Goodbye 2011

I don't know how it got to be December 30th, I really don't.
This year has been, by far, the quickest year of my life.
An absolute whirlwind of trips, surprises, passings, arrivals,
 a proposal, planning-the list goes on.  All in all, it has been
a really great year. The only dark cloud was the loss of mon
petit ami, Serg.  He continues to be missed, and is still loved
as much as when he was here.

2012 is shaping up to be an exciting year, the wedding is only about
10 months away and we are jumping into the rest of our planning
in January.  As usual I have prepared a list of things that I want to
do/change/work on in the New Year.

*Get rid of the junk
(cleaning out our studio space and just purging the unnecessary)

*Learn to can
(Carmen's Mom bought me a canning book and I will learn this year)

 *Cut down on Facebook and wasting time online
(I need to be productive, and facebook is the most anti-productive creature ever)

*Tone up for the wedding
(I don't want to lose any pounds but I do want to feel healthy and un-puffed for when
I walk down the aisle)

*Always have homemade chicken stock in the fridge
(this is filed in my "why buy it when I can make it" pile)

*Eat more legumes
(health benefits)

*Have more patience and be more mellow
(will this really work? I don't know but, it's worth a shot)

*Get back into going to the greenmarket
(Now that our Sunnyside one is gone til June I'll have to get back to Union Sq.)

*Get back to dance class
(I miss ballet. I just wish that we could wear fancy costumes in class- that would be ideal)



I hope that everyone that reads this has a
very happy and safe new year!! xo

A Year in Photos

What can I say? 2011 Has been a whirlwind year for me.
And with the exception of losing Serg, it has been a really
great year.  Here are some of my favorite photos:















The morning after that ridiculous snowstorm

Playa del Carmen




















My favorite photo of Sergie and I

I had asked him to show me his teeth. This picture cracks me up.

At Carly and Rick's Wedding

Central Park on Memorial Day

Strawberries and Rhubarb. Summer Staples

Joelie and Uncle Carmen

My first trip to Carly's Cabin

Summer Pastries

City View from the Williamsburg Flea

Jellyfish from the Newport Aquarium

28th Birthday!

Love this photo of my parents

Perfect Summer Day, Rockaway Beach

Lounging on the boardwalk @ Rockaway

Backyard games and snacks

Kitty Friends

Vegas with the ladies

Sea Lion show, pre engagement

Celebratory poses, post engagement!

Pumpkin Carving Party

Beautiful Sunset in the West Village

Pittsburgh

Creepster Christmas

Cousins and Mom Mom

Will reading Santa Mouse to Joelie




I'll be posting my resolutions tomorrow.

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This past holiday season has been fantastic.
I didn't go overboard on the holiday markets,
which gave me plenty of time to actually enjoy
the time leading up to Christmas.

The fiance and I roamed the holiday markets, watched Christmas-y movies,
went to see the Muppet Christmas Carol on the big screen, had a very
fun Christmas gathering, and our fair share of hot cider and hot chocolate.
It was so nice, so relaxing.  This was the first time in years that I didn't go
home completely stressed out and sick.

Christmas with the fam was fun as always. At this point you kind of know
what to expect from the evening.  It's the same food, same crowd, but it never
disappoints.  It's taken on a whole new spin because of my nephew being
of "Santa" age-which is so much fun!  Well, the waking up at 7am on Christmas
morning was not so enjoyable.  But watching J Bear open presents was worth it.

Now we're headed towards 2012 which, I believe, will be a very exciting year
for everyone.  Oh, but more about the New Year later this week.
For now I'll post some photos from Christmas

Cookies

Making Christmas cookies has turned into a favorite
tradition of mine, especially now that I have a kitchen-aid mixer.
It was a little more stressful when I just had my old school hand
mixer.  I'm slowly amassing a collection of my staple recipes,
but it's always fun to add new ones to the mix.

Here are my top 5 new cookie picks for the season.

1.)Peppermint Meringues
(I debate these every year, but this time I'm making them)

2.)Chrusciki
(I used to eat these when I was little, it'll be nice to see how these compare!)

2.)Butterscotch Blondie Bars with Peanut-Pretzel Caramel
(da-what..)

3.)Raspberry Refrigerator Pinwheel Cookies
(raspberry anything is always good)

4.)Fleur de Sel Caramels
(OK so these are not technically a cookie,but who doesn't love caramels??) 

5.)Lavender Truffles
(decadent truffles with a little taste of springtime)

Happy Baking!

Christmastime is Here...

Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we are fully into
holiday mode here in Sunnyside.  Our tree is up,
decorations are out, and the Christmas music has been
playing constantly. 



















I know I'm way behind on blogging, but I'll try to catch up for my favorite
season.  I'll start with a few Holiday Obsessions.

*The Union Square Holiday Market
(even if you don't buy anything, just walking around will get you into the holiday spirit)
(and be sure to sample the truffles)

*Hot Chocolate with Peppermint Whipped Cream
(2-3 drops of peppermint flavor+heavy cream+kitchen aid mixer=peppermint whipped cream)

*Gift guides from blogland
(designsponge, cupofjo, coolhunting, Etsy)

*Salt Roasted Chicken
(I made this for our decorating feast and it was super easy and delicious)

*The Return of Sequins
(Finally, I can buy them anywhere!)

