nyc – Page 8 – forEVR and always

Then there are days…

January 4, 20131 Comment

There are days where I love nyc…when friends are visiting, going out on the town, eating amazing food, celebrating holidays, loving my neighborhood…and then there are days like yesterday…

Yesterday was 30 degrees outside but 85 degrees on the subway, we had to have the exterminator come to get rid of the mice (gross), I literally had to drag Rondo into the vet because he didn’t want to go in (and of course we were running late), I started making dinner then realized I didn’t have 1/2 the ingredients (awesome), and I think both of us are getting sick…ay! I try not to whine on here but yesterday was so frustrating…

Here are some things that remind me how good life is…even when I’m about to pass out on the subway from my jacket, there are mice crawling in our obscenely expensive apartment walls, and work is making me bananas…

(rondo and nick over on nye)

(found this weirdo in the tub yesterday just hanging out)

(this great pic julie took of rondo out with us on nye)

(shawty boom)

(oh wait…this one makes me feel queasy)

(Thanks for letting me steal all your pics Jules…you’re amazing!)

Have a wonderful weekend all!

xo-j

Back to Business

January 2, 2013January 2, 20132 Comments

I can’t believe vacation is already over and it is 2013! Christmas and New Years Eve were both wonderful…couldn’t have been better (with the exception of a trip to the dr on christmas day)! Here are some pictures of friends visiting, family, and the great time we had closing up 2012. We’re ready for our upcoming year of big changes…bring it on 2013!!

(present time!)

(rondo had a special christmas treat)

(nicks adorable kitty, visiting family in ma!)

(best friends from nc came to visit)

(the siblings on nye)

(my brother came to bk for nye!)

(can’t wait to enjoy 2013 with this guy)

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays and a happy happy new year!

xo-j

little christmas/big gift

December 21, 20123 Comments

(our tree and wrapped presents)

Last night we had little Christmas at our apartment. We exchanged gifts, ate a ridiculous amount of Italian food, and watched a movie. Though I’m sad we won’t be together on the actual day, it was a lot of fun to have our first Christmas living together and with Rondo.

(rondo “helping” me wrap the other day)

We exchanged gifts and I didn’t know what to expect from Jay…what he gave was more than I could have imagined…8 days in Punta Cana at this crazy luxurious resort! You can check it out here! How did I get so lucky?! I can’t believe in just a couple weeks we will be sitting on the beach relaxing together with nothing to worry about…now all we need is a puppy sitter…Mommmmmm :)????!!!!

Here are some more fun ones from present time last night:

(rondo’s daycare gave him a stocking! they are the greatest!)

(rondo hiding all his new toys behind the pillows of our bed & our mantle full of cards)

(jay opening, rondo loving his new metrocard toy…such a new yorker)

(the boys tuckered out from playing/opening…so cute)

My favorite gift I got Jay was this custom made poster since he loves Game of Thrones so much…

Pretty cool right? With his real family saying too!

Almost time for 11 days off from work…11! Looking forward to spending time with so many friends and family at home, in Boston, and back in Brooklyn next week. Wishing everyone happy, healthy, and wonderful holidays!

xo-j

bon appétit

December 20, 2012Leave a comment

(frozen hot chocolate at serendipity)

Lately we have been on an endless journey of lunches, dinners, drinks, and holiday parties…not that I’m complaining, but we have been busy and completely stuffed for the past two weeks! Nothing like the holidays in NYC to fill you up…

(lunch at serendipity…erin and i dressed the same by accident!)

(more serendipty & dylans candy bar!)

(holiday lunch with all my girls from work!)

(rolling stone holiday party)

(i had 3 of these this week and a countless amount of cookies…oh dear)

Jay’s cousin from Italy came to visit NYC with his girlfriend and we had a great dinner at 1 or 8 in Williamsburg…so yummy…

(nyc skyline from our rooftop)

Now just a couple more days until Christmas and a whole lot more eating to do in the mean time! Can’t wait to do little family Christmas tomorrow with these two bubs…

xo-j

Visitors

December 17, 2012Leave a comment

This weekend Jay’s friends came to visit from Cali and boy did we party…seriously, I’m still tired! Here are some fun pictures from the weekend in Brooklyn with our friends…

FRIDAY

(out in manhattan for the night)

SATURDAY

(rondo in bed still at 11am…he was up playing until way too late)

(hanging before starting our day)

(rondo falling asleep sitting up in the sun)

(first stop of many at Spritzenhaus…the kale salad is seriously unreal)

(goofing around with em at surf bar for dinner)

(probably my favorite from the weekend. i somehow got the boys to take this one with the trees)

(last stop at lucky dog. rondo came for that one!)

Now it’s time to start my last week of work before the holidays!

xo-j

Home For Good Dogs/Looking Down On Us

December 14, 2012Leave a comment

I think you all know, not only by the name of the blog, we are kind of (ok totally) obsessed with our little Rondo. I thought today I would share the story of how we brought home this guy and the amazing work Home For Good Dogs is doing!

