i heart ny

Ok, so I haven't blogged about my trip for a couple of reasons:
a-I'm not a good story teller...in my next life, I want to be able to sing and to tell stories
b-Uploading pictures on here is one of the most annoying things known to man, so I put a few and then a link to mine and Emily's pics from the trip
c-I have been super busy trying to be lazy for my last few days of summer

Emily and I headed out to NYC about 2 weeks ago. After sitting on the plane at DFW, on the runway, on a plane which could not withstand the Texas heat and therefore kept shutting down (no a/c!!) on the runway while waiting for an hour and a half, we finally took flight and landed at LaGuardia and met up with our Texan-turned-New Yorker friend, Alyson, from TCU. We spent a full day shopping in the city, went on an all day wine tour, and then headed to the Jersey shore to see yet another friend from college, SarahMac.

Can I tell you the highlights, in bullet-form, por favor?

-I LOVED Chelsea Market. If I lived close by in NYC, I would be there all the time. Specialty food stores, bakeries with the cutest cookies and cupcakes, a really neat kitchen store, and wine store...seriously, what else do you need in life?!
-I enjoyed my first visit to a true NYC apartment...Alyson and her roommate, Sara, really know how to utilize their space. Their apartment was precious! And right in the middle of Manhattan, which I learned was pretty great. They were great hostesses and Alyson even left a giant Empire State Building chocolate on our pillows....she skipped right over the tiny one-bite-and-you're-done chocolates. :) She's my kind of gal.
-The guys, at least at the little bar down the block from Alyson's, were beautiful. Almost too pretty.
-We wine-toured it up all day Saturday. I rode on a limo bus for what was hopefully the first and last time. It sounds really cool, I know...but let me tell you...the combination of 8 a.m., mimosas, sitting sideways, 2 hour drive each way, listening to a 35+ old woman whose tongue was pierced ramble, 3 vineyards, and bottles of vino split at each vineyard do not make for a fun ride. The weather was gorgeous, however, and there was live music at the last 2 vineyards. It was a great day!!
-We headed to New Jersey on Sunday morning to go see our long last friend SarahMac. Her name is really just Sarah but her last name starts with Mc, so she has been SarahMac to us since our days of sorority chants and singing...thank the Lord that's over! Her family has an unbelievably amazing house right across from the beach and we stayed there for 2 nights (I even got my kitty fill thanks to the stray cat they started feeding last summer who has since had a family of his own; complete with 3 tiny kitties that I tried endlessly to befriend). We spent the next few days sunning, laughing a lot, and splashing in the ocean. I got taken down by one doozie of a wave and now my sunglasses are swimming amongst the fishes...it was a small price to pay for such enjoyment.

The trip was so relaxing (minus the transportation: both air and bus) and SO much fun. I am already anxious to go back to NYC and see the many things I didn't get to this time. There's also something to be said for friends you've not seen in 4 years whom you can just pick right back up with again like you saw them a week ago.

Here are a few of my favorite pics:

A cool, random collage of painted tiles for 9/11.

Alyson's sweet WELOME home sign...guess what grammar nazi noticed the cute mistake...

SarahMac's family's BEAUTIFUL house in NJ!

Happy hour at the beach.

Night lights of NYC.More beach fun.

Inside one of the wine cellars...I don't usually have a drink in hand at 10 a.m.

Pool time in NJ.

And here are the links to pictures if you want to see more:

(Warning: Emily likes the camera...she's like a performing monkey)

http://picasaweb.google.com/marylorangersnaps/NYCNJ2009#

http://picasaweb.google.com/ClarkyClark/NYCNJ#

pre bon voyage

I'm not actually leaving until Thursday, but am currently doing any and all that I can to avoid thinking about packing. (my quart-size liquids bag is all ready to go, however!) Suddenly, I do not like any of the clothes in my closet, nor can I decide on a single item to pack. And let's face it, NYC peeps might be a little more up to speed on fashion than those of us living in FW, so I might be figuring out how I can blend in with my basics. I want to pack lightly. 2 reasons: 1) the sweet friend we're staying with lives on the 4th floor of her building. The building has no elevator. 2) I want to have room for all the goodies I find shopping! Therefore, I must decide very carefully on my outfits/clothes so that I don't take a lot of extra/what if I decide I want to wear this instead/I want options items.

Did I seriously just write a whole paragraph about packing?! Clearly I am stalling big time.

Packing is on my mind, though, because I'm going to be at my principal's house (gasp) all day tomorrow and I don't want to go into crazy packing mode tomorrow night because that is exactly what leads to overpacking of the suitcase I want to carry on. DFW baggage claim is THE worst. Always carry on if flying into that aeropuerto.

