To Have & To Hold: An ETSY Wedding Event

You read that title correctly, friends. Etsy, yes Etsy hosted a wedding event in the city this weekend. My goodness was it wonderful!

Amanda and Becca came too (may thanks to Amanda for finding this event!) and it was a lovely day...if not mildly overwhelming. We took tons of pictures (to share with you, obviously).

Thankfully (for my wallet) you couldn't buy anything at the event but they did give you a book that listed everything for sale. Had anything actually been for sale, I would have spent our entire wedding fund in under an hour.

What things do you like?

And then we went to a delicious Scandinavian Restaurant for brunch!

And my very favorite picture of the entire day...thank you SO much to Amanda and Becca for coming!

Space Shuttle in NYC!

The Space Shuttle flew over NYC today! And holy crap was it awesome!

Also, apparently Justin Bieber will be across the street from my office today? These are excited girls waiting to see him. And angry cops thinking "I can't believe this is what I got assigned to do today!"

Dear 30 Rock LIVE...

Dear 30 Rock LIVE, you were the coolest thing Stephanie and I have ever been to!

Dear 30 Rock LIVE, we only saw your dress rehearsal. And NO we did not see Paul McCartney!

Dear 30 Rock LIVE, why were you filmed at Rockefeller Center? It is awful there! It is a labyrinth of darkness and heat and you have to walk basically 8 city blocks to get to the bathroom. I am not a fan, Rock Center. Not a fan at all!

Dear Cheynne Jackson, television does not do your pretty looks justice. Seriously, holy crap you are a beautiful man! You could sing Signed, Sealed, Delivered to me like you did last night always (shiny suit included!). For the rest of our lives even! But I think you have a husband?

Via

Dear 30 Rock Live, I finally had that stupid song from Mad Men out of my head. But now its back and may drive me to insanity!

Dear 30 Rock Live, I got to sit behind Stephen Baldwin last night and gosh was I excited! But no one else seemed very excited? I cannot be a real New Yorker because I will always be really excited when I see a famous person. No matter how B list...please note that Stephen does not look like this in person. Additionally, he has a number tattoo on his lower neck. I do not support that.

Via

Dear Jon Hamm, when Stephanie saw you last night she almost passed out. For serious!

Dear 30 Rock Live, we only got to see you because of Brian. Thank you, thank you, thank you BRIAN!

See other Friday Letters HERE! 

In Which I Am Seeing Alec Baldwin in Real Life!

Have you used Google Hangout?

I used it for the first time a few weeks ago with my friend Thenera and it was totally awesome! On Sunday I used it with three of my favorites, Ashley, Jared and Brian! And then, Stephanie came to my house and got on her computer and then we all talked to each other even though you know ummm Steph was right next to me! Gosh technology is so great!

Also did I mention that I'm going to 30 Rock Live tonight? Psssh because I am! Stephanie got two tickets and she invited me and I was so excited I nearly kissed her! But I didn't because she doesn't even really like when I hug her.

Via

I will attempt to seduce him from the audience but did you knowhe just got engaged to a 28 year old yoga instructor? Who is obviously very flexible. For this reason, my Mom says I do not stand a chance. But a girl can dream, can't she?

PS: See other Embrace the Camera posts here! 

Book #21: The History of Love

I actually finished Book #21 last week, but just never got around to writing my review. I wanted so badly to love Nicole Krauss' The History of Love, but I just could not get into it.

The book involves a bunch of different characters and spans about sixty years from Nazi occupied Europe to (more or less) present day New York City. I think that one of the main problems I had with the book is that I kept getting the old man in the story confused with the old man in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Also, one of the main characters runs all over NYC (much like Oskar in Extremely Loud) looking for clues to solve a self created puzzle. It sounds crazy to say that I got the characters confused, but in my jumbled head they were basically the same people. This fact made the story a real struggle for me to get through.

I also despise Coney Island for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with Coney Island and everything with a miserable 18 months where I once spent almost every weekend there (I'll spare you the details). So when Alma befriended a Russian immigrant who lived near the beach, I almost put the book down (I swear I'm not usually this irrational).

All of this is to say that the two stars The History of Love is getting has very little to do with the book itself. Though I did find it lacking a compelling plot and often times found myself wondering "Why have I spent eleven pages reading about this man's pneumonia?" and "Oh crap I just read three pages and can't remember any of what happened".

My Mom loved this book though, so maybe it was just me?

True Life: The Vacation Edition

We're going to Iceland this fall! More details soon.

Do you know what a puffin is? If not, look them up immediately and consider a vacation filled with them.

Also, Pinkberry last night. Please and thank you, New York!

My Proudest New York Moment

Have you been to the Whole Foods in Union Square?

