Monthly Archives: August 2011

Irene…Please Leave Our Long Beach Alone!

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We’ve been hiding out in Brooklyn, away from the “danger zone”…but it is super frustrating to see all the reporters standing on my boardwalk, while we are wondering what is going on at our house!  We did get a little bit of the storm excitement here though!  The window above our head leaked on us…YAY!  Was kinda fun 🙂  A’s  been sleeping in Cousin S’s crib since 7:45pm and it is now almost 9am….I love this house.  Just sayin’.

Here’s some photos someone took on FB of what is left at the beach…

the ocean reached the boardwalk...it even moved the lifeguard HQ building and crashed it into the boardwalk....fun times.

it took the beach onto the streets...

I wonder if they'll move the ticket takers to the street to make sure we still use our beach passes for the rest of the season?!

I hope everyone is safe at home…and the mess isn’t too big for us to get back later tonight!

 

Oh Hurricanes….how NY has missed you….

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I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the Christmas Blizzard of 2010 really F&*$ed up NY.  I know we all know that NY was F&*$ed under snow.  But I mean more mentally.  All of a sudden it is not safe to be in a place where you can’t get emergency help!  No kidding!

I was only 5 years old when Hurricane Gloria payed us a visit, and that storm was a category 3 when it hit Long Island.  Irene is anticipated at a 1.

If the LKs were only husband, wife, dog and cat…we would be getting cozy in our PJs and riding out the storm on our couch.  But now we have A.  The little lunatic is making us prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

There are many guidelines to follow when correctly and thoroughly preparing for a hurricane here on our barrier island.  I’ve already put all of our pretty important documents up high on a shelf in a plastic box.  I’ve taken the super important docs and made sure they’re in a ziploc bag and are coming with us.  Good jewelry, coming with us.  Water bottles, check.  Food prepared, check.  (I will NOT eat canned food).  Now, to the thing that people have been recommending…documentation of the house.  I’ve been told to photograph the house from all angels in case there’s any damage & insurance needs proof!  What a better reason to show the house 8 months after move-in!  I am apologizing for the disorganized mess you’re all about to see, but this is how it is around here for now.  We’re working on it!

Lets start in the master bedroom!

Ahhh clean sheets! Irene - if you mess those up I'll be PO'd.

Our bay window. See that tree trunk out there...Mister LK is pretty scared that is one of 5 that are going to crash land on our house from the winds!

Cathedral closets

Mirror Mirror on....every wall of the hallway....show me where to enter the bathroom!

Primary colors galore!

Sink stuff...

my little dark vanity table

on our way out the door!

Holy Bathroom!!! This is the next project....for obvious reasons.

Guestroom...

We like to store things in here that we don't want touched by A since this door is pretty much always closed

I am going to have this room looking much better very soon for our friend's visit mid-September!

A's almost complete art station...with no crayons since she thinks the couch is her canvas lately!

For someone (me) who can't commit to color, I think I did a pretty good job in here!

I know the blue is tropical....and some might hear steel drums when they walk in, but I love it!

Load up the office shelves - everything important UP HIGH!

A little bit of organized mess in the mudroom! how much laundry can one family of 3 have!

this kitchen....could really use some work haha!

I can't wait to have an open layout one day...then the highchair won't be in the middle of the room!

We're really hoping our new giant windows don't break from the wind!

More piles on TOP of the furniture 🙂

Nice big empty wall space waiting for something to be hung up....what to hang ?!?!

Just the living room - watching the weather!

We've moved all things away from the windows & off the shelves in preparation 🙂

I guess it is a good thing we never hung anything on the walls yet!

See! Nothing on the walls 🙂

We hope you like our house 8 months later!  We hope it’s still here when we get home!!!

All for this…

 

Embrace the Camera Thursday 8.25.11 & 20 Minute Recipe Search!

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Hi ETCers 🙂  Here’s our deal today!

See this family…

We need some help!

We are tired of ordering dinner in, but the mommy featured up there gets harassed by the baby up there, every time she tries to cook our family dinner.  This results in either ordering in something quick, or heating up some sort of frozen meal.  In my defense, our frozen options are of the healthier variety from organic markets & Trader Joes, but I’m bored with this stuff.

Here’s where all you other mommies come in!  I’m looking for recipes that take approximately 20 – 30 minutes prep to plate.  The hunt will benefit anyone looking for quick and easy recipes because I will put everything together into an organized post & re-post so everyone can have all the recipes!

