Around Town...

The hubs and I had ourselves a very local Saturday.  We picnicked in the yard, bbq'd and walked to some local shops where I admired some bird-art (drawn by humans).

I love little shops and I love spending the day on the lawn...it was a great weekend...

"You Make Me Happy"

New clock for our ship, I mean kitchen

Remy was the yard king.

"Enjoy Yourself, It's Later than you think"

PLEASE look at Remy's eye.

Okay, enough about the weekend.  It's back to work in the sky.

xoxo
L

All Day BBQ tips

Thompson tips for a successful, chilled out, all-day backyard BBQ:

1. First off, you need a Party Box-o-music along with a Ron Burgundy wearing husband to deejay.

2. WATCH THAT VOLUME! Or don't.  I just wanted to post this picture of my nephew being adorable.  I mean...isn't he?

3.  Don't forget your sunglasses during the day...

...and at also at night. 

4. Next you're going to need to grab your friends. To put in deck jail. Obviously. 

5. As for food...that's the best part!  Tons of fresh, tasty food MUST be around ALL day long. Unfortunately our feast was not pictured, but was thoroughly enjoyed.  Actually, it is not pictured because we were busy thoroughly enjoying it...a little too much.

The menu included: Turkey Burgs/Crockpot Salsa chicken/fresh salad with lemon juice dressing/Spiralized potatoes.

Please notice the purple hippo plate.

6. Lastly, don't forget to bring an awesomely selfless friend with a storm trooper-esque camera to take all of the amazing memory-filled pics!  Thanks, Jac!

xoxo

~L

FREE NYC: 'wichcraft ice cream

I'm sorry (not really), but how purple-y weird and good does this look?!  JOG, nay RUN to 'wichcraft in Bryant Park and grab your free tasty treat!

The sky is falling!

That's what I thought, at least, when the wind blew earlier today and a branch the size of Hercules fell onto the roof right above the office I was working in (I could have died!!! Crap).  Not only did said Herculean branch knock a picture straight off of the wall, it also scared the bejeezus out of Remy and I! Obviously, Remy ran to the front door to yell at whoever dropped the gargantuan branch onto us so rudely while I went out back to survey the damage.  Yowza.  Living amongst my tree friends is a wee bit scary some days.  Anyone know a good arborist?

Now let's all say a cheer that this didn't happen to your house!  Weeee!

I did this for perspective, but I don't think it worked. Perspective fail.

  Where are we supposed to put this thing?  Chop it up and burn the wood in a fire pit? Great idea!   To do: buy a fire pit.

RV'ing across America!!!!

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it.  Especially since I keep a blog and there's no reason to (hide it, that is!

Jeff and I, along with two of our most favorite friends, are RV'ing across the WHOLE country this summer!!!!  We will be starting in New Jersey and ending up in LA...where we'll then catch our flight home after 18 days of cross-country shenanigans!

At this very second, our dream list includes:

Nashville (completely out of the way)

Wyoming's Yellowstone Park

Colorado Rockies
South Dakota (Mt. Rushmore. Respect.)

San Fran

AND sooooo many random dive bars in between. This is about to be the ultimate American bar crawl. Whoop whoop!

UPDATED TO ADD that our REAL list included:
PA (biiiiig state, took forever)
Ohio
Indiana
Illinois
Wisconsin
Minnesota
South Dakota (Badlands, Mt Rushmore)
Wyoming for 3 days (Buffalo, Yellowstone, Thayne)
Idaho
Utah (Park City)
Nevada (Reno)
California
-Napa Valley
-Sonoma
-San Fran
-Monterrey
-Santa Cruz
-LA

xoxo
L

NYC Love

I've been living in the city this week with my hubby (sans our super pup Remy) due to an unpredictable work schedule of mine.  I was set to have night edits starting at 6pm and ending...whenever they ended which left me a tad worried.  The last train to Maplewood leaves NYC around 1am and I was scared that I may not make it in time.  Missing the train would be horrifying; inevitably leaving me abandoned, homeless, with nowhere to lay my little head but Penn Station's urine soaked linoleum.  HOWEVER, as bleak as that sounds, I was even more scared TO make the train home and endure the 8 minute walk to my front door (train station parking is impossible) all by my lonesome to possibly endure a mugging or worse...a deer mauling.   Needless to say, (my imagination needs saving) staying in NYC was my only real choice.

With two of my best friends off for a whirlwind vaca/business trip to Belgium and Paris leaving their Hells Kitchen apartment wide open AND my parents willing to adopt Remy for the week, The hubs and I were sold.  It was back to the place we met.  Our old stomping grounds. NYC, baby!

We've been here for 3 days now and let me tell you...in the 1.5 years that I have not lived here, nothing has changed.

Immediately after setting my stuff down, I scoured my new territory for a cafe from which to work and landed on Cafe Europa across from the Letterman building. Inside, I grabbed my Hazelnut coffee and went-a-lookin for a seat.  What do you know? None of their 65 tables were free.  Of course not!  It WAS 3:15 on a Wednesday, after all!  Prime lunch/dinner/whothehellknows time for everyone.  I resigned to taking my coffee outside and people-watching from a little cement planter.  Work shmerk.

Next up, I met with my friend to grab a second lunch.  Do I normally eat two lunches, you may ask.  The answer is, "only in New York."  The second lunch was an old reminder that "if a friend is in your neighborhood, do ANYTHING to keep them there."  They're hungry, but you already ate?  Who cares!  Once they leave the confines of your 'hood, they're gone.  And let's be honest, you don't feel like riding out to Brooklyn to visit them, either.  In the city with the best mass transportation system, a subway ride can be as daunting as a plane ride.

After the second lunch on Wednesday, everything fell into place.  The 5 story walk up.  The crowds at 10pm on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  The take out menus.  The happy hour specials that end at 11pm.  The huge dogs peeing all over the defenseless plastic newspaper holders.  The entire block that smells like throw up.  The feeling that you can't get where you're going fast enough.  And just everything.  New York was the first place that I ever really fell in love with because it evokes an actual feeling from me.  I may not miss living there every day...but I couldn't live without it.

Skiing

Last weekend, the hubs and I finally went skiing/snowboarding for the first time together.  I hadn't been in almost 7 years and can't believe how easy it was to get back on the mountain!  Unfortunately, this winter has been thoroughly mild and snow hasn't exactly been plentiful, but we found a mountain with some trails open and had a blast!

The quality isn't great (taken with Jeff's iPhone) and the sound in the background is the snow machine working overtime.  Also, don't be fooled...I did not go down the expert slope behind me. 

Ski lodges rule!!!!

Go skiing, all.  I highly reccommend it.  But, if you go to Mountain Creek...do NOT rent your equipment from them.  Their system is absolutely bonkers and takes at least an hour if the mountains busy.

HOME-GROWN: Grinch Tree

Tis the season for...Grinch Trees!

While they may look as though they've traveled straight from the cave where the Fraggles once rocked, they're actually right at Home Depot in the landscaping/tree/outdoorsy area.  And they're perfect for pretty-ing up your house this time of year!

Purchased from: Home Depot

Time Required: under 10 minutes

Must Haves: Shovel, Grinch tree, and a place to plop it.

We really need to rake.

Please note the pup in the doorway. Always guarding...