Five Senses Friday

) feeling (
Amazed how fast these little sunflowers sprouted!  They were planted on the 4th of July, and this was only 3 days later.

) seeing (
Shooting stars... one for each of us.

) tasting (
Pork tenderloin with honey butter.  Mmmmm...honey butter.  I wish I could put this on everything.

) hearing (
Dirty Vegas, All or Nothing

) smelling (
I didn't know it was possible to smell something that isn't really there.  Conjuring a scent isn't like closing your eyes and picturing your puppy.  But somehow while I was busy working away in my little windowless office, my mind invented the smell of summer.  Some blend of watermelon, cocoa butter, ocean air and sweet beach grass.  I swear it was real as could be, and it smelled delicious.

Five Senses Friday

{Photo: PRM Photography}

) seeing (
The most amazing moonrise over the water, framed by blue lights on the mast of a sailboat, and as if this perfect summer day deserved a grand finale, an unexpected and perfectly timed fireworks show.

) feeling (
Ecstatic over catching up with so many old friends all in one weekend, AND catching my first wave!
"This is one of those moments you wish you could put in a bottle and save forever."

) tasting (
Juicy cantaloupe and cottage cheese for breakfast.

) smelling (
Fresh, clean sheets

) hearing (
Auditorium...mesmerizing audio-visual experience, and it's on my iPhone.  I'm in trouble!

Happy 4th of July!

Marble Magnets

Last week was my beautiful friend Sommer's birthday.  Sommer is summer—warm, fun, cheery…she's like a burst of sunshine and the kind of person that makes you happy just to be around.  Check out her blog, Creative Produce, and you'll see how cute she is!  Just try not to drool on on your keyboard over those cake balls.  She's super talented and one of the most creative people I know, and I knew she would appreciate a handmade gift.

Since Sommer and the beach go together like summer and the beach, the theme was an easy pick, and I made her a set of pretty magnets with a vintage surf vibe.  The idea for these magnets has been around for a while but they're so easy and fun to make, it's definitely worth sharing again.  I found this tutorial several years ago on not martha and I've made a few sets already.  I always love how they turn out!

All you need are some flat glass marbles, magnets, Mod Podge, glue and assorted pictures, papers, or fabrics or whatever you want to use.  I went online to find some vintage-style surf and beach images.  I found tons.  I even found one that says "Seaside Bakery," which is perfect because she loves to bake!  It's too bad I couldn't fit the part that said "Best Buns on the Beach!"  I went to this digital scrapbooking site, Shabby Princess, that offers full kits you can download for free.  The kits come with patterned papers, embellishments, alphabets and all kinds of digital goodies.  There was so much to play with, I could have easily made 30 magnets.  But who really needs 30 magnets?  It was tough to do, but I narrowed it down to 12 so she wouldn't be opening the gift secretly thinking, "Cute but…who really needs 30 magnets?"  I resized my favorites to fit the marbles and cut out little squares.

These little squares make me happy, I don't know why—they're like mini Polaroid art or something.  I glued the squares to the backs of the marbles using Mod Podge and let them dry overnight.  Once they were dry, I trimmed closely around the edges and used Aleen's craft glue to attach a magnet to the back of each one.

I like to package them in metal tins, 'cuz hi, they're magnetic.  I found this one at Michael's and dressed up in a beachy bow.  Isn't it cute??

I hope you like your magnets, Sommer!  Happy Surf-day, I mean Burf-day!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Memorial Day weekend... the unofficial start of Summer, and what more American way to spend it than at a Yankees game?  For my Hero's birthday, we planned a vacation to New York and I surprised him with tickets to the game.  It was awesome!  I was going to just stick the tickets in his birthday card, but I thought it would be more special if I made him one instead.

I went online and found all kinds of images to use.  The Life photo archive is a great resource for every kind of historical photo you can think of.

The photo of the field on the inside of the card is actually the view from the seats we'd be in!  I got it from the Yankees site.  Of course, this guy wasn't there the day they took that picture...

