New York State of Mind...

It's official. Dreams are coming true! Ever since I was little I have had this huge love for New York City. Everything about the city fascinates me, and I have always longed to be there. I don't know what it is, but something about that city has always had a hold on me. The mere thought of it gets me all giddy inside. Just the mention of anything NYC related or even hearing a song mentioning NYC (cue Billy Joel please...) and I suddenly get emotional and teary eyed. It's definitely safe to say I love New York (even though we have never met)!

But now, it's safe to say that this long distance love affair is finally ending and I will finally be face to face with my city. After years of talking about it, Jerome and I are officially going to the Big Apple. On our fifth wedding anniversary this past July, Jerome made a promise to me that in the spring of '10 we would finally make the trip. After months of researching (because we all know how much I love to plan trips, yet how hugely indecisive I am), we finally booked it. Thanks to "Cyber Monday" we got some truly amazing deals on our flights and hotel. The trip will take place during my Spring Break from school. We will be leaving on the red eye, Friday, April 2 from LAX, on Virgin America (but of course!) and returning Friday evening, April 9. During our trip, we will be staying at the hip and upscale Hudson Hotel, which was an obvious choice considering the many recommendations we had gotten from friends and the incredible pricing to boot!

Now the real planning starts. And by this I'm talking about the sightseeing, shopping, dining and of course, the wardrobe I will wear for my 6 days of heaven! Luckily, my darling friend Janelle, recently took a trip there, and has passed along all her itineraries and tips, which have already been a huge help (and we are not even there yet...).

Until April, let the countdown begin....

only 120 days :)

The holidays are here!!

Christmas is one of our favorite times of year. Given our elation over the approaching holiday, Jerome and I did not hesitate to get started on the holiday decorating. Saturday evening we decided to go get a tree at good ole' Home Depot, and then we spent the rest of the night decorating and listening to holiday music. This year we swapped out some of our previous ornaments for some new bronze and burgundy ones, and we were very pleased with the results! We also made sure to get out all of the holiday candles, which I must admit, is probably my favorite part of this season!

Jerome's putting the lights on our tree

The finished product

Love the festive candles and floral arrangement!

Our mantle (a.k.a the piece de resistance!)

Today we continued the holiday decorating by tackling the outside of our home. Jerome usually handles this on his own, but I decided to "fill up his love tank" and try my hand at light hanging. I wasn't too keen on touching the sometimes spider and insect ridden shrubbery, hence the "fabulous" green gloves, but I gave it my best shot, and managed to put lights on the trees and hedges.

Jerome handled the major structure of the house. I'll post some final product pics later, once the sun goes down!

Thanksgiving 2009

Jerome and I have many things to be thankful for this year. One of those things is our wonderful families. This Thanksgiving, Jerome and I decided to skip the two meals and hours of traffic on the freeway that this holiday usually offers to us, and we spent the entire day with my family at my sister's home in Menifee. Jerome's parent's decided to skip Thanksgiving plans, since all the siblings would be away at their significant others' families. This allowed us to truly relax and enjoy our holiday without having to rush between two places. The day was very mellow and relaxing, which was perfect, considering how hectic everything has been. My sister and her husband, Ernie, provided a delicious meal and a cozy home. Here are a few pictures we snapped during the day:

My brother Jeff, his wife Jodi, my nephew Dakota,

and two nieces Savannah and Georgia

My brother Jeff, me, and my sister Jackie

With my sis

Jackie and I with Dad

Two of my favorite people!

The hubby and I

Three pups waiting anxiously as Ernie carved the two

turkeys. They were hoping he would drop some meat on

the floor....

Quite possibly my new favorite dish- Brussels Sprouts sauteed with

bacon, cranberries and a little onion. I had never had them until this year,

and I am hooked!

An array of desserts

Overall, it was a great day, and we look forward to seeing everyone again soon!

Fall Table Setting

During one of the many trips we recently took to Target, Jerome and I scored this pretty berried wreath full of Fall colors for less than $2! We weren't quite sure what to do with it, but given the great price, I knew we could figure something out. We placed it on our dining room table, surrounded by some festive gourds (purchased at TJs) and candles to make a perfect harvest table centerpiece! I've never been in to decorating the table for the holiday or season, but I love the look of this, and I hope you do too!

A New Use for Kale

Trader Joe's has done it again! They currently have bunches of Flowering Kale, which happens to be one of my favorite plants! Cut the stems short and it makes a beautiful, simple yet sophisticated table arrangement. I seriously love it, and I hope they keep it in stock for awhile!

