hotel-ster

(via our last hotel stay)

there is something 100% amazing about staying in a hotel.

the clean white sheets, fluffy towels, and occasional room service is so relaxing. I'm not even kidding I don't even care where we are, if we're staying in a hotel I'm in! I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this, right ladies? 

this weekend jray and I are going up to newport, RI for a weekend getaway. even though I'm excited about the trip and the sight seeing, I must say I'm equally excited about the hotel room. you better believe I'm leaving my wet towels on the floor of the bathroom and I'm taking the shampoo.

don't judge me.

day four

and i'm feelin good.

this fitness challenge is whipping me into shape.

I was getting down to business for a bit before I started but when I got on the scale this morning I saw a number I hadn't seen in awhile 

YAY

I'm loving this challenge so much that I'm already starting to think of how I'm going to merge this lifestyle with my own when the 8 weeks are over. I don't want to just fall right back into old habits, but it won't be as easy to be strict without this challenge.

I thought the hardest part was going to be not eating after eight, but the thing is... you really don't need to eat after dinner. it's so much easier not to do it when you've decided you're not going to in advance. 

four days down...52 to go

high in the sky

  

california dreamin: episode I

over our summer vaca in california I took approximately 2,000 pictures of our adventures. I decided to share them all in a mini series. fun fun. Im calling it california dreamin... very apropos

heres episode one for your enjoyment.

{a day at the beach}

collecting sand crabs and sea shells

uh oh, sand on the face

sand castles

home sweet home

day one

this is the first day of the 8 week fitness challenge I'm doing with some girlfriends
(and their girlfriends... 67 people total) 

my game face is ON!
the rules are this:

No desserts (6 points + 1 bonus point = 7 points)

No soda (6 points + 1 bonus point = 7 points)

No eating after 8pm (6 points + 1 bonus point = 7 points)

15 minutes of Scripture study** (6 points + 1 bonus point = 7 points)

Exercise 5 times a week for 30 minutes at a time (5 points + 1 bonus point = 6 points)

Weekly Challenge (6 points + 1 bonus point = 7 points)

You will receive one free day a week.  So everything is based on 6 days, except for exercise which is only 5.

Total points possible per week: 41

Weekly Challenges

Week 1:  Keep a food journal every day

Week 2:  Get 7 hours a sleep every night

Week 3:  5 servings of veggies every day

Week 4:  Drink 64 fluid ounces of water every day

Week 5:  Do 100 sit ups and 50 push ups every day.  Does not have to be one sitting

Week 6:  Eat 4 servings of fruit every day

Week 7:  Eat 5 small meals every day

Week 8:  Run/walk at least a half marathon (on top of the 5 days of exercise).  Does not have to be completed in one day, but needs to total 13.1 miles)

**A note on the The "scripture study" requirement... this can be from your choice of book of scripture or any other book that you read from that provides spiritual/religious guidance.  In this challenge we are aiming for a more well-balanced life that includes spiritual nourishment of some kind, whether it's religious, or more self-help... whatever it is that feeds your soul is your "scripture study".

I think I can, I think I can...

try not to think differently of me for posing so awkwardly

sunday share.good

via

mutual weirdness

“We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”

-dr. suess

FNO

every year during fashion week nyc kicks the events off with basically a big shopping party called fashions night out.

stores have sales, guest events, and live models. plus a DJ and giveaways. Its pretty fun. so andrea and I started the night at bloomies to meet RZ.

let me tell you this:

 it was MA-JOR

my post work hair and rainy day outfit were not so major, but I don't think rach minded.

she's such a gem.

cheers to dawn for getting in there and snapping this pic of me expressing my love and devotion to RZ.

spoiler alert: if you are watching this season Jeremiah totally makes the cut as he was working the event :)

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songs of september

about every month I put together a new playlist and proceed to listen to it on repeat until I'm completely exhaustified of said songs. I thought I'd share this months on-the-go list.

