This is the dawning of the age of....the cell phone?

So, I finally caved and got my son a cell phone for a Christmas gift.

It seems to be the current hot gift for the 6th grade culture, or so it seems because in a matter of minutes after opening Christmas presents, our phone was ringing with different kids calling to say "hey, I got a new phone!" and the boys were cheerfully talking and texting within minutes.

I've always been adamant that he doesn't need a phone; it seems kids have had them since 3rd grade - but I refused to give into the concept of just because "Jimmy has a phone" then my kids need them as well.  Like I explained to my son, not only do we have a perfectly good house phone that he never uses, but he has his XBox Live account where he communicates with everyone plus - he's always with an adult.  It's either myself or G, or his friends and their parents. 

Until.....middle school.

Yup, it seems middle school just assumes that either parents don't work - or all kids have a phone.  Because my son has been going to after school activities that seem to get cancelled on a whim - and then he's on the school bus going home, an hour early!  I wouldn't mind, except that my house is at the very end of a mile long street - and it's wooded.  (Yes, it's a mile long - I've clocked it while I ran it.)  We have some businesses in areas near by and so often there are people that walk on their lunch break all the way down our street because of the distance -and so while my son is on the younger side of appearances, the last thing I want is for him to be alone.

So, after a string of cancelled activities and my panicking to get someone to meet him at the bus stop, I decided that it was time.

While I could've gotten him a smartphone - or even a basic flip phone, with unlimited minutes on my plan, I figure since I've been strong armed into doing this and he's not the most responsible of kids - let's start with a basic Tracphone and pay as we go.  Make him earn the minutes he has, and actually take care of his phone.  We all know kids lose their things but at least this way, it's not a major investment loss if it suddenly disappears. (Just a loss of investment in his time, with all those contacts he suddenly has.)

Where did the time go that my baby has a cell phone..?
In only 5 years he'll be 17.
Next big thing - a car??  Driving???
No.
I am SO not ready for that.....

Lyrically speaking....

Have you ever fed a lover with just your hands?
Close your eyes and trust it, just trust it
Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?
Have you ever looked fear in the face and said I just don't care?
It's only half past the point of no return
The tip of the iceberg, the sun before the burn
The thunder before lightning, the breath before the phrase
Have you ever felt this way?
Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone?
Your whole life waiting on the ring to prove you're not alone
Have you ever been touched so gently you had to cry?
Have you ever invited a stranger to come inside?
It's only half past the point of oblivion
The hourglass on the table, the walk before the run
The breath before the kiss and the fear before the flames
Have you ever felt this way?
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
There you are, sitting in the garden
Clutching my coffee, calling me sugar
You called me sugar
Have you ever wished for an endless night
Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight
Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself
Will it ever get better than tonight?

One of the worst days...ever

Saddened.  Disgusted.  Heartbroken.  Shocked.  Horrified.  Devastated.

Heaven gained 27 angels today.

God bless the families in Newtown CT.
Our hearts and prayers are with you all.....

Darkly dreaming Dexter....

I'm sorry - but did anyone watch the episode of Dexter from this week?
Oh. My. God.
Oh my God!

I was stunned at the previous for the finale.
Stunned.

I love, love, love this show.  If anyone out there remembers, the finale from three or four seaasons ago was probably the best finale of any season in television ever seen.  Seasons following have been okay -  last season had promise but didn't really live up to the potential; truly it seemed like the writers had changed so it was a little more contrived than usual.  But this season - back to being off the hook.

At the end of the episode my jaw was literally hanging open and my hands were to my mouth and I was saying aloud "oh my God...."

I'm serious; if you don't watch this show - please, add the boxed set collection to your Christmas list.
It's a MUST see.

All is calm....all is bright

It's quiet in the house tonight.

That's because last night was a late one, with the Patriots game and all.  Somehow, it went from my kids going to bed early to get a good night's sleep and my son only being allowed to watch the first quarter - to him staying up 'til halftime; me saying "time for bed" and G saying "you can watch it in your room...". 

Game ends at what, 11: 40?  At 11:25 I go in his room expecting to find a sleeping boy and appalled that he's awake and command the tv be turned off. (Did I mention he has to get up at 6:30?  Really, what was G thinking?!?)  But then....

Princess Petunia is suffering from growing pains in her legs.  And she's whining...not crying but cranky and whining.  Which makes a very tired mom, very cranky herself..... but down the stairs I go, to get an ice pack and a towel to put on her legs.

