the ygbgs

Cruising

2012-01-29T21:24:00.000-05:00

Scott and I had been thinking for a while about getting a scooter. I was skeptical because of the fact that there are idiot cab drivers here but Scott was getting pretty excited about the idea. He kept sending me listings for used scooters around the city and different kinds and what not.

A few weeks ago on a particularly nice Saturday, Scott and I went to look at scooters. We narrowed it down to two and I thought, "Are we crazy? Probably." We pro and con-ed it and two weeks ago we made a deposit on a matte black Vespa. Scott picked it up in Brooklyn on Tuesday and he has never been so happy in the city. Scott not riding the subway every day makes us have a happier home. We took it all over the place on Saturday and it was awesome, not having to deal with the weekend subway issues and being out in the open air, oh boy, it is good for the city living soul. Not to mention the fact that you get places nice and fast. SoHo to the Upper East Side in 20 mins? Deal.

We shall be urban dwellers for a long time yet, I think.

****

Our first stop on Saturday was the Doughnut Plant in Chelsea, where they have AHHmazing hot chocolate.

Then to the flea market

Then to a very crowded Highline

FREEDOM

nice and easy

2012-01-27T23:17:00.001-05:00

Fljótavík (Live) by Sigur Rós on Grooveshark

just finishing up my schoolwork for this week
with this song playing on repeat.

Today is Thursday

2012-01-19T21:46:00.000-05:00

Oh hello.

Should I be doing something productive like researching for a paper? Am I instead blogging? Yep.

Thursdays roll around and my motivation and stamina are pretty low. So, I take breaks by blogging. Interesting considering I have been reading all sorts of essays about how the internet is changing the way we think and hindering our ability to concentrate on one thing for long periods of time without becoming distracted. I agree to an extent, though one thing I loved was an article called Mind Over Mass Media by Steven Pinker in the New York Times, his rebuttal to all the media haters was very refreshing,

"Yes, the constant arrival of information packets can be distracting or addictive, especially to people with attention deficit disorder. But distraction is not a new phenomenon. The solution is not to bemoan technology but to develop strategies of self-control, as we do with every other temptation in life."

Simple. Effective.

Anyway.

Some pictures from the long weekend/the weekend before. Scott and I were downtown walking and eating and we ran into a man playing a bag pipe at Astor Place and other men who were dancing(?) or walking around and posing, it was thrilling.

posed

****

Off work on Monday?

Force friends to come out into the cold with their babies to hang out?

Yep. That happened.

These are the first babies that I have entertained in my apartment

sleepy boys

buddies

Come on skinny love

2012-01-11T17:20:00.022-05:00

You know how Bon Iver is becoming pretty popular? What with playing on SNL and being nominated for 4 Grammys and all that? Well, I fully support it. Bon Iver's album (and concert) was my favorite of last year and Justin Vernon deserves all the awards and recognition he can get.

I say this because I added "Wash." and "Holocene" to my study playlist last night as I was studying (I'm so creative with my naming of playlists) and they totally relaxed me, I've also been singing skinny love in my head all day. (p.s. another song that is p.e.r.f.e.c.t. to study or read to -- "luppulagio" on Sigur Ros' inni)

Anyway, that whole thing has nothing to do with this post. I am just following up on my Christmas card shoot post with one full of our Christmas card pictures. K-ray and I have continued our tradition of taking each other's pictures because we like each other and because if we bring our boys together their attitudes about what we are doing are generally more pleasant than they would be otherwise. Wife win!

Did I mention we met up bright and early on a Saturday morning and it was F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G!? I was desperately trying not to look cold, cool yes, but cold no.

.card winner.

.that's my husband.

arizona

2012-01-08T22:04:00.003-05:00

We went to Arizona over Christmas. We were there for an entire week. A week full of sleeping and enjoying the company of family. We got to meet Delaney and Jake who joined the family over the last year and we also witnessed grown(?) men playing on monkey bars while their nephews watched them. It was all good fun.

We drank way too much pop and went to malls and drove around in a car like suburbanites. I do love walking places, it helps to walk for a while after eating way too much which we did often while in AZ. Just in time for the annual "I'm going to go to the gym after the holidays!" -- I haven't.

Scott and I took a red eye home Saturday into Sunday morning and I was absolutely wrecked the entire day. We arrived home at 6:30 AM and went right to bed, I woke up around 2:30 PM thinking I would get up and move around but really I just came upstairs to the couch and passed out again. We lead such a thrilling life over here.

That dancing Wii game.

I haven't laughed that hard in a while.

Scott vs. Aaron

"shake it like a polaroid picture"

Just a bunch of boys fighting over who gets to ride the pink scooter.

Chloe was so mad at me for taking her picture.

I think Casie was saying, "Don't you dare jump"

While Scott was saying, "Do a front flip, you can make it."

Thankfully he did not jump off.

Asher

2012-01-03T15:02:00.000-05:00

Baby Asher and I are going to be friends. Not just because his mom is my favorite chick in New York, but because I kept telling him (while he was in Christa's belly) that I was leaving for Arizona on the 23rd and would really appreciate it if he came out prior to my departure.

My womb whispering abilities seemed to have worked because that boy came into the world at around 3:00pm on the 23rd, Scott and I went to the hospital at 3:30pm, and then got in a car to go to the airport at 4:00pm. I was being super dramatic all day about potentially missing his arrival by hours.

We are already buddies, he and I. Even though he has better hair than me.

Hospital

.happy daddy.

*****

10 days old

As soon as the camera came out, Fox started smiling.

Honestly, I don't know but I should probably never make that face again.

'Twas the season for christmas card shoots

2012-01-02T23:37:00.003-05:00

I figured I should throw these pictures up before it was really too late.

Almost every weekend during November/December was full of Christmas card shoots. It was great, I got good use out of my camera, a good excuse to buy Lightroom 3, and it got me out of bed before 8am most Saturdays. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and it was especially fun to see some of the pictures come in the mail. Seriously, who doesn't love Christmas cards? They are one of my favorite things about the holidays.

So for the last time this season, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

(these pictures are not in chronological order)

Hardings

Angie + Klane

*****

Mackays

Suzi + Steve + Will + Ben

.love.

*****

Rays

Jordan + Kaitlyn

.favorite.

*****

Dellis

Nick + Joelle + Bailey

*****

Cannons

Amy + Tim + Eli

*****

Baby Kate

*****

Francis

Jon + Kylie + Derrick + Kevin

*****

Glass Fam

for their awkward family photo

Winter White

2011-12-22T10:46:00.003-05:00

Oh hello.

I am just going to say that Christmas has snuck up on me this year faster than any other year prior. The weeks seem to have flown by and the minute I clicked "submit" on my last final last week my brain turned quickly to mush. It's super fun to talk to me right now, "Um, yeah" is a standard response.

We head out to Arizona tomorrow to spend the holidays with Scott's family, I am not looking forward to the flight but I am looking forward to seeing everyone, including one niece and one nephew that we have not met yet! I am also seriously excited to be able to sleep until I decide to wake up...it's going to be amazing.

In different, semi-related news: Last week we went to my company's holiday party at Ai Fiori. It was loads of fun and I got to wear a dress that I have had for MONTHS to it. (Thank you, Michelle for altering it for me!)

The Christmas spirit is sinking in and it is almost time for 24 hours of A Christmas Story,
"Aunt Clara had for years labored under the delusion that I was not only perpetually 4 years old, but also a girl.*" SO exciting. I need to go buy some new pajama pants...

