Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Long Island Fair

From New York City to the sticks...and the Long Island Fair. My daughter entered the Long Island Fair contest in the junior culinary category, and of course on Sunday we had to go see if she got placed.

Hey, look at that funny family! 

Rows and rows of prize winning apples... 

And peppers... 

And squashes.. 

 100 pounds? 

yee haw.. 

We were too late for this contest

And now we have a bunny fever in the house. 

The camel was so cute! 

yummy apples

Magic Show

Show audience eating candy apples

Hey, the magician's helper looks familiar! 
And there it was - the blue FIRST PLACE ribbon for my daughter's prize winning lemon bars.
I was (and am) one proud mama bear.  


Monday, September 28, 2015

Lady M

There are not that many bakeries with so much hype involved as the Lady M in New York City. It's been famous for quite some time now, but I never had a chance to try it until this past weekend.

We want CAKE! 

So many to choose from... 

Which one do I CHOOSE? 

Decisions, decisions, decisions... 

Checkers Cake

Strawberry Shortcake

Green Tea Cake
And the verdict... it was good, but did not live up to the enormous hype. I could go there if I was in the neighborhood, but would not make a trip there specifically if it was out of my way.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

UES

Yesterday was a New York City day again. We took a little stroll on the Upper East Side.

Bloomies..haven't shopped there in ages.. 

Give me a big smile girls

And another one!

Park Avenue

Daughter's OOTD - I love those sneakers. May have to poach them.

I'm going to live here when I'm big!

Window shopping at Louboutin

Madison Avenue

Upper East Side classic (the bar, not my selfie)

How about that crocodile? 

I want to do the "so what" pose. 


Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Drama

Wearing a hat puts a little drama in the outfit. You all know I love hats, but it took me a long time to learn to wear them, and it's all because of the drama. I'm definitely not a drama queen, but the older I get, the more sure I get of myself, who I am, and my style, and that makes be able to handle a little drama too.

I'm wearing a hat from a New York City street vendor, Ann Taylor sweater west, H&M t-shirt, NYDJ jeans, Ecote sandals and Gucci bag.





Tuesday, September 15, 2015

A New Obsession

I have a new drink obsession - the Kombucha. You may have heard about it, but in case you haven't it's fermented black tea (could be green tea too) that is a bit bubbly. Kombucha is said to have lots of health benefits because it contains live active beneficial bacteria, and I swear that every time after I drink this thing, I feel wonderful. It actually improves my mood and my well being right there on the spot. (It's almost better than a glass of Sauvignon Blanc!) I have bought it bottled so far, but a couple of weeks ago I started my own batch at home. If it works out, I will make a post about it..(it's a very long process). Meanwhile, I buy GT's Kombucha. I've tried all the flavors, but I like the original the best. I don't usually post about products, but this stuff is so good, that it deserves a post! The only downside is that it's not available very widely, mostly just in health food stores. It is catching on quickly though, so in a few years this may be the new "Chobani"...



Tea drinks are huge at this moment anyway.. There's all kinds of iced tea and chai and whatnot. This one that my daughter likes is very good because it's low in both calories and sugar. It's called plan Tea, and this one was organic black tea with vanilla and basil. I tried it too and it was delicious. Cheers!


Monday, September 14, 2015

West Village

Here are a few more shots of the lovely West Village... The first two taken and filtered by my daughter.



And here is my favorite new shop find, located on the corner of Bleecker and Grove Streets. I totally fell in love with that jacket in the window. The shop also has very cool clothes for the boys (I would totally wear the men's stuff too!)



Sunday, September 13, 2015

Back in Town

The summer is over, and with it, the City life has begun. This was my New York City outfit yesterday: an old linen shirt (Jones New York), a black jersey skirt (Vince Camuto), gladiator sandals (JustFab) and burgundy bag (Gucci). As you can see, my photographer (i.e. my daughter) has decided that posing is boring, and the pictures need to have some natural movement in them. Find the one posing picture below...

How's my hair? 

Ok, I'm ready

Wait, I need something from the car...

Oh, the bread is showing from my bag..should I hide it? 

Let me just fix my glasses as they are falling down my nose..

Friday, September 11, 2015

Remembering

Yesterday I thought that the memory of 9/11 has faded a little in these 14 years, but today I realize that it has not. I still remember that faithful day like it was yesterday. Today I am honoring the memory of all those that were lost by remembering, and by renewing my promise to live and love fully. Life is a precious gift. 


Thursday, September 10, 2015

School is Cool

I am very lucky that my kids love to go to school. I was a bit nervous about my little one starting Kindergarten this year and going to school for the first time, but it's been a very easy transition, and she is eager to go every morning. The second grader is happy too, and comes back from school with stories about what she and her friends did during recess. My oldest is in eight grade, and super busy with lots of homework and daily badminton practices.

I have always tried to foster a learning environment at home, exposing my children to knowledge of the classics, art, music, etc. For example, our current bed time story book is the National Geographic Treasury of Greek Mythology. (A lovely book, by the way, with beautiful illustrations!) They love hearing about the Greek gods and goddesses, even though sometimes the stories are a bit hard to comprehend. And I love reading it; I learn things too, and look at the classic stories from a different perspective when I have to explain them to the kids.

I also ask questions every day after school, trying to get my kids to think about what they are learning, and to see the bigger picture.

A few days before school started, the school district arranged a school bus orientation for kindergarteners which was a great way to lessen the anxiety about taking the bus..

Big sister showing the little sister the ropes on school bus. 

High five

The bus orientation had Tigger and Pooh visiting too. 

And then it was time for first day of school. Look at that happy face! 

At least she paused to wave goodbye. 

First school day - It's much more fun waiting for the bus with a friend. 


Ok, here I go... The long journey of education begins.
And there's no looking back!