What a week!

Last week was one of those weeks...a full blown roller coaster.  Luckily we were strapped in tight and rode it out.

I'll start with the not so sweet moments since it's always nice to have a happy ending.

For starters I came home from Virginia with a solid start to the cold Nick had the previous week.  Sore throat, cough...yuck.  I blamed Nick for my miserable state all week...poor guy, but hey, I'm pregnant so I get to blame someone else!  This progressively got worse as the week went on, but I called the drs office on Tuesday to see what meds I was allowed to take...mucinex, cough drops, and vitamin C tablets were my defenses.  Then I had an appointment on Thursday and my Dr was nice enough to tell me that I could take Robitussin...praise be...it's what finally got rid of my congested cough and sore throat!  Gotta love a laid back doctor who allows you to take some meds since you're miserable and in your 3rd trimester!

I am now caught up on sleep and feeling so much better :)

Secondly Cole fell sick...if anyone knows what it's like to have a sick dog...or be "sick as a dog"...its no joke.  Starting Monday evening and going into Thursday we had to take him outside every 2 hours like clockwork...that means Monday and Tuesday night were dreadful.  He must have really wanted to prep us for the new baby.  He couldn't keep anything down or in...too much detail??  So sad...and normally I can pinpoint a cause but for the life of me could not figure out what he could've eaten.  No toys were missing or destroyed, nothing in the house was awry...I walked him Monday and never saw him eat anything outside.  Finally a vet visit was made on Wednesday which proved inconclusive so it seems he just caught a bug.  I felt so bad for him, but since I was feeling sick too, it was really Nick who took the brunt of it.

Cole recovered around Thursday / Friday in time for us to drop him off in Delaware with my mother in law for the weekend.

Lastly my car was sick.  The AC broke and I got it fixed, but came home with a LOUD squeaky rattle. Never good to come home from the shop and have to take it back in again.  PLUS a small crack caused by a rock turned into a huge long crack...I would love to be the winner of a new car right now.  Know any contests?  The rattle got repaired free of charge (booyah!) today and the windshield is being replaced Friday...sigh.

Now amongst all this...we were leaving town for a long weekend for a wedding of some of our close friends...this is where the good things start...

One of my best friends had her baby girl on her due date, Monday June 4th!  Sophie Lynn Peddicord arrived pretty smoothly and is just a precious little bundle.  Great job Tray - congrats again to you guys :)

Tuesday was our 2nd year anniversary!  Somehow I put my cough away and we got a neighbor to let out Cole so that we could keep our plans to celebrate in NYC for the night.  We've been wanting to try Mario Batali's restaurant in the West Village, Babbo since we moved to NY, but it is one hard reservation to get!  They only take reservations a month in advance and even if you call (like Nick did) exactly a month in advance there are people who have called before you so times are limited!  crazy.  But we got a table and loved it.  I really want to go back when I can drink wine because they had a tasting menu with a different wine pairing for each course....uhhh, awesome!  In the meantime delicious bread, pasta and veggies did the trick :)

buffalo mozzarella with squash and zucchini

nick had black spaghetti! risky.

happy...in the West Village at Babbo!

That night Nick surprised me with tickets to see Wicked on Broadway too!  I've been dying to see it and he really wanted to see it too...so he splurged.  It is a FABULOUS show...singing is amazing, dancing is fantastic, the set is phenomenal and so are the costumes.  We both said it was the best Broadway show we've seen.  The main character, the Wicked Witch was amazing...her voice was impeccable.  The set was so cool and the costumes and dancing were just fantastic.  I also really loved how they tied in the story Oz, but didn't show any part of the "Wizard of the Oz".  Such great writing.

cool set.

Wicked!

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

29 weeks in Times Square!

Finally the end of the week came and we made it down to Washington DC to see our friends Natalie and Trace get married!  They are such great friends of ours...Trace and Nick were friends at Virginia Tech and Natalie and I LOVE hanging out together. We've taken trips together and try to visit whenever possible. One day we plan to all live in the same neighborhood...don't disappoint, Nat!  ;)  They are truly one of those couples that everyone was so happy to see get married...they were best friends in high school, started dating between VT and JMU in college and now live in Boston...their relationship spans 14 years!  Their wedding was a blast...Nick was a groomsmen and looked handsome, I put together my best maternity wear and we had a great weekend.  It was so fun to see a lot of friends we hadn't seen in a while and to be in DC....Baby G and I danced the whole reception with a few breaks for water and the candy bar...obviously.  Congrats again to Trace and Natalie!

yay!  Natalie was a GORGEOUS bride.

Bridal party flash mob...awesome. Here is the video

wish this was a full length shot b/c I had navy blue snakeskin 3" heels on!  They lasted a while...till flip flops :)

Suburbs vs. City

So we've been living in the suburbs for 2 months now...you might be wondering, "how are they adjusting?"  Wellllll pretty good, but there are a few things we've had to adjust to.  Here's my pros and cons list...