*picture Ralphie saying that in the bunny costume

We were feeling a little goofy...hence the prom pose and Scott's face

Alli's Baby Shower

2011-12-10T19:58:00.001-05:00

I don't know if I have mentioned this before but the majority of my good friends here in the city are pregnant and/or just had a baby. It was like they all drank from the same kool-aid and decided to have babies within a few months of each other. Lucky for me since I like to plan baby showers. Myself and my "team" of girls (who I love) threw Christa's a few weeks ago and last Saturday we threw Alli's as well.

Alli is the type of person who is not too fussed about things, I asked her a bunch of questions about what she wanted and she had very simple answers, she didn't feel inspired to have a "theme" so we just went with a color scheme that we picked up from her invitation, and she did not want to have any games. After I got the guidelines from her we kind of threw up on the table with the color scheme, like I said, I really like this kind of thing so when I get going it is hard to stop!

Our main goal was that we wanted Alli to feel fussed over and special because we love her and her unborn baby boy, I certainly hope we succeeded!

I missed taking the picture when we got the chocolate fountain going

The cheese started to get to the perfect consistency right about when people started leaving...

I was pretty bummed.

it's boot season

I somehow missed taking a picture of the hot chocolate station, I tried my hand at making homemade marshmallows and made them egg nog flavored so you put them in the hot chocolate and they melted into the drink and made it nice and sweet.

It was loads of fun.

Overnight Road trips Always sound like fun...

2011-12-05T11:18:00.007-05:00

Scott and I braved the Thanksgiving travel hoard and rented a car to drive to Ohio for the blessed event. Everyone was home (besides my little brother who spent his Thanksgiving in Honduras in a short sleeve dress shirt, tie, slacks, and name tag), and my sister Janine has just recently had a baby so we were able to be there for her blessing.

I bought two audiobooks to listen to (which shall remain nameless) and we listened to them in their entirety on the way there and back. I love a good road trip, and the way there was great as soon as we got out of the city after nearly two hours of crawling on the Henry Hudson. We left around 4:00 PM and arrived around 4:00 AM. I made up for the lack of sleep the next night when I went to bed at 9:30 PM and woke up at 9:30 AM. I fell asleep before Scott came to bed and he took an unflattering sleeping picture of me...he's got a good little collection of those.

We had a lovely time, I got to do some Black Friday shopping with my sisters + the baby, though I skipped out on their midnight Target run. My mom bought me a Crock Pot and a lamp. All good things.

The trip back East was a little harder as my body tends to shut down right around the time we were leaving Ohio, we stopped at WalMart for provisions (Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Red Vines, etc.) and started on our way. We set out at 11:00 PM and I was nodding off (I was also not driving) pretty soon after that. I don't like to be sleeping when someone else is driving (control issues) so I was getting upset at myself every time I would fall asleep. Luckily, my boy is a "road warrior" and got us home safe and sound.

Besides Thanksgiving, we have been trucking along here in the city. Scott passed his last CPA Exam (Hallelujah Chorus? yes that's what that is) and I am nearing the end of the semester. I was walking to work this morning through one of the Christmas tree lots and I thought to myself that I have not put a single festive thing up in our apartment and I don't care. It's very strange, I don't like it. We even skipped the Park Avenue Tree Lighting last night because the thought of doing anything other than curling up into a ball on the couch under a blanket was too much for me. Super dramatic, right? You would be surprised to know that prior to this wave of laziness that occurred on Sunday I had one of my more productive weeks (apart from cleaning my apartment but we won't talk about that.) I also had a sort of epiphany, all of the stuff that has been going on with both Scott and I, working, school, photo shoots, baby showers, Primary (Scouts for him), has all made me a more organized and productive person. I have felt like I have been using my time more wisely and I do feel more appreciative of the challenges that we have faced in the last couple of months (I was telling Scott about my feelings on this the other day and instead of "couple of months" I said "the last quarter" and he made fun of me...).

We're just growing up....and it's ok.

Sabrina's blessing day

holding her big brother's hand

Twins

the kiddos in the woods

Not doctored. Her eyes are ridiculous.

Sabrina slept on Scott for long periods of time. He said it was because of his "Tempur-Pedic Tummy"

This picture makes my heart hurt...

...in a good way.

nana+dani

Giggles!

12/11

2011-12-02T10:23:00.000-05:00

Happy December

(is this making you ill to watch? me too.)

A "Little Man" Baby Shower

2011-11-16T15:42:00.010-05:00

My bff, Christa is having a baby. She is due right around Christmas time and is having a BOY (along with everyone else in our ward). I have been planning her baby shower for months and we finally had it last Saturday. I'd say it was almost exactly what I had envisioned with everyone pulling through on their assignments (even Becky coordinating the bowl she brought stuff in - I died). The whole thing was great. Everyone is now slightly more aware of my bossy/controlling tendencies but hopefully they still like me. We decided to run with the theme, "Christa's Little Man" and put bowties on everything, we also wanted to emphasize the fact that it is Fall and harvest time so we did all harvest colors.

I went over the night before and we started mulling some cider in a crock pot which meant the apartment smelled like Christmas when I went back the next morning - I need to mull cider every night, I swear.

I had so much fun planning this whole thing! So many thanks go to all who helped out, Becky, Julie, Kaela, Anne Marie, Alli, and Yuhi, it would not have turned out without all of you!!

The invite

Worth the trek to Hell's Kitchen that morning.

Hot cider station, complete with whipped cream, caramel sauce, and cinnamon sticks.

For favors we took a page out of Mormon wedding receptions and had a candy bar.

So I made the dipping sauces - Caramel, Raspberry, and Chocolate and there was a TON left over.

Not a good thing to have in my home...

Yeah, we forced everyone to play the poopy diaper game, and it was FUN.

This book got the best "AWWWW" response from everyone.

Oh New Yorkers...

She was actually talking about how cute they were...that's not a "what is this?" face.

Charity knitted that for the little man.

Her talent makes me ill.

Let's all guess who that gift is from?

Christa and I bonded over our ~~obsession~~ love for HP.

Ridiculous trying to find yellow striped straws.

Luckily, Etsy always comes through.

Prime Time

2011-11-14T17:33:00.002-05:00

Oh the glory that is New York City right now. The leaves are the most perfect shades of oranges, reds, and yellows, and the weather has been phenom. Honestly, my only complaint is that it is bloody dark outside every day when I leave work which is incredibly depressing. Though last week, the 4,5,6 trains had a sick passenger on both the local and express tracks (aka rush hour commuters worst nightmare) in the morning so I was forced to walk to work, which turned out to be a really lovely walk down 5th Avenue next to the park. Truly lovely. If I could peel myself out of my ultra comfortable bed earlier in the morning I would walk every day.

We have a grip of stuff happening to us and things we are doing, which I will not bore you with (aren't you glad!?) but it keeps us busy and pale since we study, sleep, and work. Oh, and plan baby showers for my bffs. More on that to come.

Truthfully, despite feeling pretty tired all the time I am just loving this fall weather and being in the city. The holidays are coming, I am going to go ice skating as much as possible and go drink hot chocolate while I wander through any one of the 700 holiday markets. Seriously, this is prime city living time and I am going to enjoy it. (and so is my husband, or so help me...)

Just a few quick pics of us walking through the park yesterday to meet up with the Rays. A beautiful, beautiful day.

He's pulling my hair here

Benjamin

2011-11-11T09:43:00.000-05:00

There is something about baby pictures in black and white that captures the very peaceful, quiet mood of the first moments of a brand new family. Ben was about a month old by the time I went over to Julie's apartment to snap a few photos of him. Not surprisingly, that feeling of peaceful quiet was still there. There is a feeling of stillness in the home, perhaps due to the fear of waking a sleeping baby...