And then finally after a little bit of yelling and grumpiness.... the house fell quiet and everyone slept.

Tonight is the polar opposite...kids are up in their rooms early, in bed watching tv before "lights out".  G is downstairs in the ManCave watching tv and I'm here in the den with a glass of wine, online shopping and well, blogging.

I like these quiet nights...they don't happen very often.

If I could turn back time....

Home made dresses, everyone gathered together
The smell of onions and potatoes frying in the pan, cool sour cream...
My favorite tuna dip.
Candles aglow....gifts to be opened
Family and friends...grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles
Home.

For the love of our animals....

It's been quite the week in the "I'm just a girl" household with regards to pets.

We have two domestic rats who are just adorable.  I love, love, love them.  They're clean, and super friendly and crazy affectionate.  They just want their food - and their hugs.  When you hold them, they snuggle up and sort of purr (called buxing or bruxing) like a cat.  One of my rats, likes to just fall asleep when I hold him.  Cute right? 

Well, Princess Petunia and I were at PETCO purchasing some supplies when as we were checking out there was a tank that had a sign next to it that said "Think adoption first.  Free to a good home".  Inside was a huge rat...and one that looks exactly like our adorable Pop Tart - sort of like a cow, white with brown spots.  So I asked what his story was, why he was up for adoption - and held him.  You could tell he was well loved at one point - because while he didn't know us, he was shy but not squirmy or aggressive.  And the poor thing was at the store for 3 weeks already! So I looked at my daughter and said "well, we're a good home..!"  and so I told the clerk we'd take him.  My daughter named him Albert, to which I added "Fat Albert" (a little homage to Bill Cosby and my younger days...) and off we went.  Such a good choice - he's absolutely sweet.  Even sweeter than my other two, he just loves to be cuddled.  He clearly was an only rat as he's just now starting to learn social cues and is good sharing the cage with one - but when we put the three together with food, he's not sure why they're so into taking his food away, the hoarders that they can be.   So now we have three, and I just love my little boys...they're like sunshine on a rainy day.

The next day, the kids had a half day and so I took them for lunch and to the shelter.  (We always visit the shelter and as you may remember we just lost our little Twinkle two weeks ago or so.  As much as she was standoffish, she still was one of my furkids and I miss her.  As does the kids -and possibly even more so, our other cat Spike.  He was crying for her every morning, and was so sad...he just moped, and barely ate.  Heartbreaking...)  Well, we looked at all the animals and kittens and cats - and I was adamant that we "werent' getting one today".  G and I had talked about surprising them on Christmas morning, though we hadn't really worked out all the details just yet.  But he happened to call me as we were looking at a litter of babies that were just released for adoption and gave the ok for the kids to pick out a kitten if there was one that would fit our family.  (Code for the opposite of Twinkle:  affectionate, loving and not skittish.)

....And we did just that.  While the kids both fell in love with the brown tiger striped runt of the litter -after playing with her, they realized that it was her bigger sister that was really the perfect fit.  All black, with big yellow eyes and a pretty little face - Jingle Bell Rock (as Princess Petunia named her) was adopted and brought home with us.

She loves the kids...loves her new big brother Spike (he's a big ol' Maine Coon) and likes but is not completely sure about Auntie Brandy (16 yr old Jack Russell) only because Auntie can be cranky at times - but she's a complete snuggle bunny.  Sleeps with Princess Petunia on her pillow, and will sit with anyone who wants to hold her.

It's fun having a baby in the house again.....

My latest Housewife BFF...

We all know that I love Mrs. Heather Dubrow of the OC. 
As well as Heather Thomson of NYC.
I've also been a fan of Kyle Richards of Beverly Hills.
The connection between the 3 - they're pretty darn real.  True to themselves, down to Earth and someone I could find myself being friends with.  A little money doesn't hurt anyone and clearly they haven't seemed to lost too much of themselves with it all.

But my newest "BFF" is Yolanda Frost of the latest season of RHOBH.
Aside from the fact that I adore her husband and had the pleasure of sharing a flight to NYC seated next to him - and we discussed no music, just wine and wine country. (Truth be told, I didn't tell him that I knew who he was, I thought it best to just let that be...)

