the first jalapeno! ole!
the cutest little tomato ever.
sweet banana pepper
plenty of herbs!
the cayennes have done well with all of the recent rain
we ordered this great, sparkly kitchenaid microwave as part of our kitchen makeover and it doesn't quiiiiiite fit the space. it's an over the range (hood style) microwave.
we can't return it because when the delivery people brought it, they unwrapped it, set it out and then carried away all trash, which included THE BOX.
i have everything else--we never even mounted the thing. we just held it up and realized it wouldn't work there, and here we are.
if you want to google it and look description, specs, etc. it is aKitchenAid KHMS1850SSS. I believe retail cost is around $549. of course, we are willing to take less than that to get it off our hands since we can't use it.
so if you need a cool stainless steel microwave at a good deal, make us an offer!
as you can see, we stayed so busy in the city that i am just now getting around to posting about the rest of our time in nyc.
to say that we had a ball was an understatement--it was a blast! we have been to new york before and the fun thing about that place is that there will always be something new to do, something new to see, some great surprise around every single corner. it is a city for explorers, that's for sure. you can just start walking with no end point in mind and find so many treasures--colorful characters, celebrities, world-class shopping, every nationality under the sun--it's just a melting pot of everything.
instead of doing a day by day breakdown, i'll just list out the highlights:
1. going to the Jimmy Fallon show. soooo much fun. he is a cutie! thank goodness they didn't call either one of us out of the audience because the "audience participation" part that night was a dance-off. oh, that would have been HORRIBLE. thankfully we just sat in our seats and watched someone else make a fool of themselves. but gosh, what a fun night!
2. 9 to 5: The Musical. dolly parton wrote it--need i say more?? it was FANTASTIC. we were so happy to find out that the two lead actresses from when we last saw Wicked in NYC were the leads in 9 to 5 this time around. it was great. if you're heading up that way, GO SEE IT!
3. we walked the brooklyn bridge. how cool to walk from manhattan to brooklyn and look down through the bridge at the taxis and rush hour traffic and to look back at the city behind us. once we got across, i was able to get that classic photography shot of the brooklyn bridge with the city in the background. it was awesome!
4. the food. the food was excellent. my meal at bobby flay's mesa grill was one of the best meals i have EVER had. EVER. (and i am a self-admitted "foodie.") and let me just say new yorkers know how to do pizza. new york pizza by the slice is pure heaven.
5. grand central station. this was the first time we'd been there and it was breathtaking. the architecture is just unbelievable. down in the bottom is the famous (well, famous in ny) oyster house restaurant with the best halibut i've ever put in my mouth. so good that we ate there twice!
6. the view at the marriott marquis in times square. this bar/restaurant really lives up to its name. the lights of the city from up here were amazing!
7. we FINALLY figured out the ny subway system!!
8. shopping at tiffany's on fifth avenue--every girl's dream come true!
9. central park. so serene and so strange how it blocks out all of the city sounds and sights. it's like entering an enchanted forest. you forget you are in one of the biggest cities in the world. oh, and we got to sit on a park bench and watch jason bateman film a scene for the upcoming movie "the baster."
10. time together. always a good time with my jeff. he's just so much fun! it's funny how we just "get" each other and are always in sync with where we want to go, what we want to do, etc. we had so much fun together figuring out the city--and i must say, we kinda know our way around up there pretty darn well now!!
the last night we were there, we met up with jeff's parents and our nephew, isaac, and went back to the oyster house at grand central for dinner and then to times square so that isaac could get the "feel" of new york. then it was off to long island, where we spent the rest of the weekend celebrating jeff's grandpa's 80th birthday. it was the first time i had met a lot of his aunts and uncles and we had SUCH a good time! i'll post some pics of that in the next blog.
but gosh, with all of the fun we had, it was so nice to walk through our front door at home. there really is no place like it!
times square at night
megan hilty, one of our fave broadway stars! she played dolly parton in 9 to 5.
grand central station
central park
on the brooklyn side of the brooklyn bridge--well worth the walk!
jeff with the empire state building in the background
i am the luckiest.
brooklyn bridge
jeff at chelsea piers
i heart ny!
today's been filled with fun stuff--
we went to celebrity autobiography tonight and it was great! we walked from our hotel in times square to the upper west side and saw it at the triad theater. it's basically a cast of celebrities onstage reading OTHER celebrities autobiographies. it was hilarious and we loved the cast-rachel dratch, kristen wiig (both of SNL), sherri shephard from the view, kristen johnston, steve schiripa and more. loved it!
on the way there we saw something being filmed. so we were curious and looked to my right and there was stephen baldwin. he was directing something and they were filming.
