Friday's Three Post #6: Holly Jolly Fun on it Way!

Wondering through Salem, MA my friends and I started chatting about our favorite holidays in order of top three. For all of them Halloween was right up there, but not me! I love Christmas!!! I love winter and Christmas lands right smack in that season. So much that I am listening to Christmas music on my vinyl record player as I am writing this post. The holiday last so long and has so many joys to it. I'm sure you of are thinking that I just love Christmas because the presents but actually I would prefer a Christmas without them.

I love the holiday because it is such a family and friend centered holiday with turkey, pies and candy. I promise you that this post is not going to be a rant why Christmas is the best. We all know that is true already! But with the festive date poking its glittery smile right around the corner of Hallow's Eve in every store I thought I would put up my favorite things to do during the Holiday to be sure to plan for them!

1. Christmas Lights- Who doesn't love bright shiny colorful Christmas lights??? Ok, the Grinch, but even he comes around. Grab some snacks this December, tune into the local holiday radio station and cruise with the family checking out the lights in your neighborhood. I remember being little with my mom, dad and grandmother and driving around my hometown to find the best lights. Its also inexpensive treat for the whole family. There are some extra-spectacular Christmas Lights you can check out all over New England and New York. These sometimes cost a small fee but it usually goes to a charity. One of my favorites is Lights on the Lake in the Syracuse, NY area. LaSalette in Attleboro, MA and Millis Wonderland in Millis, MA are another two I found out about from coworkers and I plan to check them out!

2. Making Cookies- Pretty much any holiday means food for me. I LOVE to eat! Seriously, ask any of my friends. Christmas isn't any different. And what is my favorite of goodies on this cheery holiday you wonder? Molasses and Sugar Cookies, Of Course! This has been a favorite for me ever since I was a kid. I still remember the weekends leading up to Christmas while my dad was out hunting, my mother and I would hold ourselves up in the kitchen making cookies to package into tins for the season. This was one of the few times of the year we would set aside the good ol' chocolate chip recipe for must trickier and time intensive recipes like the Molasses cookies. This year I'm thinking a girls bake night is in order!

3. Extended Family Games Night- I may be an only child but I come from two large families. My dad is one of ten kids and my mom one of eight. As you can imagine there are a lot of aunts, uncles and cousins around on Christmas. After eating we would often pull out the games we received for gifts or fun group games that are stored away for special occasions. My favorite of games is Catch Phrase, we all end up laughing and joking the whole time. Its such a great way to enjoy each others company and the kids can play too. My mom always ends up playing for both teams because she can't stop herself from wanting to help everyone. But that is what makes her so damn special!

~Happy Friday~

Lost Adventure #9: Spooktacular Saturday in Salem

This past weekend I orchestrated a trip to witchy Salem, MA for two of my friends who absolutely love Halloween and the history that Salem provides. Four brave souls myself included endured the Saturday morning traffic into downtown Salem, MA.  Here are some photos of our adventure.

The four maiden's began their voyage at the dark and dingy Museum.
It is here where they learned of the witches.

On the way to the next haunt the three ladies stopped for a moment to admire an "old old wooden ship". 

After disheartening news that they would have an hour or so to ponder, the ladies found them caught in the devil's spell at the Witch's Brew Cafe.

The devil drink in there bellies, they stepped back in time and wondered straight into Nathaniel Hawthorne's Birth Place.

Once exiting the home the found it was only a few steps away to the House of Seven Gables. The oldest Mansion in the "new world". 

What would be a visit to Salem, MA without a little fright...

And a few buried witches....

and of course "Bewitching Magic".

~ Happy Halloween!!! ~

Lost Adventure #8: Return to Newport

This post is a little slow coming and I apologize for that. I have been super busy with a variety of grown up responsibilities. (Which I really wish I could be a kid again because it all gets to be a bit much when I'm handling it all alone.)  Butttt anywhoo!

As I mentioned in my post Creative Craft #7: Repairing Vinyl Memories, one of my best friends came down to visit me recently. I debated where to take her for about two weeks prior to her visit and settled on Newport, RI. I know I have posted about Newport before and I am posting again because I absolutely love this town. My friend Michelle and I did many of the same things that my boyfriend and I did but with many more pictures and tangents.

Once again, we started out with the Newport Cliff Walk but this time we went the opposite direction and headed toward the beach! Walking in the opposite direction was quite gorgeous. We saw less houses and many locations for impromptu photo-shoots. At one point we wandered down on some rocks and just sat there chatting away for a while catching up on old times.

