Winter

This is only my second winter in NYC. Last winter we had one light snow so it was a shock when mid-December brought strong snow storms to the city! This is a photo of the view from my apartment.

And apparently not all birds go south for the winter.

Discovery!

I discovered the camera on my computer and I spent about 15 minutes taking pictures of myself--vain huh? (You're so vain. I bet you think this song is about you...)

Here's what I got: WARNING: some are scarey:)

My New Computer

The past few posts have been made on my brand new computer! My trusty old Dell finally kicked the bucket (that's something my dad would say since he recently saw The Bucket List. Now he's obsessed with his "bucket list" and is always telling me when he's crossed something off. I think he's starting a little early on his bucket list as he's only 61, but I think this obsession started when he retired.)

Back to my new computer! I got an Acer Aspire One. It's tiny. In fact I was really nervous when I first realized just how small it was. I read tons of reviews on this thing but never saw it in person. I saw comparable computers in person, but actually having this baby in my home next to my old computer gave me a mini-freak out. Then I spent like 20 minutes on it and realized that I'm very adaptable. Heck, I used my itouch (which is much smaller) for the week I was computerless and I survived! So now a few days into using it and I'm completely unconscious of the fact that it's small. I have to admit that it is really cute:) That's my new computer on the left:

And this is me, feet up, enjoying my new computer:

Look what I made!

This cozy puppy is available in my etsy shop.

This may be my claim to fame as it appeared on the front page of etsy yesterday!

Santa Claus Everywhere

Initially, I thought it was only in NYC, but then I found this and realized that Santa Clauses get together all over the US in drunken debauchery. This was my husband's perspective:


Check out these threads:

Henry

I opened the door to my apartment the other day and a cat ran in. I thought it was a sign as I have been wanting a brown tabby like him for a while. Turns out the cat, Henry belonged to my neighbor. I returned him after he hung out in my apartment for about 10 minutes.

Hair Mayo???

Can anyone explain this one to me? I saw it on the shelves of Bed Bath and Beyond and had to take a picture...actually let me credit my lovely husband who was bored to death while I was trying to find my shampoo.

Winter PJs

My husband bought me these cozy footsie pjs a few years ago. And since he loves to keep the apartment at frigid temperatures I've gotten good use out of them. Unfortunately, they aren't the sexiest threads, but Dave thinks I look cute:) And boy does it bring the little kid out in me. Sadly, there is no flap for when I have to go to the bathroom.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies

I adore all things pumpkin. And while many people view pumpkin as a seasonal treat, I did not get my fill during Thanksgiving. I discovered this awesome recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and dove in! It is simple and tasty and my husband loved it!

1 box of spice cake mix
1 package of chocolate chips (I like the semi-sweet chips)
1 small can of pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350. Just mix everything together. Scoop out onto cookie sheet in whatever size you like your cookies and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until theyre your preferred consistency. Yummy!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

I think "Let it Snow" is my favorite Christmas Carol. Ironically, I don't particularly love snow. I guess I like to watch it from inside. So that line "How I hate going out in the storm" rings particularly true. At second thought, the entire song is about how you can stay cooped up inside during a snowstorm.

Anyway, since our small apartment has no place for a Christmas tree, we have our decoration tray.


Our two new additions to the decoration tray this year are the amber glass bird and the mother of pearl ball.

Our Midnight Walk

Occasionally, my husband and I get cabin fever in the middle of the night and decide to go for a walk. Last night as we were walking by a Christmas Tree vendor we fell in love with the smell of fresh pine. Too bad we don't have space for a Christmas Tree in our apartment. Leave it up to my husband to snag us some loose pine branches! We felt like bandits in the night scooping up the loose pine branches even though I'm sure they would have been given to us freely if we'd have asked. I stuck them in some water and this morning when I stepped out of the bedroom, the smell of sweet pine made me smile.

How gorgeous is the light and glass reflection on the placemat?

Post-Thanksgiving Day Hike

It is tradition that we go on a hike the day after Thanksgiving. After all that eating, no one resists the hike. We take turkey sandwiches to have as a picnic on the beach and then set off for our hike in the preserve.

My cousin threatened to go surfing, but he changed his mind when he realized the surf was weak and the water frigid.

This is my beautiful family on the railroad tracks. Dave (my husband) was taking the picture so he's not in it.

I fell in love with these orange mushrooms, but Dave suggested I not eat them:(
This armadillo ran away when he noticed I was trying to take his picture. Gotta be quicker!

And as the sun started to set and the air got cooler, I broke out the pashmina.

I miss my mommy

One of the things I miss most about not being in Miami, is that I don’t get to spend time with my mom. My mom is one of my best friends. She knows how to push my buttons both good and bad.

Mommy, if I were with you today, I’d warm up your coffee, pour your no-pulp orange juice and heat your oatmeal (how you drink all that and don’t spend the rest of the day on the toilet, I don’t know). Then we would take our time getting dressed, first spending the morning in our PJs with glasses on. We’d make plans for lunch, but without time constraints. When our stomach pangs hit, we’d get in the car (I’d drive because I hate the way you drive) and we’d go somewhere and split an appetizer and entrée. You’d pay but you’d need my help figuring out the tip. Too bad I’m bad at math, but it usually ends up being fortunate for the server. Then we would go shopping. We’d hit TJMaxx and Marshalls where you’d spend at least 30 minutes scouring the purse section. You’d find the one high-end bag hidden behind the dumpy ones and then you’d give me first dibs on it if I wanted it. Then it would be time for a dessert snack. An ice cream cone would make you happy—coffee ice cream.

Turkish Food

I LOVE Turkish food. I think it might be my favorite cuisine. This past summer my husband and I attended a Turkish Festival in Central Park. And boy did we pig out! Perhaps dinner tonight will be Turkish inspired!