I hope the pictures that I took are able to convey that feeling....apart from the one when Ben started to scream:)

squirm

Preview - Ben

2011-11-07T15:16:00.000-05:00

Baby Benjamin

more are coming...I'm just slow at everything.

A Favorite

2011-11-07T15:06:00.000-05:00

Favorite scent - Cider Mills.

Can you smell it?

P.S. HOW on EARTH do we only have two months left in 2011?

Now I'm a fat house cat

2011-11-01T19:22:00.005-04:00

a wedding version. makes me want to have another wedding celebration.

Sam Beam + Marketa Irglova = magic

Motions

2011-10-26T16:36:00.030-04:00

Auto Pilot. This morning, I walked into work and had one of those, “How did I get here?” moments. I was completely lost in my thoughts while I was going through the motions walking and riding subway going to work. It was a very strange feeling.

I have finally gotten around to going through some of the pictures I have taken in the past couple of weeks. I generally maintain a feeling of being behind in something or other so I literally sat on my computer for hours and hours on Sunday going through pictures. I probably should’ve been writing a research report that is due this week, but whatever. Priorities, pshh.

Something very exciting happened to us. Well, we made it happen so I suppose we created our own excitement...details, details. We bought a new mattress. My life has changed. We have been talking about it for ages but never pulled the trigger, then a couple Saturdays ago we had had enough of waking up with aching backs so we invested in a good night’s sleep.

W.O.R.T.H. I.T.

****
So, we shot a wedding the first weekend in October. It was up near Lake George in the Adirondacks. It was beautiful. My brother-in-law, Brandon’s sister was married so I got to see all my little nieces and nephew there as well. Being up there also reaffirmed that I don’t ever want to live in a place without trees, they are just SO PRETTY.

Anyway, here are just a few pictures from the wedding.

weekend

2011-10-20T17:43:00.013-04:00

After spending far too many hours in front of a computer screen this week
I am ready to do a bit of this on Saturday.

Happy Fall:)

uhhhh

2011-10-17T14:31:00.002-04:00

I got a manicure this Saturday while Scott was sleeping (for hours. hours. Ok fine, he is sick so I guess it's ok) and I picked one of those "in" nail polish colors for my fingers. I am looking at it now and I have realized something:

It is the color of poop.

Thanks Essie, for making poop colored nail polish.

Maybe I'll start telling people I am colorblind.

Good cover, mb, good cover.

Have you ever had a full conversation with yourself? I have.

brain malfunction

2011-10-06T17:05:00.001-04:00

Wanna know a sure fire way to have a heart attack?

Upload 1200 pictures onto the computer from a wedding that you took this past weekend, delete them off your camera, and then magically lose them. Then, frantically search all the possible folders where they could be while trying not to hyperventilate, then with an enormous sigh of relief, find them in a random folder, followed by frantically getting them backed up on the external hard drive....(like they were somehow going to be lost again?)

Honestly, it was not a good moment for me. My brain may or may not be currently overloaded.

Side/Good note:
We stopped at a cider mill on our way home from the wedding. We bought apple cider doughnuts, honeycrisp apples, maccoun apples, and apple cider. The car ride home smelled like a cider mill...and also my childhood.

ILOVEFALL.

Also, our forecast = HAPPY!

"You can't do that"

2011-09-24T15:42:00.000-04:00

I love today. I love today because I went to sleep last night at 9:45 PM with all of my work done and slept like a LOG. I also love today because there is nothing that I have committed to do so I can spend the day running errands (which I did this morning), getting ahead in my school work, and blogging. I am feeling pretty good today. Better today than I have felt in the past two weeks. Thank goodness for today.

If I am being perfectly honest, I have felt incredibly overwhelmed the past couple of weeks. It was almost as if everything I am involved in, whether it is work, church, or school kicked into high gear and decided to start piling. I am sure everyone has had times in their life when their to-do lists start to make them cry. Or you could say I'm a bit of a weeny, which may be true, but it's been a challenging couple of weeks. My sweet little brother sent my mother a letter from the Missionary Training Center in Provo and he had said some encouraging words that were meant for her but struck me like a brick. An attitude change is in the works...and if that doesn't work there is always ice cream.

Last weekend, we went to West Point for a football game. Scott's father went to West Point for his undergrad so Scott had been to the campus before but I had not and it was absolutely beautiful. The prettiest college campus I have ever been to. Also, I have never seen Scott so happy to be someplace, he just had this grin on his face everywhere we went. Then we went to the football game and he kept yelling and screaming at the players and they actually WON. One of my favorite things about going to the game was the cadets yelling "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" when the other team received a penalty, and after each touchdown the cadets would flood the sidelines and do push-ups in accordance to the score. It was terribly fun to watch as I ate my hot dog and cotton candy.

It was one of those perfect days. The weather was perfect, the venue was perfect, our marriage was perfect for a while, until we got in the car and I started back seat driving. It was great.

we had to practically climb a mountain to get to the stadium.

he bought a commemorative cup

If only

2011-09-22T09:54:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling a little bit like this.

fear

2011-09-11T20:27:00.001-04:00

hi.

I am not breaking up with my blog. I still like to do it but I am having a hard time finding my voice again. I am feeling like I don't want to deal with something that I feel obligated to do when it is really something I elect to do. There are more things that should be concentrated on.

I am just a little tired, I think.

On those lame depressing notes, I will tell you that I begin taking online classes through BYU-Idaho tomorrow, finally getting back to school, and I am pretty freakin terrified about keeping up with it while working full time. I know it is going to be fine, I know it will, but that doesn't make me any less scared about failing. I have recently picked up my journal writing again, which I have always found gives me clarity, and I was reflecting on why I am so scared. I know it is just because I am afraid of failing, of losing motivation, or just feeling tired, but I also know that those things that we are afraid of, those things that disrupt your routine and make you adjust are the things that help us grow and learn. I know this next year is going to be busy and hard and I will have those moments where I cry to Scott and think about quitting but thankfully I have a strong support system and I am doing this now at this time because it is the right time.

Anyway. We did do a few things on this last week of freedom. We went to the US Open, the match between Federer and Tsonga was delayed by rain for an hour and a half, that was lame, but we really enjoy going. Tennis is one of the few sports that I actually don't mind watching.

On Saturday church basketball, which usually claims Scott's Saturday mornings, was cancelled so I forced him to go to brunch with me. We tried going over to Good Enough To Eat but the wait was like an hour+ and we were about ready to freak out at each other so we went elsewhere. Afterwards, we went to see the movie, Warrior. We LOVED it, one of the best movies I have seen all year. Tom Hardy is a beast, seriously, no wonder he is going to be the villain in the Dark Knight, that guy is going to give me nightmares. The last 10 minutes of the movie are amazing. I felt so inspired when we left, also terrified of having sons because we left the theater and Scott said,

"See, all you have to do to resolve any conflict between brothers is let them punch each other."

Yeah, let's all pray we have girls.

take one

take two

he doesn't ever listen to me.

Arthur Ashe Stadium

****

we decided we want this townhouse.

Look for a change of address card in the next 25+ years or so.

Street Fair balloons

My little china doll.

Central Park

Celebrate September

2011-09-01T11:16:00.011-04:00

Every year on the first of September I wake up and feel like this

On this particular first of September I asked Scott if he'd like to go to the Brooklen Flea this Saturday, his response?

"It's the first day of college football."

I immediately felt like this.

Of all the weekends...