Pros about moving out of the city
1. You get to grill!  We have grilled many times since we moved and the cold doesn't stop my husband.  His Christmas presents were grill-inspired...cookbooks, mitts, tools, night lamp, apron, etc.
2. Building fires...nothing more cozy about a blazing fire.  I think the clean up is even worth it...but I like to clean.
3. New, Bigger furniture!  We bought a sectional couch that can comfortably seat 4-5 people. love it.
4. Functional kitchen...every time and i mean EVERY TIME I turn on the dishwasher, the disposal or put away the dishes I think, wow this is great.  I love the space and having all our things that make up a fully functional kitchen.
5. Storage space...although I'm the opposite of a hoarder, I still need places to put linens, photo albums, files, appliance boxes for our next move, sports equipment, etc.
6. Guest room...we love having visitors, but most of all love making sure they are comfortable.  The new Gupta B&B boasts a queen size bed and full bath for its guests.
7. Space for Cole...big dogs need space to roam in.  Sometimes we'll be downstairs and he's at the top of the stairs just hanging out.
8. Big Box stores...love Target, Costco, and reasonably priced grocery stores.
9. Nature.  Trees, deer, parks, it's nice to be in a clean neighborhood with some greenery.
10. Saving money...cooking more and eating out less, lower rent and multiple other things put $$ back in our bank account, which was basically the prime reason for moving.

Cons about moving out the city
1. Things close.....and they close early. Grocery store closes at 9, pizza place doesn't deliver past 8, we couldn't get a Christmas tree after 6pm during the week.
2. No good food deliveries...yes, NYC spoiled us when every single restaurant imaginable will deliver...but still chinese has a $35 minimum on deliveries and they are 5 miles away....WHAT?
3. There are good local restaurants around us....but we miss having AMAZING restaurants at our fingertips
4. Driving everywhere.  It takes us about 15 mins just to get out of our community...we drive a lot these days
5. Lack of interesting neighbors...I loved our diverse and eclectic neighborhood.  The old man on the stoop...the garage guys who gave Cole treats...our coffee shop baristas. Everyone talked to you and had a story.  We have met a couple neighbors, but people pretty much stay in their homes...boring.
6. Missing the "feeling in the thick of it"...nyc lives and breathes the latest news, trends, music, etc. 
7. I have to decorate...small spaces limit your decorating...large spaces mean you have to do it!  I'm not a decorator by nature, so it's effort and work for me.  But I will get there...
8. Lack of doggie friends for Cole....we always ran into at least a dozen other dogs during our walks, friends to sniff and romp around with. Plus we've found that suburban dogs are not well socialized and can be nasty

At least the pros outweigh the cons!  haha.  We're only 45 mins to the city...so its definitely easy for us to go in and do/see all our favorite things.  Every place has its quirks and I'm lucky that Nick and I adjust very easily to change, in fact we do a great job embracing it.  So far our move has been a good one and we're happy we did it!

Christmassy activities

My parents came to visit this past weekend and it was GREAT having them.  I realized mid way through their visit that I have never been able to have them visit and stay for a couple days in my home.  In the townhouse Nick and I rented in Arlington, we lived close enough that my parents never stayed the night.  In Manhattan, our place wasn't big enough for them to want to stay, so they got a hotel.  So, I really enjoyed them being comfortable in our new place.

Mom and I ran errands...Nick and I cooked dinner and we toasted to Christmas...we made a fire and watched "The Help"...made brunch...went into NYC and saw the Grand Central Christmas shops and Rockefeller Center with the BIG tree...saw the Nutcracker at The Lincoln Center...had a delicious dinner in the west village at Spasso...made Christmas cookies...wrapped presents...relaxed and got pizza delivered!

Seeing the tree at Rockefeller Center has become an annual tradition for Nick and I since we have seen it the past 3 years.  Despite the crazy crowds, it's a gorgeous site and make me feel like its Christmas!  Seeing the Nutcracker has been an annual tradition for my mom and I for as long as I can remember...many, many years of seeing the Richmond Ballet perform the show.  One year we saw the Washington Ballet in DC and this year the New York City Ballet.  Every version is slightly different with the costumes, set, and which parts of the story they tweak a bit.  I loved it this year and going to the Lincoln Center was really awesome!

Thanks again for coming, Mom and Dad!  we loved having you!  Next stop...Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia for Christmas weekend with the Guptas!

Grand Central in all it's Christmas glory

Grand Central during Christmas

Grand Central market...yum!

Rockefeller Center

in front of the tree!

my parents in front of the Rockefeller tree!

the tree!

in front of the Lincoln Center

in the Lincoln Center

Spasso

cookie cutting

butter cookies...recipe from my great Nana Blum

yumm.