Lady and the Tramp

So rumor has it that William and Kate have gotten a puppy.  I don’t think its a secret that I admire Kate (or Catherine, as she prefers now).  I mean, we basically have the same birthday.  So imagine my happiness when (rumor has it) they got a cocker spaniel…the very same type of dog I had growing up!  I think we are destined to be friends.  (I’m actually not a stalker).

I don’t have any photos of my beloved Winston on my new computer (working on it).  But here’s a pretty good approximation:

Yes, Lady of Lady and the Tramp is a girl and a very pretty one at that.  Even though Winston was a boy, he’s probably best represented by Lady. Bless his heart.  He was a very good, sweet dog.  Scott and I often talk about the type of dog we want to get one day and Cocker Spaniels are always one breed we agree on.  So we will see!

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Washington Square Park

This weekend we had a special visitor from Virginia – Hawaiian Ryan!  He was in town with friends but took time out of his busy schedule to spend some time with us.  I have known Ryan since I was six or seven years old.  He and Scott hit it off right away and started playing flag football together when we were in Virginia.  It’s actually a toss up now as to who he is better friends with.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to make it to the wedding…but maybe its lucky in a way.  Scott and I kept fighting over whose side of the aisle he should sit on.  Fighting in a friendly, loving way, of course!

So Ryan came over for pancakes on Saturday morning.  I think that’s the sign of a true friend…someone that I invite over for pancakes pre-shower, pre-makeup and still in my pajamas.  When he arrived, he had the world’s largest roast beef sandwich in tow.  His grandpa told him he had to get a sandwich from Roxy’s (in Times Square).  So he made a pit stop there on his way to our house.

Let’s get a close up shot, shall we?

I think that’s enough protein to last a week!

Since it was Ryan’s first time in the city, we figured we should show him some sights – but nothing that involved a line or paying, of course.  So later in the day we made our way down to Washington Square Park.  Scott and I hadn’t been yet, so we slowly worked our way down to Greenwich Village area – stopping along the way at some local watering holes.  Washington Square Park is right in the middle of NYU’s campus and it definitely has that energy of a college campus.  It’s seems like a fun area, with crepe shops, outdoor markets at nearby Union Square and big, brand name stores!  Oh, DSW, WholeFoods and Trader Joe’s, how I miss you!

Washington’s Arch was beautiful.

Here we are.  It’s rare that we have pictures of the two of us on the blog.

Here are some shots of me trying to be a photographer.

We saw this person creating what we thought was chalk art.  I got closer and it’s actually SAND!  He took handfuls of sand and dropped, threw and sprinkled it onto the sidewalk to make this art.  It was very impressive.

Or at least I thought so.  I looked around to find my two gentlemen absorbed in their cell phones.  I had fun at least!

And then it was off to their activity of choice – a bar.  At least I got my culture in.  It was great seeing you, Ryan.  Can’t wait for your second NYC adventure. 🙂

The Newlywed Game…

…also known as “How well does my husband know me?”

Scott saw me working on Wednesday’s post and we decided to see if he could successfully answer Megan’s questions for me.  He did pretty well for an over-tired accountant watching sports out of the corner of his eye.

1. Where were you born?

He knew I was born in California and saw the answer for the city on the computer screen.

2. What the best meal you’ve ever made?

Scott: “What was that stuff that took forever to make?  Oh, the risotto!  Or the short ribs.”

All he forgot was the red wine.

3. Where did you honeymoon?

 That was kind of a gimme.

4. If you were a Disney princess who would you be?

Scott: “Cinderella”

Nope. But he gets points for knowing a princess’ name.

5. What is your favorite blog to follow?

Scott: “Young House Love”

It was a toss up between this and Pioneer Woman

6. Pick a fav: Thai Food or Mexican Food? Mexican. They have margaritas.

Scott: “Mexican because you’re ‘hot and spicy’ ”

Ha

7. What’s more embarrassing to have happen: walk around with toilet paper stuck to your shoe (or coming out of your shirt in my case!!!) or fly down?

Scott: “I think your answer would be toilet paper because it’s more of a spectacle and you hate spectacles.”

Fair enough.

8. How old were you when you got your first cell phone?

Scott: “16”

Close enough

9. What is your drink of choice at Starbucks?

Scott: “Mocha Frappacino – NO WAIT – caramel macchiato.  Something froo from like that.”

True

10. Favorite song on the radio right now?

Scott: “We don’t have a radio.”

True

11. What is keeping you from selling your house and moving next door to me for life???

Scott: “No comment”

That’s right, no comment! 

Tag!

