Rollin' With Thanks

It was hard to go back to work Monday morning. Did any of y'all feel the same way? I woke up with a little more angst and worry knowing of all the things I need to do in the next month. It will get done. It always does and I need to remind myself to relax sometimes.

I did just that this past weekend - relaxed, and gave thanks. Staying in NY for the holiday was a smart decision. Though we missed our families greatly - thank goodness for Skype - the two of us (plus Bailey) made our own memories and new traditions. I found it to be one of the most memorable Thanksgivings to-date.

On Wednesday evening, The Husband and I bundled up and walked down to 79th and Columbus for the Macy's Thanksgiving float blow-up. Strollers. Everywhere. Though, we've now figured out how to sneak past the large crowds and NYPD so that we're in and out within 30 minutes. Thanksgiving Day was spent cooking and The Husband and Bailey did their own turkey trot - check out the running shorts!

I cooked y'all and it was good! I still can't believe it, but as my Godmother says, "If you can read, you can cook." Even The Husband (my cook) was in shock. Being in the kitchen, cooking the recipes that my mom and her mom and her mom have cooked year after year, made me feel a bit closer to them and home. My favorite being the yeast rolls. I attempted to make these last year (3 times in fact) but to no avail. Although I didn't get it on my first try, the yeast did rise the second time and the rolls turned out delicious. Quite a feat.I think I can finally say that I'm becoming a cook! I'm sure The Husband is thankful for that. Also, a special thanks to pops for the ham. We will be eating ham for weeks to come.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (The Balloons)

If any of y'all are going to stay in NYC for Thanksgiving, then I highly recommend checking out the Macy's Parade Balloon blow-up the night before Thanksgiving. While thousands and thousands of tourists go to the actual parade, the night before is a little less crowded and mostly attended by locals. Not to say there aren't a lot of people there (I will warn you, if you don't like crowds, you shouldn't go).

The Husband and Southern in the City went last year and had a blast. If you want to avoid the lines, go to 81 street, between Columbus and Central Park West. We had the most luck there and were able to get right beside the balloons for a quick photo. 78th - 79th streets are much more crowded and difficult to maneuver through.

We'll be going again this year and I can't wait! It's become a new tradition for us.

Setting The Table

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is a week from today? I certainly can't. Where did the fall go? This year, The Husband and I have decided to stay in NY for Turkey Day. Since we just traveled down south last weekend, we are looking forward to having our own Thanksgiving and getting to actually relax during our time off instead of spending it driving on I95. We will of course miss our families but are excited to start new traditions as our own little family.

Last year I blogged about the different foods that I cooked, well attempted to cook, I should say. I will do the same this year and hope that I can finally make Sooze's famous rolls. That may deserve a whole blog post to itself. More to come on that later.

I've been thinking about how I will set the table this year. That whole sentence just sounds so boring after reading it back. Well, never-the-less, I have been thinking about it and am excited to finally use one of our wedding presents - my monogram linen napkins. Very impractical but fun for special occasions. Here are some table settings that have inspired me this year:

Virginia Is For Runners

While "Virginia is for lovers," this past weekend it was for runners. The Husband and Southern in the City (plus Bailey) drove down to Richmond, VA (The Husband's home state) for the Suntrust Richmond Marathon. After running in the NY Half Marathon a month ago, The Husband continued his running routine to train for the 26.2 miles and finished in 3:55. Pretty darn good. For years now, we've cheered on many a marathoner during the NY Race (held just last weekend). It's by far one of my favorite NY days - with hundreds of people cheering, even more achieving their goals - no one could be unhappy.

I was equally, if not more excited, to watch The Husband run in Richmond in what's called "America's Friendliest Marathon." Both sets of parents drove up to the Mond to watch. Cousin Hooks and Worm were our wonderful hosts and drove the cheering section all over the city. A huge thanks to them for getting all seven of us to mile 6, 18 and 26.2! I was in awe of all the runners on Saturday, especially The Husband. (I'm so proud of you and your accomplishment and wish that I had the strength to do what you did. Wait, does zumba count?). Okay, my sappiness will end there, I promise.

By the way, Bailey and Scrappy (Cousins' dog) could not get enough of each other. Bailey is acting like a love-sick teenager and hasn't eaten her food or moved since we left.

Taylor Dane and other things...

It's been a little long since my last post and it's likely because I'm still recovering from my brother's visit last weekend. My brother is three years younger (and much taller but that's not relevant right now). The fact that he's younger means that he can recover much quicker from a weekend of, let's say, dancing to an awesome 80's coverband, Sunday Funday and staying up very very late. Yup, he's top notch.

I always love when Graham comes up for a visit. He's one of the nicest and funniest guys I know. I didn't stop laughing once this entire weekend. On Saturday, Graham and friends invited us to the LSU bar to watch the football game. Right when I think that NY is one the biggest cities in the world, I run into people I haven't seen in quite some time and it quickly becomes a small town. Not one of us went to LSU but when we got there, we each ran into at least three old friends who somehow all knew each other. See, it's a small world after all.

A few hours later, we rallied and headed back out to the Canal Room downtown to see the 80's cover band Rubix Kube. Have ya'll heard of them?

Sadly, I don't have any pictures from the night, but it was one of the most fun times I've had in NY. They played every 80's song you can possibly imagine and we didn't stop dancing and singing all night. I think this band constitutes a trip for my Elon girls to fly to NY, possibly in December. If any of you ladies are reading this, you must come up!

The special guest of the evening was Taylor Dane, you know, "Tell it to My Heart?" Well, if you can't remember, here something to help:

(note, Ms. Dane has aged quite a bit from this video, which you probably figured anyway).

Graham, come back up soon!

Fall in the Burbs

I like to think that Bailey is a city girl like her mamma but I'm starting to think that country living is more her speed. No cars, no cement streets, no loud noises, just an abundance of sticks, leaves, smells and wide open spaces. We ventured out to NJ this past weekend to visit the family (The Husband's mom and grandmother were up from VA) and Bailey had a ball, or rather, fetched balls all weekend. She even got carried away and chased a deer (with horns or bucks, or...what do you call them? See, I'm a city girl) around the yard. I've never seen a dog, or deer, run so fast. On Sunday we went hiking. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time getting fresh air with the family. That night, we celebrated Halloween.

Bailey was exhausted from all that country living but somehow found the energy to drive her old parents back home to the big city.

That's One Big Cupcake

As if you didn't consume enough sugar and calories yesterday, check out the giant Crumbs cupcake below sitting on my boss's desk. It may be difficult to tell the size of the cupcake from the iPhone picture, but it's huge.

This will give you a better sense of just how large it is:Isn't that big? On Friday, The Husband sent one with me to work to give to my boss. She helped him find an entrepreneur to interview for one of his business classes and this was his thank you. I say that's a pretty good thank you, don't you?