have you heard that song by Fergie, "getting slizzard"? well that's what my husband keeps saying about the blizzard. I'll say "wow this is really a blizzard!" and he'll say "gettin slizzard". stupid, but funny. Also, have you ever heard of "thundersnow"? Well I hadn't, but we experienced it Sunday night. All of a sudden it was lightening and thundering, but not raining...snowing! so weird. For those who like to be educated on natural phenomenons like this - wiki on thundersnow
here are some blizzard videos, please excuse the awful narrative.
Blizzard Take 1
Blizzard Take 2
Cities
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
A White Christmas in the North!
We spent our Christmas mostly in Boston, but then headed back early to New York...two quintessential northern cities, both very metropolitan, lots of culture, great restaurants AND also both very cold and snowy this year!
We had a GREAT Christmas in Boston! My brother Andy and his wonderful wife Shannon hosted our family and it was filled with lots of love, great food & wine, presents, and family fun! They have been renovating an old house in Wellesley outside of Boston for over two years and this is the first time they hosted a large group of people...they pulled it off! They put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into their renovations and we were all so comfortable hanging out in their large living room on their new furniture snuggling with Caroline and spending time together.
I must say that kids make Christmas so much fun!! Caroline is such a fun addition to the family and her gifts are just so cute :) With adults, there's only so many packs of socks that are fun to open (haha!) I got some real quality time with her... playing and making her laugh, trying to stop her crying, feeding, changing, and snuggling :) She was a very good baby all weekend and slept during dinners and church and let everyone hold her! Nick and I took charge of her changing one time and I'm pretty sure it was hilarious to watch us try to hold down her kicking legs to get her diaper on and then get confused with snapping up her pajamas (and nick's an engineer!) Now I miss her chubby little cheeks!!
We left Boston earlier than expected on Sunday in anticipation for "THE BIG APPLE BLIZZARD"! As we drove through Connecticut the conditions worsened and we pulled onto our street just in time. In the next hour we watched the blizzard go into full force and bury our car, the street and the rest of the city. We are now SNOWBOUND. I actually did the typical snow-prep and made a quick run to grocery store for the essentials and I'm glad I did!
NYC does actually deal well with snow...people shovel, the city plows...no.big.deal. Not this time! Mostly because of the combination of the speed that 20+ inches fell, the holiday weekend, and the winds. Painful, whipping, chilling winds. The wind has pushed some snow drifts up to 5 feet! Nobody is driving and we walked down the middle of our street and let cole run around free! He loves the snow...the deeper the better until his paws get too cold, haha. We have enjoyed walking around in it and playing with Cole...it only got to be a pain in the ass when it took us 2 hours to dig out our car.
love from the city!
I made her smile!
playing with Uncle Nick!
sleeping Caroline in her Christmas dress with her Uncle & Aunt
cole pawing through his christmas toys
our street & car pre-blizzard
out in the blizzard
dogs running free in the streets! cole and his friend, whizzle.
playing in the snow
streets are quiet in the city
our buried car in the background.
We had a GREAT Christmas in Boston! My brother Andy and his wonderful wife Shannon hosted our family and it was filled with lots of love, great food & wine, presents, and family fun! They have been renovating an old house in Wellesley outside of Boston for over two years and this is the first time they hosted a large group of people...they pulled it off! They put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into their renovations and we were all so comfortable hanging out in their large living room on their new furniture snuggling with Caroline and spending time together.
I must say that kids make Christmas so much fun!! Caroline is such a fun addition to the family and her gifts are just so cute :) With adults, there's only so many packs of socks that are fun to open (haha!) I got some real quality time with her... playing and making her laugh, trying to stop her crying, feeding, changing, and snuggling :) She was a very good baby all weekend and slept during dinners and church and let everyone hold her! Nick and I took charge of her changing one time and I'm pretty sure it was hilarious to watch us try to hold down her kicking legs to get her diaper on and then get confused with snapping up her pajamas (and nick's an engineer!) Now I miss her chubby little cheeks!!
We left Boston earlier than expected on Sunday in anticipation for "THE BIG APPLE BLIZZARD"! As we drove through Connecticut the conditions worsened and we pulled onto our street just in time. In the next hour we watched the blizzard go into full force and bury our car, the street and the rest of the city. We are now SNOWBOUND. I actually did the typical snow-prep and made a quick run to grocery store for the essentials and I'm glad I did!
