All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel
Yesterday I spent the day scrapbooking! I finished several pages which always leaves me with a feeling of accomplishment.
Patterned Paper: Enchanting by Fancy Pants Designs Solid Paper: Stampin’ Up! Tags: K&Company Glitter: Stampin’ Up! Double-sided Flora stickers: Martha Stewart
Well, hello Jack
Nom, Nom, Nom
Bunny devouring the tomato
Price cleaned the fridge last week and I felt it was worthy of some photographs.
Coming home to this was beyond exciting! It made me start to think how I could organize it even better with containers/baskets/bowls for our yogurts, butter (for all my baking), eggs, etc! The Container Store really is one of my favorite stores! If I had known this was happening I would have gotten a few before pictures so you would ‘understand’ (?) my excitement.
Ignore the debris on the floor… there was a long unnoticed leak which resulted in our LL cutting out part of a base cabinet that night.
ah still messy but better.
Up next…. I have to clean the top of the fridge off.
I created a mini scrapbook album for a co-worker’s daughter’s 4th birthday. I love to capture kid’s personalities when they are young so you can see if they change. Or in the case of Kaylie, if she stays SASSY!
Most of the supplies were from Stampin’ Up. I used their chipboard pieces to create the front and back cover. I then painted them, added thickers letters, and SU! stickers to the cover. I covered both covers in Mod Podge to prevent any chipping of paint or accents coming off.
I used a punch to accent every other page in the book to give it some detail. I accented the pages with stickers, rub ones, eyelets, and patterned paper. The last step was to assemble and tie off pieces of ribbon on the rings.
Before I gave it to Kellie I had her journal in it. I saved spaces to allow for her to write things down about the day.
The funniest picture of the day! I asked Kaylie if I could take her picture and she stuck a pose!
My salad from my first meal in Greece
Ever since I visited Greece this past March I have frowned upon Greek Salads that are not the traditional Greek Salad. I just don’t understand why we have to Americanize something that is so simple and perfect.
We ordered Greek Salad for every meal and by the time the trip was over I was a little crazy of it but a week after I got back I wanted it again, desperately. I found Sophia’s Greek Pantry in Belmont so I go there and get Feta, Tzatziki, and these amazing imported filled croissants from 7days.
Horiatiki (Greek Salad)
Tomatoes, cut into wedges
Green Pepper, sliced very thin
Red Onion, sliced very thin
Cucumber, peeled, halved, and slice (remove seeds if it is wet/has a lot of seeds)
Olives
Feta Cheese
Dressing: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Red wine vinegar, lemon, S&P
Cut all veggies and add dressing… enjoy
I did not give proportions because I think it all depends on your own taste. I don’t like olives to I leave them out and I really like a lot of onion so I add in more than typical.
Emily’s mom gave us two HUGE tomatoes and a cucumber. I added in some of our yellow pear tomatoes that have finally begun to ripen.
On a sad side note: There are fires in the suburbs of Athens are are causing a lot of destruction. I hope they get them under control quickly!
Price and I went into New York City on Sunday morning to see The High Line. I have been dying to go since it opened. I even wrote a paper on the act of preserving it and transforming the former rail lines into a public greenspace. So we finally had some time and went into the City to check it out.
Ignoring the weather and all sense of logic I only packed flip flops for the weekend. Not even 5 minutes out of Grand Central and walking to THL it starts to rain which results in wet sidewalks and me slipping and holding on to Price anytime we got to a section of marble in the sidewalk. And not even 5 minutes after I purchase an umbrella it stops raining. I vowed to get another pair of shoes when I found a place- but being about 9.30 on a Sunday morning my options were limited. With the ground drying up and my safety restored I felt comfortable to ignore looking for a place to get shoes. After our visit to THL and Chelsea Market we head back up the touristy Time’s Square area to get lunch at Somberos, a great Mexican place that serves killer margaritas. Well as we are approaching Penn Station I slip and fall on a man hole cover. Damn it! 1) OUCH! 2) I think I crushed the stuff I was carrying 3) where is the closest Duane Reed because I need to clean up my knee. Thankfully a woman came over and gave me some wet wipes to clean up. Thank you whoever you were. So I recover with a bruised and scraped left knee, sore left ankle, muddy leg, scratched right foot, and sore right thumb. I’m a mess. Shortly after this Price kinda reminded me ‘Next Time, wear sneakers.’
