Happy Halloween

I'm a little pumpkin orange and round. 

Here is my stem I grew in the ground. 

When I get all cut up don't you shout. 

Just open me up and scoop me out. 

Sweater Weather

I have this thick sweater coat from Burberry that I had totally forgotten about until my husband asked about what happened to it. Well what happened to it was that it was safely tucked away in the big closet upstairs. The art exhibition was the perfect occasion to bring it back.

Zara scarf, Madden Girls shoes, Chloe bag, H&M tights, Burberry sweater

Photographic Art

My brother-in-law Jovon had a month long exhibition of his photographic art at the Barn at the Jedediah Hawkins Inn in Riverhead, Long Island. (I'll do a separate post of the Inn and locale, it was a beautiful place!) Jovon runs a very successful photography business with a large crew taking photos of weddings, events, portraiture, etc., but this exhibition was showcasing his artistic expression. The photos were layered and collaged into beautifully ethereal, spiritual images. It was very cool to see his artistic point of view.

The Barn was a perfect spot for art gallery. We were invited to a little reception complete with wine and snacks. 

My husband with his sisters, nephew & brother

A little art lover

The artist's muse, i.e. my sister-in-law

The artist himself holding court

Wish I had taken some close-ups of my favorites... 

Spooky

Yes, the Halloween season is upon us. We did our first Halloween thingy last weekend, a little spooky walk event in our neighborhood park.

Dinner Outfit

Here's what I wore to Hendrick's

(I debated with myself if I should post this photo because of the mayhem going on around me, but then I decided that since that's my life, what the heck...I've got kids rolling around me, dog barking, work commitments, deadlines, friends, family obligations... in other words, I have a life, and sometimes it's ok not to gloss over too much.)

J Crew sweater, NYDJ jeans, Alexis Bittar jewelry, shoes from Urban Outfitters

Hendrick's Tavern

One of our favorite restaurants in Long Island is Hendrick's Tavern in Roslyn. My hubby and I go there every now and then for drinks and bar snacks, and it's always crowded with a good, fun vibe, and you end up seeing some local celebrities there. However, we never ate a proper dinner there, so when my daughter wanted to go there for her 13th birthday family dinner, we were happy to oblige. The restaurant is in an old building, dating to mid 1700's, and its claim to fame is that George Washington stayed at the tavern a long, long time ago. The tavern was updated a few years ago, and whoever designed it did a pretty good job. The middle bar area has old painted portraits of GW, but the rest of the restaurant has black and white photographs. Anyhoo, it's not exactly a family friendly restaurant, no kids' menu, etc, but when did that stop us? Certainly didn't stop us last weekend.

The only kids at the restaurant. Lucky it's a pretty noisy place. 

The menu is seafood and steaks, mostly. 

Flying the French fry flag

Yay! Fireworks at our table. Happy 13th birthday!

And the verdict for the food: It's ok... The lobster mac and cheese is to die for, but it couldn't carry the dinner alone. So it's not going to be our favorite dinner spot but we will definitely continue going for the drinks and the bar food.

Selfies

I can't believe that I'm now the mom of a teenager. So far it's been a great pleasure, and my baby teen has been as sweet as ever. Of course she knows a lot more than I do, and she's always right, but I can't really blame her, can I... apple doesn't fall far from the tree. So what do you do with a baby teen? You take selfies, or course!

Cooler

It's been a really warm fall, but now finally it's that time of year when you need a coat. I don't mind, I love coats! I've been wearing my blue H&M trench coat lately. It's unlined, so it's perfect for when it's not quite cold enough yet for a heavier coat version...

Red Rooster

Last weekend we went to the Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem with a few friends. It is celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson's place and I had wanted to try it for a while. We had a great time but unfortunately hardly any pictures to show for it.. The menu is quite eclectic, and the appetizers were the best fare. The gravlax was delicious, as were the spicy chicken wings. I had Swedish meatballs, which were ok (a bit too salty for my taste). Hubby shared a pile of dinosaur bones, i.e., ribs, with another gent, and they seemed very happy with the amount of meat they were served, although it was quite the overload. And as a fun surprise, there is a little club downstairs, perfect to burn a few calories dancing after dinner...and no, we did not stay until 4 a.m... next day was jam packed with yoga, softball, etc, etc...

B I R T H D A Y P A R T Y

The month of October is a big month in our house. We have two birthdays, both celebrated several times and to the max, and of course there is Halloween at the end of the month... This time our traditional home-birthday party was at the beginning of the month.

Sisterhood - and two birthday girls

It was tough to agree on a theme for the party. The closest we came up to agreeing was unicorns. So everyone got a  unicorn necklace, and the little ones played a pin the horn on the unicorn party game :-)

Faux fur is in - from the smallest fashionistas to bigger ones... 

You know your guests are having a good time when they start playing dress up and taking selfies. 

Whack that piñata.   Watch out people! 

Don't touch my piñata loot. 

The crime scene. 

Two birthday girls, two cakes.  This is cake #1. 

Cake #2. 

Birthday = Presents.  
Not sure the amount of presents these girls got is exactly healthy, but I guess that is the norm these days...

H a p p y   B i r t h d a y   t o   m y   l i t t l e   m u n c h k i n s  !

I   l o v e   y o u   t o   t h e    m o o n   a n d   b a c k  !