2011-08-31T11:45:00.006-04:00

My sister, Liana came for a visit to the city this past weekend. She came right in time for Hurricane Irene. Yep, the first hurricane in 60 years and it happens to fall on the weekend that my sister is visiting. What are the odds?

Luckily, we had nice weather on Friday, though the imminent arrival of the hurricane with the barrage of text messages from family members, intense warnings from the Mayor, and the complete INSANITY of any and all grocery stores put a slight damper to our day. Wanna know the thing that seemed to have flown off the shelves? BREAD. There was no bread anywhere, it was weird and ridiculous. I guess that even if you don't know how to cook you can make a sandwich.

Our day on Friday was full of lots of walking downtown, first stopping at the Doughnut Plant for the coconut cream and vanilla bean doughnuts, then walking around SoHo, going to Economy Candy, dying over sweaters in Madewell, eating gelato, and shopping in Chelsea. We made our way back uptown and got some essentials at the grocery store (NEVER IN MY LIFE have I seen a grocery store so crowded) then went home and got dressed up for a dinner at Little Owl complete with a celeb sighting (Justin Bartha) and Amy's Bread chocolate cake. We topped the night off with a horrible cab ride back home and spent the rest of the evening trying to stop feeling so car sick.

The hurricane was supposed to arrive early Sunday morning around 2AM, so naturally the ENTIRE CITY shuts down at 12PM on Saturday, I'm talking everything. The MTA shut down, all the stores and restaurants had signs on their doors saying "Closed for Irene." The streets were eerie and seeing windows boarded up was causing me to worry a little bit more than I had allowed myself. Luckily we were still able to have brunch at Norma's on Saturday morning but we spent the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday in our small apartment watching Jane Eyre and the entire first season of Gossip Girl. We had tickets to see Wicked on Saturday night but all Broadway shows were cancelled. Liana was supposed to fly out Sunday and Scott was supposed to come home (he was in Utah) but both had to be rescheduled. It turned out to be pretty lucky because Liana had an extra day and on Monday the weather was so perfect I was pinching myself to make sure it was real.

I love sister time. Despite the weekend not being quite what we planned we still had so much fun vegging out (translated:eating jelly bellies) and watching movies. Our conversations have changed over the years, though we still talk about boys, they just happen to be our husbands.

SISTERS FOR LIFE. Literally.

| The weekend instagrams |

| I made her do that. |

| Little Owl |

| We sat on the steps at Lincoln Center for a while.

They were broadcasting a performance from the Met Opera on a giant

screen in the plaza. We sat, listening and watching. |

| and eating cupcakes. |

Scott turns the corner

2011-08-20T14:39:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, my boy turned the big 3-0! I just have to say that he is my most favorite 30 year old. I love that man. When buying gifts for Scott he rarely has anything that he "wants" which makes it somewhat difficult for me and my non-existent creative juices. So I presented him with a non-wrapped Army football t-shirt and two tickets to the football game at West Point on Sept 17th. Yeah I didn't even wrap it, that's just how we roll.

We celebrated by going to dinner, but before we had dinner we went to our friends, The Whiting's going away party, they are leaving the city for TX and their TX sized closets.

Mackay #2

Mackay #1

Scott was threatening to take his pizza, I think

See ya soon, Whitings:)

like tomorrow...

*********

Scott failed to tell me to stand up straight...

Where is my mother when I need her?

bday dinner.

I may have set my menu on fire... luckily they didn't kick me out.

This picture makes me uncomfortable to look at.

Naturally, I would share it.

***********

Sunday afternoon we gathered at the Sagebins to celebrate the boy

I wanted to have things that Scott loves like...

Red Velvet

Cherries and m&ms

(not together)

7-Layer Dip

And Confetti Cake.

When buying birthday cake, you have to get the best one around.

Momofuku's Birthday Cake

is not to be messed with.

sweet friends

May your 30s be better than your 20s

Babies, Babies, Babies

2011-08-04T14:47:00.001-04:00

I finally figured it out; the absolute best time to go to Central Park is at 7:00 AM. That is also the absolute best time to do a photo shoot. A couple weekends ago, during the intense heat wave, Julie, Adam, and I went to CP and did a maternity shoot. We chose to do it at 7:00 AM because the forecast was for 100 degree heat so we thought we'd try to "beat the heat" as they say and do it early. We actually achieved our goal as we were finished by 8:30 AM when the humidity was starting to kick into high gear. I was oddly giddy the entire time because 1. I love Julie and am totally ecstatic for their little family, 2. I’ve never seen Central Park so empty, and 3. The LIGHTING, heavens, it was awesome.

Now, without further adieu, Julie + Adam + Baby Boy.

one of my favorites

hahahaha, makes me laugh every time.

and honestly, when are the Met steps ever that empty?

JP is due Sept 24th!

I'm a Big Girl Now

2011-08-02T15:16:00.000-04:00

Did you sing that little Pull-Ups jingle in your head when you read that title? Good, now it will be stuck in your head too.

You're welcome.

I recall when I was younger I couldn't eat lunch by myself in a public place, I was far too embarrassed. "What will people think of me!?" You know, that whole thing. I also didn't want to go to a movie by myself for the same reason, it was "so embarrassing." Well, nowadays it is not quite the same. I don't mind eating by myself in public places and I will definitely go to a movie by myself should the boy not want to see it. Yesterday, I had a "first" when I went to a concert all by my lonesome. Scott had a prior commitment and friends had things that had to be done so I just went! It was not bad, although I would venture to say it is a lot less boring in between opener/main act when you have someone to talk or people watch with. Lucky for me, I found a seat so I could sit down and I had a book with me and my phone so I entertained myself.

Then Lykke Li started playing and I stood in my spot and bobbed my little head until I got too tired and then I went home!

Seriously. I am so grown up, it's insane.

Also, Lykke Li sounds really fantastic live, I was very impressed.

I switched sides at one point.

A guy came to stand by me who kept passing gas...

I needed to vacate the area.

Fair Warning

2011-07-19T17:23:00.001-04:00

I will destroy you.

via Tahereh Mafi

The Boy Who Lived...

2011-07-16T23:58:00.012-04:00

Dear Friends,

I just got home from my second viewing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two. The first viewing being at 3:15 AM the morning it opened as all of the midnight showings were sold out (I would like to acknowledge, once again, how awesome my husband is). As I watched the final scene tonight and the credits started to role I had a feeling that I didn't have the first time....

I was very sad.

In 2000 I was on a road trip with my family, I had finished the book I brought while my brothers had carried with us the first four Harry Potter books as they were finishing them at, what seemed to me, lightning speed. Because I was bored I picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I became entranced. From then on, I went through the first four books very quickly, sometimes reading long into the night, telling myself "just one more chapter..." I remember when I finished Goblet of Fire, I was reading in our basement, and as Dumbledore gives his final speech a single tear fell onto the page. Never before has a work of fiction made me feel so emotional, so attached, like I was there in the room, listening.

I have grown up living in two worlds, one here, and one somewhere in England at a magical school. I have grown up waiting anxiously for each book to come out, fighting over who got to read it first at my house until we finally started buying multiple copies. I remember never putting them down, reading from sun up to sun down, only pausing for meals. I remember reading The Half Blood Prince and my brother, Joel, who had already finished saying, "You are going to be really sad. Someone pretty important dies." Then when I finished, I went to him and said, "I just can't believe it."

Acquaintances have become friends because we realized we were both fans. There is a certain amount of understanding that comes when you meet someone else who feels the same as you do, it's like a common obsession and you just "know" how it is.

