Celebrity Sighting

John Stossel was on my subway yesterday afternoon on my way home from some shopping.  I was 99% sure it was him, but I did a little research and found out he does live on the UWS (he got off one stop before me) and I even found an interview script where he said he rides the subway.  I love having celebrity neighbors!!

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Thanksgiving 2009

This year was my first time to spend Thanksgiving in Texas with my family since I moved to NYC. It was so nice to be able to go and the 5 day weekend somehow seemed very long. I really enjoyed it! I have so much to be thankful for, it is overwhelming to think about. I am so undeserving of all I have and have so much more than I could ever need.

We packed a lot in during my time in Dallas!! I started my weekend off by getting out early on Thanksgiving morning to do the Turkey Trot with Michelle & Kelli! I was sad to be missing the Macy's Day Parade for the first time in four years, but this was a great alternative. The weather was amazing that morning and we had a great time walking a few miles through downtown before eating our way through the rest of the day :)

With Kelli & Michelle.  We're excited to do the

Jingle Bell Run when I'm back in a couple weeks!

While at the Turkey Trot, we saw Jeremy from

DDDeahhhhna's season of The Bachelorette

Beth and I did some cooking on Thursday afternoon. I actually only did the potato casserole, so that was easy. Beth bought us cheeses and wine to have for lunch that day and it was all really yummy.

Dinner was held at my mom's house. We had a crew of thirteen family and friends. The food was yummy and we had a good time with each other. We spent time checking out all the Black Friday deals and watching the Cowboys game.

Beth made the boys Indian shirts and

helped them make their own Indian hats

This was after dinner, so the setting isn't as nice.

My mom made the namecards and had the boys

help glue on little leafs to all of them

Ryder made the awesome centerpiece Teepee at school!

I spent a lot of Friday laying on couches with Shep on top of me. He was having one of those days where he just wanted to be held. Neither of my other nephews ever would fall asleep in someone's arms. It's kind of nice to have a baby around who will cuddle up on the couch with me for a nap!

We went to my mom's house everyday for lunch Friday-Sunday for Turkey leftovers. I don't know how all the food lasted that many meals and that many people, but it did!

We did some shopping, of course! My sister, mom, aunt, and I went to some fun stores on Friday afternoon. Beth and I did more shopping on Sunday morning. I actually managed to get all my Christmas shopping done that weekend! I ordered some stuff online and bought other stuff while I was there. It is now all at my mom's house so I won't have to lug anything with me when I go back for Christmas. It's so nice to have it done so that I can enjoy one of my very favorite seasons in the City without having to rush around looking for gifts.

I babysat the boys a few times. We had a blast on Friday night. Beau and Ryder helped me bake some yummy treats, then we had a pizza party! I also bought them a big tube full of those glow in the dark necklace/bracelet things for $1 at Michaels...what a deal! Ryder and Beau loved playing with them!

I don't know how these pictures turned
out so bright...we were in a pitch-dark room
so they could play with their glow things.
Guess flashes really work!

Beau really wanted to hold "baby Shep" one day

Then Ryder had to take a turn as well

Saturday evening was Baylor vs. Tech at the Cowboys stadium. My aunt and uncle are huge Tech fans (both are alums) so they came, along with my mom and some other Baylor family and two of my friends. It was such a good game, but Baylor ended up losing. The Cowboys stadium is amazing!! It is so nice. I've never been that impressed with a stadium before, but I can honestly say I really liked this one!

I didn't know that Baylor's band was capable

of doing cool formations like this!

This is a terrible picture of mom and I, but proof

we were there together!

Notice the Game Day Beads we're all sporting :)

Michelle, Jeremy and I

Mom and I went to see "The Blind Side" on Sunday afternoon. Amazing movie! I loved it. I found out afterwards that it was directed by a Baylor alum...go Bears!  I want to see it again and I want to read the book...that's how much I loved it.  Maybe after all that I'll be prepared to adopt a teenage boy myself.  Or maybe not, but still something I'd love to be able to do some day.

