Crafty time...

If you don't know this already, I love crafting. (I am completely my mother's daughter when I say this, I know.) In grad school, I even worked at a scrapbook store... how's that for feeding an unhealthy addiction?

So a few weeks ago, I had the day off... and I spent the whole day crafting! I wanted to make a mini-album for my folks all about our recent trip to Minnesota. Here are some pages I came up with:

(PS: how cool is that collage function in Picasa?)

Unlike all those wonderful scrapbooking and paper crafting sites that I drool over, where those amazing designers include itemized lists of the products used in each layout/project... I can't remember half the things I used in this little book! However, I can offer these random facts: the craft paper in a few of the pages was from a shopping bag I got in MN, the buttons are from shirts that I bought (you know how they always include an extra button?), and the cherry stamp was hand carved by me!

That's it for me today. I would just like to thank all the people who are visiting this blog and voting for me... it's so exciting! I hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday!

... on the street where I live!

I have often walked
Down the street before,
But the pavement always
Stayed beneath my feet before.
All at once am I
Several stories high,
Knowing I'm on the street where I live.

OK, so maybe Lerner and Loewe weren't thinking of Steinway Street when they composed that song. (And maybe altering the lyrics from a romantic song to a quip about myself isn't the best way to showcase my music theater degree.) But as I walked to the subway this morning, I took a couple of photos to show you what my street looks like.

First up, the bakery. I don't know about you, but I think the smell of fresh baked bread is JUST wonderful! So having a bakery just a few doors down from my apartment should be heavenly, right?
WRONG! Do you notice where it says "Wholesale and Retail" on the awning? That means that they don't actually sell any of the delicious food they make to individual people like me. From 3 pm until around 5 am the bakers do their thing- filling the neighborhood with the aroma of breads, rolls, and sweets... and we can't even try them! What a tease, right?

Next is the Greek Senior Center/Community Hall. Most weekends there are balloons tied to the gate, while celebrations over baptisms, birthdays, and weddings commence inside.
This next one is always entertaining. They sell porcelain figurines and other such objects... but they're never open. Sometimes they have the metal gate up, so you can look in the windows and see the display cases of dolls, plates, and tea sets... but even then there's always a note on the door explaining that the owner is somewhere else and to call a number if you want to shop. Isn't that funny?
Although there are a few little shops and restaurants here and there, the rest of my walk down Steinway is pretty residential.
I think the row houses on the East side of the street are extra funny because of the front doors. Each house is a mirror of the one next to it... which means that every two sets of front doors are practically touching.
And as I'm sure you noticed, there's not a whole lot of "yard" for these houses, so people tend to get pretty creative. You can find topiary...
Or special arbors for hanging plants...
And even a little wishing well!
That's it for this mini-tour of Steinway Street. If you know the neighborhood at all, you know that the farther South you travel on Steinway, the more commercial it becomes. But in the 2 blocks that I get to see on a daily basis, this is that you encounter. Happy Wednesday!

A little slice of Bleecker Street

While I was running a few errands this morning, I snapped a couple more cell phone pictures on the block where I work. This first one I see everyday, and it never ceases to make me smile.
Technically the quote reads "Not so cool kids love origami", though I couldn't fit it all on my camera phone (I miss my good camera!). This is part of a marketing campaign for Not So Cool Kids, a clothing line... kind of brilliant, right? The sign is totally steamed into the asphalt... I wonder if they ever got in trouble for doing it?

There's a fabulous building right on the same corner. See the reddish building with the cool cupola on top? That's the one I'm talking about- it has amazing windows and some beautiful architecture.
On the ground floor is a shop called Atrium. With designers like Alexander McQueen, 7 for all Mankind, Christian Dior, etc., it's a little out of my price league- but that doesn't stop me from window shopping! And if you continue down Bleecker Street a few feet, you'll come to...
THIS! This is the entrance to my building. Not bad, eh?
This is the only Louis Sullivan building in NYC, and was built in 1899. If Sullivan isn't a familiar name, you should check out Devil in the White City. Sullivan was considered the creator of the modern sky scraper, was a member of the Prairie School and mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and was one of the architects that designed the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.

OK- that's enough of a history lesson from me... I hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday!

Stillwater, MN

Well, I finally got all the Minneapolis photos uploaded to my computer. This should come as NO surprise, but I took a LOT of pictures. So many, in fact, that getting through this vacation might take all week... so if you have something against the land of 10,000 lakes, you might want to check back with me next week! :)

But if you decide to stick around, I will reward your interest with the first stop of our destination: Stillwater, MN. After SFS and I arrived at the airport, my family picked us up and whisked us away to Stillwater.

Stillwater is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, directly across the St. Croix River from the state of Wisconsin, with a population of 15,143.

