Domestic Fridays

Dear Girl at Safeway,

You passed me, my husband and my little girl at 6pm on Friday in the frozen food aisle.  You turned to your friend as we passed with a snide, 'domestic Fridays' just loud enough for us to hear. 

I want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you are not wise enough to recognize that my domestic Friday is more rewarding than any night you may have at a bar with your friends.  As you gathered up your cocktail mixers, I purchased cookies, diapers and bread. For my family.  

I'm sorry you do not know the joy of giving birth to a being who is solely dependent on you in every way. I'm sorry you don't have someone who thinks you walk on water. I'm sorry you don't have a little, round, perfectly porcelained face staring up at you with big eyes everyday, saying 'I livyoutoo, Mama.' I'm sorry that no one thinks you are as cool as to follow you to the bathroom while you poop.  I'm sorry no one tries to be you in every way - wearing your finest designer purse, your  fedora and your jewels.  I'm sorry you don't look over and explode with love watching your daughter read out loud to herself in gibberish.  I'm sorry you don't get to hear someone coo and babble in the morning in her crib. I'm sorry you can't have the pleasure of hearing your daughter, who has just pretended to hide her water bottle exclaim 'I find it!!' with pure unadulterated jubilation.

I'm sorry you don't have a man to accompany you through life. I'm sorry that man doesn't make you breakfast in bed or buy you Us magazine and flowers after a rough day. I'm sorry he doesn't bend over backwards and work like a dog to give you and your family all the things you want in life. I'm sorry he doesn't make you laugh till you cry and stay up with you when you are sad. 

I'm sorry you can't recognize that I was once you. I've woken up with my make-up smeared on my pillow from the previous night.  I've stayed out all night laughing and carousing with friends. I've bought those same mixers you are now buying. I've put on my pre-game playlist and gotten ready with my friends. I've talked to douche bags at bars. I've traveled the world.  I've thought family life was boring and terrible.  I've been you and that's why I kept my comments to myself that night in Safeway. I've had my fun. But I've moved on. And hopefully so will you someday. 

And maybe I'm being presumptuous about you and your life as you were that night in Safeway about mine.  You assume my life is that of a boring old maid or mom who is miserable in my life. Unfortunately, this could not be further from the truth.  Your comments are sadly those of an ignorant, immature child who doesn't seem to know what she wants in life.  Or perhaps they are those of someone who knows exactly what she wants in life. Either way, you came off bitter and jealous.  I'm sorry for that.  

(And by the way, if you're so cool, what were you doing at the Safeway on a Friday night? Just sayin...)

I wouldn't trade my 'domestic Fridays' for anything in this entire world.  

~And that my friends, is worth a glass of champagne!~

Last Minute DIY Valentines

Friday is Valentine's Day, are you ready? 

No? 

Well, here are some things to help you look like you'd planned all along!

{Valentines Cards}

Got these blank pink cards and foam V-Day stickers from Michaels' sale bins along with some fun glitter pens.  

I sat my daughter down and we decorated our cards as she saw fit.  

The foam stickers were a life saver. Peel the back off and stick it on the card. 

Write a quick note and voila, you're done!

Pop those babies in the mail and no one is the wiser. 

{Decorate Porcelain for your Lovey}

The tutorial can be found here, but it just says to use a paint pen.  

I did some research and found that it's probably better to get a Pebeo paint pen (they're specifically for drawing on porcelain and ceramic). Buy a plain white bowl, mug, dish from Ikea, the dollar store, or even Goodwill.  Decorate it as you see fit and pop it in the oven on a cookie sheet.  Crank it up to 350 and let it bake for 20 minutes.  It's supposedly safe for eating or drinking and also dishwasher safe, but I guess we will see won't we?

{Cooking with Hearts}

Bake or cook something and cut it in the shape of a heart.  Cut a heart in a slice of bread, crack an egg into it and fry it up in a pan.  Make French toast, pancakes, muffins, cookies, cake, fruit or anything really and cut it into the shape of a heart.  Check out the Pinterest results after searching "Valentine's Day heart cooking" here.

Strawberry Nutella Challah French Toast
Courtesy of Pinterest

Buy some Reese's (because let's be honest, who doesn't love those) and package them up in a pretty way, attaching the tag 'I Love You to Pieces!' (Tutorial here)

Or write on two bananas 'I'm Bananas for You' 'Let's Never Split' (Idea courtesy of Pinterest)

{Do Chores}

You know those chores or projects around the house that your partner just doesn't want to do or doesn't have time to do? Do it for him/her!  Laundry, fix that leaky gutter, fill the car up with gas, clean something.  With the impending storm on the East Coast maybe head out and pick up all the essentials for a cozy day or two inside - and don't forget dessert - you can never lose with chocolate.  

