I really appreciate all the encouragement and feedback I received on yesterday’s post :)

I’m still not sure how to move forward or even where I want to go, but I do know that I want to get back to sharing what’s on my heart and mind.

There will still be recipes, outfits and DIY posts, but I do not want to abandon the reason I started blogging almost 8 years ago.  To capture my life.  To share my thoughts and feelings.  To create a memoir of sorts for my family.

That being said, there’s just so much going on in my head that I don’t even know where to start.  This could get rambly.

You’ve been warned.

Summer is almost over and I have such mixed emotions about it.  In some ways I’m really ready to stop worrying about my gardens, my tan and being hot.  In other ways I’m sad that Grace and I didn’t swim more, go to the playground more, take more bike rides and have more picnics.  I want it to end right now and I don’t want it to end at all.

Taking a walk in her pajamas and sunglasses. Notice the handful of twigs she collected :)

Workin’ on mah tan!

To top it off, Grace and I both have nasty colds right now.  This is actually the first time she’s been “sick” and I’m feeling so bad for her.  Her nose is runny and her voice is all but gone as of this morning.  She eeks out a few scratchy screeches but struggles with each word.  Fortunately she’s been eating pretty well and sleeping a lot, so I’m hoping it will pass soon and she’ll be back to 100%.

(Grace saying a few things in her scratchy voice two days ago.  Gilbert is a cat on one of her shows and Dr. Bender is our dentist that she has been talking about all the time since our appointment.)

I’ve been sick too and I’m not handling it near as well as she is.  My throat is sore, my sinuses are full and my head and shoulders feel like they weigh about 100 pounds.  I’ve been either on the couch or in bed for the past consecutive 24 hours.  How do mothers of multiple children handle getting sick?  It took everything in me (plus more TV than I’d like to admit) just to keep up with Grace today.  Thank goodness my second little bambino is still in utero and not needing my full attention yet.

Seriously mothers of many….how do you do it when you’re sick?

Having all this time to just lay around and think has given me even more time to beat myself up about not being productive.

I’m wired to accomplish things.  To achieve.  To perform.

It’s a mechanism I developed early in life to deal with my dysfunctional relationship with my father.  I didn’t get the affection and attention I craved, so I set about to earn it.

If I was the best daughter, student, sister, everything than there would be plenty of reason to pat me on the back.

So anyway, I’ve pushed myself to always be performing and achieving.  Much like my salesman tendencies mentioned in yesterday’s post, this is an attribute that has served me well professionally.

I joke with my sister that anyone who wants to hire an amazing employee should hire a woman with Daddy Issues.  They’ll work their ass off every single day.  Seems kinda sad to laugh about it, but it’s so true.

Now that I’m staying home full-time with Grace, I’ve found myself grading each day (or grading myself each day) based on how much I get done.  If I cook, clean, do yard work, take Grace out on a fun adventure and manage to squeeze in a DIY project, then I feel like I’ve earned my privilege to stay home.  I mean, “Look at all the things I do each day!  We couldn’t afford to have me at work when I’m so incredibly awesome at being a stay at home mom!”

While productivity is good, this mindset is not healthy.  At all.

My value is not determined by how much I can do.

My value is not determined by how much I can do.

My value is not determined by how much I can do.

It’s like a mantra I should be repeating to myself each day.  God loves me because I’m His child.  Andy loves me for who I am.  Grace loves me because I’m her mama.

Period.

I don’t have to create massive to-do lists and check them off each day in order to be valuable.

And that idea, my friends?  It scares me.

I don’t think I really know any other way to approach each day.

When I was working full-time, my need to achieve was met each day.  Often multiple times over because my job was so intense.  I may have felt like I was dropping the ball around the house at the end of the day, but I certainly felt accomplished.  I felt like I’d earned my keep and a really nice paycheck to boot.

Figuring out how to adjust now that I’m home is going to be a challenge.  I want to be present for my family.  I don’t want to always be striving to feel good enough.  I want to be overflowing with God’s love and peace so that I can pour those things out to my family.

I guess it’s a day at a time kind of battle.

Maybe I should make a to-do list ;)

Being a blogger, I tend to think about blogging ALOT.  Yes, I know “alot” isn’t a word but I think it should be.  So there.

