Taking Inventory

Amazing day….we’re redoing our bathroom. Our old house had many upgrades, but plumbing wasn’t on that list.

Lee is absolutely amazing. He worked 5 hours on it today just so the plumbing would be fresh for us.

I do realize how fortunate I am to have him. Lee never complains and works on stuff here for us.

Some friends stopped by and when I told them Lee had been working here for five hours, they asked me if I realized how lucky I was. I do. But I am writing it here so I don’t forget.  ::LOVED::

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Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie

After visiting Fairway Market in Red Hook, we saw the signs for Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie.

We followed the signs to Pier 41 and headed inside to get our pie. Inside the old warehouse is a sectioned off area for a counter to sell pies.

You know the pies are good when that’s all they sell. There were several customers in the shop and they all ordered the 8 inch pie. When it came our time we followed and ordered it too. The clerk was friendly and ran to the back to get us a pie.

The pie is creamy, smooth and the right amount of tart. It’s totally Delicious and worth a visit if you are a key lime pie lover in Brooklyn. Is it the best key lime pie ever? Yes!

Plus it’s fun to shop in this section of Brooklyn – especially on a pier with other key lime pie lovers. Although the weather wasn’t great when we were there…..I can imagine it’s awesome to walk on the pier during the Spring and Summer months. A friend told me Steve sells frozen key lime pie on a stick then. So I’ll be back for a visit.

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Chicken Ridiculous – the Famous Brooklyn Sandwich!

In this part of Brooklyn (Bay Ridge, Dyker, Bensonhurst) everyone about the famous Chicken Ridiculous. It’s a legacy sandwich around this part of Brooklyn. If you ask in other parts of Brooklyn or in NYC, they won’t  know what it is. Yet most people who go out out at night and get the munchies think about getting a Chicken Ridiculous at the end of the night.

Traditionally, it is served on a sesame or everything bagel: 

But also delicious on a fresh roll:

Chicken Ridiculous is an incredible sandwich made by Dyker Park Bagel Shop located at  713 86th St
This bagel joint is open 24 hours and is usually crowded at night because everyone knows about their great bagels, spreads and sandwiches.

Chicken Ridiculous has it’s own – see here: Facebook Fan page. 

The sandwich is usually on a bagel (but the rolls are soft and delicious at Dyker Park Bagel Shop too). It is a grilled chicken cutlet with fresh mozzarella cheese, bacon, shreaded lettuce, sliced tomato, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. The combination is out of this world. It’s the type of sandwich you could cut in half and share with a friend.

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Pottery Barn Mailbox

So we wanted to put a mailbox up. Something that had a bit of flair and was chic.

Alas, Pottery Barn put out a mailbox.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh so beautiful.

Lee put it up right away. I have to take a picture of it on our red brick home. So pretty!

*My friend told me it looked like a purse – it’s that pretty!

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Miss Brooklyn is a Role Model

When people think of beauty pageants, I think they usually think of women who are obsessed with their looks and themselves. Today, Miss Brooklyn, Christina Moore visited my school to talk with the students. Of course she was enthusiastic and cheerful, but I was surprised at how down-to-earth and such a positive role model she was to my students.

Christina began talking to the students and asking them to remember what they wanted to be when they were five years old (a princess, a ninja turtle, a doctor, a lawyer, etc.). The auditorium got noisy as the students recalled their childhood. She then asked them to close their eyes and put up their hands if they had dreams. Then she instructed them to open their eyes and see how many other students had dreams. The room went silent as Miss Brooklyn shared how she dreamed of winning a dance competition, but didn’t meet that goal. She was very open about her feelings of self doubt. When she shared how not reaching for that goal made her reach higher for Miss Brooklyn, the students cheered for her. Christina spoke about her future goals of trying for Miss New York and possibly Miss America.

I was amazed at Miss Brooklyn’s dedication to others. Her beautiful spirit filled the room as she inspired the preteens sitting before her to get involved, help others and do community service. Miss Brooklyn will be returning to IS 187 to teach the students a dance routine and then in May there will be a performance/fundraiser.

Towards the end of her speech, Christina Moore pointed to her beautiful crystal crown sitting on the podium and explained why she didn’t wear her crown. She wanted the students to know her as Christina. She really made the students feel comfortable and inspired them with her story. The students were so excited to see her put on the crown and many wanted to have their pictures taken.It’s great to see Miss Brooklyn understands her role as a role model for these teens!

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Brooklyn Designer Sample Sale

Toni Hacker and Ben Harnett made the company Hayden-Harnett in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

They sell their clothes, bags and accessories to Anthropologie and Nordstrom in addition to online and at their Brooklyn and Manhattan stores.

One of the things long time followers of the name brand look forward to is their awesome sample sales. They are having their sample sale until the 20th. See if you need anything: http://haydenharnett.com/samplesale

HH has absolutely beautiful items for great prices at their sample sales. I’ve ordered bag after bag and been delighted with the butter-soft leather.  My favorite was this gorgeous blue bag that I used all the time. I gave it to a friend because it was worn and even years later she loves the worn look of the bag (I do too).

Anyway, I snagged this satchel and can’t wait until it arrives because it has a long shoulder strap.

