DESTINATION: NIAGARA FALLS

Before April is over I should share the rest of my adventures from the month. The same week I traveled to NYC, I also drove over to Niagara Falls (my back was hurting from the driving, but it was worth it). Everything was still thawing out at the falls, and there were very large chunks of ice clinging to the rocks below them, despite the raging waters. I don't understand how all the power from the falling water wouldn't knock the ice and snow away, but that's part of the wonder I guess.

That was also my second time seeing the falls. The first time was in October of 2012 with my friend Hannah. {She was the only one crazy enough to drive the long way with me over a quick, three-day weekend.} We saw it from the Canadian side (as that was the fastest route for us...over the Ambassador Bridge via Michigan), but it turns out that the Canadian side is the best side to view the falls from.

No worries though, if you are on the American side (as I was this time), you can easily travel to Canada via the Rainbow Bridge. If you are just going to see the falls and not traveling to other establishments, I would recommend walking across the bridge instead of driving (just remember to bring your passport!). The line of cars to get from one country to another looked like such a long wait (probably over 30 minutes on the average day we went). Also, if you drive you pay a higher toll to cross the bridge. You pay a 50 cent toll when walking back to America, but hey, the view is pretty good for the price.

Of the times I've been to Niagara, I would say the autumn is DEFINITELY a great time to visit. The leaves on the trees are so beautiful at that time. (Also, the tourism isn't so crazy because it's an off season.) But the trees are such a wonderful contrast to the blue/green waters of the Niagara River during the fall. I love the color in the water here in New York. In Wisconsin, where I'm from, the water was always muddy looking. In New York it has that green patina. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the soil as I have noticed the soil being much more red in color here.

If you are in Canada, a great place to eat is The Syndicate Restaurant and Brewery...seriously the best burger I've ever had was made there.

A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO NYC

We've had a few visitors the past couple weeks which has left me a little exhausted. However, it's been good to get out and see the sights around the state. I've driven from one side of NY to the other, so I have a few suggestions of things to see.

I'll start with the big one: New York City!!! I didn't know until moving to New York state that much of it is country. Over half the population lives in or around NYC, so that leaves a whole lotta beautiful country for everyone else.

Honestly, I've now been to NYC just twice in my life. The first time I went with a friend back in 2012. It was very intimidating to me, a born-and-raised country gal. I thought it was dirty, expensive, and over-crowded. Ultimately, over-rated, and I didn't really want to return. (Although, it was good to see the place just once to know that.)

Well, I am glad I went again because the city is not so scary or gross to me anymore. I kind of want to go back and see a bunch more actually...I guess it's a place that grows on you. I think that living in Washington, D.C. has helped me adjust to "big" city life...especially driving in the city and understanding the metro system.

Before going to NYC, it's extremely helpful to download an app for the subway system if you're unsure of exactly where to go. I really liked one called Embark NYC. It's pretty easy to use. Best of all, it allows you to look at the metro map and the stops/train changes you need to make even if you don't have cellular signal (which happens often on underground transportation).

Anyway, if you've got a few days to spend in NYC and need some sights to see, I have a few suggestions. This is by far not a comprehensive list nor in any order.

This is probably NYC LEVEL: BEGINNER. (Also very good if you're on a budget like me.)

1.  THE STATUE OF LIBERTY VIA THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY

I know a lot of people see Lady Liberty any number of ways, but I thought that riding the {FREE} Staten Island Ferry was a great experience. The ferry operates throughout the entire day on a 15/30 minute schedule depending on when you ride. It offers a fantastic view of The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Lower Manhattan. The ferry is very clean and you can even check out the views from on deck. This is definitely the way to go...especially because it will allow you to save your dollars (or allow you to spend them elsewhere in the city).

2. ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER - 9/11 MEMORIAL

It's kind of crazy to think that the 9/11 attacks happened over 14 years years ago and that a new World Trade Center is already up and running. I remember that day quite well...and I was only an eighth grader in the Midwest. Visiting the memorial is so beautiful and impactful. It really captures the memory of the buildings and the people who lost their lives that day. I didn't see the museum, but I'm sure it's just as impactful. The memorial itself is outside and free, but a museum ticket costs $24 for adults. I have pictures of the memorial, but honestly, seeing it in person is how you should do it. Being there, I can't image how chaotic that day was in 2001 or how the search and clean-up happened afterwards. It just confounds me how something like that could ever occur there (or anywhere really).

