always the new yorker

This (http://www.alexthegirl.com/ Feb.12) is why I'm a New Yorker and why I'll always be a New Yorker. Oh, how I wish life were the same out here! I've found snippets of familiarity but nothing lasting or truly genuine. It's soothing to hear a non-native NYer's point of view, especially one who's really captured the feeling (at least for me). To some degree it validates my homesickness, not that a NYer would ever need validation *wink wink*, hehe!. No time to write now - I have to get out the picture books and visit memory lane ;)

ps. one day I'll figure out how to create a neater link to sites!

happy valentine's day

When did Valentine's Day become so busy? Oh, yeah, I have kids, hehe! Time is very short so my blog will be also. Still, I had to make my mark on this day ;).

This pillow is my favorite and nobody is allowed to use it. They're hardly allowed to look at it because then they might start thinking about using it. There was a small shop a few years back called Shady & Katie that I adored. It was one of those shops you could always drop by that always had some wonderful treasure that you either needed or might need in the future. She had some high end giftie-type things, some very affordable giftie-type things and it was all mixed in with hand picked antiques from across the country. Big stuff, little stuff, good stuff. The type of stuff I would have personally searched for if I was lucky enough to travel through town after town, state after state with nothing but an empty truck and deep pockets. Alas, Shady and Katie is closed. The owner moved out of state so my little dream shop is no more. When she was closing, she'd advertised her sale well in advance. She knew her customers would want to plan ahead. I was number three in line that morning, arriving 45 minutes early. Only ten people were allowed in at one time, and I took my time in there! I got the rest of her provence candles (a lovely true lilac scent) as many wire racks as I could justify buying (I think I got them all) and this pillow. I'd been watching this pillow for months as it moved between displays within the store. I gingerly seized it before anyone else! The workmanship is impeccable, the fabrics have a lovely hand. And it's mine ;).

room moms rule!

There's a baking frenzy today! I'm Room Mom for two classes and tomorrow is Valentine's Day, hehe! The whole school is buzzy with that excited energy of upcoming parties with the added thrill of exchanging valentines with their friends. I've got dozens of cupcakes in the works for one class - then it's on to the mountain of sugar cookies for another class. The Room Mom gig can be draining at times (like last week on a field trip when the whole fourth grade insisted that this room mom should be the one to hold the tarantula - didn't happen ;)) but when it's party time, I'm so in there with sweets and crafts, lol! Oh, and a Starbucks Mocha for the teacher, hehe! Everyone gets something at my parties !

so much for those resolutions, lol!

Before I forget, this morning while driving the kids to school, we passed two exercise machines left at the curb. Hhmmm. Just last week, my neighbor left her stair-climber out for pick-up. This morning, a treadmill and a cycle machine were discarded. Is everyone giving up on their New Year resolutions all at the same time?! Or maybe they're just going back to basics, and we'll wave while I'm walking the hills of our neighborhood in the evenings, exercising the good old fashioned way ;). Maybe they've just given up on machines. Don't get me wrong, I used to own a NordicTrac and loved it but it really isn't the same as real cross country skiing. The nice lady who bought it eight years ago seemed very pleased to be getting such a great deal, and DH had a good laugh once she drove off with it (most grateful to see it gone!). I'll walk, thank you!

On Saturday I visited my local weaver's shop with my first woven creation, yeah! I got some great feedback from them, and we laughed about some hard-learned tricks. The warp for my next project will go on the loom today. So many ideas running through my head!