Monday, November 29, 2010

Oh I'm a lucky man, to count on both hands, the ones I love:


Hello Hello,

I just got back from Rochester this morning from the Thanksgiving holiday. I had a wonderful time catching up with my family and slowing down the pace of life for awhile. My mother, being the excellent cook that she is, made a wonderful meal. It was also nice to see my grandparents while I was home and catch up with friends and old neighbors. This year, I have so much to be thankful for in no particular order:
1. A family who is healthy & happy
2. Grandparents still living
3. A boyfriend who loves me (most days. :) ) and who is now with me more often.
4. Friends I can rely on when things get hard
5. Two great roomates
6. A beautful house
7. A Job
8. Traveling - Hilton Head, Miami, the Shore, Alexandria, Atlantic City, NYC, Baltimore

Some days I catch myself missing my life in Rochester, but then I read above, and I realize how truely blessed I have been this year. I couldnt ask for more.

I hope this finds you all having a wonderful Holiday season. Make sure to count your blessings.


Thursday, November 18, 2010

Sips & Bites

A few weeks back, I was feeling sort of depressed so I decided to see if I could conjure up a group of girls to do something fun. I had come across a wine class called "girls night out" at this place called Pinot Boutique in Old City Philadelphia. After trying hard to wrangle up some girlfriends, and realizing that everyone was too busy, I put it on hold.

A few days later my friend "A" came across a groupon for a discount on the wine classes I had been looking at, so we decided to buy it, even if it was just the two of us. Since the "Girls Night Out" class had already came and went, we decided to attend a class called "Sips & Bites with Vintage" Last night we left work around 5 & took the train to old city for the class. This specific class was given at a wine bar called Vintage , and not at the wine boutique itself, because it focused on not only wine tasting, but wine and food pairings. We arrived at Vintage and were seated with the other people taking the class. We were given a 4 course tasting (very small taste) menu each pared with a different wine.

First Course: Parsnip Soup paired with a Parradox Reserve Chardonnay. (excellent)
Second Course: Marcilliac - Marisots (red table wine) paired with salted beet and goat cheese salad (also good)
Third course: Santa Isabelle - Malbec paired with Braised short ribs (stellar short ribs &wine)
Dessert: Rosenblum Chateau la Paws - Ode de Bone paired with a pumpkin creme fresh.

All and all the food was great! Since it was only a tasting menu, we stayed after and ordered a couple more things from the wine bar because by that point it was 8pm and we were starving fro all our "tastes". On our way back to the train station, "A" and I were walking down Chestnut street and saw about 5 police cars lined up with some taxi's . She commented that she wondered what happened? When I looked over, all the cop cars and the taxi's were "NYPD" and "NY Taxi". We then realized that we had walked onto a movie set. They were using a store front in Philly to simulate NYC. When we arrived, they were filming a shooting scene complete with flashing police car lights and fake gun shot noises. We watched a few takes, it was pretty fun!

All and all, I am so glad we went, I can always count on "A" to be up for doing things with me. It is something I really admire about her. She never had any drama, and anything you suggest, she is more then willing to give it a shot. I wish I could say the same for the 11 other girls I invited but did not respond. I will definitely do this again soon, its nice to get out on a weeknight and break up the work week.

xoxo until next time.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Hey, its OK!

Every Month I subscribe to Glamour Magazine. There is a lot of good stuff in there but I am particularly fond of the one page spread that they do called the "guilt free Page" This months guilt free page went something like this:
Hey Its OK:
1. To wear Silly Bandz one day and Grandpa's Rolex the next
2. To the the dressing actually on the salad, not on the side
3. To wear the exact same outfit this tuesday as you did last Tuesday, right down to the earings.
4. To let whoever feels like it pay for dinner, without hte mental gymnastics over gender rolls and who earns more.
5. To come up with a whole load of laundry so your lucky underwear will be clean for tomorrow.
6. To be a tiny bit scared of revolving doors.
7. To have an unreasonably large purse.

This got me thinking of things that I worry are not OK.. or feel guilty about that maybe I should give myself permission to not feel bad.
1. To I eat pasta more then once in a week
2. To not know how your life will turn out
3. To buy as much COACH as you desire
4. To go to bed without the kitchen being spotless
5. To like shows that play on ABC Family
6. To get mad at my boyfriend for doing something dumb.

How about you--- if you could give yourself the permission, what would be OK for you?

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