Tuesday, December 17, 2013

date 6. macy's windows & donuts.

^^^ donut planet. worth the walk. 



^^^ sometimes i dream about these donuts. no joke.

^^^ you can't go to nyc && not see the windows. beautiful. 

date 5. cinderella & cafe lalo.

^^^ don't worry we got him snacks this time. of course, i was in love. i think he liked it, too. 







^^^ seriously best cake ever......!!!!!!!



^^^ santa baby. it's a summers thing. 




^^^ i'm obsessed, obsessed with this cafe. 

Sunday, December 15, 2013

date 4. rockettes.



so funny story #1: i asked caleb after the show, what was your favorite part? he had a hard time answering. i gave him time to think && listed all of mine off. come to find out, caleb had a couple of snoozes during the show. (this may not have been his dream. for our next show, don't worry, we brought snacks for him.)

funny story #2: we bought an ornament to remember our show. four rockette dancers kicking their legs. ironically, our christmas tree fell over [twice] && guess what broke. the dancers' legs. 
funny, right/sort of sad. 

funny story #3: i made caleb take a picture with a rockette. you should have seen his expression when we got in line with all the little kids. i am not sure he will ever go back to radio city with me. i may need a new partner. it may be a girl thing. (whoops!)


aside from the funnies...
a dream. to see those high kicks in real life.
walking into the rockettes, i wanted to ask caleb to "pinch me," i must be dreaming.
...
radio city, you are unreal.
thanks for your holiday spirit.

Friday, December 13, 2013

date 3. thanksgiving feast.

this year, thanksgiving was a little different. i have learned something very important this year about being thankful. i think the quote below by shauna neiquist sums it up: 

“When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.” -shauna

this year has definitely brought a lot of surprises. however, i have to choose to look for the sweet rather than drowning in the bitter. 

being in nyc, caleb && i were away from our families ( which we missed dearly !!! )
we thought it was important to spend time together. 
&&& boy, am i thankful we did :)

we went to out to dinner rather than gathering around a family table. 
we tried my best to make it feel like thanksgiving, including a turkey feast with mashed potatoes && stuffing. (thanks to the ellington for offering a thanksgiving feast)
caleb dined on pumpkin pie, while i was delighted with a mongolian bakery thanksgiving cupcake. 

finishing the night, we gathered around the rockefellor tree && watched the ice skaters dance around the ice. an early wake up call caused us to make it an early night as we fell asleep on the couch watching home alone 2 (new york style), of course!







  I will praise the name of God with song, And shall magnify Him with thanksgiving. 
Psalm 69:30

Thursday, December 12, 2013

date 2. macy's day parade.


a dream come true. 
macy's day parade.
growing up, i can remember my sisters being obsessed with the parade. 
leela would wake up at 9 am to watch the parade and wonder why i wasn't up yet. 
my dad would yell, "the rockettes are on!! hurry, girls!!"
as we would rush into the living room, we watched in awe of the perfection of the iconic kicks. 

this year, a 4 a.m. wake up call, caused caleb && i to land amazing seats on the streets near central park. we wound up in a "freeze" zone outside the trump tower. "freeze" zone= no leaving! which means no leaving for coffee, donuts, bathroom. so for the next 5+ hours in 30 degree weather, caleb and i tried to stay warm. once the parade started, it wasn't hard. adrenaline rushed as we watched balloons, celebrities, and of course, santa walk by. 

i am so thankful caleb braved the cold with me. it was a bucket list completion! (and totally worth it.) 
p.s. those balloons are truly massive. 
my favorite, santa of course && maybe jimmy falon. 



^^^ jimmy falon (!!!)



^^^ for those duck dynasty fans.

^^^ SANTA!!!!!!


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

12 dates of Christmas begins... date 1

sorry i am a little late this year. 
but, alas, here is the first date. 
caleb & i were apart for two months this fall. he was in houston & i was in alexandria. 
after a 7.5 bus trip to the city i love (NYC), we were reunited, the day before thanksgiving. 
our first date of christmas was of course caleb's birthday. 
his birthday (november 27) always seems to kick off the holiday season especially since thanksgiving was so late this year. 

i can't tell you how excited i was to see my honey. the extra 3 hours to my bus ride seemed like an eternity- however, i was && am so blessed to be able to spend thanksgiving together in a magical place. 

^^^ my view going into the holland tunnel. (ahhhhh!!!!)

 ^^^ yummmmm (!!!!!) totally worth the wait for this boy. 



p.s. i can't tell you how much i loved eataly. you can shop for italian goodies && drink wine. i loved it so much we went back on sunday for my birthday, too!!




Sunday, November 17, 2013

philly journey.

