Happy surprises

When I returned from vacation last week, I had a couple of wonderful surprises. First, this box was waiting for me...
Are you familiar with Green Tangerines? It's a scrapbooking kit club, where each month you receive a box full of scrapbooking goodies that coordinate. There are tons of these sorts of clubs, and you can choose to participate monthly, quarterly, or annually.

But you know what makes this package even better? The fact that it's FREE! Yep- I won this amazing box full of goodies... it's the first time I've won a giveaway, and I couldn't be happier!

When I saw this box waiting for me when I returned, with it's super-cute label, I couldn't WAIT to tear into it. Here's what was inside:

Two packages of thickers, another set of alpha stickers, alphabet tape, rhinestones and a rolling stamp...
Super cool custom embellishments, brads, fab ribbons/fibers, and the custom cut doodle-bug paper...
(I love the way the ribbon is prepared!)
And paper!
Isn't that fun? I can't wait to dig in a start creating with it... I'll let you know what I come up with!

But that wasn't the ONLY surprise in store... SFS bought me flowers when I got back to NYC! Isn't he the best? I think these sunflowers are so beautiful- they're so bright and happy!
(I had my camera on the wrong settings, but I think this one is kind of cool!)
I can't get enough of these beauties... they're still going strong over a week later!
This was my favorite picture of the flowers... I love the curly leaves on the backside!
With surprises like this to come home to, maybe I should go away more often! I hope you have a great Tuesday- and thank you again, SFS!

Saturday Shenanigans

On Saturday, SFS and I made a trip to the GreenMarket at Union Square. We decided to check it out before breakfast, and boy, was it a nice experience! We usually make it there in the early afternoon, and consequently have throngs of people to maneuver between... but in the morning, it's a much slower pace- we were able to enjoy a pleasant stroll through the stalls, while I snapped away.

Now that it's August, you know what's starting to arrive at the market?
TOMATOES! I love how yummy tomatoes taste... you can eat them like an apple this time of year... plus, the heirloom ones are so beautiful to look at- if I were Martha Stewart, I would use them almost exclusively!
Of course I admired the peppers, since SFS seems enjoy singing his taste buds! (NOTE: I'm totally ignorant of peppers- I hope these aren't lame, mild ones or something.)
One tent had some pretty hanging plants for sale, like this pink one...
And this fuzzy red one!
There's one BIG tent that always piles their produce in stacks, and I think it's SO pretty! I've become a little obsessed with red onions (I eat at least one a week, I swear), so I thought these looked really yummy!
How about some celery? Or green onions? (Are they leeks maybe? They look a little large to be onions, now that I've typed that...)
Well, I'm not confused about these... they're definitely carrots!
I like the colors in the this photo, but I'm not too keen on eating radishes.
Mmmmm.... more heirlooms! Aren't they just beautiful?
I thought this looked like fun, although I didn't try any because there are lots of germs floating about in NYC...
Pretty, cut flowers for sale...
And more pretty flowers (later this week I'll have to show you some pics of REALLY pretty sunflowers that I've been hanging onto)...
Lots of different kinds of honey... this stand reminds me a little of that movie "Baby Boom"- have you seen it?
Ooooh- Black Eyed Susans!
I think this is my second favorite picture of the whole day... GLADIOLAS are just so beautiful!
One our way out of Union Square (we were foraging for breakfast), we ran across an art instillation of sorts.
Yep- just big chunks of ice. We didn't see any information on the exhibit while we were there, but after a little Internet research I found this:

Artist Chin Chih Yang will invite people into an environment made up of 21,000 lbs of ice where they will be encouraged to sit on the giant blocks. The melting caused by the warmth of the participants’ bodies, will trigger increasingly frantic emergency lights embedded within the ice, making it glow in alarm—a simple yet forceful reminder of how human activity is hastening the melting of the world’s ice caps.

Apparently the instillation was called Burning Ice. Don't worry- SFS didn't really do this!
We decided to grab some grub at a local diner... one of my favorite ways to eat breakfast! I had some tomato juice (guess all those heirlooms got me in the mood)...
While SFS had bacon!
Just kidding- he had more that just bacon... see?
And I had a yummy egg-white omelet.
After breakfast we spent the day walking through Central Park- boy, was it hot out! After a nice, long walk, and a few hours spent unpacking SFS's room (he recently moved), it was time for dinner. We headed to Charm Thai for a little, you guessed it, Thai food. I had the Panang Curry with chicken...
While SFS had shrimp Pad Thai. I decided this is my favorite picture of the day- I don't know why, but I really like it!
That's it for my shenanigans of the weekend. We had lots of fun- I hope you had a good weekend as well- happy Monday!

Last look at Reunion

Ok, I promise- this is the LAST post about my family reunion. For the record, my dad and I took a few hundred photos, so it's been really tough trying to figure out which pictures make the blog. I normally don't post on Saturdays, but I couldn't resist adding these last few...

First, here's a great picture of my Aunt JVL.
And one of EMVR... she and her hubby are expecting their first baby in February!
I really like this one of Aunt JV- she's so fun! She has a drawer at reunion (and also at her house) called "The Candy Drawer". It's stocked with an array of sweets- and if you finish your dinner, you're allowed to visit the drawer. I tell you, when I was a kid, visiting that drawer was a MAGICAL trip!
Family reunion is all about hanging out, visiting, talking, and getting to know each other. I think that this picture is a perfect example of how we spend time- smushed together on a picnic table!
This one of DTV is a hoot- so mischievous!
And I have NO idea what Aunt TMV is talking about... but I love this shot!
One night at dinner, our dessert was a "Make Your Own Sunday". The servers had put the ice cream toppings on the table at the beginning of the meal, and RMV dove right in. First, the nuts...
And then, you guessed it...
Yep- chocolate sauce! And before dinner, too!
I really like this photo of my dad, even though it's a weird angle.
My dad snapped this one of AA and SS... I think they were looking at a text on a cell phone or something...
And my dad took this- I was just sitting there, hamming it up, but it looks like a goofy headshot, right?
And BTV... this makes me giggle!
This one has got to be one of my favorites from the week. Uncle PV came to compare HIS tummy to KRV's baby bump!
TT came to help me upload photos on a rainy afternoon... you should SEE the word documents this kid can create!
I hope Uncle LN doesn't get mad about this one, but it's TOO funny!
My aunt bought some candy and bubblegum cigarettes when we were in town, and she offered them to family members throughout the week. It was a pretty funny, since not many family members actually smoke! I think Uncle LN was so caught up in his book that he forgot he had a bubblegum 'smoke' hanging from his lip!

My dad snagged this great family shot... I just love it!
At a mid-week trip to Kmart, we were delighted to find that AA actuallly MATCHED the beer!
I love the line-up on this one!
These boys (JPV and JV) are going to be tall, just like their dads!
Here are the 4 patriarchs of the family reunion- my grandpa is the one in green.
This is a shot of my immediate family: my grandpa, his sons and their families.
This one needs a little more explaining. Have you seen any of the SNL skits about Gilly? After my aunt told us about them and we watched a few on Hulu, we were hooked! So, this shot is our tribute to Gilly! (Sorry!)
I had a wonderful week- I can't wait to see everyone in two years!