Green Market: "Cooking in the Moment" at the Institute for Culinary Education!

On Saturday I went with Mel and Leda to the ICE's class "Cooking in the Moment". First we started with a tour of the Union Square Green Market and then we finished by bringing all of our goodies back to the ICE and preparing lunch.


All of the different veggies, meats, cheese and bakery products at the Green Market are really amazing!
















They even have hand-dyed yarn!





















We used some of these mini eggplant in our meal...
Here is our instructor, Richard, picking out a sugar pumpkin. We used that for our dessert and for a pumpkin seed salsa which was served over fresh sea bass.

Ess-a-Bagel!

So we've just come from Max's birthday (great party!!! Thanks, Dave and Em!!!) And now we're in line at Ess-a-Bagel. It is PACKED! But worth it.

Real Time Blogging

So, I'm on the train heading in to the City to meet Leda and Mel for a course at the Institute for Culinary Education (Yay!)

I've got to be at Union Square by 9am, which means I'm on the train. A train that left P-town at 7:15 on the dot. (Well, make that shortly after 7:15, as I was semi-sprinting from the pay-parking machine while also attempting to hit the remote lock button on the wagon.) Thanfully, the conductor had a heart. I only had to run past two train cars and half-way down the stairs from the platform before I got the reassuring light blink and beep signifying a locked car. Note to BMW of America-- can't we get the blink and beep whenever one is in range, even if the car *is* locked? It turns out I had been locked, but I could only get a visual/auditory confirm by unlocking and re-locking.

Other note: the lighting is so much less harsh on Amtrak. I guess Amtrak figures the liklihood of a mugging on board is significantly less, so they can afford earlý morning mood lighting, but come on NJ Transit, its like a lightbulb testing facility in here, even with sunglasses on.
At least its a double-decker. Woo-hoo!

More to come later! Ps the next station stop is Metuchen.

Take a Little Time to Enjoy Your View

Today, while I was getting Miss B. dressed we had on The View.

The ladies were talking about "happiness" and some survey or other.

They kept saying "happy" and "happiness" and finally Miss B. shakes her hands at the TV and says: "Happy Day, People!"

You see, one of her favorite Caillou episodes includes a little song feature called "Happy Day" and Miss B. has been known to dance around saying: "It's a Happy Day, a Happy Day, it's a Happy Day".

Apparently, she wanted to add her own view to The View.

Not Another Craft!

Because I have so much free time.... I was at Michael's yesterday and I was looking through the bead aisle and saw these neat little cloisonne beads.

Now, mind you, I'm sure for people who really bead and jewelry make you will be mortified that I bought materials at Michaels... but it wasn't bad for a first start!

Not to mention that I finally found a good use for my Villeroy & Boch monkey trinket plate...

Not bad for a first try and even better that the materials can be stored in a small ziplock bag (because at this point I don't have room for crafts that take up more space!)

Really?

Today we went to Michael's to have a picture framed. I bring it over to the "framer" and ask to have it dry-mounted.

I'm advised that they "really don't like to drymount anything that's not replaceable."

I get their idea, but I know the artist and she can make these things all day.

In fact, she was right there with me.

It was a marker-drawn scribble on newsprint made by Miss B.

Something's telling me it will liklely last longer for posterity if it is dry mounted and framed, no?

I mean she's clearly talented, but it's not a Picasso, it's a Crayola!

Don't You Love It When

a contractor visits your home to give you an estimate and they are sporting a giant grim reaper tattoo?

Lots of Excitement!

We've had quite the exciting weekend!

First off, yesterday we had a family lunch at Ruby Foo's in Times Square...




















Then Miss B. took a stroll down Broadway....



Check out that hat! Made by moi from a pattern in Itsy Bitsy Hats... Miss B.'s fans liked the hat.
















to get to The Lion King!


















Here's Miss B. at Intermission-- she had a great time!












Then, today, we went to Terhune Orchards for Apple Picking!!!

A Whirlwind Day!

Today, Miss B. and I had quite the afternoon! Thanks to Laura at the Shorehouse we found out about the Maureen O'Brien Cats and Dogs Thrift Store at the Monmouth County ASPCA. There were some great finds at the shop, including, ties for fifty cents a piece (great for crafts! and we did find three Hugo Boss ties!), some neat costume jewelry and some other goodies (to be named later!)