Sunday evening was so fun. I went with six friends to a Christmas Tea. A cute English lady spoke about Christmas traditions for about 45 minutes and then we were served a traditional High Tea. Everything was so yummy. I loved the cucumber sandwiches, the scone, and the gingerbread cookies the most. I also loved the Christmas blend tea we had...I even bought a box to enjoy on those cold afternoons at the office!

Judith Dyer giving her Christmas talk

Brooke & Tamara

Jennifer & Julie.  The tea was their special Christmas

tea and it was delicious!!

Elizabeth, Michelle, & I

On Monday morning before I left for the airport, my mom and I helped Beth take the boys to see Santa. We went to Northpark, where they have the best Santa in Dallas! We had to wait in line for a while, but finally made it up to the front. Ryder got shy when Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas, but Beau said he wanted a cookie! Funny kid. He actually really does have quite the sweet-tooth, though!

Waiting for the Santa pic!

Merry Christmas!

The boys pics with Santa through the years...all with

the same Santa except for Ryder's first Christmas

I can't believe that I will be back in Dallas in just 11 days...this time for twice as long. I'm seriously blessed.

Recipe Roulette

My friend, Maggie, came up with the idea to play a little game of Recipe Roulette here in the blog world. I've had fun reading the other recipes this week and can't wait to try them. Today, it's my turn to post!

Salmon w/ Broccoli (or whatever veggie you so choose)

Ingredients:
Salmon (this recipe is suited for 1lb of salmon, adjust as necessary)
Salt
2 t olive oil
1.5 t mustard
1.5 t honey
Fresh Broccoli (any sized bunch)
I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spray
Garlic Powder

Start by placing your salmon filet on a cookie sheet.  I line my sheet with two sheets of foil to make clean-up easy.  Sprinkle salt over filet and pour olive oil over.  Next, pour mustard and honey over filet and spread over the filet entirely.

Take your broccoli and break into smaller florets and spread around filet on the cookie sheet.  (You can really use any veggie here).  Spray with a little I Can't Believe it's Not Butter and sprinkle a bit of salt and garlic powder over the florets.

Your cookie sheet should look a little like this before placing in the oven:

Bake the salmon filet and broccoli at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven.  I serve this dish with rice...I prefer Uncle Ben's Ready Rice in Whole Grain because it's quick, easy, and yummy!  This meal is light, yet filling and quite tasty.  Enjoy!

Also, take a look at the other players of Recipe Roulette this week:

Maggie shared her Asparagus Quiche recipe
Kelly shared her Whole Wheat Penne Pasta w/ broccoli and Turkey Sausage recipe (her blog is private, but you can find the recipe, here)
Kate shared her Vegetable Enchiladas
and Ann shared her Shepherd's Pie

Crafty

My friend Sarah, the former OU NYC alumni club president, bought some awesome Game Day Beads online this year to wear to her watch parties. I decided to copy them and make my own for the BU game I had tickets to over Thanksgiving weekend. They were SO easy to make. I even made a Mizzou necklace just for kicks. I think I'm even going to open an Etsy store and see if I get any bites.

They're made with Kukui nuts, shipped

straight from Hawaii!!  Kukui nuts are

supposed to bring good luck...

perfect for Game Day!!

Home Tour : Kitchen

I know, I know, you must all be so disappointed that this little home tour is coming to an end.  Yes, it's true, we've finally come to the last little room of my humble abode.  My kitchen has created all kinds of problems for me since moving in.  It's undergone many renovations and although it's never going to look great, I think I've finally got it to a place where at least a disaster won't strike again.

This is basically what you see when walking

down the hallway from the front door

This is the only wall of the kitchen that

had anything on it when I moved in.

Not enough cabinets at all!  Plus,

they're not normal sized...plates are

too big to fit in them!

This kitchen cart, left behind by the previous

tenant, has been a lifesaver.  Not only does

it provide some much needed cabinet space,

it's basically my only countertop!

Above the cart, are these green shutters that

I got at an antique shop in Connecticut

last spring....love them!

Here's my newest piece of furniture.  So, my kitchen

stuff is kind of mixed with the red cart, green

shutters, and now these black shelves.  I think

the picture above the shelves ties the colors

together nicely.

