God's promises never fail.

"Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: '...I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.'... I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind." 

Genesis 9:8-17

[This rainbow photo in New York after Hurricane Sandy was found here. Simply amazing. After seeing so much devastation and feeling so discouraged by the "worst storm in the city's history" that has impacted so many this week, this is a miracle of the things God has promised. I may or may not have shed a small tear when I saw these beautiful rainbows shining above Manhattan.]

good morning (in) chicago

This was my view in Chicago from the moment I woke up - literally, from my pillow in my bed.

Not too shabby, I must say.

[thanks again Julie for being the hostess with the mostess!]

reunion no. 2

The second reunion in the last few weeks was with an old friend, Amy J. LeeAnne and I met Amy at the meet-and-greet part of the service at Redeemer (not the cookie room, but the part where you shake hands with those around you for 15 seconds! yes, quite unbelievable that we became such instant friends.) during our first summer internships over five years ago. When we told her we were from Alabama she said, "Woww. That's REALLY southern!"

Amy came for a quick visit last week, and Katherine and I met up with her for a Shake Shack dinner. We realized that we've only all lived in the same place for a total of 3 months, but we became quick friends that summer as we all shared the very new experiences of the working world + life in a big city. Amy please don't be such a stranger! Come back and visit soon...even if it means taking another 20 hour bus ride from the Carolinas, AmyJ-style.

a quick glimpse

...of my life flashing before my eyes.

at the SkyDeck Ledge in Chicago this weekend. In case I haven't mentioned it before, I'm deathly afraid of heights. I couldn't even take this picture because I couldn't look down, nor could I put my entire foot on the glass floor - a few inches was far enough. Thank you LeeAnne, then, for helping me to document this death-defying experience and taking the picture. 

reunion no. 1

I had a good span running for about a week where I had several reunions in a row with several long-lost friends. (I suppose not "long-lost" per se, perhaps ones I'd just like to see much more often.) The first one was with my good buddy from elementary school, junior high, and high school. We go waaay back. All the way to the pencil sharpener episode in Mrs. Dockery's 3rd grade class, in fact. (Ask me for the story on that some time, it's a good one.) Of course, it was a blast catching up.

hi, from chicago!

[note to self: I love this city! & sorry I'm not sorry for all the Bean pictures to come. Here's no. 1]

chicago bound.

I am Chicago bound tonight! I'll be hopping on a plane with LeeAnne for a short, fun-filled weekend in Chicago to visit an NYC friend transplanted there for law school. If you have any suggestions on what I should see & do there, please share. It's my first time! I apologize in advance for the 500 pictures I'm sure to take at The Bean in Millenium Park.

on glitter:

...describes me so well.

conversation at the yogurt counter

I had been noticing the new yogurt place, Yapple, in the neighborhood the last few weeks, but hadn't made time to stop in and try it out until last Friday afternoon. I inadvertently ended up there at 3pm with all the teenie boppers, so my conversation at the checkout counter went something like this:

Yapple worker: Hi, do you have your student ID? You get a discount.

me: I have one, I wish I could use it...but...I think it's probably expired by now.

Yapple worker: Expired?! (confused look)

me: yeaaa. I've been out of school for a long time.

Yapple worker: OH...ooooh, you look good for your age!

me: ("for my age"? I didn't say I was 50.)

me: Well. Thank you. I'll take it...

kids these days

Some kid, somewhere in New York is running around the streets of the Upper East Side wearing a $178.00 JCrew sequined shirt. For the entire 1 month that it fits them. While I'm sure they look adorable, I'm also (almost) sure they have a spaghetti stain or something of the like splattered on the front, too. Is this really what parents buy their kids these days?

I was thinking about my friend, Meg, when I saw this shirt. Doesn't Miss Reagan need one of these for her 3rd birthday party? Just think about how fancy & sparkly she would look.

sticky's finger joint

I discovered the best chicken fingers in all of New York City on Monday night: Sticky's Finger Joint. That's a big feat considering I've lived here four years and tried hundreds of chicken fingers around the city, and I just made this discovery two nights ago. That's saying something.

I got a special coupon on Gilt City for a dinner for 2 that included two orders of chicken fingers, two sides, two slaws, 4+ sauces, and two drinks. And, for only $26 when that package normally would have cost over $45. I was pretty excited. But making our order was no easy task with 10+ options for chicken fingers and almost 20 options for dipping sauce, alone!

As we were trying to make our final decisions on dipping sauce (15 min after starting our order), we asked the woman for recommendations. She said, "If you like ranch, ours is really good." She had no idea who she was talking to but this was the moment I became a fan for life. 100% sold.

Sticky's: Before

Sticky's: After

a blast.

I had so much fun with my family this weekend while my brother and niece were visiting from Alabama. (Much) more to come later! Too bad they couldn't visit for an entire week instead...

a night at the ballet

[in front of Lincoln Center]

On Friday night, my friend Kyo invited me to go to a New York City Ballet performance with her for the world premiere of Year of the Rabbit. It's a new ballet choreographed by Justin Peck with music by Sufjan Stevens, and it.was.wonderful. I've been to only one other ballet since I've lived in New York, which resulted in Kyo having to explain a lot to me. (sorry, Kyo!)

There were two other pieces in the show that night, one that was choreographed by Benjamin Millepied (who happens to be Natalie Portman's husband!, and choreographed most of the movie Black Swan) and one piece choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. And, to top off the wonderful culture-filled evening, I had a perfect view from where I was sitting of my friend Harrison, who was on my Cape Town mission team and plays the bassoon for the ballet with the orchestra.

hi, from new jersey!

[At the cutest little cafe in all of Morristown: Cafe on the Green, with the best darn homemade hot chocolate & marshmallows I've ever tasted.]

citywide worship, tonight

If you're looking for something to do tonight, this is it: Citywide Worship at Mason Hall. I went to this event back in January, and it was beautiful. It's always a very powerful thing to see churches from across the city come together for worship and one common mission. Too bad I have to miss tonight. If you go, will you let me know how it is? I hope they take another photo like this.

she's on her way!

[ waiting on a delayed connecting flight in Chicago last night ]

My 11-yr old niece is going to be in the Big Apple this weekend! She and her dad have already made their way to New Jersey as of last night. I can't wait for all of the fun things we have planned, which may or may not include a trip to the Crayola factory in Pennsylvania...

what makes you beautiful

I love this unconventional rendition of the very popular One Direction song: 

"What Makes You Beautiful"

I could watch it 100 times over.

a happy birthday to a special lady:

MY MOM!!!

I won't tell you how old she is, but I do know she's older than 26. This is a picture of her on her birthday in 2010, celebrating New York-New Jersey style (that's why she looks so excited)! I wish we could do it again, but there's always next year. Happy birthday, Mom!

feeling sheepish

I'm feeling a little sheepish around these parts these days. I only posted on this blog 3 times during the month of September, and if the truth comes out, I barely posted anything all summer, really. Now it's been so long I hardly even know what to write about anymore. I have so many pictures and stories from the summer that I still want to share, not to mention the 500 new things that come to mind each day to post, but it's hard to jump back in again after taking an unplanned summer-long hiatus. (Where do I start? Does anyone even read this anymore?) But with the new season and a new month to ring in, I'm turning over a new leaf and feeling good about that. But no need to hold your breath; I'll be keeping my word on more blog posts coming soon, & I'm glad to have you here!

[photo from pinterest]

hello, october

It's October again. And New York City sure is beautiful this time of year. Somehow I seem to forget that every year, but I've quickly remembered.  Oh my, it's wonderful. Fall is here at last!

[photo taken at the Bodega on 73rd and Columbus.]