We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Program...

I need to take a break from "Being Mangiaracina" for a few days while I am in New York City for my monthly office visit. But before I go, I HAD to share some photos of my AMAZING hotel room at the Intercontinental Times Square. I am a very lucky girl that gets to stay at some amazing (and some not so amazing...ahem Holiday Inn Columbus Circle) hotels in New York City while visiting. I've seen everything from full kitchenettes at the Element by Westin, to full breakfasts at the Wingate by Wyndham, to cupcakes upon check-in at Fashion 26. But I got that extra special feeling when I walked into the new Intercontinental Times Square. First of all, there is a Shake Shack at the base of the hotel - hello YUM! The lobby has a very contemporary feel complete with beautiful artwork, a fireplace and views of a gorgeous sculpture garden.



When I headed up to my room, I was pleasantly surprised. More like pleasant thrilled!! I opened the door to a clean, chic room filled with beautiful furnishings, more great artwork and a bathroom to die for! Seriously...the navy glass tiles paired with the linen subway tiles in the spa-like shower were nothing short of a masterpiece.

I took about a thousand photos so that we can one day mimic the feeling that this room and bathroom conveyed. I even love how the bed linens and towels were not stark hotel white. Instead, the comfy bed sported beige sheets while the bathroom offered spa blue hand towels and wash cloths.

It was a great stay made even better by the fact that one of my favorite moves, Lost in Translation, was on HBO. I settled into the comfy bed and had a 5-star snooze and felt 100% refreshed and ready to start my work stint in the office.

I'm sad to say that I will not be enjoying the luxury of the Intercontinental Times Square Hotel for another night as they are sadly sold out for the rest of the week. Instead, I will be crashing with husbands #2 & #3 - Jim and Daniel! I have a sneaking suspicion that the rest of my NY stay will be just as good as the first night. See you all on Thursday!

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

An important member of the Mangiaracina family is about to find a new home. This guy has been with Ed since 2006. I first met him on our third date when I was living in Forest Hills. He was sleek...sporty...and very sexy ~ especially to a girl who did all her traveling on foot. He had me at hello and now it is time to say goodbye. We have found a buyer for the Scion. What did you think I was talking about?!


This car has been a work horse for us since the day I met Ed namely because it was our only vehicle for two and a half years (which on Long Island is a long time). Ed taught me how to drive stick shift in this baby and made me completely neurotic about curbing the rim (Ed is a little over meticulous about his cars). This puppy has clocked in over 90,000 miles thanks to Ed's job with Sprint and still looks as though it just came off the lot. It has made countless trips to VA and back and has kept us all safe along the way.


But alas, it is time to move on. Since Ed's Ford Fusion Sprint car has joined our family, the Scion has spent more time parked than on the move. Plus it's sporty design and 2-door action is not quite as "family friendly" as we will need it to be in future years. So we made the decision to post it on Craigslist.com and "see what happens." Well, what happens is that an email is received within 5 minutes and a check is in hand within 3 hours. Not too shabby.

So what's in store for us next? Well, we will remain a 2-car household for the moment and add to the car fund so that we can get our dream car when the lease on the Camry is up next year. What, might you ask is our dream car? Well, this is Ed's...



...and this is mine...


...but I think we will go with something a little more practical. Stay tuned!

Bargain Hunter

Today was a day filled with bargains reminiscent of this popular game from the 80's (popular, according to Ed; iffy at best according to me!). The day was rainy, but that didn't stop us from getting an early start at the Little Rocky Run Annual Community Garage Sale. Dad Q. decided to join us for some bargain hunting because as we all know, he loves a bargain. Unfortunately, the pickin's were slim. If we were putting together a game room we would have been in luck ~ mini pool tables, air hockey, dart boards and ping pong tables were in full force. Same goes for kiddie playrooms. I have not seen that many toys in a while...and I work for the Toy Industry Association! Bobby Q., Ed and Lucy came out empty handed, but I found myself this little beauty for my dresser.



I love the design and the white you see is actually Capiz shell. LOVE! Definitely a great addition to the room.

