reunion @ boat basin

When I moved to New York City for the first time four summers ago in May 2007, I didn't know anyone. And when I say I didn't know anyone, I do mean I didn't know a single soul amongst the 8 million people living here. I had been introduced to one girl, LeeAnne (who is more commonly referred to as LA on this blog), who also went to Auburn, was an interior design student, and was doing an internship in the city with an architecture & design firm, but we didn't really know each other. Then through a serendipitous turn of events, I met Pamela and Katherine in Central Park one Sunday afternoon. They invited me to church at Redeemer to hear Tim Keller (who, at the time, I'd actually never heard of...gasp!). I thought they were being nice and friendly southerners who I'd probably never hear from again until I received a phone call later that afternoon with a voice on the other end saying "Hey! It's Katherine from Central Park! Where should we meet for church?" We, along with LA, all became fast friends (and one other, AmyJ, who LeeAnne and I met at the meet&greet portion of a church service the next week) and joined a start-up fellowship group the next week. Katherine and Pamela had met Aaron at a citilights event who was just starting a group with a few friends he'd met at a Redeemer Retreat earlier in the spring. We all became great friends and a very unique fellowship group from many different stages and walks of life. Since then, the original fellowship group has grown and changed and multiplied into at least 5 different sister groups. Aaron has a gift for bringing people in, teaching them, and then sending them back out to form new groups and bring more into the circle. Then we all get together and talk about the good ole days when the group was in its infancy and the five southerners were only referred to as "the interns". Things have changed a lot, but some things never will. Getting together, catching up and looking at how far God has brought the group in only three short years sure is fun, and especially when the venue is Boat Basin!

I love this picture of Pamela... not sure what I'm thinking about though.

Pamela, me and LA. (And Katherine will finally be rejoining us in the city in August!)

The "interns" (minus Katherine and Amy) with the grandfather leader, Aaron.

accent walls

I was looking for inspiration on accent walls today and I found some good stuff. There are some beautiful and creative walls out there.

she's ready

...for the beach in 23 days!!!

mini-cinnamon rolls

My sister got the recipe for these, here. Then she gave the recipe to my mom who then gave the recipe to me. And coincidentally, I woke up with a big craving for cinnamon rolls last Sunday morning. So, I whipped these up (very easily, I might add) and they were delicious. And I decided to share the love.

Cini Minis

1 can crescent rolls

Butter

Cinnamon Sugar

Confectioners Sugar

Milk

Unroll and press the two triangles (the crescent rolls) together at perforations. (You'll have one big rectangle!) Spread soft butter over the crescent rolls. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Roll up, along the long side of rectangle. Cut the roll into slices (like slice-n-bake cookies!), and bake according to the crescent roll package. (I baked mine on 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, and they were cooked perfectly!)

For Icing

Mix approximately 1/2 cup confectioners sugar with a tablespoon of milk and stir until it reaches the right consistency. (I had to add a little more confectioners sugar...hence the reason for the icing all over the cookie sheet in the photo above!) Drizzle icing on mini cinnamon rolls.

the zoo

On Saturday, Brendan and I joined our friends Julie and Andrew for an outing at the Bronx Zoo. It was even more fun than I was expecting, and a ton more fun than Brendan was expecting. We went through "the Congo" to see the monkeys, an okapi, gorillas, then the tigers, giraffes, peacocks, and sea lions as we made our rounds through the park. Who knew, walking around a zoo in New York City could feel spacious, but it was wonderful! If you live in the city and haven't been, I would definitely give it a thumbs up and suggest you go. If you can avoid it, stay away from Saturdays, though, because it's packed, but definitely worth the trip uptown. After the zoo, Brendan introduced me to, as he called it, the best Italian food anywhere, except Italy. We had lunch on Arthur Avenue (Little Italy in the Bronx) at a restaurant called Emilia's, and it was delicious. It was great Italian food with seemingly more authenticity than most Italian restaurants in Manhattan. It was a fun day, followed by a birthday party picnic on the Hudson River, which ended the day nicely. I'm so thrilled to see summer back in full force!

au singer show in nyc!