Cozy up with your loved one on Friday and celebrate your love...and your DIY skills ;)

~And that my friends, is worth a glass of champagne!~

V-Day, on it's way!

You may dread it, you may love it, but Valentine's Day is creeping up on us.

I don't know about you, buuut...  I'm tired. I'm pregnant. I'm sick of winter.  

My husband and I decided to keep it low key this year with some sushi and a movie (and I couldn't be happier).  Even though I'm pregnant I can still eat sushi because the sushi-est I get is a crab roll.  But my true fav are cucumber rolls.  I'm just one wild and craaazy girl! SNL.  Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?? But I digress. My husband is a sushi adventurer - the weirder the better. 

We are not even exchanging gifts this year.  Going out to eat alone without the babe and not watching a movie from the comfort of our couch IS the present.  If you have kids you will understand that a few hours alone to talk without interruption, or to just bask in silence while characters on a giant screen tell you a story is truly a godsend.  Silence? Adult conversation? Getting into and out of the car without a Lifetime or soap-opera drama unfolding? Pure, unadulterated bliss. 

This Valentine's Day perhaps think about the small things.  A big huge planned special day is awesome but maybe a cozy night together isn't so bad? Celebrate one another, not the day that is a holiday.  Take some time away from your harried life to really talk and connect with your loved one (while disconnecting from your phone, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook) Isn't it more meaningful if you don't tout to the entire world via Instagram (thanks to the Hefe filter) that your bf got you 90 gorgeous roses? Then it's just between you two - something you can keep secret and remember with a smile when thinking of that person months later.  Much more romantic, in my opinion.

Even if you're spending V-Day with your friend(s) maybe take some time to reflect on why you love them and what their inclusion in your life means to you.  

Paint your nails, wear your pjs, chitter chatter till the sun comes up, do whatever it is that you do, but leave the phones alone.  Because unless you are the guy in the movie Her, you have no real relationship with your phone.  Sorry.  Whatever you do, do not bemoan your single status because Valentine's Day is about love.  No one ever said it had to be romantic, Sleepless in Seattle-style love. Have some fun, tell some jokes.  Love.

Here are some low key things to help you celebrate. Be chill.  Less is more.  (Ok, I'm done with cliche phrases now).

H&M Chambray Pink PJs - great for cozying up and lounging

Lime Crime Lipstick in Geradium - a little glamour for your chill night in.  Or out. 

Glam Glow Tingling Mud Mask - To prepare for your night out or to enjoy your night in.

Nordstrom 'Love' Pillow - snuggle some love even if you're not dating someone

More pillows can be found here

J.Crew Tippi Sweater - throw this on for some understated glamour

J.Crew Vintage Tee - layer a comfy tee under a sweater for loungin

Heart Cake Tutorial - eat some cake to celebrate!

Fancy a little breakfast for dinner?  Good, try this strawberry nutella french toast.

Love Mug - a homemade gift.  I'm gonna do mine on a cereal bowl since my husband doesn't do coffee. Or tea. Or hot liquids in mugs.  

You can find more of my Valentine's Day pins on my Pinterest page, here.  Or follow me on Pinterest using the button at the top of the page.  

No matter what you do, grab some people you love and celebrate.  Having love in your life makes it so much richer!  

~And that my friends, is worth a glass of champagne!~

DIY Christmas Gifts

So in an effort to save some cash and put more effort into gift giving I decided to DIY some presents this year.  

If you need some ideas, keep reading.  If you're done getting gifts keep reading anyway, what else are you doing for the next five minutes? ;)

My first project was courtesy of your favorite and mine - Pinterest.  The oh so famous DIY handprint reindeer (full tutorial can be found here).  Ever since our bundle of joy has entered our lives my husband and I have come to realize how crazy our parents are for her.  Head over heels, proud, bursting with love, obsessed.  Whatever you want to call it.  So what better way to make the grandparents happy than a little  ornament made by hers truly bearing her teeny, chubby little handprint?  And since it's Christmas and all, might as well slap some extra paint on that and make it a reindeer.  Thank you Pinterest.  (You can follow me on Pinterest, just click the button at the top of the page).

My second DIY was much simpler - homemade chocolate chip cookies.  But I didn't just want to simply put them in a tin and send them on their way.  I wanted them to look cute and pretty.  Like the Pinterest ones.  F****ing Pinterest! 

My last DIY project was more overwhelming. Homemade hand salve.  I was not familiar with the ingredients or how to use them, but I found the simplest recipe I could and crossed my fingers.  And said a prayer. And threw a penny in a fountain and made a wish.  Ok, I didn't really do that last part.  