After our old lady stroll, we decided to be creeps and cruise around Newport looking at the mansions along the ocean. I suppose we aren't that creepy seeing there are actual tours given of many of these properties.  The weather was perfect for the drive, windows down and our hair blowing in the breeze, as we were like two church ladies on Sunday. It was much fun to simply point the car in a direction but with no real destination other than following the coast line. We did eventually find our way back into town after almost an hour of ooooohhhing and ahhhhhhing numerous houses that we most likely will never own.

Parking, the usual scavenger hunt that it is in New England, was less than appealing but after another 20 minutes we found a good spot in a parking garage. After stowing our needless items in the car we set off to aimlessly wander some more. As we bumbled and stumbled we found a historical burying ground tucked away on a side street amongst a bunch of houses. It being daylight I was braver than normal to check it out. After a few quick shots we were on our way again.

Our final stop in Newport was of course, Buskers, my favorite restaurant with my favorite waitress Krista! There are more than just her that work there but every time I go there I am lucky enough to get her. She is a fabulous waitress and now remembers me quite well! :) A delicious meal of Beef Stew and Lobster mac, sent us on our way home, but not before catching a shot of the sunset on the Newport Coastline.

One fantastic weekend it was with one of my best friends! I hope she visits again soon!!!!

Finally Friday #6: Inspiring Art

I love art. Painting, drawing, sculpting, crafting, sewing pretty much anyway I can get it. I believe this runs in my family as my dad is a skilled painter and my mother has a knack for holiday crafts. My creative side has always been there and always will be there but along my path in life there have been certain pieces of artwork that I have found inspiring along with most everybody else in the world.

I will be honest this was probably the hardest top three post I have done yet. Not to come up with choices but to prune them down to three. There are numerous pieces of amazing skill and choosing favorites feels as unfair as picking a favorite child.

1. Water Lilies by Claude Monet 1916-1919

This gorgeous piece of impressionist artwork has always caught my eye ever since I was a young child. Out of all the art movements this one was my absolutely favorite. I love the contrast of the warm and cool colors that create a feeling of relaxation. From the weeping willows hanging in the forefront to the bright green lily pads in the distance, I can't help but feel like sitting on a cool breezy river bank under a tree in the middle of the middle of a hot summer's day. This piece of artwork inspired a few of my own projects years ago as I attempted to replicate the softness of the pink water lilies with tissue paper pop art.

2. The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh 1889

I still remember the first time I saw this painting as if it was yesterday. I had stayed after school to work on a painting of a horse for my 7th grade art class. At the time I was what one could call "obsessed" with horses and was flipping through a book of famous artwork that my teacher had given me to browse, pretty sure to possibly curb my horse fever. I feel like now is a good time to mention that ever since 1st grade my teacher Mrs.Lacrosse and I were convinced I would attend a Fine Arts School  after High School and so I invested many additional hours in the sanctuary of the art room developing my skills further.  As I sat flipping through page after page of remarkable pieces of art history, this one piece stopped me. I fell in love with the "perfect starry night" where this little quaint town sat at the base of these gentle rolling hills. The brush strokes swirl you around the painting softly and slowly stopping briefly at each star as if you are actually gazing at the night's sky. This will always be a favorite of mine and is easy to find at many poster fairs! 

3. Carcass of Beef by Chaim Soutine 1924

This painting is the inspiration around the most recent of my own series of paintings. The contrast of the complementary red and greens as well as the blue and oranges makes this a vibrant and raw piece. As always a diagonal composition makes it an interesting painting to admire but technical attributes aside, I love this piece. The exposed feeling evoked by this painting is the emotion that inspired my own. This painting's vivid and varying colors help make it one of my favorite three!

*The Following links from Wikipaintings.org are where I found the images above:

Water Lilies-http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/claude-monet/water-lilies-1919-1
The Starry Night-http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/vincent-van-gogh/the-starry-night-1889
Carcass of Beef- http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/chaim-soutine/carcass-of-beef#close

Creative Crafty #8: Painting Again

Earlier this week I got the itch to work on a series of paintings I started a couple months ago. I started with the one from back in June of the female torso. As I had mentioned then my inspiration was "Carcass of Beef" by Soutine. My original plan was to make a series of three paintings of different angles and positions of the female body. As most of my projects go, I finished the first and didn't like the idea anymore.

