Presents from Paris

One of my favorite things in the world is to get packages in the mail. This love, has lead me to another love...online shopping. Not only do you get to shop from the comfort of your desk at work, but you get to avoid all the crowded stores AND get the thrill of seeing the package when you get home from work. It's a Win, Win, Win.
I am also in love with the website ETSY.com. If you haven't shopped there before, then get on there now (I know you are already on the internet if you are looking at this blog, so it shouldn't be too hard). The site is full of independent craft makers and artist, selling their wares. It's like a giant garage sale, antique store, swap meet, art fair and boutique, all rolled into one.

The other thing that I am obsessed with is antique trunks, suitcases and train cases. They are great for NY apartments because they look cute on a shelf and include lots of storage. You can even stack them into a little side table. The picture of the train case above is one I found from a seller in Paris. It should arrive on my stoop any day now. I am very excited that it is the perfect train case, for an excellent price and that it is coming from Paris, which I find very romantic. The seller would totally make my day if she included a Paris postcard in the case. Keep your fingers crossed.

This photo pretty much sums up our weekend adventure. We thought it would be great to go for a hike on Memorial Day. The weather was beautiful, we needed some fresh air....and Bear Mountain is only an hour drive from New York City. We woke up early-ish in the morning, pulled our camelpacks from the storage bin, grabbed some sunscreen and headed for the hills. After a beautiful drive up the Palisades Parkway, we got to Bear Mountain. What is that line of cars? Why does everyone look confused? Because the MOUNTAIN IS CLOSED! You heard me. They closed a mountain. There were too many people up there and all the parking lots were full and people were starting to park in very bad places (like the side of a busy highway) and so the park rangers closed the mountain. Not to be deterred, we headed to West Point, where we thought we could hike around their beautiful rolling hills. The really grumpy ladies at the visitors center said we were welcome to hike at West Point, if we were military personnel and had the proper clearance. Next! Even though they were grumpy and unhelpful, they did tell us about an indian reservation about 20 minutes away with great hiking. We drove there, parked in an empty parking lot and headed up the mountain. The first 20 minutes were great, until we started to notice the bogs, streams and STANDING WATER. You know what standing water means, a massive breeding ground for mosquitoes. We were doomed. We got out the mosquito repellent and covered ourselves from head to toe and then decided to tough it out. After about another 10 minutes, I noticed that Dan looked like Pigpen from the Peanuts. He was completely swarmed with mosquitoes! West Nile virus, here we come! We decided that if we ran, it would be harder for the little buggers to land on us, so we started running down the mountain to the car as fast as we could go. Until....a giant snake (a ribbon snake I found out later after an internet research session with my friend Sue) ran out in front of me! I screamed, Dan squirmed and then we continued on our run, jumped into the car, locked the doors and squealed our tires on outta there.
I think the next time we hike, we will be in Utah. They have less mosquitoes there!

I am addicted to "So You Think You Can Dance". If you are also addicted, please let me know so that we can have in-depth conversations about the contestants on Friday mornings. Last year my favorite was Chelsie Hightower. Not only was she a hometown favorite, but I felt like her dancing was so full of emotion and she also had the technique to back it up. The photo is of the piece choreographed by Mia to the music "Burning Love". If you haven't seen this, you must check it out on YouTube.

The premiere for the new season was last night and it looks like they are going to have some great dancers. I will be spending every Thursday night on the couch, so don't even think about trying to make plans with me. DVR doesn't work for this show because I feel it must be watched in real-time.

Get up and dance everybody! It's good for the soul.

Wedded Bliss

It truly was the best day (week) of our lives. We will have memories for a lifetime. A big thanks to our families and a small group of friends for traveling from all over the U.S. to join us in Puerto Rico for a week of fun in the sun.