[busy] In The City!

These past two weeks have been very fun and we’ve experienced a lot of great things. Fall is in full swing and while we haven’t seen the trees change as drastically as I had hoped, we are still getting outside to enjoy the cool air before it turns down-right cold.


Two weekends ago, I made the short trek over to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Brooklyn Overpass) and attended The Creator’s Project with Gustavo and Lau. Artists from all over the world had their work on display and we got the chance to walk on, play with and lay under many of the pieces. How neat are these things?

"Love" - my kind of graffiti

This past weekend, Ruben and I decided to venture into the city and walk around an area that we were not too familiar with – Avenue of the Americas! (nearest to Central Park). Ruben wanted to go to Nike Town and has been talking about making it there since we moved – so, we made it happen. The area is extremely nice and had a few things to offer. We stumbled into the “Sony Technology Lab”, which is kind of a technology museum of sorts. It was pretty neat. Following the lab, we walked down to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and spied on a Bride and Groom who were tying the knot! As always, I had such a great time exploring with my Mr.

These next few weeks are going to be insane. As you (might) know, my sister is due to have Baby Elliot at any time. In preparation for his big arrival, I am leaving for Indiana this week and will be up there for a few weeks to help Michele after he is born. I cannot even begin to express the emotions that I am feeling, so I cannot imagine how Michele and Eric must feel. Here’s to hoping the labor, delivery and recovery go smoothly (and that Michele might finally be able to get some sleep). Yay for big changes!

Oh, and even though I absolutely despise Halloween, this pumpkin, which currently adorns the lobby of our building, is too good not to share. 

Mickey "Rat" - because he is much too big to be a mouse. 

[familiar faces, bee stings & parks] In The City!

There is nothing better than getting to spend time with a familiar face in a new place (ha! I did not plan that). This past Friday, I had the opportunity to explore New York with one of the sweetest girls I know. We grabbed a bagel, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, explored the financial district, took in the sites around the WTC, walked around Greenwich Village, grabbed lunch at SOHO Park, went shopping in SOHO and lounged near the fountain in Washington Square Park. Needless to say, we both had ‘Disney’ legs on Saturday morning. Thanks for exploring with me, Lauren J

                                     

                                               

When I was a mere six years old, I was told by my all-too-wise sister that if I stayed still in the presence of a bee, they would leave me alone. Upon standing still, I was stung in my thigh. On Saturday, a full 18 years later, I was walking through the farmers market and stopped to grab a quick taste of some local cider and made a conscious effort to ignore the abundance of bees flying around. The woman behind the stand greeted Ruben and I by joking that she was dodging the bees and asked if we wanted some cider. We said yes and right when I reached for the cup, I was stung in the arm. I felt bad because right when I was stung, I dropped the cup of cider all over her table and burst into tears. Bee stings freaking hurt. Ruben was a champ and grabbed the stinger and body and I excused myself to cry. Now, two days later, my arm is still swollen and is turning a yellow sort of color. Bees in the city? No thanks!

After a delicious brunch at Armando’s, Ruben and I headed to Gustavo’s where he played basketball for a few hours. The weather was absolutely perfect and I didn’t mind sitting and watching – I even got a few shots in when the boys weren’t playing. Ruben then surprised me with a lovely date night and we headed home early since we were both so tired.

On Sunday, Ruben and I walked along the East River and explored the new parks that they developed between Atlantic Avenue and the Brooklyn Bridge. The views were gorgeous and the Mr. and I continued repeating, “We are so spoiled.” Will we miss Brooklyn? Most definitely.

On our way back home, we received a text from Gustavo with a photo of keys – Ruben’s keys to be exact. Apparently he left them at his place after basketball and I told Ruben and I would go retrieve them since he had so much work to do. I grabbed a cab and made it to Gus’ without any issue. I stayed for a few hours and watched some football, but decided to head back around 4:15. They say that it is nearly impossible to get a cab between 4:00-5:00 am and/or pm. I can confirm that after more than an hour of trying, it is true. I walked down three avenues and made it to Union Square. I’m glad that I at least got a walking tour of the lower east side before jumping on the train home – it is a pretty neat area.

On a quick side note: We are up to our eyeballs in wedding planning and I am excited that we have finished so many projects. There is still a ton of things to do, including finishing designing our invitations, but we are beyond ecstatic and proud of the way things are coming together. Our Save-The-Date’s went out a few weeks back and I am confident that most everyone has received theirs. Check them out below. A HUGE thanks to Studio222Photography for taking such amazing photos. Seriously, if you are getting married, look into them – even if you are not getting married in Orlando, they travel. 

[history] In The City!

Much like the weeks before them, these last few weeks have been great and full of so much excitement. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to stay put for a while and we are definitely taking advantage of our light travel schedules to truly enjoy our time here.

After much anticipation, we finally celebrated Ruben’s recent accomplishments. We went to Morton’s Steakhouse, which dangerous enough, is only a few blocks away – needless to say, we will be back again and again and again…

                 

We have also used our weekends and free time to wonder around the city. We have heard that we needed to check out the Feast of San Gannaro in Little Italy, so two weeks ago, we made it happen. From what we understand, the festival takes place over a two week period and is touted as a religious festival; however, from what we saw, it seems to be more about eating and drinking than actual religious celebration. Regardless, it was definitely a sight and we got a few laughs along the way. After walking around the festival, we met up with Gustavo and Timmy and hung out with them for the rest of the day.

Best Ice Cream Ever! 

This past weekend, after a delicious lunch with Ruben’s cousin, we finally made our way to 34^th Street and Herald Square! I had yet to make it to that area and was excited to check out the huge Macy’s and couldn’t help but get excited about the holiday season. Ruben chose his wedding shoes and we picked up a few gifts for the groomsmen and dads. We are only five months away! Eekk!

On Sunday, I explored Brooklyn with a new friend and had the pleasure of being escorted around by a local. J We grabbed brunch, walked along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, played in a park next to Pier 6 and visited the New York Transit Museum. Having the opportunity to sit inside some of the old Subway cars that date back as far as 1904-1905 was definitely the highlight of my day. I couldn’t’ help but think of my Grandpa who had such a love of trains – I know that subway cars are much different than the trains that he loved and adored so much, but I think he would have appreciated these nonetheless.

I promise that I am going to get better about updating. Sometimes I have so much that I want to share that it becomes overwhelming.