Friday, September 30, 2011

My (not so) Storybook Life...

Here's an excerpt from Liz's (Mabel's House) book. HOT OF THE PRESS! If you haven't read her blog, it's a must... a daily read for me. I am sharing this in the hope that I can win a signed copy! Enjoy!!

Once one has breathed in the deep pungent aroma of sewage, you never again forget the nose-hair singeing, eye clawing, throat gagging experience. It comes over you slowly. You begin to feel like a character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as your muscles involuntarily jerk and you run screaming and blowing raspberries. Anything to get away from the mind-numbing stench.
But let me explain.
It was 6:30 a.m. I was standing in my retro pink tiled bathroom trying to open my bleary eyes and ready myself for work. As I stood there, peering into the mirror and wondering what demented nighttime fairy had planted four new wrinkles on my face, I paused and sniffed.
“Matt… what’s that smell?”
Matt staggered from the bedroom in his underwear, eyes half shut. “I don’t smell anything.”
I pointed my nose into the air like a hunting dog. “Seriously? You can’t smell that? Did you go to the bathroom in here earlier? I told you to use the room spray when you do things like that.”
Matt puffed out his bare chest and gathered his pride as best a man can with sleep in his eyes and a small hole in the side of his underwear. “I just woke up!”
I frowned, catching a glimpse of my makeup-less hot-rollers-in-hair state and tried not to think about the fact that I looked fifty instead of twenty-nine. “Well, help me figure this out. Because something smells ripe.”
We sniffed the sink drain and ruled it out as a suspect.
“Is it coming from the toilet?” Matt asked, examining it from top to bottom.
“No, that’s not it,” I snapped. I’m not known for my milk of human kindness in a disaster. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a survivor. I plan on eating my radish like Scarlet and clawing my way out of the nuclear dust while dragging my loved ones with me. But I won’t be doing it with positive phrases and a smile.
“Hon, I just don’t know. We’ll call a plumber after work, maybe it’s coming from under the house.” Matt staggered a little, trying to get past me and out of our tiny bathroom.
“Well, that’s just great,” I moved aside and pulled the shower curtain back so I could perch on the side of the tub and give Matt room to move out the door.
That’s when the full brunt of nastiness filled the air around us, a swirling mix of excrement and acrid stench that would have brought the sewer dwelling Ninja Turtles to their knees. Where the normally slightly-clean-with-a-hint-of-soap-scum bottom of the tub should have been, there sloshed gallons and gallons of brown sewage.
I clutched the front of my sweatshirt and held my breath. Matt began to dry heave.
“Get out and shut the door!” I screamed as we bumbled into the hallway.
“I’ll deal with this,” Matt grabbed my shoulders, trying to talk and hold his breath at the same time.
I could feel my eyes glaze over, the horrors of typhoid and hepatitis in our bathtub filling my mind. But more importantly, I could envision our evaporated savings account. In my mind’s eye I could see the long, gray hallway at the bank. A worker shrouded in a black suit pulled a set of keys from his pocket and unlatched a small locker labeled “Owen Bank Account.” Inside were two small stacks of quarters and a few crumpled dollar bills. It was bleak, not only because the banker with an unimaginative wardrobe gazed at me with an expression that could only be interpreted as “You’re a Big Fat Loser,” but also there was a very definite possibility we wouldn’t be able to pay for a plumber.
I wasn’t necessarily a spend thrift. In fact, I was downright frugal when it came to decorating with thrift store furniture and rewired vintage lamps. But the fact was, we were poor. We were starting out at starter jobs with starter salaries. We were starter adults with a starter bank account.
“Okay,” I nodded numbly, thankful that Matt was taking the lead on such a disastrous biohazard. “But make sure the plumber is super cheap. We don’t have much money!”
I left for work like a wino stumbling through a fog, not really remembering my commute, not really doing any work as I sipped my coffee and stared blankly at the computer screen. A disaster of such gargantuan proportions had previously been unthinkable in my life, and now I found myself attempting to push the image of a vast sea of bathtub poop from my mind. But I was sure of one thing: Anne Shirley never had to get ready for work while breathing raw sewage.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Question....

What would you do with a syringe of chocolate?
Purchased last week in NYC at Max Brenner's

Friday, September 23, 2011

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Some More NYC...

