busy days …

Busy busy busy …. My birthday was last week, and three days later is my dad’s.  This year, my sister had lunch for everyone at her house, and this is the cake I brought.   It is red velvet with cream cheese frosting.  Delicious.  The best red velvet I’ve ever had. 

It is funny, when I was little (who am I kidding ? I still say it now) I would tell my dad I was the best birthday present he ever got.  (Only the youngest child and a true Daddy’s Girl can get away with that!)   This year, my daughter went right up to him and said so!  It was funny to hear – she definitely is her mom’s girl! 

I had a wonderful birthday.  I had over 200 people wish me a happy day – how could it have been less than wonderful?  Well, it got better, with a delicious dinner out, a yummy chocolate cake, my sweet darlings, and some great presents.   Who could ask for anything more? 

things I did today

Or rather, things I bought today … I bought this cookbook. It has a ton of yummy – looking things in it. I will definitely be adding it to my bookstore which will link you through to Amazon to buy it there. Just click on the green bar on the right.

I also bought these measuring spoons …. they’re a little heavy, but I liked them.

And then I bought this soap…. I really liked the container for the downstairs bath…. it came with a pump …

And this pretty candle – it is in Coconut flower …. yum!

There were a few more things, but this was the gist of it … a few little birthday presents to me!

blue skies

Finally the sun is back!  It is so nice to see!   We had such rainy, dreary days!  I finally got a chance to take a quick snap of the stoop.  (I do not like the stoop at all.  Next year, I think, it will be replaced by a front porch. I love front porches!)   My mums are not coming in too much, but we did get a little pumpkin-y!  Some are real and some are faux.  Can you tell which?   I liked the idea of our last initial on a pumpkin, and it turned out well, so I will probably think of some more to decorate like it.  It is a LOT less messy than carving.  The kids picked their pumpkins yesterday, and are VERY excited to carve theirs.  Instead of a candle, I will get them each an inexpensive flashlight from the variety store in town.  

just checking in …

Just checking in to say hello! I have not posted this week. It has been a little busy, with home and work and the kids too. So posting had to take a bit of a back seat. I was looking for pictures to post, but then I realized that the last 200 pictures I have taken have all been football! oops! (By the way, our boys won their second game!) I wanted to take some of the fall decorations I put up, but the weather is not cooperating. I did put out some mums and faux pumpkins but the wind and the rain do not make for great pictures. It is even a bit gloomy inside. At least the fall harvest fair was a success, despite some iffy weather. Hope it clears in time for this week’s Oyster Festival!

I took this picture this summer on the way to Pennsylvania, but hadn’t posted it. If you look over the side of the bridge, you see this little town nestled in the valley. I always wish we could stop and take a picture, but there is no shoulder there, and there are always a lot of cars. So this year, I just rolled down the window and snapped as we went by. Not too bad, right? (I won’t even tell you how fast he was going!) One day, I will get this when it is sunny out. It looks so pretty then!

More soon, promise!

i couldn’t resist …

a little more football! I never would have thought I’d be a football mom, but here I am! Our boys won their first game yesterday! And it was a great game – they really owned that ball. 39-6! Our school district is pretty small, so for football, we are playing with the Carle Place team. It’s our district’s first year playing, and we’re all pretty excited. Go Green!

Update: Another scrimage today – that’s my little man playing center!

fall is definitely in the air …

Fall is here for sure!  Every store front, nursery and farm stand is all decked out in the colors of the season.  This weekend, our local – volunteer – fire department (Did I mention my husband was in the fire department?  He is an officer.  He gives a lot of his free time to this and I’m proud of him for it!)  has their annual Harvest Fair.  They’ll run hayrides around the neighborhood, pop fresh popcorn, barbeque some burgers and hot dogs, and sell mums, farm fresh produce and pumpkins.

 

They’ll have some vendors, and the village library will have a table or three of books you can pick from and donate what you think is fair.   You’ve got to love a good Harvest Fair! 

just a test run …

Just experimenting with a new layout size and type… you can see the pictures a little better without enlarging them. Please, let me know what you think. Thanks! This, by the way, for those of you who are new here, is my sweet Kate.

a little fall decorating

I've been trying to add a little more fall decor to the house. I've removed the sand and seashells from my cloche, and have been playing with fall arrangements. I definitely think it needs more height, but it's hard to make it all stay without hot gluing and I don't want to do that. I will keep hunting for the last, just right, element for this. I don't have a LOT of fall things, but enough to add a touch of festive to the house. Christmas is when we go all out here. How about you - what is your favorite time of year to decorate?

you know its fall when ....

... the men are playing FOOTBALL! Have a great weekend ...

things I love

Among the things I love are old books. I am especially interested in old books about home-keeping, hospitality, and manners. I have quite a few already, and a few more that I am interested in that I am scouring the internet for. What do I get from these books? An interesting view into times past. A glimpse at the day to day, without having to give up my washing machine. A few good tips on housekeeping, such as stain removal, removing scratches from wood ... And the books on hosting and hospitality fascinate me. A look at a time when people had more time to entertain. Funny how with all the time saving conveniences that we have, our time is still at a premium and hard to keep track of. I love the descriptions of entertaining from a time when people used their leisure hours differently than we did. And so many of the ideas still hold true today. And I especially love that there was a time in the not so distant past when people placed manners at a premium. When children were taught to be courteous and people showed courtesy to one another... My dad still gets up when a lady comes into the room. I would not give up modern medicine and technology, but there is something to be said for a little old-fashioned courtesy...

miss sugar mags

Meet Sugar Magnolia. The youngest in our little family. These are more pictures by 9 year old Kate. I thought since you'd met the other "kids" you should meet Miss Sugar. She really is a sweetheart. A total puppy love. Though I guess at 3 she isn't really a puppy anymore. But she's so little and sweet, we always think of her as one.

It sure is getting cool here in New York. We already had the heat on for a bit, just to take the chill off of the house. My little foot warmer here has been helping with that too.

take a look ...

Just a quick post here ... check out http://www.lonnymag.com/ - a new on-line home and decorating magazine from some of the editors at Domino magazine. (Miss you Domino! I LOVED that magazine.) It's just out today, so I haven't had a chance to read the articles yet, but I flipped through it - twice! - and really like what I see. A lot of the same design aesthetics we saw in Domino, beautiful photographs and interesting spaces ... check it out.... I know I'll be back!