Caps for Sale!

Truth be told. I am a hat girl. A few summers back, I scored the perfect straw hat. It was inexpensive, could be folded and tucked in my bag and it had a perfect brim - not too large or small. Well, remember the inexpensive part? My favorite hat acquired a hole and that was that. :( With the heat and humidity soaring this past Memorial Day weekend, I missed my hat. I poked around a bit and viola..I found a replacement. Score! Even better, my new hat has a cord so it can hang around my neck when not in use. I am in love. If you see me this summer, chances are I will be sporting my new hat. Are you a hat girl? 

Tricia

GOLD

This past weekend I had the pleasure of getting together with friends I've known for thirty plus years!  Yes, we've known each other since grade school and have gone thru the many awkward stages of life together (braces, bad hair, boyfriends, etc.).  

When we graduated high school, there were six of us that were pretty tight.  After college, we all stayed here on the East Coast and relatively close --- New York to Baltimore and in between. 

We are trying to organize a group 1/2 marathon run this fall.  Thinking about t-shirts with a screen print picture of us from high school --- the six of us sitting next to each other with our hair literally touching becasue it was sooo big!  We are a product of the 80's, what can I say.  If I can locate the photo, I will most certainly share.

Tracy

 4 out of 6 with smaller hair

3..2..1..Summer!

Memorial Day is the traditional start of summer..bring on white pants, lazy summer days, and lightning bugs flickering in the night sky. Hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend as much as I am!

Tricia

HAPPY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Kate-Kate Rollerskate!

Photo Friday No. 66

TB on Madison Ave in

NYC

Neighbor Jenny a District XI Soccer Champ in

Pennsylvania

MUSIC

Happy to be a family of musicians.  Our week went something like this.

Tuesday Night:

JACK'S

6th, 7th and 8th Grade Band and Chorus Program 

(Jack plays the "bone")

I missed the concert :(

Kate had a softball game and Mike had to work a soccer game :(
Blooper perhaps.

Grandparents reported it was the best one yet.

Wednesday Morning:

KATE'S

Kindergarten EI EI OOPS! Play

Super Cute!  Bravo!

Kate was a "chick" and had a speaking part and knew
all the words to all the songs.

Her boyfriend stood in front of her and she kept eyeballing him.

Wednesday Night:

MATTHEW'S

2nd and 3rd Grade Steckelwood Pops Concert

Music teacher is cooky and tells strange jokes.

Matthew was part of a group solo (if that makes sense).

He sang loud and proud (or spoke loud and proud).

Watch out Justin Bieber :)

Our chick in yellow and her boyfriend in orange

Barkin' Bloopers

It has almost been a mere week (!) and there are bloopers. Are you surprised? I am not.

If you saw someone walking a puppy on my street, early Monday morning, wearing flowered, flannel pjs, that may have been me. If you saw that same someone running with a puppy after it started pouring cats and dogs, that may have been me too. Sigh.

Mr. Tripp already chewed through his first leash. It lasted about five days, tops. In desperate need of a leash, I borrowed one from Emma's "dog" Bubbles..a life-sized, stuffed black Lab. Now, Mr. Tripp has a bright pink leash with enormous pink polka dots. Suh-sweet!

A baby gate went up ASAP to keep Tripp from going upstairs for the time being - with chewing - it is all about containment. Somehow, he managed to get his entire head stuck in between the wooden bars of the gate. For a moment, panic set in and I imagined the phone call to the fire department - > junior-sized jaws of life please? Luckily, calmness prevailed and I angled his head out. Whew! Close call.

Tricia

WELCOME

Welcome Mr. Tripp!  You are too stinkin' cute and will be smothered with love!

We are an animal family but with cats :)  The kids have asked but there has been no serious consideration about getting more animals one day.  Especially not now.  But after Mike heard about the arrival of Tripp, he mentioned that if we get a dog one day it would have to be in the Spring.  What?  He who wants no more animals.  Where did that come from?  A little puppy envy perhaps.

Tracy

A Home for a Good Dog

I finally gave in. After months of begging from every member of my family, I agreed we could get a dog. I came to the realization that if I wanted my children to have the valuable, memories of having a dog in their young lives, the time is now. I believe each of us has one childhood shaped by our experiences - we carry it with us for a lifetime in our hearts. It becomes a reservoir we rely on for the good, bad and in between.

Our dog is Tripp. We adopted him from the rescue organization, Homes for Good Dogs. A kind woman came across him on her walk..she "tripped" over him as he was lying in the road without any fur and a fractured leg. Thankfully, she brought him home and nursed him back to health. Tripp is a mixed breed - he is playful, lovable, and sweet - exactly the dog we waited so long for. Stay tuned..I know Tripp will be good material for me&t.

Tricia (aka Tripp's mom ;)

Photo Friday No. 65

Sprinkler in

New Jersey

Queen for a Day in

Pennsylvania

The Grind

My day looked like this..