It kind of drives me crazy that I spend so much time thinking about something that I only do for a short time each day and not even every day at that.  But blogging is my one and only hobby.  Sure I get crafty once in a while and hand-make a few greeting cards and I enjoy reading, but blogging is my favorite hobby by far.

So when I’m not posting here on my blog, I’m reading other blogs, following bloggers I know on Twitter and keeping current on Instagram.  I guess you could say I’m a social media junkie, although I hate that term.

I don’t want to be known as a person who has my nose so far into my iPhone or laptop that life is passing me by.  I decided earlier this year to work on achieving balance between my online presence and my real life.  I think I’m doing pretty well with it for the most part, so I’m ok with being a social media junkie of sorts.  I really don’t watch much TV and Andy studies ALOT so this gives me a fun outlet after Grace is in bed each night.

But I digress…

As I’ve been thinking so much about blogging, I continue to think about what I want out of this little blog of mine.  I love the community of readers I have and I get so excited when people make my recipes or try out my DIY projects.  I recently received an email from a girl who’s husband has been on a similar path as mine and my story had encouraged her.  These are the things that make blogging so incredibly rewarding.

And, I guess if I’m honest with myself, I want more of those things!

I’d love for more people to try out recipes or projects that I post.  I would love to connect with other med school wives and military spouses.  I’d love to explore my faith more vulnerably here and connect with other women who are sharing their struggles and victories too.

But part of me is scared.

Scared of coming across like a total narcissist or attention whore.  Scared of pitching my writing to other sites to get more exposure.  Scared of seeming too desperate or too “sales persony.”

That last one really gets me.

I have “salesman blood” coursing through my veins.  I don’t know whether it’s genetic or environmental, but I have a natural bent toward selling myself on a personal and professional level.

The worst part about it?

I absolutely cringe when I see other people selling themselves or their pursuits all the time.  It makes me want to run away like I’m being chased by a pack of wild bears.

It’s just so icky.

Self promotion has its time and its place.  I think I did really well in my professional career because I was able to sell my own talents and skills as well as those of the the companies I worked for.

I also think self promotion can be done really well in the blogging world and can achieve great results if it’s done right.  I’ve seen other bloggers promote themselves in a non-narcissistic way that draws people in and makes them want to connect.

Not in a way that makes them want to find a high place to avoid drowning in the shameless attention whoring.

I can’t put my finger on exactly what the major differences are between the two methods, but I’m downright scared that I’ll come across arrogant and desperate rather than genuine.  So I continue to just tiptoe around growing my blog.

I’ve done the first step things like interacting more on Twitter, leaving comments on blogs I love, sharing other bloggers’ posts that have resonated with me and participating in blogger groups on Facebook.  These things are all fine and good, but if I want to go to the next level, I know I’m going to have to do more.

I’m going to have to get a little uncomfortable.

via Pinterest

I’m also going to have to get a little more brave about being vulnerable and sharing what’s really inside me.

The bloggers who open up and share themselves with their readers are the ones I really love to follow.  I’m always down for a new recipe, home decor tip or outfit idea but the posts that move me and inspire me come from a much deeper place.  They come from the heart of the writer.

I want to open my heart here.  I want to be more honest and more open and more real.

I’d love any suggestions you might have to help me put myself out there in a way that isn’t icky!

Andy had a few days off last week between his summer and fall semesters.  We loved getting to spend so much time with him and we even managed a short getaway to Frankenmuth, MI.

I’ve got a full post about our trip in the works, but today I’m linking up with Mandy at Harper’s Happenings for Steppin’ Out Saturday.

Dress: Target/Jeans: “Kim” by The Kardashians/Shoes: Target/Necklace: Forever 21/Bracelets: Charlotte Russe/Earrings: I think I snagged them from my sister ;)

I’ve got to admit I felt pretty silly posing for these pics on Main Street downtown, but a blogger’s gotta do what a blogger’s gotta do, right?

After a while I just had to laugh at myself though :)

Now head on over to Mandy’s place to link up and show us what you wore this weekend!

Grace and I each had dentist appointments on Wednesday morning, and while I was thrilled to find a good dentist who takes our new insurance and is super close to home, I was a little nervous about how Grace would do during the visit.

She’s pretty active and a touch stubborn which could have been a recipe for disaster.  But it wasn’t!

She did SOOOO WELLL that we were all amazed!

