SWJ=JEANS (the straight white kind)

If you're looking for the perfect SWJ or Straight Leg White Jean and are willing to spend the money for an amazing fit and feel, then these Vince jeans are just the thing.  I wish I could say that I found a less expensive counterpart, but not yet... if you know of one please speak up...
I was in Saks for a big sale a few weeks ago (20%off), and tried the regular straight leg jeans on and I fell in love... a higher cut in the waist than a lot of them which is very flattering, and just the right amount of stretch...

Of course my luck they were out of the white... the sales girl offered to order them and said she would call in a few days to let me know, but I never got the call... so online I go... and of course the 20% I forego...
This stretch silk Tee feels great and comes in Navy too...

Silk Raglan Tee, $220

I like the all white look with a long chain necklace

Red Hot Cyndi!

Last Nights Episode

If you're not a fan of this season's 'Celebrity Apprentice' then you won't want to read this... "How could you 'FIRE' Cyndi Lauper Mr. Trump?!", she and Bret Michaels are the whole reason to watch the show at all... she's totally entertaining, a creative powerhouse and hard worker... and she's right Holly is a "byach"!. 

The reason I like the show is because of the creative challenges each team faces, it's the reason I watch 'Project Runway' too...

Cyndi's Red Hot Celebrity Room from last nights challenge

Cyndi's Exit Interview

Cyndi, you made a classy exit... sorry to see you go...

Mother Earth on Mother's Day

I've been thing thinking all week about how to spend Mother's Day... and since I love to cook, but during the week I don't have access to much in the way of local farm grown produce, I wanted to visit one of Long Islands bountiful farms... since it's my day to decide and it's not a group decision... first we're having brunch at a favorite South American restaurant... then off to Youngs Farm in Old Brookville, where I was told by a coffeemaker extraordinaire (a blog for next week), that they have beautiful produce and wonderful pies... dessert, ooh lala!

Now another farm which is on my 'must see list', maybe not for Sunday (a bit of a drive), is Golden Earthworm organic farm... they have a great website and blog...

... with a recipe selection, tours and events...

Happy Mother's Day... let them spoil you... Enjoy!

Pumas and Wolves!

Saw these Pumas on one of my favorite bloggers sites Oh Joy!, actually it was her husbands post for the guys (Oh-Bob)... bought them for my 14 year old son... now I want a pair for myself (they're unisex)...

They would make a great Mother's Day gift from the kids!

They're so cool... looking like a 2D drawing in 3D

They come in black and white too... Mid Manga, $60

The new back look!

So we went to Chipotle last night for Cinco de Mayo, and so did half the town, with people poised and ready to kill for a parking spot... get real Long Islanders... your life does not depend on ONE meal!!! 

There wasn't anything festive about last night, except for the the line of wolves with tongues waving... just another night of healthy fast food...

 

We ordered one burrito, one rice bowl, and one salad bowl

I go light on the toppings

Brought half home... that's salsa stain not grease

The carnitas (pork) salad bowl is my favorite!

Happy Seis de Mayo!

Muy Sabrosa!

Not me, but how I felt this morning

The only thing muy sabrosa (delicious) about this day is the perfect spring weather in NY... the weather guy said that the nearest cloud was in Iowa!  So my Cinco de Mayo began like this... alarm didn't go off (never remember this happening on a school morning), and my son woke me up at 7:12, the bus comes at 7:15, so that means I gotta drive them... doesn't seem like a big deal, but I already drive them 3 to 4 mornings a week early before school for clubs... Jazz Band, Math Olympiads, Mock Trial, and sometimes extra help when they want to ace a test.  Also today is state testing for Math, so on top of the regular 'I only drive my kids to school' regulars they'll probably be those parents that will let there kids sleep in on this  'Cinco de Mayo'  testing day.  That was some crazy traffic snarl at the middle school with a one lane road backed up and no traffic light turning into the school.  If you hadn't guessed already, one of my pet peeves are moms that don't let there kids take the bus to and from school on a regular basis! I don't get it... please enlighten me as to why this is a good thing...

Wishing this was me!!!

Anyway, come Sunday I'm really gonna soak up all Mother's Day goodness... they usually start with serving me breakfast in bed, although I like to bring it downstairs and eat all together in the kitchen, but it's a great way to start the day!

Cinco de Mayo history

We'll be having Mexican take out tonight (probably Chipotle), a favorite in our house, while my husband works late tonight... I'll save the cerveza for the weekend... Happy 5th of May!

MOMS: A 'Course' of Action

Stay-at-home Moms, I'm sure you've worried about your brain going to mush... and hungered for that intellectual stimulation as you're cleaning up poop for the ______th time...  Now that I have a teen and tween, the only poop I clean is the dogs in the backyard, but when I saw this article in the NY Times (April 18th) it was almost as good as shoe shopping, "The Free and Easy Downloadable Education".  

Great courseware online (my husband has been talking about this day for years now)... professors who are now "celebrities of cyberspace"... courses from Yale, M.I.T. ( a forerunner in free online education), Carnegie Mellon, U.C.L.A... and the courses, everything from "Visualizing Cultures", an award-winning, visually stunning, history course on Japan and China, to Linear Algebra to "Physics 21: Science from Superheroes to Global Warming" (for nonscientists), to French (for that romantic trip you're planning with hubby).  

For those competitive parents and kids, there are intro college prep courses for your high school students too, or other college subjects just for a taste of the college experience.

My first choice... Psych 123: The Psychology, Biology and Politics of Food"!... a series of 23 lectures asking questions like "Should the government be involved in shaping the nation's diet?"

Picky Kid

My 12 year old son is very picky when it comes to salad, he'll only sometimes eat a Caesar salad, and the other 14 year old son loves salads as much as his parents... the only greens the 12 year old likes are string beans, broccoli, peas, cauliflower and zucchini... so I'm thankful for that I guess, since we eat a lot of veggies in our house.   Last night I grilled zucchini and yellow peppers...

 Coat in olive oil before grilling and sprinkle with kosher salt before serving

chicken and hamburgers with dry rubs...

I go to TJMaxx at the start of the grilling season and stock up on different dry rubs for chicken, fish and meats

 and I made this beautiful beet salad, which is so easy and incredibly delicious, great for company too...

Ingredients:
Vacuum packed cooked fresh beets from Trader Joe's
Ripe avocado
Herbed or plain goat cheese
Valencia or Cara Cara orange
Shallot finely chopped
olive oil
Champagne vinegar (I bought at TJMaxx)
Bibb lettuce to serve it on (optional)

Pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil,  and a tablespoon of vinegar on the chopped beets and toss. 

Cut up everything separately and combine on individual plates to serve.  I didn't have any Bibb lettuce last night, but it looks pretty with all the ingredients served on a leaf.


My 14 year old ate his and his brothers' portion of the salad too.