This guy must have been the biggest Yankees fan I've ever seen...literally!  Seriously, look at his friend next to him, normal size dude, and there's GIANT man.  Thank God he moved finally.

I wish I would have been able to take some pictures of the new stadium, but we got delayed on the train (good old LIRR) and we didn't get there till the 3rd inning, so we didn't get to walk around too much.  We had a great time though, and I got to eat the best pretzel I might have ever had.  I can't tell you how thrilled we were just to be home in NY, and to be there with the Yankees on his birthday??  Awesomeness.

Five Senses Friday

) hearing (
To the Sea, new Jack Johnson.  From the Clouds is instant happiness.

) feeling (
The difference between New York hot and Florida hot.

) tasting (
Chicken calypso with Island Peas and Rice (I wish I took a picture of it!), and Carvel cake for dessert.

) smelling (
Sweet Pea Body Splash I totally forgot I had.

) seeing (
This quote, from two separate friends on the same day (think someone's trying to tell me something?)
"If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything." ~Win Borden

Five Senses Friday

I was inspired by this idea on one of my favorite blogs, Pink of Perfection (and also on Domestic Foolery, Abby Try Again and lots of others).  I generally have a tough time remembering to "be present."  Whether I'm making mental to-do lists, walking down memory lane, or distracted with games on my iPhone, my mind is usually elsewhere while I go about my business.  I think this is a sweet and gentle way to practice being more connected to the moment, and to appreciate the details that make life beautiful. 

Savored moments from my week...

) smelling ( 
Freshly opened vanilla nut coffee, at 10:00 on a Friday night.  I never do this.

) hearing ( 
Three Days Grace cover of Wicked Game

) tasting ( 
Homemade fritelle - flat, panfried dough, kind of like pita with a hole in the middle. (How is this the first time my dad's ever made these for me??)

) feeling ( 
Thrilled and grateful that a small gesture brought a lot of joy to a special friend of mine. 

) seeing ( 
Some awesome pictures by an old friend, who I had no idea was a photographer.

Summer Kickoff

The start of summer always reminds me of carefree days and lazy afternoons.  Endless weekends spent at the beach with a cooler, a sheet, good friends, and maybe a guitar.  It didn't require a big, complicated plan or a lot of money, and it didn't really matter if it was Wednesday or Saturday; we were just living for fun and freedom.  Wouldn't it be nice if we could still look forward to summer break every year?  We work hard, we deserve it!  Maybe I'll suggest it on Obama's facebook.

Sometimes it's tricky to find opportunities to be spontaneous like that, as busy as we all are between work schedules, softball games, or just the daily obligations of life.   But if you're like us, and you're lucky enough to have neighbors who make great friends, it doesn't take much to turn a plain-old Saturday into a good-old, carefree summer day.  Instead of spending the day sitting in our respective houses "doing nothing," we decided we should throw a barbecue together at a nearby park.  (You knew food was coming, right?  When a bunch of Italians find themselves with nothing to do, they cook!  And usually enough for an army.)

It was as easy as it gets; we basically used what we were going to make for dinner anyway.  They had ribs and chicken in the fridge, and we had steaks.  She made a killer potato salad, and I made one of my favorite pastas from Martha's Everyday Food (the first ever issue, now falling apart and speckled with oil—the sign of a well-loved cookbook).  It's not really a pasta salad, but I think it's just as good served cool, and I never pass up the chance to make it.  Super easy.

I love it when things just come together like that.  It was an awesome way to spend an afternoon and a nice change of pace from the regular routine.  Crystal Light and vodka was the bomb-diggity, too.  No, really.  Amazingly good, in a reeally dangerous way.

Tomato and olive penne

Salt and pepper
1 pound penne or other short pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2/3 pound cherry tomatoes (2 cups), halved or quartered
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the penne according to package instructions until al dente, about 13 minutes. Drain.

2.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until just golden, about 1 minute. Add the cherry tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring, until tomato juices run, about 3 minutes.

3.  Add to penne, along with olives, parsley, and 1/4 cup parmesan and toss to combine. Serve with more cheese if desired.

YUM!