Dog Parade

I don't usually do two posts in one day, but I wanted
to continue with my Halloween theme while I still can.

One of my favorite events is the Tompkins Square Dog Parade.
Some people get so creative! And who doesn't love cute dogs
in funny costumes?

Look at this handsome man in uniform.

 Princess Leia and Yoda pugs!

Bonjour!












Slinky Dog!

Little Lady Gaga

I just wanna hug this little bee.














For more photos go here and here

One Year Away

Right now I am in my pajamas, thinking about breakfast,
and watching the Finale of Top Chef:Just Desserts. 

One year from today I'll probably be surrounded by my family/bridal party,
eating breakfast, and getting ready for our wedding.

Seems so far away and almost hard to imagine but, time flies
these days. So I'm sure that this next year will be the quickest yet.
We have most of the big stuff taken care of already, so it shouldn't
be an overly stressful planning process.  We have the venue, the dress,
day of coordinator, and photographers.
I think we're doing OK for being so far out. Don't you?

 














Source

Etsy Finds: Halloween Cards

I know that Halloween isn't the most popular time
to send greeting cards, but the selection is so amazing!
Unlike holiday cards, the Halloween ones are
(in the words of my best friend's wedding florist)
Just for fun.
There is still some time left to send out some cute Halloween
cards to friends and family.  It's never too late to start a new tradition!

Ghost and Witch Die Cut and Card from BettyAndDot

Little Black Cat Trifold Card from pumpkintruck

Halloween Greeting Card from Sparrownestscript

Fall Pumpkin Card from Inkwhimsy

Pumpkins!

This weekend was all kinds of autumn goodness.
Saturday we stayed in, cooked an epic dinner,
(braised lamb chops with figs, sweet potato mash, and
sauteed red russian kale and cranberry claufoutis for dessert)
and watched Rosemary's Baby. 

Sunday we went to see our very talented friend Mike play in the city,
and then attended a pumpkin carving party back in Sunnyside.
This is a group shot of our pumpkins, mine is the haunted house one
and the fiance' made the one to it's right.




















That definitely got us into the Halloween Spirit,
and we are really looking forward to this weekend
in NJ!  Keeping the tradition of spending Halloween
with my family- I think we're the only family that I know
that really likes to spend Halloween together. 

I'll put up some more Halloween related posts this week
while I still can. October is almost over- eek!

Latest Obsessions

*Witness to Witchcraft by Harry B. Wright
(This book is about the tribal witch doctors in South America, Africa, and Oceania. 
It's worth buying for the cover alone!)

*Dress shopping with my Mom
(we had an epic adventure last Saturday and I'm looking forward
to all of our upcoming dress searches)


*Coffee Emporium in Cincinnati
(It's the kind of place that makes you want to hang out there, 
and their pumpkin latte is better than Starbucks!) 

*Jenny Packham
(I really wasn't feeling the whole bridal gown thing, until I saw her dresses)
(Especially the Eden) 

*Gropello 
(A Lombardian grape varietal. Medium bodied, peppery, delicious) 

What's Your Favorite Scary Movie?

I love horror movies. The bf does not really enjoy them.
But I can get him to watch them with me around Halloween.
Scream is on tonight and it got me thinking about scary flicks.

I can't really do the shock/gore films like Saw or Hostel,
I'm more of a traditional lady and the less CGI the better.
This is our Halloween line up:
*Rosemary's Baby
*White Zombie
*Werewolf of London
*Trick'r Treat
*The Birds
*Dracula
*Diabolique

I'm also a sucker for the low budget movies on syfy or
chiller network.
Sea Beast? awesome.












Sharktopus? yes.



















I don't really mind the computer
images if they are exceptionally awful.


As for my favorite scary movie, that is a tough one.
It might be the original Omen. But the Exorcist still
really scares me. Ju-On scares the crap out of me too.
So what's your favorite scary movie?

Our Day at the Zoo

I am happy to announce that the bf and I are engaged!
It happened last Tuesday at the Bronx Zoo, which was the site of
our first date 5 years ago.

It was perfect.

We walked around the zoo all day, I said hello to every animal,
and we had such a great time.
















So after the sea lion feeding (which was AWESOME!) We walked over
to a pond that we had passed earlier. The bf said that he couldn't believe that
we were here 5 years ago, and I agreed. Then he held my hands and I
immediately started to cry, haha! He said all kinds of lovely things,
and then got down on one knee. Of course I said yes.

But it didn't end there!! I was told that this was not going to be the
end of our day. We had an 8pm reservation at Asiate which is in the Mandarin
Oriental. One of our dearest friends also happens to be the exec. chef there.
It was epic. 10 courses, with pairings, a table overlooking the city-it was surreal.
We enjoyed every minute of it, and were so grateful to Angie and her
culinary genius.

It was one of the most magical days that I have ever had.
I feel like one of the luckiest ladies on the planet, and I cannot
wait to marry this man.