Fall!

Today is the first official day of my very favorite season! I've so been looking forward to the crisp cool air, sweaters, scarves, and all of the leaves turning. I also *love* driving to work in the morning and smelling wood burning (for all you city folk, that's what happens in the country...)

I'm on a mission to make every pumpkin recipe that I can find, and so I thought today was a perfect opportunity to try my very first one. I decided to go with pumpkin cinnamon rolls, and they were amazing! No, really. The recipe looks a little intimidating, but it really wasn't bad. I did all the prep work on Friday and then just popped them in the oven when I woke up.

I found the recipe here: http://pinterest.com/pin/171488698282306399/

Give them a try!

NYC - Part Three

Monday was our final full day in NYC (sadly!). We started the day at the Rockefeller Center for breakfast. We found a Dean & Deluca, and I got a yogurt berry muffin and an iced chai tea.

Then it was onto 5th Avenue! I've been waiting for 5th Avenue for YEARS, and it was magical! Every high end store you can think of, all with suited doormen waiting to escort you into their store.

(which, by the way, makes you feel like a hot mess when you're in shorts, a tshirt, tennis shoes, AND you look like a drowned rat because you got caught in the rain. just sayin'....)

There was one store in particular that I was dying to see...

(if you listen quietly, you can hear angels singing above me)

Breakfast At Tiffanys is my favorite movie, and over the years, Josh has given me several gifts with that beautiful blue box, so I couldn't wait to see. Did you know that Tiffany's is SIX stories?! Ummm YES. It is. They have the most stunning collection of jewelry that you can imagine, and I would love to go back and buy something! This trip was quite budgeted, so no jewelry for me this time, haha.

After that, we decided to do lunch at Forty Carrots in Bloomingdales. It's a restaurant on the bedding floor! We waited about an hour to get in, but it was worth the wait for sure. I got a chicken salad sandwich on cranberry walnut bread, and a side salad. And almost all of their entrees come with their famous frozen yogurt. I'm a froyo pro, so although I was excited about it, I wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary. Oh my goodness - this stuff is heaven! I'm telling you, if you go to NYC and do nothing else, at the very least go get some yogurt from Forty Carrots. It was delicious! I don't know how they do it, but it was unlike anything that I've tasted before. Kindof whipped and very creamy and just amazing. And trust me on this, you want to get the plain. I know that goes against everything you'd think, but you'll have to take my word for it.

After lunch, we headed over to FAO Schwarz. Three levels of toys - I'M IN! I must admit, the princess section was my favorite!

FAO is right next to Central Park, and Emily's dad had told us about this bike tour through CP that he did. He said it was pretty easy to talk the guys down and recommended that we try. We were approached almost immediately from a very handsome man who looked Italian offering us a ride. We talked him down to $60 total, and decided to go! There were 3 stops on the tour and I'm so very glad that we did it. There was so much of CP that was way further in than we would have walked, plus he was able to tell us about all the TV shows and movies that had been filmed there. And he held all of our bags while he took pictures of us. Best guide ever.

After Central Park, we were hungry, and we'd found out about a hole-in-the-wall burger joint in the Parker Meridian hotel. We went in, and it was a little scary, haha. They only make burgers, and you can only pay with cash. The sign said if you didn't know what you want when it was your turn then you would go to the back of the line. Fortunately, when we went, there was no line, because we both took our time! We each got a cheeseburger, and I'm not even lying, it was one of the best burgers I've ever had in my life. Don't let the walls fool you.

We'd heard about a place called Printon that had yogurt similar to Forty Carrots, so we decided to go get some dessert!

(yes, we ate yogurt twice in one day. don't judge me)

That pretty much wrapped up our "fun" trip. The next day, we slept in, grabbed a very yummy breakfast at Blue Fin (the same place we ate a couple days before) and then hopped the train to Morristown, New Jersey. Our work summit was Wednesday and Thursday, and it was really, really fun, too. We had some wonderful speakers, and I definitely had some take aways that I think will most definitely help me in my career, and in my personal life, too even. We learned quite a bit about personalities and perceptions. Wednesday and Thursday were pretty non-stop, and I got back home a little after 10 PM on Thursday night.

Let's just say my weekend involved heavy amounts of sleep!!!!

