Check

This summer has been kind of crazy so far.  Lots of stuff.  But mostly just trying to take things day to day and enjoy the little things.

Remember how I talked about my "life to do list" a few posts ago and how learning to golf  was on that list?  Well, I'm really happy that I've been able to really take that on as a hobby.  And I REALLY love it.  Like I want to do it at every opportunity.  In fact, I need to set up some golf this weekend...

But back to this post.  Another item on my life to do list is to learn to sew.  I would like to believe I'm semi-crafty. I can crochet and knit thanks to my Grandmother and my friend Barb.  I can use modge podge like a champ too.  Unfortunately, sewing hasn't been a skill that I've really spent time with since my 7th grade home economics class.  I remember making some ridiculous pair of shorts.  I seem to remember having a pretty cool little sewing machine that I used.  I wonder where that went?  hmmm.  In any case, that was the extent of my sewing experience (save for hand sewing)

Fast forward to this summer.  A new store opened in town called Project Anthologies.  It's owned and operated by a lovely person named Melany.  It's a beautiful store with fabric, craft supplies and ideas.  I think it's probably one of the prettiest stores we have in town.  Just look at this window display.  So cute!

But I digress. Again. Melany's a smart girl and is offering a series of classes to take. Many of them are beginning sewing classes. I signed up to take one this week.  This is how the shop looked for the class.  Everyone getting ready. 

Now like I said, I haven't touched a  sewing machine since 7th grade.  At this class we were learning to make pillow covers.  We got a good lesson in machines and got to practice a little before we got down to our actual project. 

The ladies teaching the class were very patient and

fun.  (Especially with me--the sewing dummy)

But after a few hours I was pleased with my final product.  This is the back of the pillow case. 

And this is the front.  Are you really surprised at the color? 

It was a really fun night of learning!  Look at me being a nerd.  haha!

I am so excited to learn more.  I signed up for a few more classes.  This may mean that I need to invest in a sewing machine.  I mean I can't learn without doing homework, right? 

Magic

"those who don't believe in magic

will never find it"

sunset view from the country club on Friday night

This is especially meaningful to me right now. I want to believe in magic and I need to now more than ever. Say a prayer, cross your fingers, wish on 11:11, find a lucky penny, or do whatever you can to find magic for yourself...

...and maybe send me some too.

What a Ride!

A few weeks ago, I was getting into my car to go to work and I saw a girl riding down the street riding an old looking bike with a basket on the front.  I stopped and thought to myself, "That looks so relaxing and lovely"    For whatever reason the idea of a bike like that caught my attention.  You can mock me all you want, but I had visions of riding this bike to a farmer's market on a Saturday morning.  It just seemed so nice to me.  So in true AG fashion, I googled vintage bikes that weekend.  I found the inspiration of what I'd be looking for...

I just love how it looks. I knew I needed to have something similar.  Two people told me there was a vintage bike in a thrift shop in town so I went down there a few times.  Each time they were closed.  Ugh.  Rather than waiting for that shop to open, I did a search on google for vintage bikes for sale in my area. As fate would have it, there was a lady selling one about 30 minutes from here.  I wrote her an email and after about 3 weeks, we finally found a time that worked for both of us.  So tonight I drive there to take a look at it.

And now I'm pleased to share that I purchased the bike at a very reasonable price.   I'm pretty sure Schwinn is a good name for a bike like this.  In any case, I pretty much love it!  It needs a paint job and some air in the tires but the style is exactly what I want. 

My Dad said he would paint it for me.   Now the big decision is what color should I paint?  These are two of the possibilities so far.  I'm kind of into both of them.  The basket will be a wicker one for sure.

I know it's kind of random to want to get an restore a bike like this but I'm all about embracing new things right now.  It just feels like something I should do.  And after all the stuff that's gone on with me lately, the fact that I got excited about something as simple as this is a good thing.  And eventually maybe , I'll be  riding down the street and make someone stop and think, "that girls looks so relaxed and lovely..."

Berry Good

GASP!  Three days in a row.  I guess maybe some of my blogging mojo is back.  maybe. 

Yesterday I made some strawberry crisp to take over to my parents house for Father's Day and I realized in all of my chaos this spring, I haven't shared it here.  (among many other things) It was one of the recipes I've tried from Pinterest.  How great is Pinterest?  I've learned so much. 

Anyway, there is something so amazing about strawberries in the summer.  I eat them every morning with my oatmeal.  Plus, they look so pretty. 

 And now for the most amazing strawberry crisp ever.  Every time I've made it, it's been a crowd pleaser.  It will be one of my favorite dishes to bring to social functions. 

