Christmas In New York

Christmas in New York is....magical:).  That sounds so cliche, I know.  However, it is true! Eric and I went on a Christmas journey a couple of weekends ago.  We did everything that we though one should do in NYC at Christmas time....we started with a birthday celebration for Eric, saw the Rockefeller Christmas tree, went into FAO Schwartz and the Apple store.  Then we walked down Fifth Ave. to see the hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers and buildings that were decorated like presents.  We even went to see Elf, the Musical on Broadway!  I don't know that pictures will translate the magic, but it's worth a shot!

 Ornaments have become a tradition of ours, seeing as Eric proposed with one... This ornament will be a great reminder of our first year of marriage!

 

Here we are, exactly a year ago, getting engaged! We look pretty much the same, huh?

This ornament brought a smile to my face when I pulled it out.  It has the names of all of the people in my old house church.  I was the lucky recipient to get it last year in an ornament exchange. 

 Even Murphy looks magical... (sorry, couldn't resist)

 I look extremely awkward in the one photo we were able to get Murphy to look at the camera, so I gave up after this one.  Doesn't he have "rotten" written all over his face here?  You can just tell he is getting ready to bolt. 

 Without The Murph. 

 Eric's birthday celebration started at The Stumble Inn.  We saw a review of their stuffed cheese burgers on the Food Network.  When we saw that, I tucked this place away in my mind as the perfect place for Eric's birthday dinner.  He loves casual places and burgers.  He was not disappointed:).

 Taking his first bite...

 His was stuffed with cheddar and jalapenos...mine was American and mushrooms.

 The tater tots were a hit.

 Needless to say, we cleaned our plates...

 And Eric was a happy fellow.

 We warmed up with coffee for the second leg of our Christmas adventure.

Yep, I played with this one on Photoshop.

 This was the line to get into FAO Schwartz.

 Inside the store...

 Harry Potter land...

 Teddy bear land...

 The Rockefellar Tree...

 And alas, we ended with our own outdoor Christmas tree, right across from our apartment in Brooklyn.

The true magic of Christmas comes in 4 more days, when we are able to make our way back to Indiana to be with family and friends.  But until then, we will soak of the NYC energy at Christmas time!

Gobble Gobble!

Why did the turkeys cross the globe?  To get home for Thanksgiving, of course!

Eric and I thoroughly enjoyed our whirlwind trip to Indiana for Thanksgiving.  We decided to make this trip all about family, since we were there for such a short time.  We started with a couple of days stuffing our faces with food and playing ping-pong with the Rogers' in Marion.  Then we headed south to Zionsville for more stuffing our faces and shopping!  We feel so lucky to have TWO great families to spend time with.  We feel even luckier that they are relatively close together, so we can see both each time we are home. 

I was very camera happy at the beginning of our trip (with a heavy emphasis on two little ladies), but then became quite a slacker for the second half.  I am going to have to make up for it and take extra pictures with the Smith family at Christmas-time:). 

 Sooooooooooooo precious:)

 

 There was a lot of time spent picking out favorite ornaments on the tree...

 Emmy cracked me up all weekend long....though she NEVER let me hold her! (I am pretty sure she forgot me when I moved to NYC)

 Maddy made our awesome place settings.

 My parents cleaned out the attic and put all of our old toys in tubs for us to take.  Chad and Eric enjoyed some time with GI Joes.

 Pops.

 Part of the feast.

 When did she grow up???

 My first shot with the self-timer.  Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself:)

We are looking forward to more quality family time in two more weeks.  We hope to squeeze some quality friend time in that round as well!

Murphy the Sneak

It has come to our attention that our beloved Murphy is quite the sneak.  We have caught him in the act of "sneaking" quite a bit lately.  Take a look for yourself.....

 Here he is sneaky a taste from the dirty dishes in our dishwasher.

And here he is, sneaking a sleep on the couch.  Katja, the dog-walker, catches him in the act all of the time.

 My personal favorite...here is Murphy, sneaking a peak out the window.  The exit that all of the dogs have to use to leave our building is right below our window.  We started keeping the blinds closed so Murphy wouldn't bark when he sees them.  However, he outwitted us again.  Murphy has learned to split the blinds and look outside while pretending to eat.  The blinds are permanently bent in this way.

