Just Make Stuff

The plan...

We're hosting a pre-game dinner for Mac's cheer team in a little bit and then are off to our second game of the season tonight.

Tomorrow we'll be up bright and early for a yard sale...a direct result of cleaning out Mac's room. Our city only allows yard sales four weekends a year so our neighborhood will be full of bargain shoppers and we can't wait to see them.

The rest of Saturday will be spent watching the first full day of college football...laundry and chores can wait. 

Hope you have lots of fun planned too!

It was Mac's idea...

Like I mentioned recently, part of Mac's bedroom redecorating was a major clean-out. As wore tore through his clothes deciding what to keep we came upon my favorite t-shirt ever. The one that only had a size that was too big when I purchased it so I had to wait two years for him to grow into it. Unfortunately it ended up a casualty of the de-cluttering...

Mac had recently discussed wanting pillows made from t-shirts for his room. Specifically he requested a pillow made out of this Kelly Kapowski t-shirt, because he's super classy like that. When he saw my crestfallen face as my favorite t-shirt hit the donation pile, he suggested I make one for myself. Without hesitation I cut it up, researched what stitch would work best on jersey, and haphazardly stuffed it into a lumpy, cozy pillow for the couch in my craft room. 

All done. Thanks for the idea Mac, I love it.

What's inside...

I was switching out purses last week and decided to share how I organize mine. I have my wallet, my phone and three little bags.

One bag holds various supplies...

The second bag is more like a little first aid/hygiene kit...

And the third bag holds what I might need for errands...

Do you carry a roll of washi tape along, or is that just me? It actually has come in handy to have a little roll of tape...and it might as well be cute.

So in case I am missing anything, what's the handiest supply you keep in your purse? 

Orange you happy with this new bathroom?

We decorated this bathroom in 2004 when we had an eight year and were getting ready for a second child. I decided on a gender neutral Americana theme and Mac didn't argue since he had yet to form opinions on much.

Today we have a sixteen year old who has strong opinions on everything, but he was kind to his mom when it came to redecorating this bathroom and let me get away with my "let's have an orange bathroom" idea...

The hand towels are what started this whole orange bathroom idea. Then they were joined by a bunch of other orange items including some cute prints and drawer knobs used as towel hooks.

Even the light switch wasn't safe from a coat of orange paint.

And the last orange detail was a little print I made for Mac with a saying I've seen in numerous Etsy shops. It went into this frame.

If you need a little orange in your bathroom (or anywhere else in your house) you can print out your own copy from here...Download Awesome 4x6 Print.

Extended vacation...

Last Thursday Sean and I spent a couple hours on the beach for his last day of summer vacation.

Sean and Mac have started their school year and, as I spend my first week at home with no classes to take and no job quite yet, I am presented with the proverbial glass half empty or half full question.

It has taken a couple weeks, but I have figured out that the glass is half full. I will keep my fingers crossed and start working towards finding a teaching position for the spring semester. In the meantime, I'm going to consider this an extended vacation of sorts. I've been gathering way too many ideas to keep me busy and have finally started to feel like some good is going to come out of this little extra time I have to wait. 

The boy cheerleader...

Mac left for his first day of high school at 6:40am. He had a last minute cheer practice before today's welcome back assembly. When we heard the other cheer parents often go to the assemblies to see the girls perform, Sean and I couldn't resist making sure we were in the back of the amphitheater to see Mac's debut. 

When I shared about him making the team back in April, I mentioned there were no boys on the team. That means today Mac was immediately recognizable to the entire school as the lone "boy cheerleader". 

Sure Mac was a bit nervous about his classes or who to sit with at lunch, but being the one guy on the cheer squad hardly fazed him. 

This was certainly not the first time he has amazed me, but today Mac showed his old mom an effortless example of what it means to be yourself and to go after what you want. 

It's here...

The school year is officially starting. In the morning we send Mac off to his first day of high school. We have practiced locker combinations and figured out where the heck all those classrooms are. We organized a binder and packed up his cheer uniform for the first assembly tomorrow.  He is as ready as he ever will be. 

