Graduation 2013 NYC

Where to start?

So much crammed into 5 days.

Bear with me, so I can tell

local friends and bloggie friends.

Arrived on Tuesday to face humidity that

curled brillo padded my hair, and ran rivulets down my back.

Wednesday was Yankee Stadium Graduation

 for the entire university and on the walk there I met

Blake for the first time.

After a sardine packed train 

where I had stranger's body parts

 pressed against mine for 40 minutes, 

we arrived at the stadium 

and I met up with parents of roommates

 to sit in nose bleed seats and weep in unison.

The graduates don't walk, they stand as a group

 according to their schools and we all go crazy.

What happens when there are 40,000 students

 in a university, and 1/4th of them are graduating.

You meet in Yankee Stadium.

How cute is this?

This was their first date...at...

Yankee Stadium

Some Tisch friends

The large group split up after the ceremony and 

Blake and Hannah decided they

wanted not to go fancy, but to go to their favorite

Pies N Thighs for lunch.

While there, Ben checked in, he had flown in the day before,

and he and Anam were also in Williamsburg, 

they had just eaten at Pies N Thighs, so we met them.

So other, significant other, was met.

Darling Daughter and Dearest Son with their

significant others.

I think my children chose wisely and well. 

Thursday Hannah and I spent the day 

having makeovers at Sephora, 

shopping like fools and making memories.

We were caught in a horrible thunderstorm, soaked to the bone, and loved every minute.

Friday was the Tisch salute at Radio City music hall,

for just Tisch graduates, and still they did not walk,

 but stood in groups as their concentrations were called.

The keynote speaker Glenn Mazzara was fabulous.

Glenn Mazzara

worth listening to..great advice

Bono and Denzel Washington were at the end of my row,

and to those of you who will understand all too well...

I successfully avoided those family folks I did not wish to see.

Ben sat with me and shared the moments with me.

Perfect

NYC

I went up and down a thousand subway steps,

and covered a zillion uneven miserable concrete blocks,

 I swear.

I took to carrying small foldable slippers in my purse and

swapped shoes frequently.

Frequently the young folk were 1/2 block ahead with one or

the other turning back and stopping.."are you Ok?"

I was either soaking wet in rainstorms or soaking wet with sweat,

my photo ops are awful...but I don't care.

We ate at favorite haunts, shopped at neighborhood stores and

I really got the sense of her life in Brooklyn.

We saw Ben and Anam here and there,

they had friends to see and catch up with also, 

and we had the worst Italian

something? cocktail in a very pretty spot... my bad choice

Ben you were right....

Late my last night there Blake, Hannah 

and I headed far into Brooklyn to go to Target 

and get apt stuff ( mama's treat)

and passed an exterior craft show closing up and 

we picked up fried Oreos and a funnel cake.

From sweating bullets to 40 degrees and freezing that night. CRAZY.

We had pizza and beer in her tiny apt and dined 

around Brooklyn and Manhatten on quiches, 

great burgers, chopped salads, chinese takeout,

gelatos and good coffees.

I was up at 3:45 a.m. Sunday to get an express bus 

to the airport and Hannah insisted on going

 as far as the Port Authority with me.

Such a sweetie that girl.

It was wonderful.

It was everything I hoped it would be.

My children are prosperous,

hard working, healthy, happy, 

and in love.

Mama is bursting with joy.

All is right with my very small world. 

Winner Winner

Carole you won!

email me for details:

Thanks to all who entered,

I wish you each could win,

 and maybe

I can convince Shabby Apple to do another one someday?

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1 

Max: 47 

 Result:

27

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

NYC, Rain, DD & DS and Me

Returned Sunday from NYC after

Darling Daughter's graduation from NYU- Tisch.

One teaser photo

This was at the first graduation at Yankee Stadium

This is her beau Blake.

I adore him

He makes her happy.

So much to catch up on...

be back Wednesday with photos and stories.

iPhoto giving me fits so can't upload yet.

Deadline for giveaway is tomorrow.

be sure you've entered.

Enter Giveaway At Oldgreymare

How cute is this?

At Last

or this? 

Heart Of Me

Perfect for a summer wedding

At First Sight

Many to choose from

many $100.00 in value!!!!

ONE FREE

to one lucky winner.

You have 4 chances to win.

Did you miss Saturday's post?

Enter here

Think of a graduate you know who would love a new frock.

A birthday gift?

Have a wedding coming up,

or a summer party?

Many of you have emailed me

 saying "but I don't wear dresses.."

and my reply is ..

then give it away to some one you love.

Geetha will even ship it to them for you.

I am thrilled to offer this to one of 

you readers, so go over to Shabby Apple,

see how great their site is, 

and then leave me some comments

on Saturday's post. 

C'mon your chances are much better

 than the powerball thing..

and you don't have to buy a scratch off.

Vintage Giveaway At Oldgreymare

I get this wonderful email today from Geetha 

at Shabby Apple

and she very kindly offered to let me have a free dress
OR
GIVE
AWAY...

 a free dress to one of my readers!

