365 gratitude project: Days 265 - 268

Day 265 (Thursday, September 20):

i am very grateful for soulcycle and the fun workout it provides.

it's always a better day when i get to go.

and another for today,

just because i feel like it:

look at this incredible architecture.

temple emanu-el is really beautiful,

and in nyc where it is so noisy and chaotic,

it is too easy to walk by 

without taking a moment to appreciate the beauty.

grateful for the beauty around me.

Day 266 (Friday, September 21):

it's been a rough few days/weeks.

i'm dealing with some pretty heavy emotional stuff

that will hopefully get better soon.

i feel like i am on an emotional roller coaster

and the craziness of nyc isn't helping.

thank goodness for these sweet girls

and their incredible daddy.

this day was particularly rough for me

and there were about 4,000 children 

at the playground after school.

yikes.

but the gals knew to stay close

and they were as sweet as could be.

so very incredibly grateful for p, l, and b.

they help me so much and give me so much love,

exactly what i needed on this day.

Day 267 (Saturday, September 22):

b and i went out alone!

i suggested we start with drinks 

on the roof of the metropolitan,

and it was perfect.

grateful for time alone with my husband

and trying new things.

Day 268 (Sunday, September 23):

would you look at this face painting?

we went to a birthday party 

and this incredibly talented man, derrick,

was painting faces.

we were all so sad when we had to wash p's face

at the end of the day.

grateful for derrick and his amazing talent.

i need to have a party so i can hire derrick

for the kids and me!

365 gratitude project: Days 253 - 264

Day 253 (Saturday, September 8):

we went to the moma to see some art.

the gals loved this large table and chairs.

thank goodness for something in the museum

that the kids could actually touch!

grateful for moma and art.

 Day 254 (Sunday, September 9):

meet andrew.

our new beta fish.

after schlepping the girls to six open houses,

i decided that they deserved something special.

so how about a pet?

he's pretty cool, this andrew character.

grateful for our new pal and his awesome tail.

 Day 255 (Monday, September 10):

l is still phasing into her full school schedule

so we have lots of time to cavort together.

today we noticed that we both like sparkly shoes.

cute, huh?

grateful for fancy footwear.

Day 256 (Tuesday, September 11):

september 11th and all of the memories.

lucky to have such a sweet little family.

and lucky to have more sparkly shoes.

wow, l and i do really like sparkles.

grateful for the simple things that make me smile.

also grateful for cool sidewalks that 

remind me of a miro painting.

Day 257 (Wednesday, September 12):

going through some major internal struggles,

and things are not exactly easy these days.

grateful for a quite moment with a book

and my little one nearby playing.

Day 258 (Thursday, September 13):

opening night party and tour at p's school

and we were so excited to see the building.

of course we snuck off to spend some time in her classroom

and there was her writing,

just as she had told us about earlier in the day.

grateful for school and learning

and sweet little handwriting.

 Day 259 (Friday, September 14):

love this photo!

we took a little driving tour around brooklyn

after picking b up from work.

grateful to learn about new places

and capture quiet corners while at a red light.

Day 260 (Saturday, September 15):

i love farmer's markets

and this crew loves pickles, so what could be better?

pickles on a stick!

grateful for markets and pickles on a stick.

Day 261 (Sunday, September 16):

at my parents' for rash hashanah dinner.

before dinner 

the gals decided to put on

a little pre-dinner show for everyone.

it was a silent ballet at first.

no music, no singing, no talking.

then i put on some beyonce

and they totally rocked out.

grateful for dancing and beyonce.

Day 262 (Monday, September 17):

l and p spent the night with my parents on sunday night

after our rosh hashanah dinner at their place.

after b and i had returned home to an eerily quiet apt,

the phone rang and it was little l,

at 10:45pm,

saying she wanted to come home.

sweet girl.

she ended up staying up and watching a movie

with my mom in my parents' bed

while p slept in my old room with my dad.

needless to say, everyone was tired after that night.

we had a required rest/nap time at our place,

and these two were so adorable completely passed out

next to one another.

so so so grateful for naps.

Day 263 (Tuesday, September 18):

the only photo that i took today.

p and i were waiting to pick up l from school.

i guess it is now obvious that l is lucy.

our sweet little apple.

grateful for happy times at school.

Day 264 (Wednesday, September 19):

bedtime for the ladies.

love this book.

love watching them cuddle and listen to daddy's voice.

grateful for good books

and bedtime!

Taking a breather...

I haven't been posting regularly and I am sorry for that.  I'm sort of taking a mental health break, for lack of a better explanation!

I need time to get my shit together, to get my girls settled into school here in the big city, and to work on some issues, so I will not be blogging regularly anymore.