After hitting up the thrift store we checked out the ASPCA animal facility and it was really lovely. Laura's description of a "park like setting" is totally true! There is a pond, a large covered area for dogs to run around in when making visits with potential adoptive families and really nice accomodations for each animal. This was the nicest animal shelter I've ever seen. If you're in the Monmouth county area and looking to adopt a pet, I would definitely recommend making a visit! Luckily for the Husband, the only dog I would have considered bringing home was a tiny Chihuahua, but he didn't seem interested in Miss B. or myself (maybe we should have had Taco Bell for lunch!)

After our visit to the ASPCA, it was time for a snack, and what better snack than:

fries and a milk shake at Bobby's Burger Palace?

After filling up with sugar and salt, we drove over to the beach near Long Branch.
Miss B. had a great time running around on the sand and chasing the waves.

Afterwards, we drove home through Monmouth county and at one point even encoutered two deer (with antlers!) how random is that?

Anyhoo, a great day was had by all!

Here's a

really cool post about Photography Tips found at Fly Through Our Window.

Another Mom Rite of Passage...

Today I had to sit with Miss B. trying to comb out her first ever giant ball o'hair-tangle. And with a head of hair like Miss B. I was afraid I'd either have to a) cut the tangle out or b) turn her whole head into dreadlocks. Thankfully, I improvised with a little Frederic Fekkai conditioner (which became my own psuedo "No More Tangles" product) and a giant comb, we worked it all out.

The Disney Vault

Okay, what's up with that? We've got tickets to see The Lion King with Miss B. So I thought I'd pick up the DVD for us to watch beforehand so that she would be familiar with the story. We go to Barnes and Noble, they don't have it. We go to the Disney Store... we ask for it and are told in hushed, whispered tones that it's in "The Vault" and thus, completely unavailable. I'm told that it might be available again, in a few years. And, more importantly, that for $24.95 I can order Snow White, who is temporarily out of the Vault (like a Mormon during their mission year) but will be going back in soon.

Now I had heard of this phenomenon years ago when Ana worked at the Disney Store in high school. I clearly recall when an old person asked her when "Song of the South" would be released from the Vault.

Okay, Disney big-wigs can you explain to me the point here? I'm sure you're hoping to capture some great market with lucrative releases from the Vault, but my kid will have out grown this stuff by then and for now you've just lost a $24.95 sale. Hmpf.

Check This Out!

Early color photos of Russia taken before the revolution. Pretty cool!

Okay So,

how lame is it that none of my local Barnes & Noble's will be open at Midnight for The Lost Symbol!?! Come on, it's Dan Brown! I've been waiting for months for escapist-crappy-psuedo-historical-fiction-brain-candy! Lame!

You Know You Are the Parent of a Toddler When...

It takes you three days to notice that the "little orange light" on the side of your computer next to the CD-ROM isn't actually a light, but is a stray piece of day-glo Play-Doh.

Hats!

So recently, I've been making a lot of hats. This all started, of course, a while ago with the "Itty Bitty Hats" book. I make tons of Hats for Miss B. and now I've been expanding my hat repertoire. After my trip to The Whole Nine Yarns (check out their blog!) in Kennesaw, while I was at the ancestral homestead earlier this summer, I started two exciting hat projects in earnest. The first is the "Hartsfield" hat, a free pattern from TWNY, worked in Louisa Harding's Kimono Angora a beautiful angora blend. It didn't take too terribly long to make and it is wonderfully soft. I'm looking forward to wearing this in the fall/winter!

The next project was a really neat cable knit hat from a pattern that I got at TWNY's Christmas in July event. It's called an "Unoriginal Hat" and it is worked in Malabrigo Chunky a hand dyed merino wool.

Unfortunately the pattern and the gauge were not necessarily true to each other. This hat was supposed to be a "ladies medium" and it basically is an infant hat (!) Go figure. But I've ordered another skein of Malabrigo and am going to try it again, larger and on bigger needles. This time it will probably come out big enough to fit on a pumpkin!

I'm also working on the "Loopy" hat pattern from Itty Bitty Hats for Miss B.... pictures to follow!

Imitation...

is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

I liked this picture....

















So I elected to paint one of my own...

Wow

Today has been exciting. We went to Sears and bought two-years worth of compactor bags.

How Cool is This?

Check Out Cathe Holden's latest project: Crafting with People at Just Something I Made.

Chop-Sticks, The Wa and Chocolate Pie.

Today we went to Six Flags in Jackson, New Jersey. It's kind of shabby. Granted, I felt less like I was taking my life in my hands then when we visited Rye Playland, but I got more of a nostalgic theme-park feel from Playland, just because of the age of it.