As I left the theater tonight, I realized just how much I am going to miss it. I am going to miss looking forward to hearing what happens to these characters, these people who I have come to know and to love. I am going to miss getting so excited, losing sleep and not caring, I am going to miss those moments when you read a paragraph and your opinion of a long-running storyline completely changes, and I am going to miss escaping into a world I already know.

I am going to miss it because it has been a part of me as I've grown up. It has been a part of my family. I can't wait to share it with my children someday.

Long Live Harry Potter.

All the world's a stage

2011-07-11T20:55:00.002-04:00

"....and all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances;
and one man in his time plays many parts..."

There is much beauty in words. Even more beauty when they are spoken aloud. We were able to see the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of As You Like It this past weekend at the Park Avenue Armory. It was wonderful. Wonderful. During intermission Scott said "I don't think I'll ever want to do this again." I made him a promise that I wouldn't make him go see another Shakespeare play unless we were visiting London, after saying this I smiled real big. Now, don't think that the boy drags his feet everywhere I take him because after saying he never wanted to do it again, he said that he liked experiencing these things...even if he does find them boring... hey, I'll take it.

Sunday afternoon during a convo with my boy standing in our pint-sized kitchen he remarked that I like "snobby" things like Shakespeare plays, the ballet, tennis (watching, not playing), and especially music. He said people who like indie music are far more snobby about music than those who like mainstream music, to this point, I agree. Though, I will probably still listen to it...even if it makes me a snob.

Ah well, good thing I have my mainstream-music-loving husband to keep me in check.

And, maybe I do like snobby things like Shakespeare and ballet but, have mercy, I sure do enjoy them. Especially when they are done so very well.

he loves me.

During intermission there were signs put all around

to be Orlando's notes and letters that he writes to Rosalind on the trees in the woods.

"No sooner met but they looked;

no sooner looked but they loved;

no sooner loved but they sighed;

no sooner sighed but they asked one another the reason;

no sooner knew the reason but they sought the remedy"

"Hope is a waking dream"

"Thou speakest wiser than thou art ware of"

"I earn that I eat, get that I wear,
owe no man hate,
envy no man's happiness,
glad of other men's good,
content with my harm"

A Family Fourth

2011-07-08T12:21:00.000-04:00

We didn't go see any fireworks. There were like 47 1/2 (janine = pregnant) kiddos around that have early bedtimes. So Laurel and I sat and waited for our husbands to yell or scream from hurting themselves while they lit up our backyard with roman candles and some other exploding things. Luckily, everyone ended the night without much harm, there was a scary incident with a sparkler but all was well.

I didn't even hear "I'm Proud to be an American," yet I have still had it stuck in my head all week. Blah.

Danica was being super charming

We made smores.

I like smores, I do, however I kind of prefer just setting my marshmallow

on fire and then letting it sizzle for a second before blowing it out and then just

eating the marshmallow plain.

Also convenient that I like "overcooked" marshmallows

as a few people gave me theirs.

The "exploding" corner

could you just die?

She just walked right up and made that face.

the smoke bombs were a big hit.

"Run through the smoke! Run through!"

In line for sparklers.

"I'm so cool."

Piper's eyes are ridic.

Backyard Playing

2011-07-06T21:46:00.001-04:00

I distinctly remember playing in our yard(s) growing up, playing freeze tag, playing catch with Joel, sardines, jumping on the trampoline, swimming in the lake in Michigan, then in the pool after we moved to Ohio. We live on the same long driveway as my aunt and uncle, so in the summer, my brother Joel and cousin David and I would swim, then sometimes run to David's house and jump on the trampoline, then back to the pool.

No wonder I was so much skinnier.

Anyway, my point is that being back home during the summer made all of these memories of summer life as youth come rushing back to me. MAN, that was the life. I just had to help my Mom garden for a couple hours every day and then it was POOL TIME.

This trip home was so amazing. The only thing that I missed was going to Dairy Queen and getting a slushie float....have you ever had one of those? They are AMAZING. Next time....Next time.

* * * * * *

My parents recently invested in a big swing set for their backyard.

I went out for a little bit to watch all my nieces and nephews play.....oh and my husband too.

Don't let the smile fool you, she was happy for 12 seconds while we had her

10, 9, 8, 7, 6,

5, 4, 3, 2,

1 - WAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

And yes, girls out-number the boys in our family.

Midwest

2011-07-05T21:22:00.003-04:00

Scott and I just returned from a trip to visit my family in Ohio. It has been about a year and a half since we have all been together and we came together for special reasons. My baby brother, Paul, is leaving at the end of August to serve a mission for our church. He will leave to serve in Honduras for two years! Myself and all of my siblings attended the Columbus Temple as Paul went through for the first time. It was emotional and we left feeling uplifted and a little closer together as a family.

Then the next day my sweet nephew, Mason, chose to be baptized.

Honestly, the love I have for my family has grown exponentially over the past couple of days.

Also, my parents have a pool and I just need to have a pool someday, ok? I didn't want to get out of it, I felt like a little kid fighting to stay in "just a few more minutes."

We'll have one....someday.

My fam. Seems a little small, I think?

Also, note my Dad's face.

Proud parents.

*****

After the baptism we took some family pictures,

Reid was helping me make sure the light was ok.

All of us.

Joel.Mason.Paul

So.

Sometimes when it gets really hot outside my face gets a little sweaty.

When this happens Scott will look at me and say, "whoa, your face is sweaty."

Generally, when I am that sweaty I am pretty annoyed at everything

due to being uncomfortable and hot.

So when Scott does that it sends me into a bit of a rage.

"Really!? It's sweaty? I didn't KNOW!"

Or something along those lines.

Then he goes and gets me a handkerchief and does something like this:

I guess that's "love" right?

"Bear" Hands - get it?

2011-06-27T17:10:00.001-04:00

I have never been to the Bowery Ballroom when it wasn't jam packed full of people. On June 18th when we went down to see Bear Hands perform there we were able to stand (dance a little) and not have 4 people bumping/touching you for the majority of the time. Granted, during the 2nd opener there was this girl who had at least 2 feet of space in front of her and kept taking steps back towards me. Well, there might be a simple solution you might think, we could move or take a couple steps back ourselves, BUT my boy and I secured a pillar to lean on and we were not about to give it up. So I just dealt with the girl and her seriously frazzly/curly hair nearly hitting me in the face the entire time.

Anyway.

The concert was so much fun, the 2 openers were local bands and all the music was upbeat. It was like a hipster dance party the entire time which meant we got to laugh at all of the funny dancing going on.

AHH what a joy people watching can be.

Both Scott and Bear Hands' lead singer were wearing Giants hats.

Kindreds.

Homemade

2011-06-26T20:58:00.002-04:00

So.

I tried out one of the butterbeer recipes found on the internet. It had so much promise and I was getting pretty excited while making it...then I tried it and it just couldn't hold a candle to the original. It was a sweet and pretty tasty drink but man...did not pack the same punch. I am afraid I might never find a decent substitute.

Though I have already picked out the next recipe I am going to try...one of them must taste like it...it just has to.

Oh and I might have purchased a blender just to make them. Maybe. But seriously, we have gone three years of marriage without a blender, that is just wrong.

PALE ARMS.

while the drink was just ok -- the cream was pretty awesome.

Wash.

2011-06-24T19:54:00.002-04:00

Sometimes
you hear a song and it makes you
stop
whatever you are doing
and thinking and
just be.

Hear: Bon Iver "Wash."