Aside from the fall we had a great day. We walked over to the High Line. As soon as I saw it in sight I was giddy and gushing about it to Price. We got on the the Northern entrance at 20th St and 10th Ave and walked down to the end and back up to the 16th St stair to go to Chelsea Market. THL was everything I could have imagined and more. The detail that was put into it is just amazing. The concrete panels that make up the surface dip from the remaining tracks and then go up to create these benches that look like the surface has been peeled away. They even had these cool water fountains that did not have a drain built in. It was designed so the water would run off into a V on the edge and into a drain on the main surface. By far my favorite design aspect was the lounges they had Diller- Von Fustenberg Sun Deck area. The lounges were constructed using wheels and they set upon the railroad track which allowed them to move back and forth a bit. Such clean lines but it shows how Diller Scofidio + Renfro valued the existing structure and its history.
After our visit to THL we went to Chelsea Market– my food mecca….. the Food Network Studio is located above the market. When we were going in and out of the shops we saw pictures of the Food Network Stars like Emeril, Bobby Flay, Alton Brown, Rachel Ray, etc with the owners of the stores. We got really good cupcakes from Eleni’s and I got a candy thermometer and copper cleaner from a kitchen supply. Bowery Kitchen Supply was trouble because I was eyeing these big aluminum pots- like 20 gallon ones!
New York City has this amazing feel that I don’t think can ever ben repilcated. I love knowing that around every turn is something new, something happening. On our way back to Grand Central we came across a street fair that shut down Madison Ave for a few blocks. You can never be bored in the city that never sleeps.
My family is a cast of characters. when we get together things get a little crazy. My dad and oldest nephew’s birthday was on Saturday and we got together at the boat club for a BBQ. The weather was hot a gross so we stayed inside the main rec room while Michael, my brother in law, and my dad’s cousin manned the grills. Much appreciation for our great burgers, hot dogs, and sausages. Plus we had Greenwich Prime Meat’s (formerly Maneros) Gorgonzola Salad, which is one of my favorite things to eat.
Its really funny to see how much my brother TJ and sister Kristen are alike when we get together. We pick up on jokes, hand gestures, & laughs. Like my brother can hear a noise, which reminds him of a song, which I can get in about 4 seconds of him humming. Or when we and mention ‘ objects in mirror are closer then they appear’ and K&T’s mom says ‘like the dinosaurs!’ I knew she was talking about the 3 second bit in the first Jurassic Park movie.
So our time together is usually hectic with joking around, catching up on life, and patroling my three nephews running around. They were even more zany since it was Keagan’s 7th birthday and the twins, Grey and Cole, turn 6 on the 29th so there was some kid electricity in the air. Once I gave them their gifts things got worse with excitement and fighting. Price is just shocked that my sister can think through all of the noise.
Cole
Coleman coloring with Poppy Spaz (this was actually one of Keagan’s gifts from their grandma)
Grey with his remote controled spider
Keagan playing with his hovercraft (horrible blurry action shot)
After dinner there was more playing (chaos!) and running around until we sang Happy Birthday to everyone and they they got cake and patries so they were buzzing around on a sugar high.
Ready, Set, BLOW!!!! Love how Keagan had his collar popped the whole time.
In the end my sister and I were talking about another visit with the boys coming up to Boston. They were up last October so I think a year between visits is good. I think our apartment is finally clean from the sand, spilled juice, and general debris from their last visit 😛
Today at lunch I went into the memorial services for Bob Wright held at Park Street Church.
