It's like candy!

Today I came across something fun and completely new to me. Some of you sewing people may have already seen these and are wondering what took me so long, but I'm finally in the know. It's the "Jelly Roll" by Moda! These touchable little gems are a quilters dream but for people like me they mean a world of possibilities. What's a Jelly Roll? Well, it's a circular bundle of fabric strips measuring 2 1/2" wide. Each roll has a theme and will include 40 strips of fabric. There is even a club you can join through which you can receive a Jelly Roll each month. Who knew? Visit Fat Quarter Shop for more details.

Also check out this super cute Monkey fabric! It's also from MODA. Don't you think it would make the best party dress for a little girl?

Treat yourself.

Wanna be the coolest kid on the block? It's easy. Check out some of these amazing accessories from two super-swell sites.

Grab this stellar wallet for only $12 from Gamma-Go


Browse through the many wallet designs for $20 at Poketo... cheap and stylish, no doubt.



Score a crazy cool shirt for $28 also from Poketo

The things I see.

Do you ever seen crazy things that make your head turn? I do. All the time. I don't mean a weird bumper sticker or a random hair-do. I mean really crazy stuff.
Last year I saw a man walking or should I say stumbling down Northwest Highway. I was driving west and he was on my right. I nearly crashed the car trying to get a good look. I think it was an actual zombie. Yeah, that's right. I said ZOMBIE. Here's why I think that.... He was shirtless and wearing cut off shorts with frayed edges. His arms were hanging in a zombie like fashion. His lips were blueish and around his mouth was a white ring, like he was dead or UNDEAD. His eyes were huge and blankly staring, his mouth was agape and he was dragging his feet as he moved along the side of the road. No, it was not Halloween.

Then a few months ago my husband and I saw a cave woman. Yep. That's right. A cave woman! She was sitting on the corner of a residential street near the sewer opening. She had long stringy, messed up hair and was wearing a one piece brown dress with jagged edges on the sleeves and hem. She was barefooted and filthy. Something in the sewer seemed to fascinating her and she was actively working to get it.

One night I saw a car completely engulfed in flames in front of a Souper Salad near my neighborhood. It was a giant fireball in the shape of a car and the flames were so hot and so bright that it illuminated the entire city block. Talk about random. I still wonder how it happened. There was no accident. The car had simply been parked in a spot, likely minding it's own business. Then poof! Up in flames. I hope no one was hurt.

Today we saw a man carrying an excercise machine down the road. What on earth? He couldn't have been bigger than 5'8" and 165lbs. The machine was nearly 2 feet taller than he was! He waited patiently for the light to change and then crossed the street with it. I have no idea where he was going or what his plan was or how far he walked before we saw him. Keep in mind that I'm not talking about a machine in a box. It was a completely assembled home exercise center!


There are so many more things I could tell you, but you can imagine. I'm sure you've seen something strange at some point in your life. Feel feel to comment on this post with your own weird stories.

Do over.

Ok, so I know we have to be some of the last people on earth to get started, but at least we're doing it. We're RECYCLING! Yes, we are. We should have been doing it for years, but it seemed confusing and difficult. It's not. It's actually pretty easy and kind of fun. Check out this great site....
www.lime.com

They've got tips for recycling almost everything. Did you know that Whole Foods will take your used alkaline batteries? They will! I've decided that when I grocery shop I'm going to keep in mind whether or not the product packaging can be recycled. Hopefully I can choose wisely.

Happy Birthday!

Dad
Originally uploaded by ImSuperchica

April 23rd would have been my Dad's 68th birthday. He passed away 20 years ago. I can't even imagine what he would look like at 67 because the last time I saw him he was only 47 and really very young. He was such a special man and the best Dad. I miss him more than I can say. I miss his laughter and his smile, his jokes and silly stories. I miss his kindness and his curiosity for life and the times he shared his thoughts about the world and people and the way things ought to be. Most of all I miss his unconditional love and the way he made me feel safe. I thank him for the many things he taught me and for giving me a love for learning. He was a gentle, thoughtful and wildly intelligent person with so many hopes and dreams.
So here's to my amazing Dad, Richard Petrosky born in NY in 1940.

I love you Dad. :)

Things.

I've noticed. I've thought. I've learned. I've realized. I remembered.

