a city life

it has been a while, i know.
zach and I were lucky enough to enjoy a WHOLE week in new york city and although a week long vacation is a-mazing it has taken me a WHOLE week to catch up.
none the less, lets talk about new york!
we had the most amazing time. because of the generosity of some extended family friends we were able to 'live' in the city instead of simply vacation there. we arrived to a small but overly adequate apartment in the lower east side of manhattan where we were greeted by two precious kitties, a detailed and personally written guide to the neighborhood & city, five flights of stairs, sunny weather, and limitless possibilities. most other vacations are confined by the pressure of time limits, but this one was long enough to eliminate the desire to cram everything into each day. after referencing 'miranda's guide to nyc' and a few other published guides we made an agenda which consisted of one 'must do' a day. but, in general, we woke up without an alarm clock, went walking for hours, had mid afternoon naps, ate really good food, drank expensive beer, laughed lots, saw lots, and took lots of pictures.
here are a few of the highlights:
walking the brooklyn bridge

having drinks at this "new to us" bar

moseying around chelsea market, and union square,


and taking the ferry to the statue of liberty and ellis island

but most of all - spending time relaxing. together.


oh, and after extensive testing and examination - we still can't decide if pinkberry or red mango is better.

always on my mind

i sure wish real money was as easy to come by as monopoly money. i have so many ideas for my house and so few dollars to spend on them. i have a small notebook in my purse where i write down ideas as they come to me. the only problem with this little idea book is the fact that there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to it. i have notes about the house, work, gifts, food, you name it, all stuffed onto a few pages in a small notebook. SO, i have decided to prioritize.
lets talk house:
the first area in need of improvement is my dining room. we spend very little time in this room, but its bare walls are always on my mind. although we do have some great pieces; my parents passed down chandelier and buffet, a new and large table, and a painting passed to us via my grandparents, much of the space (wall space in particular) is bare. So here are some ideas i have for whenever my "home improvement savings account" somehow acquires moolah.
I have thought of mirror backing old shutters to hang on the wall

picture via

or displaying beautiful plates/china on the walls


design by and painting by

or finding large sconces of some sort.


picture via

other rooms on my "top priority list"

master bath -looking for a large piece of framed photography that takes my breath away.

patio - longing to add a cover of lattice and vines and hanging lanterns, like this:

patio design by new york architect SchappacherWhite Ltd.

we should start playing the lottery, to increase our chances of becoming rich...
because i haven't even let myself begin to think of ideas for our upstairs...