Christmas Traditions

At our wedding we got 2 Christmas ornaments which started a great Christmas tradition.

Since then we've added ornaments to our tree bought from wherever we are on Christmas.

While in Paris for the holidays in 2008 I thought it would be great to bring home some ornaments. Luckily they made it across the Atlantic in one piece. We roamed the mostly empty streets on Christmas day...and it snowed on the final day of our visit. What a dream!

Mexico & it's warm temps is not exactly what comes to mind when you think of Christmas. Our trip last year was filled with sweet people and quality time together. What great memories we have from there! I love these ornaments because the large ball shows a family all together celebrating and playing piñata and having a great time.

This year, staying home here in NYC still means adding ornaments to our tree. The heart is from a shop at the Shops at Bryant Park. I love that it's a heart. Christmas is the season for love after all. The gift box is a Hallmark ornament that T picked out (well done swettie). There's a small tag at the top with 2010 on it.

I'm really excited to see where we'll be for the years to come and to add more ornaments on our tree.

I hope it is along the lines of this sweet tradition...

Hope you are enjoying the holidays. What are some of your traditions?

xo,

Michelle

Silver Bells

City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks

Dressed in Holiday Style

In the air there's a feeling of

CHRISTMAS

Children Laughing, People Passing

Meeting Smile after Smile

And on every street corner you hear

Silver Bells, Silver Bells

It's Christmastime in the City

Ring-a-ling, Hear them Ring.

Soon it will be Christmas Day!

These pics are some I've snapped over the years here in the city along 5th & 6th Avenues. My favorite is the star above 57th street. Song lyrics to Silver Bells by Livingston & Evans

The Star, an important part of the Christmas story.

"They went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him."

Matthew 2:9-11

May your holiday be filled with Silver Bells & Bright Stars!

xo,

Michelle

Joyeux Noël

Flipping thru some pics from our Paris trip over Christmas in 2008...

Street decorations in the 7th Arrondissement where we stayed. It was like coming 'home' every night seeing all the streets with the lights on.

Notre Dame with the pretty tree!

Nativity at St. Sulpice

Bookstore Christmas window...oh hey Breaking Dawn! Emily was still trying to get me to read the books when I took this.

Shop window selling perfume with a moose! I'm sold.

Day trip to Reims. Town ice skating rink. Had too much champagne at Mumm to skate. Just kidding. Not really. :)

The amaaaazing tree at Galeries Lafayette. Snapped this on our last day. It was snowing and we were enjoying walking & shopping.

"We'll always have Paris..."

xo,

Michelle

Signs of the Season

We put up our tree over Thanksgiving weekend. Completed the Christmas corner with bows on the wall candle holder. Our tree has no topper. Saaads.

Sent presents off to the family in Florida this weekend. Minus one for Amanda which I decided to keep for myself. Sorry Ace!

There is a great display of different gingerbread scenes at Le Parker Meridien. This one is West Side Story themed.

Today was a stormy Sunday. I baked! Yums. I want to make some gingerbread of my own too.

This is post #300...wow!

xo,

Michelle

December 1st!

I am so excited that it is finally December. I wait all year for this month! HAHA

The Christmas tree is up, holiday playlist is loaded on the iPod, presents are being purchased...it really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Silve Bells is one of my favorite holiday songs. Enjoy it here with some sites from the City!

xo,

Michelle

Thanks and Giving

I came across a blog entry this morning that really made me think about what it means to be thankful. Thanks To Write Love on Her Arms. for the Thanksgiving dose of perspective.

"If you're reading this, you're probably reading it on a computer, which means you probably have a lot to be thankful for. "

Very true. So many things to be thankful for this year. Life is very good.

I'm thankful for silly things like Converse sneakers, comfy sweats and Khiel's lip balm.

Lychee Martinis, M&Ms and Greek Yogurt.

For BlackBerryMessenger, DVDs and iPods.

Here are some not so silly things that I'm so very thankful for

New York

For nights like this...with a walk across 19th street after dinner. For the energy & excitement of places like Times Square but the quiet spaces like our local park. Life here is amazing!

Friends

For life long friends and the friends I've just made. The ones in NYC and the friends far away.

Sorority sisters and coworkers. Blogger friends & Twitter friends. For friends found in the most unlikely places. Thank you all for the laughs, the tears and the laughs that became tears!

