Playdate

Solar powered WHAT?!

The Japanese have engineered a solar powered BRA.

I'm speechless.

(And you know that rarely happens.)

Schnitzel mit Noodle

May 12th and it's windy, rainy and something like 37 degrees outside (slight exaggeration).

Oh well, good excuse to cook something. I chose a recipe for Schnitzel by Nigella Lawson. Specifically Schnitzel with Bacon and White Wine.

Mmmmm. Bacon. White Wine. A few of my favorite things.

I LOVE t-ball

...actually, no, I don't.

But I'm taking one for the team.

No question, a 5 year old in a baseball uniform wearing a helmet the size of a hybrid car is cuter than all the puppies in the world combined.  Absolutely, it's a great sport for the kids to learn teamwork, get eye-hand/feet coordination, and have fun.  And yes, I am loving the Kodak moments.  But when my husband signed up to be an assistant coach, that automatically signed me up for this commitment.  Let me tell you that running around getting to practice, games, photo shoots, I don't know - championship tournaments, with both kids and gear is not fun.  I don't even get to watch the games cuz I'm making sure Owen's not getting into trouble.  Sure I'm chatting with other parents but they are also watching the younger siblings of players. 

Rob and Ethan are having great fun together.  So if anyone asks, I will say through gritted teeth, "I love T-ball."

      

Happy Mother's Day

I hope you all had a great day.

Had to get gas last night ...

HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT.

A Book to Read

I read The Book of Dahlia last week. It's hard to recommend a book about an angry and depressed woman who's diagnosed with a brain tumor. I'm not even sure you can enjoy a book like that. But I couldn't put it down and I've been thinking about it a lot since I read it.

If anyone has or does read, let me know what you thought of it.

Composting? Me?

   

I guess I'm feeling guilty about all those disposable diapers we use.  I definitely feel bad about that summer I spent driving without a destination JUST to get my kids to nap.  It could also be my compulsive nature.  Recently, I decided to start composting.  I know.  Me, with my quick gag reflex.  Me, a self-professed city girl..composting? I know.  (Okay, so technically I've lived in the 'burbs for nine years.)  But I really want to give it a try. 

Last year, we had great success with our vegetable garden. 

  This year, I am planning a second bed.  Rob already moved some of our bushes around to make room in our yard.   It's very exciting.  (Yes, sadly, these are the things that bring me thrills.)  My kids love helping to water the plants and pick the vegetables off the stems.  My mom is also happy that I have taken such an interest.  She grew up on a farm and she has an amazing green thumb.  The woman can grow vegetables and plants in any container on her balcony in Queens.  ANY container.  I saw her growing scallions in a lasagna pan!!

So with my first vegetable garden under my belt, I felt I could move onto more things.  I had gotten a kitchen scrap container and box of BioBags from my MIL for Christmas (don't ask) so it seemed like a good time to try my hand at composting.

These BioBags are made of CORN and they biodegrade!  How cool is that?  Science is sexy.  No? 

Within three days we had filled one bag with kitchen scraps!  Think of all the trash we're NOT sending to the landfill!  But, Oh Crap!  I forgot about a composter!  Rookie mistake.

After a bit of web research and some advice from local moms, I found this unit to fit our needs.  The Eco-Cycle Base Tumbler.  Sounds impressive, right?

I can't wait for it to arrive.  (Perhaps it's complusive consumerism?)  No really, I AM excited to start my new "project" and I DO need to put these biobags somewhere.  I will say that even with rotting food inside, my kitchen doesn't reek.  Very impressive.  I heart BioBags. 

Sometimes I feel like I'm being guilted by the media into being "Green".  And some of this stuff can be really expensive.  It takes green to be green.  In the end, I feel like it's a good thing to do and just one more small step towards the bigger cause.

Wish me luck with the composting.  I hope I can produce some nutrient rich compost for my garden, for my mom's garden...and maybe yours.

A Good Patient

We had to schedule an emergency surgery today.

In a bizarre accident an ear was severed from Max, Ethan's animal friend.

Without anethesia, he was mended.  What a trooper. 

Our good patient is recovering nicely.

 

Thank You, Fresh Vintage

Last September Michele and I visited a great booth at Renningers called Fresh Vintage. We picked up enough stuff to fill my van and her pick-up. A lovely, shabby pink cabinet for Perch home (Michele's store) and a large dresser with creamy, glossy paint for my bedroom. In addition I bought the cutest little pink stool with a vinyl seat, an old pink and blue lunch box, a pretty blue tackle box, some clear glass flower frogs and soemthing I've never heard of - sour cream glasses (like painted jelly jars except for sour cream - they really knew how to do things back in the day).

In my excitement I forgot to get everything but the large items. It wasn't until I got home that I realized I didn't have my pink stool. So sad!

So I emailed Colleen and over the course of the next 7 months we tried to meet up. I was going to be near Paoli in October for my sisters wedding but it was just too hectic for a side trip. And then we moved in November, the holidays were a blur, and here we were in April already.

I was hoping that Colleen and her sisters would be at Renningers again this Spring but they had too much going on with the annex and something like 12 kids under 6 between them.

So, after our Find & Go Seek research mission to Adamstown we made the detour through Gilbertsville where Colleen's sister lives. The GPS had some issues but we finally found it. As promised everything was there on the porch.

What a pain it must have been to hold onto my pile of stuff for so long. Many would have sold it, mailed a check and been done with it. We just had a garage sale last weekend - is there anything worse than stuff you don't want in your basement or garage? Not to mention the fact that this weekend they were celebrating at least two family birthdays. I really appreciate all of their effort and thoughtfulness! And the stool looks great in my entryway. My girls love to sit on it!

So, know I need to think of a way to thank Colleen. Any suggestions?

Seek and Ye Shall Find!

The next Find & Go Seek trip is fast approaching! This time the the bus is heading to Adamstown, PA (called by many Antiques Capitol, USA). Since Michele and I want to be sure each trip is chock-full of finds we did some re-con.

We checked out Renningers, Schup's Grove, Adamstown Antiques, Stoudt's Black Angus Antiques Mall and more. It was a long but fruitful day. We've come up with a great shopping schedule for the trip in June and did some of our own finding along the way!

I found a great table at a really great price (a rainy night and low turnout forced the vendor to cut his price by half). It's just what I've been looking for - I was starting to get frustrated and was almost tempted to settle on one I wasn't crazy about. Im so glad I waited!

Sometimes I'm a little bit gun-shy about big purchased like these and I hesitated even after the price cut. Just as I was about to walk away to mull things over another woman walked in. She only had to casually glance at the table when I realized I might blow it by taking my time. Michele said she wasn't going to let me walk and made sure we bought a tarp to keep it dry on the way home. What a good friend!

Here are a few other things I found:

- wire baskets - these are coated in a plastic - I love the colors. I'm using them for our shoes (good-bye hats and gloves)
- old croquet balls
- a "Watt" ceramic bowl in a lovely gray (on the white table in the entryway). Bowls like these are collectable but I'm using mine for keys and cellphone. Hope that's OK!
- awesome ice cream sign (after I bought it at Renningers I saw some for as much as $450)
- very happy, polka-dotted nesting bowls
- the pink stool is a good story - see the next post...