NYC Memories

As my vacation winds down

for another year

I cannot help but look back to where we were

last year

Our trip to NYC was a trip of a lifetime for me

I hold so many memories

close to my heart

I have picked out some shots that I did up in sepia

and will frame and hang once the master bedroom is 

completely redecorated

Central Park was one of my absolute favorite spots

so it is of no surprise that 2 of the shots

are from there.

this church was gorgeous

and you could not have a NYC shot without this.

Now I know I have 5 shots here and 4 frames so

I am thinking that I will get the 5 printed

and then play with them to see which ones I like the best

would love your feedback too....

this is also a favorite memory

meeting up with some special girlfriends

along with Chinatown, Little Italy, The Today Show,

Times Square, Rock of Ages...

every memory is there ~ fresh ~ like we were there yesterday

Remembering the anniversary of 9/11

~*~*~*~*~

This week-end is going to be a busy one as 

I have a bridal shower/stagette to attend on Saturday

then Sunday we hope the weather is fine enough to 

take a trip to the orchard.

Thank you once again for all the wonderful comments this week

hope you have your piggies all painted up in teal!

Have a wonderful week-end!!

A Thank You to Martha

I will have to clarify why I want to give a great big
"Thank You"
to
Martha Stewart...

Back in 2000
I was in the midst of planning my wedding

Because I was having a case
of Princess syndrome
I was on every wedding planning site
that was out there

Of course one of the sites
was Martha's wedding site.

I stumbled into the chat room
a newbie, a bride to be
and was embraced by a group of girls
of like minds as we were all there
for the same thing.

Not long after
Martha shut down her chat room
so a group of the chatters
moved over to Yahoo and formed a group.

Through the years
this group of ladies have become very special to me
Lifelong friends.

Most of us got married
some had kids
some then got divorced
we have been through sickness and health
births and deaths
but stuck by each other
in good times and in bad.

The ladies are from all over
we have 3 in Canada,
1 in London, England
and the rest of them are sprinkled
throughout the USA.

You may know a couple of them yourselves
Kim, Simone & Zizette
for their beautiful blogs.

I cherish all these ladies
so I was very excited to be able
to meet up with 3 of them while I was in NYC

This is Zizette and her beautiful daughter Maya

This is Jae
she is our resident princess

This is Cindy and her cutie pie daughter
Maya wanted a picture with Alexis too!

We had a wonderful dinner and you know what
It was like sitting down with a bunch of friends
that I have known forever.

We are trying to get the group together
to finally meet in person
I know that some day it will happen
as I have faith.

xo

Paparazzi

During our first full day
in New York City
we ventured down around
Central Park

We were by The Plaza Hotel
and noticed that there was
something going on...


The buzz was all around
we had wandered by
a location shoot
of SATC 2

I was quite excited
straining my neck to see what I could see
security kept moving the crowd
and moving...and moving...

They were prepping for a shot
by this fountain

there were extra's everywhere
huddling
taking direction
getting into place

Then security came along
and cleared the sidewalk
there were people on the street
trying to get a look
the crew was afraid
someone would get hurt

So I had to give up my front row viewing spot
and move across the street!
How on earth
am I suppose to get a shot of SJP
from across the street
for my lovely friend
from across the pond!

Like a good girl though
across the street I went
and used my super duper zoom

If you click on this picture
I do believe that Kristen Davis IS there
and I got the BACK of SJP's head

I really, really tried
I did...I did

this is for Simone & Tracy
You have to give me a E for Effort!

xo

Welcome Autumn

Welcome Autumn

While I kick and scream through summer's humidity
I welcome the crispness of fall
I love the colors this time of year
and the goodness that comes from the earth

of course I mean it is harvest time

time for a good old fashioned corn boil

time for bringing together family and friends
and butter ~ ahhh lots of butter
and salt & pepper

and maybe a couple of cocktails too

the richness of the colors this time of year
Mother Nature sure knows how to flaunt her colors

the leaves have already started to change here
in the Northeast

we shall go for a walk down this path
and look around at the beauty
and breath in
and out

lastly I leave you with a place I recently fell in love with

I knew it would be beautiful this time of year

oh ~ and maybe another sunflower shot
they are at their peak right now!

xo

Saturday in Chinatown & Little Italy

On our last full day in NYC
my dear husband talked me into going on the subway...

Now you can take me to the tallest building
and I will go quite willingly
But send me underground
and I am not in my element at all

First off
I tend to melt in hot spaces
Ladies perspire or get dewy
I just sweat
and it's not pretty!

So off I go ~ down the stairs to the abyss
Why did I do it
besides tired feet
we were going downtown to Chinatown
and that means purses!!



The sights were spectacular
and there were so many people
and I did buy a purse!
It says Coach
whether it is a knockoff or real
no one here at home will ever know...

We laughed so hard at all the "salesmen"
selling watches and handbags and DVD's
It was quite the place
walking by and women yelling
Gucci, Gucci
it sounded like Koochie Koochie!

The fruit and vegetable stands were on every corner
You can buy fresh everything
and some of the seafood
looked better than the stuff we get here at home
right off the wharf!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We headed down Mulberry Street
which is Little Italy
and they were celebrating
the San Gannero Festival
It was amazing
I was smiling from ear to ear

There were crowds and crowds of people

The food was incredible


This was steak and the grill rotated
over a wood fire


And there were beverages too!



Although I did not partake
I thought these were pretty darn cute

There were carnival games
and on one of the side streets there was even
a little ferris wheel

The pastries looked delicious
It had been raining
which explains the water on the display cases



You could buy almost anything you could ever want
as long as it was Italian!

This picture is for my cousin ~ Gina


And this table of magnets was so colorful
I had to snap a shot of it


It was a great day
and well worth the subway ride.

The Big Apple

Oh how I love vacation and what a vacation this was.

You see my dear husband and I
have not been away in a very long time

There has always been something going on
a new roof
a new furnace
you know....fun stuff
so this year we made a decision
to just do it
like Nike
and go for broke

You know I have been counting down the days
and I was NOT disappointed

We had 5 full days
and I mean full
we did a lot
and saw a lot
and had some laughs
and only one little spat
that lasted one night and one morning
grounds for divorce
I think not!

The ice was broken
by another couple
passing by
when she yelled "idiot"
and he was 3 or 4 people behind her
we burst out laughing
and all was good again....

I was in awe coming into the city
and went through many different emotions
throughout the week

Total amazement when I saw this

Times Square

I was speechless when I saw this majestic lady

The Statue of Liberty

Overcome with emotion when I saw this

Manhattan skyline taken from Brooklyn
We were there over 9/11

More than a little starstruck when I saw her

Meredith Viera from the Today Show

Could not keep my gaping mouth closed while we were up here

Trev & I ~ Top of the Rock

Laughed and sang
and boogied in our seats when we went to see this

Rock of Ages
Brooks Atkinson Theatre

One of my favorite spots was here

Central Park

Maybe it's the country girl in me
but I could of stayed here longer

I fell in love with this

The Mall

and this

Bethesda Fountain ~ Central Park


and of course we took a carriage ride


We did so much more...
another favorite place was Chinatown
and Little Italy
which I will post about on its own

and a bonus to the trip was
a little dinner with some friends
I finally got to meet in person
That also deserves a post of its own.