Family

Mom & Dad, amazing, supportive, loving parents. A& E, not just my sisters but my best friends.

"I carry your heart with me, I carry it in my heart."

And T..it's cheesy but I can't really put into words how thankful I am for you. And not just because you do the dishes & take out the trash. For our Thanksgiving for 2 and many more to come...<3

In Inwood, following a big Columbia win a few weeks ago. Roar Lion Roar.

Hope you had a blessed day. Thank you for reading!

xo,

Michelle

A Toast

I bought the December VF for a "little" exert from a book about Prince William.

Little being umm almost a dozen pages. A very interesting read for all your Royal Watchers.

and Cher is back! Wait what?!

OK Moving on...

Really great ad on pages 82 & 83 from Grey Goose called "A Toast" that I had to share!

A TOAST

to nearest * to dearest

to the crew * to cahoots

to the ones who've been there *to the ones who'll be there

to dropping everything *to saying anything

to no judgements * to no doubts

to loyalty * to trust

to favore * to lifelongs

to been too long * to nothing's changed

to having history * to having your back

to moving away * to never too far

to growing up * to settling down

to your second family * to friends

to celebrating the holidays with those who matter most

I love it. Well done Grey Goose!!!

Send a toast to a friend thru their website, here.

Today I am so thankful for friends, old and new. Cheers darlings.

What are you toasting to these days?

xo,

Michelle

Thankful

I have been meaning all month to post a few "Thankful" posts. I saw the idea on Mama Loves Papa to post every day with something I'm thankful for. Clearly life has gotten in the way of that grand plan.

Mama Loves Papa

It's the 20th, November is almost over...here's a few less than 20 things that I'm thankful for.

- My current location - the couch. I had nothing in the way of furniture when I moved to this apt. So thankful a guy with a couch came along and decided to move in ;)

- Little Sister who always seems to know the cool new blogs (like Mama Loves Papa) & shares this info with me. Love you Ace.

- Baby Sister who says "good bye" in the same tone as she did when she was 5! It's a sweet reminder of days gone by when we were all little girls.

- Chucks. Seriously, where have Converse Sneakers been all my life? Best work shoe ever.

- Greg and Steve - Kindergarten would not be the same without you guys!

- Fergie and her song "Big Girls Don't Cry" which oddly enough found it's way into Kindergarten this week

- Mustard - my favorite sandwich spread. Just say no to Mayo.

- High Class Cabs - for getting me to work a few days this week after I hit snooze too many times

- Tekserve geeks down on 23rd! Holla! Busted laptop fixed in just a few days.

- Sweet guy at the UWS Apple store who helped us buy a new MacBookPro. Yay!

- TransitChek it's been over a year since I finally signed up for this amazing service. I suppose I should put it to better use and stop taking cabs eh?

- Delivery, delivery delivery...when we leave NYC I don't know what I'll do! You can get everything delivered here.

- OpenTable.com Thanksgiving dinner? Done.

- Gossip Mags. Just the perfect fluff to read on the way to work.

- Crossing off something from the NYC Bucket List - a Columbia home football game. So fun. Your ticket gets you into a pre-game tailgate with 4 free beers. Nice.

- Jimmy Fallon's Thank You Notes segment. Only on Fridays, which is the only day I can watch. Win!

- Weekend subway track work. Even though our line has been down every weekend since the end of Sept, which is a huge hassle, it's also been a relief. No clanking noises overhead as you walk along Broadway? Amazing.

More Thankful lists to come I hope! Enjoy the weekend.

xo,

Michelle

Fall Back

Time to Fall Back the clock...new fall look on the blog. Which took about an hour since I'm an idiot and deleted my template, went back to 2 columns and had to fix it all. Awesome.

Happy November!

xo,

Michelle

Under The Apple Tree

A few Saturdays ago we headed across the Hudson to Warwick, NY for some Apple Picking!

What a beautiful view! I could have stayed allll day.

Tons of trees

Even this late in the Fall there were baby apples growing! Look how tiny.

This one freaked me out a little when I picked it...

After an hour or so picking we rewarded ourselves with some goodies from their shop

Cider donuts...for the win! Nom noms.

Thank you to CC for the great rec. We loved Ochs.

Then we headed back to our side of the Hudson and North to President FDR's house & library.

Springwood. Beautiful. This was his mother's house.