I decided that if I ever move to NYC, I would love to live here, in SoHo, in this adorable building:
One of the biggest disappointments of the day was waiting in line for almost 10 minutes to go into DASH. There was a door man, 2 bodyguards inside and 2 cashiers. They only allow 18 people inside at once. The least expensive item is a bottle of water with a photo of the Kardashian girls, which cost a mere $10.00. T-shirts are $60.00. And they don't even sell their own designs, but rather other labeled clothing - GO FIGURE!
Once again, the San Genaro Festival was going on in Little Italy and we took a few minutes to have a beer in Cha-Chas:
This bride was lucky enough to have her celebration at the PLAZA:
And finally a cool photo of the Empire State Building:
This "once or twice a year" trip is so much fun and I look forward to visiting again !

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Tiffany Yellow Diamond

Remember this movie? Remember THE necklace?
Well, The yellow diamond from her necklace is on display at Tiffany's. The Tiffany Yellow, valued at $12 million in 1983 and now rumored to be valued at $250 million, has only been worn twice. The first occasion was in 1957 at the Tiffany Ball in Newport, Rhode Island when the chairwomen of the ball, socialite Mrs. Sheldon Whitehouse, wore the magnificent stone in a necklace of white diamonds.

The second public wearing of the Tiffany Yellow was in 1961 for a publicity promotion for the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's," staring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. Based on a novel by Truman Capote, the film lifted Tiffany's image and increased its appeal to millions of moviegoers worldwide. The Tiffany Yellow worn by Audrey Hepburn was set in the "Ribbons Necklace," a gold and diamond creation designed by Jean Schlumberger in 1960.

The diamond was recently on special display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. From April 11, 2007 until September 23, 2007, the current setting for the Tiffany Diamond is a gem-encrusted bird known as the "Bird on a Rock," which was designed by Jean Schlumberger in the 1960s. The jeweled bird is made of platinum and gold metal, white and yellow diamonds, and a ruby eye.Just stunning! I would have bought it, but I thought it was a little too ostentatious to wear to school and around the house! Instead I bought a little crystal candy bowl!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

What Did I Buy in NYC ? ?

A few days before I went for NYC I received the latest MacKenzie-Childs catalog in the mail.
After the new Courtly Check Compote caught me eye, I had to stop by to buy one.
It's a cute piece that I know I will use quite often:
I will use it as a candy dish, for dips and spreads and also for serving fruits and vegetables!
I was one happy shopper!
And from there I went to Tiffany's. Stop by tomorrow to see the 24 carat yellow diamond!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Another Day in NYC

I went to NYC over the weekend and ate lunch at Max Brenner's in Union Square:
The restaurant is known for its Chocolate Bar:
But I had the jalapeno tuna salad sandwich with waffle fries. I didn't take the time to take a photo - I just dove into the sandwich and devoured it!
We bought cookies to go -a thick, thick chocolate chip cookie that took me 2 days to finish! There were huge chocolate bars on display all over the place - but way too large to carry around the city all day!
The Chocolate Pizza looked fabulous, but you can only eat so much at one time!! The bill came in this cute chocolate tin:
If you are in NYC, I highly recommend eating here!

Tomorrow I will share what I bought at the MacKenzie-Childs store in Manhattan!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Tea for the Snooty Gal...

I saw this idea HERE and thought it was so clever. All you need is an old tea cup and a stemmed glass:
I needed to break the stem off the glass, so I put it in a paper bag, then a plastic bag, and cracked it on the edge of my granite counter:
OOOPs, it didn't crack off evenly - so I sanded it with a file:
I used epoxy to adhere the tea cup onto the stem - and I used tape to hold it steady until epoxy dried:
Cute, huh?
Tea for the "Snooty Gal"!
Sharing with Thrifty Thursday

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Green Lakes State Park, Central NY

Just look at the color of this water:
This is why it is called Green Lakes. Doesn't it remind you of the Caribbean?
Looking forward to the leaves changing color!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Quick-to-Make Pumpkins!

They are so cute and easy to make.

They are called "yo-yo pumpkins" because they are made with a circle of fabric and are sewn and gathered like fabric yo-yos. Simply cut circles of fabric:

Sew a small hem with "running stitch":

Gather your thread:

Throw in some poly-fil stuffing, pull the gathered stitch closed and tie a knot to secure:

I cut 3 pieces of jute long enough to wrap around the pumpkin with 3-4" extra on each end. The 4th piece of jute was cut about 10 inches longer:

I gathered all 4 strips of jute on the top of the pumpkin...

spacing it evenly so that the bottom looked like this:

I took the longest cord and began to wrap it tightly around all the other cords until it measured about 1-2", knotted it and added a dab of glue:

They are so easy to make and just adorable:

A few touches of fall are beginning to show up around here:


Update 2013:

2 years later this post was shared in the Syracuse Post Standard:





Sharing this idea with:
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple
Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
Making The World Cuter @ Making The World Cuter
Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle