Dinner tonight...

As the cool weather sets in and the summer warmth leaves the air, I tried to savor the last drops of summer by making a fresh heirloom tomato, basil and garlic sauce with whole wheat pasta. Now, this is a big deal for me because I don't like tomatoes at all but theres something special that happens when you combine fresh ingredients and let them steep in olive oil for a few hours. The heirlooms give off the flavor and infuse the oil with a burst of sweetness. The basil gives a bit of flavor and the garlic gives it a  little bit of complexity. Once tomatoes have been marinating for a while, just boil the pasta until al dente ( 7-10 minutes, a bit longer for whole wheat pasta) then drain leaving a little bit of pasta water and immediately combine with the tomatoes. The warmth from the pasta marries the flavors together and you get a great summer evening dish that will please all ( including my little picky eaters), I look forward to making this again net summer!

If you like, you can add shrimp or eat the steamed shrimp on the side. 

Governors Island

We had a glorious day on Governors Island with the kids and grandpa. We started out a bit late ( as usual..) but made it to Pier 6 and jumped on the 1:00pm ferry. About 10 minutes later we were on the Island along with quite a lot of other people! I say this because although I live so close to "THE CITY", I have never been on Governors Island or really felt the need to see what it had to offer and these droves of other ( non touristy looking people seemed to be on it). Sure, there were some tourists but it felt almost like the city dwellers going to their back yards, with their picnics, bikes, wine, novels etc. 

The main reason I wanted to go was to see this Vintage French Carnival called Fete Paradiso which had opened up a few weekends earlier. It looked like fun and I have been trying to get the kids out doing something of substance every weekend before the snow sets in and we begin winter hibernation!

Anyway, we had the right idea because the day was lovely, we cued up for the ferry early enough and while we waited had ice cream and enjoyed the site of the city (Freedom tower beyond..). Evalie has become very friendly since she became a walker so she was walking ( running basically) up and down the pier greeting her fans the people on line. She chased some pigeons and then got startled when they chased back...

On the Island, there aren't any cars, so everyone walks or rides bikes ( which you can rent if you haven't your own). There is a large well manicured lawn which had some kid friendly art installations. The 3rd Annual New York City Poetry Festival was in full swing along Colonels row, there were really good smelling food carts ( or maybe I was just so hungry..)

We took the long way to get to the carnival and just when Arielle started to get inpatient ( if your have kids you know this happens rather quickly..), we saw the logos chalked into the road..so as we followed these little carousel horse we found Nolan park.

after some rides, we had lunch at Le Gamin...

and a few more rides..

Played in this recycled-cloud by another ambitious architecture student ( yawn..)

and we were done.

Evie's first day at the beach

The fourth of July this year fell on a Thursday, luckily we took the next day off, turning it into a four day weekend for us but since we don't have a tradition per say, we are usually just floating around. This year was no different, we had no plans and decided to just call it a staycation. It turned out to be quite fun for us all. On Thursday we cleaned up at home then headed out to get some food for a BBQ and packed a picnic to camp out and watch fireworks. The kids really enjoyed them even though it was quite late when it finally began. 

The next day, we hung out at home and pulled out the pools for the kids to play around in. Then on Saturday, we decided to get up early and go to Greenwood lake. After living here for almost eight years ( unbelievable..) I was surprised we hadn't been here more often. We camped out around 11:00 and stayed until 6:00pm. We had snacks, toys, music and drinks and after staying all day, I still had to drag them home. They were in and out of the water, my husband even got some fishing in. 

Arie doing her best baywatch run..

 Even I went into the lake and I must say it wasn't as bad as I had expected..