WoOt!

I picked you my dear friends

Shabby Apple style is all about Vintage Clothing,

 just what most of us love.
If you win, you could also gift the dress to a dear one

Their press explains Shabby Apple like this:

Looking for that perfect party dress that exhibits both vintage style and unique taste? Our Vintage Style Dresses come in a variety of selections ranging from bridesmaids dresses for a vintage wedding to summer dresses for a casual night out on the town. We have all kinds of fabrics, lengths, and colors including classic black dresses, elegant white dresses, and knockout cocktail dresses in every color of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. With a vast selection of sizes, including retro clothing from the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s,50’s, 60’s and 70’s, in plus size or petite, maternity dresses and baby dresses, you’ll be sure to find a whole wardrobe of retro style dresses for any and every occasion.

We'll do this the traditional way OK?
You must comment on this post

Follower? -1 entry

Post about it with link to this post? - 1 entry

Put a button on your sidebar?- 1 entry
Tell me which dress you would select if you win-1 entry
FOUR CHANCES 
my friends

Please leave a separate comment for each entry,

so my staff does not have to figure out the count.

hehe

Here is the list of styles from Shabby Apple
that are available for selection by the winner;
more than enough to choose from.
While you're there be sure to check out the other departments
and the fabulous styles on sale.

Snapdragon

Heart of Me

Dressage

Grand National

Hackney

Captain

Admiral

Cut the Cake

At last

At first site

My vow to you

Maid of honor

Together forever

Ever after

Save the date

Moon River

Ski Bop

Some like it Hot

Tiber

Andes Skirt

Jetty Skirt

Ballerina

Nantucket

Boogie Woogie

Marigold Skirt

Lime Ricki Skirt

Park Picnic Skirt

Hully Gully Skirt

Newcomb Skirt

The timing was perfect as I pass another two milestones.

Enter between May 18 and 12:00 p.m. May 28

Good Luck!

Until You Pee A Little

samples for sale

please inquire

Paris theme design

Same papers used in both

Top - grey lightly sparkled letters

Below- petal pink lightly sparkled letters

width approximately 40"

Pennants approx 7"x 9"

Tulle will be removed if shipped,

but included for assembly.

$55.00 ea plus shipping

Bloom and Grow

Bloom is approx 22 " wide

Pennants are 4" x 5 1/2"

$45.00 plus shipping

Class was a blast

Greatest of Gals

Supportive, Encouraging

Smart and Funny

We share, we dish

Heartache and Laughter hold hands

Women of "a certain age" understand the phenomena.

With good friends...

You laugh

Until you pee a little.

If It Has Wheels Or Balls

"Got er done"

*************

If it has wheels or balls 
you're gonna have trouble with it.

Begin with DD getting new laptop as grad present.

Fed Ex tries to deliver but she is not there

 to sign because of her new job and very long hours.

She calls and arranges for it to be sent 

to Queens for her to pick up on Saturday.

INSTEAD

They have her drivers license info so they send it...

 HERE?

In what universe does that make sense?

I am just leaving house this a.m to go to 

_ _ _

jcp

yeah yeah

to pick up second pair of glasses that came in

when Fed Ex comes by.

Oh NO!

I explain the situation.

He says it'll be faster if he takes it with him,

and she should call ASAP, to make arrangements.

DD cannot get phone calls at work, 

so I quickly text her, leave her 

voicemail with tracking # etc

and assume all is well.

I head out to run long list of errands for class tomorrow.

Frantic text from DD.

They are returning with Box.

Her Dad will come pick it up,

she's got him involved now, since he purchased for her,

and could I please go home and wait.

A few hours later I get email.

Her Dad has decided to overnight it to her.

Sent her ( not me, dumb a--) the shipping label, 

which then she has to forward to me,

and I am to wait some more and sign for box then

reroute via new shipping label.

That was nearly 5 hours ago.

Still no Fed Ex.

It has wheels, he has balls.

Trouble with it.

I know you are sick of hearing BUT,

while picking up glasses,

JCP has POP UP Shop

with glasses for $149.00 with FREE no line bifocals

Holy Moly I wish they had these last week,

though I am thrilled with pairs I did get.

Only through this Sunday. 

Unbelievably GREAT frames,

several hundred to choose from

TRUST me - go check it out...

if you need glasses.

oh, and as I have told a few other gals 

who also loved Bella..

Bella will be getting a sister coffee maker 

since I sold a couple more totes. WoOt!

now a moratorium on jcp

promise

pinkie swear?

Bella, Banners and Lulu

Bella

Isn't she lovely?

My 23 year old crock pot

passed on 3 days ago.

Both her arms had come off 

about a year ago,

and when I took her off the pantry shelf

 on Tuesday, her knob broke off.

I figured I could still manage with a pair of pliers....

Then yesterday I went to JCP

 to pick up my new eye wear,

and yes, they yell

"Suzan" now when I enter...

and I saw her, 

Bella.

On Sale

in 8 colors, no less.

