This is for anyone who has ever questioned why I love and adore Jimmy Fallon and his show. 

And for anyone who ever questioned why my sister and I love JT.

Unrelated

Garrett, Kaden and Dallin

Dew Tour Time

Nadi and Vivi

Splash Pad Time

   Ben And I 

Indulging Time

Sunday Bloody Sunday

After church Tom had a brilliant idea.

It involved hamburgers, mountains and water.

Garrett was the photographer. 

Fun, Fun, Fun.

                           

Happy Feet

I think feet are beautiful. They never get the recognition they deserve.

It's a funny thing...
.

How beastly I am in the kitchen. I can't seem to cook, bake, prepare, boil, heat up, or toss  anything. I have even been a student in some pretty awesome classes with some pretty top chefs. I think I can get it, but then I come home to prepare it and it flops. Every. Time.  Bless my sweet husband, he continues to encourage me, but I continue to suck. 

EXCEPT...
.

I can make the most delicious enchiladas in the world. Give me twenty minutes in the kitchen and I will give you an enchilada you will never forget. I have had even the most persnickety taste buds tell me so. Funny...  I'm  white and the only thing  I can manage to cook is an enchilada. Race is silly... It should be decided, not on the color of one's skin, but on how well they can make Mexican food.

Why do I like this picture?

Well, let's take a look. Here we have two completely different styles. One is an  English cottage and the other is a newly built, 2005 contemporary.  Individually these homes are great, but what makes this so cool is the fact that these two homes are right next door  to each other and are living cohesively and beautifully.

***This next part is purely assumptions...Just go with me.***

Rather than finding a beautiful lot in a beautiful new neighborhood, this smart (and tasteful) contemporary homeowner opted for the tear down route. Which is a great idea. Good for him. Now, if you look closely at the cottage style home, it actually looks to me like this was once maybe a rambler. Originally, it was probably a pre war home, maybe 1920 ish... But I think this homeowner opted for the renovating route. It looks like he added a second level to this once boring home, turning it into a beautiful English cottage that anyone (with taste) would love to have.

I saw this picture from one of my favorite blogs: A Daily Dose of Architecture. They were highlighting the contemporary's architect, (Thank you Teeple Architects for your innovative design) but the concept of the neighborhood caught my eye. How wonderful that people are starting to tear down, renovate, remodel etc... No, you won't get  to live a "theme" neighborhood... (wouldn't that be nice) Instead, you will have the opportunity to live next to more aware neighbors,  better approaches to design and probably (judgment) more creative people. If I recall correctly, this is from somewhere in Toronto.

Although, I am skeptical I could pull this off in my area, (The whole city would be up in arms) I would encourage anyone with the opportunity to follow these leaders.

Good job on doing your part to cut down on the urban sprawl.

Cool facades. Cool concepts. Cool homeowners. 

Yes, I did just build a home in a new neighborhood. I know, a bit hypocritical. In my defense I have remodeled, renovated and practically torn down. It was great every time. We just couldn't find a neighborhood we could take advantage of this time... Give me a break. I never said I was perfect, I only said I wanted to be.

WONDERLAND

 By Lyndsey Ercanbrack

Have you ever visited a place where you can actually feel the magnetism?

A place where as soon as your feet strike the ground, your heart feels it?

I have...

She is my wonderland.

She is a place of extremes, she offers no middle ground.

She is who she is. She makes no apologies.

She is intimidating, but she will show you your inner strength.

She will never adapt to you. You must adapt to her.

She welcomes all walks of life, but keeps to herself.

Her smile is not carried on her face, but rather in her heart.

She will calibrate your mind and quell your soul.

She is strong and self reliant. You’ll never hear her squawk or quibble about.

Of course, she is not perfect and I don't mean to sketch her as such.

She can be trenchant, manic, direct, ardent, and stranger than a rare cult film.

But for me that’s all part of her grace.

My heart belongs to you, New York.

And it always will.

Greener Pastures?

I am less than thrilled about the prospects of my children growing up in our current area. Although it is a very beautiful place to reside...and we are lucky to be here, I would love for them to be exposed to a little more...texture.  Right now I am thinking New Orleans would be an awesome place to live.Would it be a life changing arrangement? Probably not, but it's fun to think about. It was this time last year we visited The Big Easy. The Garden District stole my heart . I practically inhaled the architecture.

I could have set up camp right there on the trolley.

I was just thinking how incredible it would be
to walk down these everyday.

And then to come home to one of these beauties.

I am confident there will be issues wherever we go. Obviously, just because this place is completely stunning  and a bit surreal  to behold, doesn't mean there are not problems...I won't be duped into believing  if we move here life will be like an indefectible, matchless, paradise. Just because the local  Borders Bookstore is located in a two hundred year old house that makes you feel like you could  take up residency, doesn't mean there aren't drugs in the schools...And sure the wooden trolleys drive on grass paths and make you feel like you are in a clip from a 1920's silent film,  but that doesn't mean the town doesn't suffer from  gang occurrences...And yes, I am profoundly aware their primo food won't slow the alarming growth rate of teen pregnancy...And fine, we all know that alluring architecture isn't going to stop world hunger.

...Hmm...But then again, it has to start somewhere.

The GOOD NEWS

I finally found a rug for my family room.

The bad news...  It's $6,800. I don't think all the smiling 

in the world will convince Tom that this is a good idea. 

I could go in this direction, although I have one similar 

to this in my living room. It's a steal at only $450.00.


Why am I having such a difficult time with my own home?
This is getting past a joke. 
It's starting to get embarrassing.