I headed to Michaels excited to cultivate  my inner Martha Stewart. When I got there however, I realized how not crafty I actually am.  I wandered around Michaels like a lost puppy studying different kinds of paint and markers and stickers.  Oh my! Do you know how many different kinds of labels and stickers they sell??? Yea, me neither but it's a lot.  

I managed to find washable paint, ribbon  and a piece of oak tag for the reindeer handprints fairly easily.  Then I walked the whole store before stumbling onto, or rather into, the baking aisle.  I picked up some mini plastic baggies in an hourglass shape and some ribbon.

And then the confusion ensued.  I needed tins to hold the lotion, beeswax, coconut oil, essential oil, and sweet almond oil.  The coconut and almond oil I had to get from the Vitamin Shoppe but the rest was from Michaels.  I eventually found everything I needed in the candle making/bath area.  Did you know Michaels sells bath salts and other random bath products?? I studied the beeswax for about five minutes before my daughter started begging for the Minnie Mouse book across the aisle.  

I headed home to begin.  

I knew the reindeer might be the hardest in terms of cooperation from the little one so I laid down some garbage bags and made us some garbage bag smocks.  She rocked that garbage bag if I do say so myself.  And they worked like a charm! No paint on our clothes or floor.  

I mixed up some red and green to make brown, rubbed it on her hand and patted it down all over the oak tag before she even knew what was happening.  Then I gave her the part of the oaktag we hadn't used and let her go nuts finger painting it. She had a blast and so did I! I glued some googly eyes on, painted a red nose, punched a whole, tied some ribbon and wrote my holiday message. On the back I wrote the year, and my daughter's name and age.

Next, I baked some cookies using the Nestle Tollhouse recipe, put them in baggies and tied them up.  

But I decided they just didn't look cute enough.  I tied ribbon around them and made label in MS Word to tie onto each bag.  

Much better.

Lastly, the hand salve.  Using a double boiler I melted equal parts almond oil, coconut oil and beeswax. 

This is where things got tricky.  I discovered the hard way that I'm allergic to one of those oils.  As the oils heated up and melted, my throat was shrinking in size.  

I began coughing and wheezing so I ran and opened the windows which helped a bunch.  Except I was an icicle by the time the oils had melded together.

I think it's the coconut oil because this has happened once before at Benihana in Hawaii. On our honeymoon.  On the first night.  I had to leave the restaurant and order a $31 burger from room service and my husband got his food to-go and had to eat it on the balcony alone outside because just the smell of it made my throat start acting up all over again. Romantic right??

But I would not be deterred so easily.  Once melted, I took the bowl off the heat, added a vanilla and lavender essential oil and poured it into the tins I bought.  Then I washed my hands, changed my clothes and got out of the house as quickly as I could while it aired out.  What better way to spend a morning out then visiting Santa? So that is just what we did.  (I forgot to take a picture, but they look pretty cute if I do say so myself.)

I will be delivering my goodies tomorrow so I hope everyone enjoys them!  I never got to test out that salve so I hope it is silky and soothing.  But I guess I'll never really know.  Stupid allergies!

Doing something meaningful and thoughtful brings joy to others but really giving just feels darn good.  Happy Holidays!!!!

~And that my friends, is worth a glass of champagne.~

Don't judge a book by its cover

People think they have New Yorkers all figured out - harried and rude, opinionated and rich. But people forget that the people of New York are just that, people - with emotions and hardships and real stories. A place where anything can happen and anything goes, New York is one of the greatest cities in the world for good reason.  You can find it here, do it here, and live it here.  

If you want to read the stories of the real New York check out the Humans of New York (HONY for short) website, Facebook page or pre-order Brandon Stanton's book that is coming out this fall.  

Stanton wanders the city streets capturing photographs of interesting NY folk asking them a question or two about themselves, the answer of which become the captions to the photos- they tell the story.  I began perusing the photos on a rainy day when I was bored.  Five pictures later, I was hooked.  Without realizing it, I was assuming certain things about these people of NY based on the pictures alone. (Like the man who appeared apathetic with all the tattoos) 

Photo courtesy of www.humansofnewyork.com
8 April 2013

Until I read the captions. Turns out his mom died when he was 18.  I was intrigued by the photos and became captivated by their stories. I didn't realize I was even making presumptions about the people in the photos until the captions told a different story.  

I was embarrassed.  I had always prided myself on accepting all kinds of people.  I've been friends with punk rockers, jocks and cheerleaders, people of different races, sizes, religions, sexual orientation - so I never expected to create snap judgments about the people in these photos. I guess we are all guilty of something similar at one point or another, but I think recognizing it is what's important.  Get out of your bubble once in a while, it's good for you.  And the world.  Luckily, my snap judgments were a reminder to myself to slow down and remember that everyone's got an inner story, despite what their outer image may project.  

