joby.

So this is the coolest. my newest digicam accessory. The Gorillapod, made by JOBY. It's a flexible tripod, that can go just about anywhere.

Why I heart JOBY so much, is that it eliminates the need for those ridiculously cheesy urges one gets to 'take their own photo'. Or worse yet, for 2 or 3 people to try and take their own photos by holding out their camera.

Also - what better thing to take on a vacation for 2!!?? I no longer need to ask a crazy stranger to take my photo, when I'm nervous that they'll run off with it and then dissappointed when they chop our heads OFF.

I put Joby on our FRIDGE as soon as I got him. (ignore the fingerprints)

Then I set the self-timer and grabbed Lucy for a quick pic!

I am not the only crazy JOBY fan!

what it means to be mini.

Europe planning is fun and stressful, but coming along. Last night we rented a car for our 4 days in Switzerland. We'll be tooling around Geneva, wandering through the Swiss Alps on our way to Interlaken to check out Jung Frau, and then hopping over to Lyon, France to catch up with friends for a night. Sounds like a lot of driving, but Switzerland is a very small country!

When researching car rentals, I couldn't help but laugh when seeing the mini/compact options. They look like souped up golf carts to me... haha. Reminds me of that movie with Brittany Murphy and Ashton Kutcher.... I really hope we don't have similar experiences.

leg warmers.

Trend alert my friends. Leg warmers are this winter's fleeting fashion trend, making a comeback from the fab 80s decade. They are inherently silly and practical, which made me run out and buy a pair from Target. (my fave store to buy silly & practical stuff b/c it's ridiculously cheap)

5.99 for a thick grey pair. Can't wait to try them out.

And next year, after the fad fades - I'll use them at halloween when I dress up as an 80s aerobic instructor. Leotard and all.

gobble, gobble.

I'm so over turkey. I've had turkey leftovers for lunch and dinner for 5 days straight. Turkey salad, turkey sandwiches, turkey A'la King (well, technically a la Meck), and turkey soup. No more TURKEY.

Although, browsing through our turkey day photos, I did want a tiny piece of sweet potatoe pie again. We were blessed with yet again, a great holiday with close friends and family.

menu.

it's here. turkey day 2006.

To all practicing turkey eaters.... cheers!!

turtle.

the lovely combination of pecans, caramel and chocolate is one of my favorites.

tonight, since I can't sleep - I decided to make the ultimate turtle cheesecake. I found this recipe scouring the kraft foods recipe section.

this way, the dessert train coming in from Syracuse doesn't need to make 3 pies for the turkey day festivities.... just 2 (apple & sweet potatoe pls). I'll take care of everyone's sweet chocolate fix.

locks.

In my family, we have thick hair.

I found a cool, non-profit organization LOCKS of LOVE that puts hair to a really good cause. This organization provide hairpieces to children under 18 suffering from long-term hair loss from a medical condition.

They require a minimum of 10 inches. So my mop would be SHORT if I cut it all off. Perhaps I'll grow my locks out for a good cause.

twenty-two.

Twenty-two is the number of cabinet doors we have in our kitchen. With turkey day right around the corner and 15 expected guests on the way, we're cutting it a bit close with our kitchen makeover.

Painting kitchen cabinets is a tediuos (read: time-consuming) process. The cabinet doors are all hanging out in our basement, being painted one side and one coat at time. The black paint starts tomorrow!

Hopefully, we won't be putting the hardware back on with the turkey in the oven.

i heart pirogies.

so we're polish. and polish people love pirogies. who doesn't?!

well, 2 times a year - we gather the fam for a pirogie making event. it's hard work, but tons of fun. we roll, stuff, seal, boil, dry, vacuum pack and label. everyone walks away with lots of pirogies to take home.

we always try new filling concoctions, this time - potato, cheese n bacon were among the new pirogies. my only beef with the day is that the first package I cooked up was mislabeled..... boo.

and, you'll note - my apron got a trial run before turkey day. i love it!

birthdays.

Sorry I haven't been posting daily, I've been sicker than a dog.

And speaking of dogs, we have one that turned THREE yesterday. That's right - our own little Lucy turned 3 years old. It's hard to believe!!

What did we do to celebrate you ask? She picked out a new toy at Petco and then we got doggie cake/ice cream and took her to visit and share her treats with her friend Murrel. Happi Day!

cameron.

This is Cameron, he is a happy baby!!

He is the son of our good friends Jenn & Doug. We love visiting them whenever we go to Liverpool.

When they came to Rochester for the M.A.D.D Dash, we gave Cam a pumpkin costume for halloween from PB Kids.

Jenn sent me pics - he looks so cute!

critters.

There are squirrels that are totally hanging out on our front porch.

I guess they've spread the word to the other city squirrels, because now
they are gnawing my corn decorations like their candy.

Lucy sees them out the window and barks. But they just keep eating and stare back at her.

