Italy

When the final part of the spire was lifted and installed on to the top of One World Trade Center, the Port Authority attached a camera to the bottom—remember this video, delivering 9 full minutes of vertigo that's still making our palms sweat? Anyway, around that time they ALSO took some other photos... FROM ABOVE, like this one. [ more › ]

This post is SO ridiculously late, it’s embarrassing. Rebecca is 1 day shy of turning 15 months old and her 1st birthday party was three months ago. Basically, I took about 524302 photos and dreaded the task of 1) editing them and 2) trying to choose what photos to publish. AH! This will probably take me an hour to write because I still haven’t chosen… but at least I’ve edited! The cup is HALF FULL, people. On to Pretty in Pink… First, you can see Rebecca’s one-year post here… it’s full of her fun party photos: adorable dress, cake smash, presents, and the monthly photos and newborn/1year comparison. This post is for the party THEME: Pretty in Pink! I always wanted a girl, but never a princess… until I had a princess… and pretty in pink, she is! I started planning way in advance like any crazy person would do. Here’s my pinterest board of pinspiration and for all my printables and decor I used the Pretty in Pink set from Chickabug on Etsy–she has lots of cute stuff! I ordered the Early Elegance invites in Blush from Tiny Prints. For drinks we had pink lemonade and bottled water (and pop, beer, and wine). I used mason jars decorated with pink crepe paper, fun ribbons, and cupcake toppers or “party circles.” We had pink and white striped straws with straw flags and the water bottles were decorated with labels. I loved the table. I bought a pink plastic tablecloth, but was able to cover it in lace. A year ago I found a lady on Craigslist giving away a huge garbage bag FULL of old lace curtains. She had moved in to a Victorian style home and the previous owner left them behind. She didn’t want them! I have white ones hanging in Rebecca’s bedroom and used two white ones on this table. Rebecca’s smash cake had pink rose-like frosting with a “fun to be one” candle. I clearly wasn’t thinking of photo taking when I set up the table–with the light on the wrong side I ordered cupcakes from a local bakery and when word spread I think guests may have showed up simply for the cupcakes, haha. They are AMAZING! For food, we just served some snacks and lots of sweets as the party was at 3pm. We had red fruits (strawberries, red grapes, and watermelon) in little pink party cups, pigs in a blanket, chips and dip, pink chocolate covered pretzels, pink chocolate dipped marshmallows (on the pink and white striped straws for a cute touch), pink chocolate dipped rice krispie treats, and pink chocolate dipped oreos with sprinkles. We also had bowls of pink M&Ms set out. I told you.… lots of sweets… for my sweet baby girl. Yayyy for presents! Thanks, everyone Just a tip (that everyone probably knew, but me): plastic tablecloths don’t hold up for a camera lol. At the party it was a nice, solid backdrop… but in all my photos, you see the fireplace right through it. I had a slideshow going on the TV, too, of photos from Rebecca’s first year. And yay for cake! Actually, Rebecca hated it. She cried through the cake smash and pretty much didn’t eat any of it, haha. How is this girl MY kid?! She loves the sweets now, though Printables from Chickabug (water bottle labels, straw flags, cupcake toppers, party circles, happy birthday banner, and food signs) Martha Stewart Crafts for decor: Pink Pom Pom Garland (on the kitchen table), Tissue Pom Poms (hung above the kitchen table), and Vintage Girl Glittered Dot Garland (hung on the fireplace) Rebecca’s birthday hat: Mud Pie Mason jars for drinks (half-pint Ball jars) Pink and white striped straws for the drinks Smash cake and cupcakes from local Sugar Jones Bakery Pink and yellow plates and pink & white striped napkins: Target Pink tablecloths, crepe paper, and balloons: Party City Rebecca’s pink chiffon party dress: Hartstrings Happy Pretty in Pink Birthday Party, sweet baby girl!   The post Pretty in Pink 1st birthday party appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