Chilling on the back lawn...not a bad view.

Hope you are enjoying the Fall! What have you been up to?

H a p p y H a l l o w e e n !

xo,

Michelle

On Celebrations

Have been a busy blogger lately...no time for blogging! Apparently, teaching Kindergarten makes you tired?!?! Who knew! Also we've had a celebration or two...

Earlier this month it was T's birthday. So I went out and got an ice cream cake, from the New York favorite, Carvel Not 3 steps out of the store I remember that blue & yellow are the colors of a major college football rival. I went to a college where football wasn't a big deal so I have never really been good at avoiding certain colors in the Fall!

Sooooo happy the pack of candles I picked up had HIS colors - green & white!! Crisis averted.

side note, green & white played blue & yellow a few days later and WON.

After tons of cake, it was time for presents!

Wins, all around.

That same weekend we went out for our 3rd wedding anniversary to 11 Madison Park.

I got the reservation at the end of the summer and was so excited when Saturday finally rolled around! Dinner did not disappoint.

First of all the space is so beautiful. This is a shot from the bar but you can see the windows off in the distance. We sat by one and had a great view of the street & the park.

There's no menu. You get a card with a list of ingredients (crab, beef, chocolate, etc ) and can choose a 4 or 5 course dinner. You chat with the waitstaff (who are all super attentive) about your likes and dislikes and the chefs go from there. I took some food risks and chose 2 ingredients I had never had before. And now I can cross Foie Gras and Venison off my bucket list. I'd have them again, very good.

From our seats at the bar I saw the coolest wine list ever.

It's like a big scrabble board! Whites on the left, spelled out with wooden tiles, reds on the right. Never seen this before and I love it.

Not pictured...the cart that came when we ordered a glass of champagne. Yes - cart. So fun! Every restaurant...heck every home... should have a cart of champagne.

October babies & anniversaries...cheers to you!

xo,

Michelle

Know Your Girls

What girls?

I'm referring to breasts of course. Save the Ta-Tas. I heart Boobies. Know your Girls. There are so many funny sayings but the topic is very serious.

October is, as you probably know, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I hate that it's a month. Cancer f-ing sucks (pardon my language). We should celebrate survivors and in honor of those who were taken from us, do all we can to find a cure all year long.

My grandma lost friends to breast cancer. There were no pink ribbons in canisters at the beauty counters then, you just didn't talk about it. As I grew up, my mom lost friends. We learned what it was and that it targets anyone and everyone. Now? It is only a matter of time until I have a friend who is diagnosed. Scary and sad but true. The good news? YOU have the power to detect it early ladies! Self exams are key.

pink is pretty, cancer my friends is not

Ok no more heavy. My mom had her "Save the Ta-Ta's" car magnet stolen off her mini-van. Maybe that's kinda sad but I find it funny. I mean who does that? I hope the Ta-Ta's are enjoying their new life on someone else's car! Mom, so sorry you had your Ta-Tas stolen! hahahahaha

As a college girl I was drawn to the sorority I ended up joining due to their philanthropy, Breast Cancer Awareness. Have you been watching the NFL this month? Of course you have! Tons of Zeta Tau Alpha ladies are out and about at the games handing out pink ribbons. Rock on sisters!

How does this all pertain to a blog about food? Simple. Save lids, save lives.

I love Yogurt. I'll eat whatever brand and try almost all flavors. Not Blueberry Vanilla and Strawberry are my favorite. This month I buy Yoplait and save my lids. Then I send them in Yoplait. For every lid they receive until December 31st 2010 they donate 10 cents to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Don't like Komen? That's fine, not everyone does. Stick to your beliefs, own what you own. I love you and respect you for your opinions. There are lots more places you can send your money! Including....

The National Breast Cancer Fund

Breast Cancer Research Fund

and

The Libby Ross Foundation

Also...please check out Why I Wore Lipstick for the story of a younger, awesome survivor who also happens to be my sorority sister. Read her book - you'll laugh and you'll cry. But most importantly? I hope you'll see just how important it is to know your girls.

xo,

Michelle

Cheetos

I really hate spicy food. No Curry for me, red pepper flakes on my pizza and can't stand BBQ potato chips or pizza goldfish. Which is why when one of my little darlings brought the Red Hot Cheetos to school for snack I freaked. out.

