favorite things: st. patty's day edition.

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top'a the mornin' to ya & happy st. patty's day!  here are a few spirited things i'm oogling over right now.

this year, st. patty's day will be rather mellow.  i'm spending the day helping my little sis train for her upcoming lifeguard test and tonight, i'll be joining my sister-in-law and some friends for dinner at a new restaurant.

i hope you have a great day celebrating your irish (or wanna-be-irish) heritage!

love day.

happy valentine's day friends! i hope you have plans to spend time with your loves: friends, family, significant other or even yourself. either way, i hope it's very special & enjoyable.

i got such a kick out of this little movie; it was so sweet, i just had to share. you never know when love might find you...

favorite things: valentine's edition.

1. the perfect accessory for a date night for one.
2. a snarky card to send to the lover(s) in your life.
3. a perfectly feminine diy wreath.
4. chilly or romantic nights, everyone needs a the perfect soy candle.
5. who doesn't love puppies- especially life size?  now here's a book that will warm your heart.
6. fill your house with love.  not just on valentine's day.
7. knit cowls: both fashionable & functional on cold february days.
8. a perfect little reminder during those late night bathroom breaks.
9. enjoy a festive cocktail surrounded by those you love.
10. my favorite love-themed string art to date.  best part: you can make it also!

an american cowboy themed birthday.

i've been dying to share these photos with you.  my sister, the creative genius, just threw my nephew a killer party for his 4th birthday.  niko (my nephew) is currently obsessed with all things cowboy and american.  his favorite things in the world are: the national anthem, his cowboy hat & boots, horses and the american flag.  lindsay had the interesting task of marrying these components and did an outstanding job.  the above photos are some of my favorite elements.

the party was held in a community park on a typical southern californian day.  she served apples, chicken nuggets, some snack mix, veggies & dip (cutely placed in bell peppers), and s'mores.  at the drink station, she created mason jar "sippy cups" and used paper straws and chalkboard labels to complete the look.

in lieu of cake, she made adorable cake pops.  remember those frozen sherbet push-pops you'd eat in the middle of summer?  well, using a similar vessel, she baked a combination of chocolate and vanilla mini cake muffins and stacked cake and frosting into each pop.  every cake pop was topped with a toy horse and placed in a handmade tray she crafted out of a 4x8 board, a drill and some paint.  these were the perfect size for kids and unlike actual cake, were much easier and cleaner for the kids to eat.

as if that wasn't enough, she wanted to offer a place for families to take photos.  she created a photo booth with pvc pipe, left over fabric and a fabric scrap banner adorned with his name.  she offered an array of props: bandanas, hats, shades, stick horses and american flags for the kids/families to use while they took their photos.

to top it off, she made a pinata for the final birthday hoorah.  the kids were in heaven and the adults- myself included- were in awe of her awesome work.  using a variety of pinterest inspiration and some ideas of her own, she created a fantastic day and memory for her little boy.  over the next couple weeks i'll work with lindsay to share some of these amazing diy ideas with you!

ps. if you're interested in purchasing a stick horse, email me at jess.russ10 at gmail{dot}com.  they make great holiday or birthday presents for the little cowboy or cowgirl in your life.

a traditional romanian podestat.

upon our arrival to michigan, my grandma mentioned that if we could extend our stay by one day, we'd be able to attend a podestat in honor of my great aunt eleanor.  not knowing much about my romanian heritage nor a traditional podestat (hopefully this is the correct spelling- after some google research, i only found this tradition listed under another name: maramure), we decided to stay and see what all the hooplah was about.

we arrived to the romanian orthodox church as the priest was finishing his sermon.  we took our seats at round tables with full table settings beneath a plastic tablecloth.  the room was hot and crowded and smelled of food.  the priest, only speaking in romanian, dawned a long white beard and wore an aqua cloak adorned with gold embellishments   he spoke in song holding a large silver incense burner and frequently made the sign of the cross across his body.  after about 30 minutes, he called the families of the deceased (there were three sets of families), to the highly adorned alter.

at this point, the room suddenly got much warmer as we stood in front of the crowd.  between the two crowds of people flanking the priest, sat a long, 8 foot table.  on the table sat eleven round loaves of braided bread speared with many yellow candles, two large carlo rossi jugs of wine, and two large cakes decorated with the sign of the cross and halloween candies.  as the candles burned and the priest continued to speak in prayer, three men separate from the families sang along with the priests prayers and answered his phrases in song.  

between each prayer, the priest would read the names of the deceased's survivors and other direct family members.  after about twenty minutes of prayer, song & name listing, the priest said something (again, this was all in romanian, so i had no idea what was happening) and all family members standing on the alter began surrounding the 8 foot table in front of the priest.  those closest to the table grabbed the underside of the table while everyone in the outer circle of the group who were unable to reach the table, placed their hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them.  then, in unison, everyone lifted the table (with bread, candles, wine and all) and began raising and lowering the table as the priest continued to pray and sprinkle red wine on all the food on the table.

