Recently in Summer Category

In our newly one year+ long embraced adventurous Yankee spirit, Brett and I have decided that any chance we get, we should take the road less traveled. In this case, we did that literally.

We threw our new-to-us bikes in the back of the car and headed down the road a few miles to the city limits of Cohoes (also home to our favorite local falls). There we got on the bike path and started our journey towards neighboring town Niskayuna.

The Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway path runs almost 40 miles near the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. The beautiful scenery almost made us forget how bad our hineys were hurting from the ride! The trail took us under the Mohawk Bridge and behind some beautiful neighborhoods...views we'd never get to see otherwise.

The Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway links Albany and Schenectady Counties and the trail is just part of the state-wide Canalway Trail that follows the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany. Cool thing about the trail: parts run along abandoned rail lines, following the old rail bed!

Brett & I ended up riding about 16 miles on our bikes! It was a great chance to see Upstate New York from a completely different perspective...just another good reason to take the road less traveled!

Ever notice that New York City is the background of so much stuff? If you just look around, you'll see it everywhere! Movies, television shows, books...the Big Apple tends to take a nibble, if not a bite, out of it all.

One of the most famous shows (and my favorite) set against the backdrop of NYC was Sex & The City. The HBO series ran 94 juicy episodes from 1998 to 2004 and spawned two feature films...ok, so the second one wasn't that great. For years, millions of women across the country spent their Sunday nights drinking cosmopolitans and debating on whether they were a Carrie, Samantha, Miranda or Charlotte.

When one of my girlfriends from Arkansas announced she would be coming to NYC on a visit, I jumped at the chance to get someone to go on a SATC tour with me! A little online research and we were booked on a 1.5 hour walking tour showcasing some of the best spots of NYC seen in our favorite show.

The tour started at Pastis on 9th Avenue, where Carrie & The Russian had brunch with some of his snooty, uptown friends. Today, it's home to a trendy hip crowd and celebrity hangout.

A large part of our SATC tour was through the Meat Packing District and we got to see where exteriors of Samantha's apartment were filmed. Her infamous bedroom was right above an upscale Asian Fusion restaurant called the Spice Market. But here's the weird thing: the waiters and waitresses wore dowdy orange scrubs and tennis shoes??

The Meat Packing District also has tons of botiques and upscale shops set under awnings that still have the hooks used to hold meat sold there in the 1900s. Hard to believe the area was once the central location to more than 250 slaughter houses and packing plants! Now, only one remains.

In the 1980's the area was known as a hub for drug dealing and transexual prostitution. By the late 1990's, designers saw it as an opportunity to cash in on the young hipster crowd and the area went through a transformation phase. Today the Meat Packing District is one of the trendiest spots in Manhattan making it perfect for the background of SATC.

Our tour also checked out Tortilla Flats, home to the disastrous double date Miranda, Steve, Carrie and Aiden went on. The Mexican dive is rumored to serve up a fabulous margarita, but as Southerners, we knew better than to expect "good" Mexican food anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Our quick tour pace came to a screeching halt when we stumbled upon the Magnolia Bakery. After being featured in just one episode of Sex and the City, the place became went wild! Carrie & Miranda snacked on Magnolia Bakery's fabulous cupcakes at a park across the street and - BOOM - a cupcake craze was born!
We had no complaints waiting for a few minutes to savor some of their delicious treats!

Next door to the Magnolia Bakery are the famous sidewalk doors that Samantha fell down and broke her ankle on. Laura and I had a little fun reenacting our own version of the scene!

No doubt, the best part of the tour was definitely a stop at Carrie's stoop, which is located at 66 Perry, between West 4th and Bleeker Street. Turns out, SATC actually used about five different stoops during the course of the show, but the one we saw was used most frequently.

Unfortunately, the owner isn't real fond of folks sitting on their front porch for photos, so a chain discourages the rubberneckers from getting too close.

The ironic part: Sarah Jessica Parker's actual building is located just around the corner from Carrie's on Charles Street! We weren't sure which one it was, so Laura and I struck a pose on a stoop that could have been SJP's. However, since no one from her security detail kicked us off the front porch, it probably wasn't her house.

I gotta say, it was a pretty sweet (and pricey!) little neighborhood. A one bedroom in this 'hood reportedly goes for about $950,000!

It's amazing how close things are together in NYC! Our tour took us the short distance from Carrie & SJP's neighborhood to the sex shop where Charlotte bought her vibrating rabbit. There were plenty of unmentionables and we were a bit wary of the sticker shock for Charlotte's toy...a good time with it will run you about $70!

Just down the street from the sex shop was the small, but beautiful garden (again, it's all about location in NYC) where Steve and Miranda finally tied the knot in season 6. The garden is tucked away, but surrounded by gorgeous flowers, narrow paths and tons of snug little benches perfect for curling up with a good book. Ironic thing about the park though...you can't actually be on the grass and weddings aren't allowed to be held there.

Oh, to walk in Carrie's shoes!

Finding Family Ties Far From Home

As a kid, I completely idolized my cousin Kari! Only three years older, Kari and I would spend summers together at our grandmother's house in Piggott, Arkansas, gobbling down Sonic burgers after a day at the public pool. Kari was always so much fun and thankfully, never minded playing with her younger, geeky and completely envious cousin.

