There Is A Season (turn, turn, turn)

Bradley and I have been enjoying our walks lately! I love having the four seasons as apart of my life. As the years pass they become each like a familiar old song that carries a wave of nostalgia and Autumn is without a doubt my favorite of them all!

Coming back from England I felt determined that I should drink more tea than coffee but I just can’t help myself. I think drinking that daily cup of coffee is just part of being an American! I came to that conclusion while standing inside this Dean & Deluca…



and ordering this...



We finally got our TV mounted on the wall...



Krista and I are so excited about the extra space!

Tunbridge Wells

Since I arrived back from England I have been running none stop. I wish I could say running as in exercise but no I mean just going from one project to the next. We are making over our apartment this month…new furniture…new paint…new decorations. It has been fun and I will try and post some before and after pictures when we are all done.

I had a wonderful relaxing time in England this trip. The more people I meet there and grow to care about the harder it is each time to leave…not to mention the beautiful scenery!





I drank an unbelievable amount of tea while I was there but I loved it!





Everyday I was there I was invited to a different house for dinner. I couldn’t get over the hospitality I was shown. They were all such loving beautiful people!



My favorite souvenir I brought back was from this great store Cath Kidston.



Walking around inside really made me wish my Mom and sisters were with me because I think they would have loved it. It was just such a girly fun store!



So I bought an apron because a girl can never have enough aprons…okay maybe not everyone would agree with that statement. I just love aprons! I think they make baking all the more fun!




My second favorite souvenir is a mug from the town I stayed in which is Tunbridge Wells. It is really difficult to stand out in a place like NYC but I like to think there is a good possibility that I am the only one with this mug!



Hopefully we will be done with the apartment the end of the month and I will definitely post some pictures. I am finding inspiration in everything.

Jet Plane

For about a year now there has been this plain white wall surrounding an area in my neighborhood. I kept thinking that there was some construction going on there but honestly now that I think about it I never see anyone working there. Well I had a lovely surprise the other day when I came out of the train station all sorts of different people from my neighborhood were painting the wall!! I love it now and now every time I come out of the Franklin subway station I smile.

All day yesterday at work I was singing… "I’m leaving on a jet plane!" I am pretty sure I am driving my co-workers crazy as I feel the impulse to constantly remind them I’m going to England for a week. This summer I played tour guide to some lovely Brits that I met through my friend Darren. In turn they said I must come over and I am looking forward to seeing them all again. I like to think I am doing my part to keep our alliance with the UK strong. :)

I have also been day dreaming about this lovely restaurant...

I first went there back in what must have been 2003 and I am always forgetting the name but never forgetting my favorite dish...

Crispy Aromatic Szechvan Duck served with Spring Onion, Cucumber, Pancakes, and hoi Sin Sauce. Every time I return it is a must for me. It is probably my favorite restaurant I have ever been to in my 31 years of life. I know sounds dramatic but there is just something that special about it.

I am also looking forward to seeing these familiar streets in Tunbridge Wells...

Packing for me last night was quiet an ordeal...



But in the end I made it work...



I am counting my blessings today because I always seem to be given much more than I deserve.

I will be returning the 30th and promise to post lots of pics. :)

Shopping!

Contrary to popular believe not all women love shopping. I speak for that small percentage of women that could careless if she ever stepped foot in another store. I find it overwhelming and the crowds stressful but yet it must be done so I set out…

I love my Brooklyn Museum train station! In my opinion one of the nicest as far tile work goes..




I went to the nearest shopping center Atlantic Mall...



One sure sign that the season is changing is when you notice the shoe displays changing...



It was one successful trip with my favorite purchase being these…



They kinda make me want to go line dancing! :)

Dog For Sale

Dog For Sale!! Just kidding....sort of :)

Once again...Bradley is guilty as charged!

The last few days I have been looking all over the place for my lipstick. This evening I found it under my bed in this sad state. If only there was a job opening for a cute furry dog with an amazing ability to destroy things...Bradley could be making the big bucks.

When I looked up advise on how to get your dog to stop chewing so much it suggested that sometimes it is a lack of exercise. So to keep myself from going crazy I am trying to take him on longer walks.

He likes to sit on my foot when we are waiting to cross the road. I think the NY traffic scares him.

The following are a few shots from our walk...

Tonight I noticed they painted this sign on the corner. It doesn't say much for us that someone thinks we need to be reminded to "look". I thought anyone who could read would already have that concept down.

Dogs have an amazing ability to sense just when you are about to strangle them because that is just when they decide to give a I'm sorry and cute face.

Empire State Building

One thing I really enjoy about the location of my job is that when I walk out at night I can see the empire state building. The building is often displaying different colored lights. My co-workers and I stare and comment on the beauty of the lights and how we wonder what they mean? I knew the colors are always representative of something but I never got around to looking it up.

Today I found the lighting schedule on the main website for the Empire State Building…
http://www.esbnyc.com/tourism/tourism_lightingschedule.cfm

And this fun website which shows the colors everyday..

http://whatcoloristheempirestatebuilding.com/ie.html

So now I can impress my co-workers with my amazing knowledge! ;)

Recent Reads

There are two things that I really love about using public transportation:

1.) It is so affordable! I only pay $89 a month total for my transportation cost.
2.) Not having to pay attention to the road provides so much time for reading!

I have been going through so many books lately that I started to realize I was spending as much purchasing books to read as I was for my transportation. So to remedy that I have been borrowing books from others or some people leave boxes of books on their stoop when they don’t want them anymore. I also enjoy used book stores.

The three most recent reads have been…



Click

What made this book interesting for me was that it was written by ten different authors. Each chapter was written by someone else which gave it a different feel than any other book I have read. It was an easy read but still thought it was a fun story. The proceeds for the book benefit Amnesty International.



Good Grief by Lolly Winston

I picked this book up from a free book drive. The title caught my interest because I find grief to be an interesting topic. At one point or another every person experiences grief in their live yet the majority of the time we don’t even recognize it. This novel is about a young widow and how she works through her grief. I found the beginning half of the book to be informative in the way it described her denial, depression, anger, regret but on the other hand the second half of the book was predictable. It was a nice story just predictable in the end and felt a little like the author was in a rush and uninspired.



The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

This book was another freebie. I usually love books that make the New York Bestseller list but this one was just so so. It was a tale about a girl growing up and learning about life and herself. I found it a little hard to follow at times just because it jumped from different stages of her life leaving gapes. I imagine maybe for someone who lived a life more similar to hers might find the story more profound.



A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

I just started this book yesterday and am loving it. I LOVE memoirs and this one is a memoir of a recovering drug addict. I am only on page 47 so I will have to keep you posted but so far so good!



Remember when I went on before about my great finds on the sidewalks of Brooklyn? Well the little lamp pictured above is my most recent find!