I'm so glad I got to tell you all about NYC! I would definitely recommend it - it was tons of fun, and I cannot wait to go back!

NYC - Part Two!

Sunday was our first full day in the city. We'd gotten tickets to the 9/11 Memorial in advance so after we got ready that was the first place we went. The first thing we saw, before we even got in, was the new Trade Center going up. It's beautiful.

Once inside, there were two large fountains, and a museum in the middle (which, unfortunately, isn't open yet). The two fountains are in the footprint of the original two Trade Centers. You can't see it in this picture, but engraved in the stone are the names of people who passed away in the attacks. The picture doesn't really capture the magnitude of the fountain, but it's very, very big.

We met a cop once inside, and he was super nice! I guess he picked up on our Southern accents and started talking to us, haha! We talked to him for a good fifteen minutes and he told us some places that we should go, and then let us take a picture with him. Always good to have an NYPD friend, no?

After that, we decided to visit Chinatown and Little Italy. We walked that direction, and hit Chinatown first.

It was....not my favorite. It was very hectic, and every step you take someone is yelling at you to buy something. There are food vendors all along the sidewalks, and it's a little shoulder to shoulder trying to navigate. The one thing that I was excited about was finding a really great knockoff bag. Having known quite a few people who have bought fantastic bags from Chinatown, I knew that the "good" bags are generally located in the backrooms of shops, and that you have to do a little persuading to get back there. We went into several shops, and couldn't find any good bags or anyone who even offered to let us into a back room. As we were leaving one of the shops a lady grabbed us and asked if we wanted "the good bags". Of course we said yes, and she pointed us to a different shop across the street and then hopped on her phone to let them know we were coming. We get in, and the lady pushes open the wall. No, really, the wall opened! We were so excited! I was actually standing a little ways back, so Emily got the first look in, and I could see that she was freaked out, although I couldn't imagine why. I walked over, and the door opens to a long staircase leading into a very dimly lit basement with no visible bags. I'm ashamed to say that I even hesitated, but I really wanted a bag. Common sense eventually kicked in though, and we told her that we didn't want to go down. She got kindof irritated and said that there were other customers down there, but ya'll, there was NO noise coming from that basement! If there were other customers down there, then they were probably bound and gagged. Emily thought we would have been sold into slavery, hahaha. We hightailed it out of there, and decided that we were done with Chinatown.

Little Italy was up next, and I loved it there! It was charming! The streets were colorful and lined with Italian restaurants and bakeries.We decided to stop for lunch, and ate at this beautiful restaurant with exposed brick and lots of sunshine!

Although I would have loved some yummy pasta, I knew we'd be walking for a few more hours, so we both went with a roasted chicken salad. It was perfect, and absolutely delicious!

Next, we walked through SoHo and Greenwich Village. SoHo is definitely my very favorite part of the city, and if I were going to live there, this is the area I'd want to be in. We saw lots of the classic tree lined streets, and it was a little less touristy, and way more peaceful. We hit up H&M for some shopping, and I scored a navy and white striped sweater, and a black lace cami for $24! Makes me so very sad we don't have any near where I live (although my wallet probably appreciates that).

We'd spent the entire day on our feet and towards dinner time we got really tired and decided that we didn't want to shower and get ready again for dinner. So instead, we picked up dinner at a place called Blue Fin, and headed back to the hotel to eat in our pajamas and catch Big Brother. I got the crispy skinned salmon, with a shrimp and asparagus risotto. For dessert, we decided to share a piece of salted caramel cake. And because we're classy, we chilled some wine in our bathroom sink!

Stay tuned for Part Three tomorrow!

NYC - Part One

Guess what ya'll?! This Southern girl just got back from New York City!!! It was sooo much fun!

I found out a couple of months ago that I would be traveling to the Mothership (aka my work headquarters) in Basking Ridge, New Jersey for a summit for work the last week of August. My work girlfriend, Emily, and I decided that since we had a free flight, we'd head to the city for a few days. The summit was Wednesday and Thursday, so we actually flew out early Saturday morning, and didn't head into Jersey until Tuesday afternoon.