Wigs and Wine Party

Our friends George and Vanessa are getting married on November 21. As a fun alternative to a traditional couples shower, our friends and fellow wedding party members, David and Dana Fiori, threw the happy couple a "Wigs and Wine" themed couples shower. The gathering was full of yummy food, great wine and fun games.

The guys celebrating their win at "Wedding Taboo"

The ladies toasting their losing game!

Jerome and I both donned wigs from the props used at his work. I wore a long, dark wig, which had people dubbing me as a missing cast member from the Housewives of New Jersey. It was a total trip back to my old days of actually having hair that color! Although it looked pretty good, I definitely do not have any plans to go back to that color any time soon! Jerome sported a chin length wig that had him resembling Owen Wilson in The Royal Tenenbaums.

It was fun seeing all of our friends and their hair alter-egos, and we look forward to continuing the celebration (sans wigs) when the big wedding takes place next Saturday!

Jerome with the bride to be

Melissa, me, Elise and Dana

Pamela Masters Photography

Back in August, Jerome and I had the pleasure of having some portraits done by my amazing friend, Pamela Masters. Pamela and I have known each other since the 3rd grade, and through the monster that is Facebook, we were able to re-connect. Jerome and I, along with Louis and Lola, met up at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica to do the shoot. Pamela and her assistant Anne were incredible! I have to admit that I was not used to posing for the camera, but Jerome was totally hamming it up. I wanted to just take a moment to thank Pam for the beautiful way she was able to capture our love and family on film. The pictures came out so beautiful and we couldn't be happier. If you haven't done so, please check out the link to Pamela Master's Photography. I highly recommend her for any special event or moment you hope to capture! From our shoot we have so many favorites, but I thought I'd pick a few to share. Thanks again Pamela!!

Kindergarten Cop meets the Sour Patch Kids

My 20 Kindergartners and I on our field trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific

So, it's been ages since I last posted, and the reason being is that I have been swamped with work. Thanks to the many prayers and the amazing support of my Principal, I was able to return to my school, Fryberger Elementary in Westminster, as a Kindergarten teacher. I had been praying for an opening in Kindergarten. It is a grade I have always wanted to teach, and the kids are so "cute", that I thought it would be the perfect next step for me. Wow! Let me tell you, the kids are cute, and I am definitely starting to enjoy this new grade level, but man, do they run me down! They have so much energy! From 8:00am when school starts until the last bell rings at 2:00pm, they are "on". I have a very eclectic bunch of students, some of which I refer lovingly to as the "Sour Patch Kids", because "first they're sour and then they're sweet". Have you seen the Sour Patch Kids candy commercial where the little sour patch cuts the girl's hair off, and then hugs her? Yep- that describes some of my kids to a T. They will

draw on tables, pull hair, pinch, poke and do a million other irritating things, for which they will be punished. Afterwards, they come and hug me after or tell me I'm beautiful or that they like my outfit. I guess they're working on their brown-nosing skills early....?

These past few weeks (OK, 2 months) have been quite an eye opening experience. Everything I thought I knew about classroom management, and teaching in general has been totally flipped upside down. The good news is, I'm starting to get back in to the groove of things. And, as it turns out, I'm really loving this new found world of tiny desks, jumbo crayons, ABC's, and 123's. I hadn't posted any pics of my classroom yet this year. I had to switch to a portable classroom this year, which has been both a blessing (a/c and endless bulletin board space) and a curse (only 1 cupboard and TONS of spiders lurking in every corner). Jerome and I (OK, mostly Jerome) worked hard to create a "zoo animal" theme.

Homemade Chips and Salsa

One of our favorite snacks in the Boroff house is chips and salsa. Recently, I started making my own salsas and baked tortilla chips. Not only are they both easy to make, they are so much healthier and cheaper than store bought goodies. I thought I'd share the recipes. Enjoy!

Roasted Salsa

15 Roma Tomatoes, cut in thirds ( or however many you have on hand- I never count)

1 Jalapeno, cut off stem

1 Pasilla Pepper, cut off stem

1 Sweet Onion (I like Hawaiian Sweet or Vidalia), quartered

4 cloves of Garlic

1 bunch Cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Olive Oil

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place tomatoes, Jalapeno (whole), Pasilla Pepper (whole), Garlic cloves and onions on a foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss with a drizzle of olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 25 minutes **I am horrible about setting a timer. I usually just keep checking them until they're "done", which is when the veggies have slightly browned and the tomatoes have "popped".