I did hang the first painting on the wall though and would occasionally ponder the possibilities for it. This past weekend my boyfriend was looking at it and we began discussing the different directions I could go. By the end of our chat I decide I would do a male torso to compliment the female. I wasn't sure I liked the idea at first but after starting to sketch the idea on the canvas I slowly fell in love with the idea.

Torso of Man -  October 2012

I tend to need images to draw from but not necessarily the exact image. I believe the engineering part of my mind, my left brain, is to blame for this because it wants things to be "accurate". True to character I grabbed my calender of  rugby men and googled some images of the muscle structure of man. Cranking some Bing Crosby on the record player I got my right brain on and zoned. Drawing and re-drawing multiple times until i developed the basic structure and layout that I wanted for my new painting.

First Encounters  - 2012

I wanted the two paintings to be a pair so I stayed with a similar color scheme but differing the second slightly. I had intentions of making the male torso more of an orange tone but in my dimly lit loft I did not succeed in this. Yet I am still happy with the result. The two paintings together are a symbol of the feelings of the first date or meeting. That raw attraction or spark mixed with self consciousness that makes you feel exposed. My hopes is for the final painting to be of the two embracing but I am not yet sure how.

Tasty Bakes #5: "Mom's Swedish Meatballs"

My boyfriend and I are in a long distance relationship which I often reference. This weekend was his turn to come visit and instead of our usual running around we decided to stay at home. This was the best decision we ever have made. It was the most perfect weekend from the dancing to Dean Martin on vinyl, to seeing the movie Hotel Transylvania and getting the chance to spend some time in the kitchen together. Typically, when we are together we eat out because we don't have the time or the means to cook for ourselves. So this time I asked him what his favorite dish was and I would cook it for him. His response: "Swedish Meatballs the way mom makes them. Nobody makes them like her."

Well, me being the fiery and stubborn redhead that I am, took this as a challenge. On his request I sent his mother a quick email asking for her recipe  It is here in I found out why nobody can make it like mom. Her "recipe" as she put it, is really just throwing it together. It's funny how moms have a way of doing that where it always comes out perfect. Seeing as I accept I can't and never will be able to make them exactly  like mom, nor do I want to, I early on made the decision to use her "recipe" as only a guideline as what to do.

Needless to say, my Swedish meatballs did not taste like "mom's" but they were a huge hit regardless. After eating dinner Saturday night we had a few leftovers but not long. Sure enough, Sunday he ate them all on me. I couldn't be too upset though because I really appreciated the compliment on my cooking considering it was my first attempt at making any type of meatballs and I had some big shoes to fill.

Here is the recipe I came up with using my boyfriend's mother's recipe as a guideline. I cut her recipe in half so this one is good for two people with some left overs.

Ingredients

-1 lbs of Hamburger
-1 eggs
-1/3 cup of garlic and herb bread crumbs
-1/4 Tsp.Salt
-1/4 Tsp. Pepper
-2 cubes of beef bullion
-1/2 Flour
-Water

Mix together the hamburger, egg, bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a bowl. This was the fun part for me. I mixed it all together then rolled into balls about 1.5" wide. This was fun to have my boyfriend in the kitchen because he helped. Once all the meatballs are made, brown them in a large pan until they are cooked all the way through.

Note: Make sure you use a large enough pan to later have room for making the sauce with it.

Next drain the grease out of the pan. I really don't like grease at all so I actually remove all the meatballs from the pan and then dispose of the grease. Once that has happened return the meatballs to the pan and add 1 cup of water and simmer. After about 5-10 minutes of simmering some of the water should cook off and add another 1 cup of water and the 2 cubes of beef bullion.

Let the water, cubes and meatballs simmer down for about 5 minutes. At this time add 1/2 cup of flour and another 1/4 cup of water and stir. This will be lumpy at first but stir and let cook and it should thicken to a gravy. This part is somewhat by eye depending on your preference.

Mixing in the flour and water.

Serve them over mashed potatoes. My mother's secret to this is to use OreIda's frozen bag of potatoes. They taste just like full fledged homemade mashed potatoes but they are so much easier!

Super quick and easy!

It makes it easy to do after spending so long on the main dish. I cook them as directed on the package I added Cabot Seriously Sharp Shredded Cheese. This was the perfect combination. You could swap out the mashed potatoes for noodles I'm sure but I haven't tried this yet.