Milling urban trees at RE-CO BKLYN. All photos courtesy of RE-CO BKLYN.I met Roger Benton this past winter at the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event held at Phil Lowe's Furniture Institute of Massachusetts. Roger was part of the LN show staff demonstrating hand tools and their use. For the past 3 years, he and Dan Richfield have operated a lumbering and woodworking business in Williamstown, Brooklyn, NY.You might not think of the middle of Brooklyn as a place to find a lumbering operation (and here I don't mean just selling lumber, I mean harvesting, milling, and drying it as well). This is what's known as urban lumber, harvesting trees in the urban environment and turning them into useful lumber, as described by Sam Sherrill in his book Harvesting Urban Timber: A Guide to Making Better Use of Urban Trees.In any urban area, there are yard and municipal trees that come down as a result of weather, disease, or construction and landscaping work. Rather than simply chipping them up or burying them in a landfill, they can be turned into perfectly good lumber for woodworking. Talk about your locally-sourced materials!Harvesting backyard trees. This is a job for professionals.In an office district.Roger and Dan's business is RE-CO BKLYN, Brooklyn's only sawmill, harvesting doomed NYC trees for unique lumber. They produce live-edge slabs from storm damaged park and street trees.This is a great alternative to combat the high environmental impact of global lumber sourcing. Dan says it reduces unnecessary logging and waste, deforestation and high lumber prices due to shipping expenses.They work with the city parks department and local tree services to harvest trees, and have been especially involved with processing many of the trees brought down by Hurricane Sandy. While I love the whole concept of urban lumber, I'm particularly glad to see someone salvaging something good from the storm that wreaked so much destruction on people's lives.Loading up a truck full of downed trees.Unloading at RE-CO BKLYN.The pile ready for milling.This provides a unique source of lumber for area designers and makers. They're the only source in the city for live-edge slabs, full-width boards with the tree's natural shape on both edges. Because they saw, dry, and store all the lumber at their Williamsburg location, they can keep costs down for local customers.Even humble yard trees have gorgeous strong grain.Preparing to load the kiln made from a converted shipping container.A finished load ready for delivery to a local woodworker.They also feature a full furniture shop, working from a custom-design background. Roger says their design/build team has created one-of-a-kind pieces for private and residential clients ranging from local homeowners to popular celebrities as well as hotels, bars, restaurants, retail stores and more.Working on a large custom table.Finishing a pair of smaller custom tables.If you're a woodworker interested in using some unique local NYC materials, or are interested in custom furniture made from them, contact Roger Benton or Dan Richfield at 347-770-5002, info@recobklyn.com, or through their website.

During their set at Barcelona's Primavera Sound last night, The Jesus and Mary Chain brought out My Bloody Valentine' s Bilinda Butcher to sing vocals on "Just Like Honey". (My Bloody Valentine is also performing at the festival). Replay the moment below (via Slicing Up Eyeballs ). Read MoreBlog: Consequence Of SoundRelated: #393 The Jesus and Mary Chain You Trip Me UpWatch Jessica Par from Mad Men Sing with The Jesus and Mary ChainWatch Feist & M. Ward Cover The Jesus And Mary ChainSXSW Dispatch: Far gone and out with The Jesus and Mary Chain (photos, setlist)[Listen] Keep Shelly In Athens Just Like Honey (The Jesus And Mary Chain Cover)

Christian Vande Velde said Saturday was a beautiful day — for skiing. Photo: Graham Watson | www.grahamwatson.comTRE CIME DI LAVAREDO, Italy (VN) — The Giro d’Italia went from spring to winter in about 30 minutes Saturday afternoon to put a dramatic finishing touch on the season’s first grand tour. After riding most of the day in perfect summer-like conditions, the peloton rode straight into a brutal snowstorm as the course climbed the spectacular wall at the Tre Cime summit deep in the heart of the Dolomites. When the peloton turned right and up with about 7km to go, conditions went from bad to worse. By the time stage winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) had crossed the line, winter had returned with a vengeance to northern Italy. Heavy snow pelted riders crossing the line. In the chaos that is unique to the Giro, riders desperately searched for ways to get warm and dry. Riders were routed off-course to a parking area, where soigneurs directed snow-bound cyclists to waiting team cars. “It was epic today. The roads were fine, but it’s snowing hard right now. It’s a beautiful … ski day,” said Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Sharp) as he wiped down inside a team van waiting for a drive back down to the waiting team buses. “I just hope we can get out of here.” Michele Scarponi (Lampre-Merida) crossed the finish line screaming. Not because he had lost out on a chance to secure a spot on the Giro d’Italia podium, but because it felt like someone was pushing razors into his frozen hands. “Freddo! Molto freddo!” Scarponi said with a grimace, sticking his hands into his soigneur’s jacket. “I have never been so cold!” Others came across with chattering teeth, helmets covered in snow, and exposed skin turning mottled pink and white from the extreme cold. Riders found themselves thrown into the finish-line tussle of shoving officials, prying journalists, stressed-out soigneurs, and the occasional fan who had infiltrated the restricted zone. With snow whipping around and everyone pushing and shoving, riders would stop short interviews to try to find refuge. “There was just some snow. It didn’t bother me very much. We were very confident,” Tanel Kangert told VeloNews. “Vincenzo was in good shape — hey, do you know if there is another tent up here? I am freezing. …” Others took the pandemonium in stride. For them, it was just another day at the office. “It actually wasn’t that cold when we were climbing, because the body creates a lot of heat,” said Peter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge). “Now I am getting cold once we stop pedaling and talk to all of you.” Winter-like conditions took the teeth out of the final weekend of racing in the Giro, so officials breathed a sigh of relief that at least they could finish Saturday’s stage on the Tre Cime summit. Heavy snow on the high passes forced Giro officials to cancel Friday’s stage in its entirety and prompted a major re-routing of Sunday’s “queen stage.” Rather than tackle five major climbs, the stage hugged the valley floor, where temperatures were pleasant in the mid-70s, before tackling the Tre Cime climb with ramps over 20 percent. Things quickly changed once the route turned south and started to climb into the upper reaches of the Dolomites. Clouds blotted out spectacular views of the towering rock walls above the finish line at 2300 meters. Vande Velde, who raced without leg warmers, said conditions went from one extreme to another very quickly. “The whole day wasn’t so bad. Considering how bad the weather’s been so far in this Giro, it was pretty successful today,” Vande Velde said. “In all honesty, I’ve been much colder other days. It’s the wind chill that gets you. We can finish on the uphill; it’s the descents that are dangerous. And that’s when you get that chi

