made for a delectable summer feast! I had never seen tigerella tomatoes before but their unique flavor added so much. YUMMMMMYYYYY!!!!

It was a perfect summer day, let us enjoy them while they last, can you believe it is September already?! Sigh…Here is to all of us summer-lovin’ people!

"Bean"-There-Done-That: Pleasantville

My love of coffee and tea is no secret and so I have decided to turn this love affair into a blog feature. The plan: start in the center of a town, wander around until I find a “hole-in-the-wall” coffee shop or tea house and bakery, and then settle in for a bit. I am studying for some exams and figured this would provide the opportunity to study – away from laundry, dishes, and distractions – AND get the low-down on the ambiance, staff, and patronage of my newfound locale.

What better place to begin than the village of Pleasantville?! To my delight, Pleasantville was all that the name boasted…quite pleasant indeed! Keane’s Bakery provided me with a scrumptious raspberry turnover, and just a few doors down, “The Black Cow” lured me in. Quirky, eclectic, and friendly, the vibe was a mixture of quaint and funky. Jazz serenaded the young crowd that came and went and the staff was personable and knew most everyone that entered. As a stranger I was still greeted with a personal touch and the $3.00 large latte I ordered was one of the best I have encountered in some time. I did some writing and some studying and left refreshed and satisfied – a total first-try success!

My favorite element…each chair in the café was different!!! This is something I have always dreamed about doing in my own little café someday and to see it here, I felt like I was at home! Check out the pictures from the coffee shop…

 

I am so excited to get this feature started, look for some more small town discoveries soon...