The hygienist commented that the visit should be recorded in the books because she’s never had a two year old sit through an actual cleaning.  They usually have little ones just sit in the chair and get their teeth counted as a way to get comfortable with the process.

::cue extreme parental pride::

I had my checkup and cleaning first while Grace sat on Andy’s lap and watched me.  Then it was her turn and she hopped up into the chair like a pro!

Look at those cute little toes!

Assuming she wouldn’t want to sit still very long, they started by having the dentist count her teeth.

It was so cute hearing her say, “aaahhhhh” every time he reminded her to open wide.

After the tooth counting was done, the hygienist asked if Grace wanted her teeth polished.  Grace’s answer?

YES!

A list of toothpaste flavors was rattled off and Grace happily chose chocolate.  (gross!)

Amazingly she sat very still watching cartoons on the flat screen TV mounted to the chair (hello 2012!) while the hygienist quickly polished each of her little pearly whites.

After she was finished, the hygienist asked Grace if she liked the polishing and wanted more.  Grace’s answer?

YES!

A little more polishing commenced while Grace sat very still watching her cartoons.  I was practically wiggling with excitement at how well she was doing through the whole thing.

Even the receptionist came over to marvel at how great it was going.  Andy and I were so proud of our little Boo Bear :)

Before heading to check out, Grace selected a new Winnie the Pooh toothbrush and made sure to say, “Thank you, Lisa” and “Thank you, Dr. Bender” about a thousand times.

It was an overall awesome experience and I’m so happy it was a success.  My little girl is growing up so fast!

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Side note: the night before our appointment we watched this short, cheesy video on YouTube and I really think it helped set the stage for our positive experience.  Thank God for YouTube!

Dear Baby,

I wanted to take a few minutes to tell you how excited I am about you.

This time around I haven’t been making a big “fuss” about my pregnancy.  I’ve kept it a little closer to the vest.

That is not because I’m not excited.  Quite the contrary…

It’s because I’m overwhelmed with joy at the idea of you being knit together inside me, and I can’t even find the words to express it all, so I’ve just enjoyed keeping it mostly to myself.

I’ll always remember the day Daddy and I waited excitedly to see if the pregnancy test I took was going to show the two lines we were so very much hoping to see.  We hovered around the sink in our tiny bathroom, willing ourselves not to look over at the test sitting by the window ticking down the two-minute wait time.

When we couldn’t stand it any longer, I grabbed it and held it behind my back.  I was almost too nervous to look at it.  We were so ready to bring another sweet baby into the world.  Even though we don’t know you, we were so ready to bring YOU into the world.

After smiling and wiggling in place while staring daddy in the eyes, I finally pulled it out from behind my back so we could get a good look at it.

There they were.

Two beautiful lines :)

We were overjoyed and grabbed each other in the biggest hug you can imagine!  A whole new life was beginning and a special new person was being added to our family.

We have been overwhelmed by how much your big sister Grace has changed our lives and made our world so much happier.  We know that you will do the very same thing and we have to practically pinch ourselves to make sure this isn’t all just a wonderful dream.

This time Grace will get to experience all of this happy change with us, and I’m so excited to watch that happen!

She is going to be a great big sister and I just know you are going to love her and she is going to love you and you are going to be such a blessing to our little family.

We talk about you every day.  I talk about you with Daddy.  Daddy talks about you with me.  I talk about you with Grace.  Grace points to you in my belly and lately she gives you kisses and says “hi” to you in the sweetest little voice.

I think about you all the time.  I feel you moving inside me and I can’t help but smile.  I’m so excited to meet you and welcome you into our life.

People often think that the first baby gets the most attention and excitement, but that’s not true.  Not for us anyway.

When we found out we were having Grace we were very excited and we called everyone up to tell them about it and we posted about it on Facebook and blogged about it and it was a big deal.  There was a lot of hoopla and excitement for sure.

From the outside it may look like there was more of that with Grace than with you, but that is not the case.

It’s just different.  It’s special in its very own way.

The joy and excitement that I feel about you is so very deep.  I almost ache inside because I haven’t even met you and I’m already bursting with love for you.

I know what having a baby is like, so I’m able to relish each day and not hurry it along.  I’m not as worried about little things.  I have so much more peace.  I know how amazing it’s going to be to bring you into the world and I can’t wait.

I have been a mother for two years now.  I’ve made mistakes and I’ve had victories and I’ve learned so much along the way.  Your sister is paving the way through all of that and she and I have a special connection because we’re doing this for the first time together.

