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

Precious Cargo

Check out that sweet set of wheels in the pic...it's Huffy. Remember your first bike? I do!

Very important purchases got their own (illegal) seat on the half empty A train this afternoon.

Cinnabon is mall food. You know mall food - anything in the food court that you probably only eat at the Mall. Panda Express, Sbarro (uhhh you can buy their sauce now?! who knew!), Auntie Anne's Pretzels, and Cinnabon. Mall food is right up there at the top of my favorites along with Fair/Carnival Food. Amazing, delicious stuff. Funny tho this was actually purchased at Penn Station. Which is pretty much as close as we NYC folks get to a food court since the malls are few and far between.

Do you love Cinnabon as much as I do? What's your favorite Food Court treat?

Have a sweet week!

xo,

Michelle

Some Signs of Fall

Football is in full swing, it's getting chillier out, and today I ordered my first hot latte in ages at Starbucks. Time to dig out my jeans & plaid shirts for casual Friday & fun weekends.

Here are some other signs of Fall..

First for the classroom...

A fresh stack of pocket folders for Kindergarten. Please note the pink one in the middle of the pile por moi.

Awesome find at Borders in the sale bins! $1.99 say what?! This will make lesson planning, Kindergarten team meetings & Special Ed meetings so much more fun.

Some crafting goodies I found in the seasonal section at Rite Aid. These are foam doorknob tags and cool foam shapes to use for decorating. Foam isn't the most environmentally friendly craft material so we only use it once in a while.

Next at Michael's

Beautiful leaf garland...

Who doesn't love a sparkly pumpkin?! Had to really hold back & not buy this.

Never too early to think about Christmas! I got a HUGE smile on my face when I saw these!

What signs of fall are you seeing?

xo,

Michelle

Directions

Looking south from The Empire State Building

Usually I hate when there is a timestamp on a photo, but this time? Love it.

6 -25-99 the day after Senior Prom. I'll spare you a pic from Senior Prom, you're welcome.

I don't think I have to point out what I'm looking at down there in Lower Manhattan.

The Towers are so far off in the distance they almost look like shadows, dust, not real buildings.

And this?

Looking North from 107th floor of the South Tower, 2 World Trade Center.

That's the North Tower to the left. Summer 2000 I believe.

In the blink of an eye, the direction of your life can change so quickly. Be good to yourself and your loved ones today my dear friends. And always.

I Love New York...more than ever.

xo,

Michelle

"Then Labor Day Came and Went..."

Post title thanks to the Death Cab for Cutie song "Summer Skin"

Love it!

Let's take a look at Labor Day Weekend before I start being Ms. Maiden Name, Kindergarten teacher to 12 little gems tomorrow. Have I ever mentioned I love this job?!

(3yrs married and I still haven't changed my name at work...whatever...moving on...)

Friday I cleaned, did a few things for work. Was great to enjoy some quiet time with just me and my Dunkin Dounuts iced coffee. 8 years working and I'm finally realizing the importance of taking time for ME. To center, refocus, find balance. A must do during these hectic beginning of the school year days.

Saturday - trip to the school supply store, Barclay, in Brooklyn.

To get to Brooklyn we went down to the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge & crossed the bridge. It was super crowded but so fun. I love this bridge.

The American Flag on top gives me patriotic goosebumps!

Once in BK, we got ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory under the bridge.

Yup, line out the door! So worth it.

Sunday I slept in...it was wonderful. I love sleeping & generally just chilling in bed. T calls me a Sloth.

We finally got down to Le Monde for brunch around 2. It was lovely eating late. We got a prime seat outside. We people watched, drank mimosas and I had a meal that was more like dessert.

Behold - chocolate french toast.

Basically, chocolate cake. I die. I balanced out the sugar with a side of bacon.

All the Columbia & Barnard kids were back. Made me nostalgic for my MoCo days!

We walked afterwards. Alllll the way down to Columbus Circle. Over 50 blocks. Exhausting but tons of fun. And very necessary after all that sugar at brunch.

Monday we finally went to the Bronx Ale House in our 'hood.

Long Island Pride!

A sweet friend came up to the Bronx to join us. Thank you D! The menu includes these fried beauties...

PICKLES. Nom Nom Nom. Spicy dijon sauce on the side. Everything is better fried.

Such a lovely weekend.

While this may have been the last weekend of summer fun, I'm so excited for the Fall weekends ahead. MSU football watch parties, walks in the Park to see the leaves changing color, a fancy shmancy dinner out for our Anniversary, wedding gift purchases for dear friends tying the knot, wearing hoodies, jeans & my chucks again, drinking apple cider, new adventures at work... so pumped!

Hope you had a great weekend.

xo,

Michelle

Pretty Flower

I have always loved flowers. My dad gardens. My grandpa went fishing with the owner of our local florist so we always had an 'in' there. I love just about every kind. The NY Botanical Gardens? One of my favorite places in the city. The Conservatory is, I think, one of the most romantic places ever! What can I say I love it there.

having a little party with some Chihuly

How about a little video from shmootube?

"He can call me Flower if he wants to, I don't mind"

One of the cutest moments in animated movie history? Yes I think so.

Delis here in the city always have these buckets of flowers out front. There is nothing like a fresh arrangement to spruce up a room!

Last week I ordered a Wild Flowers Bouquet from Peapod. Had no idea what flowers would be in the bouquet. I was pleasantly surprised when this was delivered along with my weekly staples of chocolate milk, frosted mini-wheats and such. Roses, sunflowers, and lilies oh my!

Sadly, after a day or so I had to part with the lilies. Just could not stand all the sneezes they caused. Luckily, I ran into a neighbor on my way to our trash alley & gave them to her. She is always so sweet and accepts mail & ups deliveries when we aren't home I was so happy to do something nice for her. Next time I'll think of her first before I throw unwanted flowers away.

What's your favorite flower?

xo,

Michelle

No Flavor

Yesterday I saw an adorable fluffy dog while on a home visit for work & then a beautiful kitty while picking up a package from UPS at a neighbors. In honor of all things cat & dog I give you an adorable LOL Cat. I love this site :)

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

xo,

Michelle

September!!!

The sun is setting on Summer

Sunset...Commerce Lake, Michigan

As sad as I am to see Summer go, I'm SO excited for Fall.

I love Fall.

I'm sure as a teacher it's assumed I love Summer more but I could not be happier that cooler temps are on their way! Along with football, our anniversary, pumpkins, crunchy leaves...my list goes on.

Yesterday I met some of my new little ones, today I worked in our classroom (with my amazing co-teacher and are equally awesome co-workers/friends) and tomorrow the little ones come to visit.

One great part of going back to school is bringing lunch! Here are some yummies I'm trying out.

Arnold Sandwich Thins.

So freaking good. This means I'm also MAKING a sandwich for lunch. I have tried in past years to bring lunch every day and have failed. This year is the year for success, I feel it!

Grapes. A chilled, refreshing delicious snack.

Dannon's Light & Fit. I mean if it's good enough for Heidi Klum...

What are you loving for lunch these days?

xo,

Michelle