then on our way back to the hotel tonight, we realized that the road was starting to be barricaded and there were all these cool cars with cameras on them. come to find out, jerry bruckheimer is producing "the sorcerer's apprentice" starring nicholas cage (!) right outside our hotel. literally. so we hung out and watched them film one of the scenes.
so cool.
tomorrow we've got plans to shop and then we have to be at Rockefeller Center at 4 for the taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. They'll start filming at 5 I think. We just have to get there to get our seats.
so far, so good! we've navigated our way quite well and tried really hard to blend in with the locals. we also got cupcakes at magnolia bakery, which was even better than all of the reviews said.
going to bed now--it's almost 1 a.m. and i gotta get some rest!
stephen baldwin:
hot chocolate in the city...it's chilly at night!
the scene they're filming outside the hotel of for the sorcerer's apprentice:
on my list for "spring things" was a new deck (in addition to many other things...). jeff and i had a good time tearing the old one off. it was major therapy to get to destroy something. is that weird that i love destruction so much?
nonetheless, we now have a pretty new deck--bigger and better than the old one. heck, we could even have a concert out there now if only i could get justin timberlake's manager to call me back. (just kidding, but isn't the thought of J.T. in six mile fabulous?)
here's some pics of the progress. the last pic shows the finished product-though it looks way redneck with our piece of board up (to keep clyde off), and the lack of furniture. also pay no mind to the fact that we still haven't planted shrubs or mulched around it. that's coming!
funny story on that...i went to home depot to get some lora petulum. it's a pretty shrub with purplish leaves and pink little flowers. it's perfect for the side of the deck. i couldn't find it anywhere in the garden section, so i asked someone if she knew where it was. she, obviously waaaay stoned, went into a lengthy explanation that "lora petulum was the latin name and the latin name derived from the word 'elephant.' " she went on to explain that all living things are categorized into kingdom's, genuses, species and classes. oh my gosh. i politely thanked her for her vast knowledge and went to Lowe's, where i found my lora petulum. :-)
and in case you're wondering, YES, the floors are done! and NO, we didn't finish them ourselves! ha ha. we got most of the living room done and were so tired of getting to work on it an hour at at time and wearing ourselves out that we hired someone to come in and lay the rest. if you live in the upstate and need hardwood floors, we've got your man. he did a great job at a great price. here's a pic to give you an idea of how they turned out. we are loving the way they look!
no more home improvements for a while...we are leaving tomorrow for new york! we found out yesterday that the night that we have tickets for the jimmy fallon show (tues night, 5/12 look for us!), andy samberg will be on. we LOVE andy samberg so we're excited! there is also a comedian/musician named bo burnham who'll be on. he's hilarious. look him up on youtube. we're also going to do the whole today show experience on friday---jennifer hudson will be performing on the plaza. no, i won't be holding up some crazy poster or anything, but we will be there! keep your eyes peeled. :)
i'll post some pics when we get back!
*note: the playlist is special for today, as it (with the exception of the 1st song), is a combination of songs from our wedding day. :-)
from lindsay:
5-4-02. what a great, great day.
cliche as it may sound, i truly did marry my best friend.
and here we are...7 years later...no proverbial 'itch' as some think come along with 7 years, unless it's an itch to continue being together and dancing our way through life's up and downs.
jeff proposed to me on 5-6-01, the day after i graduated from winthrop. what a weekend that was! that friday, i got a tattoo, saturday got a college diploma and sunday got a diamond ring. wow. the next year was spent planning the details to a beautiful, perfect wedding, many thanks to my mother. Lord knows she worked doubly as hard as I did on the planning. Not to mention, many thanks to my daddy, for simply writing out the checks. :)
i remember waking up that morning with such a surreal, peaceful feeling. i'm not one to get nervous, so i knew that i wouldn't have the jitters. but the peace was almost strange. but it only meant that i was getting ready to do what was meant to be--marry jeff. the day flew by, with preparations of getting the "hair did," makeup, pics, last minute changes to vocalists, etc. but at "half past six o'clock in the evening" (as the invitation read), it was time to walk down that aisle.
there were so many little funny things that i look back on and laugh about...like jeff's watch going off promptly at 7 p.m. in the middle of Preacher Sheriff's message about the covenant of marriage, and jeff's sweet "your boobs are HUGE" comment to me during one of the songs (in front of the preacher, mind you...).
it did rain a little and was a lot colder than we expected it to be in may, but the reception was a blast. i think the best part was having the people we loved so much in the same room at the same time. it was a priceless moment and we still look back on our photos and the video and are amazed at how blessed we are with wonderful friends and family, many of whom travelled a long way to get there, just for us. we are still humbled by that.
