Two Years

August 14th was my second year anniversary with William. We decided to go to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut because they were having a dinosaur exhibit for the summer. We went to the aquarium for our anniversary last year, and plan on going to either the Atlantic City aquarium or the Mystic aquarium in Connecticut for our third year anniversary (don't judge, I love aquariums/marine life).

How could we pass up Dino Summer?

I can't understand how they did this, but all of the dinos made sounds!

Flounders make me laugh hysterically whenever I see them...it must be those crazy eyes.

These were just the cutest little things and the sounds they made were absolutely adorable!

How cool is this blue lobster? 

Whatever this huge fish was, he laid at the bottom of the tank, looking dead. When he finally moved, he startled William and I so much!

This little guy was taking a nap! We also caught a bit of the seal show.

I would love to one day have a seahorse tank...

I wish I knew what these things were. They were stuck to the side of the tank.

The shark tank was a little disappointing. It was very small, and the aquarium doesn't own that many sharks. The room was also too dark for any good pictures.

I did however, LOVE the jellyfish room that the aquarium had!

I'm glad the Myspace-esque photos we took of ourselves outside came out decent.

The aquarium was located in a quaint little town with a beautiful view of a river? the Great South Bay? (I really don't know my Connecticut geography, sorry)

We also enjoyed the history and photographs of the Long Island Sound. However, it only featured Connecticut fisherman. Excuse me, Maritime Aquarium, but it is called the Long Island Sound, too, you know. Show us some love!

All in all, we had a very enjoyable second anniversary. I made chipotle-mango chicken on the night of our anniversary and for dessert I made this tasty recipe from the always enjoyable baking blog, Sprinkle Bakes! I highly recommend this recipe (it isn't as difficult as it may seem at first) and I always enjoy looking through her recipes!

Top Ten: I'm In Love

I'm thinking about doing this little feature here on the blog, where I compose a list of top tens. I think I'll change up the theme each week, too. Here we go!

Top Ten Things I'm Loving Right Now


1. Walking/wading through flood water. Hurricane? Tropical Storm? Irene has come and gone, but the debris and flood water still haunts my coastal town on the Great South Bay. William's block was flooded with three feet of water this morning (totally wish I was there to see it/play in it!) and was still flooded when we went there at 10pm tonight. I've been wearing my rain boots for the past 48 hours (they're black with red and white fish on them, and matched yesterday's nautical-themed outfit perfectly) so I just couldn't resist the urge to walk through all that water! William armed himself with his rain boots (2 sizes too small, I might add) and we went for a walk/wade through his neighborhood.

2. Friendly/supportive neighbors. By this afternoon, it was safe to go outside and drive around town because the rain had stopped and the wind died down considerably. Everyone on my street, my grandparents' street and William's block were outside, conversing and making sure we were all okay. Some of my grandparents' neighbors even offered to help them out with the flooding in their basement (they live right on the canal, so water in the basement is always inevitable). It was just nice to see everyone being so helpful and supportive of one another.

3. Horror Movies. William and I made a vow to only watch horror movies from now until Halloween. We're watching both A and B-rated films, and are currently loving anything Eli Roth. On Halloween day, we're having a Halloween marathon. We're making a Netflix list of all the movies we can't get our hands on at the library.

4. The feel of fall approaching. School starts on Thursday, and with the new school year comes the thought of fall approaching. I love the feel, smell and look of fall and cannot wait to start wearing boots, jackets and scarves. I'm done with the summer right now, and can't wait for apple picking, pumpkin carving, and of course, the pumpkin latte and donut at Dunkin' Donuts!

5. Cooking with tomatoes. I am pretty much all tomatoed-out by now because I grew more than 10 tomato plants this season (I had a family friend give me about 6 plants, and my mom bought me 3 more in addition to what I already purchased in the spring). I've been having fun searching for and creating my own tomato recipes.

6. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safran Foer. I recently finished reading this book, and although it is so heart-wrenching and made me cry several times, it is a must-read. With the thought of the anniversary of 9/11 approaching, this book forced me to reflect back on that day. I was only ten when it happened, and knowing that the narrator of the novel was only ten years old, this book made me realize how the children of those lost must have felt. I highly recommend this novel, and I feel like it has meaning that every American will understand.

7. Pretzel M&M's. My dad bought a giant wholesale bag a few weeks ago, and I've been hooked ever since.

8. Starting school on Thursday. I've been on summer vacation since the second week of May, and although I love sleeping late (when work allows), not having any obligations other than work, and having nice weather to do things, I really just want to start school already. I love how the fall is approaching, and the feeling of getting a chance to start all over again with a semester full of new classes. I've bought all my supplies and I just want to get back on campus!

