Briley

I finally met Briley, E's adorable doggy. We are heading north of
Nashville to Evansville, IN now. More wedding fun!

Good Stuff

Lately I've been hanging out at coffee shops in the city before and in between interviews.  After an interview on Tuesday, I opted to just walk around midtown and take a few pictures. 

This one's for Pat:

It's from Gallagher's on 52nd St.

Now, can you guess where this is located??  Leave a comment with your guess!

That night I met up with sweet Simone for our show.  So cute!

Then on Wednesday night I had a fun dinner with Mary Clare and Cynthea in Hoboken.

Mary Clare is newly engaged to Pat's work colleague Sean.  Exciting!

And GOOD NEWS! I got a job offer today and I have accepted it!  Suz is back to work on May 11th.  I'll be doing the same kind of thing - admin work at a private equity firm.  This time I'll be working downtown though.  Since I'll no longer be working in midtown, I'll end up taking the train instead of the bus, which is a welcomed change.  I'm excited. :)

Yummies

Recently consumed:

Baby spinach, toasted almonds, avocado, dried cranberries, and a little blue cheese.  Amazing.

I need to get cooking again.

PS I really enjoyed Promises, Promises.  I thought Sean Hayes was hysterical, and while he doesn't have the best singing voice, he made up for it in his preformance.  And of course the little bitty Kristin Chenoweth is just the best.

You say it's your birthday?

Dear Kate,
Happy birthday!!  Just a few things to make you smile, or at least they were fun for me to think back on.

• The Grape
• A certain Rick Springfield song
• Hair bangs
• "little bitty chippy"
• 1415 North Jordan and 1440 East Atwater

I sure miss hanging out with you.  Very much looking forward to seeing you and Scott in June!  And one more thing- I wish I had a digital camera in college. :)

Here we are 3 1/2 years ago in NYC.

Kate would approve of my plans tonight.  Simone and I are seeing Promises, Promises.  Can't wait!

Iowa Wedding Weekend

Hello there!  After 17 hours of travel, we made it home at 3:30 AM early this morning.  Our flight yesterday from Moline, IL to Chicago was delayed, our flight from Chicago to Newark was delayed, and then after being in a holding pattern for a while we were diverted to Scranton, PA.  Eventually we deplaned and then were later told we were being sent to Newark via bus. (They said NYC area airports were closed for weather)  Phew, quite a long trip, but it was worth it!  Pat's good friend and fraternity brother married his best friend, his girlfriend from law school.  :o)

Pat and I arrived in the adorable Iowa City by noon on Friday after an easy drive across the Mississippi River in our rental car.  We got to meet up with Brandon, the groom, and treat him to a couple drinks.  Then we met up with Kristen, the bride, and a few other folks as seen here:

It sure was fun to be back in a college town.  Not that I like beer, but this pitcher was just 3 bucks!

Once they'd finished the rehearsal, it was time for the delicious rehearsal dinner at The Brown Bottle.  Here are a few of the groomsmen: Pat, Jason, and Sean.

Me and Carrie

And really what is a rehearsal dinner if you don't go across the street to a bar afterwards? Our destination was Bo James and it had super cheap drinks!  Many of the fellows were buying rounds of shots, etc.  Several pictures from the bar...

Amanda, Carrie, Andrea

Jason and Matt

Jeremy, Pat, Jeff

Phil and Pat

And on to the Wedding Day!!  I'm sure the weather wasn't exactly what Kristen was hoping for, but everything was still really nice.

Man, I wish this hadn't come out fuzzy.

Wedding Party about to load up the trolley (and me too).

The trolley drove around town and stopped for a few pictures. (luckily these were right before a rain storm came through)

And the trolley even found it's way to a bar.

I was thrilled to see a mariachi band at the cocktail hour.

Look what else was at the cocktail hour:

Then we entered the Hotel Vetro ballroom for a great dinner, followed by dancing and hanging out with old college friends.

All 4 of us gals are married to our college sweethearts. :)

I know Pat had a wonderful time reconnecting with old friends.  I hate that we live so far away from so many of them.

One thing I miss about the midwest is Steak n Shake! mmmm  We got to indulge before all our travel troubles on Sunday.

I'm very lucky that I got to sleep in a bit this morning.  Pat is working on 2 hours of sleep, plus a little from airport floors, planes, and the bus. 

United sent us both $150 e-certificates this morning, so that was nice.

I hope Kristen and Brandon have an easy flight to Hawaii today.

xo

Greetings from downtown NY

No Obama sightings.

Winnie catching a snooze

Hyde Park

The four of us loaded up the Corolla and headed north on Saturday.  Destination = Hyde Park, NY.  Of course we weren't going to drive straight there, we had a couple stops in mind. 

First up, West Point.  My paternal grandfather went there and my Dad has always wanted to check it out.  You aren't allowed on the campus without going as part of a tour, but we did spend a little time at the museum.

We took a beautiful scenic route.  My parents got to see the Hudson River Valley.

Next stop - Newburgh.  Washington's Headquarters.

I got a great kick out of my Dad's binocular contraption.  But I can't make fun.  He spotted a BALD EAGLE soaring up high while in our backyard! 

Ready to jump on a horse, hun?

We were getting hungry by this point and wouldn't you know we pass the Culinary Institute of America.  We pull in and check out the beautiful campus.  Of course all the meals are booked solid and the cafe is closed on Saturday.  Basically, we couldn't find one bite to eat at the CIA! Ha.

We then made it to FDR's home, the real reason for our trip.  We got our tickets (free for National Park's Week!) and had a little time to kill before meeting up with our tour guide.  My mom can hunt out a garden better than anyone else: 

It really felt like a secret garden.  I don't know if the weather was keeping others away, but it was nice to be there, just us.

(That house in the background is the administrative office, not FDR's home.)

And here is FDR's family home, Springwood.

FDR was able to access the 2nd floor by using an elevator with a pulley system.  He chose not to electrify the elevator because he was afraid of being trapped during a fire and burning to death (he'd seen his aunt do that while curling her hair!)

They owned a ton of acreage and had quite the view.

FDR and Eleanor are buried in a rose garden near the house.

After contracting polio, FDR practiced walking with crutches down this long driveway.

Some art from the Berlin Wall.

Just a couple miles down the road was the Vanderbilt Mansion.

It had a superior view of the Hudson River.

Making good use of my self timer.  :o)

This home is spectacular looking.  I'm glad I didn't see it before I saw FDR's home, otherwise I wouldn't have been too impressed.

We ate a nice dinner at the Hyde Park Brewery then made our way back home.  That night we had fun flipping back and forth between Shrek 2 and Walk the Line on TV.

On Sunday, we lounged around the house and went for a nice neighborhood walk.  We hit up the grocery and the nursery.  My parents "helped" me plant a few flowers.  They pretty much did it and I watched - thanks! 

We grilled out beef tenderloin, had baked potatoes, and sauteed green beans with slivered almonds.

And I made my first ever pineapple upside down cake for my mom.

And Scrabble!!

It's nice to know I'll be seeing my parents again in just a couple weeks in Nashville.  I'm so glad they came for a great visit!