1. I'm not as disciplined as everyone thinks I am.
2. Planting herbs and peppers in our garden is satisfying and eating them is even better.
3. NyQuil is an awesome product.
4. A week's worth of groceries cost me $35 last year. Now, the same groceries cost $60.
5. There are actually friendly people living in Dallas. It took forever to find them.
6. Getting a giant, blue recycling bin is more exciting than I thought it would be.
7. My dogs are amazing people.
8. Annie Lennox is a real rock star.
9. Balls of Fury was actually a funny movie. Seriously.
10. I think my body and soul need to travel the world if I'm going to thrive.
11. People are selfish. That's not new, but it's just more obvious than ever.
12. Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos are freakishly tasty. They remind of something but I can't put my finger on it.
13. Charlton Heston died. I wonder if he was buried with a gun?
14. Jane Austen had a beautiful heart. She would have made a good friend :)
15. God is the ultimate art teacher. I like his work.

Not so crafty.

I'm beginning to face the fact that for the moment, I'm all crafted out. What's that about? I can't really give an answer. So, for a while I may not blog about crafty stuff. Instead, I'll just put my thoughts out there and maybe share a funny story or this or that. Okay?

Good. Well, lately I've been addicted to LastFm.com. Kent was told that his album had been posted there and was getting pretty frequent play, so he checked it out. One day I finally sat down and started playing around with it myself and I love it. The basic concept is that you type in your favorite singer or band and then they show you their discography and you can play mp3's of their songs. It also shows you similar artists and you can set it to "radio" and it just keeps playing music that it thinks you'll like. Sort of like Amazon, but without being a storefront. It's fun. Not all the artists have their songs available to listen to, but I've found almost everything I like so far. Check out my playlist...


It's funny. When you actually sit down and make a list of your favorite songs, and not just what you like right now but what you can't live without, you can see what really influences you. It's clear that I'm a product of the 80's and that I like melancholy music. Yep, that's pretty much it in a nutshell. This list is not perfect, because some of my favorite songs were not available on LastFm, but it's close and pretty representative of my style and my heart. I've made my "Desert Island" mix in my head a thousand times. If I were on a desert island would I really have access to a cd player? Well, maybe. Until the batteries went dead. Anyhoo.

NY Follow up and more.

So, where was I? OH yes. Monday night. Well, in a nutshell we walked through the village feeling refreshed and ready for more. We passed a lovely book store called Partners in Crime-Mystery Books. It's exactly what I wish we had here in Dallas, but don't. Then we happily stumbled upon the Jonathan Adler store. I had no idea how much I would like it! It's a very small shop and in an unexpected spot. Inside was a great selection of house wares and linens and interesting furniture. If you like simple and sophisticated design, you should visit his website http://www.jonathanadler.com to see what I'm talking about. We spent about 20 minutes shopping and sadly left empty handed. Our budget was tight and we had to be good.
It was raining and our feet were tired so we stopped at the famous Max Brenners. A large portion of their menu is made up of chocolate delights. It's really a dream come true, right? Well, I have to say we were a bit disappointed. I ordered a mexican hot chocolate that was soooooo spicy that I couldn't manage more than two sips of it. Keep in mind that I love spicy food and have a high tolerance, but it burned in a weird way. Kent did better and ordered the double chocolate, which was just that. Imagine drinking a cup of melted chocolate and there you have it. The girls at the table next to us ordered the Urban Smores which included marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate and your own personal grille to fire up at the table. The smell was divine. Buzzed and confused we finally decided to move on our next destination. The St. Mark's Place neighborhood and Giant Robot!!!! I have waited for 5 years to visit a GR shop and now was my chance. Woo! It was small but full of goodness. I bought 3 shirts, stickers, pins, 2 posters and a gift for my nephew. I pretty much blew my whole souvenir budget in one night, but I didn't care. I was happy.
It was raining slightly. Rain is always nice, but it's unbelievably charming in NY. I swear. More walking and then a few stops at the record shops for Kent. He was so excited to find shops full of vinyl and out of print cds. Dallas has the worst music shops, so he was in heaven. He scored a jazz CD or two, which was great. Every day we were in the city we walked at least 5miles and Monday was no exception. Our dogs were barking! I truly needed a foot transplant, but there was nothing for it and so I settled for dinner and a chance to sit down. Fortunately, in addition to being a haven for freaks, St. Mark's Place is also known to some as the JapanTown of Manhattan, so of course we were thinking sushi. We found a place called Sharaku that was not what we had hoped for, but they had chairs and that was good enough for me. Our table was on the 2nd level and we had view of city and the rain. Not bad.
I really think that's enough action for one day, don't you? We headed for the train and our trip back to Jersey City and bed.

