It really is as magical at Christmastime as it appears in the movies.
We fought the crowds and took in the holiday sites...
Turns out there is a lot to see in NYC. We weathered the wind and cold, ate delicious food, (sort of) mastered the subway, and managed to see quite a bit in our 4 day trip...
(do you spy a familiar looking charismatic tourist frolicking through Battery Park?)
(view of the sunset from our hotel room)
(Certainly the highlight of the trip! Defying gravity was in our head for the next 3 days.)
(Obviously we spent the majority of our time at the museum with the dinosaurs.)
Thanks NYC - my expectations were high and you exceeded them all!
I figured a day off sitting on the couch still in my pajamas while snow swirls around me outside was the perfect time to (briefly) catch up on the past two months. Other than our trip to NYC at Christmas (blog coming), I was sort of on camera strike, so here goes a quick Instagram catch up session (mainly to document that despite being busy with work we actually had a pretty fantastic holiday season). Here goes...
November
A fantastic friend Thanksgiving. My first major holiday spent working at the hospital. Time with the Griesheimer's in Columbus. Decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving in preparation of being gone for half of December.
December
Zoo lights. Several fantastic date nights. Frigid temperatures. Tinsel-town Tuesday's with dear friends. NYC at Christmas. An entire week at home spent with family. Bella's first plane ride.
Merry belated Christmas! I told you it would be quick :)
Nothing major, so this will largely be a stream of consciousness post to fill the void of my recent blogging hiatus. It had potential to be filled with beautiful photos of charming Ann Arbor and beautiful San Francisco, but a certain husband of mine was traveling sans me and deemed our trendy unisex camera bag too bulky for his travels.
We've had several gatherings with friends over the past few weeks that have left me/us feeling completely at peace about our decision to move far away from the cities, family, and friends which were so familiar and comfortable to us. Cincinnati is finally starting to feel a little like home.
One such gathering involved a classy blind wine tasting test at a friends.
Do you spot the financial and investment firm masquerading as a superb Trader Joe's cheap wine? We gave the host a hard time about that one :) As could be expected, two-buck chuck performed quite well amongst its competitors. Conveniently for our budget, my favorite wine of the night was the Barefoot Cabernet. The evening was documented in tons of candid and group photos, which unfortunately all turned out blurry thanks to an accidental switching of the camera to manual focus (ahem, Walker). We ended up with about 30 photos (now deleted) of which this is the least blurry.
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Last weekend we hosted a party for the AL/LSU game to share the beauty of SEC football with our (for the most part) non-southern friends.
Can you guess who we were cheering for (we tried - neither of us own much purple and gold)? After dinner I got so wrapped up in how much fun we were having I forgot to document any part of it, but it was a blast.
(Walker burger's are one of my favorite meals. Restaurant quality for sure. Gouda and bacon are just a bonus.)
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Not well documented, but certainly a highlight from the past few months, are new friends made through joining a small group at church. We were invited in to an already formed group by a fellow co-worker of mine, and have already been tremendously blessed by those friendships. Each member boasts a unique and refreshing (and hilarious) personality, and Tuesday nights have become a highlight of each week.
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Fall in Ohio is pretty fabulous. I haven't done a great job capturing it, but we are loving this weather. Knowing it will end all too soon and winter will be upon us, we have started preparing.
Like how I threw those Hunter boots in as "preparing for winter"? :) I already love them. They make me want to go splash through muddy puddles, although I'm guessing I will be splashing through muddy slush soon enough. When I tried them on Walker's first response was "I'm guessing those are for function and not fashion?". He will come around.
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In life updates...
I have been spending most of my hours at the hospital on a couple of incredibly busy rotations - I have been stretched physically, mentally, and emotionally, but love (almost) every day of what I do. Nearly every day I count my blessings for the opportunity to train at such an amazing institution.
Recently Walker had the opportunity to travel a few hours north to Ann Arbor for the Michigan v. Purdue game with a couple of my co-workers who are alums. He may not have documented his trip, but I did get a t-shirt out of the deal - sorry (brother-in-law) Eric - we can talk about it over Thanksgiving :) (Follow this link for a photo Walker wants you to see - http://www.michigandaily.com/sports/sportsmonday-column-rocketman - apparently a man flew into the stadium in a jet pack. Who knew?) He also got to spend several days in our favorite US city (San Fran) living it up with former B'ham co-workers. I got several phone photos that evoked strong feelings of jealousy, but am glad at least one of us is getting to travel these days.
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Speaking of travel, Walker recently asked "so where do you want to save to go to next?". Ding ding ding! Considering how infrequently my budget-savvy husband (like how nicely I put that hubby?) initiates spending money, I now consider my 3-year quest to implant the travel bug in him a 100% success.
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And finally, over the past couple of months young Bella has developed a hilarious new habit that has provided Walker and I both with lots of entertainment. The cycle goes something like this: Bella pees --> gets a treat (yes, she gets treat each time she does her business outside - she's not spoiled we promise) --> spends extensive energy "hiding" said treat --> forgets about treat --> pees again --> receives same treat --> "hides" treat... you get the idea. Every now and then she eats it. But mostly she just "hides" it. You would think this would save money on buying her treats, but somehow I manage to keep buying her new ones :) (Make sure you turn the volume up to hear her getting good and worked up at the end.)
The South greeted us warmly (literally), and provided a quick but refreshing weekend back home. Thank you to all those who generously gave of your time, energy, and homes to make us feel so welcome!
Friends
The Southern Gentlemen hosted their 5th annual tailgate, and it provided the perfect setting for an entire afternoon full of laughter and time catching up with dear friends.
Family
We had wonderful reunions both in Auburn and back in Birmingham...
Isn't our niece Laney just the cutest?
(The unfortunately placed beverage bottle in the background of this one makes me laugh.)
Tradition
Excitement
About the announcement of this Southern Gentleman baby,
and the engagement of this lovely lady just two days after our glorious coffee catch-up date in Birmingham!
Congrats James & Leslie and Stacey & Nima! We are so excited for you guys!!!
We fought the crowds and took in the holiday sites...
Turns out there is a lot to see in NYC. We weathered the wind and cold, ate delicious food, (sort of) mastered the subway, and managed to see quite a bit in our 4 day trip...
Thanks NYC - my expectations were high and you exceeded them all!