Anyway, Miss B. had a good time on the rides, right up until the kid running the Wiggles "Big Red Plane" ride kept trying to confirm that she is indeed 36" tall and kept grazing her noggin with the measuring stick. This happened twice, twice she cried, twice the Husband and I had to restrain ourselves from beaning the park employee.

On our way out of the park, Miss B. again proved she can read by spotting the Dippin' Dots Ice Cream shack and shouting: "Ice Cream!" (Mind you, she's never eaten Dippin' Dots before and actually seemed rather perplexed by them when they were presented to her). Thus, the only way she knew it was an ice cream stand was by reading the words: "Ice Cream" painted on the side of the building.

All told we spent about three and a half hours at the park going on all the kiddie rides and left the park just as a giant swarm of gnats invaded the area. (The gnat invasion was actually so large that when leaving the park the Husband had to get in the car by himself, gun it in the parking lot to try and dislodge some of the gnats and then Miss B. and I had to jump in).

On the way home, at the Husband's suggestion, we picked up a sack full of Chinese food from the Sunny Garden. Before getting home I had asked to go to the Wawa (or as Princeton locals refer to it: The Wa) to get ice. When Miss B. heard that we were going to the Wa she instantly asked for a Pie. (You see, Grandpa takes her to get TastyKake Pies at the Wawa). Okay, we said: What kind of Pie would you like? (She's had apple and blueberry before). She responds: Chocolate!

Chocolate TastyKake Pie? Do they even make such a thing? Sho' 'Nuff. My Dad had been going on and on about the Tasty Kake display at the Wa. He was even so enamored of it that he made my Mom go into the store and take a picture of it. I really didn't understand myself until I saw it. I've never seen such a variety of Tasty Kake products in one place EVER. There were things I had never even heard of. Some kind of orange cake, every kind of pie you could think of (including a Tasty-Klair chocolate pie, just as Miss B. had requested), kandykakes, all sorts of cupcakes and krimpets. It was just Tasty-KRAZY! So, I got the pie and the ice and headed back to the car.

Next incredible? Miss B. using chop sticks (left-handed, by the way.... I always think saying that someone has done anything left-handed makes it seem even more impressive, even if the person is a lefty naturally). Yup, I made her up a plate of goodies which included rice, sesame noodles and some chicken satay. I gave Miss B. her wooden fork. A few moments later she's saying to the Husband: "I want THIS" and we do the guessing game of: do you want rice? No, THIS. Do you want Noodles? No, THIS and finally we figured out that she wanted his chop sticks. We give her a pair and BOOM! She grabs a ball of rice and starts chomping away using the sticks like a pro. Me? I couldn't master chop sticks until well after law school. I still pretty much suck at it. Miss B.? She's a Reading-Chocolate-Tasty-Kake-Pie-Eating-Chop-Stick-Using-Pro.

She Did It Again!

This morning, as part of the opening segment of a Kipper DVD, the word: "Barney" appeared on screen (note-- there was no picture of Barney, just a purple background and the word "Barney") and guess who says nice as can be: "BARNEY!"

When we asked Miss B. this evening how it is that she came to be able to read she told us: "Cold Milk."

Milk. Whole Milk. Nice.

Love Love!

Okay, not that there was any doubt, but we officially *LOVE* the Housing Works Thrift Shop's online site! Our Asian Brocade Jacket arrived today (see photo).

Can I tell you, it's even better than I expected? I've been looking for one of these since 1998 when I saw Julia Roberts wear a turquoise one in Notting Hill. (Obviously, it will take a lot more than a jacket to make me look like Julia Roberts, but the jacket is a start). And in a frightening mother-daughter dress alike moment, this should go nicely with the Asian Brocade Jacket that I scored for Miss B. the last time I visited the Second Chance Thrift Shop in Gladstone/Peapack!! Woo-hoo!

(ps. Photo is courtesy of the Housing Works website!)

Grounds for Sculpture!

We visited the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton again today. This time we also had lunch at Rat's with the Husband. Yes, "Rat's" isn't necessarily an appealing name for a restaurant, but it was very neat on the inside and the food was good.

And we kept getting visited by this duck while we ate.

OMG!

I can't believe it's September already!

Also, an FYI: Looking for something fun and thrifty? Check out Housing Works Thrift Shop's online auctions and store! They have the same great things from their NYC stores available online.

Longwood Gardens

So, over the weekend the fam hit up Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.




















And who knew, on the way there we would see both the infamous Franklin Mint and the "Wawa Corporate University"...