The lovely Megan (one of my best friends and bridesmaids) tagged me a few days ago in this fun, getting to know you post.  It was fun to read Megan’s facts about herself and see what questions she came up with for me.  I actually learned a few new facts about Megan!

I’m a little late answering the questions and unfortunately, my little blog universe is just that – little.  So I’m not sure I can follow the rules and tag eleven people.  But this should be fun nonetheless.  Here we go!

First Things First, The Rules:

• You must post the rules.
• Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
• Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
• Tag eleven people and link them on your post
• Let them know you’ve tagged them!

Eleven Fun Facts About Me:

1. I was Princess Aurora in the production number at my senior year dance recital.

2. I learned that I do not look good as a blonde through the experience of number 1.

3.  I owned my first and only car for an entire decade.  It was a green 1997 Toyota Corolla named Tink.  She was very good to me all through high school, college and two jobs.  I actually cried when I had to hand the keys over and leave her behind.  It was like abandoning a pet.  (I also may have been a little emotional about the move…)

4.  I recently redid a kitchen table and loved it!  I now want to redo furniture for a living.  I don’t think that will actually happen, though.

5.  I love cooking!  I’ve feel like I’m in heaven having my own kitchen with all of my beautiful new appliances, pots, pans, etc from the wedding.  And it’s great to have someone to cook for now, too.

6.  I love organizing and categorizing things.  When I played with Barbies as a child I would organize their shoes for the majority of the time.

7. Most people think that my cat, Prince, was named after “Prince Charming.” That is a small part of it, but it’s mostly because of The Artist Formally Known As “Prince.”

8. I think skiing is evil.  I hate it.  More power to you if you want to go skiing, but do not ask me to come with you.  Yes, I’ve tried it – multiple times, thank you.

9. I’ve worn glasses/contacts since third grade.

10.  I wish I were French, could speak French and could live in France.  I heard 3 young, hip, beautiful people speaking French on the subway yesterday and I was so jealous.

11. Scott and I have been married for 3.5 months and I LOVE being married.  I feel so at peace.

Megan’s Questions for me:
1. Where were you born? Torrance, CA (small town outside Los Angeles)
2. What the best meal you’ve ever made? Hmmm…braised beef short ribs and cheesy risotto…with red wine of course.
3. Where did you honeymoon? Curacao and Aruba
4. If you were a Disney princess who would you be? This is a complicated question. I like to think of myself as an Aurora (beautiful pink dress, ultra girly). However, I bet I am actually a Belle. I love reading, have brown hair, and lets be honest, you’re more likely to find me singing with my candelabra and teapot in the kitchen than with animals in the forest.
5. What is your favorite blog to follow? Link to it. The Pioneer Woman
6. Pick a fav: Thai Food or Mexican Food? Mexican. They have margaritas.
7. What’s more embarrassing to have happen: walk around with toilet paper stuck to your shoe (or coming out of your shirt in my case!!!) or fly down? I would prefer neither!  I think perhaps the toilet paper – especially if it’s coming out of your shirt.  Because then people know it was yours and you can’t blame it on a messy public bathroom!
8. How old were you when you got your first cell phone? 15/Freshman year of high school
9. What is your drink of choice at Starbucks? Tall Caramel Macchiato
10. Favorite song on the radio right now?  Without You by David Guetta
11. What is keeping you from selling your house and moving next door to me for life???  That dang husband of mine.

Now I’m supposed to tag some friends and ask 11 questions of my own.  Since my friends on the blogosphere overlap with Megan’s…here are my two new bloggers/friends in NYC and some girls I know who don’t blog, but I would love to see their answers!  And if you read the blog and want to participate, please do!

If you don’t blog, just leave your answers in the comments section!  Let’s see if anyone will join the fun.

Kim

Dana

Megan B.

Stephanie F.

Jessica T.

Jessie R.

Heather F.

Liz H.

My Questions for You…

1.  What is your dream job?

2.  Where would you like to live, in your ideal world?

3. What is your drink of choice?

4. Cat person or dog person?

5.  What is your favorite restaurant and what do you typically order there?

6. Did you have a good time at prom?

7.  Would you prefer to get dressed up and go out or wear sweats and stay in with a good friend/significant other?

8.  What was your most embarrassing moment?

9.  What will you be doing during the Super Bowl this year?

10.  How did you make the decision to go to your college of choice?

11.  One place in the world you want to go before you die?

Our First Snow in NYC!

We had our first snow since we moved to the city this weekend!  I can’t say it was the first snow of our marriage, since it was snowing when we arrived home from our honeymoon on October 29.  As if we needed more reasons to not want to leave a tropical island.