Of course we took a QUICK trip across the Historic Lift Bridge into Wisconsin, which meant that SFS and I were in 4 states in less than 7 hours. Impressive, no? On our way BACK to Stillwater, the bridge opened to allow a boat to pass. Since we were stopped, the boys and I got out of the car and walked back to Minnesota (don't worry, my Mom was willing to drive the car across and pick us up). Here is a shot of the shores of Wisconsin
There's SBV, looking out over the St. Croix river.
Here are SFS and I, only a LITTLE tired at this point (our car had picked us up at 4 am that morning)...
And the boys: SFS, BCV and SBV.
There's my Mom, driving the car back over the river to meet us.
Just another attempt at 'artistry'... I thought the barrier looked cool!!
The bridge, built in 1931, still looks pretty good to me!
And here's a shot of Stillwater... isn't it picturesque?
Once we got to back to town, we headed over to the Mad Capper Saloon & Eatery. It's a saloon with tons of beer on tap, a big menu, and free popcorn... what's not to love? Plus, SFS got to try his first White Cheddar Curds (they were deep fried, of course). After that, we did a little shopping around Stillwater, including tons of antique stores and The Chef's Gallery. Following that, SFS and I decided to be adventurous, and we tackled a bunch of stairs we saw on Main Street- we didn't know where they were headed, but we figured it would be interesting. This is what drew our attention:
Here's a shot on the way up...
And here we are- the summit! Except, turns out that there's a road that leads up to the same place, and people could just have easily driven their cars up here... oh well! I have a feeling the view is better during the cold season (when there aren't as many weeds to block my shot)... :)
This shot is a little better, and you can see the Lift Bridge pretty well!
Just a shot of some creeping foliage.
And some pretty pink blossoms...
We finally started our decent back down the stairs (you can see SFS down there, too).
After that and a little more antique shopping/perusing, we headed over to Dock Cafe. It's a restaurant right on the St. Croix, where we could rest for a bit, enjoy an iced tea or lemonade, and chat. Here are my folks- I'm pretty sure they're laughing at something funny SFS said!

After that, we headed back to our hotel before catching a performance of Caroline, or Change at the Guthrie. They're doing a whole series of Tony Kushner works, and since I never caught this show on Broadway and had never been inside the Guthrie, I was pretty excited. We had second and third row seats, and the show was amazing- it was a great first night in Minneapolis!

That's all for today- check back tomorrow to see our lake adventures! Have a great Wednesday!

Good-byes shouldn't be this much fun!

Last night, I had to say goodbye to my good friend JG! She's moving back to Boston (she's from the area), and last night was the last time we'll see each other before she moves. Just to recap, JG and I worked together at the music agency, ate lunch together almost everyday, and have more inside jokes than I could possible explain! We both left the agency around the same time, and although our new jobs and schedules made it tough, we still tried to get together every week for dinner or a movie.

Earlier this week, I realized that I wanted to make JG a little goodbye card. I had an idea, and I think it worked out! Just a reminder- here is what JG looks like (isn't she a crack up?):
So this is the card I made. I used my Cricut and the Paper Doll Dress-Up cartridge and just went to town!
I backed the little doll with a cardstock "shadow", which also made the doll into a card!
I used a cat's eye to shade her "jeans"...
And I couldn't say no to a bit of sparkle!
And since last night was the official "Goodbye JG" dinner... guess where we went? Cafe Spice, of course! (You'd think I was getting a kick back for all the times I mention that place on my blog- but it's just a good/reliable place to go!) Another friend from our agency days, SDK, met us there, and we spent a couple hours laughing, reminiscing, and having a grand old time. Of course, I took my camera and snapped some pics along the way... here's a shot of my Prosecco:
And here are SDK and JG... so cute!!
There are little votive lights on the table- and that's pretty much the only light in the place. It makes for a nice atmosphere (but tough to take artistic pictures!)...
But I tired to be artistic with JG's wineglass...
Here is SDK's meal... YUM!
And some taste-y naan...Here's what JG got...
And mine! (I was too hungry to take a "before" shot!)
Awww... and here's a shot of SDK and I outside the restaurant!
It was a scrumptious dinner and a wonderful way to say goodbye to JG! (Oh- and she liked her card, too!) Happy Wednesday!

Bright, sunshine-y day!

Wowza- it's a beautiful day here in NYC! The sun is WAY out, there's a beautiful breeze coming through my open window at work, and I get to have diner with SFS tonight... what could be better? So far, it's shaping up to be a lovely Wednesday!

Plus, I treated myself to Starbucks this morning. I've been getting so many iced teas these days, I decided to go back to the old standard: Chai! Do you want to see what can make me SO happy?
Ahhh... wonderful, isn't it? (Please ignore my nails... I haven't had a mani in AGES!)

But do you know what can totally make me sad?
Awww... so depressing, right? :) At least there's consolation in knowing it was SO good while it lasted!

And on a lighter note, I have yet another thing to aspire to when I "grow-up"...
Isn't that amazing? I was at Fishs Eddy this weekend, and this was just one of their fantastic displays. I tell you, going in that store is hazardous to my bank account! I think that all these cake plates, displayed like that, is absolutely beautiful! Hmm... now that I have 5 of my own, I'm well on my way to a collection like that... right? Happy Wednesday everyone!