once this overwhelming and more notably, fire hazard of the levitating table ritual was complete, the table was once again placed on the alter and everyone left to take their seats for the traditional romanian feast.  per this website, the charity that follows, usually in the yard of his house is made up of wheat bread, noodles with milk, stuffed cabbage with meat and rice (called "sarmale"), potatoes with fried meat, donuts, etc.  before everyone starts eating, the priest and the attendance say a prayer for the dead and bless the meal.  in case there should be persons missing, a second and even a third charity is organized, in order to satisfy the whole community.  basically, this event is given to the community on behalf of the deceased as a thank you for the support to their families during the time of grief and the help the community would have likely provided them during their living years.

during this podestat a. and i enjoyed some very traditional romanian cuisine   despite being romanian, this was my first sampling of romanian fare.  while interesting, it was pretty good.  my favorite?  the sour soup.  

i'm really, really glad we stayed for this experience.  it was very cool to see my heritage in all it's glory, meet many members of our extended family, and enjoy some unique food.  it's definitely something i'll always remember & an experience i was glad a. could join me for as well.

weekend round-up.

it's obvious summer is coming to a close in syracuse.  days are cooler, nights are down-right cold, & the sun is setting much too soon.  i love when the weather begins to change and sweaters are part of the daily attire, but for now, i'm enjoying the last of these beautiful summer days.

i completed my final wedding of the season this saturday and basically spent sunday afternoon recovering.  we enjoyed a celebratory dinner with friends (more on that this week) and later, treated ourselves to some frozen yogurt.

believe it or not, all photos were taken with my beloved iphone.

a long easter weekend.

thursday morning my sister and her little man flew out to spend easter with us & it was wonderful.  better than wonderful, in fact.  having her and niko around, totally made my month & easter that much more special.  it has been 4 years since she's visited our little home and i was more than happy to show her around.

while in town, we took them to their first hockey game and road-tripped to michigan to spend the weekend with our extended family.  to break up the 8-hour road trip, we stopped in buffalo to meet up with one of my sister's old roommates for coffee and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring niagara falls.  it was a beautiful day- so we really lucked out- & lindz got some awesome shots (although the below pic is courtesy of niko).

after an remaining five hour ride, we finally arrived in michigan.  my other sister had arrived that evening as well, so it was a full house.  we spent the rest of the weekend catching up with one another and the family, playing cards, games, hiking in my grandparents backyard, exploring ann arbor (of all weekends we had to visit, it was hash bash) and celebrating easter- complete with a brunch & an egg and beer hunt.

the ride home wasn't too bad, but the weekend went much faster than i would have hoped.  i had so much fun sending time with everyone & loved the all the company.  especially that of the little man who can belt out jason aldean's dirt road anthem, asks "why?" after everything you say, and starts each sentence with "an jen."  melts my heart.

it was a totally awesome easter & we had such a great time.  this is the second year i've trekked it to michigan to spend the holiday with our grandparents and family & i hope to keep this tradition alive for more years to come.

new beginnings.

yesterday, i turned 29.  twenty. nine.  oh my.  

twenty eight was an interesting year.  it wasn't fantastic, it definitely wasn't dull, it was full of friends & laughter and loneliness & tears.  i had high hopes for twenty eight and later resolved that small goals and baby steps were the best way to endure.  it was a rough & tumble kinda year- one that required a lot of patience, love and grace.  and with those components, it definitely managed to be a year for the books.

now i'm twenty nine.  & honestly, it couldn't have come at a better time.  i have extremely high hopes for this final dance of the decade- lots of adventures, plenty of goals and with great friends & the love of my life by my side, it's bound to be quite the party.

surprise par-tay!

remember a few weeks ago when i posted about my red & white stripe crush?  well, after all the anticipation, the secret theme was revealed at a surprise party for a.!  it was a great fiesta that surprisingly went off without a hitch.  the birthday boy was shocked- completely flabbergasted- and excited to spend the evening with friends from near & far.

i hosted the party at a local, mellow bar close to home.  since i was out of town until wednesday, i knew going into this i couldn't stress- and so, much to my surprise, didn't.  i ordered a bit of striped paper before i left, purchased a cake, sent out the invite and made arrangements with the venue.  while away, i brainstormed a few decor ideas and once home, got to work.

i called my girls on friday afternoon in a mild panic hoping we could meet up at someone's home for an impromptu craft night.  and being the rock stars they are, were thrilled to partake.  we cut piles of circle disks and mustaches from the aforementioned paper.  we hot glued the 'staches on some sweet paper straws i ordered from amazon and taped the paper circles on wooden disks for drink tickets.  we also cut out a few flags for toothpicks so guests would have something other than their fingers to grab food.

the night of, friends gathered and we waited for the party to kick off.  a. was lured to the bar with false hopes of watching a lacrosse game over some great beer and instead, entered the bar to the sound of noise makers and a jubilant "surprise!"  honestly the night couldn't have gotten any better.  joining us were great friends, good food, fun tunes, and mustaches! 