9. My collection of all things nautical. I'll have to dedicate a post to my collection of nautical themed things, but when our power went out last night (for a big 25 minutes, thank goodness!) all of my nautical candle holders came in handy.

10. Long Island. I'm an Island girl, born and raised, and have no desire to ever move away from here, even after I graduate college, get married and later retire. Making it through the storm and going over to my grandparents' house to help them with the flooding, really made me feel proud of where I live. I can't really explain it, but despite the negative effects of living by/on the water, I realized I can definitely make it through any future storms here on Long Island/the East Coast. The next few days will be tough for many New Yorkers and all of us who were affected by Irene on the East Coast, but here on Long Island, we'll work hard to get through it. We're all very proud people, and seem to be strong during times like this.

The Calm Before The Storm

I can't even begin to properly describe how eerie it looks and sounds outside my window right now. There are no birds chirping. I cannot hear any traffic on the highway down my block. The incessant buzzing of the cicadas are absent today. It's as if all of life has halted, and is waiting. The East Coast is expected to be heavily affected by hurricane Irene, and life yesterday on Long Island was quite amusing.

I'm sure it's not only New York/Long Island that acts this way right before a potential emergency. It's just so silly how any type of storm makes people act. For instance, grocery stores are immediately wiped out of the "essentials"--milk, eggs and bread. First of all, I can't fathom not having these items in my house at all times. Second, what the hell are you going to make/eat with just these three items?! I went to the grocery store last night and stocked up on snacks and goodies. If this storm is as bad as they say it might be, I at least want to snack on junk food after I make dinner this weekend.

I didn't think it was going to be a problem at first, so I let the gas tank in my car reach below 1/4 tank. I didn't know people were going to freak out over filling up their cars before a hurricane. The only reason I could think people did this was in case the storm prevents any gas trucks from delivering new shipments during/after the storm comes through. But really, people? Yes, this is Long Island, which implies that we are surrounded by water on all sides, but in reality, we are not as isolated as the name implies. As I tried to get gas yesterday afternoon, I drove around to three different stations because people either waited in line in ridiculous areas of the gas station or were blocking traffic on major highways. Some gas stations ran out of gas, which sounds terrible and alarming, but as I left William's house last night, every gas station I passed was getting a delivery.

I do hope everyone remains safe during this storm, no matter how big or small it may turn out to be. Thankfully, I wasn't alive for the most dangerous and damaging hurricane that hit New York/Long Island, and we're all hoping this one isn't anything like it. Good luck to all who may be affected by Irene, and let's hope she moves out to sea soon enough.

A Little Italian Cuisine...

Lately, I've been incorporating a lot of tomatoes into my dinner recipes. It's that time of year again, when all of my tomatoes start ripening at the same time, leaving me with an abundance. I've been handing them out to family, friends and neighbors.

The other night I made a fresh mozzerella and tomato salad, and as I was cooking, I once again yearned for my own restaurant. Maybe one day I can share my love for cooking and Italian cuisine with the world...

Etsy

Well, I've finally accomplished it! I've been playing around with fabrics and designs and have finally completed my work. Check out my Etsy to see the fabric flower headbands I've been working on. I am overjoyed to finally be sharing my work with everyone! And.... over on Jen's blog, Just Jen, I'm doing a giveaway and you can win one of my fabric flower headbands!

Summer Pasta Recipe

My Grandma tells me this recipe has been in my family forever. I love to make it in the summer because all of the vegetables are in season, and I use the ones from my garden.

Ingredients:
3 large tomatoes
3 small zucchinis
1 small eggplant
1 large red/white onion
2 cloves garlic
1 box/1 pound of pasta (any type will work)
Italian seasoning
Extra virgin olive oil
Red wine
Salt and pepper

1. Cut zucchini into bite-size pieces and set aside in a saute pan. Slice the tomatoes and add them to zucchini. Cut the skin off of the eggplant and cut into bite-size pieces, and then add them to tomatoes and zucchini in the pan. Cut the onions into slices or dice them, depending on which you prefer.

2. Mince the garlic and add it to the pan with the veggies. Add 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning, 3 tablespoons of red wine and 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil to the pan. Add a dash of salt and pepper, and toss all of the ingredients together.

3. Cook the vegetables on high heat. They will shrink down, and the zucchini and eggplant will absorb the oil, so you might need to add more. Stir constantly.

4. Begin boiling salted water for the pasta. When water is boiling, cook the pasta, stirring constantly. Cook to your desire.

5. When the vegetables have cooked down considerably and have released a lot of water, they will begin to cook well. Keep stirring them constantly, but eventually reduce heat to low.

6. When the pasta is all cooked, add it to the veggies and serve pasta with pecorino romano cheese. Enjoy!