Housekeeper

2011-06-24T11:25:00.002-04:00

I am so tired. It's been a really busy month and I have felt behind in so many things like running errands, cleaning our apartment, editing photos, jogging, etc. I just feel like I have been living in a general level of disorganization and I do not like it. I have been loving Sundays after church because we just get to slow down and rest. It's wonderful.

also, I am sorry for how obnoxious that paragraph was.

Apart from being all over the place it has been a really great week. Scott and I celebrated our anniversary by getting some serious steak and LOBSTER MAC AND CHEESE at Del Frisco's. Side note - Del Frisco's sends you a THANK YOU CARD after dining there. What!? Anyway, we love each other and we have been basking in each other's awesomeness.

In other news -- I haven't been doing my hair. When it is really humid it sort of waves/goes limp but I just roll with it. It usually ends up in a ponytail at some point so....whatever. My cosmetology teachers would be so disappointed in me.

On a very happy note, our friends Kelly and Cardon had a baby boy and last Saturday we went out Queens to meet Koos and say hi to K+C. We like them.

I snapped a couple pictures of baby Koos sleeping.

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Some things I love

2011-06-21T09:32:00.001-04:00

I use the word “love” a little too much. Whether it is food, a book, movies, music, or what-have-you -- I say it a lot. As I made that realization I tried to think of things that I really do love as opposed to having a heightened obsession with for a 15 minute period.

I really do love the following things, despite some being a bit “silly.”

Dashboard Confessional. They are the only band in my arsenal that I continually go back to. My music tastes have changed since I first heard them (we won’t talk about the emo/punk days) but I have always loved Chris Carrabba and his band.

Rings. When I say rings I mean rings that go on your fingers. I don’t wear a whole lot of jewelry but I have always worn rings, plain bands being my favorite. Until I got my engagement ring I only ever wore bands.

Harry Potter. That is no secret.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It guides and protects me and has made me who I am today. My life would not feel so full without it.

New York City. Sure, there are lots of things to complain about when you live in New York, small spaces, humid subway platforms, stinky streets, etc. but it is the greatest city in the world. There is so much to be enjoyed, the food is the best, there are beautiful buildings, charming streets, and you get to walk everywhere which is one of my favorite things. I love being a city girl.

and most importantly,

My boy. On this our 3^rd wedding anniversary I recall all the reasons I love him. Since June 21, 2008 my love for him has changed, it has grown as we have grown together. He is my very best friend, I feel more complete as a person with him in my life. What a gift real love is to feel, what an even greater gift it is to receive. He's a total punk but I love him. Oh, I love him.

A Magical Birthday

2011-06-17T11:57:00.000-04:00

My dear, dear friends,

A couple months ago I found cheap flights to Orlando around my birthday, at the time Scott was in one of those agreeable moods so I proposed that we go so we could go to Harry Potter World. Shockingly he said he would be ok with that.

So, this past Saturday we packed our bags and flew South.

Everything was so great...except that it was about 100 degrees every single day we were there but that was a minor detail. Universal is great because a good amount of the lines for rides are air conditioned or shaded.

Let me tell you about the magical place that is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I am serious when I say that it is everything I would've dreamed for it, with my only small complaint being that it is a pretty small area. You walk through the entrance and are met with the music from the film series which makes it feel like you are in the movie (except that there are a million people around you). You can eat at the Three Broomsticks, get some pumpkin juice at Honeydukes, go to Ollivanders, and most importantly, you can drink butterbeer.

I need a separate paragraph to tell you just how amazing butterbeer is. They serve it frozen and non-frozen, frozen being our favorite. It tastes like butterscotch cream soda and then the butterscotchy-flavored cream they put on top!? FORGETABOUTIT. We had one at the end of the day on Monday and then had THREE the next day. Seriously, I have been dreaming about it ever since.

Even Scott, despite not being a Harry Potter "fan," was impressed by the park. It was so well done and I was stupidly happy the entire time.

I have gotten a few, "You really went to Harry Potter World?" and some chuckles but it was AMAZING! I would go again in a heartbeat.

For a pre-birthday dinner we went to Ruth's Chris and then hung out on the balcony at our hotel.

THEN

Our journey began the next day

The music hit the climax of the crescendo right as we rounded the corner and saw the castle.

It was one of the best moments of the trip!

giddy mb

pumpkin juice - tastes like spiced cider.

Looking at this picture makes me want to fly to Florida again just to have another one.

Heck, I'll move to Florida.

The pictures below are from my phone. We went through the castle to ride the "Forbidden Journey" ride and had to put my camera bag in a locker, which made me sad because there was so much in the castle to see!

The next day we went on the water rides so the camera stayed at home.

We happened to eat at the Three Broomsticks that day so I again only have pictures from my phone.

Which is sad because they do not do it justice.

Fish & Chips

and butterbeer #2

Magical.

Simply Magical.

Maybe I am already scheming a way to go next year for my birthday.

The Big Red Door

2011-06-09T16:24:00.000-04:00

We really like our neighborhood, it has everything we need. It is safe, charming, has food we like, clothing stores I can do damage in, and lots of other good things. Because we feel that way we tend to stay in our neighborhood on the weekends. I occasionally get the itch to go explore downtown or I pick a restaurant elsewhere just so we actually leave our little corner of New York.

This is what I did last weekend.

We didn’t do anything special, just walked around, ate some fish & chips, and enjoyed the cooler temperature outside (UNLIKE TODAY).

I feel like I need to write a children's book about a place with "The Big Red Door."

This will be the cover.

Once upon a time...

that's all I have so far.

Here is a secret about Scott:

He LOVES shoes. Tennis shoes. "Kicks."

These are his most recently purchased pair and he loves them.

I love coming to Washington Square Park.

Someone is almost always playing the piano.

It's pretty magical.

Bubbles

2011-06-04T22:12:00.000-04:00

Central Park has lots of interesting people...and just lots of people in general. Some people go to watch or to walk. Some go to site see, some go for a carriage ride. Some perform routines, some sing songs. Some blow giant multi-colored bubbles much to the delight of all those around them...including me.

Car Talk

2011-06-03T14:49:00.000-04:00

I have to say that I have no idea how Scott and I found each other…but we get along famously. I know that sounds silly because of course we should get along, we are married, but I like to think it takes a special person to deal with my boy and I am just the right person for it.

Not me though, I am perfectly agreeable and charming and all that good stuff so he has no trouble liking me all the time.

Ha…ha…ha…

I am glad to be married to someone who is my bff. I am also glad that we know each other well enough to not sweat the small stuff as much as we used to. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still sensitive and can be a total *bad word* at times but I’d say we have a fantastic time together.

Reason #902576 why being married is so awesome = ultimate best friend

Begin: AMHERST

Rorth + Scott

*end Amherst*

Begin: BOSTON

I told Scott it looked like he was wearing an Angels t-shirt. His response?

"To a woman."

He's so charming.

Bahhston Cahhhmon

Mobile Uploads - Amherst/Boston

2011-05-31T15:01:00.001-04:00

I love road trips. My D-A-D didn’t like to fly because it was always crazy expensive to fly our entire family anywhere, so we went on road trips. I have so many memories of them….A few that stick out in my mind is when my little brother puked all over my favorite pillow, or when we were at a standstill between Cleveland and Michigan in the dead of winter for a solid 3 hours. Once traffic started moving almost all of the cars pulled off at the next rest stop and people exchanged stories of what the cause of the traffic was. Or watching “That Thing You Do” 100 million times…

So many memories.

My boy and I made some memories on our road trip to Amherst, MA and Boston this past weekend. I am generally in charge of the tunes we listen to while on the road, which at times can cause a bit of tension. I turned on some music that happened to have the banjo in it which caused a great debate on indie folk music vs. bluegrass. I will fight anyone (with fists) that says bluegrass is the same as indie folk music. I am being serious. If Scott hadn’t been driving things would’ve gotten a bit out of hand.

