Country Mouse, City Mouse

Below is my guest post for Mamatoga while she takes a short blogaternity.  Thank you so much Jenny for the opportunity!

I grew up in the ‘Burbs.  I say that with a twinge of sarcasm since
almost everywhere in upstate NY is considered either Suburbia or farm
country.  There are a few true cities in the Capital Region; Albany,
Schenectady, Troy, Saratoga Springs (just summarizing – not
intentionally excluding.)  Having spent my tween and teen years growing
up in Ballston Spa I’m biased in saying that Saratoga Springs is by far
my favorite city in the area.  To be honest I haven’t found too many
small cities that can compare.  For me, Saratoga Springs encompasses
what every small city should strive to be/have; community driven,
friendly residents, beautiful architecture, history, delicious
restaurants, one-of-a-kind shops, not to mention several famous
landmarks (Saratoga Battlefield and the Saratoga Race Course to name a
few.)  My love affair with Saratoga runs deep!

After over 10 years in the Suburbs  (Malta) we uprooted the family to
downtown Saratoga Springs.  We had been contemplating a move for quite
some time waiting for that perfect opportunity to arise and that it did,
in a fixer-upper on Regent St.  So, here we are and it’s an adjustment.
Let me preface by saying that I’m in love with the change.  I adore our
old house, creaky wood floors and all!  And I know in 6 months-time the
renovations should be close to complete and we will be more settled into
our city life.  But honestly, it’s still a pretty big change.  I like
our neighbors – but adapting to living 10 feet away from your next door
neighbor as opposed to 50 yards away in the ‘Burbs takes some getting
used to.  It reminds of the scene in “Big” where the two boys are
talking to each other through their bedroom windows.  We’re that close.
I guess I’m just accustomed to my privacy and also protective of my
children’s privacy.  On the other hand I get a huge kick out of waking
up in the morning, going down in the kitchen to grab some coffee and
waving to my neighbor through our kitchen windows.  A cup of sugar is
only a few steps away (or a wine opener in our case!)   Another
adjustment for the family is the traffic and noise.  Thankfully this was
just minor.  The traffic on Regent St. is minimal and the noises, well,
you get used to them just as you do any house noises.  One such noise we
were super excited to hear were the fireworks on New Year’s Eve.  A
quick walk out the front door onto our porch and low and behold, we have
the ultimate porch view for Congress Park Fireworks.  New house bonus!

As I sit here writing and thinking of other city v. country living
comparisons all I can come up with is how lucky we are to have found
this house in the town we love and how much I can’t wait for the girls
to grow up here.  I would be remiss if I didn’t say that I also cannot
wait till the summer to take full advantage of our location.  I see
Friday night Happy Hour cocktail sessions with family and friends on the
front porch, walking downtown to meet up with friends, riding bikes with
the girls and Chip around the Eastside, a leisurely walk to the track to
catch the 1st race or down to the Farmer’s Market and family picnics in
Congress Park…just to name a few.  In my opinion this city has the
best of both worlds and I for one couldn’t be happier about it.

Sunday Family Dinners

We are an Italian/Irish family so it goes without saying that Sunday consists of shopping, cooking, drinking and eating.  Since Chip and I have two little ones, our house seems to have become the Sunday Family Dinner place to be.  I'm great with this except that since the move to Regent St. we have no stove or dishwasher.  You read that correctly - no stove/no dishwasher.  To add insult to injury we also don't have countertops or a working sink.  Hubby easily corrected the "no countertops" issue with some heavy duty plywood and with our granite/sink installation right around the corner (next Wednesday to be exact) I'm coping.  And by coping I mean we are using mostly plastic/paper products and washing dishes in the UPSTAIRS bathroom.  It's amazing how much you actually miss the convenience of running water in a kitchen.  Even to make coffee in the morning we have to drag ass up the stairs just to get water.  You don't know what you miss until it's not there anymore!

SFD proved to be quite the culinary challenge.  While shopping at Price Chopper Sunday morning I decided at the last minute to grab a Rotisserie Chicken.  They are a godsend for busy families and usually a staple on a random Tuesday after dance class at our house.  But for SFD??  My Grandma Cel would be rolling in her grave.  Hell no - SFD is home cooked (usually Italian) comfort food.  Think ooey gooey lasagna or delish Chicken Parm with homemade sauce (never called it gravy in this family.)  Time for some improvisation.  Sunday's menu at Regent St.;  Rotisserie Chicken, Not-so-Roasted Red Potatoes, leftover Vodka Rigatoni with sausage and a green salad.  Here's how we did it.  Not-so-Roasted Red Potatoes; Mom and I quartered the potatoes and put them in two separate bowls (all my big bowls are still at the old house - more on that in another post.)  Oddly I had some basil and garlic powder - the only spices in the new spice rack cabinet.  I say oddly because I did not have salt and pepper.  No olive oil so we used butter, covered with a damp papertowel and did the Microwave Rotation dance.  Edible.  That is all they were.  Vodka Rigatoni; We were "gifted" with some delicious Vodka Rigatoni from our friends the Haskell's  We had been there the night before for a birthday party and they knew of our Kitchen Situation and sent us home packed with food!  Love them!  Green Salad; pre-packaged greens and cut up some veggies on a paper plate.  Dinner is served! 

And that's how we rolled out our first SFD at Regent St.  Down and dirty baby, down and dirty!!