from now on i would like my entire diet to consist only of crepes

Rod took our boys to Shake Shack on the Upper West Side for a guys night out. I thought it would be nice for Lily and I to go somewhere, too. A girl's night out. The only thing she was upset about was that the boys got Daddy and she was stuck with just me. I guess she is prepping for her teenage years when she wakes up one morning and tells me I am the one who is ruining her life.

Anyway, Lily and I walked a couple blocks to Yorkville Creperie. I have to tell you that walking to restaurants is one of my favorite things about living in the city. It's nice to walk and talk instead of drive and break up fights in the back seat.

Lily had never even tasted a crepe before. So the entire walk went something like this:

Lily: What's a crepe?
Me: It's like a pancake. Only better.
Lily: OK. Where's daddy?
Me: With your brothers.
Lily: What's a crepe?
Me: It's like a pancake. Only better.
Lily: OK. Where's daddy?
Me: With your brothers.
Lily: Oh....Can you tell me what a crepe is again?

I finally gave up and told her it was delicious. She would love it. And it would change her life. The end.

As soon as we were seated, Lily pulled out all the sugar packets and asked me to play a game. It's the same game she always wants to play in a restaurant. The problem is...there are no rules. Well, there are rules, but only she knows them. And she changes them constantly to throw you for a curve. It's a little game I like to call insanity. She loves this game. I am not a fan of this game. I quickly ordered a glass of wine.

Then I looked up and noticed the crepes were being made right there at the bar counter- behind a little wall of glass. I grabbed Lily away from her evil game of Sugar Packets and plopped her down in front of the crepe chef.

She was mesmerized. Her mouth fell open and she proclaimed that she felt like she was IN A COOKING SHOW. From her excitement you would have thought she was in Pat and Gina Neely's TV kitchen. By the way, "Down Home with the Neely's" is Lily's favorite cooking show. I'm assuming this is due to their extensive use of pork in every recipe. My girl loves her pork.

Our dinner crepes came and they were mouthwatering. Lily ordered a cheese and ham crepe. Surprise, ham! And I ordered the bruchetta crepe. We moaned after every single bite. It was delicious. Once we were done, I told Lily that if she thought that was good, she should try a dessert crepe. She laid her head down on the counter and sighed. It was all too much for her.

But I did order a dessert crepe. With strawberries. And dark chocolate. And whip creme.

Lily took one bite, looked at me and said, "Is this a dream?"
To which I replied, "No, but I'm sure it is similar to heaven."

Once we were home, Lily began to re-live the experience and tell the boys about it.

"OH.MY.GOSH. YOU HAVE NO IDEA! THE CREPES. THE CREPES. THEY WERE UNBELIEVABLE, YOU GUYS!"

And then I heard her in the shower singing this.
A little love song about crepes.
Enjoy.

the crepe song from six in the city on Vimeo.

it's a give-away! hooray!

I am in love with these wall transfers from PopWall. They are so easy to use and make such a statement. This particular company uses high quality transfers. It won't look like you just slapped some stickers on the wall. You actually transfer the product to the wall and the end result looks like you hand-painted it.

I used the Cherry Blossom decal in Lily's room and think it turned out great.



I'm going to give one lucky person their very own Cherry Blossom decal. The one I'm giving away is identical to the picture below. You will not get to choose colors. The branches are chocolate brown. The blossoms are pink. And the birds are gray.



Here's some information about the product:

This particular decal is approximately 55" x 28"
The vinyl is guaranteed to last 5 years outdoors and virtually forever indoors.
They use only high quality vinyl and it is extremely thin to create a hand painted look to your wall.
The decals can be used on some textures (except grainy/sandy).
Washable and durable. Will not fade, crack or peel.
Includes a step by step instruction for application.



Here's how to win:

Leave a comment below in order to enter.
If you post about it on your own blog, you'll get another entry.
(Just leave another comment with your blog link to verify.)

One lucky winner will be picked randomly and announced on Friday evening.

Good luck everyone!