Dear KStew, You said during New Moon promotion in Munich that you love RHC. Come to my classroom & have some with A & I at snacktime.

Apparently, there's always been a little elementary school drama over Red Hot Cheetos. Check out this interview from NPR back in '06. Kids really say the darndest things, including this gem:

"What would happen to me if I ate this whole bag?

Unidentified Child #5: Your booty might be burning."

How do I even try to continue writing after a booty comment?

Do you love any foods that most people can't stand?

Happy Weekend!!

xo,

Michelle

On French Fries & Board Games

It's like Christmas has come early!

I love Monopoly. One of my favorite board games. I love that it's based on Atlantic City. I love being the banker. I love collecting the Rail Roads. I love building houses and trading them in for hotels. Bring. It. On.

I love McDonald's. Nuggets (fun to eat, fun to say!). Fries. The REAL playground, none of this ball-pit shenanigans kids have today.

Do you remember this? I hated it. Climbing up INSIDE the hamburger scared the living daylights out of me. As did most things when I was the target age for eating happy meals.

Thus, Monopoly at McDonald's is the combo of 2 of my favorite things.

I love collecting the game pieces. I love that you can win an instant prize (toady I won an angus beef snack wrap). I love it all!

My mom - growing up she made Monopoly at McDonald's so fun. We went every Friday for dinner. We'd lay our game pieces out and see if we won anything cool. We never did but it was fun to imagine what it'd be like if we did.

Fountain Diet Coke. It just tastes better than regular bottled coke. And at the risk of getting Super Sized, that may be all I buy to get game pieces from now on.

Will you be playing Monopoly at McDonald's? Any other board games you like?

xo,

Michelle

Wine Wednesday

"Michelle...this is beer, not wine"

I know I know...humor me.

How can you not love Corona Light? The best summer beer. It's officially Fall but I'm savoring summer one cool sip at a time. BYOL - bring your own lime.

BUT sadly, I'm down to the last bottle in the six-pack. Time to switch to Fall drinks.

Cheers darlings!

xo,

Michelle

a few things...

1. Blog redesign. Free templates are love. Thank you BTemplates.com This is more "country whisk" than "urban whisk" but it's so pretty I'll take it. Love the cups of juice that are sprinkled throughout the design!

2. The Hunger Games Series

"On bad mornings...that's when I make a list in my head of every act of goodness I've seen someone do."

All 3 done and done in 2 weekends. Today was all Mockingjay and it was time well spent.

These books were heavy on the suspense, real page turners. Also, very thought provoking. For those of you who have read them...Katniss & Peeta forever! "Real"

and lastly

3. YouTube. To get you ready for the week ahead, here is the adorable Jessica doing her daily affirmations in the bathroom mirror. Oh to be little enough to stand on the bathroom counter and be silly! This girl has the motivational speaker thing down pat - the voice volume, fist pumps... love it!!

Have a great week!

xo,

Michelle

Just Desserts

Guess I'm using FourSquare more than I realized...and guess I'm getting Pinkberry more than I realized too. Hello Desserts Badge. But um a knife as the badge picture? Weird.

Have you had the watermelon flavor at Pinkberry yet? Go run now while it is still in stores. Cool, sweet and so refreshing. Nom noms for everyone!

What's your favorite dessert?

"Be sweet!" - my mommy

xo,

Michelle

Dear Target

so much for having coffee only on Wednesdays....

Dear Target,

So excited to see the sign that read "Fresh Groceries Coming October 17th" at your entrance today!!! I can't wait for 1 stop shopping.

HOWEVER....the current state of your 225th Street Store? Awful.

I know you are renovating and will be back more beautiful than ever but I just can't deal with the disorganization.

No love till then. Or as long as I can stay away.

Will Miss You,

Michelle

Despite all this, I still managed to go to Target for one thing (tank tops for layering) and walked out spending over $50. Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this!

What did I get?

Thermal shirt for T, t-shirt for me,

a candle ,

Autumn Festival...how great are the Yankee Candle scents for Target?

and 2 reed diffuser sets (1 for home, 1 for the classroom I hope).

I'm trying Island Getaway & Beach Party

Do you see tank tops on that list? Yeah me either. Great, I have to go back to that mess!

Who else loves Target? Duh, we all do. What goodies do I have to look forward to now that we're getting a fresh food section?

xo,

Michelle