We flew into Newark airport, and decided that we'd rather not navigate the train with luggage on a Saturday, so we cabbed into the city. I was completely overwhelmed! I've never been to NYC, but of course I've seen it in movies and pictures. Those don't do it justice though. We stayed in Times Square at The Milford Plaza, which was a fantastic little hotel.

It was relatively inexpensive (comparably speaking) and we knew we really wouldn't need to spend too much time there. Our room was mostly white, with a bright yellow wall. It was very fun. We shared a queen sized bed, because in NYC, you pay more money for an additional bed. Maybe elsewhere, too, but I've never noticed.

We had decided that it would be ideal to see a show Saturday night, but we wanted to hit up the TKTS booth to see if we could score some half priced tickets to a musical. As soon as we dropped our stuff off, we started walking to Times Square. We grabbed lunch at a yummy place called Juniors, and then headed over to get into line. Let me tell you, my first glance at Times Square was lengthy. I spun all the way around very slowly with my mouth hanging open. I tried to get some pictures, but seriously, they don't do it justice. There's so much energy!

We ended up getting half priced tickets to Mary Poppins (which was our first choice) so we headed back to the hotel to doll up. Fortunately Broadway was right around the corner, so we walked that way. We found an Italian place called Trattoria Trecolori for supper. We sat at the bar an ordered a caprese appetizer and an antipasti appetizer with some wine. So delish! We also got a picture with our very funny Italian waiter. Look at that cheesy grin!

 

 

The show was in this amazing old theater, and we had very close seats. The play was absolutely fantastic! Of course, I knew most of the songs, and we sang along almost the entire time, haha.

 

The show didn't start until 8 PM, and it was several hours, so we headed to the hotel after that to get some sleep.

The next day was crammed full of fun stuff, but I'll tell you all about it tomorrow! :-)

Stay tuned!!!

Updates and Chick-Fil-A

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers for our family. My stepmom is doing so much better! She's currently in a rehab hospital, where she'll stay for another 6 weeks. She does therapy 3-4 times a day there, and she's getting better every day. The doctors said that they expect she'll be able to go back to her job in a couple of months. Fortunately, she's with a company that's working with her and holding her job until she is able to return. We're so thankful that the stroke was minor, and counting our blessings every day!
Having said that, can I brain dump?

I'm so tired of hearing about Chick-Fil-A. Seriously. Oh my goodness, they have an opinion! Heaven forbid someone have an opinion that isn't the same as yours! (I hope you can sense the sarcasm here) People, particularly on my Facebook feed it seems, are SO fired up. I've got one group who is vowing to eat there as often as they can, one group who is vowing to never return, and then there is the group that I fall into of who cares. It's their right to have an opinion, even if it is different than yours. Just like, it's your right to have an opinion even if it's different than theirs. I mean, isn't this grown up adult life? People have different opinions. Let's agree to disagree, be thankful we live in a country where people are able to have different opinions, and quit talking about it (it's ironic that I posted that after I've spent a paragraph talking about it, no?) And me? I'm going to continue to eat there because they have good chicken.

Ditto for politics. Sheesh.

(I am sensing that the politics comment won't end there. Closer to November when I'm ready to pull my hair out, then I'm sure I'll devote a post to my Facebook annoyances during an election year. I'll be especially annoyed since I can't seem to determine if I'm a really liberal conservative or a really conservative liberal...)

We're Not Promised Tomorrow

This weekend my stepmom, Beth, had a stroke. She's 46.

It's one of those unexpected events that shakes you to your core.

Sunday morning around 8 AM, my dad called. I was still laying in the bed. At that time, he didn't know what was going on and just told me that she was being driven to the hospital in an ambulance. He was (obviously) extremely upset, so I jumped up and took a shower. Within the hour, Josh and I were on the road heading that direction. We found out a few minutes into the drive that she was being airlifted to the hospital in Chattanooga, which is a good hour and a half away. We met my little brother so he could ride with us.

When we got to the hospital, we found out that the doctors had confirmed that she had a stroke while she was sleeping. My dad knew something was seriously wrong when she started talking that morning, and then when she couldn't use the left side of her body. She had a blot clot in the right side of her neck that traveled into her brain, and that's what caused the stroke.