Before SF.................. After SF.

divine.

Yesterday, one of my friends who works @ Kodak took me on a fabulous tour (by car) of San Francisco. We ended the evening having dinner @ the Cheesecake Factory located on the 8th floor of Macy's in Union Square. I had the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake to end the meal. DELICIOUS!

cope.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Although I am not expecting any trick-or-treaters in my San Francisco hotel room, I do plan on wearing festive orange today and eating candy!

Today's post is a tribute to another great pumpkin carved several years ago in honor of our late friend, Chris Copanas. Pumpkins from our carving contest bit the dust over the weekend - they were rotten and moldy. We carved too early in October. I also extend the congratulations to Justine for her popular Plaxico penguin, who is often mistook in photos for the linux penguin.

Cheers to carving pumpkins, gutting their innards and putting them on porches like trophies. Oh - and cheers to CANDY.

Lady Lucy

Tis the season for costumes!! Lucy got decorated yesterday for an pre-Halloween photo shoot. Check her out! I can't wait to see and hear about everyone's costumes, make sure to share your photos!

About the early post, I'm up to catch a flight to San Francisco! Talk to you from the west coast tomorrow!

leftovers

This is what's left from my LION costume last night. We went to a fun halloween party - but unfortunately, my camera was a prop I mistakingly left behind. Boo.

Picture me, plus the costume and then add some dramatic eyes and a cute nose. Lucy was scared of me. She never has liked cats. At the party, there were some very fun costumes. They all deserved to be photographed.

Maybe next year.

vintage apron

In the spirit of hosting Turkey Day @ our house again - I've treated myself to a NEW apron!

The tagline on the apron sold me - 'why be dirty when you can be flirty'! LOVE it. I purchased it @ a cute boutique in NOTL - but it is for sale @ Amazon (what isn't?).

Now, with my cooking skills still in need of some work - atleast I will look great in the kitchen.

what's in a name?

Most everyone has nicknames. The wikipedia says they can be short, clever, cute or otherwise substitue for a person's name. I have my fair share of them. The various spelling attempts of Nicky throughout school to try & be cooler, ie: Nikki. Then my failed attempt to go back to Nicole when I first started a 'real job' to sound more 'professional'.

Well - to a small crowd in central NY & Albany, I am known as 'big bird'. I am blessed with this name b/c my little brother ('bird') used to play quarterback on the high school football team. His long passes sometimes would resemble 'flailing ducks' in flight, to which someone cleverly thought to call him 'bird'. My little sister got dubbed the short, cute, and otherwise substitue 'little bird'.

There, now it's been written down. It will go down as 'Cunha folklore'.

Cheers!
big bird
(how professional is that?!)

Who paints their kitchen cabinets BLACK?

When I tell people - their eyebrows furrow, they try to imagine what it might look like, or they wince a little bit and say 'Are you sure'?

I am NOW! Last night I found a tool online @ Sherwin-Williams to help me visualize it.

The Color Visualizer tool is super nifty. You select a room type (kitchen) and then pick from various room layouts. I choose the closest to the kitchen in my 1920's home and then started playing. You select colors for the separate walls, trim, doorways, cabinets, backsplash, etc. So NEAT. It's the next best thing to painting several colors on the wall to decide.

If they had an eSuggestion box - all I would suggest is being able to change your floor and countertop colors.

What does my virtual kitchen look like? I'ts below plus cream countertops and light hardwood floors. FUN. Check back for pics of the real thing!

counting calories & starbucks.

Over the weekend, I was in Liverpool visiting family and attended the Salt City Antique Autumn Show The show was a real downer for me because I love scouring for junk and turning it into something special. This particular show was mostly fancy antiques and super overpriced!

Anyways - I treated myself (because I didn't buy anything except the $6 ticket to get in!) to Starbucks on both Sat & Sun! Saturday I tried the new Maple Machiatto (I've been eyeing it for weeks), which was a big hit with me. Highly recommend it for those that like sweets. Sunday, at the convincing of my mother to be watching calories (cholesterol apparently plagues my family) I tried the Pumpkin Spice Latte with skim milk.

Boo to Skim Milk. And to Cholesterol.

caving pumpkin

caving pumpkin
Originally uploaded by cunhatuna.

We had a pretty intense pumpkin carving contest not too long ago @ my house.

Jon or Lisa's pumpkins did not win any longevity contests. Both of their carved houses have completely caved in.

They are still on my porch for decoration of course. I think the falling-down houses add to the spookiness.

lazy lucy

lazy lucy
Originally uploaded by cunhatuna.

i thought it was only fitting that my very first blog post was of lucy, my most favorite subject to photograph.

lucy is NOT allowed in our bed. sometimes she sneaks under the covers while I'm getting ready for work. this particular day - I couldn't get her out of bed even to go for a walk (she hates the rain).

she is LAZY LUCY.

my word

here's my start, be back soon.