Kari was sort of a nomad growing up...she's lived in Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Ohio and New York! Over the years, we've managed to keep up, no matter what the zip code or the time zone.

All that traveling must have stuck with Kari because she had no trouble landing a job as a professional jet setter. Working as a flight attendant for Continental Express Airlines, she met her husband, pilot Michael Panebianco...who hails from Chittenango Falls, NY! Kari's since retired from slinging drinks in the friendly skies and now lives in Ponce Inlet, Florida with Mikey and their two sons, Anthony and Jack.

Since summer in the South is such a sizzling scorcher (like the alliteration?) Kari spends most of her summer with her in-laws up here in New York. We managed to rendezvous this year on Lake George in Bolton Landing, NY at the beautiful Sagamore Resort...y'all have to check it out sometime, it's amazing!

It was a reunion almost nine years coming! With lives in different time zones, it's been hard to see each other over the years. But keeping up has never been an issue thanks to long phone calls, emails and Facebook.

It's just been a while since we've had a chance to pose for a picture together!

Which is a tragedy, especially for a family that's as photogenic as this...

Had a chance to visit Lake Placid recently for business...what a view! Can't wait to go back and check out the town again!

Not that anyone wants to see my feet, but I had to share my cute summer pedicure nail design. Thanks Will Nails Salon in Clifton Park for keeping my tootsies twinkling!

Back home in the South, beauty pageants are a pretty big deal and I can't say I've really noticed many going on since we've lived in New York. But, if you've caught TLC's Toddlers & Tiaras then you might know what I'm talking about. Us Southern girls love our big hair, sparkly dresses and flashy smiles! Growing up, I competed in beauty pageants pretty much every weekend until I left for college, and even then I still did a couple here and there. I competed in my first pageant at only four months old!

For the record, the child beauty pageants I competed in were nothing like the ones showcased on T&T. My mother wasn't overweight, she wasn't forcing me to live out her unfulfilled fantasy and she certainly wasn't doing dance routines behind the judge's table.

I also worked in the television industry for nearly a decade and can attest to the tricks of clever editing. To put it simply, don't believe everything you see on tv, folks. I know several people that have appeared on the Toddler & Tiaras series who are normal, excellent parents and many of the pageants featured on the show were in towns close by, or where I've lived before. I also have pageant mom friends who have turned down the opportunity to be followed by TLC's camera crews because of the negative publicity associated with the show.

Pageants may get a bad rap, but they're something I would never change about my childhood. They taught me confidence, poise and how to put on liquid eyeliner! I loved getting my hair and makeup done, putting on a pretty dress and sometimes, winning a crown and trophy! I started competing at four months old, but I never took home a crown until I was 11! I don't have any pictures from my early days as a beauty queen up here in New York, but I did find a couple from my teenage years to share.

I didn't always win and that certainly made me a good sport. Learning how to lose gracefully is one of the best lessons in life. I never cried over not getting queen or placing as an alternate. Truthfully, my favorite part was spending the one-on-one time with my mother.

Pageants run in the family too...while we were in Missouri/Arkansas for the 4th of July, I had the chance to help my cousin Kayla get ready for the Miss Pollard beauty pageant. I actually won the title back in 1994 and it's also been a pageant several women in my family have competed in over the years.

There's just something fun about getting all fixed up!

Plus, it's a fun excuse to drag out the old crowns...

But the real beauty was Kayla! We were bummed she didn't make it into the Top 10, but she was our top pick anyway!

I have been on my husband's case since last year to take me to a beach. Growing up in landlocked Missouri and Arkansas, I didn't make it to the beach all that often. Now, living in New York, we're actually in close proximity to several beaches, but they are still a decent drive away.

Well, I'm happy to report I finally made it to a beach this summer! Sort of...it had water & sand, so that counts, right?

A little less than an hour from our apartment in Clifton Park is Lake George! The 32 mile long lake is surrounded by some crazy big homes, tons of boat docks and a couple of sandy beaches scattered here and there. Plus, the water is crystal clear!

You'll find the most sand in Lake George at Million Dollar Beach! Construction began on the beach in 1949 and the area got it's name due to the tremendous investment to bring in tons of sand.

I was surprised at how clean Million Dollar Beach was. There were also trained lifeguards on duty (always makes me feel safe). The only bummer was that we weren't able to find free parking and had to shell out the $10 for the lot across the street.

No worries though, I'll definitely be back!

I got the chance over the weekend to do a little sight seeing in Schenectady over the weekend!

Schenectady County hosted the Summer Night program on State Street and it was a sight to see!

There were tons of street vendors, food carts, informational booths and just plain interesting people there.

Mix all that with some great weather and it was a recipe for fun!

Recently our elderly neighbor moved out of her apartment. We were sad to see her go, but when we realized that the little patch of earth just outside our door would become unclaimed territory, we were pumped!

To be fair, Brett was pumped....he's been itching to play in the dirt. It didn't take long before he sprang into action and staked his claim. Before you could say P. Allen Smith, B. Alan Garrett was already clearing the land!

Farmer Brett weeded out the area and spent a little time consulting the Farmer's Almanac internet. He decided his best crops for the area and season would be tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, basil and cilantro.

His crop went into the ground in these cool biodegradable pots he found at Wal-Mart that hold the soil and roots. Just stick the whole thing in a dirt hole and you're done!

I'll be sure to keep you posted on how this bumper crop turns out!