More tales of NY

It was a wonderful weekend and then Monday came.  We started off the day in the best way. We had bagels!  Well actually we each had a bialy and cream cheese.  Bagels on the Square had been recommended to us by one of the vendors at the Bust show. She was right!  It was sooo yummy, well priced and right near a lovely park.  We ate in the park with a pigeon or two, grabbed a copy of the paper and tried to think about our day.  

For some reason we had decided to venture north and see a few of the more touristy sites.  It sounded like a great idea, but maybe not so much.  The first stop was Bryant Park, the home of Fashion Week.  

There were lots of little shops or you might say kiosks all around, which is a great idea but the skating rink was the big attraction.  The weather was cold and just perfect for a visit to midtown.  We moved on to Radio City Music hall, which was packed with people waiting to see the Christmas Spectacular.  We weren't able to go in because of the event, so we made our way to NBC, the home of Conan and 30 Rock.  Secretly, I was hoping for a celebrity sighting, but no luck.  The NBC shop was big and crowded, but nothing really said "buy me".  

So then it was off to Rockerfeller Center!  I kind of wish we had gone at night so that the lights would be in full effect, but we didn't.  The tree seemed smaller in person and not very cheery, but at least we can say we've been there.  
Swarms of people were all around us at this point and everyone was taking pictures and looking for good vantage points.  We snapped a few ourselves and then made our way to Madison Ave.  
This is where Kent hailed his first cab!  It was a special moment and kind of scary.  The cab driver whisked us down the street like Godzilla was chasing us!  He was manic to say the least and we held on for dear life.  Our destination was 88th and the Guggenheim.  Unfortunately we didn't realize that the museum was undergoing a massive facelift and was covered by scaffolding.  We almost walked by it because it was unrecognizable.  Still, we went inside and got a taste of it.  We also scored a Lichtenstein poster, a Rothko calendar and a gift for a friend.  Heading out into the street again we got brave and bought a pretzel from a street vendor.  Ugh.  Worst choice ever! It was cold and tasteless and we were sad.  We stood between the museum and Central Park bummed about our pretzel and then somehow Kent stepped in poo.  Yes. Poo.
 It was funny and we laughed pretty hard about it.  We walked a little way and then caught a cab to Herald Square. 

The drive took us up 5th avenue and finally through Times Square.  I have to say that once again it's not all that impressive in the daylight.  In fact, it's actually a little sad.  All of the restaurants are big chains.  There was an Olive Garden, Planet Hollywood, Bubba Gumps and the like.  Not very NY.  Clearly it's a tourist trap and I'm glad we were only driving through.  The traffic was insane and so we asked the cab driver to let us out sooner than we had planned.  That proved to be a mistake.  We were tired, hungry and a little cranky.  The mood in midtown was so different from what we had experienced in the Village and Soho.  I thought that the garment district would be a thrill, but it just wasn't and I swear every single person we passed was smoking.  I almost had a panic attack at one point because I couldn't get a breath of clean air.  We wanted to find lunch and fast, we walked and walked in search of a Gray's Papaya and when we finally found it, we realized there was no seating.  Totally demoralized, we made our way to the nearest subway and headed back to the familiarity of 14th st. This was the best choice ever, because after walking a block or two we found a haven.  Yes!  Fish and Chips!  It was a massive score.  Nothing in the world could have been better at that moment than delicious, hot fish and chips and ice cold cokes.  We were slowly returning to normal and breathing more easily.  On Greenwich Ave between 12th and 13th stands the loverly "A Salt and Battery" right next to "Tea and Sympathy" in the heart of "Little Brittain".  Thank you God!  It was as comforting as could be and has to be one of my favorite memories of the trip.  

Monday evening was much better and I'll tell you about it in my next blog.