You and I have different connection.

I feel ready this time.  I can’t wait to sweep you up into my arms and care for you with the confidence of one who has walked the road before.  I won’t be perfect because as much as we mothers try to be, we never are.

But I will be seasoned.

I will look into your beautiful eyes and I’ll know you.  I’ll have an idea of what each phase is like before we get to it, and I’ll be excited to see how you are different than your big sister at each point along the journey.  I won’t stress out as much and I won’t rush things.

As a second baby, you get an extra dose of fanfare because it’s not just Daddy and I who get to love on you and delight in you each day.  There are three of us who are excited to spend each day with you, to teach you, to love you and to watch you grow.

For now we wait.  We pray for you every single day.

And we love you so very, very much.

xoxo
Mommy

About 9 years ago I picked up a solid wood end table for $10 at a flea market.  The guy wanted $15, but I drove a hard bargain :)

He was really proud of the shiny red finish he’d added to it, but I was more interested in the fact that it was solid wood.  All the affordable furniture nowadays is particleboard or veneer which is so disappointing.

I knew that someday I’d want to paint or re-finish the little bargain table, but someday took about 9 years to become a reality.

After I left my job earlier this summer, I crafted a long to-do list of the nagging projects I wanted to tackle now that I have more time on my hands.  Among the items on that list was painting my living room end tables.

This one was a $10 flea market find and the other one is a free hand-me-down from Andy’s parents.  Both are in good shape, but look dated.

Flea market bargain table.

I’ve been on a mission to brighten up my dark living room on a dime.  Painting these tables gets me one step closer to a brighter, more modern room!

I plan to show a “before and after” look at our new, improved living room once I’m finished :)

As you can tell in the photo above, the table is pretty dark in color and is also kind of shiny.  I took measures to reduce the shine before re-painting it, but in hindsight I should have primed it too.  Oh well.

So here’s the breakdown:

1. Set the table up outside on a large tarp and give it a good rubdown with sand paper.

There is probably an ideal grit level to use, but I’m lazy so I grabbed the only scrap I saw in the basement and went to town.  It was a pretty course grit and likely should have been finer but in the end it was all OK.

2. Your table with be all roughed up after sanding and will also be covered in dust from the varnish you’ve just removed.  Now is the time to take a damp rag and wipe it down to remove all the dust.  You may need to rinse your rag a couple of times through this step so that you don’t just rub the dust around.  You want to get it all off so that your table is clean, dust free and ready for paint.

See how that strip across the center of the table is dust free? That’s what you want to do all over.

3. Grab your spray paint.  Before starting this project, you should have gone to the store to get paint in the color and finish of your liking.  That seemed like an obvious step so I didn’t include it at the start.  If you don’t have spray paint by this point, go get some!  It’ll give your table some time to dry after the damp cloth step.

I chose ivory colored paint in a satin finish.

4. After waiting a few minutes for your table to dry, you will start applying your paint in THIN, EVEN coats.  The table should not be even the slightest bit damp when you start painting.

*Also, if you are painting a dark piece of furniture a very light color, be smart and start with a coat or two of primer.  I didn’t do that and ended up using WAY MORE spray paint than I expected (can you say two and a half cans?!).  Don’t be dumb like me.  Prime first.

You can see that you won’t get good coverage in the first few coats, but that’s OK!  You really, really don’t want ugly drip marks or gloppy looking spots so less is more.  Over time the thin, even coats will build up to a great level of coverage that looks really smooth!

Don’t mind the cracked off chunk on the front. It came that way and I chalk it up to “character.”
Oh, and I turn the table so that part is in the back :)

5. Apply as many THIN, EVEN coats as it takes to get your piece fully covered.  It took me many, many coats because I didn’t start with primer, but you won’t be like me.  You’ll be smart and PRIME FIRST if you’re going from a dark color to a light color.  RIGHT?! :)

6. Let the finished piece sit outside or in a well-ventilated, but segregated, area of your home so that it can off-gas.  Spray paint is stinky and toxic so you don’t want to be breathing those fumes inside.  A week or so is ideal for off-gassing but I found that about 4 days seemed to get rid of the majority of the smell.  I was too anxious to wait a full week!

Here’s a quick “before and after” so you can see what a dramatic difference a few cans of spray paint, a little elbow grease and a few days can make!

