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!!