Despite some minor arguments we had a really great time. I had never been to one of Scott’s “hometowns” before and it was so fun to be in a place where he grew up. We had lunch with his best friend from high school, I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation.

Also, I love Massachusetts.

Well, I just love New England.

All these pictures are from my phone……..the real ones are coming as soon as our internet at home starts working again.

"PRIDE OF LOWELL!"

I think I'll go to...

2011-05-26T09:59:00.003-04:00

I feel like I have been on hiatus...just like some of my favorite tv shows. What am I going to do without my weekly dose of comedy from Parks and Recreation? Or my teen angst drama (sort of) from the Vampire Diaries??? Yes, I just admitted to watching that and I am not even sorry, that show is anything but boring. Also emotional? I may have shed a few (dozen) tears during the season finale.

You guys. Spring is here. You know what else is? HUMIDITY. Ahhhh yeah, let the season of my make up melting off and my hair sticking to my face begin.

Other facts about us:

We bought a couch! Now we have to sell our old one.
Every morning we complain about our backs hurting - new mattress? It is in talks.
I scored some tickets to see Bear Hands next month. The tickets were the cheapest concert tickets I have ever purchased. $13? $13!?!

My boy has been very agreeable recently. Hence us going to a few concerts this summer, on a road trip, and.............drum roll please...........a trip to HARRY POTTER WORLD for my birthday. Yes, it is true. Two weeks from Saturday we will be on our way to Orlando. My friend Christa put it the best when she said, "I am glad that you like to spend your birthday the way 10 year olds do." It is fitting as the very first time I picked up a Harry Potter book to read was when my family was driving to Orlando for a vacation when I was....14? Something like that.

Totally.Geeked.Out.

I shall leave you with a very obvious hint as to where we are going on our road trip this weekend.

Have a lovely long weekend! I am determined that we will.

Baths

2011-05-19T14:31:00.003-04:00

It is funny to hear the lead singer of Baths, Will Wiesenfeld, sing with nothing but a piano, as most of Baths' songs are electro-pop and bigger in scale. It is refreshing and something I would love to hear more. I really enjoy the way he sings, even more when he covers LCD Soundsystem.

Thanks to AVClub.com for doing their "AV Undercover" series we get to hear a different side of Baths.

Baths cover LCD Soundsystem

Carrying the Banner

2011-05-16T16:36:00.000-04:00

Big News. Huge News. EXTRA EXTRA! I Just might break out into a song from NEWSIES!!

"Open the gates and seize the day...."

UM. Sprinkles opened on Friday. I will not deny that I, along with some of my coworkers, have been monitoring the website for a while waiting for the official opening date to be announced. They even had the opening on a Friday, to make that Friday just a little sweeter than they usually are. Note the pun.

I like to get the vanilla cupcake at every cupcake place I go to so I can accurately compare. Sprinkles vanilla is pretty-freaking-good. I will probably be taking a trip this week to get the lemon, watch for the instagram.

I should totally get paid for that whole thing.

Story:

Some girl in front of us in line said, "Are they handing stuff out or something?"

we were confused, so she kept going,

"I just saw the line and got in it."

AH, lightbulb.

"This is the line for Sprinkles cupcakes, it's the opening day."

"oh, ok."

She got out of line shortly after.

She totally missed out.

I just loved that she saw the line and decided to get in it.

That is just the way some people live their lives.

*****

Saturday was our Stake's annual tag sale.

It is a huge production. Lucky for us, the rain held out all day...that would've seriously put a damper on things.

I am not even trying with these puns today.

Overcast

That's my boy, making cotton candy and bossing the young men around.

It's just what he does.

Navigator

2011-05-10T14:33:00.000-04:00

After the wedding on Saturday we were exhausted. Not too exhausted to go to Good Stuff Eatery and eat their delicious burgers and rosemary fries. After that, however, we went back to our hotel and I was asleep in 2.6 seconds.

On a separate note, we got turned around/lost more times in DC than we have in any other city we have visited. Way too many forks in the road and roads veering to the right and the boys insisting we use the maps instead of turn-by-turn directions.

Let it be known that sometimes the turn-by-turn directions are better than trying to look at a digital map.

The next day we took the morning to go check out some monuments before our bus left. Kaitlyn and I took the pictures while the boys made snide comments. At least they have each other.

tilt shift.

juxtaposition.

I tried to get him to do a profile, looking at each other type of shot.

This is what happened.

my camera bag strap is so cute.

Hands off. He's mine.

I really hope our kiddos get my boy's eyes.

I sure like them.

Just something he does.

Success!

Songs of the Week

2011-05-08T17:33:00.003-04:00

My preferred tunes this week:

Are there still people in the world who don't love this song?

Good to run to

These kind of make me seem a little all over the place.

Ah well, it's just been one of those weeks.

1976

2011-05-07T18:11:00.000-04:00

Last weekend the boy and I went with the Rays to Washington D.C.

I LOVE D.C. Love it.

Now that I got that off my chest....

Kaitlyn was shooting a wedding and I went to help her. We actually had a lot of fun, she and I make a pretty good team I'd say. The wedding was pretty small and everyone made us feel like part of the family. We also got to eat some wedding cake and I love wedding cake. We were both exhausted by the end of the day and my trigger hand was literally sore from carrying my camera+lens+flash. I felt like such a wuss.

The Washington D.C. temple is my favorite temple. I always had a picture of it in my bedroom growing up because that is where my parents were married back in 1976 (right, mom?). It is beautiful.

Observe:

Title? I'll title your face.

2011-05-06T16:25:00.002-04:00

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. An odd thing considering it is Friday and I get to wear jeans to work (and I just got a pair of FABULOUS legging jeans at Gap for $25, a-thank you). My usual almost weekend elation was overshadowed by my cranky-pants-self.

At least I have french toast to look forward to this evening...

LETMETELLYOUASTORY.

I haven't been taking the subway home. I have been walking or running through the park and it has been a joy. Yesterday, however, was my off-running day and I wanted to get home to cook some tacos for a very lame attempt at celebrating Cinco de Mayo, so I took the subway.

The first leg of my journey - FINE. I was listening to Bon Iver and I had my best subway face on and all was well...Until I got to the always-smelling-of-urine 4/5 platform at 59th street. I stood waiting for a train for 3 Bon Iver songs, so around 15 minutes-ish. In that time the platform became more of a traffic jam and people started to get a little more aggressive as they, like me, realized we were going to be fighting for a spot on the train.

So I left.

I turned on my heels, hit a few people with my bags and walked onto the street to take the bus. OH BUT WAIT, the bus you say? Well that would just be too easy. No, you must wait. You must wait another 10 minutes until you get so aggravated that you just start walking.

Yep, so I walked home from there. My idea to get home and get dinner started earlier rather than later didn't work so well. It was the MTA's way of saying that I should've just had Chipotle.

PSHHHHH.

I did see this on my way home. It was pretty.

Reunions

2011-05-02T21:28:00.000-04:00

The night before we left for California we were able to have dinner with my friend Lauren and her husband Trent. They were in town to visit NYC and Boston because Trent ran the Boston Marathon. So we, of course, took them to Shake Shack. Nothing feels so good as running 26 miles after eating a burger...or so I can imagine.

After dinner we walked them around our hood for a few and ended at our place of residence. We stayed up too late chatting about nonsense and how horrible it is to move apartments in New York.

Sometimes it is just really good to see friends who know you and love you, even if it is only for dinner!

