I am in love...

...with the new Kings of Leon album.

I strongly suggest you have a listen.

It's full of emotion.

I'm driving William crazy by playing it over and over in the car on the way to school.

I just want to listen to it over and over.

Especially when I'm driving.

And this song just seems so optimistic.

Grapes

I apologize for my lack of posting as of late. I've been super busy with school, work and everything else that has to get done on a day to day basis. Plus, my laptop was out of commission for a while so I didn't have my pictures.

I took these photos at my grandparents' house during Labor Day weekend. This grape arbor has been in my family since my great-grandfather built the house and my grandfather has maintained it every since. Every September my grandfather picks the grapes and sends them to a neighbor/family friend who uses them to make jellies, jams and wine. On Christmas Eve, she sends my grandparents boxes full of grape jelly and red wine, but she is also kind enough to give us strawberry, peach, mulberry, mul-grape and raspberry jam! She's a very talented woman, and she takes the time to make labels for each jar and adds little embellishments on top of each jar!

I'll post the end result come Christmas time, but for now I have these photos of the grape picking process:

 We collected about 20 lbs on this day.

Unfortunately, I had school the day he collected the rest. He said he got about a hundred pounds this year! The past couple of years have been awful  for the grape, and some years we didn't even pick any at all. Luckily, the weather was right this summer and the grape starting blooming early!

Vitamins

Sooo, the creator of the first blog that I ever read, Meg Duerksen, is asking for some help.

Her and a group of women in the blog world took a trip to Africa a few months ago to help the children there. Each woman brought a suitcase full of one item that would benefit the children. Meg sent a suitcase full of birthday cake mixes and dresses. Another suitcase was full of vitamins. The women were told that each child would receive one hard boiled egg each Saturday, and that egg would most likely be their protein for the week. Obviously, the vitamins helped out a lot, but it's been months since Meg and the ladies were there, and the children's club has run out of them.

The women are asking for donations of children's vitamins to send in one giant box to the children's club. I've bought some bottles already and wanted to see if any of you would like to help. Please comment and let me know if you would be interested! Thank you!

A Visit to Walt Whitman's Birthplace

As an English education major, I naturally love all things English, and those who know me best know how much I love Walt Whitman. (I like to call him "Uncle Walt", by the way).

William decided that it'd be nice if we went on one last date together before school started, and a visit to Walt Whitman's birthplace was still never crossed off on our "2010 To Do List." So a few days before school started, I finally visited the Huntington home that I have been longing to visit for years. Isn't it funny how we tend to take advantage of the historical/tourist spots that are right in our backyard? As a New Yorker, I know tons of people who have never been to the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, etc. I can oftentimes be guilty of this as a Long Islander!


The house is an absolutely beautiful home, built around 1810. It was a farmhouse, built by his father, who built homes for a living. Walt Whitman was born in the house in 1819. This is the original house, but the home was restored in 2001. The property has shrunk over the years, but this land was preserved in 1949. In 1985, New York State declared the land a historic preservation.

 The house in which Uncle Walt was born.

 The original well, used by the Whitman's.

 This fireplace was restored and painted the original color from the time when the Whitman's lived there. This blue is so beautiful in person, and unfortunately this photo doesn't do it justice!

Our tour guide explained to use that a house built during this era normally did not contain as many closets as those featured in the Whitman home. It was such a culture-shock to see how a family could own very few belongings, that they didn't need closets!

 These utensils are believed to be Walt's. During his lifetime, men would carry utensils on them when eating in restaurants. This was to prevent the spread of disease, but also because restaurants had a tendency of running out of utensils when serving patrons.

 Unfortunately, none of the furniture or items actual belonged to the Whitman family. They moved out of the home when Walt was older, and the house was privately sold to a wealthy family from New York City, who decided to preserve the house as best as they could. 

 Uncle Walt!

This is the desk that Walt used while he taught in a Long Island school. His book of poetry, Leaves of Grass, is displayed on top of it.

If you've never been to Walt Whitman's birthplace and live on Long Island, I strongly suggest you go! Students get in for $4 and there are always buy one get one free coupons floating around. The tour guides are very dedicated to their jobs and will provide you with very insightful knowledge on Walt and his family history. 

After visiting his birthplace, I now want to go to his home in Camden, New Jersey. This is the place where Walt died, and the home is set up exactly as he left it, with the original furniture and his belongings. 

