Happy Summer

Despite all the amazing weather we have been getting in New York lately, today officially marks the 

~First day of Summer 2011~

It feels like just the other day when my drive to work looked like this:

I am happy to report that it now looks a little more like this:

When I was just a little South African kid, I always wondered why they made such a big deal about American Summers in movies or TV shows. I then discovered there is a 3 month vacation involved! WHAT THE WHAT? Not fair, considering the longest vacation from school I ever got was over Christmas break (our Summer) and that lastest a measly 4 weeks. On the East Coast we did have Summer temperatures all year round so the warm weather was nothing too exciting either. I then heard about Summer Camps. What? You actually get to go hang out in the woods with your friends for weeks at a time? Where do I sign up? Am I too old? I loved the idea of summer camps so much in fact that it was my first choice of job when I first wanted to come to the states. I had bad timing though and ended up working at a ski resort instead.

This year will be my 3rd American Summer ever and I just can't get enough.  I am making the most of it by checking off my Summer bucket List which seems to be filling up with more things before I can cross anything off.

First Hike of the Year

Thanks to a suggestion from Sarah at A Lost Feather our first hike this year was up to the top of High Tor, which is located just over the Tappen Zee Bridge and only a 50min drive from our house.

I counted down the days till the weekend and checked weather.com at least 20 times (we had had thunderstorms all week) because I was just too excited. There is not much that beats getting out in nature, breathing in some fresh air and hanging out with your best friend.

After a pretty easy, 6 mile hike up to an elevation of 832ft we were rewarded with a 360 degree view which included the NYC skyline faint in the distance. We sat down to catch our breath and snacked on some nuts, guavas and candy.

I could not have asked for a better day, although next time I will defiantly remember to pack the bug repellent.

After the short drive back we stopped in at my father-in-law's to feast on some 'ceviche' before heading home, resting our tired feet and watching my all time favorite movie: Into the Wild.

And If you weren't totally sick of pictures of our hike, there is a video too! Enjoy!

On another note, starting from today we are beginning Meatless Mondays in our house. Its a great way to start each week on a healthy note! I admit that we eat too much meat and hopefully this will help us cut down our meat consumption by 15%. By doing this I hope to consume more veggies, improve our health and reduce our carbon footprint. Each Monday (starting next week) I will be posting my Meatless Monday dinner recipes in hopes that you will join in too. You can find more information on their website, and if you do decide this is right for you please sign the pledge.

I love you, dads!

Happy Father's day to my incredible dad and my awesome dad in-law!

Happy Friday!

Every friday I get home from work, put down my bag and do a little dance while singing 

"It's friday, it's the weekend, it's friday, it's the weekend."

This really happens, every friday without fail. I just love that feeling you get when you just know that you will not be waking up at 5:45am (in my case) the next morning. The sun is out after a crazy thunderstorm this morning and the weather is looking perfect for a hiking adventure tomorrow. 

Happy weekend everybody!

The Taste of Summer

Rita's Italian Ice is what makes Summer extra special for me. I discovered it for the first time last year and it soon turned into our answer for everything:

What should we eat? Rita's

Where should we go? Rita's

Im bored. Lets go to Rita's

Its hot. Lets go to Rita's

Wanna go to Rita's? Uh, are you kidding?

The #1 reason I love it so much is that it reminds me of my friends (who have moved back to South Africa) and of last Summer. We would be out all day at BBQ's or the beach and on the drive home (with "I could really use a WISH right now" blaring on the car radio) we would pick up some 'swedish fish' or 'Pina Colada' italian ice and it would be the perfect end to another perfect sunny day.  Yesterday I discovered Gelati. Im Hooked! There is no going back from the 'Juicy pear'/vanilla custard magical-ness that went down. No. Going. Back.

If you have a Rita's near you, get down there. You won't be sorry.

What is your favorite Rita's Italian Ice flavor?

The ferret with 9 lives

There was an incident last night that almost turned tragic. Our beloved fur son, Gumby (or "The Gum" as we refer to him), is apparently training to become a stunt man. 

While watching some online videos, (probably about ferrets) I heard a faint squeaking coming from the next room, but ignored it at first. The second time I heard it I turned to my husband and asked him if he thought it was our ferret? Mike lept up and ran towards the window. 

Now please picture this sight... Gumby was dangling OUT of the window of our 3rd FLOOR apartment, hanging onto dear life with just 1 little paw! 

My husband hero punched through the screen and grabbed the traumatized ferret. 

We clutched onto him and had a long family hug while everybody's heart beats came back down to normal.

I could not believe what had just happened.

"The Gum" had scaled a laundry bag that was next to the window and, while examining the view, he apparently found a tiny tear in the screen and thought he would get some fresh air or act like spiderman (who knows what was going on in his little ferret brain). GOSH! 

What an event for a tuesday night. It is truly a miracle that Gum is still around to cause more chaos in the future. 

I used to be a florist, can you tell?

R.I.P Gabby the plant. (named after my dear friend who had to sit with the tree on her lap all the way back from Brooklyn) 

Despite my floristry skills and (this one is the most embarrassing) I actually used to sell interior plants in office buildings, we have seen the demise of not only one little palm tree, but two!

I guess between the out of control heaters (in winter); a crazy, digging-addicted ferret running amock (please note my protective cardboard cover) and possibly a little neglect from owners; any plant life is pretty much doomed in this apartment.

For now my beautiful white ceramic pot sits empty while I contemplate buying a fake plant to save any more heart break.