OBX

It's starting to feel like fall in the mornings. I'm not ready!!

Hal and I walked around the lake the other day and I saw the leaves turning already. And now with a hurricane almost upon us it certainly feels like summer is moving on, and the days of sun bathing will soon be days of leaf peeping. Not prepared for a change of season, I turn to memories of our vacation to the Outer Banks to provide comfort.

The ocean was full of beautiful, foamy waves

Kite flying for little boys

Kite flying for bigger boys

Sunrise at 6:24am on the beach

I manage to spot a self-proclaimed genius along the way

Oh to feel the sand in between my toes again..

I married a savage...Hal married one too

Is that a giant chunk of raw meat Hal's biting into?

No, it's just our way of celebrating National Watermelon Day.

Like hungry beasts we just kept taking bites of the watermelon, not even bothering to cut it up. That's how we roll.

Will you go seedless today?

Today is National Watermelon Day (who comes up with this stuff?) and we're celebrating in my house, primarily due to coincidence. Last night, Hal and I had a hankering for the thirst quenching fruit so we went out and got one - a 17 pounder that Hal "made" me carry throughout the supermarket. I of course was convinced its weight was equivalent to that of a small child, not an 8-month old. With my arms awkwardly holding this rotund fruit, I couldn't help but think of the line, "I carried a watermelon" ala Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing.

Go to http://youtu.be/OO21DjXFFMo for a clip that I'm sure is remembered by a plethora of women in my generation.

Happy Watermelon Day!

In a NY Minute

We took a vacation day last Thursday to walk around NYC and every single spot we hit was completely new to us, which gave me a sense of accomplishment by the end of our long day.

Our first stop: The High Line. The High Line elevated park begins at Gansevoort Street in the meatpacking district where the smell of sausages is ever present; by no means am I complaining here. The park is impressively renovated with flowering plants everywhere, flanking long concrete planks that seem to maintain the integrity of what was once the rail yard, along with selectively situated wooden benches and loungers that feel organic and inviting.

The walk was quite lovely with interesting and different scenic views along the way. Plus we got gelato and gelato makes everything a bit more pleasant.

Perhaps one day we’ll go back for the sunset.

After some Boylan’s Pure Sugar Cane Cola and dumplings from a food truck, we made our way to the subway and serendipitously found ourselves at a street corner staring at B&H. We were exuberant considering we’ve been trying to get to this store for two years. While Hal walked in awe of all the electronic eye candy around him, I was amused by all the bowls of actual candy everywhere. Their colorful cellophane wrappers instantly caught my eye and I eventually made a beeline to one of the bowls, hoping to remain inconspicuous as I plucked one out of the pile. Assuming Hal was behind me, I gleefully turned to show him my newfound treasure when I noticed two salespeople staring at me. Like a kid with her hand caught in the candy jar (literally) I looked guilty and apparently confused since one of them asked me if I needed help finding something (other than candy). I just told them I needed help finding my husband and quickly went on my way, red faced but triumphant.

There were no photos of my candy caper but the enjoyment I experienced drinking this cola made up for any embarrassment at B&H.

We subwayed (yes, I make up words) up to the northern most area of Central Park since neither of us had ever explored that part. This was of course after an inebriated man in the subway station introduced himself to each of us, chatted Hal up and then asked my husband for $1.85. I wanted to ask Mr. Buggy-eyes what he could possibly buy for a $1.85 in this city but figured I shouldn’t prolong this encounter. He eventually left us alone much to our relief and I immediately took out the hand sanitizer.

The upper part of Central Park is definitely a quieter area that sans all the camp kids is probably serene most of the time. Hal informed me along our walk that George Washington once stormed these hills back in the day. In flip flops with sore feet, I was hoping we weren’t about to reenact this moment. Fortunately we ended up leaving the park headed towards the Museum of the City of New York. But I have a feeling we’ll be going back one day and I’ll be required to wear sneakers.

We arrived at the museum to find that half of it (the good half probably) is under construction. We toured what we could anyway, our favorite part being the Stettheimer Dollhouse. Besides being visually intriguing with its detailed rooms and décor, the dollhouse features miniature works of art by famous painters of the day. How cool is that?! I kept trying to get a closer look at everything forgetting that it’s incased in glass until my nose hit the pane, leaving a smudge I’m sure; this happened multiple times.

