home : paper overload

we think scott's grandmother is on the left.

i don't know what triggers this behavior, but sometimes i feel like i'm drowning in paper. it happened this weekend and for some reason i needed to go through all of our photos to re-organize and consolidate them. i haven't printed photos in years, so these were photos that weren't bothering anyone in their albums and shoe boxes. that led to going through four boxes of greeting cards from each other and family, friends.



i think hearing charlie talk repeatedly about the burden of all the papers helen kept had something to do with it. our stuff can become a burden and who would want to look at all of these things like inconsequential landscape photos from someplace in england, blurry no less? not even us since most of them are stored in boxes in the closet.



it is nice to look at our mementos and we're about halfway done. i did the photos and scott the cards. he likes to give me cards and did make the pouty face when i asked him if we really needed to keep all those he chose (duplicates, triplicates!), but after all, there are two boxes to go! one box includes notes from when we were dating and early in our marriage, so that one has full immunity.



i can no longer say i have every card scott has ever given to me, but those i do have are the most special and not a burden in any way. this weekend, we did get out and see the movie the informant! with matt damon as compulsive corporate liar mark whitacre and it was great. enjoy your week!

xo, cindy

home : window box

carpe diem

we have the most humble window box, especially now that the pink petunias are kaput. we're not supposed to have one at all (law breakers), but it's kind of in a discreet place. i built a little ledge to keep the window box stable and added some small stones and shells from the beach to keep the soil from splattering when it rains and to retain moisture. they look nice, too.

right now, it has some hens & chicks from my mom's garden and i just planted salad greens with matchbook seeds. there's also a lagging nasturtium and our squatting morning glory with the support of a couple of chopsticks. it's not much, but so nice to see mother nature up close.

ms. une fleur pour toi mentioned that this week's word is carpe diem - seize the day, so this is my interpretation. if you'd love to grow something, grab a little bit of space legally and do it, even if it's matchstick size. enjoy your weekend!

xo, cindy

ps i don't have a macro lens, but almost exclusively use a 35mm prime lens (no zoom), crop the photo close (not too much) and always to 5" x 7" (ocd). the lens has no image stabilizing feature, so i hold my breath a lot. actually, it's best to exhale and then hold your breath to reduce camera shake.

nyc : farm life

corn & corn.

thank you very much for sharing your preferences on cool vs. warm in the last post. cool seemed to be the overall favorite and most closely in sync with my natural style, which can be different from what i find appealing as an admirer of photography. it's something i'm struggling with so much it's kind of holding me back, but i'll save that for another day.

today, it's time to visit the country fair at the queens county farm we visited last weekend. it was hard to believe we were in nyc and such fun! one of the things we enjoyed most was buying produce & eggs at the source. very rare in the city. there were also so many animals, some wandering around right next to us. we saw a rooster heading into the woods with a couple of red hens and a pig taking a nap in mud. there was a band and rides and delicious food, plus mayor bloomberg showed up. hope you enjoy!

xo, cindy


love this wind mill & corn on the stalk!


the last sunflower & vegetable garden.


flowers & vegetables at the source.


friendly steer & chicken.
ok, if you will remember i just about became a vegetarian last week. i had delicious potato pancakes for lunch at the fair, while scott had a hot dog and a grilled chicken sandwich. this one is for him.


grapes will become wine & apples, cider.


ride & a beautiful handmade blanket. awesome.


radishes & peppers, no peas!


hair & tortoise or christmas red & green.


very nice ferris wheel, but we kept our feet firmly planted on the bales of hay and watched the band.

garden : from seed to blossom

magnolia seed pods & bloom



wisteria seed pods & blooms

scott worked late last night and i was in a bit of trouble when he got home at 9:30 pm because i was still on the computer. i didn't plan on posting today and i'm kind of grounded, but some recent film photos from wave hill were neat. i've never noticed magnolia or wisteria seed pods until recently. the before and afters are interesting. the wisteria seed pods are a bit weird and perfect for halloween. the blooms were from this past spring.