When we woke up Saturday morning our little backyard was covered and it was still coming down.  I love that snow often seems to arrive over night.  It makes it seem so magical when you wake up and find the world transformed.  I think some of that magic is leftover from when we were little and would sneak to the window to see if our snow dance had worked and pray that school would be cancelled.

Our little backyard.

The snow still coming down.

Scott had to go out to put away the VT flag and add some wine bottles (from a surprise delivery!) to our outdoor cooler.  I think it is now a well-known fact that Prince’s life goal is to go outside.  So when the door was open, he tried to make his escape…and only got so far, as evidenced from his paw prints.  Not one paw left the door sill.

I guess he didn’t like the snow.

Once it stopped snowing, Scott decided we should take a walk to Central Park.  I grudgingly agreed.  To me, snow means staying inside and cuddling.  Not braving the elements.

But walk we did.  We stopped to get lunch at Papaya.  It’s a hot dog joint near our Subway stop.  I’ve seen it in movies before and we had just watched an episode of The Layover with Anthony Bourdain, in which he sang its praises.  So we decided we had to try it.

Scott got an original with sauerkraut and I got a number 2 (chili dogs) aka the one with a bite already taken.  We also tried the signature drink flavor, papaya, and of course had curly fries on the side.  Scott liked the papaya drink, while I stared longingly at the fountain diet coke.

After lunch, we continued our trek to Central Park.  By now, it had started snowing again and the wind was brutal. Oh, and let me tell you about the cold, slushy, gray oceans that gather at every crosswalk when it snows.  They were impossible to avoid and at first glance look like the normal sidewalk.  Until you step into them and your foot disappears.  Oh the joys of a walking city.  Luckily, Scott had waterproofed our boots.  I just felt bad for people with strollers.

We finally made it to Central Park.  And like magic, right when we entered the park, the wind stopped!  It was lovely. I was so glad I let Scott make me go outside.

Stairs covered in snow!  People who know me best know that I love stairs.  Especially old, interesting ones.  And don’t even get me started on the Spanish Steps.  So these made me happy.

The walkway around the Jacqueline Onassis reservoir.

I’ve learned enough about New York by now to not be surprised by the number of people cross-country skiing in the park.

Or by the amount of doggie footwear I saw.  This guy was probably my favorite, which is why I tested out our camera’s zoom lens to get a picture.  Scott pretended not to know me.

And then we got to go home, cuddle under some blankets, watch a good movie and have a delicious home-cooked meal (anyone else loving brussels sprouts right now?).  Hope everyone else had a good snow day!

Northern Tea

My dear, sweet husband would like to add a photo to my post from yesterday.  The lucky man was actually at a Chick-Fil-A this past week!  He took this picture with me in mind (even before I posted yesterday – does he know me or what?).  Enjoy.

Also, when I got home on Wednesday night, I had not one, but two new iPhone covers waiting for me!  One I had ordered for myself and the other was a birthday present from my sister.  I ordered one for myself not knowing she had bought me one as well.  Now my iPhone has outfits!

The one from my sister – pink glitter. Yes, please!

And here is the one I bought.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Southern State of Mind

I’m currently loving Darius Rucker’s song, Southern State of Mind.  (Listen here)

The album came out in mid-October but I just heard it a few days ago.  I was listening to music at work (on my headphones, because I’m sure my country station wouldn’t be well-received at the office) and Southern State of Mind came on.  The first line made me smile because I can definitely relate.

I was up in New York City just the other week
You should’ve seen the waitress’ face when I ordered sweet tea

As I’ve said before, New York is definitely growing on me, but it’s such a different way of living than I’m used to.  When we were in Virginia over Christmas, I felt like I was back in the real world.  You know, where you can drive your own car, buildings and homes are spaced out, and there are trees and grass.

But don’t get me wrong, there is no limit to the number of restaurants available here.  You can try any cuisine under the sun; yes, even barbecue.  And I usually hate going to chain restaurants (just ask Scott, he used to hate choosing restaurants for us in Virginia).  So in a way, New York is my play ground since every restaurant is unique.  But dang it, I miss Chick-Fil-A!  Sometimes, you just want some comfort food that you know and love…and that comes with any dipping sauce of your choosing.

So if you are lucky enough to live near a Chick-Fil-A, count your blessings and think of me while drinking your sweet tea.

 

**Note**  Southern State of Mind is actually NOT a new song.  Scott pointed out that 2010 is now two years ago, not last year.   Oops.  It’s still new to me and I still love it!