I’ve had a subconscious bucket list for this summer.  A whole mess of summery things I want to do before cool temps usher in cider mill visits and hot bowls of chili.

I’ve always considered myself to be a summer girl.  When people ask my favorite season, I undoubtedly answer “summer all the way!”

This year has been especially awesome because I’ve spent the majority of my summer at home full-time with my girl.  We’ve played in the sandbox, gone on bike rides, splashed in the baby pool, taken walks, worked in the garden, eaten grilled dinners out on the patio and slathered ourselves in sunscreen countless times. (I had to put a link to the sunscreen we use since I’m pretty freaked out about the conventional stuff!)

Now that we are solidly in the middle of August, I’m starting to panic about summer coming to an end.  It feels like sand slipping through my fingers and I’m trying desperately to hold onto every last morsel of it.

I don’t feel like we’ve grilled out enough dinners or had enough people over to sit on the patio under our twinkle lights.  It doesn’t seem like Grace and I have gone swimming often enough or played in the sandbox as much as we could have.

I’m a sucker for outdoor festivals and summer events.  This year we’ve done a few things and they’ve been awesome but my internal bucket list is overflowing with more!  The next 4 weekends are each home to some of our favorite outdoor events and I’m just crazy enough to want to squeeze them all in before Fall.

If all goes well, I’d still like to attend…

The Greek Festival
Dally in the Alley
The Michigan Renaissance Festival
Utica Antiques Market

I’ve got my work cut out for me trying to get to all these and a trip to the Detroit Zoo, but I’m up for the challenge!

I’m hard pressed to think of an event more summery than the county fair and I’m thrilled we’ve already checked that off our list list year!

A month or so ago, my mom emailed me to see if we could join her in attending the Lenawee County Fair which was held at the fairgrounds right around the corner from her.  Seven tenths of a mile to be exact.  She was sure to tell me this on several occasions as we walked over to the fairgrounds from her apartment :)

It was a pretty hot day, but the fair made it totally worth it to be outside!

As soon as we walked up, I noticed that there was a military discount for active duty members and their families who could show ID.  You know we had our IDs with us after the fiasco it was to get them!

Turns out it was a 100% discount so Andy and I each got in for free!  My mom was treating us to the fair that day, so I was thrilled we could save her money right off the bat.  More money to spend on elephant ears and ice cream later on :)

Lenawee County sure does know how to host a fair!  Among carnival rides, fried food, displays of local talent and plenty of country folk, there was a gathering of some of the most beautiful farm animals I’ve ever seen.

Seriously…these pigs, cows, chickens, horses, ducks, goats and bunnies were some of the cleanest around.  They were all “show quality” and remarkably beautiful.

Grace loves reading books about farm animals and she can make each of their sounds perfectly.  Watching her get a glimpse of the real thing was incredible.

I’ve got to admit that many of the animals were intimidating because they are SO MUCH BIGGER than you realize.  The cows in particular were massive which I’d somehow forgotten since the last time I was face to face with a real cow.  Same goes for the pigs.  Holy hog!  They were gigantic too.

The chickens were stunning and such a cool variety of colors, but the roosters were super loud which freaked Grace out.

I think her favorite animals were the ducks.  They were beautiful and quiet :)

I’m really bummed that I didn’t get pictures of the other animals :(  I was too caught up in watching Grace’s face smile in amazement at each one, which I guess is a pretty darn good excuse not to take pictures.

The other highlight of the fair for Grace was the train.  Ever since we visited Greenfield Village for her cousin Zeek’s birthday party, she has been in love with trains.  We saw Thomas the Train that day and although I was more excited than her (ask me about that…it’s a great story!) she fell in love with all things Thomas.

This little train at the fair was a far cry from Thomas, but she LOVED it anyway.  She had the biggest smile plastered across her face the whole time!

Getting ready to ride.

Trying to push the button that the conductor pointed out to her.

That entire day was practically poetic.  We did all the things you’d want to do at the fair.  We noshed on giant ice cream cones from the local dairy, we watched part of the 4H talent show and Grace danced along with the little girls on the stage.  We had fresh french fries and crispy elephant ears.  We wore ourselves out in the best kind of way.