On the wall opposite the black shelves is

this atrocious Ikea piece.  It's ugly, but

quite functional.  It has basically become

my pantry.  I need to paint it, just

haven't gotten around to it

Now, to recap my Apartment tour series a bit....

I love my apartment. It's so tiny, but you learn that you really don't need much space when you're forced to live without it. You also learn that you don't need as much "stuff" when you have nowhere to keep it. The worst part is the lack of closet space. At my last apartment in Dallas, I had 2 closets the size of the one I have now....and that was just in my bedroom! I no longer have a coat closet or a storage closet or a pantry or a linen closet. Oh, I do miss my closets.

I've made due with the small space...I have had more than one person who has visited tell me that my apartment is just so comfortable. That's exactly how I want my home to be. I want people to feel comfortable there, and I want to feel cozy when I'm there as well!

So, while the smallness and lack of closets is clearly the big negative, there are many positives. First being that it's in NYC. Clearly, I traded space for my desire to live here. I'm okay with that. But, I also love where in NYC my apartment is...Manhattan. Upper West Side. 1/2 a block to Central Park. On a tree & brownstone lined street. 1/2 a block to the subway that goes directly into my work building (my commute couldn't be easier or faster)! I do really love the location - it would be hard for me to ever leave the UWS.

I'm also learning how to turn my tiny space into the green stuff. Yes, making money!! I rented it out while I was gone over Thanksgiving to a Pennsylvania couple who wanted to spend the Holiday in the City. I made over $500 for the four nights they stayed in my place. Yes! I should have done this a long time ago and intend to try to do this much more often now.

All, in all, it's a great place.  I love where I'm at in my life and wouldn't trade my tiny apartment for anything elsewhere in the world.

Dreamgirls at the Apollo

Joy and I went to see the musical Dreamgirls at the Apollo one night last week.  I was SO excited as I'd been hearing great things about the musical and I had always wanted to go see something at the Apollo.  Since we were heading to Harlem, we decided to stop at Amy Ruth's for some good soul food.  We split salmon, collard greens, grits, and a piece of Rum cake.  It was all good, but I loved the collard greens!

Dreamgirls was great.  Good costumes, great features, amazing singing, fun dancing, etc...  I really enjoyed it and am glad I finally made it up to see it.

The theatre was so pretty!

There were chandeliers lining the lobby

and this big one inside.  Loved them!

A great show!

Another night last week I decided to stop by after work to watch the lighting of the big star on 5th Avenue that is there every year for the Christmas season.  Lucy Liu was there to light it.  There were not too many people there, so I basically had a front row spot on the red carpet.  Lucy spoke briefly about Unicef, which supports the star.

These kids sang Christmas Carols - they're in a group

called B'way Kids Care.  They've all been in Broadway

shows at some time and they were excellent singers!

The pretty star!

On the way home, I passed Columbus Circle

which was also already lit for the Holidays

I also had Mindy's birthday party last week.  We went to a Mexican restaurant near her apartment - I had really good chicken!  Afterwards, we all went to her place where we had cake bites and champagne that I brought.  It was my first time to make triple chocolate cake bites (per Mindy's request) and they were amazing!!

On Saturday, I got to help pass out Thanksgiving boxes to the families of the Kids Club program I do on Saturday mornings a couple times a month.  It was a really neat experience.  It is the only time we actually go in the kids' homes.  I have never been inside government housing before and really didn't know what to expect.  I had heard horror stories about the filth some of these kids live in.  I went with another volunteer to deliver 5 boxes.  We only really got to go in 2 of the 5 homes as others weren't there and we just left the boxes.  The first home we went in was a super sweet family.  They have 3 kids who are very regular at Kids Club and they are so sweet.  Their mom was sweet, too.  They apartment was well kept and they even had nice furniture.  I was happy to see these three kids live in a home that seemed clean and loving.  The other home was of 2 boys who are semi-regular on Saturdays.  Their apartment was fine, too.  Their mom was really great to talk to.  One of the boys read us a prayer he had written and it was amazing!  It was a really fun afternoon...I love getting to know these kids!