Autumn in Sunnyside

Sunnyside Gardens is one of the most charming
neighborhoods in NY. Especially now
that the leaves are turning!

I took a few shots on my way to work, the first two
are of my favorite trees. They are female
Gingko trees, which turn a brilliant yellow
each fall. And they also stink. I wondered why-
so I took this off of Wikipedia so that we could all be
enlightened.

"Two ovules are formed at the end of a stalk, and after pollination,
one or both develop into seeds. The seed is 1.5-2 cm long.
Its fleshy outer layer (the sarcotesta) is light yellow-brown,
soft, and fruit-like. It is attractive in appearance,
but contains butanoic acid (also known as butyric acid)
and smells like rancid butter (which contains the same chemical)
or feces when fallen"










































This is a house that is across from ours
that has a lovely ivy rainbow that I could
not resist photographing.
















This cat always sunbathes in the same yard,
amid the same pile of leaves/twigs etc.

Consider the Octopus.

Last night I was watching The Amazing Octopus
on the Science Channel and it was indeed
amazing. It followed a female octopus from birth,
off the coast of New Zealand.

I didn't get through the whole thing because it was
almost 2 and I was exhausted. But I did see the octopus
escape from humans twice, and hear about something
called "octo venom." I did not realize that ALL octopi
were venomous! Was this common knowledge that I somehow
managed to miss??

Anyhow, the octopus has won my heart. I will be obsessing over
it for the next few weeks. Hopefully putting it on a card
for my etsy shop. Here are some videos about this wonderful cephalopod.

So much for goals.

I had high hopes of completing my list of goals
from the previous post.

But things rarely work out as I expect them to.
For example, the dumpling festival was the biggest
disappointment of all.
Not only was it raining, but it was packed and the lines
for each dumpling stand were at least a half hour long.

If people only had to hand over a ticket, and receive a plate
of dumplings-I really cannot fathom what the hold up was.
Zach and I were not happy, but we did have a delicious lunch
at Whole Foods instead. And our $10 we gave in hopes of
dumplings ended up going to the Food Bank of NY, so it
wasn't all in vain.

One thing that I did do this weekend was spend a lot of time
in the kitchen. And so did this gentleman.

















He likes to survey the floor for any rogue bits of food,
(which is not the most ideal situation )
as I managed to step on his feet many times.
But boy, is he cute.

On Sunday my original plan was to have a mini
epic feast, and then head to the East Village for
some pumpkin carving. The carving never happened
because I did not anticipate the length of time this
feast would take.

I have a whole new level of respect for the women
(or men) that take on the task of Thanksgiving.

I made a chicken, stuffing, brussel sprout slaw,
mashed potatoes, and for dessert apple dumplings.
(the bf loves apple desserts.) We paired this with
the delicious sparkling cider that we got at the market.


This is the spread.




























Please forgive my shotty
photo. The lighting in our apartment is really not the best.
I still need Rebecca to teach me how to take beautiful photos.


I also have this photo. My carton of celery sticks is
warning me that it may contain celery..

Goals for the Weekend

* Attend the Dumpling Festival on Bowery

*Cook a greenmarket chicken in the roasting pan
that my mom-mom gave me 3 Christmas' ago.
(She felt it was necessary for me to have it)

*Draw up shark thank you cards, christmas squids,
and other creatures.

*Carve a pumpkin.

*Finish putting together my Old Gregg Halloween Costume

*Make potato leek soup, something with brussel sprouts, and bread.

Regretsy. I love you.

Etsy is a place where anyone
can sell anything that they might make.

This, for the most part, creates
an amazing online marketplace for
crafters and customers alike.
But because Etsy is open to anyone
there is a TON of crap on there.

This is where the fine folks at
Regretsy come in. They post all the
hilarious junk that is currently being sold.
(usually for outrageous prices)

The worst part is that a lot of the sellers
featured on regretsy actually have
a lot of sales. Which really leads me to wonder
-who the hell is buying it!?

Here are some of my regretsy favs so far.

300th Post

It's Saturday night around 8
and I am sitting comfortably on the couch
watching CSI and eating Butternut Squash Curry.

This is truly an ideal evening. obviously.
I prefer to stay away from Manhattan
on weekend evenings for the most part.
So crowded, bad late night subway service.
Who needs that when I have cozy house
with a furry little buddy in it?

Today is also wonderful because I booked
a plane ticket to Berlin this morning.
A few days ago I woke up with the feeling
like I needed to be there.
I've never even been that interested in going
to Germany in general let alone a specific city.

As of right now I am traveling alone.
My best friend is thinking it over,
so I may or may not have a travel buddy.
Either way, I'm excited. And definitely
curious to see what awaits me there.

I imagine that I will come back looking like this



















with art that looks like this.

Latest Obsessions

*"Song for Jesse" Nick Cave and Warren Ellis

*Kekua (a brand of mexican hot chocolate)

*Twin Peaks re-runs

*falling slowly into hibernation mode.

*this pumpkin bread recipe

*The Bright Side Project

*Fred Astaire by Joseph Epstein

Crafts in Chelsea

Next Saturday I will be participating in
Crafts in Chelsea.

This will be taking place @ PS 11 which is
on 21st St b/w 8th and 9th Ave.
It is from 10-5, and should be a pretty good time.

The vendors will mainly be from the NewNewNY etsy group
(my craft group)
















So if you read this, and you happen to be free
you should stop by!!
I'll be there with all the usual cards
plus, my new holiday ones as well!