Check out our new four legged friend! With some sanding, a few coats of stain and some shiny pulls, this beauty will look great in our master bedroom. And best of all, Tim and I won't have to share a dresser anymore. :)

Craigslist is my newest obsession.

Weekend Roundup

We had a very productive weekend. We also had a very hot and humid weekend. This drove us into the air conditioned car, to drink iced coffee with the windows tightly closed and the music loud. We talked and we laughed. We had a great time. We also crossed a lot of items of of the

To-Do list.

The weekend of fun started on Friday night with the traditional homemade pizza. Tim stuck with his usual pepperoni and cheese, while I tried something new. Behold: breakfast for dinner. Brinner!

Ricotta cheese with basil and assorted spices and for a bit of protein, I cracked a few eggs on top. The recipe is here. I cooked it a tad too long but it was very good! I can't wait to try the Cheddar and Green Chile Waffles. :)

We ran around on Saturday chasing through the list of consignment shops I had taken with us, but came home empty handed. We had fun going to different towns around us and searching through musty corners of old buildings, looking for furniture that we could purchase inexpensively and lovingly refinish. We struck out on furniture, but found a creepy treasure trove of old dolls, strange artwork and pieces of old china.

While Tim took a siesta that afternoon, I headed for the kitchen. A friend at work had a pile of home grown cucumbers that I thought would be amazing in an Israeli Salad. I was so in awe of the falafel and salad dish I had here a few weeks ago, I wanted to try it out myself. So I turned on the stereo and started chopping. I finished the salad with a tahini sauce and falafel. It was a really refreshing dinner on such an oppressively hot night.

After staring at it for close to 1 year, Tim and I finally decided that the pot rack in our kitchen had to go. As much as we love how it looks, we'll never use it. So Tim pulled it down and I posted it on Craigslist. No bites yet.




Look how much bigger the kitchen looks!


Since we went to the movies this afternoon, we didn't finish this photo wall project. But it will be on the wall by next weekend. I can't wait to get it off the floor. I'm tired of stepping over it!

The last three weeks have been fantastic. Although I wasn't feeling 100% back to my charming old self, Tim and I have been out and about, enjoying NYC with friends and discovering new places in the city on our own. Even just hanging out in our little corner of the Hudson Valley with the man of my dreams has been a blast. He truly makes everything fun and makes my world come alive. Life is amazingly good. One of my best friends is getting married next year to a wonderful man that treats her like a queen. She found her perfect wedding dress yesterday and then called to tell me about it. We have a healthy new baby in our group of friends and several more on the way. Tim and I have our perfect house and have been working hard at making it our own. And we just booked our hotel for Tim's brother's wedding later this year after which, I will gain my very first sister in law, somebody that I absolutely adore.

Life is amazing and I am beyond thankful for all of the people who make up my world.

Finally myself again

The poison oak that I picked up 5 weeks ago and the resulting allergic reaction that I had to the prednisone, completely knocked me on my ass. Since we bought the house last year, I'm always doing something, always on the go. I have a hard time sitting still. I love to putter around our nest and cross things off my neverending list of things to do. But after a month of sitting and not doing much of anything, my list has grown to epic proportions. It's actually quite frightning. In a good way.

The last 5 weeks have taught me something though. It's good to relax. There is nothing wrong with sitting on the couch with a great book. And it's important to put some fun things on the To Do list. Right below item number 3, Paint the Kitchen Ceiling, is item number 4: Visit Millbrook.

A picturesque little town slightly north of us, Millbrook is full of wineries and a well advertised consignment shop. Tomorrow morning, we'll enjoy a cup of chicory and some beignets to remind us of our time in New Orleans. Then we'll leisurely head up north, try and find some coffee tables for our house and then taste some of the local wines.

I have a lot of things to post about here and I'll start to catch up soon. But first, I need to enjoy a relaxing Saturday with my wonderful husband!

I have the Poison.

I keep thinking of a scene from one of my favorite Friends episodes. Phoebe has hummus spilled on her fancy dress as they're getting ready for a night out. She shrieks about the hummus. "I have the Hummus!"