We were able to go back and see her, and although she was clearly medicated, she was coherent and talking. I don't really know what I expected, but I definitely breathed a sigh of relief when she talked. I could see that the left side of her mouth didn't work quite the same as it did before, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. I've only really ever seen what a stroke looks like on TV.

She was in ICU yesterday, but my dad let me know that late this evening, they moved her to a regular room. The doctors haven't really said too much yet, but it's because they are still in the process of running tests. Hopefully we'll know more the next couple of days. What we do know, is that she will be in the hospital for a few more days, and then she'll be going to a rehab hospital a few blocks from where she is at now.

When I saw my dad yesterday, I hugged him a little longer than usual. I can't imagine anything happening to him. I would be completely lost. Last night, when we were laying in bed, I snuggled up to Josh. I had a hard time going to sleep, just thinking about how much worse it could of been. I'm so thankful she is okay, and that she'll recover quickly from what we've been told.

I imagine the next few weeks will be a challenge, and I certainly appreciate any prayers!

Facebook Pregnancy Announcements

I completed OAMC, and lived to tell about it (barely!)

But you’ll have to wait, because I have something more pressing to get off my chest today.

A friend of mine who has also been struggling with infertility sent me the link to a blog post that lists out clever ways to post your pregnancy on Facebook. A woman struggling with IF posted the article to her blog, but added her own comments below each different way to post.

At first, I got a good little chuckle at some of the points, but then, I got really, really sad for the author. Reading the comments made me sad, too. The point of the post was to point out how insensitive it is to Facebook a pregnancy announcement. For the record, I couldn’t disagree more. People compared it to having handicapped friends in wheelchairs and constantly posting about running or hiking. They called people who post a cheesy pregnancy announcements “obnoxious” and the mothers “attention whores”. I can’t think of anything more absurd.

First of all, Facebook should be filled with friends and family and people that you love. I know, most of us have acquaintances on there, but I hope that the people you are real friends with outweigh them.  I’m on Facebook because I want to hear what’s going on with my friends and family. I’m genuinely interested in what happens in their lives. I get excited when someone posts about a promotion, or a move, or a new house. I get super excited about engagements and parties. I’m glad that people allow me to know what is going on with them. In my very busy life, when I can’t have a girl’s night every week, it allows me to stay in touch. If I didn’t want to stay in touch, I wouldn’t be on Facebook.

Now, regarding pregnancy announcements, that’s a part of my friends’ lives. A big part. When you’re 28 years old, pretty much everyone you know is pregnant or has a baby. Most of my friends have 2. As someone who has been trying to get pregnant for 5+ years, I will say that sometimes those announcements sting a little. That’s completely natural when someone is celebrating something that you long to have. However, that is my personal issue. I would never, ever make someone feel badly about posting a pregnancy announcement. And after that initial sting, I am so, SOOO, happy for them! Having a baby is exciting and magical – that’s why I’m trying!

For me, many of the people that are on my Facebook know that we’ve been trying for awhile. And they have offered kind words, and prayed for us, and sent sweet notes. I can think of nothing more exciting than the day when I get to make a cheesy pregnancy announcement letting them know that we are finally going to have a baby! And you know what, they are my friends, and they will be genuinely happy for me. Of course I’ll tell most of them in real life first, but you’d better believe both the picture of the positive pregnancy test and sonogram pictures are going up! And every chance I get, I’m going to post how thankful I am that I’m getting to be a part of a miracle, and how excited I am that my belly is growing. And occasionally, I’m going to post about symptoms, and I might even complain when pregnancy gets hard. And you know what, I have every right to do that. Not because I’ve had trouble conceiving, but because any woman that wants a baby, and gets pregnant, and gets to experience the wonderfulness of creating a life gets the right to post about it.

I’m sad that so many of those women were so incredibly bitter. Is there nothing else in life worth celebrating? Some of those comments seriously had me concerned that these women spend every single day in complete and total despair, and that’s a terrible way to live. Yes, I want a baby. But you know what? I have the most wonderful husband, and we seriously have SO MUCH FUN together and laugh every single day. My family rocks. I have friends that think I’m totally awesome, and I adore them. I have a house that’s fantastic, and a yard that I get to play in. So if I never get pregnant, I’ll grieve for sure, but I have a helluva lot to be thankful for, and I will not live in sadness for the rest of my days.

