Weekend Trip to New York!

I don't know about anyone else... but I LOVE having something to look forward to. 

After getting home from our Christmas vacation, AJ and I decided we needed something to be excited about.... so we decided to go to New York City since I had Monday off for Martin Luther King day. 

There is definitely an up-side to living on the east coast... you can take a bus from Boston to New York for $20!!

How crazy is that?! It would almost be a crime NOT to go! 

We had so much fun in the big city!

It was my first time to the big apple.

I am so glad AJ knew his way around because I probably would have gotten lost at least a dozen times without him. 

It was fun to actually see all the things I've seen in pictures a million times! 

I must say that it was FREEZING in New York though....

25 degrees and windy made for a VERY cold trip!

Rockefeller Center.... we were going to go ice skating until we found out it was $20 a person.... YEAH RIGHT! So we just watched other people ice skate instead. :)

Brooklyn Bridge!

Pretty sure I couldn't feel my feet when we were walking along the bridge.... it was sooo cold!

 

The food was y.u.m.m.y.... pizza and pastries everywhere you go!!

 

Empire State Building. 

We went all the way to the top... 102nd floor!!

It was crazy to see how HUGE Central Park is right in the center of Manhattan!

We saw sooo much this weekend and pretty much walked the whole city.

9/11 Memorial- Ground Zero.  I was a little emotional while visiting this memorial... it's hard not to be. Seeing how crowded and busy New York City is, I just can't imagine how chaotic that day must have been with thousands of people trying to run to safety and not really having any idea what is happening.  Reading all of the names around the memorial fountain and thinking of all the American families who were affected by 9/11 definitely made me emotional.  

The building on the bottom left is the building that is being reconstructed and it is only half as tall as the twin towers were... WOW. 

Times Square was REALLY cool at night with all the lights!

Statue of Liberty!

It was a lot smaller than I had always imagined. 

Still really cool to see though!

Overall, our trip to New York was a blast!!

AJ and I's FAVORITE part of the trip was seeing a broadway show. We saw Mary Poppins and LOVED it!! We literally came out of the theater singing... :)

(P.s. Sorry for the picture overload...)

Fastest Two Weeks!

The last two weeks have been amazing!

But they have definitely gone by way too fast.

Our vacation to Utah and Arizona was much-needed.

And we got the best of both worlds…. An almost white Christmas in Utah and a warm & sunny New Years in AZ! 

I felt very much at home while I was in Utah. I loved it.

Christmas was so much fun with my nieces and nephews!

Christmas is always so magical with little kids around. 

AJ and I with the kiddos on Christmas Eve and Christmas

AJ and I with my cute parents

 

Shell Bell!! Sorry gentlemen... she's taken!

 

My beautiful mother-in-law and sister-in-law in AZ

Merry Christmas!!!

I was very proud of myself…. I didn’t cry when I said goodbye to my family…. At least not until I was on the plane headed back to Boston. 

While flying into Boston, I had the strangest feeling though.

Seeing all the city lights was exhilarating and I was actually excited to be back!

Don’t get me wrong…. I miss my family like crazy, but this is a big step for me folks!

It’s a good feeling to be comfortable being back in Boston.

Home Stretch

So AJ is on the home stretch of his finals…

2 down, 1 to go!

The other day he was talking about how excited he is for his Christmas break, not only because we get to visit with family & friends, but because he will actually get to spend quality time with ME!

Of course… I liked hearing that. :)

This first semester has gone by really fast and it’s crazy to think he has one final and then he's done!

I could not be more proud of him!

Law school is definitely not easy… in fact it’s probably one of the hardest things he has ever done, but he has handled it like a champ! 

He works really hard and has already accomplished so much! 

Even though he has been stressed about finals these last few weeks, he has been surprisingly calm and easy to be around. 

He takes his last final tomorrow....  wish him luck!!  

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As for me... I had a VERY lazy weekend and loved every second of it! 

It's a little embarrassing to admit... but I probably watched 4 or 5 Christmas movies this weekend....

gotta love the cheesy Lifetime channel movies!

Luckily I didn't watch EVERY movie by myself....

AJ couldn't handle studying anymore on Friday night so we watched The Grinch together (one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies)! 

P.s. We leave for Utah THIS Friday!!! :)

Lost December

So my mom sent me a book a couple weeks ago titled "Lost December." 

I just finished reading it and it is honestly one of my favorite books that I have ever read (along with The Help and Hunger Games of course).  

I told AJ he needs to read it over his Christmas break once he is done with finals!! 

This book is a little different than any other book I have ever read.  

The story is about a boy named Luke whose father owns a very successful company. 

Luke's father plans to hand the reins of the company over to him once Luke finishes his MBA at Wharton. 

However, Luke starts hanging out with some friends who begin to use him for his money. 

His new friends begin to change the way he thinks and slowly his values begin to change as well. 

Slowly but surely, he grows further away from his father. 

During an excursion in Europe with his friends, Luke eventually runs out of money from the trust fund his father had set up for him.

I don't want to ruin the book for anyone who plans to read it....

but I HIGHLY recommend it!!

This book brought out all sorts of emotions in me.

I found myself cheering out loud in some parts....

crying like a baby in other parts....

and being upset and angry in others.  

Seriously a great book.... read it!!!

What a relief...

Let me just say that it is a HUGE relief to have my company Holiday party over with. 

Not to mention.... it was SO much fun!!

Being in charge of planning our company party was a lot more stressful than I thought it was going to be! 

Being my usual self.... I was very excited to plan all the party details such as decorations, centerpieces, menu choices, activities, invitations... etc.

BUT I don't ever think about the hard part of planning a party....

which includes comparing prices, crunching numbers, and making sure I can stick to the budget! 

