I recently attended the New York Botanical Garden’s Starry Nights event. There was live music, dance performances, snacks, and drinks, but the highlight was the drone performance.
It was a unique experience and we had a blast. If we do something similar in the future, I have to remember to bring a blanket to sit on the grass.
At the beginning of January, I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon featuring Marc Happel, the Costume Director for the New York City Ballet at the New York Junior League.
Marc discussed his process of creating costumes for new ballets and his visually stunning book NEW YORK CITY BALLET: CHOREOGRAPHY & COUTURE.
I had an amazing time, enjoying lunch by Liz King of Kings Carriage House, and meeting new friends at the League.
Here are pictures from the event.
Early last month, I had a pretty awesome ladies’ night out at Pearl & The Beast.
You pick a muscle, open it up, collect the pearls, clean them, and decide what to do with them. I got a good haul of pearls, so I got two rings and two earrings done. They had someone onsite who put together the jewelry. Bonus; I actually got the earrings for free because they were doing a promotion at the time.
It was hands-on, informative, and fun! I highly recommend checking it out.
I’m constantly looking for activities that I can do with both my three-year-old and my elderly parents.
I bought a felt tree with stick-on ornaments. It was straightforward to use and still gave a level of creative freedom to both my daughter and mom.
We also made ornaments for our Christmas tree. The string was a bit tricky to tie but the oraments came with stickers and were also easy to use. Everything came out really cute.
Last year, my Dad fractured his hip, and for five months, he stayed in a hospital, a long-term care facility, and then a rehab facility. This was all through COVID restrictions, and I couldn’t visit him. It was tough, and I know it took a toll on my Dad. I wish that there were more opportunities to connect.
GlamourGals is a nonprofit that provides programming for elderly residents. They currently help reach out to isolated seniors through their #mydearfriend program, where individuals can write notes to senior citizens in need of some care and comfort in various facilities. This is my second batch of letters within the year, and I enjoy it. These cards are geared towards Valentine’s Day and Galentine’s Day, but you can make cards year-round.
If you want to do some good on your own or with friends, consider making cards or having a card-making party! Here is where you can find out more information.
This month, I took part in The Sweet Frugal Life’s January Pantry Challenge, where I took an inventory of what I had in the pantry, fridge, and freezer to make dishes. I wasn’t super strict with it and only made a handful of meals, but I still consider it a success!
The main takeaway from my experience; I have a lot of soup in my pantry!
Here are some of my dishes.
I first heard about Queens Perennial through a friend’s Instagram post last year. The CSA partners with Luna Family Farm to offer flowers each week from May to October. I knew I wanted to take part this year because who doesn’t want amazing flowers each week!
I’ve loved all the flowers so far. Check out the beauties I received…
Each week, I get a new bouquet and instructions on how to take care of it. Besides appreciating the beautiful flowers, I also enjoy learning about each one. Most of the flowers I’ve never heard of.
The CSA has four locations to pick up from (Astoria, Jackson Heights, Greenpoint, and Williamsburg). If you are interested in learning more and signing up for the last six weeks, check out queensperennial.com.
It’s been a minute but I’m back! Life happens and sometimes you just have to keep your head above water.
Celebrating Halloween is usually hit or miss for me. This year, I celebrated by carving pumpkins! I don’t have any memory of doing this when I was younger so I was truly excited. I would have loved to have gotten my pumpkins from an actual farm but it wasn’t in the cards. Got mine at Home Depot.
Here are some pictures of my husband and I having a blast.
The final products:
Mine, the true classic…
My husband brought out the creativity…
So happy how they came out!!
I want this to become a family tradition, even get other family members involved!
We didn’t dress up this year but our cats had no choice.
I was expecting them to fight me on this but they didn’t even meow! I dare say they might have enjoyed it.
Happy Halloween!
The Casual Explorer 