She is appearing to be one classy woman.
From the way she lovingly but professionally treats her staff (what girl wouldn't love a house full of staff?!? Though truthfully, I'm so used to doing things myself I wouldn't know how to let people do it all for me, but I might figure out a way to get used to it...), to the gorgeous way she has her table decorated and details for entertaining -- to the OCD way she has her refrigerator.  My God, if I was capable of having my home that way - you can bet your money that is how I would have it.

Those are the superficial things, I know - but she certainly just comes across as being very respectful and warm, loving and genuine.  I hope that future episodes show that my thoughts about her are correct.

(By the way, I love love love that their dining room table is wide enough for two head chairs so that she and her husband can sit next to each other at dinner.  Love it!)

Bring us some figgy pudding...

I've already started planning my holiday menu.
I "think" I may have it all set, minus a few details.

As I've mentioned before, this is the one dinner that I really like to get very formal with multiple courses and we really take our time and dine.  Usually, I start with personal shrimp cocktail for everyone - but this time, I'm going to do something different and start with sorbet.  I know typically sorbet is used before the main course as a palate freshener however...since we will be having so much wine, will sorbet actually really do anything outside of ruin the wine?  Exactly.  So that's why I'm thinking of starting with it....

Then we'll have stuffed scallops, bacon wrapped shrimp - and a soup that I have yet to decide on.  Typically I make Lobster Bisque every other year (last year was Vichyssoise) but I think I'm going to pass on that this year.  I may have the traditional Creamy Artichoke Soup make a reappearance.  (I made it a few years back with Goose and it was outstanding, if I do say so myself!).

Then, we'll have our pasta course - Lobster Ravioli's with Vodka Sauce garnished with freshly shredded lobster tails.  Simple salad to go with it.

Finally, the main course.  I always serve ham and one other main course - and that other main course has had me rather perplexed.  I've done Chateaubriand and Filet Mignon the last two years, and I would've chosen Turducken except where I just did Thanksgiving I'm a little turkey'd out.  So this year I think I'm going to make Duck Breast L'Orange.  Boneless, skinless and yummy. 

The sides of sausage stuffed peppers, roasted potatoes and asparagus are the perfect accompaniments to just about any meal.

So this is why when I say Thanksgiving is my least favorite food holiday - I mean it.  I love turkey, and it's all good for a warm and cozy Sunday afternoon.  But to me, holidays are special and magical...not just the fact that it's one of the few times that everyone from immediate to extended family sits together around a table and laughs - but also because something a little special and different than the norm, is shared as well.  I'm all for comfortable and familiar, but there's something to be said about interesting and different.  

It's all tradition...no matter how you serve it.

Scents and smells...warm, cozy, soft, fuzzy

This is such a fun time of year, scentwise.
This is what I'm crushing on for making my home smelling cozy, homey and warm.
(I am only going to be able to smell them for a few hours longer...this cold that has crept upon me is taking over my sinuses  VERY quickly!)

 

What scents do you like to make you feel merry & bright?

Silly, quirky, fun little quizzes....

You Are Grateful and Forgiving

You're good at bringing people together. You are a connector. You often help others with their problems. You offer practical and workable solutions. You believe that each day is precious, and you spend your times as best as you can. It hurts your heart to hold grudges. You rather forgive, forget, and move on.

The Art Start Test

Blogthings: Take a Quiz. Annoy Your Friends.

You Are Logical

You've got a lot of flair and creativity, but you temper it with organization. You have an eye for innovation, and you're always inventing totally new ways of doing things. You see the big picture, and while you delight in details, you don't get hung up on them. You get bored by routine easily. You need to be around similarly open minded people in order to thrive.

The Strappy Shoe Test

Work is Hard. Time for Blogthings!

Your Green Eyes Say You're Creative and Unique

You are seen as artistic and perceptive. People are delighted by your original ideas. You don't let other people see all the hard work you do to be creative. You make it seem effortless. You are very ambitious and at times ruthless. You are determined to get what you want. You will step over someone to get to the top, but you're so charming that no one will notice!

What Does Your Eye Color Say About You?

Blogthings: Quizzes and Tests and Memes, Oh My!

Thanksgiving Joy...Sudden Sadness...Brightness and Light.

Dinner for 27 went off with minimal hitches.

The dining room looked gorgeous....I'd show photos except my IPhone for some reason refuses to send me my photos from my phone any longer and I can't quite figure out why.