Filling:•2 to 3 cups (8 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut in half
•1/2 cup  sugar

Topping:
•1 cup  all-purpose flour
•1/2 cup  old-fashioned rolled oats
•1/3 cup  sugar
•1/3 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
•1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted


Directions:
1. preheat to 350 degrees. Have ready a 2.5 quart ceramic or glass pie dish or baking dish.


2.  Filling: In a large bowl, stir together the strawberries and sugar until well mixed. Pour into the baking dish, and set aside.

The strawberries and sugar mixture

3. Topping: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, rolled oats, sugars, cinnamon and salt until well blended. Stir in the melted butter until evenly moistened crumbs form. Spoon the crumb mixture over the filling.

Sprinkling the topping over the strawberries

4. Bake the crisp until the juices are bubbling, and the topping is golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm.


Note: The crisp can be cooled, covered with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

The final product.  I added a few whole strawberries for some sass.

 

Enjoy!  

I'm in a strawberry mood tonight...I'm making some strawberry freezer jam.  It's almost officially SUMMER!  :) 

Go Green! Pun Intended.

Yes, you are seeing correctly.  I'm posting two days in a row.  I may be back for real, after all. 

Anyway, today is Father's Day and I always enjoy this day because I'm pretty fond of my Dad.  He's a good guy and has a crap ton to deal with some days and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves.  I wish I could something really special for him.  Someday I'll be able to.  Today he humored me and went golfing with me.  I'm pretty sure it was more for my benefit since I'm obsessed with it.  But he still did it and it was great!

Getting us started!

I look terrible in this one but whatever. 

This was the BEST part of the game today--I hit my second shot from this EXACT spot and it went in the hole.  YES!  I'd say it was about 50 yards that I hit it.  It's actually difficult to see the pin from this picture but it's literally the view right after I hit it in.  Pretty much the shot of my golf career!!  You know all three months of it! 

Me and Dad after we finished playing.  He's not so much in doing a photo shoot to get the best picture so this is what I got. 

After I ate dinner with my parents, I headed back home and stopped off to visit my Grandfather's resting spot.  I wasn't really planning it but for whatever reason I went a different way and something compelled me to stop.  This is not to say that I didn't want to, I just wasn't planning it.  If I was planning, I would have stopped at my other Grandfather's too.  In any case, I was happy that I did.  If I ever have a son, he will be named after him and my Dad.  

So that was how I spent my Sunday.  Hanging out with my favorite Dad.  This weekend has really lifted my spirits.  Now, I SHOULD be cleaning my house and getting ready for the week but I think watching the rest of the US Open is on the menu for me.  Happy Father's Day to my Dad!



Oh Baby!!

Sometimes there is nothing better than celebrating a new life to remind you to slow down and take a minute to enjoy the day.  Today was my friend Jill's baby shower.  She was married last July and here we are getting ready to welcome her son into the world!  It was a truly lovely afternoon.  I'll share some of the highlights.  For some reason blogger won't allow me to put them in the order I want.  I sometimes really hate the format of this blog.  I've got to work on that. 

The cake was made by Jenna, Jill's sister in law.  SO adorable!  I want Jenna to make my cakes from now on.

This was hanging above the gift table.  So cute!

Tara and I watching the gift opening.

Gillian and I. 

The cake table. 

The most delicious cupcakes ever!

The shower was in Jill's friends backyard and was so pretty.

The Mama to Be. 

The gift table.  Little Matteo is spoiled already!  ;)

Jill opening all of the cute clothes!

I love the way the tables looked.  So pretty and garden party.

I'm so excited to meet the little man  and watch Jill and Vinny become parents!  They will be great.  Congratulations to them!  The shower was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits.  It was a lovely shower and way to spend Saturday afternoon!

Pieces

I saw this on pinterest awhile ago and repinned it. But read it again the other day and it really spoke to me. I'm pretty tired of thinking about all that has transpired in my life and wondering about how I could have changed things or why people (many) that I cared about have behaved the way they have. It's like a puzzle that's missing pieces and I can't solve it. My brain and my heart need some peace. So I'm going to follow the crude advice and leave the pieces and get on with it. And I'm going to focus on the people that want to be in my life. I'm pretty great and I deserve to stop feeling awful and beating myself up over stuff I have no control over. I certainly can't control the hurt that people have caused but I can control the power it has over me. So if you're looking for me...I'll be moving on.