yay for birthdays & surprises...double yay for surprises that go off without a hitch and a birthday boy who had a ton of fun.

mr. a & the big 3-0.

i can't believe it.  despite a couple deployments, we've spent 11 birthdays with one another- celebrating our ripe "old" age.  when i first met a. it was in high school and he refused to tell anyone his birthday- and even took extra precaution to make sure no one got their hands on his license.  i still like to joke it was an attention thing...he still laughs and says it probably was.

and that's just one of the things i love about him...he laughs at himself and makes me laugh along with him.
he loves nature, adventure & good 'ol fashion, clean fun.
he can play the guitar, piano and dabbles on the harmonica.  not bad babe.
he laughs so hard his eyes tear up and loves food so spicy that he sweats.
he finds mowing the lawn relaxing and hates folding the laundry.
he enjoys managing our finances and spending money.  
he's kind, and caring and gentle.
he makes time to snuggle.
he's served his country both here and overseas.  positively & with no regrets.
he offers to make dinner and then orders chinese take-out.
he's honest and fair and full of love.
he's truly my best friend and best hubby ever.

he's my main man & i'd follow him to the moon and back.  because he's just that amazing.  
happy birthday mr. a.  
i am still very much in love with you.

happy "whatever age you are!"

technically, her birthday was yesterday- but i'm in the spirit of a double celebration, since you only get to turn twenty-something once!  so lindz, how do you feel, now that you are the age you are?  happy birthday week! xxo.

san diego in review.

a. and i spent 11 days soaking up the san diego sun.  as always, it was awesome.  here's a quick review of our holiday & our time with the fam.

farmers market//christmas lights//long, relaxing runs//pipes//california mexican//perfect winter days

candle light service//fondue//goofy girls//stockings//opening presents//hopple popple, kielbasa, stollen

christmas dinner//swamis//stone beer tasting//breakfast tacos//sunset beach walk//first class

carrots.

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years & years ago, when i first started eating solid food, my mom learned that i liked carrots- a lot.  so, she fed them to me all the time.  and as the story goes, her fair-skined, red-headed little girl, started turning orange.  of course, as a brand new mama, she had no idea why.  so she rushed me to the doctor.  the doctor took one look at me and pulled his stethoscope up to his ears (insert doctor smirk here) and asked what i liked to eat.  

carrots, said my mom.  she loves carrots.

how often do you give her carrots? asked the doctor.

well, that's all i can get here to eat... replied my mom.

hmmm. responded the doctor.  i bet if you fed her something else, she would probably stop turning orange.

happy mother's day to all the mama's who have and currently are, learning to raise us through trial & error.  to all the moms who have spent countless hours loving and teaching and listening to each of us as we grow.  to each of you who spend countless hours setting guidelines, teaching manners & morals and stressing the importance of safety & heathy lifestyles.  and of course, to the moms who sacrifice so much so we can have amazing, life-changing experiences so we can grow up to be the people you dream for us to be.

and to the one mom, who not only did all this, but also opened me up to a world of veggies outside of carrots.  i love you.

easter. a week (or two) later.

easter weekend was spent in michigan with my grandma and moshu, aunt, uncle and cousins.  believe it or not, the drive from syracuse isn't long at all.  about 6 1/2 hours via canada (not including a few stops for gas and wait time at the borders).  but when push comes to shove, it's not all that bad.  even when riding solo.  

after a great drive- despite the weather, i made it over the bridge from canada and onto the home stretch.  then, 6 miles from my grandparents house, my car died.  seriously.  i had to call a tow truck to get it to an auto repair place.  and of course, because if it wasn't already bad enough, i got in a) late enough that everywhere was closed and b) on a holiday weekend, guaranteeing no one would be open.  needless to say, i was planning to drive home monday, so this was just fabulous*.

despite the car issues, the weekend was outstanding.  spring was in full bloom & i had so much fun spending time with the family.  we ventured to ikea and i picked up some great duds for the casa.  a duvet cover, candle holder, shelf, and a colander.  my grandma and i drove around michigan looking at homes and neighborhoods.  i watched dumb & dumber with moshu.  easter brunch at la sala (i convinced the cousins to dip bacon in the chocolate fountain.  i totally would have, but the vegetarian thing go the best of me).  hiked for miles with radley and saw deer, wild turkey & peacocks.

it was such a great time that i'm determined this will become an annual tradition.  i figure next year, in addition to radley, i'll have my favorite travel buddy with me and the road could go on forever and ever.  our car could die (although this wouldn't be preferable) and with our easter baskets packed, and a long weekend ahead of us, it'd be another adventure in the making.

*my car got fixed.  luckily, it sounded worse than it really was.  the nice guys at the auto shop took the time to fix it first thing in the morning since i told them i had to get on the road.  long story short, the guys back home didn't put my calipers on right after fixing my brakes.  with a short adjustment in michigan, the car was up and running in no time.