Well, I have the Oak.Or the Ivy. Or the Sumac. Who the hell knows? Whatever plant grabbed me, it was the poison kind. And I am a miserably, itchy, disgusting, crazy person. I think I'm showing signs of roid rage.

Once I finally figured out what had caused my arms to look like a road map, I realized that I had made a huge mistake in scratching it for two days. I got myself to a doctor who told me that she had seen 5 cases that day alone and wrote me a prescription for Prednisone. She also volunteered to give me a shot to jump start the healing. Jump start away. She told me to pick a cheek. Somehow I have made it to my 33rd year without having a shot in the rear. It hurt a lot more that I expected it to but it was for a good cause.

Yesterday was Day 2 of the Prednisone experiment and I was starting to feel a little better. Until I went home and felt like I was going to leap out of my skin. My arms itched like nothing I've ever felt before. In desperation, I turned to the internet for any sort of kitchen remedy that looked promising. I skipped over the vinegar bath, the bleach, and the honey paste before finding the oatmeal paste. Oatmeal is in Aveeno. Aveeno is for skin issues. So

Oatmeal paste=Healing. Right?

I made the paste and slopped it on my arms, wrapping the finished products in plastic wrap so I didn't drip on the floor. Finally, I felt some relief. I settled on the floor and tried to zen out. This was good. Calm.

Until the oatmeal began to dry. I have never known torture like this. The oatmeal dried to a glue like consistency and clung to my inflamed arms and I was suddenly desperate to get it off as fast as possible. It was burning and suffocating all at the same time. I peeled it off as fast as I could and left oatmeal dripping down the garbage can and down to the floor. When the burning had passed, it left in its place a horrifying itch. I didn't know which was worse. In my scrambled frenzy for relief, I soaked two towels with cold water and wrapped them around my arms like a demented 80's sweatband wearing Jazzersize queen. Finally, finally, my arms calmed down.

All of the men I work with have been teasing me about my malady. Apparently, they are all immune to The Poison. I will never tromp around in the woods again after this. And now, I'm getting ready to celebrate a long weekend with temps that are supposed to hit 90 degrees. I will be wearing long pants to cover up the mess of my skin.

Cross your fingers that the steroids start to help!And that I don't start growing a mustache.

Happy Memorial Weekend

It's been a busy couple of weeks in our house and it's not letting up anytime soon! T and I have started a big project and are loving the way it's coming along. It's going on the back burner this weekend though because we're heading out of town. We're excited to spend some time with friends that moved away last winter to the great state of Minnesota. We miss them a lot and are looking forward to seeing their new house, new dog, and getting to spend some time in their new world. For now, I'll leave you with some of the work we've been doing around the house.

Remember this mess of an entryway?

Ta Da! It seems like such a simple change but we love having all of the walls the same color now. It does seem a bit empty though...

This is the "floor model" of the new photo wall we're going to put on that big blue wall. I'm buying one frame at a time at Michael's so I can use the 40% off discount on every frame. Not only am I cheap, but I am very patient. :) We're still trying to decide on the rest of the photos but are excited to see how it will transform the room!


So, this is the biggie. It's a project that we knew we would do before we even put the offer in on the house. The house is a wreck right now because of the upheaval but it will be an amazing change. We can already see the difference and we're not even halfway done.

This is everything that we unloaded from the kitchen cabinets so we can...

Paint!

Half of the doors are waiting patiently in the basement for their second coat of primer. Remember that really dark wood in the kitchen? Say goodbye.

We are shocked at how much lighter the kitchen looks already. We're in love.

We're going to have to ask you not to get attached to the fake masking tape tile. That's next on the block.

We'll be back next week with some more updates, but for now, we are outta here! Have a wonderful holiday weekend and remember the brave men and women who have given their lives for our freedoms. They have my deepest respect and thanks.

May 25th, 1976

Today is a exciting day in our house. 34 years ago today, my handsome husband was born in Massachusetts. He was a blue eyed baby who was born to love the Red Sox like so many New England kids before him. Little did he know that he would grow up to be an brilliant engineer who would marry a Giants fan. The horror. :)

Today we are celebrating my best friend and the man I am lucky enough to wake up with everyday with those big blue eyes smiling at me. He is my biggest fan and the reason that I strive to be the best me that I can be. When I am struggling, he listens, loves, and supports. He has broadened my horizons more than I could have ever imagined. We have had fantastic adventures in the nine years that we have known each other and I can't wait to see what lies in store for us.