The house is buzzing with the energy that comes from something so new.  We will be so darn lucky if every night of high school can feel just half as promising as this one does.

Roquefort and Onion Dip

This is the only recipe I have from my dad's side of the family and we don't actually call it Roquefort and Onion Dip. We call it something much more disgusting, a name my mom coined years ago when she tried it for the first time...vomit dip. So, maybe it's not for everyone, but the rest of us love it. I think it's best served with pretzels and cold soda...preferably at a family reunion in Philidelphia or Traverse City at about one in the morning laughing hysterically with cousins. 

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese two 8 ounce packages at room temperature

Roquefort or Blue Cheese 3 ounces

Worcestershire Sauce 2 heaping tablespoons

Onion 1 medium; grated

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients with a hand mixer. Refrigerate for several hours to meld flavors before serving.

It's the little (patterned) things...

This little notebook and container of hand soap came home with me this past weekend...I will always, always be a total sucker for a good pattern.

Please tell me I am not alone...or even better tell me about something else cute and colorful that I just have to have.

Making the most of it...

The end of summer countdown is rapidly progressing, so we are trying to stuff everything into the last few days.

Late Friday night and Saturday morning were spent de-cluttering and scrubbing down Mac's room. Last week (in phase one) Sean put a new coat of paint on the walls. Hopefully by next weekend the third and final phase of rearranging will be complete. I have a couple of ideas I can't wait to surprise Mac with.

Saturday night included a house full of teenagers...or at least five of them helped make the house feel very full. There were plenty of requested Bacon Wrapped Hot dogs, three rounds of s'more making, and covering the backyard patio with sidewalk chalk drawings.

I guess there has to be a last weekend of summer vacation eventually. This one may have come too fast, but it at least it was as good as it gets.

Speaking of threes...

Last night was our third concert in the park this summer.

I have had a little too much fun packing up picnic dinners. Yesterday included panzanella salad and jars of a chocolate banana cream pie concoction. 

This time next week will be the start of school year so we are definitely trying to enjoy the summertime we have left.

Things happen in threes...

I wanted to send a note to Sean's dad to thank him for the anniversary gift he gave us last week.

Since I am running low on my card supply I made two more out of the same supplies...

I should make cards in sets of three more often...it's really not much more work after you have the first one figured out.

And then I left it in the drawer...

Our 13th anniversary was during our trip to New York so that was plenty of celebration in itself, but I wanted to bring along a little something with to surprise Sean. It was just a card with some sappy stuff inside. I made it a week in advance, hid it in one my desk drawers, and totally forgot to bring it along. It ended up making a great day after our anniversary card. 

12 on the 12th...

1. When I wake up on Sunday morning I immediately watch political shows 2. The current state of Mac's room (it's being painted) 3. My new favorite tea 4. Grocery list 5. Paying our teenage neighbor who took care of the house and dogs while we were gone 6. Some supplies for Mac's room 7. Hot and humid today as thunderclouds loomed in the distance 8. Late afternoon snack 9. My child is the only person who would wear a thick denim jacket when it's a 100 degrees 10. Raiding a local bakery 11. A little scrapbooking 12. This roasted broccoli recipe is amazing

{I'm keeping track of the 12th of each month in 2012...you can see all of them here}

NYC Itinerary...

A few of you have asked about the details of our trip as you plan your own visit to New York...

Hotel: We stayed at the Marriot Courtyard Times Square South. It was on a quiet street right outside of Times Square and very close to a subway station. The room was perfect and we had the air cranked down to 60 degrees the entire time we were there. We booked it as a package with our Jet Blue airline tickets.

Subways: We used a mixture of taxi taking and subway riding. We would have really struggled between point A and point B without using the free Hop Stop app on our phones.  

Food: This was the important stuff to me. I researched ahead of time and had a couple of long chats with the hotel's concierge. Here were my favorites...