And I would say to those women who are struggling – I understand. I know it’s hard, and I know that sometimes it’s necessary to hide updates from people on bad days. And that’s okay. It’s okay to feel sad when you see another announcement, and it’s okay to cry.

What’s not okay, is making others feel bad for celebrating in such a joyous occasion. Shame on you if you take part in it. If they knew how you felt, and what you were going through, I very highly doubt they would talk badly about you, or make you feel bad. So why would you do that to them?

I just don’t get it.

Snow Cream Fun

Yesterday we got our first snow of the year. And by "our first snow", I mean our first flurries that didn't stick but created waves of panic across about five counties. That's what happens when you live in the South and someone says "snow". Fun times.

Hopefully though, we will get snow at some point, and then I can make a batch of fan-tabulous snow cream. For those of you who are already getting good amounts, I thought I would share my tried and true recipe.

Snow Cream Recipe

1 gallon of snow

2 cups of milk

1 cup of sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

First, get a big bowl, and fill it with snow. The good fluffy stuff in the middle (careful to not get the bottom - no one likes to eat grass!)

Next, get your ingredients together. You'll need milk, sugar, and vanilla.

Told you it was easy.

Add all of the ingredients to the snow, and mix, mix, mix.

Then scoop out and enjoy!



So Apparently....

Ok. So apparently, there is this little tidbit of information that I did not know about buying loose leaf tea.

In light of my recent discovery, I thought it was only responsible to share.

(although perhaps I'm the only one that doesn't know...)

As it turns out, tea is sold by weight, not volume.

That is a full size Yankee candle, so you can see the amount of tea that I have purchased.

Now, who would like tea? And when can you come over?

Because we will drink tea together.

For years to come.

Daydreaming...

A couple of nights ago Josh and I were talking about our house, and I mentioned to him that I wanted to put a white, picket fence around the back yard. He very casually replied that we didn't need to fence in a yard that we would be moving away from in a few years, which came as quite the shock to me! I thought we'd be here for at least another 10 years, if not more. Now don't get me wrong, I'm ALL about some change! In fact, I would love nothing more than to build a house and put in everything that I want. I just didn't realize that he wanted to do the same thing - sooner than later.

It's funny how my taste has changed so much over the years. Five years ago, if you'd asked me what my dream house would look like, I would have shown you this:

Anyone recognize this famous house? It's the Home Alone house. And it is absolutely gorgeous. I would've told you how I wanted mahogany everything, and a fall color palate, and formal landscaping.

Now, my tastes have evolved, and when I'm looking for my dream home, I'm envisioning this instead:

I'll be disappointed if you guys don't know which movie this house is from. It's a movie I've probably seen at least once a year since it came out (some years, twice!).

In the back, I want a garden like the one from It's Complicated, overflowing with flowers and herbs and all sorts of veggies.

I want a white clawfoot tub, and a farmhouse sink, and bright, happy colors. And I want to smell lavender from my garden when I walk outside. And I desperately want a white picket fence.

I think my former dream house fit the person that I thought I wanted to be - successful, fashionable, impeccably stylish in my decor. A house like this deserves a maid, and well behaved children that don't get dirty. And there are people who fit that description, and their houses are wonderful representations of that.

My dream house now, though, is unmistakably who I've actually become. Someone who appreciates the beauty in simplicity and wildflowers, and who has realized that there is nothing more pleasurable than being surrounded by things that you love. Someone who loves the satisfaction of growing something from a seed. Someone who wants little people running around, playing in the dirt, and finding new bugs. Someone who wants rocking chairs outside.

I think people deserve to live somewhere that makes them happy, and that is authentic to their lifestyle. And I don't think you have to have your "dream" house to do that. I'm certain that you can create a home out of an apartment, with a little patience and a lot of love. That's one of the things that I love about the "Leave It To Beaver" era - women created homes that were warm and inviting, and unique. I think creating a home is something of an artform that has slowly been fading away, and that makes me kindof sad. I hope, though, that when people come to my home, they get a sense of "me", rather than a collection of impersonal items from Pier One. I hope that whether it be this house, or my house to come, that they describe my house as "perfectly Kristen", because that's what it should be.