Via

On Friday, after a somewhat busy end of the day I went to get a manicure and pedicure with my work friend slash office-mate, Amanda. Later that night, I was headed to my friend Brian's new place uptown and decided to make a few stops to pick up some things to bring.

We stopped at a liquor store on University so I could get two bottles of wine and then we kept walking to Union Square so Amanda could go to DSW and I could "run into Whole Foods fast to get some stuff to make an appetizer". Anyone who has been to Whole Foods at 6:15pm on a Friday knows how naive I was.

First of all, there is an escalator involved. And these strange wagon like things that people drag behind them with their groceries inside (kind of like a slightly larger basket on wheels). Apparently, the main level is where all the prepared food is, so downstairs I went to get the ingredients for mini Caprese Salads on tooth picks, which I thought was the best idea ever.

I could not find the toothpicks. Seriously I looked for twenty minutes and could not locate them. Additionally, I could not find anyone who worked there to ask where the might be. So I abandoned any hope of mini anything, accepted defeat and decided that we'd be having regular salads instead.

And then I had to check out.

Which was the most stressful checkout situation I've ever participated in. See those arrows? OK so you stand in a line with a colored arrow above it. Then, you look at the screen and wait for a number to roll through your colored lane (see "25" in orange?). When you get to be the first person in line, you pay attention, wait for the number and then RUN to the checkout lane to which you have been assigned. Oh and by the way there are 30 registers. Seriously, I almost had a nervous breakdown.

But I did it! I waited in line for twenty minutes next to a man with a new born baby strapped to his chest. In case you were wondering, nothing for the baby in his haul of chocolate cake, beer and celery (super strange).

I waited on line, checked out and then took the 6 train (my least favorite train) seven stops uptown. And I stood and held my bags AND read my book while listening to my iPod the whole way. And then I made it to Brian's apartment (past the 2nd Avenue subway construction...I don't know how anyone lives up there) without even having to look at the map on my phone.

Proudest NYC day of my life thus far, friends. No, I'm not joking.

Salad Success!

But then Steph and I had a subway fail and missed the last E train at 51st Street before the work on the tracks started at 11:30. And into a cab we went...

This is how you know no more trains are coming to the station!

On Sunday, Fiance and I went to our favorite brunch place. We haven't been in forever, and we figured we have to start making the "Last Of" rounds before we move to Brooklyn in June.

We're going to have to find a Mimosas included place in our new neighborhood immediately.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend! 

Friday's Letters

Dear Friday, Thank you for arriving. I love you and tonight after work I get to have my first pedicure of the season and go to a dinner party (with wine and pizza). I am beyond thrilled.

Dear Running, Do I like you? I can't really tell. We'll meet again on Saturday morning...perhaps I'll make a decision then.

Dear Robert Verdi, I saw you on the uptown E on Wednesday! You looked fabulous and I loved your leapord print sneakers and your studded leather bag. I didn't take a picture of you because I didn't want to be a total creep. But I was real excited to stand near you for three stops!

Via

Dear Dominican Food, ugh you are the BEST. And sometimes, like last night, I get to eat you (mmm mufongo and platanos) while talking to college students about a career in higher education. THE best higher ed discussion ever (sorry cohort members).

Dear Hofstra tulips, I got to see you last night on the way home from the Dominican Restaurant. I forgot how much I love you. Seeing you made me miss you (and college) a lot. But gosh, you are pretty.

Via

Dear weekend, I love you.

Find other Friday's Letters here!

Embrace the Camera

Guys! Guess what came for me in the mail on Monday?

My free Obama Biden bumper sticker that I ordered 8 weeks ago! HOORAY!

I think now is as good a time as any to let you know how much I geek out about Presidential Elections. Seriously, it is unparalleled dork-dom.

In 2008, I got to go to the Democratic National Convention with a super cool girl who I ended being friends with (and thankfully not a total weirdo stranger). For ten days, we chased Luke Russert around Denver and acted irrationally based on rumors that Bill Clinton was in town. And then, two months later my college hosted the third Presidential Debate and I met Nancy Pelosi. And I cried when I met her. And I'm not even embarrassed.

Now that Mitt Romeny is basically the Republican nominee, things can get into full swing! And now that I have this bumper sticker (location still to be determined) I am comfortable with the swing commencing (clearly they were waiting for me)!

Just so you know now, I am in fact planning on having a party when my Alma Mater hosts the debate (again, SO AWESOME) in October. And not like a little party. There might be balloons involved.

And will I invite people to my living room when Obama speaks at the convention? Probably. It will be a little be lack luster since last time I was in the stadium, but somewhat more exciting because I will not have an elderly woman screeching "Si, se puede," in my ear for six hours.

