Gibson Furniture Portraits

One of America’s most well-known cities, New York is a magnet for tourists. Listed below are 5 reasons why you should visit New York City for your holiday.

1. Times Square – The epitome of the hustle and bustle of New York, Times Square is the place to stand unnoticed and watch the city pass you by. From giant billboards advertising the latest Broadway play to extremely talented street performers, Times Square has it all. Just standing for 5 minutes and observing the vibrancy of the area is an experience in itself. The massive Toys’R’Us is an excellent shop in Time Square also, if you have family with you to keep happy.

2. The Statue of Liberty – Over a hundred years old, the Statue of Liberty was originally a gift to America from France. This monument is one hundred and fifty two feet tall and is a symbol of democracy and freedom. It is a New York City landmark not to be missed. This is a piece of American history and a great photo opportunity.

3. The Empire State Building – Catching a glimpse of New York, from the Empire State Building’s famous observatory on the eighty-sixth floor, which stands one thousand and fifty feet above ground, is an experience of a lifetime. The view of New York City from the top of the Empire State is second to none and worth every penny.

4. The Metropolitan Museum of Art – If you are an art enthusiast, or even if you only have a basic knowledge of art and art history, a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is an absolute must. Referred to as ‘The Met’ by locals, this museum is the largest in the Western hemisphere and houses works of art from all over the world. This is an excellent museum and one of several museums which make NYC an excellent city for museum lovers to visit.

5. Central Park – Eight hundred and forty three acres of lush, scenic landscape make up Central Park. Bicycle paths, lakes and meadows are just some of the elements that go into making Central Park such a favourite spot with locals and tourists alike. In the summer time the park is very vibrant and there is always lots going on. Many people sit by the main lake and listen to music on an i-pod, sit writing and others sun-bathing. Nearby people roller-blade, whilst in the distance families may be pick-nicking. A lot goes on here.

There is no doubt about it, when it comes to the Christmas holiday, there are just too many people spending above and beyond their actual budget they had set. This seems to be a tradition anymore, but not that it is a tradition that is a good one. There is just too much that we all tend to want when it comes to presents, tree decorations, outdoor Christmas decorations of the Christmas lawn decor that we simply cannot have it all. So, the next best thing, beyond going overboard, is to pick and choose which pieces of Christmas lawn decor would suit our homes the best.

If you are interested in just basic outdoor Christmas ornaments, then lights are the way to go. Do you remember the days when you had to untangle strings of lights and then try to put them on the bushes? Well, those days are gone, and now there is an easier way to incorporate lights into your outdoor Christmas ornaments.

While this can be a hard decision, it is one that can actually do your yard some good, as you will not be over crowding the yard with senseless decorations that simply do not go together. Everyone knows what houses are being referred to as we have all seen them in the holiday movies and we have seen them in our towns. You certainly do not want to be one of those houses so make sure that you pick a theme or at least have a general idea of what you are wanting to go for and stick with it. Get only the Christmas lawn decor that goes with your particular theme and do not get anything else, no matter how cute it is.

Christmas Yard Decorations, Where To Find It All For The Yard

When it comes to shopping for Christmas lawn decor, there is nothing wrong with paying attention to the paper for people selling their old Christmas lawn decor. The items that you may very well find for sale do not have to be extremely old but they may just be items that someone is no longer wanting to use because of a change in theme. Buying gently used Christmas lawn ornaments out of the paper or from a yard sale is a great way to find some wonderful deals. You could very well end up saving hundreds of dollars by doing some of your shopping this way.

For what you do not find in the paper or at a yard sale, you can still pick up at your local department store. Department stores are often the next best place to shop when it comes to wanting to pick up some Christmas lawn decor. Watching the store ads are the perfect way to catch some sales and discounts so that you can save a little bit of money. And if you were not able to afford everything you wanted this year, there is a perfect way to get yourself prepared for next year. Check out the Christmas lawn decor that will go on clearance just a few days after Christmas as you can often times gets items fifty to seventy-five percent off.

I am one of those people who anticipate with glee the clear crisp autumn mornings. Give me gloomy gray clouds with a slight rainy mist moving over the blooms of spring and two things will immediately happen: the closet will resemble an end-of-summer department store clearance rack as the fall wardrobe takes over, and the stovetop will brim with comfort food. And of all the politically incorrect comfort dishes bursting from my flour-dusted and grease-stained mid-1950’s edition Betty Crocker cookbook, my favorite fall cuisine would have to be soup.

Soup (the creamier, the better!) transports me to my grade school days, wearing my little red jumper dress, where upon twisting the plastic cap on my Partridge Family thermos I am rewarded with a whiff of mom’s Slumgullion soup. To this day I’d lay bets that the smell of that soup wafting on a stiff fall afternoon breeze brought my test scores up at least twenty percent.

Once a week mom would magically create a soup our huge pot she jokingly called “the cauldron.” and the resulting aroma that would seep into every corner and crevice of our home wasn’t of this world. Like the cartoons of the day, I could imagine my feet being lifted off the ground, nose sniffing the air, as I floated toward the simmering taste of heaven coming from the kitchen.

Mom had many names for her consommé concoctions; Italian Delight, Everything but the Kitchen Sink, or my favorite: Slumgullion Soup. And I loved every slurp, despite the outrageous names. When I grew older, and asked mom for the recipes to her incredible soups, she let me in on The Big Secret: every one of her soups was made from leftovers. They weren’t exactly recipes, she stammered, a little embarrassed at the thought. How could she not have recipes for her incredible gourmet soups?

I couldn’t fathom that these bowls of bliss which I so closely connected with my wonder years weren’t going to be passed down for future generations. I was almost incensed until I realized that while they may not have been pulled from the pages of a gourmet magazine or from hand-scrawled notes long-stored in great grandma’s recipe trunk, these soups were put together out of a combination of financial necessity and love. I know that now.

Just last night I peeked in the fridge and pawed through the cupboards pulling out the left over ground beef, some broth, an assortment of canned vegetables, and the ubiquitous jar of spaghetti sauce. I made my (mom’s, really) Minestrone Mumbo for my husband, my parents, and my daughters. It tasted just like those old school days. Mom smiled, “You got this out of great grandma’s secret recipe trunk, didn’t you?”

“Sure did Mom, just like you did.”

Minestrone Mumbo

(Serves six)

1 lb. ground beef

4 potatoes (diced)

1 can of corn with liquid

1 can of green beans drained

½ to ¾ bag of shell noodles (any noodle will do)

1 cup of fresh vegetables (zucchini is what I prefer)

6 tsps, or cubes of beef bouillon

1 jar of red spaghetti sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: Brown the ground beef in pan and drain out fat. Salt and pepper the meat.

Boil the potatoes in water until soft. Once potatoes are soft, drain out enough water so that the potatoes are just covered.

Adjust stove temperature to medium and add drained ground beef. Make sure the water is at a small boil and add your dry noodles. Cook until noodles are tender.

Add can of corn with juice, can of green beans drained, any other vegetable you would like, and 6 tsps or cubes of beef bouillon, then simmer. Taste to make sure there is enough beef flavor from the bouillon. (Sometimes it can need more or less bouillon; it just depends on the day, so make sure to taste.

At this point, pour in the jar of spaghetti and bring the pot back up to a simmer. (This soup can also be made with chicken and chicken broth instead of beef broth, and Alfredo sauce in place of red sauce. It’s great with a little bit of parmesan cheese and cornbread, or French rolls. You’ll probably even have leftovers to pour into the school Thermos, as well.