The day continued with a late breakfast at IHop and then some general relaxing at home. I caught up with my Washington Post's from the week while Ed entertained himself by watching Tron (not my cup of tea). Around 5 pm we hit the road for the ultimate in bargain shopping for the home: IKEA. I am all about accessorizing our house and what better place to pick up some chic, fun and CHEAP accessories. Because we were not in the market for furniture we skipped the showroom and headed straight to the Marketplace. After a quick perusal of kitchen ware and curtains, we happened upon a great looking runner for our front entrance hallway and for $24 bucks we were in love!
Next up, lighting. I'm in the market for a fun pendant in my office, but unfortunately was not able to find something that knocked my true love out of first place. What we did find was a slew of eco-friendly light bulbs though and stocked up. Ed is a bit obsessed with light bulbs lately so he was in his glory.

After some useful paper organizers for my office...


...we finally hit the gardening section and this is where I hit the mother load. I have been slowly introducing house plants into our lives and wanted to continue with a few more throughout the house; specifically in my office, the guest bath and the guest bedroom. That's where these babies came in:


Each white planter set me back $1.99 while the plants came in under $10 bucks. Top that Home Depot! And check out how great they look in their respective locations...




Now let's just pray that they stay alive! All in all, it was a successful trip to IKEA that didn't break the bank. We enjoyed a delicious sushi dinner to celebrate our good fortune and then headed back to Lucy to protect her from the evil thunder storm that came through the area. It's nice going to sleep knowing that good style does not have to cost a fortune. :)

Fenced In

As some of you already know, we are putting a fence up in our backyard so that Lucy has a secure place to run around without being on her leash. We already have a "privacy fence" between us and our neighbors so really, we are taking it one step further and finishing it off. This is how the backyard currently looks:


We used to have slate down...


But we recently removed it because we are replacing it with sod. More grass equals a happy puppy. Plus we weren't in love with the way the slate looked. These photos are actually a little old because we have also removed the brick from the little flower bed on the left. It is now a clean slate...no pun intended. :)


Since we really do not have the tools or skills to build a fence, we have hired Mow Cow to help us out with the project. It's been a slow go as we deal with many factors ie. getting on Mow Cow's very busy schedule, the weather, and our Home Owners Association. We live in a community with an HOA that requires approval for pretty much any project that deals with "altering" your property. We had to get their approval to put in our new windows and we need their approval to put in the fence. Not only do we have to provide them with specific plans of the project (complete with material samples and color swatches), but we also have to get 4 of our neighbors to sign off on our project. Luckily we have very nice neighbors!

After about 3 weeks of waiting, we FINALLY got our approval letter today in the mail. YAH!!!!


We let Mow Cow know of the big news so that we can get on the schedule and get this project moving along. In addition to the fence, they are also fixing some of the wonky boards on our deck, staining it and laying the sod. We are so excited that we have the green light to move forward because we are REALLY looking forward to enjoying our backyard now that the weather is getting warmer. We promise to share some construction pics and the end product once it is ready to be revealed. After that, come on over for a BBQ!

Special Delivery

No...not the kind that is in my belly. :) The kind that is in a box ~ or 5 boxes to be exact! And for the record, it wasn't really a special delivery. It was more of a "borrow the neighbor's truck so we can pick it up at the store" delivery.



It looks like we have a project for the weekend...but what is it? We are going to make you wait until the big reveal!

Weekend Whirlwind Part 2

I can't believe that it is Wednesday and I am sill talking about the weekend. It was that full! So we continue on with our tales of Mother's Day. The morning came with a big sloppy kiss from Lucy along with an adorable card and some yummy Lindt chocolates. There is no better way to start the day! And you KNOW I popped a few of those treats in my mouth before I even got out of bed!

The rest of the morning was just as good...filled with a non-chocolate breakfast of poached eggs with toast (thank you Bubby!), hot coffee and the Sunday Washington Post. I think I actually heard the air say "Aaahhhhhh". After a quick clean up for both the dishes and us, it was time to take Lucy for a long walk. It was a beautiful day so we took full advantage by roaming the trails of our lovely neighborhood.