Bright Spot

It's been awhile since I updated about life.  I must admit it's been a whirlwind of things, feelings, good stuff, bad stuff...you know, life.  I think it's safe to say that the last 8 months have been the most challenging of any I've ever experienced.  I've learned a lot about myself and people in my life.  I can't say that I'm completely back to normal, but I think normal is all relative now.  :)

There is so much to catch up on but tonight I'll start with one of the things that has been a bright spot this spring. 

Back in 2002 I made a "life to do list" while on a trip back from Rhode Island.  It's actually quite funny to read it now.  Some of them are really silly (own all of the sex and the city DVDs)  and some are really deep and long term (have a family).  And some are just fun--like learning to play golf.  I've always thought it was something that would be good for me to know  how to do.  Especially for my career.   I was talking about it last summer but never got around to it. 

This spring one of my favorite students was telling me that he was taking the golf class on campus and it occurred to me that instead of paying a golf pro to give me lessons, I could finally use the tuition benefit I get working at the college and take that class.  So I signed up to take the class.  And the student let me borrow his mom's clubs until I decided if I liked it or not.  I have to admit that I was a little nervous to try out this sport.  I wasn't sure I'd be any good at it or like it.  But I needed a physical activity that I could do solo.  I would love to get back into volleyball or softball but I need a team to really do that.  So anyway, the first class was cool.  We practiced our swings and learned a little about etiquette.  And by the third class we went out to the course and did our thing.  I did it badly, but I liked it.  There is something beautifully frustrating about this sport that has a way of pulling you in.  Not too long into the class, I was hooked.  I would wake up thinking about my swing.  And found every opportunity to hit up the driving range.  Luckily, my student buddy was just as into it as me and would help me out.  He was really patient with me and helped me out with tips and pointers.  After a month, I decided that I'd invest in my own set of clubs and found a great set that I just love.  

It's been so much fun to learn this sport.  I have spent lots of time at the driving range by myself trying to get to know my swing and learn how I hit each club.  It's been wonderfully therapeutic too.  I even played in my first tournament with my Dad and two students a few weeks ago.    It was so much fun!  I wondered why I haven't been doing this my whole life.   I mean, it's outside in lovely weather, you can dress cute and wear skorts, you can drink whilst playing, and it's highly social.  Besides all that stuff it's incredibly challenging.  I find myself thinking about how I can do it better all the time.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still awful, but I really have improved and am really hoping to be semi-decent someday.  I even find myself watching the golf channel and reading books about it to learn more about the sport.  I'm kind of a nerd about it right now because there is a lot of information to know. 

I'm playing with co-workers this weekend and I'm super excited about that.  I will most assuredly be the worst person out there but I don't care.  It's all a part of my learning process.  And I'm really thankful that I have had this in the last few months.  It's given me something really fun to focus on. Plus I can now cross it off my "life to do list". 

I also have learning to sew on the list too.  So soon I'll be starting to take that on.  On rainy days when I can't golf, of course. :) 

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend! 



Final

One of the perks of my job is that I get to plan programs for students that are fun for me too.  Although I'm totally bummed that SU is out of the tournament, I was able to coordinate the NCAA final game to be shown on campus.  We hired a company to bring a big screen to project the game on.  I think the screen is like 25 feet or something like that.  It's big.  Since I love a good theme party, I decided to make some extras for the experience. 

I spent some time making little signs for the respective teams.

The Big Screen was a perfect way to watch the game.

Unfortunately, I was wearing this garbage for the entire day due to a lost bet with a co-worker.  He though he was funny by making me wear an ORANGE Kentucky shirt.  Salt in wound. 

More of the signs I made. 

We raffled off some prizes too. It was fun to go shopping for this event. 

I'm sad that the basketball season has come to an end.  It really brings me something to look forward to in teh winter months.  It's a long time until November...what will I do now?  :)

Eight

I haven't gotten around to it but wanted to document last weekend. You might not know what a huge Syracuse fan I am. Oh, I've mentioned that? Okay then.

Well, after the win over Wisconsin, I was texting my favorite fans and my friend Beth randomly asked if I wanted to go to the Elite 8 game in Boston. Um, yes!!

So last Saturday (on National Orange Day) I headed to meet Beth for our little journey. It was a fun time although our boys lost the game. It was easier to take being there than if I was at home watching. I would have thrown something at the TV for sure.

I'm sad that it's over for the cuse. But I'm even more sad that after tonight --it's a long time until November! I'm including some pictures from the game. And don't worry I still have one more basketball post to go after tonight. We are hosting a viewing and I'm in charge of the event so I did my best to theme it up. :)