Who knows what will happen?  Maybe I will miss the blog and the Monday through Friday posts and jump back into it?  Or maybe I will just post when the mood strikes and when I have something important, meaningful, exciting or just plain awesome to share?  I will definitely continue to post the 365 gratitude project photos because I am going to do it for the rest of the year and love to have all of these photos to look back on.  As for what else will be here on Modern Sweets, I have no idea.  Let's see what the future holds, shall we?

xoxo

Wednesday's Words 9.12.12

Good morning!  Hope you have fun plans for this Wednesday.

As always, Pinterest has provided another great quote that can be found on my inspiration board:

I want to be an artist and I need to work to get there.  What medium, you may be wondering.  Photography, ceramics, painting - I just can't narrow it down because I love it all.  So there.  I need to invest the time and the patience and the practice to make my dream happen.

What's your dream?  What are you doing to work towards fulfilling that dream?  Share any tips as we may all benefit.

xoxo

Tuesday's Tales 9.11.12

Good evening, my friends.

I hope you all had a good day with this beautiful weather.

It's hard to think that it has been 11 years since the attacks on the World Trade Center.  It was amazing to me today to read all of the posts of friends on Facebook who lost loved ones in the attacks.  Time has  flown by since that awful day, but 11 years later I am sure we all remember where we were and exactly what we were doing on the morning of September 11, 2001.  Remember to show your friends and family just how much they mean to you because we are all so lucky to be here today.

I had planned on sharing a new fun book with you all today, but I changed my plan at the last moment (aka right now) to introduce you to Hug Time by Patrick McDonnell.

"There was once a kitten so filled with love he wanted to give the whole world a hug!"  
So begins this sweet book about a kitten who travels the world to hug all of the creatures on his "hug to-do list."

The story is simple and sweet, and the beautiful illustrations (done in ink and watercolor) add to the charm of this absolutely lovely book.  The best part is the end when McDonnell tells the reader to hug those closest to him or herself.  Read it with a child and tell me the whole experience doesn't warm your heart just a bit...

Enjoy!

Is this true?

I received the email below from change.org today:

In Selma, Alabama, a new monument to the first leader of the Ku Klux Klan is under construction on public land.

More than 80,000 people so far have signed a petition on Change.org started by community activist Malika Sanders-Fortier, calling on the city council to stop construction and remove the monument. Click here to sign Malika's petition before signatures are delivered in person this Friday, September 14.

The statue is of Confederate General Nathan Forrest -- infamous as the first Grand Wizard of the Klan and for massacring black Union soldiers at the Civil War battle of Fort Pillow.

Selma is home to some of the most important events of the Civil Rights Movement -- including "Bloody Sunday," when 600 activists fighting for African-American voting rights were attacked by state and local police. 

Unless the city council stops it, a "bigger and better than ever" monument will be constructed to honor Nathan Bedford Forrest. A group called Friends of Forrest built the original monument, and now the group is planning to lay concrete for a new foundation, add a new bust of the KKK founder, enclose the monument in a wrought iron gate, and add night lighting. 

This Friday, Malika and other community members who oppose the monument will march in a reenactment of the historic Bloody Sunday march, and deliver petition signatures in person to a member of the Selma city council.

Click here to add your name to Malika's petition before the signatures are delivered this Friday.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

- William and the Change.org team

Absolutely horrifying.  Thought I should share.

Monday's Musings 9.10.12

Hello, friends.

I hope you all had a great weekend and that your week is off to a nice start.

I am feeling so happy because my sweet little P is so happy at school with her teacher.  She is probably going to be behind in certain areas considering that she never went to kindergarten (she was too young in VA last year and is too old for it in NYC this year), so we will probably all have our work cut out for us.  Luckily, though, her teacher seems wonderful, and P is sad when she is not in school because that's the only place she wants to be!

Ok, for some random tidbits:

• I loved this article in yesterday's New York Times. 

I would love to see this in every phone booth!

• The windows at Barney's are incredible.  This one blew me away and I couldn't stop staring:

• Speaking of Barney's, I had to go there to buy a gift from a friend's wedding registry, and I encountered many beautiful objects for the home.  I immediately fell in love with these gorgeous tumblers by Moser:

imagine drinking a whiskey on the rocks in that.
not that i have ever had a whiskey on the rocks,
but i'd look pretty badass drinking it from one of these
lovely glasses.

Ok, that's all I have for today.  Nothing earth shattering or terribly exciting at all, I know.  Maybe once L starts school and I have a minute to myself I will have more brain power, but until then, short posts it shall be!

xoxo

365 gratitude project: Days 243 - 252

Day 243 (Wednesday, August 29):

we went to the beach for a dinner picnic

and the ladies found the perfect spot

to make sand angels.

love them.

so grateful for the sand and imaginations.