 You know who else has been doing some sneaking lately??? My beloved husband.  I came out of the room to find this....

When it comes to sneaking sleeps on the couch, it looks like Murphy isn't the only guilty one.  He has a cohort in crime:)

Good golly, I love that dog!

My first attempt at Photoshop....

 

Before.....

 After......

So, this was my first attempt at Photoshop.  Since I am currently having a fling with photography, I decided Photoshop could enhance the experience.  However, I had no clue how complicated Photoshop really was.  I guess I was expecting a slightly fancier version of IPhoto when it comes to editting. However, Photoshop put me in my place from the first time I looked at their website.  Elements, Lightroom, CS5?  I had no clue.  Luckily, they let you download free 1 month trials.  I quickly learned that my rookie knowledge belonged with Photoshop Elements.  

This was my first project, and I still have so much to learn.  I could only figure out how to use about 1/4 of the buttons.  Oh well!  Now that I know what version to get, I can get a Dummies guide to go with it:).  If you have any Photoshop tips, feel free to share!

LYLAS

Love Ya Like A Sister....

When thinking of a title for a post about a visit from my life-long friend Sica (aka...Jessica), LYLAS comes to mind.  Not only was it one of the many taglines on all of the many letters we wrote each other over the years, but it is also true.  I love this girl like a sister.  We met in preschool and became the best of friends.  She was my friend when I went through my "spend the night fright" stage.  We went on family vacations and celebrated holidays together.  She once wrote me a 30 page letter.  We were roommates for two years.  Though our lives weave different paths, they are still always intertwined.  Who else do you get that with besides a sister?? So, obviously, it was really fun to add "hanging out in NYC" to our list of memories together. 

Jess came in on Saturday night with our friend Shauna after wrapping up a conference in Connecticut. We had caught up over margaritas on Saturday night, and then hit the town all day Sunday.  Brunch at the Seaport, a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, cupcakes, Radio City Music Hall Christmas Extravaganza with the Rockettes, and a Meet the Parents/Fockers Marathon makes for a very full day!!  Jess was the perfect friend to spend doing all of these things, because she appreciates the cheesiness of tourism and Christmas fun as much as I do:).  We got to hang out Monday night when I got home from work, and then she left for Indiana this morning.  It was such a great time with such a great friend! Here are some pics of our time together.

 Yummy brunch!

 Friends.

 Isn't this place cute??

 Outside at the Seaport.

 Some Brooklyn Bridge action....

Wearing our sassy outfits for the Rockettes.  We thought we looked like Rockettes.

Funtimes!!

So, LYLAS Jess. And Boys Before Books:)

And this is how we bond....

This is how the Smith family bonds after a long weekend with great friends!

 We get comfy and lounge around...

 We make something in the crock pot, because it makes the whole house smell delicious...

 And we ALWAYS have dessert:)

Eric and I had our last of a steady stream of visitors this weekend.  We had the pleasure of spending four days with the Welus! Amanda and I have been great friends for about 20 years now, so I was really looking forward to their visit.  As you can see, she has a baby bump going on.  She was a trooper and didn't let that hold her back from exploring the city!  One of our highlights together was exploring Central Park and taking part in an NBC Studios tour.  Thanks for coming to see us Welus!

 Here she is with the bump!

 Aww, such a great couple.

I also enjoyed the opportunity to experiment with my camera as we were exploring.  There were two guys making enormous bubbles for onlookers.  It was a great chance to work on snapping the camera at just the right time...

 I love that the camera really captures the color and transparency at the same time. 

 My goal was to get the bubble mid-burst, and I did it!

 Pretty cool...

 The park has many great places to experiment with color....I enjoyed myself as I tried out the different camera settings under this bridge. 

 I really want to take a class, because I don't have a natural eye for beautiful spaces and angles.  Its fun to try anyway!

I decided to play around more with the cool plant Chad and Kim got us as an "apartment warming" gift during their visit:).  I think it's the prettiest thing in our apartment.