[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. 

[massages & packages] In The City!

For the first time in 2 months, Ruben had a weekend off! We had absolutely nothing ‘scheduled’ for the weekend, save for catching up on sleep, and were excited to take the city by storm. After stumbling out of bed around 11, we got dressed and headed out for the day.

We’ve learned very quickly that New Yorker’s really, really, really like brunch and decided to get our eat on. We ended up at Verde, a delish eatery, which offers a great drink special – all you can drink Mimosa’s, Bellini’s, Screwdrivers, Bloody Mary’s and Champagne, in addition to their super yummy food. I’m not a drinker, but decided to celebrate Ruben’s new found freedom and had a fun afternoon filled with good conversation, infectious laughs and yummy mango bellinis.

After a few bellini's :)

After we left Verde, we headed into the city to go shopping. We ended up in SoHo and spent the rest of the day walking up and down Broadway. While we were walking, Ruben and I found a little market tucked into a narrow alley and decided to venture in. The market was packed tightly with silk vendors, countless textiles and a little hut that specialized in Asian massages. While we were walking by, one of the workers grabbed Ruben and started rubbing his shoulders. The gentleman encouraged Ruben to get a back rub and Ruben was able to talk him into giving him one for $5 – that is a 50% savings, folks! It was quite the sight. At one point, Ruben had three different people rubbing his back and shoulders. He said that it felt good – I was convinced that they were going to steal his wallet – regardless, it was fun.

We spent the rest of the evening shopping and I even scored a super cute pair of flats for the wedding. They are fabulous! Curious? Let’s just say they add a little blue ‘sparkle’ to my bridal wardrobe.

On Sunday I decided to go to Target by myself. Taking the trains by myself has been something that I have had a hard time dealing with. I often feel overwhelmed and vulnerable and prefer to commute with a partner; however, Ruben had to work on a project and we needed some stuff from the store. I mustered up my courage, grabbed my shopping list and headed out. Target is only a few stops away and I was comforted knowing that I would be above ground in no time. The train arrived and I got on. On the next stop, the doors opened and in walked a crazy man carrying a bag of cans. The man was talking to himself and staring at people as he walked by and of course, sat right next to me. He slumped down in the seat and knocked his head pretty hard on the wall. I sat there straight faced and ready to respond to whatever could happen - luckily, nothing did :) Target was great. 3 hours and $150 later, we had the things that we needed. Ruben welcomed me home with a big hug and one simple word, "Congratulations!" I was proud of myself, too.

Yesterday we received a very special package in the mail. Since moving up here, my oh-so-amazing and way-too-thoughtful mama has sent Ruben and I 2 care packages. Packed full of all sorts of goodies, we eagerly await their arrival and cannot wait to tear into them – I’m telling you, we feel like kids on Christmas morning. Check out the goodies that she sent this time:

Thanks, Mama! 

Today I’m heading to Indiana for my sister’s baby shower. I’m so excited to spend time with her, my mom and the Snyder’s. Baby Elliot will be here before we know it!

Expect an update soon! J

[sleeping] In The City!

I’m not sure if our windows are see through or not. Back at my office in Fort Lauderdale the windows had some sort of tint that allowed you to see out, but people couldn’t see in, so I am convinced that every window is similar. Regardless, this is what I woke up to this morning…my hope is that I caught them in the beginning before they had a chance to watch me sleep because those of you who know me best know that this would be an awfully awkward situation.

This is Ruben’s first weekend off in a while and we are looking forward to getting lost in the city. Can’t wait to share our adventure! 

[soggy] In The City!

It has been a rainy few days in Brooklyn. Streets are flooding and people are soaked, but I kind of like it. Living here has taught me that you have to be prepared for whatever Mother Nature may throw at you and I use days like these to break out my favorite addition to my wardrobe – my rain boots and flats! How perfect are these wellies?! In a city where black is the worshiped color, I often stand out, but I don’t mind, a pop of yellow and a fun stripe make my day better.

With the rain has come a whole new set of experiences. After Ruben was done taking him MPJE on Saturday, we went out with a group of friends to celebrate the end to his ridiculous amount of studying. We had a few drinks on the rooftop, went to Lombardi’s for a family meal and indulged in some oh-so-yummy Crepes from Viva la Crepe in Little Italy. Ruben was exhausted and we were home and in bed by 11:30 p.m. 

At around 2:40 a.m., both Ruben and I were startled awake by the loudest boom that we’ve ever heard. Since moving to NY, I’ve become a light sleeper and it is not unusual for me to wake up at the drop of a pin; however, Ruben can sleep through just about anything and the fact that he sat up when I did was even scarier.

We couldn’t figure out the noise was and we were both pretty convinced that when we lifted the shades, the building next to us would be just a pile of bricks. I grabbed my computer and began Googling what the noise was. I came across articles talking about rain pressure causing sewers to explode and lightening striking transformers, but nothing was coming up in our immediate area. Still a bit shaken up, we went back to sleep and decided to investigate in the morning.

I had a bit of running around to do on Sunday so before I left our building, I asked the gentleman at the front desk if he was here overnight. He said no and looked concerned over my inquiry. I explained that we heard a loud noise and were unsure if any other residents mentioned it to him. He said that the gentleman who was on overnight did not mention anything to him, but explained that the tall buildings have a way of making thunder echo and sound like explosions overhead – yeah…

[studying] In The City!

Ruben and I often discuss how it is so surreal that we actually live here since things seem to be so busy that time is just flying by. Wednesday marked exactly two months since we moved into our tiny, no bedroom, one bathroom studio and there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Tomorrow he takes his last licensing exam and can begin to focus solely on his residency and on me J

As such, yesterday he asked if I wanted to go to Chipotle for dinner with Rebecca, one of his co-residents, and then somewhere to study. Elated, I gathered up the materials for the super-secret project that I’ve been working on for a certain someone’s wedding next month (EEEKKK!), jammed them in my Vera Bradley backpack and we were off. Ruben had his messenger bag strapped across his chest and we walked briskly toward Chipotle, discussing potential wedding officiants that I had spoken to on the phone that afternoon – this was our evening commute. We approached the Brooklyn Tourism Center (my favorite building in BK) and there was a crowd gathered around a rather large group of people dancing in the square. We danced as we walked and were cracking up as we approached the crosswalk. We ate dinner, refilled our Coke Zero cups many times and had good conversation with Rebecca.

We decided to set up shop at the Starbucks down the street from Chipotle. After grabbing a cupcake from Crumbs, we spread out on a long conference table and stay put for more than 3 hours. We weren’t sure if it was all of the pharmacy law materials or the ridiculously bright project that I was working on, but fellow Starbucks-goers would not stop staring at our table.

Last night I caught myself staring at my future husband.  Lost in his thoughts and using every ounce of mental strength that he has left, he was cranking through pharmacy law like a champ. These past two months have been no joke and within a very short time, becoming licensed, completing the responsibilities of his residency and trying to maintain some sort of life has managed to test him to the point of exhaustion; but, I reckon, if anyone has the drive, stamina and the obsessive-need for knowledge that is crucial for completion of this year, it is him.

In less than 24 hours, I will finally get my honey back and I cannot be more excited. Fingers crossed for his patience, knowledge and confidence.