Happy Birthday T! I love you more than I can put into words.

I hung out with Oprah.

A few weeks ago, I read that Oprah was going to bring her show on the road to NYC. In honor of the 10th anniversary of O magazine, she had a giant weekend planned, titled "Live your Best Life." It would kick off with an Oprah show taping at the beautiful Radio City Music Hall. Tickets were free but given out only in a random lottery drawing. I decided that I probably wouldn't be chosen so I logged out. But I thought about it again and wondered why shouldn't I give it a shot? So I entered my name and that of my friend S.

When I checked my email in the morning, I received a confirmation! I immediately called S to let her know and make sure that she could go. (She could) I tried to tell people at work because I was so excited but they're all men and couldn't care less. So I called my Mom. I got the appropriate reaction from her. Thanks Mom!

S and I had to be in line by 8:30 the morning of the taping and the amount of people at Rockefeller Center was staggering. We found out later that 5300 people, both women and some fabulously dressed men, were waiting excitedly to get in. There was such an amazing energy as we waited in the line that wrapped around 4 city blocks.

We made it inside and into our second level mezzanine seats a little after 9am and waited for the curtain to go up. When the assistant finished going over the order of things and the rules (no cameras during the show or else you would be escorted out) the amazing Oprah took the stage! She was glamorous in a lavender, glittery mermaid style skirt that was topped with a white wrap top. She joked with the fashion expert later in the show that it was a ball gown that she loved and wanted to turn into an "everyday" outfit.

The assistant had warned us that the show would go by really fast and it did. The first segment was all of her peeps, her experts, her dream team. Suze Orman who told us not to buy on credit. Dr Oz who spoke about his new show after a funny montage of him answering medical questions from his new neighbors at 30 Rock, Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira. Matt Lauer asked him if it was exzema on his head and Dr Oz said no it was baldness. :-)

Dr Phil talked about changing your routine and to prove his point, he shaved his mustache live on the show. His wife Robin was in the audience and said she hadn't seen him without his stache in 38 years. He looked a lot younger after it was done. During the commercial break, Dr Oz jumped up to help do the shaving. He dabbed a bit of shaving cream on Phil's bald head which lead Phil to quip that he was sure that wasn't necessary. Funny Phil!

Last but not least was the adorable Nate Berkus who talked about his new show (sensing a theme here?) and his new loft in Manhattan. It is beautifully decorated with an amazing view of the Hudson River through the floor to ceiling windows. Officially jealous.

Next we were treated to a Mother Daughter Fashion show starring Vanessa Williams, Cybil Shephard, and the amazingly tiny Susan Lucci! She came out with her son who is about twice her height. We hoped for a pair of the heels as an audience gift. We learned that this year is all about the nude shoe, statement shoes, and cargo pants. Clearly lessons to live by.

The main guest was Christina Aguilara. I was so impressed with her during the interview and the performance she put on was incredible. I was especially moved by one of her responses. Oprah asked her about becoming a mother, and she replied that she has never felt better about life or more comfortable in her own skin. We could tell during the performance! She was incredible. I've never seen fireworks at Radio City but she had them. She also had an awesome black cape that she flung around as she danced. She rocked.

The grand finale was when Oprah brought up all the staffers from O Magazine to honor them for all their hard work in the last ten years. And the last surprise was when Buddy the Cake Boss from TLC wheeled out a giant cake! I think it was five layers tall and it had the O logo all over it. S and I were hoping that we could snag a bit, but it was only for the magazine folks. I bet it was delicious!

One of my resolutions this year was to drink up every experience that I could, see new things, and be present in the moments of my life. In other words, live my best life! Oprah thanked us all profusely for sharing our day with her and I want to thank her for sharing her show with me! I loved being in the amazingly beautiful Radio City Music Hall with Oprah Winfrey and 5299 of my closest friends. :-)

And just for the record, we took this with my camera phone after the taping had ended. S and I did not break the camera rule!