Coming up for air

After two snowfalls in a week, spring seems to have finally sprung in this fair city of mine.

And I couldn't be happier.

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Something Unknown

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Oldies but goodies

I haven't been using my cameras much since getting an iPhone, but found these photos from a visit to NYC last April. Now that we live here again, I don't always stop to relish in the beauty of the city.

making our way into the city as the sun comes up

blooms in the 'Heights

mini bridge in Cobble Hill

my favorite house in Cobble Hill

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Insta-WHAT?

Like many so many other owners of iPhones, I have become addicted to using the photo app, Instagram.  I love modifying my photos with their filters and frames, though I do find them limited at times. [I use Camera+ when I need a bit more oompf! and then I import into Instagram to post to my feed.] I love that I can share my photos with other Instagram users I connect with. [My profile is private so I can control who sees my photos.]

But along with sharing online, I wanted to have hardcopies of some of my prints.  Luckily, there are a ton of companies out there that will print your Instagram photos!

E and I drink a lot of tea, usually ending our day with a cup.  Because tea is such a ritual in our house, it's really hard not to buy every cool mug I come across. [I'm under strict orders from E that if I bring a mug in, one has to go out.] Lucky for me, even E couldn't resist the super-fun Magic Mug from Snapfish. These mugs are black when cold, but once you pour in a hot liquid, your photos magically appear! I create two different collage mugs [to make use of the most photos] with my uploaded Instagrams.

getting hot

all warmed up!

I also had a coupon for Shutterfly so I decided to create a photo book of my Instagram shots to see how they would print on a larger scale.  I was very impressed with the quality of the book and my photos! I chose the padded hard cover for my 8x8 book, which gave it a shiny, slightly puffy feel like some of the picture books Indio has in his collection.

Some screenshots of pages from my book:

I think the next project I want to create is a case for my iPhone since my current one is on its last legs.  Have any of you used Casetagram? What do you do with your Instagram shots?

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What I'm loving lately . . . [February 2012]

I haven't done a post of favorite products for awhile now, but I've been meaning to. Here are a few items I can't seem to live without lately.

Like so many others, a goal for 2012 has been to become more healthy. This includes eating breakfast every.single.day. A harder feat for me than you may think seeing as I've never been one to eat much before lunch. I have two standby *meals* that I've been enjoying: Fage or Chobani 0% Greek yogurt mixed with 1/2 cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch. The little bit of sweetness of the Kashi combined with the creaminess of the yogurt is just perfect for me in the mornings. The abundance of protein in the yogurt keeps me full till lunch. Really. Now, if only I could stop the mid-afternoon chocolate cravings.

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Another breakfast favorite, especially on those colder mornings, is steel cut oats. I try to whip up a batch -- with raisins, cinnamon, and a bit of honey -- on the weekend so that we have enough to eat during the week. Just add a teeny bit more milk, pop it in the microwave, and voila, hearty and delicious!

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Since I'm doing so well in the breakfast department, I've taken it upon myself to indulge a bit more in the wine department. I am a big fan of red velvet cake and red wine, so I had high hopes for Cupcake Vineyard's Red Velvet wine. E and I enjoyed a bottle last month, and I have to say it's my new fave. In fact, I've tried 3 of their varietals in all, and their Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon were also delicious. Affordable and delectable -- my kind of vino.

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I'm always stumped when it comes to buying gifts for E because, well, we just buy what we need, when we need it and I can rarely keep a secret, so even if I buy something in advance, I usually end up giving it to him as soon as I can. This Valentine's Day was no different in the surprise department, but I did manage to get E things he would have never bought for himself.

I use my iPhone's Instagram app daily and love the effects on my photos. I wanted to print some of them, but wasn't sure what format to choose. Instead of regular run-of-the-mill prints, I made two Snapfish *magic mugs* with a handful of my Instagram photos. The photos are revealed when the mugs are filled with a hot liquid. I love how they turned out! They are a sweet addition to our nightly tea ritual.

Another V-day gift [and my absolute favorite item on this list!] I gave this year was a watercolor print by Elisabeth of Poppy and Pinecone. I think I originally saw one of her state/province prints on Pinterest and asked if she could make a *city print* of Brooklyn, the city that brought E and I together. Elizabeth did not let me down and the resulting print is just perfect! I can't wait to find a frame for it. I also bought a smaller print of Maine for a friend's [belated] birthday gift. She loved it too! Definitely check out Elisabeth's Etsy shop.