6:00 AM - pack six lunches (3 for my kids/3 for a donation)
8:20 AM - out the door with 4 kids ready for school
8:40 AM - pick up "5" doughnuts for Wm.'s "summer birthday" treat
9:00 AM - drop Wm. at school
9:10 AM - pop into a store to buy party invites for Wm. & Emma
9:30 AM - gym class (forgot water bottle - borrowed Wm.'s)
10:30 AM - read a story to Wm.'s class & sang happy birthday
11:30 AM - stop by church to register kids for CCD for next year
11:50 AM - run through ATM to get $ for sitter
12:05 PM - lunch, wash, shower, write post, bake cookies for cookie sale
3:05 PM - collect big kids from school & race to "art show" at the high school
4:30 PM - home! Dinner, homework, get Grace ready for her concert
6:15 PM - sitter arrives, Grace & I leave for concert
7:30 PM - orchestra concert!
8:45 PM - frozen yogurt afterwards for musicians
9:30 PM - home and, eventually, bed

What did your day look like?

Tricia

Help???

SCENT

I love stumbling upon a new product that makes me happy.  While shopping at Anthropologie in NYC, we came across a perfume stick.  Seems simple enough, it has the roller ball on the end and it fits in my makeup bag.  Sometimes halfway thru my day, I pull it out, apply a swipe and wala, a fresh scent.  Definitely makes me feel fresh and happy.

Tracy

Super cute packaging too!

Double Trouble

Did you read the recent article in the New York Times about DOUBLE work outs? (no typo here) Double, yikes! Yes, it is true. Women taking an exercise class and then running to another class immediately after. Ok, if they "run" isn't that three work outs? (but whose counting?)

Surprisingly, I have been reading that some women (my age!) are still "in it to win it" so to speak. Competing in golf and tennis, not as friendly as it appears on the surface. One woman I read about, felt smug each morning as she arrived at work knowing she already pounded out six miles - while her coworkers were still hitting their snooze alarms.

What can I say? I am happy to have "the gym" and running as part of my life habits. Healthy, social, and fun at times. Am I looking to win a marathon or be star student in class? I doubt it. What does this say about me? (whatever it is, it doesn't seem good) If double work outs are your thing..good for you! If you work out just once a day, like me, good for us too.

Tricia

HAPPY

"The most important thing she'd

learned over the years was that there

was no way to be a perfect mother

and a million ways to be a good one."

                                                                                                                                Jill Churchill

Happy Mother's Day to our Mom and to all the Mom's out there.

Photo Friday No. 64

Painting in

New Jersey 

Masks in

Pennsylvania

Let's Hear it for the Moms!

As I go through life, I am constantly amazed by the moms around me. Moms pushing baby carriages with toddlers in tow, moms picking up kids from college, moms hustling off to work (after dropping the children at school.) With Mother's Day this weekend, it got me to thinking about the many things moms do. And, whatever it is you do, my hat is off to you.

Moms volunteer * moms help with homework * mom run kids to practice * moms go to work * moms start new businesses * moms go back to school for degrees * moms tend to gardens & pets * moms clean pretty much everything * moms are good friends to their friends * moms exercise * moms make birthdays & holidays special * moms tend to sick kids * moms help kids with school projects * moms are cookers & bakers * moms are daughters, sisters, wives, friends & mothers

Tricia

DING

Still relishing in our recent NYC weekend, a t noticed that Garance Dore posted an inspiration photo from The Maritime Hotel.  It looked like she was there the weekend after us (crazy!).  The other t checked out her post, clicked around a bit and behold ... Garance mentioned she heard The Maritime Hotel is haunted (and perhaps that is why she sleeps so well there).  What!!!!

Both t's sprung into action and did some research.  Sure enough, it is true!  Reports are that The Maritime Hotel has some strange happenings going on specifically on Floors 2 and 10.  We were on Floor 4 (whew).  The main reports are of children's voices being heard and even a sighting of children doing jump rope in the hallway.  Some visitors have actually called the front desk asking for a new room because the kids are too loud.  Thinking it is the children of other guests and not knowing what is actually going on.

Here's the funny part.  As we were getting ready Saturday morning to head to the Brooklyn Flea one t comments how she woke up in the middle of the night.  It sounded like someone was typing on an old fashioned typwriter all night long.  Type, type, type followed by the traditional DING when you return to go down a line.  Type, type, type, DING!  The other t did not hear it (probably due to all the booze consumed that night).  Both brushed it off but thought it was odd.

After hearing the hotel could be haunted, both t's raised an eyebrow remembering the typing sounds, could it be?  Who would possibly bring a traditional typewriter into a hotel and sit up all night and type.  

We have concluded that when researching hotels (especially old ones) you have to check out the bed bug registry and also the ghost registry!  No joke.  I was poking around and found out that The Equinox Inn located in Manchester Center, VT is said to be haunted.  That is where the t's went for their first girls weekend 4 years ago!!! 

Spooky stuff!

The Equinox 

me&t

Girls Weekend 2009

NYC Bloopers - Part II

1. One t (who is mad about stripes) wore her new, JCrew, striped shirt. So effortlessly chic. Not! As the t's enjoyed a drink at the hotel bar, they noticed a sea of blue & white striped shirts. Other chic travelers? Nope. Striped shirts were the uniform of the hotel's waitstaff. T took off her shirt & went with the white blouse that was underneath. No joke.

