i am 1,199,164,176 seconds old...and counting

My husband and I had brunch at the Bedford Post, in Bedford, NY.

I started the meal with a delicious cappuccino and warm cinnamon bun!

Last weekend was my birthday.  I had a great day spending it with my family.  Late in the afternoon it started to rain and storm pretty bad...however this weekend we are hunkering down in preparation for hurricane Irene to hit the East Coast, so I suppose last weekend's storm is not looking so awful after all.  These photos captured my latest birthday as seen through my i-phone....

We took our dog Mel for a hike at Mountain Lakes Park in North Salem, NY

On our hike I stumbled upon a red toadstool with white spots!  

I have never seen a real mushroom like this in person.

I really loved the vibrant red of these mushrooms too!

Seeing acorn caps scattered around reminded me I better get started on ornament making soon....

the craft sales and holidays will be here before you know it!

Mountain Lakes has a great sandy beach area where Mel took a little dip!  Here I caught him mid-shake!

After a family dinner with my husband, parents, sister and her family...we ATE CAKE!

I love cake...all kinds of sweets really!  

This year my sister made a "funfetti" cake and iced it with a swirly pattern that resembled tye dye.  

Very fun and festive, not to mention delicious!

My niece Casidy and Mel watching the festivities. 

 Her birthday is 5 days later so we actually celebrated together and shared birthday wishes.

Till next year...

 ♥

what are friends for?

Dan's excellent friendship bracelets worn proudly by her husband Keith (photo by SDB)

A few weeks ago my bff Dan invited us to her shore house at the Jersey Shore for the weekend.  As we packed up the usual...food, clothes, beach chair, etc....I packed an extra bin for our "beach activity".  I had been seeing everywhere the resurgence of "the friendship bracelet" and I thought what a perfect activity for us to re-learn on the beach while working on our tans.  I don't know about you, but I was obsessed with making these bracelets growing up!  I would spend all summer making bracelet after bracelet.  So I got excited and went and bought the largest collection of embroidery floss I could find at Michael's (I had a 50% coupon, bonus!) and then I proceeded to print out several patterns for us to follow.  Now I didn't go and print the basic stripe or chevron that I remembered so fondly from my teens...I thought to myself, we are artists and master crafters, who needs the basics!  I am going straight for the expert patterns!  I did watch a simple YouTube video that was very informative on the 4 basic knots you need to know.  So I figured, if I could teach my partner in crime the basic knots, then we could just follow the patterns and be on our way!  Like riding a bike, it would all come back...or so I hoped!  So when I got to the beach I was very excited to see that Dan and her sister-in-law-to-be Nicole was also excited to get started on making some friendship bracelets.  We all picked our colors and I gave the basic knot making tutorial.  Then we all picked out these detailed hearts patterns to follow.  This is when I realized I probably should have read up a little bit more on the process.  I think my excitement got the best of me and I skipped a few steps.  We struggled a bit trying to read the patterns.  The more detailed the bracelet, the more advanced the pattern is and naturally the harder it is to make.  Not really the "mindless" bracelet making we were looking forward to for our first friendship bracelet on the beach after all those years!  While I tried my hardest to stick to the hearts pattern and teach them to Nicole and her friend who also joined us that day, Dan had a flash back to when she was a teenager and actually remembered how to make the basic chevron, or v pattern.  She decided to follow her instincts and let the string lead her along.  Later that day I figured out how to make the basic stripe pattern as well.  I put aside my half started heart bracelet, and started a new bracelet with 12 strings, 3 different colors (4 of each color) for my husband Tom.  It took me a while to get in the groove, even with the simplest pattern!  I actually took it home and worked on and off at if for a while...but after I sat there and committed to it, I finished and felt a great sense of accomplishment.  I actually made it too long and had to go back and take out a few rows to fit it to his wrist!  I then moved on to an inverse chevron and chose 2 colors I thought would compliment Tom's first bracelet.  Last night I tied them both on his wrist and felt like a giddy school girl all over again.  If you are interested in making some of these bracelets I recommend starting out with one of the basics and then moving on to a more advanced one.  There are so many fun patterns out there!  I found watching the YouTube videos/tutorials people have posted were the most helpful, I guess that comes from being a visual person!  Some of the paper patterns I was reading seemed to get very confusing.  Hollistergirl101 has a basic chevron and an inverse chevron video that I thought was very easy to follow.  For the basic diagonal stripe, check out this page at  Friendship-Bracelets.  They also have a pattern for any other bracelet you have probably seen!