NYC does actually deal well with snow...people shovel, the city plows...no.big.deal. Not this time! Mostly because of the combination of the speed that 20+ inches fell, the holiday weekend, and the winds. Painful, whipping, chilling winds. The wind has pushed some snow drifts up to 5 feet! Nobody is driving and we walked down the middle of our street and let cole run around free! He loves the snow...the deeper the better until his paws get too cold, haha. We have enjoyed walking around in it and playing with Cole...it only got to be a pain in the ass when it took us 2 hours to dig out our car.
love from the city!
I made her smile!
playing with Uncle Nick!
sleeping Caroline in her Christmas dress with her Uncle & Aunt
cole pawing through his christmas toys
our street & car pre-blizzard
out in the blizzard
dogs running free in the streets! cole and his friend, whizzle.
playing in the snow
streets are quiet in the city
our buried car in the background.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmastime in the City
New York City is definitely one of the most festive cities during Christmastime. People from all over the world come here to experience the holiday spirit and of course to SHOP! shop shop shop till they drop. I ran into a woman at Gap who flies over here every Christmas to do her holiday shopping...wow!
The one thing I'll say about the most festive city is that stores, restaurants and bars weren't into full drive until Dec. 1....and I appreciate that! It could really be overkill if the city was decked out before Thanksgiving. Once December hit, it was great to see all the decorations...bars really decorate too...lights and window displays...lots of buzz around the Rockefeller Christmas tree...love it!
Shopping during this time of year is another story. Honestly Nick and I did 90% of our shopping online and THANK GOD we did...we did a little last minute running around for some gifts in the city this week and it was INSANITY. Shopping in NY takes serious strategy...mapping out your subway route...navigating the crowds...carrying your bags all the way home, so be sure not to buy more than you can carry! The crowds were out of control this week....Macy's made me want to move to middle of nowhere.
Last weekend we had some of our good friends in town visiting and had a blast...took them out in the city and did some festive things like ice skating, seeing the tree, etc. We went ice skating at Bryant Park and it was awesome!! A pretty big rink and the surroundings were gorgeous - Empire State building, a lit Christmas tree and the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan. I also can't forget to mention that we went to the local Eagles bar to watch the Eagles CRUSH the Giants. It was packed and the crowd was awesome - sooo hyped up and going crazy in the second half. We had so. much. fun.
Christmastime in Greenwich Village
getting ready to hit the ice!
Bryant Park ice skating rink!
Skaters with Empire State Building in the background
Nick, Greg, Jenn & Pete in front of Macys!
Rockefeller Center during Christmas
us and the tree :)
close up of the tree!
Our little apartment Christmas tree!
Our mantle
Our stockings!
Mantle closeup
little more apartment decor
local bar decorated
Our favorite cafe across the street....love this place more than I should.
The one thing I'll say about the most festive city is that stores, restaurants and bars weren't into full drive until Dec. 1....and I appreciate that! It could really be overkill if the city was decked out before Thanksgiving. Once December hit, it was great to see all the decorations...bars really decorate too...lights and window displays...lots of buzz around the Rockefeller Christmas tree...love it!
Shopping during this time of year is another story. Honestly Nick and I did 90% of our shopping online and THANK GOD we did...we did a little last minute running around for some gifts in the city this week and it was INSANITY. Shopping in NY takes serious strategy...mapping out your subway route...navigating the crowds...carrying your bags all the way home, so be sure not to buy more than you can carry! The crowds were out of control this week....Macy's made me want to move to middle of nowhere.
Last weekend we had some of our good friends in town visiting and had a blast...took them out in the city and did some festive things like ice skating, seeing the tree, etc. We went ice skating at Bryant Park and it was awesome!! A pretty big rink and the surroundings were gorgeous - Empire State building, a lit Christmas tree and the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan. I also can't forget to mention that we went to the local Eagles bar to watch the Eagles CRUSH the Giants. It was packed and the crowd was awesome - sooo hyped up and going crazy in the second half. We had so. much. fun.
Christmastime in Greenwich Village
getting ready to hit the ice!
Bryant Park ice skating rink!
Skaters with Empire State Building in the background
Nick, Greg, Jenn & Pete in front of Macys!
Rockefeller Center during Christmas
us and the tree :)
close up of the tree!
Our little apartment Christmas tree!
Our mantle
Our stockings!