ok, that's all for me. it's lovely outside and i better get out there and think of something to make for dinner with jamie oliver's help. have a nice weekend, again!

xo, cindy

craft : handmade floral collages

i like to make petite floral collages and have more than 20 of these everlasting bouquets. not sure why i haven't shown them before? they're made with tiny paper flowers, beads, bows and vintage trim all assembled on a hand painted watercolor background. an online shop might be nice to sell some? i really get hung up on the packaging and shipping part, though. wrapping is not my forte. i'll work on it and study the excellent posts by paper n stitch and modish.

scott doesn't know it yet, but i'd like to go apple picking this weekend, but not sure where. or, the queens county farm museum fair. or, the new bright star and the informant! movies look good. hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

xo, cindy

pics : vegetable garden {2}

dinosaur gourds at the new york botanical garden

tomatoes, onions, asparagus, parsnips, cucumbers, avocados, celery, potatoes, squash, lettuce - ok, maybe i like more vegetables than i thought. but, no peas. even if they're mixed with diced carrots. i'll just eat the carrots and take a long time doing it.

xo, cindy

pics : vegetable garden {1}

i am not a huge fan of vegetables. as a kid, i did the sit at the table until you finish your peas thing. i should still be sitting there. i like corn, carrots, zucchini, creamed spinach, maybe some snap peas or roasted vegetables with lots of garlic & olive oil. i am a fan of photographing them, though. these pics were taken this weekend at the new york botanical garden's edible garden. i should have another photo of lidia bastianich's cooking demonstration, but i had some technical difficulties. my mom adored her. she makes good vegetables.

these photos aren't just vegetables, but they are colorful. next post will be mostly green. enjoy your week!

xo, cindy

love : nyc

hook & ladder company 115, engine company 258 : long island city

i love nyc so much it makes me cry sometimes. i'm really fortunate to call it my home. scott is lucky because he was born here. i felt bad that i didn't have anything special to share today. then, i saw this photo and remembered i did. of course, we live just down the street from a fire house and hear the trucks all the time. scott had two uncles who were firemen. so, thank you to new york's bravest, finest and everyone who takes the risk of paying the ultimate price by being first to rush into a disaster. thank you for taking care of us. we recognize the sacrifices you & your families make to keep our city safe and hope you will be, too.

xo, cindy

nyc : central park zoo

so, we went to the central park zoo with charlie. he was born in nyc, but never visited the zoo. i had a different plan for this post based on how new yorkers are notorious for giving the wrong directions. i was going to ask the animals where we could find the snow leopards and they would tell us the wrong way. you can see in the photos that it's kind of like they're speaking to us and we end up back with the polar bear.

but, tomorrow is september 11th and it didn't seem appropriate. instead, i'll dedicate this post to all that is good and the fact that new york city is still here & thriving. we've never visited ground zero and won't until there's something to see other than a hole in the ground. i kind of think donald trump was right when he said we should rebuild the world trade center as it was, but more structurally sound and with an extra floor on each building. it's been eight years and we're missing the ! at the tip of manhattan. it's time to rebuild already, but regardless, we'll never forget the beautiful souls that were lost that awful day.

xo, cindy


a lovely view from the zoo.


the most entertaining polar bear you could ever see.


the birds in the rain forest were the best part. so beautiful. we love the mohawk-style feathers on this one.


the red pandas were beautiful and playful.


when we first walked into the penguin exhibit i was taken a back because these guys were just posing. i thought we might be looking at some taxidermy, but then they started swimming around.


there's a children's zoo, too. looks like cinderella was there as someone left her pretty pink sandals behind.


sweet.


by this point we were moving like a couple of turtles.


shy and sweaty snake.


big bird.


these were the coolest monkeys.


hey, pretty bird? your blue feathers are incredible, but please don't poop on me like the bird yesterday in city island. gross!


he was the king of the zoo!


the snow leopards were in hiding that day, but the polar bear, birds, monkeys and other animals were great. we should do a better job of caring for our planet so zoos aren't the only places wild animals can survive.