And only 5 dollars more than the plain silver

Hamilton Beech I was going to buy as a replacement.  

Does anyone other than me assign gender

to inanimate objects? 

Of course Bella's gender was predetermined.

Seriously, isn't she grand?

I don't buy anything other than food 

these days, so the clothes I found last week, 

and the new glasses, and Bella are it for me

for the year.

I am thrilled with these items,

just thrilled. I touch and handle them as if 

they are precious gifts, as they truly are.

So many folks have so much less than I.

I am so very grateful.

I carefully examine and ponder each purchase.

I give most things a "ride in my cart"

before putting them back.

I'm serious.

If you are the eye in the sky in a store,

you would become suspicious as I weigh 

the purpose, price and necessity of each item.

I have been known to stand in front of a display of purses,

and handle and inspect dozens,

taking 30-40 minutes to select just the right bag.

Meanwhile I finished up my last pennant garland sample.

Ready for my Spring class this Saturday.

There are six more pennants to this banner.

They will hang above this set, 

once I get them strung tonight.

I made this one to keep.

I used some of my favorite papers.

I will sell off the other 3 samples after class.

I have 2 studio banners and 1 Bloom and Grow

Let me know if you're interested.

Now meet

LULU

Remember the polka dot purse I mentioned in a previous post?

Yes, this is one of purses I pondered for 40 minutes in JCP.

I do seem to be obsessed with polka dots of late.

Even in the banner!

The bow front purse is the one that I wanted,

but when I returned and stood there

and tried out half a dozen polka dot bags,

I decided this one would hold my camera better

as it was wider, and it was half off at $20.00

LULU 

you make my heart sing.

I got to thinking about what I  just said about

polka dots.

This obsession goes WAY BACK 

(Oh yes my hair was once much lighter)

Check out those shoulder pads!

I think this was one of the last years Ben was shorter than me.

Seems I dressed us up in PD's a lot.

They're happy things, these dots...

the notes I had on back of the pic were

"mom, take my picture"

She used to do that quite a bit around this age,

and she is just touching Gadget 

with her toes, not kicking her.

Sweet Gadget

best rescue dog ever

This sweet girl is graduating from college

with honors.

This lovely woman was just hired as a PA

(production assistant)

on a feature film starring

Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy.

I could just bust a button

on my polka dot blouse. 

Yep, one of the pieces I bought last week

  at JCP!

JCP Fan

JCP

Growing up in the 50's - 60's

there were not a lot of big stores to shop in.

In my neck of the woods,

there was Sears, JC Penny, Murphys and Monkey Wards.

Families seemed to divide themselves into

the Sears families and the Penny's families.

People rarely frequented both.

We were of the Sears clan.

I think because my Dad was such

a Craftsman fan, as am I.

So it is no surprise that I had not set foot in

a JC Penny store in nearly 30 years,

(Sears, maybe a handful).

Target was my home.

Needing new glasses, I had 

ventured into the mall on Monday.

I am as foreign to a mall,

 as honey boo boo is to good manners.
What made me turn into JCP is a mystery.

Perhaps it was because I have been following

 the ousting of JCP leader Mr. Johnson, 

and the MS lawsuit, who knows, but turn I did.

Straight in to one of the nicest

shopping experiences I have had in years!

Designer style in nearly every dept,

and at fabulous prices.
I could give a hoot about a name, but quality
and good design, always a plus.

Bright, beautiful, organized displays are everywhere
 Liz Claiborne, Betsy Johnson,

Michael Graves, Conran, Jonathan Adler,

Nicole Miller and more.

I wandered the store for over an hour,

 and walked out with a bag of clothes,

and I NEVER buy clothes.

I found dozens of things in 

each department that I loved.

I was waited on by a lovely gal Josephine,

who checked me out on the spot with a hand held.

I caught myself just smiling and humming,

and was headed down to customer service to leave a good 

review for Josephine when I was approached

on the escalator by a nice man
 commenting that I seemed to be having a good day.
 Turns out he is a manager.

We stood and chatted a few minutes and I raved about the

store and told him I would be back.

Which I was....

The NEXT day!

That night I saw a pop up ad for JCP

eye wear for 2 for 99.00 (bifocal extra)

I had shopped Lens Crafters the day before and found

400.00 for a single pair of bifocals a bit too much.

(and that was 40% off!)

Back to JCP where Cheryl 

spent an hour helping me select TWO pair of

fabulous, just what I wanted, 

even better quality lenses than LC,

 at get this...

100.00 less!

So Johnson may be out,

I hear it had a lot to do with couponing,

(they have brought them back),

but he did something really right,

because I have not been this excited about anything

since the spin mop and TJ's cookie dough spread.

This morning I saw a great new tv ad about how 

JCP has changed and they got some things wrong,

and some things right, but come to visit.

No kidding my friends.

Go visit.

Check out the sequin docksiders for 14.00.

The LULU polka dot bowed clutch for under 40.00.

and uh, did I mention an entire Sephora 

smack in the middle of the store? 

uh oh, I think I need to go back.

Looking for Z?

Try JCP