1. domino: jessie j

2. valerie: amy winehouse 

(side note:  her back to black album got me through some rough times)

3. love of top: beyonce

4. super bass: nicki manaj

 (NM is a  nut job, but I cannot deny the goodness of that song )

5. to the moon: miguel

6. never forget you: wild young hearts

7. terrified: katharine mcphee

8. without you: david guetta & usher

9.not over you: gavin degraw

10. ain't nothin wrong with that: robert randolph

11.just a feeling: maroon 5

12. last firday night: katy perry
13. someone like you: adele
14.smile: avril lavine
(yes avril, that's right)

15. how: maroon 5

let me know if you find any you like too!

911

"If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day, it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us," President Monson wrote. "We should strive for steadiness, and for a commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives. It should not require tragedy for us to remember Him, and we should not be compelled to humility before giving Him our faith and trust. We too should be with Him in every season." 

-Thomas Monson 

 Washington Post Article

sunday night we wandered downtown with the combs to see ground zero.
the memorial was closed for the night but there was plenty of people mulling around it.
living here now has given 911 new meaning to me. 
I felt like going down to ground zero might in some small way help me focus on the magnitude the day.

we looked in through the gates. still lots of construction...

the freedom towerbeing down there that night was, like always, completely surreal.
// It is without a doubt sacred ground//
 I don't know why, but I was surprised to see there were firemen walking around with teary eyes taking pictures. I guess I assumed they were these brave untouchable heros, but they are just trying to deal with the weight of this whole thing like the rest of us.

 I have the hardest time comprehending the gravity of it all. what it must have been like to run from the collapsing building or accept the fact you were not going to get out.
just thinking about the impact 911 had on one individual overwhelms me. then to think all the pain of that one person that will ripple for generations.
then to multiply that by thousands. I just can't process it all. its impossible.
 I have no life experience that allows me to understand the terror and heartbreak of what  occurred in this place I call my home, ten years ago. 


what I can understand is the gratitude I feel. 
deep, sincere gratitude for heros. in all their shaped and sizes.
for freedom.
for love. 
& for God.

this city, is my city

The Street Aesthetic of New York City from Christian Andersen on Vimeo.

this city is my best friend somedays and my enemy others.
even though sometimes I feel like I will burst from the need to get away, right now, right this minute I don't want to be anywhere else.

<3 nyc

Le Vernis de Chanel

oh how I love nail polish. 

I would give my right arm to get the job of the person who gets to name all the shades.

{turquoise and cacaos, shore thing, & geranium}  

check out this snazzy vid featuring chanel's latest shades.

{I just bought blue satin and I adore it.}

via

this just did not happen enough this summer

note to self: summer goes too quick, must move to a place where summer lasts longer.

sunday share.faith

dawn's shower

wendesday night we celebrated dawn and the bun in her oven. I have to tell you she is one of the cutest pregnant women I have ever seen. she's always got her hands resting on what looks like a basketball under her shirt. I hope and pray I am as graceful and glowing as she is when I get knocked up.
anyways it was the most beautiful night up on the rooftop and it reminded me how much I love new york. september is heavenly here.

heather made the most ridiculous cupcakes. orange dreamsicle. 

died and went to heaven.

for jordans birthday I got reservations to blue hill at stone barns. 
its a restaurant on a farm about thirty minutes outside of the city. it was the most amazing dining experience of my life. both jordan and I were mind boggled by the whole thing. I hate to use this word, but honestly it was kind of a magical experience.

we drove up early so we could wander around the grounds. when I think about it now it was a little weird to see all the animals and know we were going to be eating them later, but it didn't bother me at the time.

I put on my jellies to wander the grounds. the greenhouses were my favorite.

here we are!

ladies and gentleman: my husband farmer style

for histories sake I had to document what we ate:

tomato water gespatcho

vegetables from the farm: carrot, tomato, fennel

crispy green beans

tiny tomato burger

summer squash in panchetta and sesame seeds

summer salad: grilled cantaloupe, tomatoes, cucumber, fresh mozzarella, sun dried tomatos

lobster on corn chowder

poached egg on brioche toast with procuitto

warm tomato onion bread with butter and tomato and kale salt

pork medallions, pork belly, bean salad, and new potato

red jacket apricots, blackberries and toasted almond ice cream

strawberry lime soda, summer berries, peach, and chocolate covered hazelnut

chocolate mint tea


so DE-LISH.