The meal was delicious; the turkey's white meat was a tad dry which disappointed me, but I think it's because there was quite a lag between the time it was done to the time we ate.  Not a huge deal - but I had some help in the kitchen and I think it just got a little too...distracted.  No worries though, it was a good time with good food, family and lots of laughs.  A lot of cleanup afterwards, I won't lie - it sure felt great to lay in bed at the end of the night!

The rest of the weekend was a little traumatic.  One of my two cats, Twinkle (remember earlier posts from a few years back "Twinkle little cat"...) had to be put to sleep.  I did not see it coming.  She'd been to the vet over the last month for what they thought was an issue with a UTI - turns out the poor thing was in kidney failure, either due to genetic disease or kidney cancer.  I brought her to the vet on Saturday morning because she was no where near herself - and we got the awful news that evening at 5pm.  (This photo I took of her, ironically enough - the Tuesday prior to her passing. She was fine - I no way so this coming.  SO very sad..)  I've never had to put a pet down before, the ones I've always had, died on their own.  So this was so very new to me - and to prepare my children was gutwrenching.  They were devastated and so was I, but I was so very proud of them and they way they handled the situation overall.  We were with her when she was set free, and we will have her ashes in a few days.   My poor little Twinkle toes.....

Later that day, G went out to buy our new faux Christmas tree.  I requested a 7.5 one - at the largest, 9.5ft.  Mmkay, he came home with a 12ft tree!

I took this picture yesterday...today I put the ribbon around it in a beautiful peacock blue.  The best part about the tree - is that decorating it put smiles on the kids faces once again.  They were really, so very sad that they didn't even want to do the tree.  Fortunately that changed once they saw the monstrosity of it! (Again, I'd show you a photo but the silly IPhone is not cooperating with me today.)

And then we had our outside decorated as well, so last night we were looking very shiny and bright.

All in all, the weekend was exhausting and exciting, emotional and nothing short of busy. 
I wouldn't want it any other way.
(Well, minus the sadness of course...!)

"This is our last dance..this is ourselves..under perssure."

Breathe...breathe...breathe.
This is what I keep telling myself.

So while this holiday isn't nearly as stressful as last Thanksgiving (I was moving last year..this year, fortunately, I am not.), it still is quite anxiety ridden from a business perspective.   And, I am hosting for 25 this year. 

While we all know I love to entertain, it's been a little stressful getting to this point because as I'd mentioned previously we did a little home re-design; it came out gorgeous.  I hope to post pictures at some point but truthfully, right now I think the photos don't do nearly the justice of showing just how beautiful it looks.  I really am quite pleased with the feel of the room.  My den that was formerly my dining room is very warm and cozy now too, but definitely needs curtains.  I will order those before posting photos for sure.

So, Thanksgiving is my least favorite food holiday.  It's just well, so...typical.  To me, holidays should be about special things that you don't often get to indulge in, that evoke fantastic memories for years to come.  Who doesn't love turkey dinners on rainy Sundays watching football?? But, turkey it must be.

I ordered my turkey fresh, and I will be picking it up tomorrow.  I'll brine it, and then I stuff it the night before with oranges, apples, garlic & onions.  I season it up, and then cover it with bacon.  The fruit just adds a little citrus to the gravy and helps keep the bird moist; the bacon, well that needs no explanation right?  Delicious goodness to the gravy and completely yummy to eat off the top half way through cooking.  And the smell....seriously, who doesn't love bacon? 

I'm making Squash soup, Mashed potatoes, Homemade String Bean Casserole (we're not talking cream of mushroom soup, I mean fresh beans and home made cream sauce.  To die for...) Corn and Asparagus.  My mother in law is making gnocchi's and meatballs and her awesome sausage stuffing -and I'll make a salad.   Everyone else brings dessert because this girl will not have time.  I do have a fresh apple pie that I froze but other than that - forget about it.

Did I mention I'm working from 8am to 10pm the night previous?  Um, yes...Tuesday night I'll be cooking up a storm before bed so that I don't have to think about anything until Thursday morning.  Fortunately, my mother in law graciously insisted on setting my tables so I'm happy to take her up on it.

So the dinner isn't stressing me out.  It's the feeling that I'm not going to have all that a person could ever want or need for Thanksgiving when they walk through my doors.

And then worrying that they won't come....and oh my, the bills....
It's all good.  It's all good.
(Breathe...breathe....breathe!)

It's like "baby, baby, baby..oh...baby, baby, baby, oh...."