3. CHELSEA MARKET

The Chelsea Market is the cutest little stop and shop. Built in a former Nabisco factory (where the Oreo cookie was invented), it blends the industrial and urban with the quaint small-town market feel. You will fall in LOVE with this place. It's worth the trip and is a great place to grab a bite to eat and look at handcrafted items. Apparently above the Chelsea Market lies the HighLine, an urban oasis that repurposes an old railway into a parkway...that's something I'll have to see next time.

4. ROCKEFELLER CENTER

There are so many attractions to find in Rockefeller Center...from the shops and restaurants to the buildings and businesses surrounding the area. It's home to the Today Show, NBC, Radio City, The Tonight Show, the Associated Press, and Lego, among other well known entities. In the wintertime you'll find the iconic New York Christmas Tree and a beautiful skating rink. You can also check out an amazing view of NYC from Top of theRock.

5. CENTRAL PARK

I would say Central Park is one of the most iconic landmarks in NYC. It was certainly on the top of my list of places to see when first visiting the city. It's such a refreshing escape from the hustle and bustle of the city surrounding it. If not for the towering skyscrapers around it, you may actually forget you were in NYC and could easily get lost in its 843 acres. Explore the nature, the art and architecture, skating rink and ponds, or even the Central Park Zoo.

6. TIMES SQUARE

Funny enough, I don't even have a picture of Times Square. I am not a huge fan of the place, to be honest. I'm only including it in my list because I think it's one of New York's major attractions and good to see at least once (even if it's just for a minute...which is usually what it is for me). Times Square is NYC in a nutshell: lights, people, shows, events. I suppose that's why it's so popular. One thing I for sure want to do yet is see a Broadway production, and this is the place to do that.

7. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART (THE MET)

The Met is the largest art museum in the United States. It's worth the trip for that. You could spend all day in the museum. I spent a few hours and focused on my favorites: drawings, prints, stained glass, American, and the European masters. I'm not sure how many people know this, but the price for the adult ticket is only a "recommended" price. You can pay what you want. Now, if I were to spend the whole day in The Met, I would probably pay the whole price, but for just a few hours I prorated it. I would still love to se the MoMA which houses Van Gogh's Starry Night. The Guggenheim has wonderful architecture, but unless you are absolutely in love with their current exhibition it's probably not worth it over The Met or MoMA.

8. GRAND CENTRAL STATION

Grand Central Station is filled with shops and dining and is a great little point where many tracks diverge. Literally. It's worth the stop to enjoy the beauty and grandiosity of the architecture. And if this is your transportation into or out of the city, even better.

Hopefully this short list gives you some good starting points to see on your first visit to NYC. There are so many more wonderful sights to see outside of this list. I definitely still want to see a Broadway production, go to the Tonight Show, the Brooklyn Bridge, see the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center, go to Coney Island, see Wall Street, go to the American Museum of Natural History, and ring the Stock Market Bell (haha...maybe someday). But hey, this all gives me reason to go back again...hopefully soon.

What places have you enjoyed while in NYC? I'd love to hear all the wonderful places, especially the ones that are off the beaten path.

NEW SEASON = NEW WREATH

Since Caleb and I got married and moved into our first apartment, I've made a new wreath for each of the seasons. These wreaths were made without spending any money, too. That's because we're on a bit of a grad school budget over here (aka: only the necessities). But really, it hasn't been hard to make nice looking wreaths while just using materials I already have lying around.

Here's what I did for fall and winter:

For the fall wreath I used a coat hanger, paper clips, hot glue, pinecones spray-painted teal, and chevron burlap ribbon (the ribbon and pinecones were leftover from our wedding).

For the winter wreath I used cardboard, hot glue, paper straws, jute twine, and white acrylic paint (again, the twine and straws were leftover from our wedding).

For spring I wanted to break away from the color scheme we used for our wedding. I also wanted to do something that I could leave up for spring and summer because we'll be moving (temporarily) for the entire summer.