Then we walked the seven tenths of a mile back to my mom’s place where we rested and Grace played with Grandma’s toys.  We got a pizza for dinner and laughed around the dinner table before packing up and heading home.  Grace was asleep in under 5 minutes.  I’ll bet she had sweet dreams full of ducks and cows and bunnies and treats :)

These ain’t yo mama’s stuffed peppers.

You know, the green ones stuffed with tomato-y rice and ground beef….

Although I do love those and I also have a great recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup that tastes just like them.  Mmmm.

These are a new take on an old favorite.  I made them pretty much out of necessity.

We needed dinner.  I didn’t have time to get to the grocery.  The fridge was pretty bare except for some shredded cheddar and a big bag of red bell peppers that I got on sale at Trader Joe’s for $.69/each.

This is when it really pays off to have a decently stocked pantry.  I should write a post on that!

The items in the pantry that inspired this dinner were:

Black Beans
Quinoa
Chicken Stock
Onions
Garlic
Frozen Corn

Each of those things is easy to keep around because they are either shelf-stable, last a long time in the right conditions or are frozen.

So back to dinner…

I’d seen this pin on Pinterest when I first joined the site.  It’s a gorgeous photo and was obviously memorable since I thought of it all this time later.

I wanted to bulk up the recipe to make it a main dish so I added quinoa.  As I’ve mentioned before, I have a thing for quinoa.

With 9 grams of protein, 30 milligrams of calcium and 15% of the USDA’s recommended allowance of iron per cup, it’s a heart-healthy, polyunsaturated fat containing, vitamin B & folate POWERHOUSE.

Do your body a favor and run to the store to buy some quinoa!

But I digress…

The recipe on Pinterest was a great starting point and I just made a few tweaks of my own to make this a main dish.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers
adapted from Can You Stay For Dinner?

The peppers before roasting. I forgot to take an after picture :(

Getting onions nice and soft.

Using dry beans that you prepare in advance would be best (for sodium control) but when you forget to plan in advance, a can of beans will do.

I think the smoked paprika could be optional. I’m still deciding whether or not I like it. The other 3 spices pack a punch so you’d be totally OK just using them.

The “stuffing”

By now you’ve gotten a glimpse into how great my BlogHer12 trip was.  I am so glad I decided to break it down into a series of posts because they have been challenging enough to write, let alone trying to cram everything into one post!  Thanks again Sarah for the inspiration :)

Of course I saved the best for last!

The Favorites…

By far the best part of the trip was rooming with Diana.  I got to know her online just before BlogHer11 and I liked her immediately.  She was one of the first people to tweet me back on Twitter (swoon!) and I loved her honest and funny approach to blogging.  She also has a two-year old little girl and she’s an Army wife so the similarities just kept on coming the more I got to know her.

Smiley and sweaty on Day 1

Hanging out in bed on Friday night like a couple of old ladies!

Happy and cool at the Getting Gorgeous party.

At the 9/11 memorial park.

Another highlight of the trip was getting to be with Diana when she got her sweet little boys’ footprints tattooed on her wrists.  You can read her story HERE.  She’s shown so much faith and courage during this tragedy and she’s inspired me and thousands of others to cling to God when your world gets turned upside down.  If you’re the praying kind, lift her precious family up in prayer as they navigate the rocky territory of grief.

I won’t go into all the details of the tattoo event because it’s Diana’s story to tell, but everything worked out perfectly for us to go the exact day and time that we did.  The shop (Adorned) was beautiful and the tattoo artist (Kris Magnotti) was so kind and sincere.  The whole thing was perfect.

The footprints are the actual size and orientation of the originals the hospital gave her. God bless those boys.

Toward the end of our visit, we made our way down to Ground Zero to check out the 9/11 Memorial.  I’d been there in 2006 with Andy, but at that time it was just a big construction hole and the surrounding buildings were still damaged.  Today it’s home to a beautiful memorial park with giant fountains in the tower footprints and a museum built to look like a tower rising.

Being there was sobering.  Remembering that day and all the lives that were lost has such a way of shifting your perspective on everything.  The conference didn’t seem like such a big deal, the swag seemed meaningless and all that mattered was life.  Being able to walk and talk and breathe each day is a gift that we too often take for granted.  We never know what tomorrow holds.  It’s so important to keep that perspective and focus on the truly important things in life.

Clockwise from left: Freedom Tower #1 in progress/North Pool/South Pool

A tree line surrounds each pool and marks the actual perimeter of the respective towers.
So many names deeply etched into the edges of the pools. Loved ones leave flowers for those they lost.