Here’s my entry!  I hope everyone loves it as much as I do 🙂

Dijon Lemon Salmon: (serves 2)

  • 1lb wild salmon (or any salmon you like) – this also works with Arctic Char!
  • 1/2 cup dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp garlic (either minced or paste)
  • black pepper to taste

In a small bowl, mix the mustard, lemon juice, garlic & pepper together.  Cut the salmon into individual pieces.  Spray a broiler safe pan or cookie sheet with non-stick spray & place the salmon skin side down (or just flat if you prefer salmon steaks).  pour sauce over salmon, making sure to cover the whole surface.  Put it on pretty thick.  Broil approximately 10-15 minutes. The mustard will get brown & bubbly in spots.  That is ok – I usually just broil until it’s well done b/c that is how I like it!

(I never use measuring devices to make this – I eyeball it, & the consistency should be less thick than the mustard alone, but still thick enough to cover the salmon!)

I make this with some roasted broccoli & cauliflower & tadaaaa!

So delicious!

If you guys have any quick dishes you recommend, either kid friendly, or husband friendly, or both! Please email me @ LKSquaredblog@gmail.com or leave them in the comment section!

I hope everyone can participate!  I’m looking forward to some delicious, nutritious meals!

A Hurricane, A Tornado & Now An Earthquake at the LK House!

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Last week Gramma had cousin S stay at her house all week!  That was pretty exciting for A & I because we haven’t really seen cousin S all summer, and Gramma brought her over for a play day with Miss A!  It was a great day.  These girls are so damn cute together.

We went out to lunch, had a dance party, watched a princess movie, had sushi dinner, took a bath & got ready for bed together.  When they left, my house looked like Hurricane A & Tornado S did massive damage!  Way more damage than the earthquake did yesterday!

Before we see the photos of the fun from our play day, I’d like to talk about yesterdays’ quake.  I know a lot of people are very shaken up, both literally & figuratively from it.  I also know that it was very mild here at my house.  For me…it was kind of fun & a little funny.  I really thought I was going crazy!  The floor wasn’t moving here, but the walls of the house were swaying back and forth.  I thought I was dizzy…but then I checked out the lampshades that were swaying, the plants, the tv, etc.  I went to call our friend E who lives around the corner to see if I was crazy, and the phone wasn’t really working.  The first person I spoke to was AG in NC and SHE FELT IT TOO!

I know it was not as strong here as it was in other places closer to the VA epicenter, however, I’m grateful that no one was hurt.  As we’ve seen out in Cali & down in Haiti & across the ocean in Japan.  Earthquakes can be tragic.  Here on the east coast of the US, we were all shaken…but not injured.  As people experience the aftershocks, I am going to appreciate the power of Mother Nature & this earth…try to respect her more & prepare for the real life hurricane Irene about to hit.  Here in Long Island we haven’t had a major hurricane since I was a little girl (same time we had the last little earthquake too), so I will pray that we don’t get hit with anything devastating or dangerous.

Now – check out OUR little natural disasters at work!

Lunchtime smiles with Gramma!

 

 

Dance Party!

They thought sitting here was so funny!

"I didn't push anyone!"

What mesmerizes S like this?!

A Princess of course!

(Auntie S2, please note S’s obsession with A’s kitchen you got her…loved by all!)

Hugs!!!!

Cousinly love!

Relaxing with Gramma & some Sesame Street

A being a hair stylist!

Saying goodnight 🙂

What a great day!  We can’t wait to play with Cousin S & Cousin A2 again this weekend!!!

 

 

 

My Corney Little Girl!

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We had dinner the other night with our friends the D family.  It was an extensive menu, and A did eat some chicken, lamb and broccoli.

She also ate 2 whole ears of corn.  She cleaned the cobs…..it was INSANE!!

Her method was really funny!  Check it out 🙂

Nom Nom Nom!

Ahhh Delicious!!!!

 

 

Howdy Cow = Happy A

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What makes my mom the best Gramma???  It’s too long to describe here in a quick post.

But one thing is that she knows her grandchildren & how to make them happy girls!

Present from Gramma!

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

She hasn't stopped bouncing yet!

Thanks Gramma!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Built Right Renovations…Siding done right so far!

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I have not been paid for this review.  I wish I was!  It would have helped!

I never thought we would be the people that did improvements to the exterior of the house before the interior.  I usually just don’t care enough about curb appeal – especially when compared to how I care about the interior design of my space!  The thing (or thousands of things) that pushed us to do the exterior first were the ants…and bugs…there is nothing I hate more than bugs.  We knew the house was in need of a better barrier between outdoors and in!