2. Imagine a vintage, straw tote bag at the Brooklyn Flea. Hmmm. No price tag. One t inquires about the price and the seller replies, "It is not for sale." Strange. (What is it doing there if it isn't for sale?) Hours later, the t's spy the straw bag again as they are leaving - it now has a price tag!!! Perhaps the seller didn't think the t's would give the bag a good home.

3. And, last, but not least - one t lost a contact lens and had to wear her old glasses - it was so windy, the t's almost blew off the High Line - two people inquired if the t's were utilizing the hotel's fitness center - Jack asked if they rode in the Cash Cab - the t's bought a touristy map of NYC - one t paid NINE dollars for a chocolate bar - the t's parked illegally in SoHo - the end.

NYC Bloopers - Part I

1. Upon unpacking, the two t's took inventory of what they brought. One t had a boatload of shoes and the other t had a pile of coats. Wondering who was who?? Luckily, the two t's take the same size, so they shared of course!

2. No surprise here..the t's popped into Tory Burch. Whoa -- there was a "friends and family" sale going on and the store was packed with shoppers. Our adorable salesgirl offered us a beverage. One t wanted a Diet Coke - nope, only champagne or water. Cheers!

3. At dinner Friday evening, the restaurant's huge windows overlooked a Greenwich Village neighborhood. As night fell, the t's spied a bright, neon sign across the way. "Psychic Palm Reading" it read. You guessed it -- both t's had the "two palm and face reading" for $50. The psychic nailed both t's to a t. (if she had switched their readings, she would have been incorrect ~ spooky bones)

4. A dinner reservation Saturday night took the t's across town to the East Village, which was a healthy walk from their hotel. It was a pretty night, so the t's set out intending to walk a bit and then hail a cab. (yes both in heels) Well- walking and talking - the t's got embedded in the city. Noticing the time, a cab was hailed. The cab took them THREE blocks and they were at the restaurant. Cab fare = $3.00 = no joke.

Self portrait on the windy High Line

Photo Friday No. 63

New dish towel in

New Jersey

Punk rock kindergarten hair in

Pennsylvania

Eat NYC

Of course, the t's had to eat during their weekend getaway in New York. The dinners were planned in advance and the lunches were spontaneous. By accident, most of the restaurants had a "farm to table" philosophy. Each executed it in their own way, and to be honest, we were never disappointed.

The Green Table Housed in Chelsea Market, this tiny gem of a restaurant was a surprise. We had to wait for a table - but it was worth it. The food was fresh from the farm..we sampled soup, salad and deviled eggs. Yum! If you have a large group, they have a big table that actually sits outside of the restaurant in Chelsea Market. There is a charming bar and a counter to enjoy a drink while waiting for a table.

The Market Table This one we lifted from GOOP's city guide app. Located in Greenwich Village, it felt like a quintessential neighborhood restaurant filled with locals. More delicious "farm fresh" food. The space was small and bustling with huge windows overlooking the street corner. Note: no sign of Gwynnie :/

Food Trucks At the Brooklyn Flea Market, we enjoyed lunch "food truck style"..a lobster roll sandwich and tacos eaten on steps in the fresh sunshine. {A perfect break from the flea.} The food trucks were lined up and, honestly, each menu looked so good, it was hard to choose!

Hecho en Dumbo Hecho en Dumbo moved across the bridge from Dumbo, Brooklyn to the East Village and we were so happy they did! We reserved the chef's table -- a five course dinner prepared by the chef and his staff as you watch. Our meal ended up being seven amazing courses (!) The t's can't stop talking about our experience at Hecho en Dumbo. We highly recommend you enjoy it too.

SHOPS

A me&t weekend would not be complete without what else --- shopping!  We shopped so much we were all shopped out (if that is possible).

Chelsea Market

Original home of the National Biscuit Company (c. 1890) it now houses restaurants and shops on the first floor.  Including Anthropologie, Bowery Kitchen Shop, Fat Witch Bakery, etc.  Our favorite were two different "pop-up" spaces including the new "Artists & Fleas".  We loved the local artisans, their warm welcome and all they had to offer.

High Line

The High Line is not a shop but a public park built on an historic freight rail line.  It was so windy that day we just had to meander down below to the Meatpacking District.  Enter Tory Burch.  One t grabbed some picks while a bunch of ladies were shopping in style, sipping their champagne.  We even spotted a shopper with a Goyard bag.

Brooklyn Flea

The flea moves outdoors from April through November.  This location is the flagship spot known as the Fort Greene Flea and is situated on the schoolyard of a local high school.  Being the flea market lovers that we are, we had lots to check out.  A different feel than the indoor location but still many great picks.

C. Wonder

Tory Burch's ex-husband (Christopher) opened this shop in Soho.  More Kate Spade like with lots of preppy accessories, clothing and housewares at great price points.  There was a DJ at the front entrance spinning some tunes and the dressing rooms had individual controls to dim the lights!  Fun destination to check out.