Saturday in the yard

Tim digging out the flowers...er weeds.

Cleaned out and edged. Waiting for next spring's plantings.

Check out the beginnings of the changing leaves. I love the fall.

Look Ma, No Beams! We finally took the terrifying plunge and cut out the beams in the way of our breakfast bar. We also have two fantastic new lights that were installed today. It's starting to come together! The next steps are to cover the beams with sheetrock, break out the joint compound and smooth it all out.

Then we can finally paint the kitchen and get rid of the fake chair rail.

Ultimate To-Do List Status

At the beginning of the year, I created the list to the right, things I wanted to accomplish before the end of 2010. There are some easy things and some long shots. Now that summer is winding down and the air is becoming the tiniest bit crisp, I figured it was time for an evaluation. I don't have photographic evidence of all of them, but you'll have to take my word for them. :)

Item #9: Remodel our kitchen. This is clearly still a work in progress but we hope to have all the elements completed by Christmas. Here is Tim working hard on the hole for our breakfast bar.

The first half of the cabinets. This project alone

is a time eater.
Item #2: Attend a Red Carpet Event! I was fortunate enough to be the date of a dear friend at the Writer's Guild Awards in NYC. There was enough star power to impress a celeb stalker like me and I got to cheer on Shannon as she won an award! It was an amazing night.


Item #10: Complete a CF run/walk. Tim and I signed up for the Middlebury Half Marathon Relay without knowing that it was benefiting Cystic Fibrosis. I was thrilled when I found that out and I'm convinced that the air in my lungs that allowed me to complete the run that day came from Amanda, one of the loves of my life who has battled CF for 31 years and coming out on top. She is an inspiration.


I've completed Item #1 last week when we saw Tom Petty in New Jersey. The man is amazing. Our Italy photobook, Item #7 arrived two weeks ago. #20, Read Voraciously has been successful. See the list to the right! I just started working on #19 and am hopeful that I can keep up the training and run the Manchester Half Marathon in November.



I still have some things I want to do in the last quarter of this year but I'm proud of all I've accomplished thus far. On tap for the fall and winter: Visit the Bronx Botanical Gardens, see an opera, and start in with my yoga and meditation. That is more of a cool weather workout for me.
I missed the 5 Boro Bike Tour but I was with our family celebrating Mother's Day so that was a great trade off. We have yet to go camping, but have been doing so many other fantastic things that I don't mind skipping that one. And I once again missed out on the Shakespeare in the Park.



The big two on the list though were to live a full and happy life and to build my relationships. Both of these have been great successes and the two things I feel the most proud of. I am so in love with my life and the people that I am surrounded by. Tim and I are beyond lucky to have so much support and love around us.

Our Horrifyingly Expensive Custom Frame..

Is here! And it's horrifyingly beautiful. I'm in love. First, my inspiration:

Here she is!

One more view. Did I mention that I took these photos? They're my love letter to NYC. From the left, random building in Midtown, Brooklyn Bridge, Rockefeller Center, and Grand Central Station, one of my favorite buildings in NYC. I can't wait to hang it up in the living room!

Governers Island 10k!

How cool is this? On October 3rd, I'll be running a 10K around this random island just off the tip of Manhattan. Let the training begin! www.govisland.com

Jersey Shore!

We went to Point Pleasant, NJ this weekend. We read magazines on the beach and lounged in the sun. Some of us look lobster-like. We couldn't go in the water because of an incoming storm which was causing some serious riptides and gigantic waves, but we napped, people watched and soaked up the beautiful weather.

We went to the boardwalk and found our way to Martells, a tiki bar on the beach. SLT and I drank Mai Tais and had lots of girl time.

This is right before Tim beat me at air hockey.

The three of us slathered on enough aloe to calm our red skin and went out to observe the locals fist pumping the night away at Bar A, a place that had 6 bars and an outdoor cabana area. We posted up in the corner, had a few drinks, lots of laughs and a great time watching all the debauchery going on around us. I love The Shore. I can't wait to go back next summer!

Power Tools Rock

One of the projects on our list is to create a breakfast bar. T and I worked on the kitchen side of this wall last week but I was bored this weekend. This is the before.

This is my weapon of choice. I love power tools!

When the whiring of the saw stopped and the drywall dust had settled, this is what I had done.

Before we can frame it out, we need to have an electrician come in and do some wiring so we can hang some really fun coffee house style pendant lights over our brand new breakfast nook.

And no, it is not a load bearing wall. :)