Posts

Showing posts from 2019

Winter Break

Image
December is a busy month.. so many activities, an upcoming vacation to somewhere warm. My parents are flying in at the end of the week for the holidays. I don't think I'll be posting this month. I wanted to wish you all a very happy holiday and a very happy new year from my family to yours. source   source source                       Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

lately - Thanksgiving Edition

Image
Happy December everyone.. yup we say it every year and so I'll say it again.. how is it December already?? Seriously! We had a fantastic Thanksgiving.. it was very nontraditional.. there was no turkey or pie but there was a lot of fun. We started off Wednesday with a Rangers vs Hurricanes hockey game. M gets these amazing club seat tickets from work every year and we all look forward to going every year. And the fact that the Rangers won 3-2 was just the icing on the cake. We arrived in the city a few hours in advance and wandered around for a bit.. and spotted this big fella in a store. On Thanksgiving Day we headed to Staten Island to the Lantern Festival.. we had been to one before  many years ago in Montreal  when D was little. It was absolutely beautiful..  On Friday we had tickets to see Sponge Bob the Musical at the NJ State Theater. But before the show we stopped at our favorite hot dog place, Destination Dogs. I had the Bangkok Do

Recent Purchases

Image
So I don't generally talk about my recent purchases... but I am so very pleased with some of my latest ones I feel the need to share. The first one is a pour over coffee maker. I purchased this one  and we are so pleased with it. The coffee is simple to make and simple to clean. I can easily just make one cup just for myself. Now what we are working on is finding the coffee we like the best.. we have tried the common brands, Folgers and Maxwell. Preferred Maxwell. We are currently drinking Wegmans in store brand.. on the fence about that one.. what coffee brand do you drink? We don't do flavors and drink a medium roast. I'd love to hear from you guys so we can try different brands.. yay coffee :) source My second favorite purchase was an Air Fryer. Got this one on a great deal! Love it so much bought another one as a gift. I use it so often.. especially for the kids lunches.. no more using oil.. no more paper towels to blot the oil.. did you know you can even

Friday Photography

Image
Red and Blue - A beautiful old red and blue building found in the streets of Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada  here You can buy this print here . Get Free Shipping with code BLOGGER Prints also available in larger sizes. Contact for more information and special requests. I am open to wholesale and licensing opportunities. Get in touch for more information.                           Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

lately

Image
It has been busy.. the boys had two days off for the New Jersey teachers convention and now they have the next four days of half days which I loath.. by the time they leave it's just time for them to come back again.. Many moons ago I had mentioned a powder room remodel.. I never got around to sharing the after pictures with you.. the bathroom is very narrow and taking decent pictures was such a challenge.  the before I hand painted the floor.. you can read about it here A few of the poorly shot afters.. the bathroom shelves are still a little bare.. but I don't want to just go to Home Goods and buy a bunch of stuff.. we like it when the things in our home mean something.. have a story. The faucet we bought in Morocco. The frames on the wall are two of my own photographs.. Frustration and Laughing The little glass bottle on the top shelf was bought in Venice as was the mask.. the little turtles we got in Mexico and the dried citrus wreath w

Friday Photography

Image
Forgotten - A beautiful but old and now unused outdoor water basin found in a Turkish garden. Read more about our Turkey here. You can buy this print here . Get Free Shipping with code BLOGGER Prints also available in larger sizes. Contact for more information and special requests. I am open to wholesale and licensing opportunities. Get in touch for more information.                           Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

Happy Halloween

Image
Hope everyone had great weekend.. We celebrated Halloween on Thursday, rain was on the forecast but with lost of wishing and praying it turned out to be a beautiful night. The kids scored a ton of candy.. On Saturday we had our annual Halloween party.. it was our third year hosting. M and the kids really love to get crafty with the decor. We didn't add much to our last years outdoor decorations.. They made these milk jug lights last year .         The boys decorated the brownie balls I made.  I made a red juice with floating lychee eye balls.. didn't get a picture of the juice but here are some of the leftover eye balls and some green pistachio zombie ice cream.. as well as other non Halloween themed food. M and I completely forgot to get a selfie.. so here's a cropped group shot of us.. We had a wonderful time.. lots of laughs.. the only little snafu was the morning of the party we realized our dishwash

Overwhelmed

Image
I had a feel bad days last week.. nothing bad happened.. life was going on as usual but to me it felt unbearable.. In fact we had a great weekend, took the boys to a haunted house and they did not freak out. M and I had a date night.. but I just couldn't push away the dark thoughts.. and then I felt so ungrateful.. I am so blessed.. what could I possibly be upset about. If you are out there feeling blue.. you are not the only one.. we all have our moments, days..   I'm good now.. just thought I'd check in and share.  source source                           Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

Friday Photography

Image
    Allah  - Taken inside the famous Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, Turkey Read more about our trip to Turkey  here You can buy this print  here . Get Free Shipping with code BLOGGER Prints also available in larger sizes.  Contact  for more information and special requests. I am open to wholesale and licensing opportunities. Get in touch for more information.                            Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

Reading lately

Image
Deeper Than the Dead by Tami Hoag Synopsis - California, 1985. Four children, running in the woods behind their school, stumble upon a partially buried female body, eyes and mouth glued shut. Close behind the children is their teacher, Anne Navarre. Detective Tony Mendez, fresh from a law enforcement course at FBI headquarters, is charged with interpreting those now revealed secrets. He’s using a new technique—profiling—to develop a theory of the case. As new victims are found and the media scrutiny of the investigation bears down on them, both Mendez and Navarre are unsure if those who suffer most are the victims themselves—or the family and friends of the killer, blissfully unaware that someone very close to them is a brutal, calculating psychopath. Thoughts - This was my first book by Ms Hoag and I just added a few more to my TBR list. It was a great page turner with well developed characters. I have been watching Netflix's Mindhunter and it is about the birth of the FBI

A Few Hours in Glasgow

Image
We said goodbye to the Isle of Skye  and made our way south to Glasgow.. our city of departure. We feel entering and departing from different cities is usually a time saver and makes more sense when you are city hopping. When booking a flight instead of a round trip we opt for a multi city. We also don't tend to have much airline loyalty.. we book the flight that makes the most sense in regard to time and money. Before we got to Glasgow we made a quick stop at the Eilean Donan Castle. Eilean Donan is a small tidal island where three sea lochs meet, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh, in the western Highlands of Scotland. A picturesque castle that frequently appears in photographs, film and television dominates the island, which lies about 1 kilometre from the village of Dornie. We didn't go inside but just stopping to walk around was worth it.. another breathtakingly stunning spot right out of a fairy tale.  It was a four hour drive to Glasgow and it rainy almost the w