I'm Yelling, TIMBER!

2013 is going to be so yesterday, starting tomorrow. I would reflect back on the year but that's what blog archives are for, right? But I will say my favorite day of 2013 was March 9th, without a doubt. I spent that day in Atlantic City and a boy named Roy asked me to marry him on a beach on Brigantine Island. Sadly, I don't have a photo of us taken on that day but I do have this video of the beach where the proposal took place (it hadn't happened yet). Roy looks nervous.

 

Tonight we'll head to downtown Harrisburg for dinner and to welcome in the new year. Harrisburg usually drops a glass strawberry at midnight but when they tested it a few days ago, it fell to ground and shattered (some reports described it as cracked but shattered sounds much more interesting, don't you think?). But fear not, a makeshift strawberry was thrown together in time for tonight's festivities. So something will be dropping at midnight, no matter what (and it could be Roy because he got up at 4:30 this morning to go to work).

Wishing you a fabulous end to what was a fabulous year. If it wasn't for you, well, then here's to 2014!

Happy New Year! xoxo

 

Santa Swag

From me to me:


Marc New York Pristine Wool Coat
70% off!

Tory Burch Quilted Marion Smartphone Wristlet (out of stock)




From me to Boyancé:

Stihl Chainsaw Attachment

For me & Jess:



Riedell Figure Skating Boots (229 TS)



 

 

Paramount Blades

 

From my cousins:

UGG® Australia Bailey Button Boots



An Affair to Remember

Merry Christmas! Here are some pics from our trip to NYC last weekend. It was only a one-nighter but it was plenty of city time for us country bumpkins. I love NYC (especially during Christmastime) and the weather was favorable but the cost of visiting Manhattan had us hightailing it out of there by Sunday afternoon.

First stop: Bon Chon Chicken for lunch. Always wanted to try this place but never got a chance. There's one in Annandale, VA and now one in Rockville, MD also. They specialize in wings. This one is on 5th Ave. between 32nd and 33rd.

The Empire State Building is right across the street from Bon Chon. Two people in our group of four had never been up to the top (I went up many years ago) so we decided to go for it.

After about 90 minutes or so of waiting in line and $27 per person later, we made it to the 86th floor observatory just before 4pm.

East / Queens

Chrysler Building

North / Central Park to the right

The sun was setting so I couldn't get any good shots of downtown or the west side. I think nighttime views on the ESB would have been better. The weather was so nice but it was kind of a drag waiting in line. I'm probably good with never doing that again. Although, you can purchase cut the line passes for $50/person. Money talks, babykins.

 

After that we checked into our hotel at 37th and 8th (Times Square West), relaxed for a bit and then walked to K-Town for some Korean BBQ.

 

Korean BBQ at Kang Suh.

Empire State Building looking festive from 32nd St (K-Town). Cabbed it from here to Bryant Park.

Bryant Park Winter Village and Rink during an ice cut.

Everyone back on the ice. We wanted to skate but after seeing this we changed our minds.

Tree at Bryant Park

Inside the tree. Looks like they beef up the branches to make it look fuller.

The ornaments are huge!

Rockefeller Center. It was jammed packed in there. We skimmed the edge and decided to reroute toward Times Square.

30 Rock

New Yorkers LOVE Times Square. NOT. We hung out at a tiny bar at TSQ. Did some shopping at MAC and missed a girl fight in the McDonald's bathroom.  

 

Cabbed it home and Roy and I passed out. We missed out on $1 late night pizza slices down the block. Sad face.

 

The next day we went down to Little Italy and ate at Benito One for lunch. So good. Walked around Chinatown where random people kept whispering "watches, handbags" in your ear. Drove back up to Midtown via FDR and did a short driving tour of the upper East side and Central Park. Roy was enjoying himself as he drove like a cab and honked back at everyone. He hates the city. We thought about walking around Central Park but the thought of parking the car for another $30 somewhere had us heading toward Lincoln Tunnel.  Until next time, I heart you, NYC!

 





Happy Birthday, Bloggy

Today marks one year since I started blogging actively again here at Blogger. But can you believe I've actually been blogging now sporadically over the course of the last decade or more (wow, I feel old)? The very first blog I created was at Asian Avenue. I'm sure you've never heard of it, especially if you're not Asian.  I think that was back in 2000. I remember I was on it while I was at Penn State so it might have been as early as 1998. Then it was onto Xanga. Remember Xanga?? I loved Xanga because a lot of my friends were on there. But then Friendster and MySpace became popular so everyone left Xanga. And we all know what blew up after MySpace - the Eff-Book. So basically, if blogging were a child, mine would be a teenager!

Since Xanga, I bounced to Blogger, to Wordpress, and back to Blogger. I tried Tumblr too but didn't stick with it. Here's a link to my blog from 2008 to 2012: http://jurrious.wordpress.com/. I love reading about old times. It puts things into perspective. I find myself blogging consistently when I'm happy in my life. So if my posts start to become scarce, I'm either turning to the dark side or too busy (but if I'm busy I should eventually have a lot to write about).

For 2014, I think I might start doing my daily snapshots again. Sometimes it's hard to make the mundane into something blog worthy day in and day out, but oftentimes I surprise myself with these Pics of the Day or Daily Snapshots. It forces you to find the beauty in every day, even if it's just the plate of food in front of you or the weather outside. Days go by so fast and are so easily forgotten. Blogging helps me remember those days. And I also love reading other blogs and living vicariously through others.

Wedding Fever

Okay, I fully admit I've been exhibiting bipolar disorder and/or schizophrenia when it comes to planning a wedding. One minute I want to run away and elope and the next minute I want to go all out. And as Roy points out, I want to get married at the last nice place went to (Baltimore, Vegas, and in a few weeks it'll be NYC). But I think it's finally dawned on me that I do want to have a nice get together (locally) and have all our friends and family in one place, on one night, for good food, drinks, and all the crazy fun and memories that come with it. I came to this conclusion recently because I remembered that when my friends got engaged, I so looked forward to attending their wedding and if they didn't have one, I would have been bummed. Especially with a guy like Roy, who is always making people laugh, I think a lot of people would look forward to it. I would. So what's a few thousand dollars when it's spent on the people you love, right? GULP. It's only money. It's only money. It's only...

So, we actually have an appointment this Saturday to check out a venue. Things just got real. I'm hoping that it'll be one and done so we can reserve the date and get on with the rest of the details that need to be reserved, worked, re-worked, DIY'ed, fitted, tasted, tested, invited, and all that good stuff. Oh, and remember that September 2014 wedding date I might have mentioned? Well it's going get pushed back if this venue is a go. It's that freakin' popular.

I'm ready to get this ball rolling and I'm also excited because Pantone just came out with their 2014 Pantone Color of the Year! I had somewhat jokingly told Roy and a few others that Pantone will be deciding the color theme of the wedding. Here is what they chose:

via

And me likey! Purple is my favorite and I think I can work with this in different variations. The easiest and obvious way to incorporate it would be to have purple orchids at each table or something.  Kind of pricey but maybe that'll be it for the flower budget! Ha. It doesn't really scream "Fall" wedding but that's probably a good thing.

P.S.  I had a dream last night that I was at my wedding reception in a beach house. I was also secretly pregnant and had a glass of wine in my hand. Not sure what that means, but thank goodness it was just a dream!