Gifts with Zazzle

One of my favorite websites is Zazzle... Zazzle for customized stamps, clothing and much more.  You can create your own custom stamp or t-shirt and now an iPhone case with a photo of anything you can think of and they make it so easy with their drag-and-drop design tools...

In the section of the website called 'Gift Center' they organize it by women, men, teens and kids.

For instance, the categories for teen gifts are broken down by type of teen, like techno, rockstar, artist, activist, etc...

I love how the tools have become so accessible and easy to use, allowing everyone to express their creativity.

Tomorrow for St. Patrick's Day you could have designed your own or purchased one of their designs for a sticker...

So maybe now you can start thinking about Easter or Passover or the 4th of July!

Winter Escape

Flying Southwest Airlines from Long Island to Ft. Lauderdale is one of those things where you're looking over your shoulder, feeling like you got away with something wonderful and criminal!  It's too easy from the twenty minute drive to the airport, to the funny flight staff, to the half hour early arrival on our return and of course not to mention the beautiful 80 degree weather that met us on arrival and departure...
Some impressions from the weekend...

 Pina in South Beach

 Vacancy

 Children singing for money

 Artists studio

 Beautiful reproductions of vintage hats 

 Outside men's room at Ft. Lauderdale airport

   Retro snack packaging from Southwest Airlines

Tomorrow I tell you about a wonderful restaurant and the chefs cookbook I brought home.

1st Non-Stick Snow!

That's right, it's snowing in my backyard right now (Long Island NY)... a squall of wind and large snow flakes against a background of orange and yellow leaves, snow turning to sleet, flakes that aren't sticking, that wet the patio bricks.
My kids went out for the school bus right in the middle of it... both still wearing shorts!  "Oh Mom, it's so warm in school!"... I think I'll have to hide the shorts now, which will get passed along to friends and charities as they surely won't fit next season as they prolifically storm into manhood...

This sculpture exemplifies my boys moving through puberty!

My backyard as the snow turned to sleet...

My sweet dog is happy to be in a warm and cozy INSIDE...

My third son, Jez

From San Fran

It was great to go back and see old friends and old places in San Francisco.  When we first arrived so did the first winter storm with colder temps and lots of wind and rain...

Last Sunday

So we spent a good part of the afternoon at the Ferry Building Marketplace which is filled with gourmet food shops and restaurants... 

...from coffee to fungi... from cheese to crab we managed to eat our way through...

By Monday morning the weather had cleared and it was sunny in the low 60's, perfect for walking the city and we did... somehow after all these years, I never forgot my way around and the memories of a distant life came rushing back...

Tomorrow I'll tell you about great restaurants we dined in... North Beach, my old school and more...

A Powerful 11 Minutes

We're leaving on a trip to San Francisco soon, a beautiful city I lived in for 11 years before moving back to New York... "Why did you move back?", people often ask... well, that's another story for another time.

So last night when I thought I was tuning into Amazing Race, which was pushed back due to football running late, I caught the end of a story on 60 Minutes (an old favorite) about a man who recently found an old film, shot in San Francisco on Market Street only days before the 1906 Earthquake destroyed most of the city... 

60 Minutes, "A Trip Down Market Street"

A week later this happened...

...eerie, really eerie and sad, and a little scary since I wasn't thinking about earthquakes, only thinking about visiting my favorite spots, seeing old friends and of course eating my way through what I believe is the best city to enjoy a myriad of fantastically creative ethnic and fresh American cooking and not break the bank, like in NY.  

I experienced 3 earthquakes in California while living there... two in SF and one in LA. I'll be taking lots of photos and will write about the trip when I return.

Many new ideas come from California, a place where experimentation is the norm.

Photo Friday

Thought I would leave you with these photographs I took that show dramatic lighting as a theme... 

The weekend couldn't come any sooner... Enjoy!

The Afterglow

AFTERGLOW; definition: A broad high arch of rosy light appearing in the sky long after sunset.

Yesterday, my special day in the spotlight as the 'Featured Blogger' on SITS Girls has passed and last night after all the excitement I was truly basking in the afterglow of it all.

Like all good things... you know... the poet Robert Frost says it so well in this poem titled, "Nothing Gold Can Stay".

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.  

*Note: This poem earned Robert Frost the 1924 Pulitzer prize for poetry.

Thank you to all those who visited my blog yesterday.  The support was fantastic!

Sukkahs in the City

What a way to spend the last Sunday of summer...
I drove the kids into the city (NYC), picked up my mother and rode the subway down to Union Square to see a 2-day architectural display called 'Sukkah City'.  What is a sukkah?  The sukkah is a temporary structure erected for one week each fall for Jews to gather to celebrate the harvest.
This was a design competition, 600 architects entered and only 12 radically innovative structures were chosen to be displayed in the square yesterday and today.  We had a chance to cast our vote for our favorite sukkah, which will then stand in the square for the duration of the holiday of Sukkot, which begins this Wednesday.
Here are a few of my favorites...

My kids loved it and were snapping photos on their phones to send to friends...

  

After strolling through the square for about an hour we headed a few blocks south to 'The Stand' for a burger and the best shake I've ever had... "Marshmallow Shake"...

We finished the day at Spin, a table-tennis club on 23rd and Park Avenue.  My 14 year-old is obsessed with ping-pong!

We had a great day... I miss the city and all the energy swirling the air!

What's your perfect day in NYC?

Tour YOUR Artwork!

Calling ALL... "Anyone - from anywhere in the world - can be a part of the project."... ARTISTS! 

The Sketchbook Project...

The Brooklyn Art Library is running a project where artists receive a sketchbook for $25, fill it with artwork loosely based on a pre-chosen theme, send it back to them by the deadline and it will tour the country in galleries and museums.

It's a simple idea and a great way to get yourself and your creative kids to put their ideas on paper for the world to see!

Oh, and teachers there is an educational and group discount available.

The Tour...

Examples of previous sketchbooks...

The deadline to sign up is October 31st, 2010 and books are limited.  I will have the link (see above right) posted on my blog until the deadline.

I will be choosing a theme for mine in the next few days.  Can't wait for you to join the tour with me!

Mint Memories

Mint grows like a weed, once it starts, one needs to take control or it will... I learned this from growing up with a father who has a green thumb.  This is also the reason I love mint, for the taste and the childhood memories.  As a kid we would pick the leaves and just suck on them.  Mint tea was plentiful, but in those days there weren't too many recipes using mint, not like today.  So when I saw this Thai inspired slaw recipe with cashews and mint from my favorite cooking blog,  Smitten Kitchen,  I knew it was for me and I hope for you...
Click below for the link to the recipe...

Mango Slaw with Cashews and Mint

Gorgeous photo by Smitten Kitchen

These photos are like Renaissance paintings