The stories are often deep and profound despite the subject's  just having met Brandon Stanton.  

However, some are funny, and some, are just too stinking cute.  Like this one entitled, "Today in microfashion..."

Photo courtesy of www.humansofnewyork.com
Taken on 15 August 2013

How adorable is she?  My goodness!


Many of them are heartfelt.  Like this...

Photo courtesy of www.humansofnewyork.com
26 August 2013

"We met 55 years ago on a teen tour, and have been best friends ever since." “What’s her best quality?” “She’s loyal.” “What’s the toughest thing she’s ever helped you through?” “I don’t know if I should say this, but I’m going to. Fourteen years ago, I got lung cancer. Then seven or eight years ago, I got breast cancer. And now the lung cancer’s back. I must have set a record or something, because it was fourteen years ago, but now it’s back, and it’s metastasized, and the prognosis is not good.” “She’s doing good. The chemo is working.” “She’s right, I’m doing ok, and I’ll make it longer than expected, but the prognosis is not good. And I’m gonna cry now, but I've got to say— and I know it’s a cliche— but she’s been there every step of the way. Every appointment, every surgery, every time I've done chemo, she’s been there. And I couldn't have come this far without her.”

Or surprising...

Photo courtesy of www.humansofnewyork.com
27 June 2013

"Follow your heart." 

"And where has that taken you?" 

"Exotic climates." 

"Such as?"

"Well I leave in three days to return to Kabul, where I’m currently stationed. Before that, it was Iraq for three years. Then Burundi. Then South Africa, where I was Nelson Mandela’s legal advisor."

Humans of New York is a reminder, as cliche as it sounds, not to judge a book by its cover and to perhaps pay more attention to those around us.  Everyone has a unique story all their own and most people, even New Yorkers, are willing to share it.  We could learn a lot from one another, you know? And that, my friends, is worth a glass of champagne!"

"If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it" - Ferris Bueller 

Round Trip for a Day

Today couldn't have started worse.  I was running super late and I had to catch a plane.  But that was late too.  I was only going to NY for the day but being a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) I am not used to being the one to leave my daughter.  She does everything with me - we go grocery shopping together, we go for runs together, we play together, she even follows me to the bathroom, so I guess we do that together too???  Anyhoo, I could've spent an extra few minutes with her before flying out if only I had know the plane was to be delayed.  But c'est la vie.

Once I was on my way I began to get excited.  Excited to be an adult, alone, peacefully reading Glamour.  And doing the crossword in the back of the airplane magazine.  Nerd alert.  

As we began our descent I couldn't wait to go see my friends for the day.  And L's bridal shower couldn't be a better reason to celebrate. Jen picked me up at the airport and we headed to Liz's cousin's house.  All I have to say about pulling up the house is WOA. 

Gorgeous house inside and out!  

Once inside we greeted Liz's mom and other family members as they anxiously prepped the food and awaited Liz's arrival.  

We grabbed a drink and headed outside to the pool to check out the decor and catch up.  It was the perfect country chic garden party.  White table and chairs sat around the yard topped with beautiful floral china.  Each table had china from a different member of Liz's family so it wasn't just beautiful, it was also very meaningful.  Mason jars filled with wildflowers adorned each table and scented handmade soap favors marked each place setting.

Her mom and aunt made all the food from scratch, and although I had to leave the shower early to head home for my husband's work event, I did get to sample some of it.  Homemade crab cakes, tortellini, salads, chicken cutlets, sangria - a whole gluten free menu just for us.  Again I forgot to take pics of the food.  My stomach takes over and my brain shuts down.  Sorry guys!  

Liz arrived promptly and everyone was so happy to see her.  No one is more deserving of a gorgeous bridal shower than she is.  Liz gives of herself to everyone else and truly goes out of her way for those she loves.  She works furiously in her career but seems to somehow always remember the little things that just make people's day.  Despite living in different states, she never fails to send me a birthday card (early I may add) with a birthday poem inside.  

J, L and I have been friends since high school
(J & L since elementary school, omg!)

I'm sure all that truly know Liz feel the same way, which is why the gift table was overflowing with stuff!

You can't even see the front of the table anymore!

I am so happy that Liz and I have remained friends since high school, but more importantly that she has found a wonderful man in Fab.  They are a model of what a kind, thoughtful, smart, loving relationship should be.   To Liz & Fab ladies and gents - And that my friends, is worth a glass of champagne!  (And it will be.  In November, when they tie the knot! xoxo)