Disclaimer:  I am not in any way affiliated with HH. I am just an admirer of their bags. I save up all my pennies to buy a great bag from HH every year. This year I had a groupon that I was saving up so I did real well at the sale.

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In Love

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I love Valentine’s Day. It’s just a day to remind people to be grateful for the people they love.

If you aren’t in love, don’t worry it’s coming. I remember a time when I didn’t love Valentine’s Day.

Lee and I have reservations for dinner.

To my friends…..Thank you all for being in my life and for celebrating some huge news. I love you guys.  

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Sing along with them – so cute!

Turn off the music at the bottom and then play this cute video. This father daughter duet is adorable singing Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. The singers are Jorge Narvaez and his daughter Alexa.

I love these lyrics!

Alabama, Arkansas

I do love my ma and pa

Not that way that I do love you

Him:

Holy moley, me oh my

You’re the apple of my eye

Girl, I’ve never loved one like you

Her:

Man, oh man, you’re my best friend

I scream it to the nothingness

There ain’t nothing that I need

Him:

Well, hot n heaven pumpkin pie

Chocolate candy, Jesus Christ

Ain’t nothing please me more than you

Both:

Ah, home

Yes you come homeeeee

Home is wherever I’m with you

Ah, home

Yes you come home

Home is wherever I’m with you

Na na naaaa

La, la, la, la, take me home

LA DE DA, coming home

Him:

I’ll follow you into the park

Through the jungle, through the dark

Girl, I never loved one like you

Her:

Moats and boats and waterfalls

Alleyways and pay phone calls

I’ve been everywhere with you

Him:

That’s true

Laugh until we think we’ll die

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Saturday Spin

Lee’s new position at work has kept him busy this January. He’s been working a lot of extra hours, especially on the weekend. On Friday morning, he asked if I would go with him to Harbor Freight in New Jersey. I know Jersey well enough to not need a map and even though we have a Tom Tom navigation device,  Lee feels more comfortable with me going with him. Lee loves Harbor Freight because there are all kinds of tools and gadgets. He’s like a kid in a toy store touching and looking at every item.

Truthfully, I didn’t want to go to Harbor Freight. It’s boring for me because although I like tools, I think we have more than our share of them. Yet, I decide to go because I know how hard he has been working and could use some shopping time. Plus, we always go out to eat and I stop at the Home Goods store on the way back.So I found a shop stool and sat in the middle of Harbor Freight reading a book as Lee filled the basket with all sorts of gadgets. Almost two hours later, he was done and very happy with his wagon full of tools.

As we checked out, I pulled out some super Harbor Freight coupons. I love the 2011 printable 20% off codes (this one goes to April 2011) and the free gift coupons as well. Lee laughed when he saw I had coupons for his shop!

On Sunday Lee is still on cloud 9 and whispers in my ear on his way out. “Thank you. I really needed that this weekend.”  I smiled…..but the truth is, it’s so little compared to how much he does for our home and how much he gives to me……So Grateful.

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One Thousand Gifts

 I recently purchased Ann Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts. I was excited to receive it because the Bloom book club lead by Angie Smith is reading it this month. I love reading new books and hearing how different people interpret them.

After opening it and reading a few pages, I wanted to stop. Voskamp’s  writes beautifully, but I am a more straight-forward type of person and the flowery language was getting to me. I kept reading and although I admired Voskamp’s writing style it’s not something that I would normally read. And I think that’s what kept me reading it. I want 2011 to be different from 2010. And in order for that to happen, I have to be different and open to everything.

Early on, Ann Voskamp shares the death of her sister and the questioning faith that families have when a child dies. Many of us know it all too well.

As I read, I folded down pages that had words I wanted to reread.  I read 180 pages in one sitting and quite a few folded pages. Sometimes the poetic prose would get to me. I like fast paced movies and instruction manuals so I was looking for more excitement in the book. Yet, it isn’t that type of book. It’s instructional like a textbook as Voskamps shares her life struggles and her thoughts about grace and gratitude.

Probably one of the most profound thoughts in the book is Voskamp’s assertion that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but fear.  And thus in hard moments, the opposite of fear can be faith.

I’m not completely done with the book, but I do wonder how hard it would be to find a thousand things to be grateful for.

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Brooklyn Public Schools Closed 1/27/11

Best 4 words ever heard.Mayor Bloomberg closed all NYC schools for a snow day 1/27/11Woohoooo

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RIP Mr. T.

The kids knew him as Mr. T.   When I was a young teacher at a brand new school, Mr. T. was one of the teachers who welcomed me.  He was a young teacher with a ‘happy-go-lucky’ attitude and so full of life. I distinctly remember him coming into a room, telling a joke and everyone laughing for a long time.  He loved to make people laugh.

Years later, I ran into him and he was still full of life and started telling me a joke.

His passing came as a great surprise to me as he was young man and has a family. He was only 43 years old. Besides being a teacher, Anthony Trzesinski played guitar and was a member of the 80’s band heavy metal band named Machine and later in the 90’s he was a guest guitarist in the band Social Disorder.

RIP Anthony Trzesinski. September 12, 1967 – January 18, 2011. You made the world brighter.

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