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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'

"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'"
~ Robin Williams

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...and we have!! We started out the first week of Spring with cookie night... granted it didn't feel like Spring yet, since it was freezing outside!  We followed that up with back to back meals at our place with friends! 
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Dinner with Maggie & Jonathan

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Dinner with Chad... Chad and Rob made the entire meal that night!

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Rob's homemade Peach Cobbler

We had a shopping day to prep for our trip to FL, and took in the views from the stores... This is a view of Union Square. 
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On the way to a vet appointment, Bess bumped in to two of her favorites! 
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Scott and Brett

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We also saw this interesting side view mirror... hilarious.

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 I got my hair did! My hairdresser has told me for the past year that she wanted to open her own salon, and she finally did! I was so excited to be one of her first customers at her own place! 

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We had a farewell dinner with our "Dinner Club" at the Thomases apartment before they moved slightly more up town (closer to us, yayyy). We dared Richard to try Siracha on his Reese's ice cream bar and of course he did. The verdict? "Not that bad!" So glad that he was so willing to oblige us. Then we went to Florida, which I posted about here

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Okay, so have you ever seen Perks of Being a Wallflower?  Well, in that movie, the main characters work at a live action Rocky Horror Picture Show Movie Theatre.  They dress up as the characters from that movie and act it out while the movie plays in the background.  Well, it looked like so much fun in Perks, so when we got back from FL, I found a theatre in NYC that does it.  Robby and I went and it was... interesting...  The live acting part was actually hilarious, but the movie itself was just so different, and not at all what I had been expecting.  Hey, at least we tried something fun and new!

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The next morning after church, the McVittie's invited us over for brunch where all of the food was miniature sized!  Look at this cute coffee pot!  

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Look at the scale of the normal sizes quiche and miniature quiche! So tiny and delicious. Katie hosted a brunch for her sister's birthday and they had so much leftover that we got to enjoy some as well. Hopefully this summer we can have another fun mini-soiree!

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Enjoying the spring flowers at the park with Robs and Bessy Bear! 

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Game Night with the Paynes! 

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Easter lunch with friends from church including these two soon to be married kiddos!

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Dinner in Jersey City with my old coworkers. 


And then, the most exciting day...
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We got to celebrate the arrival of our nephew, Michael Andrew Norman! Hooray! 

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Love the Norman family!

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On the way to the dreaded dentist, I stopped and enjoyed these Tulips and Daffodils.  I just loved the colors and the rain drops that you can see on them.

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That night we hosted the next "Dinner Club" at our place, I made paella and forgot to serve it with lemons... again! It still tasted delicious   My goal is to become the little Abuela that makes the best paella in the world for my family.

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Another random picture, on the way to church, we always see these great bright red doors, and I have always wanted to take a picture of them, so voila.

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We served in the nursery that morning and this was a miraculous photo captured by Robby because about 2.2 seconds after it was taken the kiddos were everywhere, and one sweet baby girl was twirling while taking her sundress off. Oh babies!

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The draft was later that week, after our anniversary which we celebrated at Tavern on the Green.  I loved getting to have a girl's night while Rob hosted a draft party at our place.  We went to this great Crepe bakery in our neighborhood that I had been wanting to try. 

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City style S'mores at DTUT with Ryan and Caitlin.

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Bess enjoying the sun.

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A great new addition to our home, this full length mirror on a door that was up-cycled by Meghan.  Rob scored this beauty during Meghan and Scott's move to Hoboken when they decided it would make a good giveaway. 

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We enjoyed a cookout at the Brauns... and what says "Let's party!" more than strawberry sangria in pink mason jars?  Love the special attention to detail Erin gives everything, and I love how much she loves hot pink! She is such an inspiration to me! 

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My mom also came to visit, which I am planning to post about soon.  I am so grateful for the time we were able to spend together while she was here and can't wait to share more.  

We had a great potluck with our CG, it was a bit chilly, but we pressed on and grilled out.  
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We had dessert with the Mason's and played games.  We are so going to miss this family!
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We met up with the newlyweds, Vane and Brandon for dinner.  It was our first time seeing them since their wedding in March.  We had so much fun, we ended up being the last people to leave the restaurant. 
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The next morning we had a traditional, homemade Dominican style Brunch with the Beltrez crew
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We went on a long overdue double date with Jessa and Richard.  We started off at a Biergarten (German for Beer Garden - so fun right?) at Heidelberg and then chowed down on homemade guac and tacos for dinner.  Robby and I invented a new dessert: Nutella and strawberry cupcakes.  Afterward we all met up and celebrated with Dave for his birthday.
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So thankful for these many great memories.
These Tulips are definitely giving off a "Let's Party!" vibe.
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Sunday, June 8, 2014

Celebrating 7 Years of Marriage

A month ago was our 7 Year Anniversary!  I know that we have made so many amazing memories and experienced so much over the last seven years, but it flew by.  The day after our anniversary, I called Rob on the phone, something I almost never do, since we text all the time and see each other every day... but this conversation warranted a phone call.  I called him on the phone and just exclaimed: "Dude! We've been married for SEVEN YEARS!  Today, is the first day of our EIGHTH year of marriage! What!?"  Rob couldn't help but laugh and couldn't believe it had just hit me.  I know that what is coming next borders on supremely gushy, but I'll share anyway.  I love that I get to be married to Rob.  I love that he is always up for anything and that he is so joyful.  I smile thinking of his heartfelt laughter that usually ends with rubbing tears away from laughing so hard.  I am thankful that he is such a relaxed person who worries very little, he has taught me SO very much about faith and dependence on God and has showed so much grace towards me as I attempt to grow in those areas as well.  The growth has not always been easy, but I am undoubtedly a more complete person because he is in my life! 
So grateful! 
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To celebrate our anniversary, which landed on a Tuesday night, we made plans for the Friday evening prior, and went to the recently renovated and reopened Tavern on the Green.  Tavern on the Green is a New York City landmark located along the West Side of Central Park.  Sadly, it closed just after we moved here in 2009, so we thought we'd probably never get to go.  We were there for the week of their "soft" opening, so there were still some kinks to be worked out... They accidentally seated us at the wrong table (we got drinks 'on the house' for obligingly moving one table over about 15 minutes in to our evening) and the smoke alarm sounded for about a minute.

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Other than that, it was such a treat!  I had Riesling to drink, which is one of my favorite wines, and it was from the Finger Lakes region of NY, where Rob and I celebrated our anniversary last year!  The food was delicious and fresh (they aim to use mainly local ingredients), the restaurant was bright, rustic, charming and in many ways very modern.  I noticed they have an outdoor cafe area, and there is a bar lounge as well, so I am thinking that this summer it would be a nice excuse to sit alfresco and enjoy some appetizers there when we are hanging out in Central Park.

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After dinner, we made our way down to The Village Vanguard to listen to some live jazz, which is something we never get to do.   We sat right up front as the trio performed!

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Cheers to seven years!

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