Saturday Afternoon at The Green Market, Manhattan, New York

Walking around Green Market in Manhattan New York is such a treat especially if you are a food lover or loves cooking. 

The color of vegetables and fruit is definitely there within the hue of a rainbow. I love color and I love looking at colorful fresh shiny vegetables and fruits. So I was in vegetable heaven for about an hour. I lost counting of how many kind of tomatoes there were. From the size of a grape fruit down to the size of a marble. The flowers were beautiful and bright in colors. Definitely added a special touch amongst the fruits, vegetables to the vendor stand. 

There were cheese, wine, bread and jams artisans. I wish I had another pair of hand to help me carrying goodies that I intended to buy though I managed buying a bouquet of beautiful purplish flower that name I don't know and 6 Italian Plums that I immediately put in my bag. Already each time I want to take picture of the excitements with in the market; I must carefully put down the flowers on the ground so they do not get damage or step on by people walking by.

Finally my stomach is calling for lunch. I knew there is a famous noodle restaurant called 'Republic' back in the days when I was living in Manhattan about 10 years a go. I was not sure if the restaurant is still there but as I walked in the right direction as I remember it would be; there is Republic and is still there ! I ordered a Pad Thai and Cold Hibiscus Tea.

After indulging lunch I went back to the market across the street and took a few shots and decided time to go home.

Can you tell what flowers are those that sits on the chair ? I know, I should have asked the seller but I did not. Next time I definitely know what to ask when taking pictures so that I can curate them better when post it in a blog. Please do tell if you know what flowers they are.

I love Manhattan and as I sat in the train I was thinking that I must spending more time in the city of Manhattan to explore other exciting places like this one. 
This is is definitely a fun place to spend on an afternoon week end and just strolling around try to capture a moment of the most exciting city in the world with your camera.

Thank you for reading !

Antiqe Distress White Wooden Tray {Shabby Chic} - DIY

Looking around in our living room, I realized that I need to put a wooden tray on the glass coffee table. I have about 4 glass jars filled with shells and other trinkets that I have collected and they are sits on the glass table top right now. I immediately think it needs something made out of 'wood' just to give balance between the  coffee table top glass and the glass jars on top and break the two glass elements  by putting a 'wooden tray'. I can only think to try to do it myself; it only needs a cut to size ply wood which I can get from Home Depot and mouldings for the border of the tray and I know they are available at Michaels. I was not sure if it is going to work but after explaining the whole nine yards to my lovely hubby he agreed to help and do it together. I must say that I am happy with the result the only thing is that it needs a little larger.

The shabby chic looking tray can also be used to put perfume bottles.

And is pretty to put jewelries.

What you need;

* Ply wood cut to the desired size. {You can get a better quality wood in Michaels; I saw similar wood over there but it is a little more costly} Mine came from Home Depot.

* Skinny mouldings {measures all of the 4 sides of your tray to determine how many mouldings you need. It is available in Michaels.

* Super Glue; mine is Loctite Super Glue Liquid.

* Hand saw (belongs to my husband)

* Wicker White Folk Art Acrylic Paint

* Raw Umber or Burnt Umber Folk Art Acrylic Paint

* 2 Foam brushes

* Plastic container for paint.

Step by step;

1. Cut to size your ply wood for the base of tray.

2. Glue 2  of skinny mouldings. Place them mirror image or back to back to make it long one moulding.

3. Next cut them to the size of 4 sides of your tray. Remember to cut each corner in 90 degree angle so each corner will fit two mouldings together.

4. Once you finished making the 4 sides of mouldings; next glue the 4 sides of mouldings on the tray. Without the right cutting tool; the angle will not be perfect. I did not have the right tool to make a perfect angle but it is still good enough and the gap can filled with a wood filler.

4. After the glue and the wood filler dries; using foam brush  paint 2 coats the entire tray including inside and the outer side mouldings with burnt umber. You can use Folk Art brand {I happened to have an artist acrylic paint}

5. When it dries {about 1 hour or you can use hair dryer to speed up the process} squeeze the white paint on the plastic container {be sure the plastic container is clean from any paint before and I suggest using a new foam brush for the next step.} Take the foam brush and deep in to the white paint {do not dilute it with water and the brush has to be dried} start paint with one gentle stroke from left to right. When the paint seems does not comes out; deep the brush on to the paint and repeat the process again. You will see a streak of white paint start to form. Again do not go back and forth as it will scrape the bottom layer of paint and can cause the paint to mix. You do not want them to mix; you want the first layer to only appear slightly. Do it as many strokes as you want until you get the right result. {see below picture}

Note: I forget to take picture of the actual tray when painting it so I demonstrated the above illustration with another piece of plywood.

6. As for the outer part of the moulding tray; just sweep with one stroke on the entire moulding from one side to another. Do not press hard as you want to see the pattern and be able to see the first layer of the burnt umber paint through the white paint.

Thank you for stopping by !

September Home Interior Collage/Journal

What I love about this interior is the combination of gilding (gold) frame, mint color, cream and white. I somehow gravitate to a room with a little touch of gold. Let be it a gilded mirror frame or a single gold frame chair. It is a timeless romance, chic and elegance !

These images reminds me the sweet smell of  English garden flowers like primrose, verbena, myrtle, lily-of-the-valey, hyacinth. Resemblance to Kate Middleton's wedding bouquet.

Thank you for stopping by !

A Very Special Guest Visiting Us in New York

I do not get to see my son very often as he is living in Jakarta Indonesia. As a mother I miss my son very much and very often. So when he came to visit us almost 2 weeks a go for 5 days I took the opportunity to spend quality time with him. He is 26 years old.