Finally it was time to head over to Casa de Quartuccio. At first, I thought Mama Q. and Grandma were heading back to NYC on Mother's Day. But I was wrong - YAH! So we got to spend some quality time with them which was great. When we arrived, Grandma was relaxing in the den while Mom and Dad cleaned the deck - a nice relaxing Mother's Day task, right?! Lucy wasted no time bullying her way into the backyard to greet Mom and Dad and run her little heart out. This was what she looked like after 15 minutes of sprinting back and forth...back and forth.


It was time for presents and who doesn't love presents more then my Ed. Unfortunately for him, they were all for the ladies. :)


Grandma was up first. She had already received a beautiful jewelry tree from Sue in the mail and Ed, Lucy and I surprised her with a beach cover up for her upcoming trip to Florida. Mom and Dad rounded her gifts out with some new sandals from DSW and some fresh potpourri for her room in Levittown in NY. She was all smiles...


...as was Dad. Lucy apparently wasn't all that interested. :)


Next up was Lainey (our nickname for Mama Q.). Dad surprised her with a Red Door Spa gift certificate while we give her a Cutco Chef's Knife to add to her growing collection. Dad, being the joke-ster that he is, immediately went to the drawer and pulled out the crappy Ginsu Knife he bought her years ago and proceeded to demonstrate how it is "superior" (aka ran it across his skin with not a slice in sight!).



My Mom then surprised me with a little something since I am Lucy's Mommy. I got hooked up with a yummy Yankee Candle (lemonade scent) and some fun plastic iced tea cups for outdoor dining. Not too shabby! :)



The wonderful day continued with a visit from Mom's good friend Karen and her pooch, Charlie. Lucy LOOOOVVVVEEESSSS Charlie. Unfortunately, Charlie does not love Lucy. She doesn't quite understand boundaries and tends to lick Charlie's private parts which Charlie doesn't like so much. But they made do and were friends by the end of the night.




Dinner was BBQ from Red Hot and Blue (pretty good eats!) and some pleasant conversation on the newly cleaned deck. I have to say....Mother's Day was pretty excellent this year. The only thing missing was Mama M. whom we spoke to earlier in the day and sent a special care package to in the mail. So there you have it...our busy weekend came to a close and we were all pooped...Lucy especially. :)

Weekend Whirlwind Part 1

What a weekend! Mother's Day...Dog Festival...Dinner with Friends ~ this is what life is all about! Sorry about taking Monday off... we were still recovering from the weekend festivities, but we are back in action and ready to share. First let's talk about the weather - GORGEOUS!! I can get used to 65 and sunny with no humidity. If only it would stay this way all year round. We took full advantage on Saturday morning and finished our landscaping project in the front yard. We needed to add the final touch of mulch to the flower bed and now, I am proud to say, it is complete. I also added a cute little planter to the front porch to provide the finishing touch!

The day continued with a trip out to Reston to visit the 2011 Pet Fiesta and Festival. Lucy was so excited to greet all the adorable pooches that were attending and got her fair share of treats and goodies from the many vendors. There was even a Frosty Paws eating contest!


Lucy was a VERY happy girl. :) The best part of the day was when a Great Dane (that was literally as big as me) thought that the Costumed Character Dog was real and started going nuts. Good thing his owner was strong enough to hold him back! The guy in the costume was smart enough to slowly walk away.

After our big day at the Festival, we headed out to Bristow for a BBQ with the Beahr family and the very fabulous Andrea. First of all, their new house is GORGEOUS! Little Maddie (our 4 year old tour guide du jour) showed us the digs and I think my mouth was wide open in awe the whole time. It was beautiful. We spent the night catching up and playing with the girls - Maddie and Celia - who may be the cutest, smartest, most well-mannered kids I've ever met. Seriously ... both Ed and I want to order 2 exactly like that when it's time for us to have kids! Lucy even had a good time with new BFF Erin. The puppies had a ball running around the back yard as well as the house. The best was when Lucy tried to play with Maddie's Cabbage Patch Kid. I think we are going to have a rough time teaching Lucy which toys are hers and which are the kids. :)




After a delicious meal, it was time to test out some toys. I don't know who had more fun...the girls, Lucy or me and Ed!





It was a great evening ... one that truly makes me appreciate all the wonderful friends we have. So that concludes Weekend Whirlwind Part 1. Stay tuned for Part Dos!