I found this gorgeous wreath on Jones Design Company and knew I wanted to do something similar.
I followed her tutorial for turning coffee filters into paper flowers. It seemed daunting at first, but the more I made the flowers, the easier it got.

I only used three colors of paint: white, yellow, red. I toned down both the red and yellow with white and mixed water with each of them, thus resulting in two colors. For some flowers I only used the red mixture to dye the coffee filters. For others I used only the yellow. And for a third variation I dipped a filter in red and then in yellow. I just played around with the tones and diluted the filters if I thought they had too much color. For the final wreath I also used undyed coffee filters for the white flowers.

Here are my filters as they were drying:

Once dry, I shaped them all into flowers and hot-glued them to a cardboard circle. It took a little while, but I really like how it looks (and it was free!). I think I may even make a few more and attach them to sticks to look like stems...because the flowers looked real pretty in a glass jar.

MORE FROM OUR SPRING BREAK

One good thing about being the wife of a grad student is the fact that we get those holiday/seasonal breaks again. We're not limited to the two weeks of vacation at our everyday jobs. It was really nice over Christmas to have over a month off so that we could visit both of our families since they are in different states.

For spring break/Easter we were in Connecticut because it's much closer to go there for a short holiday break and spend time with family friends. While there, we usually make a point to see a landmark or do an "authentic" activity.

This time we made our way to the beach...for a short little time. It was very windy and cold (it's still early spring!), but the sunshine was great! I haven't seen the Atlantic Ocean a whole lot, but this year, I'll have the chance to see the Atlantic and Pacific.

We also wandered through the Yale University Art Gallery. I liked it A LOT. From what I've seen, I think that Ivy League schools have much better collections than the more established art museums. Most of the time it's less crowded and free to get into them as well...major plus! But seriously, the Yale and Princeton galleries have works of many major artists...at least ones I really like (i.e. Degas, Van Gogh, Rauschenberg, etc.). The architecture on the campuses is really beautiful, too.

I especially liked the special exhibit Yale had on James Abbott McNeill Whistler's etchings. I'm a sucker for the prints and drawings sections...printmaking is my thing. Whistler's work was very fascinating. I love how detailed he was and it's pretty incredible how many unique prints he made in his lifetime considering that wasn't his only art niche. If you have a chance to see the exhibit through July 19, 2015, then do it!!

EASTER EGG CRAYON BATIKING

Hopefully everyone had a great Easter. My husband and I traveled to Connecticut for a long weekend with some family friends. We had a good time...we always do.

One of the things we did was dye hard-boiled eggs. I got out a white crayon and tried my hand at some amateur batiking. I thought the eggs turned out pretty well.

It's very easy to do: Just outline in crayon what you want to keep white. Then dye the egg (preferably, you want to dye your egg with the lightest color first). Once dry, use the white crayon to color over the areas you want to keep the color you just dyed the egg. Then dye with your next color. You could go on with several colors. I liked the three-color look.

I love the look of actual batiked eggs, but doing crayon batiking was within my abilities...for now. Maybe in the future I'll take it up :)

Here's our whole carton:

DIY PICTURE FRAME CHALKBOARD

Finally it's been feeling more like spring in upstate NY! It's been a loooong winter for sure. (The second coldest on record I heard.) So I was definitely on top of it when the first jacket-less day rolled around...full on spring cleaning with opened windows. I love getting fresh air into the apartment and getting that dank winter smell out.

With all that spring cleaning came my first DIY for the blog. I've been thinking about adding a chalkboard to our little dining room area for a while, but didn't really want to spend much money. So I used a cheapy frame I had lying around. Sorry no "before" picture, but the frame below is very similar, and I had all of the supplies already: chalkboard spray paint, white acrylic craft paint, paintbrush, chalk.

This was all very simple and didn't take long to transform at all. I just removed the glass from the frame and painted on several coats (like 3-4) of the chalkboard paint, making sure to let each coat dry completely before adding more. The frame was a very gaudy gold, and I wanted to tone it down a bit but still allow the gold to show through. So I painted the white acrylic paint lightly over the cleaned frame with a brush and then wiped away areas where I thought there was excess. Once everything was dry I put the frame back together and seasoned the chalkboard. The part that took the longest was the writing.