We finished up our day in the city with a long-anticipated stop for some frozen hot chocolate. Yes, we went to Serendipty 3, famous for its cold and delectable elixir of cocoa, chocolate, milk and ice topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. It was worth the 45 minute respite outside the restaurant watching and commenting on passersby. And while we’ll probably never endure that kind of wait time again, we enjoyed every ounce of that sweet goodness.

This photo was taken with my iPhone hence the graininess. But I think you can easily see the bliss on Hal's face, which was unmatched by any other moment of the day.

So I lied. This is not a summary done in a NY minute. It certainly took more than a minute to write and it takes more than a minute to read unless you’re a turbo speed reader – props to you if you are. But really, who can do NY in a minute?

PS, did I mention that in addition to the frozen hot chocolate we shared a banana split? We couldn’t finish it even though I was almost certain that Hal had a bottomless capacity for ice cream.

unEDucated

I love watching the reruns of Sex and the City on TV, commercials and all. I go through this love-hate relationship with the main characters where I find myself more frustrated with them than I remember being the first time I watched these episodes, but it doesn't matter because ultimately I love them all. Being that they are shown on both E! and the Style network, on a good day I can lose three hours to this show and not even realize it. But what does Hal think of SATC? Who cares...actually, I believe his opinion is summed up in the following conversation.

Hal: You're watching this again?

To say his tone was exuberant is like saying my expression is ecstatic when he puts on another old X-files episode.

Jenn: Trey and Charlotte just got married and he's having some trouble in the bedroom. Say, what's the difference between ED (erectile dysfunction) and impotence?

Hal: How should I know?!?

Jenn: You're male. Doesn't every male educate themselves on this so you can look for signs?

Hal: NO!! Absolutely not.

Hal sat down and watched as Carrie waxed poetic on getting waxed (the Brazilian kind) and Samantha cozied up to Hugh Heffner. By the time Carrie made it back to NY from LA wearing a pink fanny pack, Hal had reached a saturation point and stepped away from the couch, the tv, and the wife so drawn into the brain candy. He pointed an accusing finger at the television just as the next episode was starting.

Hal: This, this is ED!

Hoppy Holiday

For Easter, Hal and I enjoyed a quiet night in, just the two of us. I made lasagna for two (yes, that’s possible and my new go-to recipe) accompanied by the cutest and most delicious little popovers.

24 baby popovers to be precise. Perfectly baked, with just the right eggy-ness to airy-ness ratio.

And we ate them all...




No butter needed.

A Handy Hubby

We’ve been looking at houses for sale and one that piqued our interest definitely needs some TLC, more than a facelift but less than full on demolition (we hope). For the most part, these “projects” do not intimidate my husband. He has an adequate collection of tools (a collection I’m sure he considers insufficient) and I know he relishes every opportunity to use them.

So as he went down the laundry list of items that potentially and would need to be addressed at this house, I considered how his fix-it skills have come in handy and saved us money over the past few years.

1. He installed an outlet in our bathroom. I know you must be thinking, what bathroom doesn’t come with an outlet? Now every time I plug in the hair dryer, I am that much more grateful for my husband.

2. He fixed our kitchen ceiling when it fell. No more needs to be said about this.

3. He fixed our washing machine when it stopped draining. That’s when we discovered that my tiny little socks could get stuck in some very important part of the machine. We also noted that I should avoid leaving bobby pins in my pockets.

4. Most recently, I arrived home to find someone had knocked our mailbox off the post. I automatically assumed we were going to have to replace the whole thing but thanks to a piece of wood, some kind of saw and a drill, Hal secured the box back to its rightful place in the world.

There have been other instances in which his handiness has been advantageous, and I know he likes getting his hands dirty once in a while. So when I heard him watching “how to” videos on home repair last night, I half expected to find him armed with a tool belt and ready to buy the house. We’re not there yet, but I have a good feeling he’ll be prepared for the undertaking when the time comes.

He has his own headlight. How much more prepared can he be?!