After roasting, take the veggies out and let them cool for about 10 minutes. Then pop everything into a blender, add chopped cilantro sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper, and add a tbsp. of Olive Oil. Puree in blender until the salsa is at the desired consistency. Pour into a new container, and chill for several hours.

This is the basic recipe. You can adjust the peppers to meet your heat preference ( I like my salsa spicy). I love working with different peppers, and luckily my local grocery stores have a wide variety for me to choose from. You can also add roasted red and green bell peppers, corn and black beans to the salsa to jazz it up a little bit. So easy and so delicious!

Baked Tortilla Chips

small round corn tortillas (use as many as you like), cut into strips

Canola Oil Spray

Salt and Pepper

Turn on your oven to the broil setting. Spray a foil lined baking sheet with Canola Oil. Spread the tortilla strips on the sheet, then spray with with more Canola Oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place the baking sheet into the oven an broil for several minutes on each side. Remove them from the oven when they have browned on the edges. Season with a little more salt and pepper (garlic salt is also tasty, as well as chili powder for an added kick)

***As I said before, I never time ANYTHING. Just keep an eye on the chips because depending on your broiler, the tortillas can go from golden to burnt very quickly.

ENJOY!!!

Our 5th Anniversary Trip

On July 24th, Jerome and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that it has already been 5 years since we said "I do"! To commemorate the special day, we took our annual vacation to the Four Seasons Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. We spent 3 nights there, soaking up the sun, visiting new places, enjoying delicious food and drinks, and relaxing together. It was a wonderful getaway, and we're already looking forward to next year's trip. Here is a recap in photos of the trip:

After an easy 6 hour drive, we made it to our destination! This is by far our favorite hotel, and we were eager to start our vacation of relaxation!

Here we are, finally in the pool! We were pretty much the only people there, besides a couple small families, including the lovely little girl in the background of our picture. The weather was perfect for swimming and laying out! We couldn't have asked for better!

Jerome spent most of the next 3 days in this exact spot. His idea of heaven!

One of our favorite things about the Four Seasons is there chips and salsa. It is absolutely some of the best salsa we have ever had. I would buy it in bulk if they sold it in jars. We also had some delicious drinks, including my new favorite: the "Los Angeles", which was a mix of Absolut L.A Vodka (I'd never even heard of this vodka before), muddled blueberries, soda and a lime. It was amazing! It was light and refreshing, and you couldn't taste the alcohol!

The Four Seasons sent us house made truffles and a bottle of champagne to toast our 5th anniversary! Yet another reason why their service is second to none!

We always see and array of lizards on the resort property, but this time we were graced with the presence of frogs. They were so cool!

I get really hot at night when I sleep. At home, I must have a fan blowing directly on me at all times, otherwise I just cant seem to sleep. To combat this problem, Jerome and I moved the hotel bed so it would be directly under the ceiling fan and in direct view of the a/c vent.

It worked wonders!

On our actual anniversary, we spent took a day trip to Prescott and Jerome, Arizona. Prescott was only a little over an hour away. The ride was very picturesque, despite the giant crack in my wind shield that resulted from a combination of a rock that hit the window on the freeway and the 100+ degree heat, which caused the little chip to turn into a giant crack. We didn't really know what to expect in Prescott, but I'm happy to report it was a cute little town with lots of antique shops and a cute town square. It was definitely right up Jerome's parent's alley (they love antique shopping).

Here is a picture of Jerome in front of a statue in the town square.

Here is me in front of the courthouse in Prescott.

Another hour down the road, we made it to the town of Jerome. As a kid, Jerome and his family had come here when his Grandmother Hannon was living in nearby Chino Valley. We had been planning to come check it out on every trip we've made to Arizona, but never did. This trip, we decided we would go ahead and make the journey. The town of Jerome is actually an old mining town on the side of Mingus Mountain. It is literally "falling" off the side of the mountain. There isn't much to see there, but we enjoyed the spectacle of everything being named Jerome, especially since it's a name you don't often see!

Here's Jerome in front of the post office.

This sign definitely sums both Jerome's (the town and the Boroff).

Here we are on our patio, about to head out on our anniversary date.

We're enjoying our delicious dinner at Fleming's Prime Steak House. We go there every year, but this year the service and food was by far the best! We had a fabulous time!

Here I am, enjoying the summer sun! Pure bliss!

The summer monsoon season has begun! Although the skies looked ominous at times, we barely got any storms during our stay. This is nothing compared to last year's "storm of the century" we encountered. Never the less, it makes for a beautiful sky!

A gorgeous sunset on our last night! We love the views and look forward to seeing them again soon!