to my sweet husband, happy anniversary. you are truly the love of my life and i am blessed beyond measure to have someone who lights up my days with laughter (often uncontrollable laughter, as you are by far one of the most random people i know.)
thank you for being you and for asking me to marry you those 8 years ago. they say time flies when you're having fun and i'd say they are right. it has flown.
so here's to many more happy years together! and here's to treating every single day like it is our anniversary.
you are the best thing that's ever happened to me.
from jeff:
To my beautiful wife of 7 years today, happy anniversary. We have sailed through these 7 years wonderfully. Together we have acheived a life not many get to lead at all, not to mention in the first decade of their marriage. And what a way to start off my 3 week vacation, NYC, and those few peaceful days all to yourself while I go and play golf with guys than with a 7 year wedding anniversary. You are truly my best friend and I don't know how I landed you. But I do know that I would be lost without you. You are my everything for yesterday, today and tomorrow. I lurve you very much. Happy Anniversary!
so i finished my hanging garden! i'm tickled with it, so let's just hope that everything grows like i have envisioned it will...
i am already craving some homemade salsa!
here are the step-by-step pics of my garden.
i planted the tomato plants out the bottom hole, then drilled 4 holes around the side and planted banana peppers, green bell peppers, cayenne peppers and jalapenos in them. then on top, i planted basil, greek oregano and cilantro. all like full sun, so it was a great combination.
since i didn't have time to plant a garden this year, i am going to try my hand at something one of my clients did last year that was really, really cool. you may have seen these on TV and they do sell a commercial "planter" but these instructions work just the same, and cost less.
it's a hanging tomato planter! it's GENIUS--you have no worries of staking the plant so that it grow up like it should, there are NO WEEDS and fewer critters and bugs to mess it up, and there is no risk of overwatering it either. in other words, pretty easy (so i hope!)
i got a couple of "homer buckets" at the home depot tonight that i'm going to spray paint (they're orrrrrrrange) and am going to start mine either tomorrow or friday. i'll be sure to post pics of the progress.
i just thought i would share with you all the easy steps on how to do this.
you'll need:
large bucket
a coffee filter or piece of old, thin fabric
drill
potting soil
tomato plant(s)
herbs (optional)
1. turn bucket upside down and drill large hole (2"-4") in center.
2. turn bucket back upright and tape a coffee filter or thin piece of old fabric on top of hole. (this
helps keep the soil from falling out of the bottom.)
3. with knife or scissors, cut an "x" in the coffee filter.
4. thread the tomato plant into the hole (thru the X you just made) so that the plant is hanging
out the bottom, root ball is inside at bottom of bucket.
5. fill with soil.
6. you can also plant your herbs on top once all soil is in (i'm going to plant oregano, cilantro and
basil.)
7. hang on large, sturdy hook in a sunny spot and let her grow! make sure to water every day.
once i get mine going, i'll post pics with these steps for you "visual" peeps out there.
side note: i hear you can also drill more holes and plant peppers alongside the tomatoes as well!
happy birthday, miss beulah grace crissinger!
beulah was born this morning and is the daughter of two of my dear, dear friends from college, andy and michelle. these are two of the most beautiful people i have ever known, inside and out. this baby girl is such a blessing and they have waited for her patiently and have been such an inspiration throughout the whole process.
michelle is a great blogger--i would encourage you to read her blog. you will, no doubt, be blessed. (and they have a pic up, too!)
so here's to giving thanks to God for precious people like andy and michelle, for sweet baby beulah and for miracles.
yeah, so, the hubs and i have decided to put down hardwood floors. are we crazy, you ask? why yes, yes we are.
we, to this point, have had what came in the house, which were parquet floors. pretty, but we really, really wanted nice, long smooth oak hardwood floors and not the square look that parquet gives.
we got several estimates on the floors and the installation and were flabbergasted by the costs to have someone come out and put them down.
jeff called me one day from work...conversation goes as follows:
J: "we're doing it. we are going to put down the floors."
L: "um, we are not professionals. why do you think we can do this?"
J: "i've been watching videos on youtube of how to install hardwood floors and there's nothing to it. we're doing it ourselves."
L: "so watching youtube makes us experts, huh?"
J: "yes. we can do it."
so, apparently we are in following with our new president's "theme" for 2009 because we decided YES WE CAN.
and we did!
we got a little overwhelmed at first trying to get the first row going because if the first row is not completely 100% straight, it screws up the rest of the room. but now that we've gotten going, it really isn't that bad. the worst part is the toll that it is taking on me physically. i can hardly touch my knees because they're so sore. i have knee pads, but they only help so much. and my poor, poor hands are a wreck. but you know what? as much as i doubted our abilities in the beginning, we have done a dang good job and we'll know that everytime we walk across those floors that we did it all by ourselves.
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