• Shake Shack...All I have to say is cheese fries, glorious cheese fries. We ate there twice.
• Azalea...In the fifteen years I have know Sean he has barely ever come close to getting as excited about food as I do, but he did over the Artichoke Parmesan Souffle. It's also a perfect proximity to the theaters.
• Les Halles...Best meal of the trip...every bite was a dream. We had a frisee salad with bacon, roquefort cheese and poached egg. We also shared seared scallops in champagne cream sauce and a flatiron steak with bearnaise. Dessert was chocolate mousse.
• Ed's Lobster Bar...I wish I could have that lobster roll everyday for lunch...it was perfect.
• Baked by Melissa...Such a clever idea. Bite size cupcakes in delicious flavors. Hope they come out west.
• John's Pizzeria...Garlic rolls stuffed with mozzarella and they make a ceasar dressing that was fantastic.
• Big Gay Ice Cream Shop...We traveled the farthest out of our way for this stop, but swirl soft-serve ice cream in a nutella lined waffle cone with dulce de leche, sea salt and whipped cream was completely worth the late night trip.
• Norma's...Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes with Brown Sugar Butter and Seared Rock Lobster and Asparagus Omelette...one of the best breakfast's I've ever had.

Activities: Thankfully we didn't run around at a relentless pace, but we still were able to pack a lot in. Here are some highlights...

• Sister Act...We were all mesmerized by our first Broadway show. Great music and hysterically funny.
• Dylan's Candy Bar...On Mac's wish list. Super crowded and colorful. Their lemon gummy bears were pretty tasty.
• Top Shop...Our reason for shopping in SoHo. Mac wanted to go to their Top Man section...it only took him two hours to pick out a couple of items to bring home with us.
• Chelsea Market...Sean and Mac were a little skeptical about this stop, but we all had a great time eating our way through it. Soup, popsicles, cookies, and milk fresh from a local farm.
• High Line...Right next to Chelsea Market...a nice stroll with great views.
• Mood Fabrics...We have been avid Project Runway viewers for years so we had to check out all those bolts of fabric they dig through finding supplies for the challenges. Every person working there was as nice as could be. 
• Museum of Modern Art...Any hour I can spend staring at Monet, Van Gogh and Matisse is heaven to me. We also love a good museum gift shop. 

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask. Hopefully this comes in handy if you are headed to New York sometime soon...and if you are can I please come with you?

Greenery...

I am sure many of you live surrounded by trees, but we live in the land of the occasional palm tree.  That meant the sight of tall branches and green leaves sprinkled with sunlight throughout Central Park was just the best thing ever.

Actually the very best thing ever would be coming back to see it in the fall.

NYC details...

About 70% of the photos I snapped on our trip were taken with my phone. It captured the moments from the plane to the subway...almost every meal...and a bunch of photos for Mac to Instagram. I tossed them all together so these little memories could be gathered from beginning to end. 

Can't wait for all of these to make their way into a scrapbook. 

I was going to make a poster...

We woke up early our first morning (4am Pacific Standard Time) because we had very important plans. I foolishly decided not to bother a friend when I knew our time in New York would be overlapping a bit...I assumed she would be busy with the other friend she was traveling with.

I have never, ever been so happy to be wrong.

So Erin and Amanda were kind enough to meet up with us for a little breakfast in Rockefeller Plaza. Mac was so excited to see Erin and, honestly, her camera too. We were so lucky to get to catch up and spend an inordinate amount of time discussing the humidity that our poor Californian souls were completely floored by. Apparently by Alabama standards it was no big deal. 

I have pretty much had the Today Show on in the background every morning since I was thirteen years old. Mac has also adopted this habit so I was going to make sure we were out on the plaza one morning with a "My super cool mom brought me to NYC for my 16th birthday" poster, but they are in London right now for the Olympics. Instead we wandered around and pointed out the really important stuff to Mac like, this is where Justin Beiber stands when he performs a concert here.