We met with a few contractors who specialized in siding & decided that Built Right Renovations were the ones who gave us the best impression, had the most knowledge & were reasonably priced.  They were not the cheapest, but when we thought about all that was needed for maximum protection, we thought they gave us the best bang for our buck!

First…let me show you what we were working with!

Front Door

Front Patio

Side Door

View from the backyard

Back of house

not too bad right?!

hahahaha

check out what was under all that vintage (read: old as Moses) cedar shake…

complete destruction...

There was a LOT of rot.  The sill plate around most of the house was rotten, the plywood was non-existent…and we discovered a small roofing problem too!  I can’t imagine where all the bugs were coming from!!!

Built Right came to us with the damage, and obviously the price went up, but the work had to be redone and I do believe they did great work.  I suppose more time will tell since they have just finished about 2 days ago, but I was watching pretty closely & they were very pleasant, clean, & quick.

Here’s what we look like today!

New Front Door! (Header coming soon)

New Patio View!

Backyard !

My new entrance 🙂 Makes me so happy!

For anyone who is interested, here’s the company’s info!

Tell them LKSquared sent you!!

Rainy Summer Day Fun!

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We had big plans to go out to the Hamptons to visit with our family this past weekend.  Big plans that were ruined by a virus and a ridiculous amount of rain.  It rained so much on Sunday that I couldn’t even leave my town.  All the roads were flooded and I thought I was going to need to get my arc out of the attic 😉

What to do when you’re dressed & ready to go at 830am…when you’ve been stuck in the house for days on end with a little virus and she’s FINALLY feeling a little normal again???

Hang out at PD’s house & wait out the storm!

Miss PD was ready to play!

They were both a little cranky, we tried to get them to relax on the couch with some Sesame Street!

When relaxing on the couch with Elmo doesn't work - we resort to anything to make them laugh and keep them not whining!

A spent some time hiding from me behind the playhouse!

And finally - Miss A the eskimo! Just had to check if the snowsuit fit! Not that I want winter to come anytime soon! But we should be prepared 🙂

The mommies even got to lay down and watch a movie while the girls napped!  The rain didn’t stop all day.  The backyard was completely filled with water & we thought about sending the girls out to swim!  We ended the day with both girls having low grade fevers again & me feeling really bad that A got PD sick.

Good news!  PD was just teething & did not have the virus!  She woke up with NO fever!!!

Thanks to the D’s for having a very nice rainy summer day with us!

ELFA Shelves + LKSquared = BFFAE

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Our laundry room/mudroom/storage room/tooclutteredtomove room needs some work!  Its gross really.  When we moved in, Auntie E was kind enough to gift us some brand new very nice laundry machines.  That made the room WAY better because I could actually DO a load of laundry, but it also made the room look worse, since everything else in there born in the year of the flood.

Everything has this yellowish, creamish, dirty looking paint.  The walls and trim are falling apart.  Its terrible.

My next improvement was to change out the decrepid cabinet/shelving unit above the laundry machines.  It was dirty, too narrow, too high & completely non-functional.  We bought an Elfa shelving unit about 4 years ago in Mr. LK’s first apartment.  It has served us well everyday since!  We were looking for the perfect place to put this system & we finally found it!!

Before:

The shelves are already torn out before I could snap a photo! But you can see where they lived on the left!

Not exactly the cleanest tear down, but not terrible either!

Mr's fabulous spackle job!

At this point, Mr. LK wanted to paint that wall where he spackled.  I told him not to.  If he painted this wall, it would make the rest of the walls look especially dingy…leading me to want to paint the whole room.  See above where I mentioned the tooclutteredtomove status.  Not a good idea.

Turns out – I want to paint the room anyway!  This is a year long project though since most of the walls are crumbling & at some point in the future the walls will be completely torn down, I don’t want to spend more than spackle in there!

My shelves however, make my life a dream!  Doing the laundry is not an annoyance.  I can reach all the supplies!  I also have a place to store the summer-time stuff for A.  Perfect 🙂

Ahhhh 🙂 The things that make you happy at age 31!

Another update - check out the old beige gross door on the left...

Now look! This door is making me smile 🙂

That door was disintegrating from the bottom up!  Now I don’t have to vacuum 50 times a day over there because the door actually keeps the dirt OUTSIDE!

Confession:  This is only 1 side of the room…wanna see the other side???

Yea....it's next on the list of clean/organize/improve! I close my right eye when I walk into this room so I don't see that side!