Update:
I would like to congratulate Amanda from the blog Thrice Blessed for winning the giveaway!

i am good enough

I live in New York City. And I wouldn't want to live anywhere else right now. It is a wonderful place to live, but I am well aware of the trappings. Perhaps it's because I'm such a newbie here, but when these trappings present themselves they hit me like someone has just slapped my face. New York can be a place where conversations center around:

Where do you summer?

What private school are your children attending?

Do you own a home in the Hamptons, too?

And if it's not the actual conversation, it's the air in which someone talks to you. I often feel I am being sized up and judged immediately.

The concrete jungle is an expensive place to live. It can be a place where your bank account defines you. I've seen an air of self-importance here more than anywhere else. It is a place where the outside often matters more to people than the inside. It is a place where parents drop thousands of dollars on their kid's birthday parties just to keep up appearances. A place where one's address tells others who you are. A place where it is important that you are seen bidding at an auction so others know you have expendable cash. While I really want to live in New York right now, I don't ever want to live in that New York.

Rod and I have frequently discussed this side of New York. It is our desire to always be authentic. No matter how long we live here- we want to stay true to ourselves. We want to make sure our children don't get caught up in the outer shell of what many New Yorkers call important. We don't want a certain lifestyle to define who we are or are not. While it's true that we don't make the huge salaries that many do here, we still don't want to find ourselves sucked into the lies of thinking we are not good enough. That is a miserable existence.

I am good enough. That's a powerful phrase. I am good enough when I am honest and true about who I am. I am good enough.

I recently ran across a blog that brought all these things to the forefront of my mind and thought I would share it with you. The author is Brene Brown. Here is an excerpt:

Wholehearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, No matter what gets done and how much is left undone; I am enough.

It’s going to bed at night thinking, Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am worthy of love and belonging.

So many of us have knowingly created / unknowingly allowed / or been handed down a long list of worthiness "prerequisites."

I'll be worthy when I lose 20 pounds.

I'll be worthy if I get pregnant.

I'll be worthy if everyone thinks I'm a good mom.

I'll be worthy if I can make a living selling my art.

I'll be worthy if I can hold my marriage together.

I'll be worthy when I make partner.

I'll be worthy when I can do it all and look like I'm not even trying.

and so on . . .

Here's what is truly at the heart of Wholeheartedness:

Worthy NOW! Not when. Not if. We are worthy of love and belonging NOW. Right this minute. As is.

I hope this speaks to you as well. I know anywhere can be like New York in this regard. I've just never seen it in such magnitude before we moved here. I want to guard myself from feeling like I am not good enough.

I'd love to know your thoughts. Do you struggle with feeling like you are good enough?

window shop wednesday

Since moving to New York, I've been mesmerized by all the unique window displays. I thought I'd start featuring these stores once a week so you can do some window shopping here in the city.

This week I'm featuring the Juicy Couture shop on 5th Avenue.
Click on the pictures to enlarge.
Enjoy!






Let me know if you like this new weekly feature!

her room with a view

As I mentioned in a previous post, Lily (age 6) sleeps in the dining room. Well, it's a dining room that's been converted into a bedroom. Something quite common in space-deficient NY apartments. She loves her little room and frankly, I do to. I thought I'd give you a detailed tour today. (Click on any photos to enlarge them.)

We finally have the doors up that separate her space from the family room. Thank goodness! I highly suggest having doors to your six year old's room unless you are the type that enjoys high levels of drama on a daily basis.



Come on in. She's at school right now, so she won't mind. Just don't touch anything, because she will lose her mind if you rearrange ANYTHING in her room. I know this from experience. Girl is very particular.



I made the pink silk taffeta drapes about six years ago. Definitely a splurge on the material,but they've lasted so long, it was worth it. They are held back by jumbo pink flowers. The pink toile upholstered glider I've had since she was a baby, but it transitions nicely into a big girl room. It is by far, the most comfortable chair in the house.

My sweet Aunt Kathy painted this beautiful picture as a baby gift for Lily. I love the special touch it adds to her room.



This is a handmade batiste dress that my mother made for me almost 40 years ago. The detail is amazing, and it looks so girly hanging in Lily's room even though she is too big to wear it anymore.



