Hudson Valley Hotspots

A couple weekends ago my friend Chelsea (now living in San Francisco) came up to visit us in Beacon. We only had a couple days to fit in all the sites, but managed to hit all the hot spots...even a quickie visit to DIA: Beacon before we treated ourselves to a trip to Target.

What visit would be complete without a trip to Southern Dutchess Bowl?

Walkway Over the Hudson - 212 ft in the air.

Guess who's tired?  This guy!

2010 Beacon Barks Dog Parade

This weekend was the 4th annual Beacon Barks dog parade.  Main Street was shut down for several hours for the parade and so people could wander around with their dogs and check out the vendors set up along the road.   It was insane how many dogs were at the parade...I'm guessing people came from other towns? 

Not-so-coincidentally, this was also the weekend my parents came to visit with Phoebe and Zeke.  They liked being at the parade for a little while and when they got tired we took them "swimming" (P & Z think swimming means sitting in the water wearing their leashes).

Zeke enjoying a snack.

Phoebe wondering why people think Zeke is cuter than her.

Wicked Mint on Main Street

Wicked Mint pillows and dishtowels are now being sold in Beacon, NY at the über cute shop, Clay, Wood & Cotton located right on Main Street next to Bank Sq. coffee.

Be sure to stop by the shop the next time you're in the Hudson Valley!  Clay, Cotton & Wood also hosts lots of classes, workshops & events.

We Love a Gala

Last night I went to the LOVE Benefit,  WET Productions' annual gala.  It was AWESOME.  I don't know what was my favorite part...the space (Angel Orensanz Foundation), the food, the short plays, or all the amazing people in the room.  Sasha and Victoria know how to throw an amazing party.  (And lots of love to Sasha who has a baby on the way any day now!)

Sasha and Victoria sit on stage as Nora Ephron presents and award to Linda Obst

Oh, I know what was my favorite part!  Taking photos in front of the step & repeat and pretending that we're Real Housewives of NYC.

Piper and her mom looking fabulous.

Colleen & Piper acting casual

Giving Jill Zarin, Bethenny Frankel & Kelly Bensimon a run for their money.

Veggies on the Horizon

I have a massive layer of rock about 6 inches under the grass.  I think it's cause my town is at the bottom of a mountain.  Either that or there is an ancient burial ground in my back yard. I've given up trying to work my way through the rocks and for the vegetable garden I built a raised bed.

This rhubarb has been in the family for years.  Seriously.  My grandmother grew it along the house for the longest time. When my grandparents passed away, and my aunt & uncle moved into the house, my uncle moved the plants to a more spacious location and they grew like crazy.  I took a cluster of rhubarb from my uncle's patch and planted it by my driveway.

On March 21st it looked like this:

On April 14th it looked like this.  It's creepy.  I think I hear her calling me at night.  Feed me, Ry-Ry, feeeeed me!

A Weekend of Homeownership

This weekend Abe and I got to hang out and do things around the house & yard, which is something I've been dying to do for months.

Even Paws got to step outside, which is a huge deal for all of us - he has been an indoor cat for 9 years!

This is literally a shot of his first steps onto the front porch.  His face is priceless.

Well, he's still an indoor cat and will never actually be allowed to roam free, but a hang out sesh on the porch was enough excitement to knock him out.

Nevada

I've been really into time-lapse videos lately.  A friend of a friend of a friend made a video of  their 2-year old's birthday party and it was the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

I just found this time-lapse video of an artist painting and thought it was really cool...plus I was just in Nevada so that was kind of neat too.


Nevada from robertjosiah on Vimeo.
2009–10, acrylic on linen, 54 x 120 in., many hours.

music: "Build Voice" by Dan Deacon



More info at http://robertjosiah.net

Congratulations to Margot & Matt!!!

This weekend Matt proposed to Margot!!!  This was a day we've all been waiting for since they magically found each other 6 years ago.   I couldn't be more excited for them, and it makes me so happy to see them so happy.



Last night they hosted an engagement party at their apartment.  I forgot my camera, but I think my iPhone was still able to capture the happiness.

I'm also really loving that me, Colleen & Margot are all engaged at the same time.  It's so awesome!!!

DIY: Spring Wreath

I got a grapevine wreath with fake berries on clearance at Lowe's back in January.

Now that winter is over I figured it was time to hang something more spring-like, but I don't really want a collection of wreaths.  My mom always has a wreath hanging on the porch and she adds silk flowers and bows to change with the season. I figured mine was simple enough to do the same.

This afternoon I found a broken dogwood branch hanging from a tree.  It was kind of sad that it was broken off the main tree, but still managed to blossom.

I decided to take it home with me and use it to spruce up my wreath.

What Happens In Vegas....Uh, Ends Up on My Blog

Brain. Not. Working.

I just got back from a 4 day trip to Las Vegas for my best friend Leah's bachelorette party. This was my first trip to Vegas and thanks to Leah and her friends it ended up being an insane trip.  Leah lives in LA so we don't see each other very often and this was a much needed quality time to spend together.

Donny and Marie like to keep an eye on The Strip.

We were lucky that a couple of her friends had crazy hook-ups and were able to get us a massive suite at Planet Hollywood, VIP service at the clubs, and dinners at Nobu and Enoteca San Marco.  I am still wrapping my head around all the fun we had as we pranced around like rock stars.

Our suite - we also had 2 adjoining bedrooms.  We trashed the place minute within the hour.

Our view from the suite.

Our second course at Nobu - toro with white asparagus, truffles and olive oil & balsamic

Saturday night we went to Blush at the Wynn and danced for hours.

There was at pin-up girl contest at Blush.

Tao Beach at The Venetian.

Our table at Prive at Planet Hollywood - this probably explains why my brain is mush.