Mantle closeup
little more apartment decor
local bar decorated
Our favorite cafe across the street....love this place more than I should.
cutest niece on earth...but i'm not bias.
Since we're gearing up for Christmas this week and we will be spending it in Boston with the cutest niece on earth, Caroline...I thought I'd treat you to some cute pictures. Two pictures from our day trip to Boston in November and one that was sent to us last week.
hanging with Uncle Nick and Aunt Leslie
first of many roadtrips together! check out those cheeks and a cute hat courtesy of her Aunt Leslie ;)
little cupcake!
hanging with Uncle Nick and Aunt Leslie
first of many roadtrips together! check out those cheeks and a cute hat courtesy of her Aunt Leslie ;)
little cupcake!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Update from New York City!
Big apologies to our readers and to Casey for being so MIA on blogging! Life has been busy and my work schedule is always busier during the holidays...highest beer sales of the year are around the holidays. This year it just got a little more hectic because I received a promotion and am taking on a new position in the company while still finishing my current job till the end of the year.
I'm really excited about the promotion...it's a big jump for me within the company and a role that I really wanted. My current role was managing and selling to large bar groups and all the bars/restaurants in lower Manhattan...peddling beer on foot :) My new job will be managing two beer distributors for our brand in Northern NJ (7 counties) and managing two reps who sell in different territories. I'm excited to manage people even though I know it can be "interesting" at times. The best part about my new job is we don't have to move and if we choose to move to NJ, it won't affect Nick's job.
Sooooo to sum it up - good changes, but they make life busy!!
Here's what we've been up to in the past month....
-great Thanksgiving in Delaware with Nick's family. Included brunch with my father in law and his girlfriend in Philly followed by Thanksgiving dinner with my mother in law's side of the family in Delaware.
Thanksgiving brunch in Philly
watching the VT-UVA game in Delaware with our friend Josh
-had lots of friends in town the first weekend in December...saw an awesome local theater play...my friend Abby did the set design, check it out here. Watched the ACC championship game with fellow hokies who were in from out of town and had a blast!
with my friend from college, Jamie and her boyfriend Brian at the NYC - VT Alum bar in the East Village
-made a trip to Richmond to visit with my college girlfriends and my parents. My friend Colleen had a beautiful baby girl, Molly and it was so fun to hold her! Then we had a great Christmassy night seeing the Nutcracker and having dinner with my parents. We also managed to squeeze in some quick visits with friends in DC on the trip up and back...cole thoroughly enjoyed playing with his buddy, Gus - tina and joey's dog and meeting Charlie - tracy and joe's puppy. It was quite a weekend...Phew.
Coley and Gussy.
Gus stole Cole's bone...but Cole didn't seem to mind!
Molly with her Aunts - me and Melissa
loving on sweet miss molly
molly with her momma, colleen!
Got Nick to the ballet...enjoying the Nutcracker!
Nutcracker in Richmond...perfect holiday event!
Dinner at the Jefferson Hotel with my parents
huge gingerbread house at the Jefferson.
so that's what's up with us here in New York...I'll be posting a blog on tuesday about Christmastime in NY! We have loooooved being in the most festive city this time of year :)
I'm really excited about the promotion...it's a big jump for me within the company and a role that I really wanted. My current role was managing and selling to large bar groups and all the bars/restaurants in lower Manhattan...peddling beer on foot :) My new job will be managing two beer distributors for our brand in Northern NJ (7 counties) and managing two reps who sell in different territories. I'm excited to manage people even though I know it can be "interesting" at times. The best part about my new job is we don't have to move and if we choose to move to NJ, it won't affect Nick's job.
Sooooo to sum it up - good changes, but they make life busy!!
Here's what we've been up to in the past month....
-great Thanksgiving in Delaware with Nick's family. Included brunch with my father in law and his girlfriend in Philly followed by Thanksgiving dinner with my mother in law's side of the family in Delaware.
Thanksgiving brunch in Philly
watching the VT-UVA game in Delaware with our friend Josh
-had lots of friends in town the first weekend in December...saw an awesome local theater play...my friend Abby did the set design, check it out here. Watched the ACC championship game with fellow hokies who were in from out of town and had a blast!
with my friend from college, Jamie and her boyfriend Brian at the NYC - VT Alum bar in the East Village
-made a trip to Richmond to visit with my college girlfriends and my parents. My friend Colleen had a beautiful baby girl, Molly and it was so fun to hold her! Then we had a great Christmassy night seeing the Nutcracker and having dinner with my parents. We also managed to squeeze in some quick visits with friends in DC on the trip up and back...cole thoroughly enjoyed playing with his buddy, Gus - tina and joey's dog and meeting Charlie - tracy and joe's puppy. It was quite a weekend...Phew.