There is a collection of silver and pewter baby cups on this cute display shelf. (If my mother is reading this, she is also cringing at how tarnished the cups are. Sorry Mom!) I think I bought the shelf from Target. And I made a garland of family photos that I found in one of my grandmother's albums. The little girl with the heart on her dress is my grandmother. As you can see, I'm a tad sentimental when it comes to family.



The newest addition to Lily's room is this cherry blossom mural above her bed. (And guess what? I'm going to do a give-away on Thursday for this exact mural- make sure you come back and enter on Thursday!)







The white wicker dresser is a vintage piece I used for all my kid's rooms when they were babies. But since Lily is a girly-girl, she gets to keep it for a while longer. The rug is from Pottery Barn Teen. I made the upholstered headboard out of the same fabric as the glider. And you'll also notice the infamous doors I mentioned in another post that lead to the kitchen.

But the best part of Lily's room is the view. (And the fact that the window has safety bars on it.)



Would love to know what you think! And don't forget to come back Thursday for the give-away!

bits of my weekend- volume 2

Welcome to the second edition of Bits of My Weekend.

The weekend began with pancakes. Which is how every weekend should begin, right? These are homemade and contain zero calories. At least that is what I tell myself.



This little girl likes to climb into my bed to watch her early morning cartoons.



A lovely walk to the subway to catch the train to Chelsea.







Lunch at Chelsea Market.






While in Chelsea, we had a celebrity sighting. OK, maybe not a real celebrity. It was a Bravo TV celebrity - Jill and Bobby from Real Housewives of New York. I have to admit that I was not the one in our little group who spotted her first. But I'm not going to divulge who it was in order to protect their identity. I will only tell you that his name rhymes with "sod."


The weekend ended with my son Bo's basketball game. I only have one picture to share, but it was not for lack of trying. The eye of shame scolded me from the court and telepathically told me that I better not take one more picture. Now you know why there are not many pictures of my teenagers on this site.



It was a wonderful weekend and I do believe Spring has finally sprung here in Manhattan.

I hope you'll share your weekend with us, too! Fill out the Mr. Linky below if you would like to do so.
If you're not ready this week, plan on joining us next week!

is this the never-ending winter?

I'm really hoping we've seen the last of this season's snow here in NYC. I am weary of it. And although spring weather will require some definite work on my feet (read: in major need of a pedicure), I am ready for some warmer weather.

I am usually not a snow girl. I really don't like playing in the snow and the mere forecast of snow usually sends me into an eating frenzy that includes large quantities of chocolate. I've even been know to tell my daughter (when she was younger) that playing in the snow was only for boys. (I'm sure I'll get some lovely emails for that comment.) But I decided to turn over a new leaf and make the most of the recent snowstorm. I told Lily that her father and I wanted to take her outside to build a snowman. After she picked herself off the floor from fainting, she grabbed her coat and was eager to go along.

Once we got to the park, we started building a snowman. Fortunately, Lily watches Nick Jr and was able to recall an episode of Max and Ruby where they built a snowman. She taught her father and I how to properly roll the snow into a ball. Who says TV is not educational?




In the end, Lily was not real pleased with our snowman and kicked it down, but I'm sure she still has fond memories of the outing.

While we were there, we checked out the other snowmen that people had built in the park.



I think those people deserve points for the leaf toupee. Very creative.

And it's quite clear that this snowman's artist had Chinese food for dinner last night.



This was the best one:



Clearly it was built by someone who would be up for mother of the year since this snowman was complete with carrot, licorice and button eyes. I'm making a mental note for the next snowman outing.

Hope you enjoyed the snowmen pics.

Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget to participate in "Bits of my Weekend."
Remember to take pictures of your weekend and post them on your blog next Monday.
More details here.

keeping my daughter off the pole (oh...hello google search)

As soon as the subway car opened my daughter Lily (age 6) spotted the pole. She grabbed on and began swinging around and around at lightning speed. Afraid that she would attempt to climb it or get so dizzy that she would fall down, I shouted:


"LILY, GET OFF THE POLE!"

Just let that phrase sink in for a minute.

I started to laugh and before I could stop myself I added, "And I better not have to tell you that again when you are 16."