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Singer-songwriter Jade performs an intimate set of new songs earlier this week in NYC. Pictured above at Hotel Chantelle, the talented artist wore a slim fitting gown with eclectic jewelry pieces. Jade plans on releasing her EP soon, which features the song “Freedom”. She is also putting the final touches on a brand new music video. Make sure to check out her performance of “Blue Notes & Green Trees” below. JADE PERFORMS ‘Blue Notes & Green Trees’ ( PHOTOS: TAJ WASHINGTON for CL )

full moon on the walk down.some of them had some push.the water is so pleasant right now.many of these photos are very similar. couldn't decide which to keep or dump...a bing feral pig makes a decent hat.stopped by the pier to give it a look and see.had to give her a go. in 20 minutes i scored 3 spinning left wedgers. so STOKED!!!!now, we're blasting 20lbs of mud bugs for Chef's birthday!!! happy birthday big boy!!

With first place out of reach, Rigoberto Uran and Sky went for the next best thing — pushing Cadel Evans out of second overall. Photo: Gregor BrownTRE CIME DI LAVAREDO, Italy (VN) — Colombia delivered a knockout punch on Sunday in whiteout conditions up the Giro d’Italia’s Tre Cime di Lavaredo climb. Where Eddy Merckx made his name in the climb’s debut in the late 1960s, Colombia’s Escarabajos made their mark. With the help of Fabio Duarte (Colombia), Carlos Betancur (Ag2r La Mondiale) nabbed the white jersey and Rigoberto Urán (Sky) left Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) behind to seize second overall. The Giro d’Italia, after a frigid final week, finishes in Brescia on Sunday with a flat stage that should see the results stick. “I had the Colombians at my side, Betancur and Duarte,” Urán said while swaddled in warm clothes after the finish. “We did some good work.” The climb debuted in 1967, but the organizer had to annul the results due to snow and over-helpful tifosi pushing riders. Merckx returned, won and rode on to his first grand-tour win the following year. Both times, as on Saturday, it was snowing. Overall leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) shot clear with 2.6km left in the stage. Urán couldn’t keep the overall leader’s pace, but he did leave behind Evans, who started the day 10 seconds ahead of him in second overall. The move drew out Betancur, who trailed Pole Rafal Majka (Saxo-Tinkoff) by two seconds in the best young rider competition. Betancur bridged to join and lifted Colombia’s spirits. Journalists at the finish radioed home live comments at a rapid pace. Though they were unable to win the stage, this was close enough: Urán knocking out 2011 Tour de France winner Evans for second place and Betancur taking the white jersey. Betancur had to fight back from a puncture and subsequent bike change before the base of the climb. “My teammates did a good job to help me get back to the bunch,” Betancur said. “I was hoping to win the stage but Nibali is a class by himself. I’m very happy with my performance in this Giro — to win the young jersey gives me great motivation for the future.” Betancur leads the young rider classification by 41 seconds over Majka. “It’s important for me to finish second overall, that’s a big difference from third place. I wasn’t able to get first, but second is pretty good,” Urán added. “Nibali is unbelievable. You saw what he did today; he was truly going well. However, finishing second overall is an important result for team Sky and me in this Giro. … It’s what I wanted to achieve because I saw that first overall was out of reach.” Urán placed seventh overall and won the white jersey last year. Earlier in the Giro, Urán won the stage to Altopiano del Montasio. The win set him up as Sky’s overall leader as Brad Wiggins was nearing an abandon due to a chest cold. Duarte, the under-23 world champion in 2008, and team Colombia arrived empty-handed. They lost an opportunity when Friday’s high mountain stage was canceled and narrowly missed a stage win on Saturday. Duarte had to settle for second behind Nibali, 17 seconds down. However, the ride did sit well with the team sponsor and his country’s minister of sport, Andres Botero, who rode shotgun in the team’s car. He failed to see a win, but left with a feeling of national pride.