Of course we had to use the festive fall plates I found at Rite-Aid.

Hope you all enjoy as much as we did!

Finally Friday #5: My Favorite "Good For You" Snacks

In my old age of 23 I have noticed that my body isn't fond of the unhealthy snack choices that I used to make. My favorite choice of these being what I called "Easy Nachos", which are simply a nacho dipped in salsa with spray cheese swirled on top. As tasty as "Easy Nachos" are, I wouldn't rank them up there with the best health munchies nor would I recommend them to anyone unless you are looking for a heart attack. My point, I am a lazy eater and eat what I think tastes good.

Much like everyone else I prefer food with flavor, which means copious amounts of salt, sugar and butter!... Or so I thought. In an attempt to think about what I am eating I have tried purchasing items at the grocery store that are not dripping in grease or covered in sugar. This is a difficult feat seeing I am drawn to them. That combined with my Martha Stewart ways, I found a few easy snack choices that don't taste like eating cardboard. Here are my current munchies that are yummy in my tummy with out building bulge. 

1. Homemade Apple Chips-I have posted my recipe for this yummy snack before, but it is pretty simple. Just slice up an apple or two put a little cinnamon and sugar on them and bake. The tastiest apple for this I have found so far is the Winesap. It is a hearty apple with a sweet but tart flavor that is also great for baking into a pie. This is also a perfect snack for the season and many orchards allow you to go pick your own this time of year. Which is also good exercise and a fun girls day!

Holmberg Orchard and Winery in Connecticut where I picked all my apples!

2. Pita Chips and Sweet Roasted Red Peppers- I found this while strolling through the deli section at my local market. I personally love hummus but typically eat it with pretzels. I have been getting rather sick of the combination and low and behold next to the varieties of hummus there were these bags of Pita chips. I decided to take a chance on them and loved them!!! The chips were Parmesan, Garlic and Herb which alone are pretty tasty but combined with the sweet roasted red pepper hummus its even better. And the best part only 185 Calories a serving and it really fills you up!

3. Chocolate Covered Strawberries- I'm sure you are thinking what is she talking about? According to livestrong.com one medium sized strawberry is only 60 calories. I love chocolate covered strawberries and they are a quick and easy snack to whip together. My recommendation, when you come home with the package of strawberries make them then. Also if you have a problem eating too many of them, like I do, help yourself with portion control by using sandwich baggies and putting only 3 per bag. I would consider any snack under 200 calories to be sufficient.

Hope you all love these snacks as much as I do!  Enjoy your Weekend!!!

Special Edition: Inspirational and Motivational Friends!

This past weekend I had to get up at the crack of dawn each morning. All of my friends and family know that I am NOT a morning person and I only do this if absolutely necessary.

Well lucky for me, I have some crazy friends. On Saturday morning my friend Meg participated in her very first cross-fit challenge. Not only that, she was in the RX or prescribed category and it was a two day competition in Providence, RI! For those who are not familiar cross-fit is the sport of fitness. To be an athlete and perform in this type of competition involves immense commitment and dedication. Training for a competition involves eating right and making good health choices everyday.  I want to give a shout out to Meg for her hard work in preparing for this type of competition and good luck moving forward into your next one! You are a beast! :)

On Sunday morning, my two other friends were running in the Smuttynose Half marathon in Hampton Beach, NH. For my one friend, Kirby, this was her first half marathon. Kirby trained for months leading up to this event eating right and running everyday. Along side of her she had our friend, Lauren, a veteran to running and races much like this. A true friendship, supporting each other through training and right down to the last 3 miles encouraging each other on. I managed to snap a picture of these two remarkable ladies only a short distance from the finish line still with a smile on their faces...kinda.

Almost there!!! 

I am so proud of these two ladies for completing the half marathon without ever having to stop to walk once! They finished in good time and have motivated me to start working out and find a love like these two have found with running.  

~Congrats Kirby and Lauren on the Smuttynose Half- Marathon and Meg on your first Cross-fit Competition!!!~ 

~I'm so proud and I love you guys!!!~ 

Finally Friday #4: My Top 3 Mall Stops!