Sorry for my general disheveled appearance, these photos were taken post run last night. Did I mention I started running? Yup. Me. Sneakers. Quick movement of my legs. More on that later.

Happy Presidential Election Season to you and you and you!
Find other Embracing the Camera posts here!

Book #20: Bloom

I've talked about Kelle Hampton before on this blog, and book #20 was her very recently published memoir, Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected.

I've been a follower of Kelle's blog, Enjoying the Small Things, for almost two years and one of the things I like best about it is the pictures...there must be hundreds of them per week. And her book was filled with them too, which I really enjoyed. While a lot of the book talked about things I knew about as a blog reader, it also talked about some things that never come up, like her relationship with her father.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It seems that Kelle (as though I know her!) has a really wonderful perspective on life, though at some points I of the book I could have done with less reflection and Go Big or Go Home talk...after a while it made the book drag a little bit.

Three out of five stars for Kelle Hampton but five out of five for her Instagram photos of New York last week, because they were awesome!

Liebster Blog Award!

My Bloggy Gift Exchange Partner Lauren of Wayferes & Worksheets shot this my way yesterday and I was so excited!

Here's the deal!

The Liebster Award is for up-and-coming bloggers (200 followers or less) that you think deserve recognition for their fabulous blogging abilities. Here's how this award process works … Each nominee should: Choose five blogs to give the Liebster award to. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you gave the award to with links to their sites. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award. Share five random facts about yourself.

My Facts (in case you're new around these parts): 

1. The self serve frozen yogurt place that recently opened near my home is simultaneously the best and worst thing to ever happen to me.  

Pro: They have dairy free pomegranate and mango flavors for those among us who are a touch lactose intollerent. And they have gummy bears and strawberry boba for me to put on top. 

Con: I always want lactose free frozen yogurt with gummy bears and boba. Seriously, does WEDDING DRESS mean nothing to you frozen yogurt proprietors?

2. Fiance and I are moving June 2nd. I have already surrendered myself to the fact that we are hiring professionals and that I will most likely whine about the entire process starting now. Ugh. 

3. Last weekend I decided that I have to wear flats for my wedding. Even though I already picked out the sparkly Kate Spade heels I wanted to wear. I cannot do it. I am not meant to spend 8 hours in a very heavy dress on four inch heels and dance the night away. YOUR MISSION: I have seen flat versions of these on Pinterest. I CANNOT FIND THEM ANYWHERE. Your help is greatly appreciated.

4. The lights in my office are motion sensored. Sometimes, if I sit at my desk for too long they turn off and I am forced to stand up and wave my arms in the air. And yes, I am embarrassed every time.

5. I am afraid to get Dilly a cat sibling because I cannot stop watching the Animal Planet show My Cat from Hell. There is a whole cat socilization thing that this guy does when people get new cats and it is TOO MUCH FOR ME. Dilly might have to be a only cat baby forever.

Here are the super great people I'm sending the love to! 

1. Stephanie at Pop! Goes My Culture

2. Kelli at Chronicles of She

3. Kristen at Peace, Love and Crafts

4. Ashley at Adventures of Newlyweds

5. Laurent at Wayferes & Worksheets (can you give it back to the person who gave it to you? I don't know...sorry if this is a terrible faux pas!)

Scenes From A Weekend

This weekend I...

Went to Gray's Papya for the first time! Have you been? It was pretty tasty but I'm almost positive that hot dogs and pineapple juice is a recipe for disaster.

Hot dogs in Washington Square Park on a warm Friday is the best. And did I mention there was a BABY with me? Psssh there was! Not my baby...or even a baby that is related to me frankly, but sometimes a baby comes to the office and obviously you have to take him to the park, duh.

And sometimes when a baby comes to the office, everyone decides that you should eat rice pudding AFTER you have already eaten hot dogs. And NO you do not want to walk to SoHo with the baby to get it, you want the nice people at Rice to Riches to deliver it to you. And deliver it, they do! 

We also went to see our new house. AND it has a backyard, guys. I'm warning you now there are going to be so many OUR BACKYARD IS AWESOME photos this summer and I'm not even sorry one bit.

And Fiance and I went food shopping. But we did not buy this, because no one needs this much duck sauce ever.

And we ate tacos for dinner and Steph and my sister came over! We got frozen yogurt also, and we watched Crazy, Stupid, Love. I am officially a Ryan Gosling convert. I don't have any pictures of us watching the movie because I was too busy drooling (sorry, Fiance).

We also went to my youngest cousin Alexander's First Holy Communion. Which was in a Chinese restaurant and it was basically the best thing ever. They probably could have used all that duck sauce.

Fiance and I ALMOST called our wedding place to tell them to forget it when we saw this ice cream and jello dragon. Seriously, how do I make this happen at our wedding?


I hope your weekend was as lovely as mine.