Valentine's Day

Since Kane was out of town this weekend, I made Valentine's Day plans with Heather J. She played hostess and made amazing lasagna and stuffed mushrooms!

It was a fun night in Brooklyn. I always say this, but I really do need to venture out to Brooklyn more often!

Upper West Side Flea Market

I visited the Upper West Side Flea Market this morning. It was the first flea market I've been to since I moved here 2-1/2 years ago! It was a nice way to spend a brisk (read: freezing cold) morning! Notice the huge piles of snow all around the parking lot.

I have to say that flea markets in NYC are completely different from flea markets in the south! I was expecting to dig through haphazard piles of VHS tapes and old computer parts, racks of old clothes and tables of miscellanious junk to find the good stuff. But here the vendors pretty much know what the good stuff is and they've edited the selection for you. This is good because you're more likely to find something really great, except that it's way harder to find a great deal!

My favorite vendor today was selling metal ceiling tiles that have been salvaged from old NYC buildings. They sell them individually as is, and they also make mirrors from them which are absolutely gorgeous. Most of them have the original paint colors on them which I think is awesome. Can't you see these colored tiles hanging on my lavender wall?

In the picture below you can see all of the different ceiling tile mirrors leaning against the fence.

There were booths specializing in teas and spices, pickels and olives, area carpets and vintage fur coats. I'll definitely visit again. Maybe when it's warmer...

Finished it!

I finally finished the puzzle! No more puzzles for as long as we live in this little place! It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we don't have a place to hide them away while we work on them. So, the puzzle had to sit on the table in the middle of the apartment until we finished it which drove me crazy!! Live and learn.

MOM and POPcorn Co.

After posting about Mom's Valentine's Day package that included a bag of cinnamon popcorn, I think that I need to elaborate on how great Mom and Popcorn Co. is. I instantly fell in love with the place when I walked in the door. Then I tasted the popcorn and now I'm a fan for life!

Located in historic downtown McKinney, TX, Mom and Popcorn is an old-fashioned candy store selling every kind of nostalgic candy that you can imagine, home-made fudge, current candy and most importantly....45 different flavors of fresh popcorn! You can get everything from dill pickle and tomato basil, to grape and watermelon, to loaded baked potato! Not to mention cinnamon, my favorite.

Luckily, since not everyone lives near McKinney, TX, they ship their goodies world-wide! They will ship everything from small bags of popcorn to 6-gallon tubs of candies! So, give them a call or check out their website. I love this place!!

Burrito Time

Image from Chipotle.com.

Well, I worked about a thousand hours today. Or at least that's what it felt like after the 10th hour! So, the remedy for that was to stop at Chipotle for dinner on my way home. I highly recommend you go there and see what I'm talking about the next time you are in an 'I'm so exhausted and starving' kind of mood.

The following is the absolute best way to order their burrito:

Cilanto lime rice
Steak
(no beans) ugh
Spicy chile corn salsa
Sour cream
Cheese
Lettuce

You cannot go wrong with that. It is too good!

Sketches from the Good Old Days

Today I opened up some files on an old flash drive that I hadn't looked at since college. I had forgotten about some of the great little furniture sketches we did! I loved rendering in college. One of these days I'd love to have a job where I get to sketch for client's projects! But, unfortunately not very many design firms provide that service anymore because it is too expensive and time consuming. 

Sketches by Kendall Simmons.

Valentine's Day Package!!

Thanks Mom for the great Valentine's Day package! I love getting craft goodies! I can't wait to use the patterns in my new embroidery book. Kane can't wait to use the Subway giftcard on some sandwiches!

But, the best part of the package is the cinnamon popcorn from Mom & Popcorn in McKinney, TX. It is AMAZING!

Appropriate Interior

This seems to be an appropriate interior shot today. We are in the early stages of a blizzard. We have about 2 inches of snow on the ground now. They are forecasting 12-18 inches by tonight! It's time for me to venture out into the storm to go to work. Wish me luck!

Interior by S. R. Gambrel.

Spencer Morgan Designs

Photo by Amy Free Photography.

Sometimes it can be difficult to find the right jewelry for the right occasion. I personally have a hard time because I'm allergic to most metals that costume jewelry is made of. Everyone should check out Spencer Morgan Designs. Rebecca started the company when she moved to North Carolina so that her husband could attend business school. Since then, her business has really taken off. She uses vintage and new materials to create awesome designs. She also makes custom jewelry to order, and custom wedding jewelry.

These are a few of my favorite pieces from her website.

Photos from Spencer Morgan Designs.

She has several pieces that are gold (so I can actually wear them without having an allergic reaction!) and did I mention that they are really affordable? Be sure to check it out!

Turquoise Sofas

I've been seeing these sofas everywhere. It's very bold to buy a turquoise sofa. You have to be a brave soul. I love it!

Room by Frank Roop.

Unknown source.

Room by Helen Green.

The sofa in this bedroom is my favorite out of the bunch.

Mini Apartment Tour

I've had several people ask about our apartment. How big is it? What does it look like? That kind of thing. So, I snapped a few shots today once I had cleaned the place up for our mini Superbowl party.

Our kitchen is your typical rental apartment style. Actually not too shabby for Manhattan! As you can see, our small appliances that take up too much counter space go up above the cabinets when we're not using them! The lavender wall that I have posted about previously is the wall to the left with the shelf and table.

In our living room we use a daybed for our sofa, and it doubles as extra sleeping space when we have house guests staying with us.

At this point in my life my apartment doesn't accurately reflect the fact that I am an interior designer, but I'm working on it slowly but surely! It'll get there one of these days!

I'll post more shots of the rest of the place at some point.

Care Package

A care package arrived for us yesterday from Brad and Rhonda. Thank you so much! It was full of really great goodies!

Broadening Our Horizons

Tonight we went to an oneg shabbat gathering. Some of Kane's friends from his summer softball team have invited us a couple of times and we could finally make it. It's a traditional Friday night gathering to celebrate the sabbath. It was a lot of fun! Good food and good company. And I learned how to buy Kosher wine, which was really interesting!

Victory!

The vacuum is fixed! It actually ended up being less of a hassle than I expected. We dropped it off Tuesday, they gave us a quote on Thursday and we picked it up Friday as good as new. We're only out $50; it could have been way worse!

A Stopover in Venice

Image from Idlewild Books.

I just finished reading A Stopover in Venice by Kathryn Walker. The story started out a bit slow, but grew more and more interesting the longer I read. A young woman is unhappy in her marriage with a famous musician. During a train ride with him and his entourage, she abruptly gets of the train in Venice and leaves him to travel on to his next show. Over the course of a month she has a great adventure in Venice and figures out what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

An interesting fact that I just learned today is that Kathryn Walker was once married to James Taylor and it is speculated that she based the husband's character on her own experiences with him.