And now I will leave you with my favorite Walt Whitman poem, and probably his most famous:

O Captain! My Captain! - Walt Whitman (1865)

O Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won; The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

But O heart! heart! heart!

O the bleeding drops of red,

Where on the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills; For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding; For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here Captain! dear father!

This arm beneath your head;

It is some dream that on the deck,

You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!

But I, with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

I'll be back soon enough with more updates. School has started, which means I'm back to being a busy college student!

Date Night

A few days ago William and I went on another date at a cupcake shoppe.

Like many other girls out there, I one day dream of having my very own cupcake shoppe with dozens of varieties of cupcakes that come with a glass of milk, and lots of pink all over the place. I make cupcakes all the time and love to try different recipes. I have cupcake books and go crazy over sprinkles and cupcake liners, especially the seasonal ones!

 Over a year ago I went searching for the perfect cupcake shoppe on Long Island and was disappointed with the lack of results. But I stumbled upon Cupcake Gourmet in Huntington and after seeing their website, I knew I had to give it a try.

It was the place I was looking for, with funky colored purple and lime green walls, and children's artwork hanging up all over the place. The perfect music and simple tables and chairs. There motto was adorable--peace, love, and cupcakes.  Oh, and of course, the cupcakes were delicious!

William LOVES the apple pie cupcake. It's adorable, and looks just like a mini-pie. It's an apple cinnamon cupcake with apple filling on top. He has to get one every time we go. 

 I got an apple pie to go, but had a rainbow chocolate chip cupcake at the shoppe. It was adorable and delicious! William took one to go, too.

I absolutely recommend Cupcake Gourmet in Huntington. It is an adorable little shop, affordable, and if you get a chance to meet the owner, she is a sweetheart! She's living her dream and doing it pretty well, if I do say so myself!

Anniversary

August 14th is my anniversary with William and this year was our first. We decided to go out to dinner at Ciao Baby on Thursday and we both got the skirt steak (sooo yummy!). Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of us that night. On that Saturday we went to Atlantis Marine World in Riverhead and had a blast looking at all the fish and fun new stuff that they've added there since they opened when we were kids! I don't have any pictures of us from Saturday either, which I'm a little bummed about. But I do have these fun photos of the fish and animals that we saw!

 The seals are the first thing we saw, right outside the entrance. While we were leaving we caught a glimpse of them getting fed.

Touching the manta rays was so cool, but they felt so weird! People were feeding them, and it's so funny to see them swim right up to you. They love to be pet!

This little guy was smart and hid in the cave in order to avoid getting picked up by little kids!

 I love starfish!

 Rock Lobsterrrrrr!

The largest crab in the world!

A cool looking starfish!

Smart little guy, blending into his surroundings.

 Piranhas!

 "A whhhhaaaat?" 

"A tiger shark."

(William and I love Jaws).

 Funny eel.

 I want a seahorse sooooo badly!

A pufferfish. William and I once caught one in a crab trap!

The octopus was lame and didn't move for us.

 I love jellyfish, but was disappointed with the small display they had.

They had alligators, too! William didn't want to stick around and hold a baby gator. What a lame-o, right?

Turtles!

This seal wouldn't pose for a picture.

And a video of the sea otters. All they were doing was wrestling one another. The third otter couldn't be bothered with these two! You can hear me giggling, as well.

All in all, we had a blast at the aquarium. If you're ever on Long Island, definitely make the trip out to Riverhead because they have some very cool exhibits and get new ones every year. It's loads of fun, and there are always coupons available online!

Yankee Game

Every year my dad and I try to make it to at least one Yankee game during the season. Out of the blue one day, Daddydukes asked me if I'd be interested in going to a Yankees/Red Sox game. It would be my first, so how could I not take the offer?!

We took William along, who had never been to a Yankee game, let alone the new stadium. Needless to say, he had a blast and got a taste of just how energetic, arrogant and passionate Yankee fans can be, especially against their biggest rivals! Our seats were allll the way up but it didn't matter. (That's what you get for trying to  buy Yankees/Red Sox tickets on Stubhub!)

I didn't take too many pictures because the game was intense, so I have two to share with your guys. And by the way, of course my boys won.

 I represented my love and support for Andy Pettitte.

 A shot of the stadium that I have taken annually, since I was a child.

 Did you guys know that I met Don Mattingly at the old stadium, back in 2008?

And....

 This is THE hit when Derek Jeter surpassed Gehrig's all-time hit record.

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!