The bin that started it all

Dan "listening" to the string

Nicole giving a go at the diagonal stripe & using her morning coffee to keep the bracelet in place!

Dan's dog Hope modeling the latest pet fashion!  This one was made in her fur/skin colorway!

(photo by SDB)

I took my bracelet with me on the train and used a safety pin to attach it to my bag!

Dan developed a new pattern while teaching the technique to our friend Janine! (photo by SDB)

 When I was researching I found that the knot tying technique used to make friendship bracelets is actually a form of macrame.  The making of friendship bracelets originated in Central America and was first seen in the US in the early 1970s.

She also discovered GOLD embroidery floss! (photo by SDB)

My first 2 finished bracelets on my husband Tom!  According to the tradition, the recipient must wear the bracelet until the cord wears out or naturally falls off to honor the hard work and love his/her friend put into making it.

 ♥

* a special thanks to Dan (Sweet Dani B) for documenting her friendship bracelet making & letting me share some of her photos with you all here!  

Let us know if you too have gotten bit by the "friendship bracelet making bug"!

i ♥ risd

I love RISD (Rhode Island School of Design)...really, I do.  Whenever someone mentions the school, the word,  or even Providence at that matter...my eyes light up and I am instantly reminded of all the wonderful experiences I had as a student there oh too many years ago!  Yes, it has a reputation as being one of the best art schools in the country...but for me, and most of the people I know who went there, it is so much more.  The exceptional teachers, the array of remarkable art classes, the amazing and unique friends I met while spending night after night in the studio to complete project after project....they are all a part of who I am today.  I love to visit the school and Providence.  Living only a few hours away and having family not far from Providence brings me to the area at least once or twice a year.  For many years my closest college friends and I would visit every October for Parent and Alumni Weekend.  The best part about that weekend it the student and alumni sale where RISD-ites show off their talents and sell their handmade goods.  I am never at a loss for something to buy at those sales and sometimes I even participate.  The city has definitely changed since I was a student...but absolutely for the better.  It has gone through a renaissance that has beautified parts that needed help, yet the history and charm of old world Providence seems untouched.  A few weekends ago my husband and I made a quick stop in Providence on our way back from visiting family.  Our time was limited so I knew we wouldn't be able to hit every favorite spot, but I also knew whatever we did see would still be excellent! We had our dog Mel with us so we set out on a little walking tour.   Of course my husband has heard the same stories a hundred times....but I thought Mel would enjoy a peek at what I was doing before he was even born!

One of my favorite stops...the mailroom!

The RISD museum has vastly expanded since I was a student.  It has a fabulous and diverse collection...a MUST see if you are in town!

The infamous RISD "beach".  Most students spend hours on this small patch of lawn, a great meeting place around the dorms in the center of the campus.  Note the tape "installation" on the wall welcoming the summer pre-college students!

Close up of the sculpture on the beach (Tom took this one).

Students selling their goods on the beach overlooking Benefit Street - where the student/alumni sale is in the fall.

The Nature Lab - One of the best places to spend countless hours examining specimens and drawing their likeness.  An amazingly original asset to the campus.

Mel & Tom resting while I shopped a bit at the RISD store!

The lower end of the museum on North Main St. which also features a the RISD Works store - all items are developed and/or made by RISD students/graduates.

This stairwell used to be a small, back alley when I was a student...Mel enjoyed the improvement!

Taking a lunch break down by the canal at Union Station Brewery.  They were so nice there, filled up Mel's bowl and gave us a table outside so he could take a rest while we ate.

Downtown Providence and the canal has gone through a "renaissance" since I was a student.  This bridge leading to the canal has been renovated and a September 11th memorial has been created by local students.

It is called the Wall of Hope.

I looked up and these old chandeliers were looking down at me...I love how the old mixes with the revived and new.

