Super belated Christmas ;)

Well...... Better late than never I guess.....

So my excuses start with Sandy. We fared well. Only two large trees down and no flooding. But, our power was out for two weeks. Not a big deal but it puts a damper on blogging ;)

After finally getting all back together post hurricane, I blinked and it was Thanksgiving and the pre-Christmas mayhem. I took all my photos that I wanted to post of my decorations, but then I had to travel for work for 10 days.

So now I'm back and ready to go!

My super fabulous - super fake Christmas tree...... It usually has lots of funky ornaments in aqua, lime, hot pink and purple. Every other year I do a theme. It has always been black and white till now. I decided to do red and white, which I am most smitten with :)

For Christmas Eve we have between 20 or 30 people. So I set up big buffet table....

And extra tables for all my guests.... Kozmo is just checking to make sure the layout works ;)

And now for the sweets!!!

Every year Len makes his Great Aunt's Struffoli....

My cookies..... Italian Knot, Almond Macaroons and Gingerbread. Not pictured here would be these amazing Oreo White Chocolate Peppermint Truffles. OMG. Soooo good. I most definitely will make them again and will post.

And...... Drumroll please.......my Easter Lamb Cake turned Reindeer!!!!

Now for some decorations.......

My newly acquired putz houses and my growing collection of Dream Pets......

The mantle and my growing collection of antlers. Most of which I have found on my property.... it's a wonder they didn't get run over by the lawn mower ;)

That's all folks.......
I promise not to wait so long next year :)

Until next time,
♥ jenny

Maker Faire NYC 2012

YAY!!!!

Maker Faire......A two-day, family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement.

If you have never been to a Maker Faire I strongly recommend going. This is the second time I have made it to the NYC Maker Faire and it was AWESOME!

This was especially neat-o.

A Woman converted an RV to a moblie park. How cool is that??

What an awesome place to sit and relax.....

So creative!

There are so many cool exhibits from some super creative people.

This is the Hall of Science building. I have always loved it. The building was part of the 1964 World's fair and all those little rectangles are blue glass. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture. Maybe next year :)

These are a collection of some antique patent application models.

Check out the 'coffin with a window" in the photo above. I was totally geeking out on these.

Adult rides. Who doesn't like a little danger :)


Aaaaand.......

The Coke Zero - Mentos Fountains!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently Coke + Mentos = Geysers. It was so fun I watched it twice :)

Brought to you from the guys at EepyBird.com.

If you have never been to the site. GO NOW. They are too cool!

Next..... the Life Size Mouse Trap Game.....

Using bowling balls ;)


Too cool for words. Instead of catching a mouse, it crushes a car..... :-)

(see first photo)

There were lots of crafting booths for kids, like make your own soap with little toys in it.

One of my favorite things every year..... 

The Maker - Bot 3D printers!!!!

I geek out a LONG time over these.
Everyone makes such cool things!!

There are also lots of great crafters with all kinds of green and upcycled creations.

And Finally the food!! I can not express enough how great all the food vendors are. There are amazing organic, vegan and vegetarian options for everyone.

This is my personal fav. The Treats Truck.

Oh. My. God. Can this girl bake. I was a total piggy. Got cookies at 10:30 AM. Really??? Couldn't even wait till after lunch.....and a stash for later on our way out the door.

One day I hope to make it to the Bay Area Maker Faire. It is the original one and I imagine it to be even more awesome :)

Mark your calenders for next year kiddies!!!
♥jenny

Pool Garden Phase 1

The Before photo.....

New pool cover, grass around all sides of the pool. Grass looks nice but is only practical in a design magazine :)

First up. Some really great bushes
for privacy. We settled on English
Laurels and I am really happy with
them. They are evergreen, will get
up to 12 feet high and can be pruned
into a nice hedge.

Next, we dug up all the grass in the area to make way for the garden and patios.

Work in Progress!!! The Mister unloads all the stones and I lay them in sand and fit them. It's like a giant really heavy puzzle :) Then we fill the spaces in between with pea gravel.

Even Roxy likes to get in on the action!

Almost there.....

 Done!!!

When we moved I brought 4 car/ truck loads of plants from my old house.

My old garden was starting to get crowded and needed dividing  so I gave some away and took the rest. It probably could have used some more but at the end I was so overwhelmed with the move I just didn't have it in me.

So we didn't buy much other than the Laurels. We used one pallet of flat stone, lots of sand and paver sand, and 1/2 a bucket load of pea gravel.

I think my little Tiki guys just make it, don't you?

Phase 2 will be at the back of the pool behind the diving board. I will be putting the rest of my plants under the Sycamore to build a shade garden. Hopefully this will happen this month. those poor plants have been in pots for over a year :(

♥jenny