Put yogurt on anything and I am one happy cookie!

Kebabs!!!!!!!!!!


Who knew there were so many types of baklava?

Valet

Simple things make my husband happy. But he can also be VERY picky! He used to have a valet on his bedside table where he would put his phone and wallet when he came home. However, the cord to charge his phone would always slide down. In conversation with my brother, he realized there was a solution to this problem: a charging station, which is essentially a valet with a power strip inside. Problem solved--no more slipping and sliding cords with this awesome charging station from Bed Bath and Beyond!

And while we are looking at my husband's bedside table, check out the paint/stain job I did on it. We got the piece raw from Gothic Cabinets Crafts. It's actually not a bedside table, but my husband insisted he needed a massive piece for his side of the bed.

Aloe plant

About a month ago when I was home in Miami, I picked a couple of pieces off my mom's aloe plant and put them in a ziplock bag in my luggage. When I got to NYC, I replanted the aloe in a small pot and am hoping that it takes root and grows into a big aloe plant. This is is how it looks today:

Thanksgiving Day Table Setting

It's no surprise that the setting for our Thanksgiving Day feast was not our rinky card table. I was lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving in Cocoa, Florida, at my aunt and uncle's home.

My uncle decided he wanted a basketball hoop a few days before we arrived. A tree trunk had to be trimmed to make space for the hoop. The trimmed trunk thus became the Thanksgiving day centerpiece:



So here we are playing HORSE as a family. Yes, that is my mom wearing heeled loafers--she even played a game of basketball after HORSE wearing those babies! Check out the shocked expressions on our faces!

And this is my aunt's shot. Not perfect form, but it worked!
Surprisingly, we were all serviceable.

Original Painting for Sale

I finally listed an original painting for sale
in my etsy shop. It is a set of two canvases that I painted with acrylic paint.

I intended to create an entirely abstract work of art based on a series of circles. Once I had finished painting I stood back and all I could see were breasts! My husband came home and said "cool you painted olives." So I titled the work "Olivia." What do you see?

Book List

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell- This is a coming of age book that takes place during the Cold War in England. Once I got passed all the British slang (bog, bog paper...), this book really meant a lot to me. Composed of vignettes that can stand alone, but together compose the enthralling tale of boy with a stammer, this is a book that touches all. I think everyone can identify with the main character. Somehow everyone in my book club loved the book--that rarely happens!

Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene-- Disclaimer: I have a soft spot in my heart for all things Graham Greene. This particular novel tells the story of a boring main character who gets swept away by his aunt to travel abroad with her. It's a story of crime, passion, and morality. Like most Greene, this book feels like you're watching a black and white movie--has a Casablanca feel to it.

Currently reading The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates for my book club. I'm not far enough into it to give any judgement, but I'd love to hear what you thought of it if you've read it.

Speaking of book club, check out my new mini journals which I use to take notes for my book club. I use the journal as a bookmark while I'm reading the book and take notes in it. Then I store the journal in the book once I'm done reading it. They are available for sale here.

Wintertime

So apparently you can learn a lot from youtube (not just how to cut hair). I taught myself to crochet and I whipped up myself this nifty cowl neck in about 2 hours!


Then I had to make myself an even bigger one in a different color (please excuse the poopy face).


I used soft, warm apalca yarn for both.

Keeping with the winter theme, Edy's has a Limited Edition Eggnog icecream, which my wonderful husband picked up at the grocery store for me when I sent him out for odds and ends. It's pretty yummy:)

Savings...and a holiday table setting

With the economy in its current state, we are constantly, here in the Kahn household, looking for ways to save money. My husband tries to avoid haircuts like the plague...mostly, because he's cheap. So I suggested I cut his hair and to my surprise he even went to the drugstore to purchase a pair of hair cutting scissors ($8--about $6 less than the cost of a haircut. Actually he walked to two different drugstores to save a $1).

I youtubed a bunch of haircutting tutorials and then got to work.

I made Davey pose for the before/after photos. He insisted that people always look unhappy in the before photos.

Before:


After:



Not too shabby for a self-taught first-timer huh?

And finally, I leave you with last night's table setting. I collect leaves every fall just because I can't resist. I dry them between book pages and then I use them for EVERYTHING until I run out. I add them to packages as embellishment, use them as gift tags and as centerpieces and place settings...


And then we ate buffalo wings with our fingers:) So yummy!

4 Table Settings

I live in a small dingy apartment. My "dining room" table is really a card table. But sometimes I like to have a nice romantic dinner...or the ladies over for lunch. Nothing a table cloth and some flowers can't solve. Check out these table settings I put together with some stuff I happened to have.


Above: My boring chocolate brown table cloth. Lined up 4 aqua placemats from Bed Bath and Beyond as a table runner. The center piece was an engagement gift (thanks Madeleine and Brian!). It is actually an antique lemonade pitcher used in the South. I put some hydrangea in it (which somehow lasted for 2 weeks!). I used a wine bottle as a water pitcher. And there is nothing like a pair of crystal candle sticks to set the mood.


Above: A similar set up using the same centerpiece. This was the setup for my bookclub meeting. I used the wine bottles as orange juice pitchers and I used old receipts to label them.


Above: More simple and zenlike, I decided to set this table up with the place settings directly across from each other. There is something very romantic about sitting directly across from your love in candlelight. The centerpiece is a long glass tray with rocks and tea lights that usually graces the top of my tv stand.


Above: My favorite flower--the green calla lily, in a Tiffany bamboo crystal vase. Placemats from Bed Bath and Beyond. Tea light in crystal bowl. And when we sat down to eat I realized we had no glasses or utensils...silly me

More table settings to come...