A Small Step and a Green Glow

Last week while playing Beat the Delivery Boy I decided to whip up some pancakes and eggs for dinner. The recipe I use for pancakes makes too many for Columbia and I to eat in one meal, so he gets a stack for breakfast as well. I was having an internal debate over what to do with the hot flapjacks as I was making more in a skillet:

I'm not turning the oven on and wasting the electricity... if I tent them like my sister always does I'll be wasting aluminum foil... Wait! I can tent them with foil and then use the same piece of foil to cover Columbia's stack for breakfast! The foil will be able to be recycled in the morning!

I was so proud of myself! I found a way to reduce waste and electricity, reuse a resource and then recycle while still making a quick and tasty dinner. While it's not the biggest step, it's something and every little bit helps make our planet a better place. And with that "green" glow about me from being a little more environmentally conscious, we barely needed to turn on the lights that evening. ;)

Posted picture used under creative commons license from Flikr user playbeasy.

Open House NY - Locations listed (and filling up!)

We're so excited to be in the city this year for the 2008 Open House NY. In a nutshell, Open House NY is an event held one weekend each year where off-limits architectural gems are open to the public through small tours. The locations were just released on Friday, and some are already booked! Some spots I'd love to see:

• The Arsenal (UES)
• The High Line (Greenwich Village)
• Lilac - a 1933 Steam ship (26th Street and Hudson River)
• Schermerhorn Row* (Front St / Fulton St)
• Channel 13 / WNET (Midtown West)

Okay, I'm mainly interested in Schermerhorn Row because you have to sign a liability waver(!??!). Xtreme Architectural Visit for the win!!

When you get to the page, you can select the borough in which you're interested, and download a PDF of all of the events. If reservations are required, act FAST.

Site: Open House NY Weekend 2008

Vintage photos from the American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History is a great place to see history come to life (well, not "Night at the Museum" alive, the more abstract sense of the expression). We've been taking pumpkin there since she was just about 3 months old. She now loves watching the kids as much as anything else. JC and I love going there and just spending a few hours strolling around.

I'm also a sucker for anything that includes historical New York as a supporting character. From Catcher in the Rye to Coming to America, I'm in love with reading/seeing the changes this great city goes through. Every few years major changes happen -- construction, gentrification of neighborhoods, etc -- that will disorient you if you've been away for a while.

When I saw this link of Historical AMNH, I went all weak in the knees. The shots are beautiful and it's great to see another side of an old favorite. It's like looking at your parents' wedding pictures. That right there was one handsome musuem.

The picture above of the bathysphere is from the "exhibitions" set of photos. A bi-plane and whale skeletons pave the way for the whale that currently dominates the space in the Hall of Ocean Life. This picture is from June of 1935, long before even my pop roamed these halls as a kid.

Picturing the Museum [via Curious Expedition]

Free Museum Admission This Saturday

LifeHacker alerted us to Museum Day sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine- an annual event where many museums across the nation are free for the day. You don't have to subscribe to the magazine to participate, simply fill out this form then print your pass. Below is a list of the museums offering free general admission in NYC this Saturday. The Children's Museum of Manhattan is on the list, so if Pumpkin is finally over her first cold we might take her there. It's nearby and... well... free. I can see Columbia wanting to go to Cooper-Hewitt. Hooray for Museum Day!

Manhattan American Folk Art Museum
Asia Society and Museum
Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
Children's Museum of Manhattan
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden
Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators
Museum of the City of New York
New York City Fire Museum
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the George Gustav Heye Center
South Street Seaport Museum
The Center for Book Arts
The Drawing Center
The Jewish Museum
The Museum at FIT
The Skyscraper Museum
The Studio Museum in Harlem
The Ukrainian Museum

Bronx Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum

Queens Flushing Town Hall
Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning

Staten Island Historic Richmond Town
Snug Harbor Cultural Center
Staten Island Museum
The Noble Maritime Collection

Brooklyn New York Transit Museum

Tonight: Donate to a Make-A-Wish AND Get Free Ice Cream

It's feeling a lot like autumn in New York today but it's not too cold for free ice cream. Cold Stone Creamery is giving away free ice cream today from 5-8 when you make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. You can get 3 ounces of one of their new yummy treats: Jack's Creation (Marshmallow ice cream with OREO® Cookies, Chocolate Chips and Fudge) or Emily's Creation (Nutter Butter® ice cream with White Chocolate Chips, Kit Kat® and Yellow Cake). All of the Cold Stone Creameries in Manhattan are participating (their addresses are below). To find out about other locations you can go here. Makes a girl wish she weren't allergic to milk.

162 W. 72nd Street
New York, NY 10023
Kosher Certified

1651 Second Avenue
Manhattan, NY 10028
Kosher Certified

750 9th Avenue
Manhattan, NY 10019

253 W. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036

2 Astor Place
Manhattan, NY 10003
Kosher Certified

We were first tipped off to this by Heather - Freebies4Mom rocks!