I was very happy when I saw him again at the airport. The last time I saw him was in Bali, Indonesia. We spent 4 days just the two of us together. {Last seen here}

We {Steven, Buck and I} had so much fun together. We went to Fort Greene Flea and Williamsburg Flea. He told me he wants to get vintage items in the flea market to bring back to Jakarta. We took him to the US Open. We went out watched a movie one night. We had dinner with Dr. Chang (Cardiovasular Surgeon) and his wife Lucy one night. We dined out a lot although the first night I cooked him an Indonesian dishes as per his request. But he loves New York Italian food especially pizza.  I took him to the city {Manhattan} to do  some shopping. We laughed, we joked, we discussed, we talked, we hugged, we disagreed, we just do what typically mom and son do. 

He is back in Jakarta, Indonesia now. We miss Buck very much. It was fun when Buck is around; we always have something to laugh about. It was a nice feeling to be a real Mom when your son is around. And I miss that more and more now !

We said good bye at the airport and before he left he said 'Mom jangan nangis ya?' {Mom, please don't cry?} We hugged and we watched him left and disappeared behind the entrance gate. I just knew that Buck can take good care of himself. And somehow I could hold my tears knowing he will be alright.

Thank you for reading !

Better Than-Mom's Pot Roast

It has been a long time since the last time I cooked Pot Roast. So today I surprised Steven with this meal. I can't believe this dish is a weight loss meal. And it is a mouthwatering goodness oh delicious dish considering it is a diet recipe. Finally and after 7 hours slow cooked in the dutch oven the meat became so tender and juicy. I love when I served a meal your companion start to mumbling like " hhhmm.....it's very tasty !" It has proven that  I successful making this dish !

::Recipe::

Better-Than-Mom's Pot Roast

^ 4 - 5 lb beef bottom round or rump roast

^ 1 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil

^ 2 cups beef broth

^ 2 cups ketchup

^ 1/2 cup cider vinegar

^ 2 onions, chopped

^ 2 cloves garlic, minced

^ 6 Tbsp brown sugar

^ 5 carrots, chopped

^ 5 ribs celery, chopped

Rub roast with oil. Brown under broiler on both sides. Combine broth, ketchup, vinegar, onions, garlic, and sugar in 4-quart or large slow cooker. Add roast, carrots, and celery. Cover. Cook on low 8 hours or until meat is tender.  Slice roast and serve with vegetables and sauce from cooker.

Per serving 380 cal, 42 g pro, 28 g carb, 2 g fiber, 11 g fat, 3 g sat fat, 770 mg sodium
 

Good Luck Everyone & Thank you for stopping by !

Cup Cake Liner and Decorative Doilies Gift Wrap

Pretty gift wrap ideas for Mothers Day, Birthday and many more!  Most of what you need to create these gift wraps ideas are probably can be found in your home.

 

What you need;

^ Foam brush

^ Small plastic container to mix paint

^ Scissor

^ Glue

^ Jute Cords, available at Michaels

^ Small cup cake liners 

^ Decorative cake doilies; different sizes

^ News papers

Note: I am using Baron newspaper where pages only shows stock market index; I think it is better since there is no picture but tiny numbers

^ Double tape

^ Acrylic paints, color of you choice

^ Decorative  flowers; available on sale at Michaels. USD 0.99 for 2 and the other one USD 1.99 for two.  (I am sorry I forgot to take picture of these flowers!)

How to make the color gift wrap news paper.

1. Squeeze paint into plastic container; add water to dilute it. You want to wash the news paper not to cover the numbers print on the news paper. 2. With foam brush; brush lightly the entire newspaper. 3. Wait about 40 minutes to dry. 4. When the painted news paper dried; wrap  the box. Secured with double tape.

How to make decorative gift wrap no. 1

1. Fold the doily (cake liner) in half. Then fold again in quarter, continue to fold in to one eight. 2. Cut the fold with scissor each time you fold.  You will ended up having 8 small triangular shape of doilies. 3. Arrange these small triangular pieces and glued them to the gift wrap box. 4. Tie the box using jute cord and place the decorative flower in the middle. Note: You can use any shape. Use your imagination and creativity to get different shapes and place them all over the box until you get the design you like.

How to make decorative gift wrap no. 2

1. Take the cup cake liner and open them flat. Place each one on the sides of 4  top side of box.  Leaving a space to put decorative flower in the middle. Note: You can put row of cup cake liner all the way to the bottom on each side. It's entirely up to you.  2. Tie the same way with any color jute cord of you choice. 3. Then place the decorative flower in the middle.

How to make decorative gift wrap no. 3

1. Take 1 mini cup cake liner. Fold in in half. Double tape in the middle so it won't open. 2. Take another mini cup cake liner, again fold in half. Then using scissor cut the curve edge just about 1/8" to make a slight smaller (a fan shape) then the first one. Using double tape; tape them together. 3. Place the smaller fan shape cup cake liner just under the original one; secure with double tape so they stay together. Then tape them on to the side of the box. 4. Lastly, take the same size cup cake liner but different color (mine is silver) fold in half; secure with double tape and cut 1/4" off the edge so it will be the smallest size amongst the three of them. Place it just under the no. 2 fan shape cake liner you already glued on to the box. Secure it with double tape. You want to create a row of 3 fan shape cup cake liners from the biggest all the way down the the smallest.

5. Repeat the entire session to decorate on the other side of the box. Leaving a gap in between for the flower to sit on. 6. Tie it with color of jute cord your choice. Place the decorative flower in the middle in between the two groups of decorative fan shape cup cake liners.

To make decorative gift wrap no. 4 (last one) is a no-brainer. Just take a doily and place it in the middle. Tie and place the flower in the middle.

Good luck !

Thank you for stopping by !