And the final favorite; the city itself.

Manhattan is one of my favorite places on earth.  Each time you walk off the subway you are in a new place.  Every neighborhood has a different vibe and a beautiful backdrop.

New York has been cast as the main character in countless movies and rightly so.  It’s a tiny island that packs a big punch.

I’m not even sure how to verbalize my love for The Big Apple, so I’ll just share a bunch of pics :)

View from our hotel room

7th & 53rd Subway Station – Outside our hotel

Cartier

Grimaldi’s Pizza – Brooklyn

Pigeons gathered near the Halal Cart

Random Street Corner in Midtown

Schlepping up one of MANY subway station stairways

A storefront on the way to the tattoo parlor. Also, my age :)

Apartments near the tattoo parlor.

And that, my friends, is the end of my BlogHer12 recap series.

Feel free to drop any questions you may have in the comments section!

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BlogHer13 – CHICAGO OR BUST!

What would a week of posts be without me talking about food?!

It’s by far one of my favorite topics and, judging by this weekend, it’s my favorite pastime too :)  I must be missing my food soul mate (Diana) because I’ve been chowing down this weekend and missing the awesome meals we shared at BlogHer.

Remind me to ask her how she can eat like that and stay so small!

So, the food…

BlogHer provides lunch and dinner each day so those are covered and dinner is up to you.  The appetizers at last year’s parties pretty much took care of dinner, but this year’s party food was skimpy in comparison.  It’s a good thing Diana and I like to eat and weren’t afraid to venture into the city for good grub.

Let’s start from the beginning…

On Thursday, landed at Laguardia airport in New York around 1:45pm very hungry.  I didn’t want to waste too much time at the airport because I knew my bus/subway trip into the city was going to take longer than I remembered (SO. MANY. STOPS.) so I grabbed a sandwich at a newsstand in the baggage claim area.  Classy, I know.

$9 newsstand sub. Welcome to New York.

It doesn’t look like much, especially for NINE WHOLE DOLLARS, but it was actually good.  The bread was tasty and chock full of nuts and seeds, the innards were fresh and it had Dijon mustard on it.  What more can you ask of a sandwich from the baggage claim area?

That first night is when we went to the Stoneyfield Organic and Babble parties, but we only ate tiny, teeny hors d’oeuvre which were really more like amuse bouche. (Friends reference for the die hard fans) so we were hungry by the end of the night.  We headed back to our room to re-group and then we decide to venture out to the Carnegie Deli.

I’d heard of this place before and I thought it would have some kind of iconic store front, so when we walked up and it looked like any old hole-in-the-wall deli, I was pretty sure we were at the knockoff version of the real deli.

After walking inside and seeing the walls covered from floor to ceiling with autographed photos of celebrities who had visited, I was starting to be convinced that this really was the right place.

When we opened the menu and saw that the average sandwich was going to set us back $24.95, we knew this was the right place.  And we almost fell off our chairs!

We deliberated for a moment and decided to split a Reuben sandwich ($24.95 and order of onion rings ($6.95).

It didn’t take long for our order to arrive and oh was it delicious!  I don’t think I’ve ever seen such huge portions!  I guess they really do try to give you your money’s worth!

I’m notorious for sliding my camera setting over to video without noticing it.  When it comes time to snap a photo, I push the button, wait for the picture to take, and then usually swear when I realize I’ve taken a video instead of a picture.  It’s maddening, but here’s a short clip of our food and no swearing :)

As you can see, it was GINORMOUS and I can assure you it was equally delicious.  As if dinner wasn’t enough, my partner in crime suggested that we get a piece of cheesecake for dessert. I was a little skeptical but being the food lover that I am, I couldn’t turn it down!

I’m so happy I caved because that cheesecake was divine!

Clockwise from top: onion rings/sandwich/just a few of the celeb pictures/HUGE slice of cheesecake/me taking a bite of the best cheesecake ever

The iphone was included to show the scale of the cheesecake, but I didn’t get it at the right angle.  The piece was massive and totally delish.

Full bellies and happy faces :)

The next day was the first official day of the conference so we ate official conference food for breakfast and lunch and both meals were very good.