Coley and Gussy.
Gus stole Cole's bone...but Cole didn't seem to mind!
Molly with her Aunts - me and Melissa
loving on sweet miss molly
molly with her momma, colleen!
Got Nick to the ballet...enjoying the Nutcracker!
Nutcracker in Richmond...perfect holiday event!
Dinner at the Jefferson Hotel with my parents
huge gingerbread house at the Jefferson.
so that's what's up with us here in New York...I'll be posting a blog on tuesday about Christmastime in NY! We have loooooved being in the most festive city this time of year :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Pizza, Parties, Pottery, and Promotions
All those Ps in just a couple of days! Last weekend was the first time that Matt did not have to fly in the past eight weeks. A full Saturday and Sunday off – oh, the possibilities. We were looking forward to a lazy lay around the house kind of weekend. Needless to say, lazy and two weeks before Christmas do not quite go together. So instead the weekend turned out to be quite busy, but fun-filled.
Here is the quick version of our “lazy” weekend:
- Ozone Pizza Pub in
- What could be better than starting a Saturday morning with an All Star breakfast special at WaHo (Waffle House for you northerners…) If you have never been to a WaHo, you need to get to that yellow and brown building as quick as possible. Best bang for your buck! For less than $7.00 I got a waffle, two eggs, sausage, hash browns, and toast. And I enjoyed every bite…
- Cookie swap with the Bridge Club (and no we have never played Bridge…) I made my famous pretzel Christmas cookies. Leslie and Tina can attest to how good and, more importantly, easy these are to make for the holidays. Many Christmases have been spent making these cookies in our old Birchwood apartment. I also made gingerbread men cookies, which the guys decorated. These were favorites at the exchange because of the creativity of Karl and Matt.
- Pottery painting with Angie and Leah. Angie is a friend that I met this year at work. It is almost creepy how much stuff we have in common. I won’t get into specifics except to say that she has lived in
- The most exciting part of the last few days has been the last P, promotion! Matt was promoted on Monday afternoon from Ensign to Lieutenant Junior Grade. It marked his second year in the Navy. And what kind of wife would I be if I didn’t show up to his promotion with my camera in hand ready to capture every momentJ Congrats, Mattie!
Did I say quick version…I meant very wordy versionJ For those of you that made it through, here are some pictures to reward you…
The girls at OPP - Me, Natalie, Katy, and Sara.
Natalie, Sara, and I have been together since Corpus!
Last ones standing...
What a great husband...helping me make cookies
If only you could see these cookies up close;)
Yummmmmm
Pottery painting at Fort Walton Beach. Leah, Angie, and me.
I'm ready for the Orange Bowl!
Matt's promotion ceremony - I got to pin on his bars.
Me and LT jg Swartz
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas
Frosty the Snowman playing over the loudspeaker at Hobby Lobby…Christmas trees displayed at Home Depot…all before Thanksgiving! Nope, doesn’t bother me at all. I am one of the few people that does not mind seeing Christmas decorations up in October. I love knowing that the holidays are right around the corner. One of our neighbors put up their Christmas lights the week after Halloween. I would purposely walk Sadie by their house every night because it made me happy to sneak a peek into their house and see their Christmas tree all lit up with white sparkly lights.
Last year we set up our Christmas decorations and tree on Black Friday. This year, since we were traveling on Thanksgiving, we were a bit behind. But I am now happy to say that our house is Christmas-ready. Bring it on, Santa Claus!
The tree made it home - safe and sound
Finally joining the rest of the neighborhood and putting our lights up
Sadie got her own tree and proceeded to eat it
Our Christmas scene
I LOVE mason jars, so here are some Christmas ones. I got this idea from a blog that Leslie told me about - The Inspired Room (http://theinspiredroom.net/) They have such great (easy) decorating ideas.
Sadie's tree (yep, she's that spoiled)
Our Christmas tree skirt made for us by my Mom's side of the family. This is the traditional wedding gift from the women of the family. It is decorated with our hobbies, important parts of our pasts, and special moments for me and Matt.
Adding a little Christmas tree to every room:)
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