I think I may have won the Cool Mom of the Year Award this weekend.
I'd post lots of videos but my Iphone for some reason is not sending them out properly, so you'll just have to visualize.

I surprised Princess Petunia with tickets to see Justin Bieber.  It was a game time decision, I bought tickets that day, and got 20th row floor.  I'd have loved to have gotten her closer but they were all gone.  Technically the tickets said 13th row floor, but with the section in front of us being 8 rows deep - well, there you go.  I'd have paid for the 3rd row in front of the stage but they were gone before I got the chance to type in my American Express digits.  

So, I told my daughter that we had tickets to a very fancy restaurant that you need reservations to get into.  She insisted on wearing a dress, even though I insisted that leggings and boots would be fine; as we were driving up to the Garden, people were coming up to the car trying to sell Tshirts and she says to me "Mom, you should buy a shirt from that homeless man...." and so I laugh and say no.  As we pull into the parking lot and walk into the Garden she says "Oh, I've been here for WWE and Princesses on Ice" and I say "of course!  Well, they opened a new restaurant here..."  Naturally there are girls everywhere wearing Justin Bieber shirts, carrying signs, etc...and I'm thinking she's got to know now.   So I said, "hmm. I wonder why everyone's all Justin Biebered out?" and she shrugs and says "that's weird isnt' it?".  So I say, "Maybe it's a Justin Bieber themed restaurant?" to which she smiles.  And then I whisper "..or maybe I'm bringing you to the Justin Bieber concert..?"  and then it all clicked for her.  Excited??  To say the least!

We had so much fun, I have cute videos of her dancing and singing - and truth be told, it was a great show.  It's hard not to have Bieber Fever or be a "Belieber" when you see him perform.  He's a crazy talented kid...

I miss them, and they're not even gone....

I'll tell you, this being a Mom business is not easy.

My son, now 11 (really, 11 1/2 if we're being technical) is growing up so quickly.  He's just so "cool".  He still holds my hand when we're walking which is still fun for me, and he's immature in many ways, don't get me wrong; but he's just so grown up in the respect that I'm slowly no longer staying the sun in his sky.

The days of running out to see me when he hears me come home...gone.  There's no real lilt in his voice when I call his name and he responds...it's more of a casual "oh, hi" kind of tone.  I miss the days of chocolate chip kisses and big hugs and smiles when I walk in a room.  The infectious giggle when I said something silly...

While he still loves to hang out with me, he sulks and mopes at times now - which he never used to do.  I sometimes feel the need to remind him that he's 11 not 17 and that he can't have all the freedoms that he would like.  Besides, responsibility has to show a bit more before I can even think about allowing him certain freedoms he might enjoy.

Tonight after he ate dinner he went upstairs to his room to watch his IPad and I grabbed him and asked for a hug, which of course he obliged - but when I told him I missed him, he laughed.  He said "I'm right here.." and I told him that he doesn't see how he's growing up because he's in it - but that I miss him being happy to see me and the smile in his voice when he realized I was home..

It's wonderful and sad and bittersweet all rolled up into one.

I think I'm going to have a tougher time with my little ones growing up than I had thought I would....

Freedom has a taste to those who fight and almost die, that the protected will never know.

Today is a day to celebrate and embrace the basic right that Americans are born with - and others die for.  We may not all agree on what or who we think is best for this country - but we all have the basic right of freedom to choose born to us. Embrace it, celebrate it - and VOTE.

Things that make you go "hmmm?"

1.  This is 2012, not 1912.  How long has NYC and NJ been without electricity and gas?  8 days now? And without gasoline, which of course makes it impossible to run generators...I'm sorry, but I find this disgusting.  We are not talking rural areas that are tough to get to, nor are we talking about something that couldn't simply be handled with an executive order to allow companies from outside of each state to temporarily allow deliveries of gasoline across state lines.  I get that there are taxes and tarriffs involved -- but basically it all boils down to politics.  And this is not a time for that.  This is about humanity and kindess in a time of need. 
   1a.  I'm so all set with the election to be over.  I'm so sick and tired of the rheoteric and commercials and endless amounts of "I'm Elizabeth Warren" or "I'm Mitt Romney" or whoever the hell is or isn't running and they've "approved these messages".  It's been the ugliest political sparring that I've seen in a long time.  And truthfully - none of them really did anything to swing me - and I was a swing voter.  Do I stay with President Obama, who while a nice guy - has been rather ineffective and in someways fiscally irresponsible?  Or do I take a chance on Mitt "Flip flop" Romney, who did okay things in office here in MA but is a complete loose cannon at times because I don't really know what he truly stands for.  I think this girl is going to check the "Libertarian" section of the ballot.  Because staying with the devil you know versus the one you don't - may not be a choice I'm really sure on making truth be told.
   1b.  As a result of the fundraiser on television this weekend that heightend this girls's awareness of the depth of the tragedy, as local news was not sharing as much as they should've - I'm hosting a fundraiser at my store for the hurricane victims. Every little bit counts...