I really need to stop blogging out loud. It's not amusing to people.

long post about where i lay my head at night

I've got a few new readers now, so I thought I'd give a little history to catch some of you up.

My husband and I moved our family of six to Manhattan in November of 2009. We were living in suburbia, when life hit us up side the head. My husband Rod was offered a job at a wonderful non-profit here in the city. We put our house up for sale, loaded a truck and left the mountains of Colorado behind in our rear-view mirror. People either think we are crazy or adventurous. I tend to think we are somewhere in the middle.

We've been married 20 years and were living in a 5000 square foot home. You know, 5 bedrooms, home office, media room...your typical suburban trappings. We had to Downsize with a capital "D" when we moved to New York City. Getting rid of things was quite cathartic for me. Not a whole lot of mourning over things. Our entire family was willing to embrace leaving things behind and moving into a 1200 square foot apartment on the Upper East Side. It has been a bit challenging, but living in the city has been incredible. It truly is a wonderful place to live. This blog documents our ups and downs and my search to find the perfect New York cupcake.

I've done a few things to the bedroom since I posted the first pics back in the fall. We painted the wall behind the bed. By "we" I mean my husband Rod painted to wall. The color is Sweet Bluette from Benjamin Moore. But I'll be changing it again, because it is not quite the color I was going for. I need something a little paler.

I also thought I'd give a little description of some items in the room. Everything I kept for our apartment had to be essential to living in the space. No room for a piano anymore. But the things I did keep, still have quite a bit of meaning to me. I've also gotten some questions as to where I found certain items. I'll do my best to fill you in! You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge.


The Keep Calm and Carry On is a reproduction of a poster printed by the British goverment during WWII. I found mine here.



As I mentioned in a previous post, we had to downsize from a King bed to a Queen when we moved to the city. I found the headboard for a steal on Overstock.com. My linens are part of the Hudson Park Collection from Nordstroms.


I've had this mirrored chest for years. I think I bought it at Bombay Company. I am not a fan of bedroom "sets." I know some people are, but I never have been. I'm just not a matchy-matchy kind of girl. The lamp base is from Target. (I'd like to take a moment and express my sadness that we do not have a Target in the city. I am suffering withdrawls.) The lamp shade is from Pottery Barn. And the artwork was a gift from my parents. It's a guardian angel.



I love unique art-especially if it is vintage. I found the relief map of Africa over 10 years ago in a thrift shop. It's dated 1893. The asian silk painting was bought when we went to China to adopt our daughter Lily. The little black table anchors that tiny wall and has a tin french chalet on top of an antique Bible I picked up in London about 20 years ago. Baskets are underneath for storing bills and other paperwork.


We went almost 18 years without a dresser in our Master Bedroom. We finally bought this one from Crate and Barrel a few years back. The artwork to the left of the dresser is a painting done my my sweet, southern Grandmother. She is in her late 80s now and I love having a reminder of her in our New York apartment.


The long wooden table has quite a bit of history. It has been repurposed many times. It was the very first piece of furniture Rod and I bought for our first house. It was our kitchen table. Later it became a desk for our son's room. Then it was cut down into a coffee table. In Colorado, Rod sliced it in half and added new legs to make a sofa table. Here in New York it makes a great desk and display table in our bedroom. I just can't seem to part with it and keep finding new ways to keep it around.




The vintage bottles with silver, soldered charms were made by me. The glass canister holds sand from a family beach vacation. Lamp was bought about 15 years ago from Ballards Design. The curtains are also from Ballards. The artwork over the leather chair are silk paintings my mother bought when we lived in Germany. They are over 40 years old now and are still in their original frames. Some of my jewelry is gathered in an old silver bowl that rests on my windowsill. And the little frames hold pictures of my children. The pictures are about 7 years old, but for some reason I don't want to change them out.

If you hung in there for this entire post, congratulations to you! You do not have ADD. Thanks for taking a look and I'd love to know what you think.

bits of my weekend- volume 1

Welcome to the first edition of Bits of My Weekend!
If you have photos to share from your weekend, please use the Mr. Linky below.
For more information on Bits of My Weekend. Go here.

Feel free to grab the button on the sidebar, too!