June 5, 2019
Within a wacky week of work, a field trip to Coney Island with 270 middle schoolers. It was the annual honor roll trip to Luna Park. Of course I had to take the opportunity to capture its colorful summer-associated parts in the moments I could. Coney Island is, after all, Read more…
June 1, 2019
Arts & Crafts, Beautiful Places Close By, Eating Out, These are a few of my favorite things., Wanderlust
On this self-care Saturday, I gave myself beautiful things to see and to feel. I like to do this for myself often. In fact, this blog wouldn’t exist if I didn’t enjoy exploring, gratifying my own senses with awe and wonder, seeking things to think about, feel about, talk about. Read more…
May 19, 2019
That which is not fed… dies. So keep feeding what you wish to grow. 🌱 A simple truth I have to remind myself of on occasion as I can sometimes feed the wrong things with all my nourishing goodies. But I have a symbiotic relationship with Inspiration ( “her” ) Read more…
May 8, 2019
Picture purge–First, my umbrella holder. Ever since I had fantasies of having my own place I thought it quite the clever idea to buy a rifle holder to hold my umbrella. I finally did it. I painted it myself too! If you are ever starved for attention, walk around with Read more…
May 2, 2019
With two days of state exams and an awesome testing schedule, I spent my back-to-back free periods in my favorite place: Green-Wood Cemetery. It is crazy to think I first set foot into its grounds only a year ago. This time, peak flowering for its gorgeous trees would make it Read more…
April 3, 2019
This is where Spring starts: as a burst of bright on the end of a drab brown branch. In-between my days’ other times I found these sparks in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery and Prospect Park. Cherished indicators of impending beauty… Blow a kiss to Spring! More Green-wood…
March 31, 2019
The best part of Spring is the return of color. To celebrate, I honor the colors.
March 27, 2019
I’m breaking in my new lens! My Rokinon 12mm F2.8 Ultra Wide Fisheye Lens captures a ton more than my other lens. Just look: On the left, my old lens (Tamron 18-200mm) and on the right, the Rokinon, taken from the same cushion on my couch. That’s the fish eye. Read more…
March 24, 2019
I have this thing for dressing on theme. So as I get dressed for a beautiful Sunday at New York Botanical Garden‘s Orchid Show, I notice my Texas flag shirt and my Daenerys Targaryen costume. I giggle that I can almost set up some hooks on my wall so my Read more…
March 10, 2019
How have I never been to this place before?! Sandy Hook is part of Gateway, a National Recreation area that spans New York and New Jersey. I’ve explored the New York portions, Staten Island’s Fort Wadsworth, Jamaica Bay’s Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Dead Horse Beach in Queens, but I Read more…
February 18, 2019
Ice Castles is a man-made tourist attraction made entirely of water, the brainchild of a California ex-pat who relocated to Utah and needed a way to get his six cooped-up kids out of the house. His ice castles became a neighborhood draw and, in 2011, he brought his castles to Read more…
February 9, 2019
🔔 Every Time A Bell Rings… A New York City angel gets stalked by me. Did you happen to notice I never stalked the angels in the 5th borough? This is partly because, by design, Manhattan doesn’t have any of my favorite kind of angel… the grieving angel. In fact, Read more…
January 11, 2019
And since it’s hibernation season, I am motivated to begin fine-tuning my space, starting with two of my very favorite things: music and baking. My baking ingredients now are stored beautifully in the biggest “lazy Susan” I’ve ever seen. I won it from an estate sale auction and picked it Read more…
January 6, 2019
I caught New York City’s first Lantern Festival on its very last evening at Snug Harbor on Staten Island. Sure, it was crowded and sure, it was muddy, but also… sure, it was pretty darn beautiful and well worth the crowds and mud. My favorite area was the ocean… and Read more…
January 1, 2019
New Years traditions are intriguing. There is a sweet whimsy to the symbolic gestures intended to tuck away the old and ring in the new. There is an innocence to their hope. This is day 1—potent and pure in a way that time will soon taint and obscure. So bask Read more…
December 27, 2018
🔔 Every Time A Bell Rings… A New York City angel gets stalked by me. This time it was Queens and a trip to St. John Cemetery in Middle Village. Beforehand and foolishly, I questioned whether Queens could compare to the beauty in Green-Wood in Brooklyn and Woodlawn in The Read more…
December 23, 2018
🔔 Every Time A Bell Rings… A New York City angel gets stalked by me. But, in the case of The Bronx’s Woodlawn Cemetery, a 400 acre rural cemetery jam-packed with so much beauty and wonder, it’s not just the angels. I don’t know how the other boroughs can come Read more…
December 22, 2018
🔔 Every Time A Bell Rings… A New York City angel gets stalked by me. I had a list of angels I wanted to find in Green-Wood for this, the first of a series of posts documenting the best angel sculptures in New York City, starting in my home, Brooklyn. Read more…
December 16, 2018
Now, whenever it is overcast out, I want to head to a cemetery. The Fort Hamilton entrance to my beloved Green-Wood Cemetery is not that far from where I live. And since it is such a tremendous cemetery, entering through this gate is like entering a whole new cemetery. And Read more…
December 4, 2018
What did you think? That I could be a mile and a half away from a rural cemetery all day and not head directly through its gates when finally free from my school visit in East New York? Established in the 1849, Evergreens Cemetery is a rural cemetery on the border Read more…
December 2, 2018
I’m now totally convinced there is no bad weather for cemetery photography. Today’s grey and mist was perfect to explore Moravian Cemetery, Staten Island’s oldest “active” cemetery. Dating back to 1740, some of the weathered headstones are well-worn, broken, and strewn about. But there are plenty of winged ladies. Ladies Read more…
November 28, 2018
In keeping with my Parent Teacher Conference tradition, I spent the 2 hour gap between the afternoon and evening conferences within Green-Wood Cemetery. Though most certainly not in walking shoes and pretty darn cold, I was excited to get back in for many reasons. For one, complete solitude. Parent Teacher Read more…
November 26, 2018
Besides really enjoying the opportunity to step into a learner’s role during off-site teacher professional development, I also enjoy getting to see the New York City views atop various high rises about Brooklyn and/or Manhattan. It has become a bit of a past time of mine. This time, the top Read more…
November 23, 2018
Cemeteries are naturally contemplative spaces. They’re quiet, allow for extended walks and meanders, and they stir up all kinds of profound thoughts. They’re museums without the admission, without the gift shop, without the herds. And I have decided that this time of year is Cemetery Season–for me at least, where Read more…
November 18, 2018
As one of the first rural cemeteries in the country, Laurel Hill Cemetery, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a National landmark. Both of those distinctions landed it on my “to go” list. Fearing the impending winter and its weather-related travel restrictions, it was time for another day trip to the City Read more…
November 12, 2018
The Great Jack-o-Lantern Blaze has been a popular Halloween event since 2005 (!), though I just learned of it this Halloween season. It is just the most wonderful kind of whimsy–thousands of pumpkins… hand carved and ablaze within Van Cortland Manor‘s grounds in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. Add spectacular lighting within Read more…