We had been looking for a puppy for a while….we used Pet Finder, looked through tons of sites, and sent countless emails to both shelters and breeders. Then one day Jay found Rondo (who was listed as a girl!) and we fell in love with his picture.

003 (the picture on pet finder of rondo)

Then life took a turn, as it does, and I lost my cousin. It couldn’t have been more tragic and is something I still can’t comprehend…the day after as we were making plans to travel home to be with my family, HFGD called and told me we were approved for Rondo (who at that time we thought was a girl and we were going to name Cholula). I told them I wouldn’t be able to come get him as we had a horrible loss in the family, but thank you so much…

As I was talking to Toni from HFGD (amazing woman!) it turned out HFGD is located in the town where my cousin lived. Again, I told her how I would love to meet the puppies, but I wouldn’t be able to. She understood, but as we were about to hang up she asked where I lived in NJ (about 45 minutes away from my cousins house and HFGD) and she said “no problem! we will just bring the dogs to that petsmart for you on Sunday”. And quick as that everything changed.

That weekend I went to meet up with Toni and the puppies. She picked them both up and that’s when we realized that though they were both listed as girls, one was most definitely a boy! I held them both and didn’t know how I could possibly decide who to bring home…then Rondo licked my face and I was sold.

I like to think my cousin was looking down (and even though she wasn’t a pet person) she sent us Rondo. I’m always calling Rondo my little heaven angel…

(rondo’s first day home sleepy in his bed)

I can’t say enough about the amazing work Home For Good Dogs does. They are non-profit full of loving, helpful, warm volunteers who only want the best for their adoptable dogs. Look at some of these cuties who need homes now…

Please take some time and like their Facebook to continue support for this wonderful place! If you know of anyone in the area looking for a loving pet to bring home please look to them! They have adoption events in Milburn throughout December.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and this story brings a little bit of light to your day, as Rondo does with us.

xo-j

3 Years

December 13, 2012December 13, 2012Leave a comment

Last night Jay and I went to dinner for our 3 year anniversary at Marlow & Sons. Everything was so delicious and it was really nice to go out to dinner alone (we’re so busy it doesn’t happen too much!). I took some pictures but they all turned out dark…bear with me here…

(duck leg with green apples, spinach, onion, and so many spices mmm. sweet sunchokes with bacon. crostini with feta, fennel, and red onion salad)

(my man loving his chicken/lemon/rice soup. if you know jay, you know his world revolves around soup. look at the concentration!)

(table settings, menu, chalkboard menu)

(attempt to take a picture of us)

It was a really nice night, followed by the 12.12.12 concert, a double overtime Celtics win, and this little guy doing this all on his own after a walk in the cold…

He cracks us up!

xo-j

Butterball Cookies

December 11, 2012Leave a comment

(rondo investigating the cookies…good thing they were covered!)

This weekend I made my favorite cookies for Christmas/Doug’s Birthday! They are so yummy and beyond easy. I thought I would share the recipe with you today.

What You Need

1 stick butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar + some for rolling
1 cup flour
1 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Directions

Preheat to 250

1. Cream the butter and powdered sugar together in mixing bowl

2. Make sure that is all mixed up well…

3. Now add the flour, vanilla, water, and nuts. Continue to mix…I use a spoon at first then my hands for this part because I think it works better than the mixer.

4. Once it is all mixed up start rolling the mixture into about tsp size balls…

5. Place balls on a cookie sheet. No need to space, they don’t rise. Cook for 30-40 minutes.

6. Get your powdered sugar ready for rolling! The second you take the cookies out of the oven, roll them into the sugar…

7. Let cool…and you are done! Tasty simple butterball cookies!

I hope you enjoy this recipe! One of our close family friends always made them for us when we were kids and they’ve been my favorite ever since!

xo-j

ABC

December 10, 20122 Comments

This weekend we had our Anniversary, celebrated 2 Birthdays, and my Mom had her Concert!

Friday we had our friend’s (also called Justine!) birthday at Stand4. It was so yummy! Boozy shakes…mmm…

Saturday was our anniversary! I got Jay a bunch of game of thrones glasses for our apartment since he loves the books/show and I keep breaking all our glasses…whoops!

That night we went out to celebrate Jay’s brother-in-laws birthday! Look at this perfect couple…

Then Sunday I went home to see my Mom’s chorus concert. They were wonderful…especially Mama!

I also got to meet my brother’s new kitty Caesar…I tried to steal him…

Some other randoms from the weekend…

(sleepy boy, hair for dinner sat., orchid has 3 new blooms…how it is still alive idk)

(the city from the pier saturday night)

Now it’s back to work…how is it Monday already? Hope everyone had a great weekend!
xo-j

Lately…

December 6, 2012Leave a comment

Wild weeks at work mean lazy nights at home. I did however do some quality wrapping while Jay was out at his basketball game last night! Here are some things from around the city and home in the past couple days…

(walk in central park in the weird warm weather monday)