 


as many of you know, i signed up for the philly marathon at the end of july. it had always been a dream of mine to run 26.2 miles and I had finally gotten the courage to do it. i filled out the online registration, typed in my credit card, and with one click, my journey began.

not quite sure of what i was getting into, i began to follow a program.
for several months, i would plan my week according to the long runs, usually trying to wake up before everyone so that i didn't miss out on anything.
my alarm would go off, i would change into my running skirt, caleb would lace up his rollerblades, grab the headlamp, and we were off. two to three hours later, a mix of emotions would ring in my ears: "i can do this. 10 more miles." "stop. no more." "why did I sign up for this again?" "just do it."
"del ray donuts are waiting for you, go."

during my training, i made it up to 20 miles. caleb && i celebrated with cinnamon roll pancakes and i felt like i had truly accomplished something. my longest run ever (!!) little did i know this run would end my marathon training.  466 miles logged from the end of july to this point.

 


throughout the following week something was going on with my knee- shooting pains. i knew something was wrong. i went to the doctor, physical therapist & chiropractor. mentally i was there, physically not so much anymore

my knee continued to be in pain & i was lucky to finish five miles without walking.
at this point, i was pretty sure my dream was over.

one week ago, i cancelled my philly hotel and thought i would toss this one in the bag. it's too hard. i tried (right?)

however, a little voice in my head was again telling me, "don't give up. you can't not try this"
i immediately called my parents & caleb, and informed them- i am doing this. even if i have to walk it.
my mom & dad got on the phone, and helped me look for a hotel, anything that was open last minute. thankfully, we landed one in nj only 15 minutes away from the city.

i am so thankful i listened to the voice to persevere, and fight for my dream.

i felt so many of your prayers today and was able to finish 13.1 miles. not my original goal, yet an accomplishment that i will never take for granted. it was a miracle that i was able to finish and my knee held up. i am incredibly thankful for my dear friend Allison. she came to philly with me && even ran it by my side. i am forever grateful for her and everyone's support.

this journey has been an incredible emotional rollercoaster. however, i have learned so much through it. God never gives up on us & neither should we.

cheers to dreams and the perseverance to fight for them
(even if they may look different than the original dream)
 

 
 

Saturday, November 9, 2013

in the meantime.

these are my people.
(life lately.)
 


 

 

  
" I thank my God every time I remember you." Phil. 1:3

Thursday, October 31, 2013

four weeks down.

 
 
missing my sidekick these days.
4 weeks down. 4 more to go.
houston you have had him for far too long.
it's my turn.
 
now hurry, november. 


Friday, October 11, 2013

houston bound

^^^ i'm leaving on a jet plane. rain & wind go away. 
 
my honey is gone for eight weeks.
i get to see him today.
hopefully, i will bring back some cowboy boots && bbq stains
...
(that will also be the smile on my face today)
happy wet and rainy Friday!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

rainy day lover

Well I'll be your rainy day lover. Whenever the sunny days end.
And whatever the weather, we have each other.
And that's how the story will end

Well I'll be your shade tree in summer.
If you'll be my fire when it's cold.
And whatever the season, well, we'll keep on breathing.
Cause we'll have each other to hold.

I'll hold you- I'll sing.

I wanna love you, forever I do.
I wanna spend all of my days with you.
I'll carry your burdens and be the wind at your back.
I wanna spend my forever - forever like that.

Well I'll be the words on the pages.
If you'll be my sweet melody.
And the tune can keep changing, cause I'll keep arranging.
And this is the song that we'll sing.
- ben rector. forever like that.
 
on my morning run, this was the first song that played through my headphones. feeling tired. not sure about the day yet. wondering why I was even up on this chilly morning. took me a second- realized, wait this is our song. our wedding song.

missing him.



&&& missing this coat. but him more.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

golden delicious




october in northern virginia is ... interesting.
don't get me wrong. i love the skyline drive when the leaves start to fall.
nothing says autumn more than the row houses near eastern market && old town.
&& don't get me started on all those wreaths. deep cranberries, burnt oranges. i am in love.

however, fall seems to take a little while to get here. in terms of temperature. ninety degrees this weekend.
for some reasons, this seems a little "hot" for me. i am ready to pull out my cozy sweaters and riding boots- yet am forced to keep them at bay (unless i want to burn up- which trust me, i have thought about a time or two)

for the second year in a row, caleb & i headed to butler's orchard. we were greeted with apple cider, an assortment of pumpkins, trees adorned with golden delicious & stayman apples, and again, 90 degrees weather. i must admit, i have never been apple picking with scorching heat before living here; however, virginia, i think you must like it.

caleb && i still had fun, no flannels :( yet we made the best of it. came home with not quite so many apples (last year we brought home 22 pounds- for the both of us.... needless to say we had apple everything for about a month.)  this year, we restrained ourselves and simply ate most our apples off the trees.

we came home with 5 pounds of apples && apple cider. later enjoyed pumpkin gnocchi and spiced warm apple cider. && pretended it was sixty degrees outside which was assisted with the switch of the thermostat (sorry, caleb!)

p.s. does anyone else feel a little sick after gnocchi? i love it so much, yet always have a little tummy ache afterwards. doesn't seem to stop me.

happy october (my favorite month of the whole year). yay! here are some pictures from last year.








^^^ these always remind me of my sister, hanna. she loved these & once caleb tried them, he loved them too :)