[this photo doesn't do the colors justice.]

Even though this winter has been wonderfully mild, we've still been battling dry skin and chapped lips, especially Indio, who hates to have lotion smeared on his face. One thing he does love though is smearing lip balm all over his face. Lucky for me, McBride Beauty makes a stick perfect for lips and face, helping us avoid the *shiny-all-over* look. The Multi-Purpose Repair Stick is bigger than a regular Chapstick so it covers more surface area in one swoop and smells way more heavenly! Indio loves to apply his McBride stick on the train in the morning, much to the entertainment of our fellow riders.

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I'm perpetually on the search for the best undereye concealer to hide my dark circles. I've tried a bunch and most recently picked up a little pot of Laura Mercier's Secret Concealer in #4. So far, I'm loving it because it goes on smoothly and doesn't cake in my already-forming lines. A little goes a long way with this product!

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What have you been loving lately?

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2011: month-by-month

What a year it's been! And it flew by oh-so-quickly! It felt like the whirlwind of life left little time to ponder and reflect, but the memories of the last 12 months came flooding back as I looked through the year's photos on flickr. This end-of-year post was inspired by Bianca's post of 12 photos, one for each month, of 2011.

Happy new year, everyone! May 2012 be a year of inspiration and love. xo

january

february

march

april

may

june

july

august

september

october

november

december

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A boy's-eye view

As Indio gets older, our visits to his birth city become more of an adventure for him [and me, trying to keep him busy!]. I try to think of new and exciting things to do with Indy, who is at an age where he's curious about everything but has the attention span of a, well, a 2-yr old.

We took a customary subway trip along the A line from Indy's grandfather's place towards Far Rockaway. The train travels above ground in this segment and goes through the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and along the ocean, so there's lots to see. Not surprisingly, Indio was just as intrigued with the workmen repairing the tracks as he was the Atlantic.

here comes the A train!

playing footsies on the train

Indio's current obsession with all things transportation meant a visit to the NY Transit Museum was in order. We met up with Julie, Jonas and twins, Jesse and Miles for a morning of exploring buses, trains "from the olden days" and enough turnstiles to make you dizzy.

don't let the pigeon [or toddler] drive the bus!
supervising an oil change at the mechanic

A trip to NY always includes a visit with Alicia, Monty, Dulce and puppeteer extraordinaire, Kirsten. And much to Indy's delight, our night was filled with children's songs, complete with actions!

there was a great big moose . . .

Of course, Indio wouldn't leave all the picture-taking to me. This boy has an eye.

indy showing off his shutterbug skills to me and louly

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Project 365: the bittersweet end

Happy New Year! I hope you all rang in the New Year exactly the way you wanted to. Our night was low-key, but fun and somehow we were out until 4am! Nights like that are rare these days.

Last night also marked the end of Project 365: an entire year of photos, one taken each day, 365 total...finally complete!

Three cameras [Canon SD940, Nikon D60 & Blackberry Tour], two computers and lots of time was spent compiling the images that loosely represent my year. Though sometimes an arduous task, I'm so glad I completed it and am now getting ready to make a Blurb book of all the images.

I won't be tackling the same project in 2011, but I am on the search for another photography project of a smaller scale, maybe something once a week, so let me know what you're doing.

[day 354: Poutine--a true Canadian delicacy.]

[day 355: End-of-dinner Americano at Marcello's with E's baby sis...YUM!]

[day 356: My very first Christmas tree--how adorable is it?]

[day 357: Deciding what I want on my Ali Baba's falafel sandwich...DELISH!]

[day 358: Christmas eve apple pie, served with President's Choice Loads of Caramel Cashew Toffee Ice Cream...say that 5 times fast!]

[day 359: I find nutcrackers a bit creepy, but very Christmas-y so I made sure to include one on our tree.]

[day 360: Marcello's again, this time with a different sister of E's...chili olive oil, rosemary olive oil and balsamic vinegar--all so tasty that I think I ate an entire basket of bread with them!]

[day 361: Stuck in traffic at dusk on Bloor Street.]

[day 362: I'm not a fan of fried chicken because the only kind I've tasted is fast food, but E's mom made some from scratch and I am officially a convert! It was so good that I even dreamed about it that night!]

[day 363: Indy's obsession with balloons continues well after his birthday.]

[day 364: This is now becoming an annual holiday shot at P's mom's after-Christmas lunch.]

[day 365: Ready to ring in 2011 with some of the best people I know.]

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