Day 244 (Thursday, August 30):

i adore this photo.

with the summer coming to an end,

we went to the beach with my mom for a walk.

we collected shells (obviously!)

and the girls played in the water.

grateful for the beach and all of the fun we have there.

and so grateful for this sweet photo of my little girls.

Day 245 (Friday, August 31):

we fit in one last bike ride before it was time to leave.

this is one of our favorite spots that we just discovered,

and now we can't go biking without a stop here.

grateful for morning bike rides and the view from right here.

Day 246 (Saturday, September 1):

so happy to be with our friends at their place in pennsylvania.

the kids are running, swimming, and playing,

and the adults are supervising (a bit) while catching up (a lot).

so nice.

and the day ended with smores for everyone -

what could be better?

grateful for good friends and delicious smores.

Day 247 (Sunday, September 2):

nothing says fall more than apple picking,

and while it isn't quite yet fall,

we went apple picking!

honeycrisps no less.

we had a fun hour picking pounds and pounds of apples,

and then eating all our bellies could handle.

and a big happy birthday to our sweet friend, sk.  

we were so happy to be with you to celebrate

and share your delicious ice cream cake.

grateful for apple picking

and birthday celebrations.

Day 248 (Monday, September 3):

summer is over,

and we are back at home,

feeling sad that this fun summer is ending

and it's back to school and our routines.

boo.

but we will make the best of it and plan some fun adventures.

grateful for such a great summer with my family.

Day 249 (Tuesday, September 4):

while with our friends at their house over the weekend,

the kids discovered old maid.

they all loved it, but p really couldn't get enough.

luckily, we came home to find our pack of old maid,

so we have been playing it non-stop.

grateful for old maid 

and the amazing person who created this fantastic game.

Day 250 (Wednesday, September 4):

love this moment.

b squeezed in between p and l, 

reading them a bedtime story on the eve

of p's first day of school.

what loves.

i am so incredibly grateful for my family.

i am a lucky gal.

 Day 251 (Thursday, September 6):

p's first day of first grade.

and because we just moved back from richmond

where she was too young for kindergarten,

she has to go right to first grade because of her birthday.

we were both really nervous,

but she was so brave and strong.

i was so proud of my sweet girl.

i am so grateful for my kind, funny, brave girl

and the lovely person she is.

Day 252 (Friday, September 7):

look what arrived in the mail today:

their halloween costumes!

they could not have been more excited.

what a fun way to begin the weekend.

oh, and last night was family game night,

so it was a fancy evening at our house.

grateful for halloween costumes

and how happy they make my girls.

Friday Fun 9.7.12

I sincerely apologize for the silence yesterday.  It was P's first day of school, a day of many firsts for her, and we were both anxious and on edge about it.  Everything turned out really well with only a few tears (hers, not mine, surprisingly...), but I used the whole day to try to give her all the love that I could and to express to her how proud I am of her.  She is a brave and sweet little girl.

Anyway, a few nights ago I came across a video on swissmiss, and I loved every second of it.  Maybe that will be me one day?


Have a great weekend.

Wednesday's Words 9.5.12

I just saw this on Pinterest this morning, and I loved it for it's message and design:

source

Have a great Wednesday, and if you need any more words of wisdom this morning, check out my Pinterest inspiration board!

xoxo

Tuesday's Tales 9.4.12

Hello, my friends.

I have taken a few days off, but now I am back in action.

I hope you had a lovely Labor Day weekend.  We had a great time with friends in Pennsylvania, and we even went apple picking on Sunday!  Summer is over, but I'm trying to keep some exciting things on the horizon so we have lots to look forward to.

Now, for today's Tuesday's Tale, I am going to tell you about an adult book for a change.  Gypsy Boy is a book that I just finished for the book club that I am joining (my first meeting/dinner with this group is coming up next week and I can't wait!), and it was a doozy.  Gypsy Boy is a true story of the author's horrific childhood (and brief glimpses into his adulthood) as a Romany Gypsy, moving from place to place, all the while being "trained" by his father to be an excellent fighter.

Walsh's training began at the age of 4 when his father would routinely beat him severely to try to toughen him up.  He was put into the ring with other boys by the age of 6, and never did he succeed in these fights, causing great shame and embarrassment to his father.  His mother and sister occasionally stepped in to try to protect him, but sadly his father was not the only person in young Walsh's life for him to fear.  To think of a child enduring so much at such a young age is just terrifying.

Despite the heaviness of the subject matter and the life of this young boy, Gypsy Boy is a very interesting book that I would recommend to anyone who is at all curious about learning more of Gypsy life and culture.