I had NO IDEA  that there was such a thing as "gratuity tax" until I planned this party....

no, not "gratuity"..... and not "regular tax"....

but "gratuity tax" which is something completely different that some restaurants charge on top of the gratuity and regular taxes.  

How crazy is that? 

 And since I also do not drink.... I had no idea what a "cash bar" or a "cork fee" were...

Live and learn I guess. :)

This is what our private dining room looked like--I LOVED the ambiance (not too fancy, but not too casual.)

The view was perfect--it looked out onto downtown Boston.

Also, the room was the perfect size for our group because we only had about 20 people.

There were votive candles on each table and it looked SO pretty since it was dark outside. 

We started off the night with passed hors d' ouevres while everyone arrived and chatted. 

Then dinner was served.... and let me just say, the food was AMAZING!!

Everything on the menu sounded a little different (too different) so I was nervous about how it would taste, but it ended up being delicious.

I had planned a little game where I stuck numbers under everyone's chair...

So towards the end of dinner, I had them look under their chair to find the number. 

Then we had a drawing and I drew three numbers and each winner won a gift card to either Target, Macy's or just a Visa gift card.  

Unfortunately, AJ and I didn't win anything.... maybe next year!!

After that, we had a white elephant gift exchange! 

On the East Coast they call it a "Yankee Swap".... not really sure why. 

When I mentioned to have everyone bring a white elephant gift to the party.... nobody knew what I was talking about. haha

Here is what I ended up with.... yep those are MEATBALL bubble gum balls.... GROSS!

The not-so-fun part of preparing for the party was making all of the party favors to hand out at the end. 

I was the one who VOLUNTEERED to make chocolate covered pretzels for everyone because I thought it would be a nice touch and it sounded fun AT THE TIME.

I had no idea they were going to take 6 HOURS to make!! 

It pretty much took up my entire Sunday morning and evening. 

I don't think I will be offering to make those again anytime soon....

They turned out very pretty.... but boy were they A TON of work!

P.s. Only 16 days until we fly home for Christmas.... HOORAY!! :)

Every now and then...

 Every now and then you just need to cry. Yesterday was one of those days.

Every now and then your day doesn’t get any better no matter how hard you try to make it a good day.

Every now and then I feel like I can do anything.

Every now and then I feel inadequate. 

Every now and then I feel like I NEED something yummy to eat...This definitely happens more often than it should! :)

Every now and then I can’t wait for it to be the weekend. 

Every now and then I'm grateful to have a husband who still works hard to clean our apartment and serve me even though he has very limited time. 

Every now and then I miss my friends and family back home so so much. 

Every now and then I loathe law school and how little I get to see AJ.

Every now and then I feel stronger than I did the previous day.

Every now and then I love my job... other times I feel like I am in over my head.

Every now and then I get so excited for Christmas and the joy it brings I can hardly stand it (putting up our Christmas tree instantly made me happy). 

Every now and then I can’t wait to have little chillins' of my own.

Every now and then I am able to buy something new to wear… I love those days. 

 Every now and then a simple hug from AJ brightens my entire day.

Every now and then Boston is exhilarating to me. 

Every now and then I am completely humbled by how much the Lord has blessed me with.

Every now and then…

Food....Family.... And a cozy apartment.

This past week we were lucky enough to have AJ's mom visit us in Boston. 

It was so nice to have a family member here with us. 

These past few months have been especially hard being away from family...

I never thought it was going to be easy moving to Boston... but sometimes you don't realize how hard something is until you actually do it.  

The beautiful thing is that on the other hand, sometimes you don't realize how much you learn and grow until you do something really hard.

 I can honestly say that moving to Boston is one of the hardest things I've ever done... hands down. 

This Thanksgiving I realized just how grateful I am for family.  

I've always been thankful for my family... but this year on Thanksgiving it became very real to me.  

I don't think I will ever take my family for granted in the future because I know how hard it is when I don't get to see them whenever I please. 

In addition to being thankful for my family this Thanksgiving, I am also grateful for: my sweet husband, good friends, memories, new adventures, opportunities to learn, the gospel, a place to live, caring people, delicious food, a healthy body... the list goes on and on.  

I read a quote the other day that I really love! It states: 

"Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life. 

It turns what we have into enough and more. 

It turns denial into acceptance, 

chaos into order, 

confusion into clarity. 

It can turn a meal into a feast, 

a house into a home, 

a stranger into a friend. 

Gratitude makes sense of our past, 

brings peace for today, 

and creates a vision for tomorrow." 

-Melody Beattie

For Thanksgiving, AJ invited one of his classmates over for dinner because she doesn't have any family here in Boston and so she was originally going to be spending Thanksgiving alone. 

We were happy to have her! 

Ze bird. 

I coated the inside of the turkey with butter, thyme, garlic, salt & pepper. 

Then I covered the outside with mayonnaise (a trick I learned from my sister-in-law a couple years ago.)

We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, green beans, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, and apple pie! Thanksgiving dinner done right.

I definitely overestimated how much food we were going to need for the four of us! Our refrigerator is jam packed as a result!!

While my mother-in-law was visiting, she agreed that our apartment needed a little something in order to make it feel more cozy.  So.... we went out and bought some curtains! 

I can't even tell you how happy I am to finally have some curtains in our apartment! Even though it seems so trivial... it really makes a big difference in my opinion.

Tah-dah! Yay for curtains!

And there you have it.... our home for now.

It's amazing how much of a difference it makes when your apartment feels a little more cozy and comfortable.... especially when you are so far away from home.

It makes it a nice place to come home to every night.  

Last night we ate dinner in the North End at an Italian restaurant called Lucca. 

  The food was so delicious!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!