Breakfast:Scrambled eggs/potatoes/bacon/muffin/cereal/milk/coffee
Lunch: assorted sandwiches/tomato basil soup/roasted veggies/couscous salad/assorted pastries

I know, I know…my portions were huge.  It was partly because I was super hungry at every meal and partly because I wanted to be sure to stock up when I could because I never knew where our adventures would take us.  I really didn’t want to end up hangry (hungry+angry) later in the day.

Then there was dinner.  Oh dinner.

A local blogger highly recommended the Halal Cart so we scouted them out at dinner time.  Luckily there was one right outside our hotel and the smells coming from that little cart were enough to make my mouth water.  We each got the combo plate because we were “very much hungry” as the guy aptly put it.

The food did not disappoint. Oh em gee.  The meat was tender and seasoned to perfection, the rice was unreal, the salad was a nice balance to the rest and the creamy and spicy sauces were divine.  I want more of it right now…

It was nice enjoy this meal at the little table in our room overlooking the skyscrapers around us.  The air conditioning was also wonderful. Have I mentioned it was hotter than hell that weekend?  Well, it was.  But during this dinner we were sweating from the hot sauce rather than the sauna-like air outside which was a great change of pace.

By day 3 we were exhausted and sleep totally trumped breakfast.  In fact, it trumped the first sessions of the day too.  We rolled out of bed when we were ready and we choked down the “Starbucks” coffee in our hotel room.  I prepared it just like the directions said, but it was not good.  At that point it was more about the caffeine than the enjoyment so we toughed it out.

We ate the official lunch that afternoon and while it was good, it wasn’t photo-worthy.  I remember having a chipotle chicken sandwich and watermelon/feta salad.  I know there was more, but I must have been enraptured by Katie Couric on stage because I just don’t remember.

Later that day we headed way downtown to visit the 9/11 memorial (more on that tomorrow) and we grabbed hot dogs from a street cart since they were on both of our “food bucket lists” for the weekend.

The hot dog was great, but the real star of the show was dinner that night from Grimaldi’s Pizza.

I’d read tons of comments on another blog post about this being a “must do” thing in NYC.  So many different people were raving about this pizza that I just had to check it out for myself and fortunately Diana was willing to make the trek over to Brooklyn to wait an HOUR for this meal.

We got off the subway in Brooklyn and marveled at the pretty neighborhood we were in.  I grabbed a water to keep from passing out due to the heat and then we hauled ourselves over a few blocks to Front Street which is just under the bridge on the Brooklyn side.

Before we even crossed the street, I saw the line.

Oh boy.  People weren’t kidding.  The line was crazy.

When we got up closer, Diana heard an employee tell someone the wait was currently an hour and a half.

Oy.

We had to make a decision to stay and miss the parties were planning to attend that night – or – head all the way back to our hotel just in time to make it to the second party.

We decided to stay for the pizza.

As only true food lovers would :)

Clockwise: the main dish/black cherry Olde Brooklyn soda/antipasto

We started with Olde Brooklyn sodas (orange for Diana and black cherry for me) and antipasto.  Let me tell you that my doctor would not have been pleased, but that cheese, those olives, that salami and those roasted red peppers were out of this world.

And the pizza…Oh, the pizza!

We settled on a large pizza (because why not?!) with roasted peppers, sun dried tomatoes, capers, olives, mushrooms ricotta, and fresh basil.

There are no words for how amazing it was.

Really, no words.

We woke up Sunday and after feeling super sad that it was our last day together in the Big Apple, we headed out to the American Girl store to pick up something special for our girls.  During checkout we realized that Diana’s wallet was missing but after calling the hotel and being transferred to Lost & Found and ultimately security, we learned that she’d accidentally left it in our room when we checked out.  They had it waiting for us and once we picked it up from the security office in the belly of the hotel, all was right with the world and we were a sweaty mess from running all around.

Time to check off the last item on our “food bucket list” – bagels!

You can’t leave New York without getting an authentic NY bagel.  Also, we needed air conditioning STAT.

The hotel concierge recommended a place a couple block away so that’s where we went.

Pick-A-Bagel probably isn’t home of the best bagels we could have scored, but it was good enough and the bagels were great.

I had the Greek omelet with an everything bagel and Diana had a plain bagel with lox and all the trimmings!

And that, my friends, is all she wrote about food.

For now anyway ;)

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Stay tuned for the last installment of my BlogHer12 trip…The Favorites!