Maybe if I like you enough I'll bring you back a sweet magnet or shot glass that says this:

And maybe if I had darker, wavy hair, I could look like this in a few days:

And lastly, maybe if I had a super cool camera, I could take pictures like this while out and about in the city:

But alas, I do not have dark or wavy hair, or a really cool camera, but I do like those of you who read my words, so maybe the magnets can happen. I will share my pictures, taken with a normal camera, when I return. :)

good stuff

This is my newest obsession...well, obsession is kind of a scary word when you're speaking in regards to another person (don't wanna be considered a stalker)...so let's say, I like to look at this blog A LOT:

http://mycharmingkids.net

Precious kids.
Really neat photography.
Entertaining and witty, but also hearty and honest writing.
Every now and then a yummy "granola/hippie" recipe.

What more could I ask for in a blog?

sho' good eatin'

That's the motto from a yummy little place in Lampasas, TX that I've been known to stop at on my trips to San Antonio when travelling 281. Summer has given me even more time to be obsessed with food; mainly watching the Food Network and soaking up all that I can. Even if they are cooking something I won't necessarily eat, I often still watch just to learn. I've also become a little bit hooked on the show "Chopped" on FN...it's stressful but so interesting! There's always a mystery ingredient that does not go with the rest of the required ingredients but must be used somehow in the dish. Examples: gummy bears, baby octopus, animal crackers...I didn't even know what sharon fruit was until last night...and I have the Food Network to thank for the thing I learned yesterday.

I have made two tasty meals to eat off of this week. Both are from my friends (Giada and Ellie Krieger) on TV. Shocking.

Turkey Meatloaf with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Feta
(serves 4-6)

Vegetable cooking spray
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped garlic and herb-marinated sun-dried tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced, optional
2 eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground turkey

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spray a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, if using, eggs, milk, feta, salt, and pepper. Add the turkey and gently stir to combine, being careful not to overwork the meat.
Carefully pack the meat mixture into the prepared pan and bake until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.

*My notes:
-I would cut the salt in half. I think the feta cheese gives plenty of salt.
-One of the easiest things ever to make. Throw everything in a bowl, mix it up, and put it in a baking dish-seriously?! I was done before the oven was even hot enough.
-Do I even need to tell you that I used skim milk instead of whole??
-I cut up a couple of sweet potatoes into wedges to make my own sweet potato fries...cooked them in the oven at the same time. Yummy, easy meal!

Tuscan Vegetable Soup
1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium canellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 stalks celery, diced, (about 1/2 cup)
1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes
2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional

In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.
Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.

*Another easy meal. A nice, light summer dinner.

Happy cooking! :)

R.I.P. MJ

Apparently Mazie took the term "R.I.P." a bit too literally...or she was really bitter that I had left her alone all day. This is how she welcomed me home and showed her feelings for Michael. Is it wrong to be a little excited about watching the public memorial for him???

celebrate good times

I love fireworks. I wish they were a part of every holiday celebration. Or maybe used to celebrate the end of each month. I would like that. I like them. Alas, I must try to get my fix on one day in July. Oh, but wait, not this year...I managed to see fireworks THREE nights in a row-booya!!

Thursday: minding our business, discussing all kinds of important things, sitting on the roof at 7th Haven, low and behold...up pops the show from the Botanic Gardens. What a great surprise! I then took pictures with each of my fireworks friends.
Mere and I...not sure I was quite ready for that photo, but it captured the fireworks, so I'm happy.

Claire and I....no fireworks that direction behind us...whoops.

Bobby and I...he was also my partner in crime on Friday as we snuck into the end of the Cats baseball game, found empty seats on the 3rd row, watched the last 1/2 of the 9th inning and then...FIREWORKS SHOW! Woohoo!!

For the actual 4th, I ventured to Lake Worth with Mere, Leigh, and crew...but not before a stop at Rosa's, Majestic, and the Dollar General first. What else is there to do in Lake Worth, really? We spent the rest of the afternoon at a lake house where we played a super fun game of baseball...I think all baseball should be played the way we played. I hit the first RBI of the game. Whatever that is. Then a couple of the boys proceeded to call me "Proud Mary" the rest of the night. Guess the Wii baseball playing paid off. I also caught a ball but it didn't count as an out because I wasn't holding my drink in hand when I caught it. See, now you wanna know how to play the game, huh? :) We played with the most precious tiny fluff of a dog and watched fireworks over the water once the sun went down. What a fabulous 4th!!!

Oh, wait, how could I forget the biggest man-made slip-n-slide ever! It was fun and luckily I'd had enough fun that afternoon that I wasn't grossed out by the fact that I was covered in baby oil, shaving cream, and grass. Here are my visible battle wounds, although a lot more of body hurt than just my hip and knees...internal bruising, perhaps...?? (And yes, one of my knees is more swollen than the other.)

Team America!!