Sean also tried to teach me that Rockefeller Plaza is the iconic place where people ice skate in the winter. I ruthlessly teased the poor guy for the rest of the day for telling me such a well known fact as if it was an obscure piece of trivia, "Hey Sean, did you know that Rockefeller Center is where people ice skate?" He did not think I was very funny.

We wandered through Bryant Park on our way back to the hotel and then we got ready to see Sister Act on Broadway. I teared up as they handed me my very first Playbill. Just another reminder of what a dream come true this trip was. 

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of...

I had intended to write on here as the trip was happening, but it turned out that having the time of our life did not leave much time in the day. Instead I'll share over the next couple of days...

On our way there I was pretty much a broken record singing the only line from "Empire State of Mind" that I know...

New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothin' you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York,
New York

I may or may not have danced around while singing it.

As we boarded the plane tears streamed down my cheeks. People must have thought I was leaving behind the love of my life, but it was excitement that could not be contained.

The subway got us into the city for us to drop off our bags at the hotel and walk the two blocks to Times Square so we could start our trip around 10:30pm. When I took out our camera for the first time I didn't understand why the lens was all foggy...it took me a minute to realize it was the severe humidity.

I tried my darndest not to complain about the oppressive heat and profuse sweating. Instead I kept joking about how beautiful out it was. 

And what the heck did I have to complain about anyway? 

Settling in...

We got home late tonight...and have officially been awake for twenty-one hours straight.

I am pretty sure we have unpacked a thousand things. We have scarfed down bowls of cocoa krispies since unpacking left us ravenous.

We just survived a little earthquake in the last hour...I have to laugh over the irony of mentioning to our house sitter that if there is an earthquake while we were gone I'd be relieved to miss it since I am so terrified of the darn things.

We are all sad to see one of the best vacations we've ever had come to end...but we're happy to be tucked into our own beds tonight.

As long as they're not shaking.

G3: July

We're off on our trip, so I thought I'd be a good time to make sure July was summarized.

This month...

• I applied for half a dozen teaching positions.
• We had some great weekends.
• We made a lot of snack mix.
• We started making our bed.
• There was the first concert in the park this summer.
• We celebrated Mac turing sixteen.
• Mac went off to cheer camp.
• And Sean 120.77 miles

{G3 is a end of the month wrap-up for our little family}

Go team...

This morning Sean and I drove out to see Mac's cheer team perform on their last day of camp (and take some very blurry photos). Guess who was front and center?

It was a fantastic preview of how much fun we'll be having getting to watch him these next four years.

And speaking of fun, the luggage came out today...

New York is less than forty-eight hours away. This means Sean and I spent this afternoon with a paper map, dozens of websites, and tiny neon circle stickers. We color-coded the places we wanted to eat, see, and and shop at. Then we added numbers so we could cross reference the list we wrote of what we want to do. 

Hopefully all this planning helps make navigation a breeze. Regardless of how many times we will probably get lost though, I think we make a pretty good organizational team.

On repeat...

Tonight was almost an exact repeat of two weeks ago when we went to the local concert in the park with my mom and brother...

Tonight's sandwich was my favorite turkey, cranberry and white cheddar. I brought along the current crochet project to work on while we listened to music and, most importantly, Sean tried out an addicting new dessert recipe...Peanut Butter Crunch Eclair Bars.  

If you're on Sean's Christmas list...

A couple of week's ago Mac's cheer team assigned a big sister to all the new members. He got a bag full of treats from his big sis and was eager to give her something too. With cheer camp this week we decided to make her a pillow case in school colors...and decided it needed super cozy, soft fabric...

Being that Mac and I have little to no ability to sew, we turned to our trusty seamstress (or is it seamster?) Sean. I found a couple of tutorials for him and he had it figured out in about an hour. As he finished up, now knowing he cracked the code of pillowcase sewing, he announced that everyone was getting them for Christmas. I can't wait to find one stuffed in my stocking in a few months...hint, hint.