Several times a year the city holds what is called Waterfire Providence.   Waterfire was created by local artists as part of the revitalization movement and is a powerful work of art where fires are lit on the rivers at night as choreographed music plays and firetenders boat past...symbolizing the renaissance of the city.  The dark black orbs you see floating on the river in my photo are where some of the fires are lit.

My husband & Mel did get a treat from the RISD store...a new sticker for Tom's truck.  He has a pretty descent collection of stickers from all places we go...so when I saw the "my dog digs risd" bone shaped sticker...I knew he would find the perfect spot for it!  'Cause after all, Mel definitely shares my love for RISD now!

happy birthday america

Not too long ago I came across this vintage American flag that belonged to my great grandmother.  It only has 48 stars...which dates it back to somewhere between 1912-1959.  I took it out today for a mini photo shoot with my dog Mel.  It seemed to make the perfect backdrop for our 4th of July photo!

♥ Have a happy & safe day! ♥

behind the scenes: grilling special

I love sharing "behind the scenes".  People always ask me about working on television shoots; so I feel sharing my photos and stories is a great way to pass along some of my insight into what it is we do.  A lot of time, preparation and people go into making a tv shoot "happen".  Some may say it takes a small army!  The teams I work with at Martha Stewart however are definitely well oiled machines.  Everyone works so well together to make magic happen.  This last shoot I was a set decorator on, Martha Stewart Presents: Grilling Secrets of the Master Chefs, was no different.  We may have had a few weather obstacles to push through...we set up and shot outside on some of the hottest days of the year so far...hot, humid, 100 temps!  We also encountered severe wind and thunderstorms bringing hail!  Of course we didn't let that stop us...the show must go on!  With only 2 days to shoot segments with Martha and six guest chefs,  time was indeed of the essence!  

Every shoot starts with a design/concept board!

Paul, Morgan & Elaina (some of the members of the art dept. on this shoot) all prepping in our staging area in the equipment barn

Thomas (prep kitchen chef/manager), Greta (food producer) and I set up each chef's segment(s) the day before to make sure we had everything needed and to work out the space.  I photographed and printed the photos of the set up to use as reference and make for easy set up again on the shoot day.  

Set up for the Cuban style, whole roasted pig Martha shot with chef Roberto Guerra.  He used that wooden box called La Caja China, where the hot coals are on top and the pig roasts below!

Party set up on the lawn at Martha's farm...can't you just feel the heat?

Prep chef Kelli working in the "Prep Kitchen" created under a grand tent!

Thomas checking on the "swaps" of chef Elizabeth Karmel's beer can chickens.  

One of the camera men shooting the "beauty shot" of chef Elizabeth Karmel's burger bar

Paul making "sleeping bags" out of napkins for the tasting silverware.  These napkins we were using are biodegradable, recyclable and compostable...they are from this fun company called Mydrap.

Always helpful cue cards

My lunch!  A sampling from the morning's shoot...we never let anything go to waste!  Chef Brad Farmerie's grilled lobster was amazing!

Martha and chef Bill Taibe from Le Farm pose for a photo for the still photographer after finishing one of his three delicious grilled vegetable recipes. 

Prep chef Kevin prepared ginger with precision!

Beautiful cherries styled in wooden berry baskets ready to be placed on the picnic tables

A peak inside the control room...set up under another tent

All the chefs at their stations...grilling away as the guests stop by to sample their delicious eats!

Martha's horse trainer and Kevin Sharkey (Senior VP and Executive Editorial Director at MSLO) stopped by the party on horseback!

Everyone enjoying the food, drinks and festivities on the party lawn

And of course...no party would be complete without dessert!

Chef Emeril Lagasse served up grilled peaches with mascarpone and honey.  Notice our camera crew was standing by to catch all the action!

One last fun photo I found on my iPhone from when we were preparing for the storm.  Anduin (Scenic Designer), Hosanna (Art Director), Paul and myself were out in the fields taking everything in for the night before the storm.  We covered the straw bales which were placed for seating around the huge iron pot used for smores making, so they would be nice and dry the next morning.  Luckily, the showers passed overnight and we were able to continue with our shoot the next day.

Want more behind the scenes?  Check out Martha's blog posts Behind the Scenes of my Grilling Special and Behind the Scenes of my Grilling Special - Part 2.

I wonder what will be next?  As you can see...we are ready for anything!