I only go into churches to examine them architecturally. In fact, I was bribed into going the last time I attended services. (Don’t get me wrong I love to learn about religion. I just took a class called World Religions- sweet, I got an A.) But I felt okay about going for a stranger. Maybe it was because I owed nothing to him, except to smile.
Bob was a homeless man that sat outside Park Street Church in the mornings with a sign that read “Smile…. It’s the Law”. He had a rough life with parents that abandoned him and his brother, going through the foster care system, he was a coppersmith, and became homeless when his rooming house in Framingham, MA burned down in 1995. He lived on streets until October of 2007 when he moved into Ruggles Affordable Assisted Living Community. He continued to go to the corner of Park Street and Tremont with his clam shell of birdseed and his sign.
Today’s memorial was really moving with its attendance that I estimate was well over 100 people. When I first got there it was standing room only, luckily someone started to bring out more chairs quickly. I don’t sing in church, apparently the woman next to me doesn’t either, but they had Amazing Grace accompanied by a guitar. Afterwards Christina Nordstrom read the lyrics of a song she wrote about Bob. The song Angel with an Attitude was eloquent and really insightful. She really took the time to get to know Bob and as a result also wrote a book called Park Street Angels about the experience. After scriptures (Matthew 25:31-40) there were more tributes. All of these people shared a bit more about Bob than the last, from that fact the he was a writer to an artist. Jenn Eisenhein (I think?) read his journal entries that he passed on to her. And another man shared artwork that Bob gave him one year for Christmas.
I did not talk to him aside from ‘hello’, and we generally just smiled, nodded, or waved to each other but I still value that he was there, sitting under the clock the told me if I was on time or running late to work. On the days that I was running late his smile mattered even more.
Bob Wright August 31 1949-August 16 2009 Smile… It’s the Law! Bob Wright Memorial Fund Hearth
I went to Newport RI this past Saturday to visit my Dad and Robin. He was in town for a Total Marine Rendezvous. We ment for dinner and a sunset cruise around the harbor. Eating lobster is really the once acceptable time to use a bib past the age of 1 1/2. You must embrace every opportunity!
There is something comforting and familiar about getting a guided tour on the water of the mansions on the water. Ahh it reminds me of all the homes in Bell Haven and Indian Harbor back home.
Do you need a house that has a dining room table that seats over 120 people?
All of this reminds me of the endless time when my sister and I would sit on the front of my dad’s boat and pick our houses when we would leave the harbor. ahh to dream…
I use any excuse to bake. Shakespeare in the Park for The Boston Couples Meetup was a great reason. Cupcakes are my favorite… the perfect portion of cake. Well, I have had Cupcake Heaven by Susannah Blake for awhile and figured now is the time to crack it open and give it a go. I picked her recipe for Orange Poppyseed Cupcakes but made some modifications to it and made a version with lemon (thanks to a suggestion from Ben at work).
Orange/Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 1/2 cup of sugar 2 eggs, at room temperature 4 tablespoons of orange juice or 3 tablespoons of lemon juice +1 tablespoon vanilla extract zest of whole orange/lemon 1 cup of self rising flour 1 tablespoon of poppyseedsMarscapone Frosting
8 oz of marscapone cheese 1 cup of powdered sugar, sifted juice of orange/lemonPreheat over to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup cupcake pan with wrappers.
Beat the butter and sugar until creamy and pale. Gently beat in the eggs one at a time. Add in the zest, juice of the citrus, and poppyseeds, then sift in the flour and fold all to combine. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcakes. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack. Once the cupcakes have cooled completely ice them with the frosting. decorate with sections of citrus, sprinkles, or candied citrus.
The frosting is made by combining the mascapone in a bowl with sifted powdered sugar and juice until desired consistency and taste is reached. Mix until smooth.
*There will be a little batter in each wrapper, but it rises substantially to fill the cupcake wrappers
Creaming the butter and sugar
Add in the poppyseeds and zest
Flour has been added
…. almost done!
Marscapone Frosting
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