This was the first time I asked Scott to take a picture with the flash...hence us kind of "glowing."

Note: Trent in the background.

yay:)

7

2011-04-28T15:08:00.001-04:00

I am going to be so sad when it is over...

Showering Baby

2011-04-27T13:33:00.000-04:00

On a rainy Saturday, I ventured out to Long Island City in Queens for my friend, Kelly's baby shower. It was fun to see everyone from our old ward in Queens and to see tiny Kelly with a belly!! She is one of the cutest pregnant women ever, I'd say. Kelly and Cardon are due to have a little baby boy in May!! We can't wait to meet him!

I put together a cheese plate for it, I had a list of all the cheeses I wanted and went to Eli's Market and got almost all of the ones on my list. I thought I'd list them out in case you might like to try:

Cambozola Black Label (mild bleu cheese)
Roncal (Spanish sheep's milk)
Manchego, aged 12 months (I think the "Young Manchego" is better)
A Sharp Vermont Cheddar that I can't remember the name of...but it was awesome.

I searched for Taleggio which I have had before and it is SO GOOD, but they did not have it at Eli's and I was not about to trek to Murray's Cheese in the West Village in the rain for it. Though if you ever come across it, don't hesitate to try some.

Leah made a freaking baby basket out of a watermelon.

who is who?

I have two pictures of Kristy with her hands in the air....

Kristy with her hands in the air #2

Family Time

2011-04-24T20:41:00.003-04:00

I have to go to work tomorrow...I still feel like my internal clock is totally out of whack. Good thing I have tons of Easter candy to keep me hopped up on sugary energy.

Uhhh, I mean, vegetables...lots of vegetables.

Anyway.

The rest:

Brunch with the family + wedding party

a nice view, I think.

Cousin pic - take 1

Cousin pic - take 2

my mom and her siblings

daddy/daughter conversation.

And proof that talking with my hands is genetic.

Dax

Danica + Dax

They were coerced.

second cousins

Ava, Adra, Farrah

giggles!

****

We went to the Redondo Beach Pier to get some fish & chips

****

We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific with Janine + kids and my parents.

Aquariums are lots of fun with 4 year olds.

"He's on my neck!"

The birds, like me, are attracted to my boy.

I was trying not to get jealous.

We have all concurred that Gage has the biggest mouth out of all of us.

I shall call him....Fred.

Devil eyes.

jellies.

*****

After the aquarium the boy and I went to Santa Monica to roam and to meet up with Ms. Morales

at Umami Burger.

Scott probably said something inappropriate...

A minute at the beach

2011-04-22T18:47:00.003-04:00

The day we got to California I had gotten a total of two hours of sleep the night before. I could've gotten at least four, however I tend to get very anxious prior to flying, especially if the flight is in the early morning. Luckily Scott is my own anti-anxiety medicine and tells me not-so-gently to calm down I am making a scene...some of that is untrue.

Anyway, so we get to our hotel and I am about to freak out on someone due to being very tired and not having eaten anything that day. Since my boy knows me and my cranky tendencies (also he was taking the brunt of my wrath) he took me to Chik Fil A. Despite me trying to pick fights with him on the way there we got food and all was well and happy. We then decided that since I was fed and could be around people again and be a normal human being that we could go and say hello to our family that had arrived already. So we went to the beach for a little while to say hi.

I took a few pictures.

Scott made fun of me for being in jeans and carrying a big camera. I didn't need to retort because he was wearing jeans also.

burn.

To the twins, Scott and I were each other's "best friends."

Reid to me, "Will you walk there with your best friend, Uncle Scott?"

New York - 2461 miles away.

A California Wedding

2011-04-21T14:09:00.002-04:00

I have not gone through all of the thousand pictures that I took while we were in California, but I had to share the ones I have gone through...

A note: The wedding really was beautiful. Having the ocean as the backdrop makes things so pretty (and windy!). The smell of the ocean made me feel a little euphoric. It was nice to see so many members of my family + meet some babies that I hadn't met yet! As Jillian said to me at one point, "Our family is so awesome!" and I just have to agree...

The Wayfarer's Chapel

WHERE ARE ALL THE BUILDINGS?

Jillian & Jay

The getaway car

Ava

they raised me

Gage WOULD NOT smile for the camera.

Refused.

Dani did a couple times

ep/dave

don't mind my hair...like I said it was windy...

Mia

Utilizing the skirt

CAKE

I really love candy bars

So does Reid

The kiddies were dancing well before the actual "dancing" began.

Gage and Adra = LOVE

There were moments when Dani was just lying on the floor.

Tradition

Uncle J/Aunt D

Many more to come.

Currently

2011-04-19T01:47:00.001-04:00

Oh....hey.

We are on our last night in California. We came out to Redondo Beach for my cousin, Jillian's wedding. It was beautiful. We have had such a nice time in the warm weather and getting some SUN! Plus i don't know if I have ever slept more than I have in the last 4 days. It has been awesome.

The only unfortunate thing is that we have to fly to and from.... And I hate flying.

Time to sleep some more... It is back to the city tomorrow.

Tiny Desk

2011-04-12T17:28:00.004-04:00

About a month ago, NPR Music posted a video as part of their Tiny Desk series on YouTube. The band playing is the always good Local Natives. I have spent hours listening to NPR's Tiny Desk series but I think the Local Natives set is my very favorite. I love their acoustic version of "Wide Eyes" and their vocal choruses. Makes me feel a little high on....their beards? Seriously, how intense is that mustache?

If you have 13 minutes do yourself a favor and listen. It is worth it.

sfoglia

2011-04-11T15:12:00.002-04:00

I've been doing this thing called jogging recently. (no, I will not insert the Anchorman joke because that is just lazy...though now you are thinking about it.) It has occurred to me that I eat alot, and summer is supposedly coming and I may or may not be putting my buns into a bathing suit soon-ish and those buns are not looking awesome. So I figured I would take advantage of the not-so-frigid temperatures and take up jogging again.

I've been kind of limping awkwardly due to my weak ankles/thighs/everything. It hasn't made me look stupid at all.

Because I have been jogging and what not I didn't feel so bad for eating some delicious bolognese at Sfoglia last week...and following it up with a caramelized bread pudding. It's ok, I had roasted beets as my appetizer.

Lately I have been picking restaurants that I want to go to, making reservations, and informing Scott when we are going.

It's working out quite nicely.

At Sfoglia you are not allowed to use electronics in the restaurant, so my boy and I put our phones away and sat staring at each other not knowing what to talk about.

"pass the butter."
"pass the salt"
"I'll pass your salt."
"Your face is a salt"
"Your butt is a salt"

I kid...I kid...

well, actually, those "your face/your butt" insults come out pretty often. We are very creative.

yeah, that is scott's arm holding out our leftovers.

I don't know why he does the things he does.

such a pill.

Neighborhood

2011-04-04T12:22:00.000-04:00

We took a Sunday stroll in the afternoon. The day was nice, the feelings were warm, and we went home with a greater appreciation for our family friendly neighborhood.

It was General Conference weekend. I felt very humbled and moved by what I heard. It isn't often that I will share something serious on here but I feel eternally grateful for all things in my life. Especially for my faith and the way it guides and shapes my life.

These are Scott's new shoes that he is crazy about keeping white.

I was impressed until I realized these were fake flowers.

still happy.

****

We stood watching the dogs play in the park.

Mostly because there was a really big dog scaring all of the smaller dogs and we thought it was funny.

hahaha

Scott was trying to get one of the dogs to come over and say hello.

Man's best friend?