2.  Speaking of politics....hows Questions 2 & 3 on the local MA ballot striking anyone?  Do most people even know that they're on there?  Legal Euthanisia for dignified end of life....and Legal Medical Marijuana.   This girl is supporting legal euthanisia but sorry my recreational pot smoking friends - I can't support the marijuana bill, at least no the way it's worded.  Sure, I know it's inconvenient that it's illegal to buy a dime bag - but read the bill.  I just don't think, as a mother - I can support this option.  Before I had kids, I felt differently -and I am not a smoker.  But as a parent of 2 children, and children who may have a genetic predisposition to struggle with addiction because of family histories - I staunchly oppose making it legal.  Maybe this makes me prudish - maybe it makes me prudent.  Either way, I'm all set with that and I hope that people take the time to really read the bill as it's being presented. 

3.  If you aren't registered to vote - than you don't get an opinion.  I love all these people who voice their opinions and are very boisterous about them, and they aren't even registered to vote!  Shut up sit down and keep your thoughts to yourself, because you can't play if you don't pay.  Your opinion does not matter if you don't register it.  So please, don't waste this girls time.

For no mere mortal can resist...the evil of the Thriller

The kids were so excited yesterday, they could barely stand it.  It took all they had to wait until I got home so I could help them get ready and all costumed up.

We trick or treat at my aunt's house, in the town we used to live in - because she lives in a neighborhood that is Halloween Central.  Thickly and densely settled, each neighbor tries to out do the other in decorations, so much so that one house had a large screen projection and a DJ!  Others had haunted houses set up, some had people dressed in costume like statues to slowly move and scare the kids, in a fun way of course.  It was the first time that we have spent Halloween in our new home (we're coming up on our one year anniversary after Thanksgiving this year!  My how time flies...) and so we were pleasantly surprised to see kids come and trick or treat at our house!  We've never had kids come by, so it was fun to see just how many kids are in the neighborhood between our street and the next two - that we never get to see! So we left the bowl of candy on our porch next to the jack-o-lanterns and off we went.

Princess Petunia was a Vampire Queen.....My son was Billy The Puppet from "Saw" fame.
I was Batgirl, and G was...well, tired husband.  He had a fabulous Frankenstein get up but he wasn't able to get out of his store early enough to get his costume and come with us, so he met us there.  Better late than not at all! 

Hope you all had a happy Halloween filled with candy, love and ghoulish laughter!

Rock you like a hurricane...

You know you're a New Englander when you're in the midst of a hurricane, and you're sitting on one of your decks, watching the trees blow in the breeze and instead of worrying about them falling on your house - you're excited at the thought of them falling into the woods - with a glass of wine in your hand, and wishing you were at the beach to watch the waves.  Just sayin'....

So we made it out of Sandy unscathed, fortunately.
I have one casualty - my outdoor gazebo that was on my deck did not survive.  Those 80+MPH winds tore that bad boy down.  Truth be told, it's not as strong as the one I had in my last house so I wasn't shocked.  But other than that - we got off scot free, which is fantastic considering my house is literally carved into the forest.

My town however, not so much.  3700 without power - thankfully, we were not one of them.
Storms make me want to cook, even more so than usual.  So we feasted on banana pancakes for breakfast, Shrimp, Clam & Corn Chowder and crab cakes for lunch; tuna burgers for dinner.

My heart goes out to the people who live in my 2d favorite city - Manhattan.  From what I hear everything from 40th down is a disaster.  Heartbreaking...how does NYC go through all these devastating events and pull through each and every time?  I always think "how will they get through this?" and yet....they do.