I am a girl. I LOVE shopping. I can't help it. Now don't get me wrong I don't spend over my budget, but if there is a wicked cute top or shoes, I probably am going to buy it. Just like every other girl though I have my favorite stores that I have to go to anytime I go to the mall. So here it is my top three "go-tos" at the mall:

1. Victoria Secret- Ok, well with this one I'm pretty much an addict. I have posted about it before and here I am again. I swear by Victoria and her lack of secret! All of my bras and panties come straight from this store. Although a little tip, wait for the 7 for $26 sale which happens about 4 times a year. This is the best time to buy undies. This sale can also join up with the sales promotion in November where if you buy anything you receive a mystery card worth at least $10 to spend in December. Also thanks to a friend I am now also hooked on the yoga wear which is unbelievably comfy. I try to always use coupons and shop only when they have deals because it makes it all more affordable. :) Still my Number One!!!

Yoga Pants and Half-Zip Pull Over - VS Pink Yoga Collection

2. American Eagle- I am now 23, a working engineer and have been shopping at this store since middle school. Once again I almost never shop the full priced racks but even if you did you can still find adorably affordable clothing. My favorite is their jeans, as an athletic build their jeans fit my muscular thighs without making me feel like I'm stuffing sausage into a casing. They have the perfect amount of stretch while still maintaining a structure that accents my best features. I have moved around frequently over the last few years and this is one store that truly reflects its area. For example, when I shopped American Eagle in Vermont I was able to find many cute feminine cut flannels. When shopping in the Boston, MA area I find more skinny jeans, less flannel and more "chic" relaxed type clothing.  Regardless you can always find at least one staple for your wardrobe!

AE Black Skinny Jeans and Sleeveless Button-Up from H&M

3. H&M- This is a fairly new one added to my list but during my last trip I scored big for cheap here. It is a store that provides trendy clothing at, once again, affordable price. I have been really into chiffon and similar materials. I love the way they flow and are comfortable to wear while being office appropriate. I will admit it is directed toward the young crowd ( I suppose that means me. Ha!) So hemlines are on the short side but with proper accessories it can transform to be appropriate! Personally, I try to keep it classy so pair a short skirt with a blazer or cardigan is definitely recommended.

Sleeveless Button-Up Chiffon Dress from H&M. I usually Pair this with a Black blazer also from H&M

Enjoy the rest of your week!!! Sorry this is an old Friday Post that never made it to publish. 

Creative Crafty #7: Repairing Vinyl Memories

For those that truly know me, know I am a huge sucker for old things! The history that they hold and the different people that have came in contact with them holds such high sentimental value for me. For example most recently I missed listening to vinyl records like I used to do with my dad when I was little. To soothe my soul  I asked my parents for a spare record player they might have when I went home. My dad pulled out his, from the 70's old, record player that had been residing in our garage for just about 15 years.

I was so excited to bring it home even though I did not have the speakers for it and was determined to find a solution for this problem. As my ADHD is terrible sometimes, I of course became distracted and had simply set it aside. This was until one of my best friends from home came to visit! Her and I have built our fair share of frank-inventions, including a TV antenna, over the years so we decided this would be our project for the weekend. 

After first going to Best Buy in an attempt to find the appropriate cord that would allow me to plug my computer speakers into the record player, we found ourselves at Radioshack. Unfortunately, I had not looked close enough at the record player and had the wrong information. After the second trip to Radioshack we found the correct cord configuration and hooked up the speakers just to find that the turn table or platter wouldn't even spin now. 

This was the problem why the platter didn't spin.

This gave me a excellent reason to pull my tool box out of the closet and to slowly take apart the record player to better diagnose what was wrong. We slowly took off the back and different components apart in an attempt to reach the primary source of our issue. The two of us being the organized, sligtly OCD, minds that we are carefully placed the pieces aside including the screws and labeled them with sticky notes. This way there would be no "left over" pieces when putting the whole machine back together. 

Everything neatly labeled! 

One late night shopping trip to Walmart later, we greased the parts that needed greasing, and un-greased the parts that we had greased and realized we shouldn't. Excitedly put it all back together set it up and turned it on. Buttt, instead of happy pleasant music we heard demon devil music coming form the speakers... The platter was now dipping as it spun causing the record to catch  and slow. At this point it was almost 1 am and even though  we had a better understanding of how a vinyl record player worked, we decided to retire our repair hats for a couple beers on the couch.  

~A shout out to one of my best friend Michelle!!! Love you girl!~

**Update** 

This record player still sits on my dining room table waiting to be completely repaired. I have returned home once again and now have another old portable record player that works perfect ! Frank Sinatra and Vinyl Records shall live forever! :)