Thursday

the last couple months

a short hike


sorry for being quiet around here. i've been preoccupied with a personal quest to achieve health. and i've been doing a lot of research for detoxing and transitioning into raw foods and vegan lifestyle. with that said, i may do an update on that real soon so stay tuned if your interested. i'll try and not make this blog about that. but i figured, since it is a personal blog for documenting my life, health is definitely a huge part of it. as some of you may remember, i've gotten sick really bad last winter, and i realize my immune system is degenerating. so that's the gist of the reason why i've decided to do this. so i'll probably just share my progress and some recipes i've found rather delicious along the way.

avocado lime soup

~*~

here are some pictures from september

wires

Indian summer

Sofia stole a shot

across the bridge from where we live is staten island. i found out that they have this awesome park there and they opened up a chinese garden. in september, they had an Autumn Moon Festival so we checked it out.



koi pond















bamboo forest

Friday

apple picking!



yay, it's september and fall is practically here! on wednesday, we were supposed to go to sesame place, but as it turns out, the park is only open on the weekends. so we decided to trek back up to northern new jersey to alstede farms and we ended up picking our own produce. i used to go apple picking every year with my own family but I haven't since I gave birth, so this is Sofia's first time. i forgot how much fun it is. i miss going with my family though, but with just us three it was the beginning of our own family tradition.












we got apples, peaches, eggplants & raspberries.



fuji apples




the animals there were so friendly.




picking raspberries



you could also cut your own flowers there



there was us and a few other people there, but the farm is so big that it felt like we were the only ones there. it was nice to be surrounded by all that greenery and it was so peaceful and beautiful, it was truly a perfect day.




Tuesday

old friends, new friends.

i met my friend Qawi in 5th grade. we did a lot of things together for the rest of our grammar school years. we signed up for after school programs, hung out at the roller rink, chased after boys at the park (and got chased by some weird ones too), we slept over each others houses, joined gymnastics, played basketball, we even did cheerleading. i wouldn't have done any of those things if it wasn't for her. after 8th grade she moved to the suburbs and saw her once during high school. after that we lost touch. it wasn't until the day that i was moving to new jersey that we got reunited. 15 years since we last hung out and her presence still feels as if it were only just the other day since we last saw each other. i love that we can still hang out and still feel comfortable telling each other secrets. and i am even more grateful that she also has a daughter who is the same age as mine! it was such a wonderful thing to see Sofia and Chloe get along so well. they took upon each other like old friends. it was like seeing ourselves in the two of them. childhood buddies. there is nothing like it.

\\at the children's museum of manhattan//









\\at fao schwartz//









\\at central park//









"new friends put a smile on my face, i'm so very happy that you're visiting my place."

- yo gabba gabba

Friday

it is summer, still



sofierce

as drew

spin cup

as me walk

yes, it is still summer. and i am still posting pictures from july. even though i caught myself daydreaming about the winter holidays. blankets and warm drinks. Christmas lights on all night... and all day. wearing layers of clothes. tights and cardigans. hats. can you tell i am over summer? i am hoping we can finally see autumn in boston. and i'd like to find the perfect camping ground, without bears. as i don't want to be eaten alive by the mother and it's cubs.

my friend qawi and her daughter chloe just visited us this past week. i'll be posting about their visit soon.


as waterballoon

bday cake pops

bonnie n yoko

Sunday

summers are for celebrating



it's 3am.

i've been up editing sofia's and audrey's birthday party pics,
because long story short, cvs effed up my negatives.
i got them back full of scratches with some sticky substances
on some of them and folded in the most inconvenient places.
so i will have to make do with what i have.

sofia icing

we went to alex's 2nd birthday party at scholastic books today,
i know sofie and audrey had a lot of fun with all the games they had them doing!

today is also my dad's 66th birthday.
cheers to you, my daddy!

oh and lucy's too.

a couple other's birthdays too, i remember yous.

summers are for celebrating.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to us!

i've put the birthday banner back up.
so, here's to celebrating everyday!
don't forget, stay young at heart.



Tuesday

babycakes bakery

we got two free muffins from babycakes because they were closing when i got there. lady was sort of a biz though. as i was eating it i said, "i really want to like this muffin and say it's good because everything tastes good when it's free... but its not."
and andrew goes, "yeah.. they're kind of dry."
then i was like, "waiiiiitt a minuuuute. i think they're vegan!" and confirmed that fact after reading the flier the woman gave me.
andrew practically spit the muffin out at the moment i said the v word. and complained the whole time saying he couldn't believe i gave him vegan muffins. he was so disgusted like i gave him dirt or something. hahahahahahah that was hilarious. i seriously don't know what he has against vegan food. the first time we tried angelica kitchen and he wouldn't stop saying how he needed to eat a huge burger and steak while eating our gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, animal-free meal.

anyway, i'm not a fan either, but it's not that big of a deal. i prefer my pastries moist, thank you very much.

Monday




people waiting around outside for scalped tickets.


taken in the lower east side on the way to see the extraordinary ordinary life of jose gonzalez. which, obviously, would be sold out. people were standing around waiting for scalped tickets outside the rooftop films venue. we ended up watching tree of life instead, which was too long. and i didn't enjoy it much knowing that i was missing out on the extraordinary ordinary life of jose gonzalez, which is probably pretty extraordinary.

on another note. it's august now. the best month to start loving summer again, because soon it will be over and fall begins. summer can be pretty exhausting with all the fun heat. i used to hate summer, but when i think of winter, i realize i'd rather have the heat.




Thursday

"not yo mama's craft fair"

basically:
arts and crafts,
knick knacks,
food trucks,
live music
& people watching.

i really enjoyed this craft fair, though i wish there could have been more shade to sit under, or maybe some grass to sit on. but other than that it was nice to see what the local artists and craftsmen/women have created. i'm starting to really like jersey city. it's chill, but it got it's own spunk. i also really like the old industrial buildings in that area, which i'm pretty sure will soon turn into some converted lofts... it would be awesome if i could do some sort of urban anthropology project to document this.

but anyhow, i feel like my words are just reiterating the pictures i'm showing you.




i really wish i could take better street photos. it's so hard to just take a picture of some stranger standing in front of you. and is it just me, but does it feel like when you are holding a camera people notice you more? i get pretty intimidated to take pictures of some real characters worthy to be photographed. but i feel like i should ask for permission first, but then it would just feel unnatural to do so. i really don't know how to get past this. any suggestions or stories from your own experiences, good or bad? do share. i am curious.