Tonight, Brendan and I went to an Auburn Singers performance at St. Malachy's church in the Theater District. It was a great show and a great performance (and ever-so-kind of Brendan to accompany me). I also got to see one of my baby hoots, Sarah Beth (she is second from the left in the above picture), perform which was a real joy! It made me miss Auburn and college and all of the great memories and friends I have from there and also feel very inspired by all the talent and beautiful voices surrounding me. I sure hope to be back on the plains soon, but tonight was close enough!

humility as the basis for courage

Read my thoughts about that, in correlation with 1 Peter 5 on The Park Forum's blog today!

Humility as the Basis for Courage

would rather be here

than HERE today. It's rainy (and, I mean raining cats and dogs) in New York today. It hasn't tapered off all afternoon. And did I mention cold? It's freezing...again. It's 51 degrees outside right now. And look how cozy and comfortable this bed looks! Not only is the decor beautiful, but it looks like the sun is shining in from a nearby window somewhere while the bed has a nice, relaxing place in this cute little alcove. Looks like the perfect alternative for days like today.

it's (almost) summer!

Last night sealed the deal. Summer is almost back! We celebrated a friend, Allison's, birthday at the Boat Basin with perfect company, perfect weather, a perfect view of the sunset, and a perfect Jersey City skyline and Hudson River view after the sun went down. I survived another northeast winter and could not be more excited about SUMMER again!

"weekend update"

with Tina Fey! Except she wasn't on the set of SNL on Saturday afternoon, she was in Sheep Meadow in Central Park, sitting 10 feet away from me and Pamela. This was one of the most fun celebrity sightings I've had in the Big Apple. We could hear her talking, as we stealthily listened in on every word we could hear, and wore our sunglasses so she wouldn't know we were staring at her for over an hour.

my travels in the lonestar state

It very well might have been the quickest trip I've ever taken. But, it was also one of the most fun! My super-incredible-unbelievably cheap bargain plane ticket, getting to catch up with my old NYC roomie, Lara, and having two free days to explore a fun city and visit somewhere I'd never been before provided an unexpected thrill for my week. I definitely wasn't there long enough, but just enough to get a good taste (somewhat, literally) of Austin. Guess I'll just have to go back soon...

The Capitol and all that it entails.

Stars everywhere! They don't call it the Lonestar State for nothing.

Bright and fun details around the city.

And a few more.

And the one picture to prove that I was actually in Austin with Lara!

[who knew you could take so many pictures in a 24-hour time period?!]

short and sweet

My trip to Austin will be very short and sweet, considering I just decided to go this morning at 11 AM. I'll be there in less than 24 hours from now! And then, a little more than 24 hours after that, I'll be back on my way home. Thank you, JetBlue, for great deals and a $20 round trip ticket. (Yes, TWENTY dollars! I didn't forget a zero.) I can't wait!!!

thinking ahead

...waaay ahead. But, I hope that one day my kids' room will look a lot like this. How adorable is the tree painted on the wall with an owl sitting in front. I love the 3-dimensional idea of it!

[found via Design*Sponge, Lauren's Nursery]

a wise little girl

I agree, Grace is a wise little girl. And watching this makes me tear up...but there's no surprise there.

thanks, Mom for telling me about this clip!

live with regis and kelly

Yesterday morning, my roommate Margaret and I braved the 6:30 AM wake up call and waited in the standby line for tickets to see Live with Regis and Kelly. Luckily we didn't have far to go and ended up being the second and third person in line! We got tickets and got second row seats to see the show. My great affinity for the show has definitely died down since high school and college, but it was slightly rekindled yesterday...

save the animals...with dawn!

In light of the oil spill in the Gulf, I thought I'd post this adorable (and sad) commercial from Dawn.

[I copied it from my friend Dana's blog here.]

the joys of video chat

On Friday, I got to watch Abbey open her birthday present (a few weeks late...) from Buck, Christine and me in real time...while Abbey sat in Kentucky and I sat in New York. Technology is pretty amazing, and I think the gift was a hit! There was pure ecstasy on this little girl's face when she realized what was actually inside the glitter-sparkle Hello Kitty suitcase: lipgloss, fingernail polish, and mirrors!