I couldn't help but think of Atlantic City as well; when G and I went to Barbra Streisand a few weeks back, we were sitting with the owner of the Boardwalk Casino & Hotel who was a great guy and fun to talk with. I can't help but think that he is beside himself at the moment.  We've had floods in our Beacon Hill store and there was one that we thought was going to do us in - fortunately, we survived; I couldn't imagine damage the magnitude of what the Boardwalk is suffering from.

(Seriously, it's downpouring right now - the most rain we've had in days since we barely got any yesterday - and wait, is that thunder I'm hearing?  Really?? )

Uh-oh.  That means this girl needs to run out and save the jack-o-lanterns the kiddies made before they become water bowls!

Who doesn't love Salem at Halloween time?

Don't get me wrong, I love Salem year 'round.
But it is so much fun in October.

Even though we had no rain today and lots of sun - there was a beautiful upside down prism in the sky!

 

My son's friend came along and got into the fun! (My son is the zombie... who clearly attacked his friend and his sister - or so he'd like you to think!)

 

And of course, there's myself and my Vampire Princess Zombie victim.



The man in the background is the monster artist extraordinaire.  Funny, I didn't notice the faux wound in his forehead at the time, and yet now - it jumps out at me. 

I guess "when in Rome.." it all blended in!

Thoughts of design....

So this dining room is the look that inspired the transformation of my dining room's color palette.  While the initial impulse was to go with traditional velvet/crimson red - this is much more my taste.

 

 

And since we couldn't find this exact wall paper anywhere - we came up with something similar but not quite as dark.  Keeping in mind the photographs really do no justice to the wallpaper. It looks almost baby blue here, but trust me - it's not.  Below is a gorgeous metallic silver Anna French Wallcovering in "Japonica".  Very Chinoiserie-esque.

 

 

While I tend to prefer more traditional, masculine light fixtures with a mix of antiqued feel and crystal - my designer (who is also my MIL) said "absolutely all crystal".  It's going to look beautiful, as my dining room has 2 walls of pretty atrium windows and french doors to the outside,  so I have an abundance of natural light which should really just shimmer off the chandelier. 

The sconces above my fireplace match as well.

And while my dining room set is a bit more traditional with a darker wood structure and cream seats, we're adding silver parsons chairs to the heads of the table to mix it up a bit.

And then lots of greens! 

There's nothing I love more in a room than green plants, topiaries, grasses and of course - flowers.

 

We're trying to find artwork or prints for the room as well, but we haven't found anything just yet.

 

And this to be done by Thanksgiving....well, that's the goal anyway!

We shall see!

 

Weekend wrap up...the food, the friends the fun.

Overall, this weekend was really nice.

Saturday, I had some girls over for a Sunless Tanning Soiree.  My sister has started a sunless airbrush tanning business where she travels to you - rather than you going to her.  So to get her jumpstarted, I had a few girls over for some fun in the faux sun and of course - food and wine.  It was such a good time!  Just a small, intimate gathering and it was alot of fun.  It's been a long time since I've had some good girl time, and it was well worth it.

Sunday, was but of course - Patriots Football Sunday.  Which translates into relaxing and eating food.  It's my favorite day of the week to cook.  It was an easy day actually...leftover calzones and then I made Artichoke & Marscapone raviolis with a pink sauce - complete with home made pumpkin pie.  I love, love, love pumpkin pie.  I do think, I may have to do an encore presentation of dessert next weekend for the London game.  But next week, I'm thinking it's chili & fajitas for the meal du jour...

The next big event at the "I'm just a girl" household is Thanksgiving.  As of now 27 people will be gracing my dinner table, which is partly why we are redesigning our dining room.  Actually, we've flipped our den to our dining room - and vice versa.  Which of course means we have electrical work going on to swap the chandelier, and had to have wainscoting placed in the room - and now, it's the design aspect.  I want all silver chinoiserie and crystal - but to find the right pattern is where we're at right now....ah, the fun of prepping for the holiday.  Two turkeys at a minimum, and I'd like to get a little creative on my menu.  I'm thinking Squash & Apple soup (which I'm making for dinner right now actually....) as a course.  But we shall see.... To be truthful, while Autumn is my favorite season, Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday meal. 

Because this girl...is all about Christmas.

Totally Random...totally.

So, I burned my bottom lip badly.
Really badly.
How did I do that, you ask?
Well... I have two words for you my friends:  Cherry Tomato.

I made a really delicious roasted chicken dish on Sunday and I added fresh cherry tomatoes while it was cooking.  I thought I had pierced them all prior to cooking so that they'd ooze and make the sauces all juicy.  Well, clearly I missed one and my fork didn't really pierce it enough so when I bit down....OUCH.  I have never, ever burned my lip before.  I almost look like I've been punched in the lip.  Thank God for good lip gloss that can distract from it.  But yikes does it hurt at times.  Even a good bottle of wine can't take the discomfort from it...

I helped Princess Petunia with her math homework tonight.  Funny, she's in third grade and had a minor stumbling block in the same arena as my Son did in 3rd grade:  Regrouping, aka Cancelling & Borrowing.  I had made him a "cheat sheet" to reference on how to remember to do it while he was in school so he wouldn't feel embarrassed asking for help; he needed it for about a day until it really clicked.  Petunia, picked it up immediately.  Both kids are pretty great in math, which is something that I never really have been good at.  Truth be told, I was afraid of it -- it's something that doesn't come natural to me and so it intimidated me abit.  Especially since when I was younger there was still that stigma that "girls aren't good in math...." and so my teachers may have perpetuated that a bit which didn't make me feel any better about my shortcoming.  So, I avoided it most of my life when I could.  Hard to believe that I'm in retail where it's ALL about numbers.  And yet the funny thing is - I get it now.  It's not so scary or intimidating, it's pretty much straight forward.  I guess I really have grown up....

Friday is my 3 year anniversary of the store opening.  I can hardly believe it's been that long already.   It seems like only yesterday I was planning and waiting and hoping and planning... I've got a huge celebratory tasting happening on Thursday, to say "thank you" to my customers.  I'm hoping for a good turnout; the weather looks promising and while there are a lot of other events going on in town that night - I'm cautiously optomistic that free wine and food will inspire good attendance. 

I can't believe the Dalai Lama was in Medford today and I didn't know about it!!  See what happens when you're off your yoga mat for far too long.  I'm hopeful I'll get back to it soon... but I wouldn't say I'm optomistic...not even cautiously.

People who need people...are the luckiest people, in the world...

So, you may have noticed I hadn't blogged since last Wednesday.
That's because I could barely conceal my excitement about where I was last night, and I don't like to post online when I'm not going to be in my neck of the woods, you know what I mean?

G and I flew to NYC, roomed at the Four Seasons - and had front row tickets to see the one, the only....Ms. Barbra Streisand.

(insert sound of angels choiring here....)

It was a last minute decision actually; we were toying with going to Atlantic City or Newport....possibly even seeing WarHorse open in Boston.  But we had been eyeing the tickets all week and sure enough...they came down as the show got closer and we couldn't resist.

She wasn't just good - she was AMAZING.

Yes, you could tell at times she was just getting over being sick - but it was nothing short of just added character.  She sounded almost exactly like her recordings.  I've never seen someone so immensely talented and so natural and effortless at singing.  She is nothing short of a living legend.  And we are so priveleged to have been there to witness up close and personal - concert #84 of her career.

She bas always seemed to me, to be a beautiful person - both inside and out.  Yes, I have always thought she was so pretty, though unconventionally so.  Her personality just makes her that much more beautiful and she was nothing short of that last night.

It was a fantastic way to celebrate our anniversary...a little bit of jetsetting and shopping....a night with probably our most favorite singer of all time (short of Elvis who my husband is enamored with - me, not so much...) and a little bit of pampering for us both.

So it's the laughter....we will remember...when we remember....the way we were.

You learn something new every day....

So, here's a little somethin'somethin' I learned today.

Coca Cola - is available in a Spanish version.
Complete with a glass bottle, and instead of high fructose corn syrup - it has real sugar.
Oh, and it's sold in the Latino section of a supermarket, rather than in the regular tonic section.
Who knew?

One of my sales reps lives in a more urban city and he mentioned that he stumbled upon it this weekend.  So he bought it....and he said it's absolutely freaking delicious.  Sort of like Coca Cola from years past.

(This girl, has never been a tonic drinker - so I don't really know, but I've got to think that anything made with real sugar instead of the other stuff, has got to be good.)

Interestingly enough, they also have a Kosher Coca Cola, complete with a yellow cap - symbolizing the Star of David.  Seriously?  Seriously.

Because what in a bottle of Coke would need to have special preparation in order for it to be kosher?

Now if that's not a little meshugna, I don't know what is...