Underpants, Puppy Dog & A Love Affair

Today, I would like to encourage each and every one of you to take time to dance like a crazy person in your underpants.

Once you've done that, you're welcome to come back and hear my thoughts on a long distance love affair, summer, a golden-doodle named Lucy, and beach time.

Last weekend, we played on the beach. It was such a tease because it was just a teensy bit too chilly with the wind, but then the wind would die down and it was perfect. I'm craving summer with a vengeance. Check out these cute faces! I think Chris was over having his picture taken. Oh well :) 

I've fallen head over heels in love with Lucy. She's so snuggly and makes me laugh out loud when she bounds around trying to find her toys. 

Don't know about you, but I cannot wait until it's warm all the time and I can get some semblance of a tan again. Something about being so pale makes me feel unhealthy. 


I don't care how popular Twilight is - the whole reflective skin thing is not my style.

So when I started this whole long distance love affair, I wasn't sure what to think. At first, I didn't even know if I wanted a relationship. All I knew was there was this guy who made me ridiculously giddy. 

We started corresponding, 

and then hanging out, 

and pretty soon we were seeing each other every weekend. 

He is always game for an adventure of any sort, so since we were travelling to see each other every weekend, we started going on random trips. So far we've been to Nashville, Miami and New Orleans.

Any reasonable person, after realizing that this has turned into something, thinks through the logistics. 

1. You have three states between you and the person you're dating with no end to the distance in sight. 

2. You are in grad school and working full time (and at the beginning had a second job). 

3. He works 60+ hour weeks with potential "short term" assignments in foreign countries. 

How could this possibly work? Are we setting ourselves up for failure? 

Then you think through the reality of the situation:

1. You can't stop thinking about him. 

2. You smile every time you see his name light up your phone. 

3. You don't have time to start something new with someone during the week. Your only free time really is on the weekends. 

4. His only free time is on the weekends. 

5. For the first time in your life, you don't really care what anyone says about it. 

This just might work. 

And now, here we are. The weekends have become my escape from the craziness of juggling life and work and school. 

We go on fun dates.

We just hang out.

We laugh, and joke and play. 

And,

Yes, I have to do some homework on the weekends, but for the most part, it's our time.

No, at this point, there is no real end to the distance in sight. And we have our ups and downs, just like any relationship. 

But, I'm happy. 

I'm really, truly happy. 

Welcome to Miami

Chris' buddies welcomed us to Miami on Friday evening. This was my first time meeting his friends from Miami and I was warned ahead of time that it might be a bit overwhelming, in the way that only a group of guys bro-ing out can be.

 I had nothing to worry about. 

They were a great time and treated me like gold the whole time I was there. 

We were woken up Saturday morning with summons to come out to the balcony. I jumped out of bed and scrambled for my camera. 

The guys had climbed from the second story balcony onto the roof above. 

Quite the early morning wake up call! 

Chris warned me that we might be in for a bit of a raucous weekend, but we didn't go to any bars while we were there. 

His buddy, Alex, had just gotten a gorgeous 42ft fishing boat and we spent most of our time out on the water. 

The sea was a bit rough, but I loved every second of it. We even encountered waves close to 8ft, but this boat handled it like a gem. 

Sunday evening, things were a bit calmer, and we took the boat to dinner in Miami. We pulled the boat up to the dock and ate amazing seafood on the porch overlooking the water. 

 I finally got a chance to see the "U"'s campus after hearing so much about Chris' college days! Don't get me wrong, St. Mary's was amazing and I loved every second of it, but the University of Miami has a definite resort feel. They took the fun that we had on the waterfront 3 months out of every school year, and extended it to the full year. This weekend was one of their coldest weekends, with lows in the high 40s and highs in the mid 70s. It was heaven. Can you imagine that much sunshine and warmth?! 

We went out kite fishing and were 0 for 2 on sailfish. The reel stopped working and the fish escaped. Chris did get a mackerel while we were bait fishing though!  

This boat flies - we went 60+ mph. 

Imagine sitting on the hood of your car and flying down the highway - add some better scenery and you've got it. 

Chris and I climbed (yes, you have to hold on for dear life and climb your way forward when you're going that fast!) our way forward to the bow and held onto the anchor line for stability. 

Exhilarating doesn't begin to describe the feeling. 

 As much as the guys care about fishing...I really - don't. It's nice, but it doesn't get me crazy excited, so just having time out on the water was so much fun. 

My favorite part of the whole weekend was Sunday morning out on the water. We only had 4 people on the boat including me and we cranked great tunes, had a few beers and soaked up the sun. I helped a bit with the fishing, but mostly just hung out.  The guys enjoy each other's company so much and it was a lot of fun to spend time with them.

All in all, I'm crossing my fingers for good weather next weekend. If the wind is right, we're going back for a boat trip to the Bahamas. 

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

“I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.” - William Penn

This weekend, Chris and I met in the middle of NYC and Baltimore in Philadelphia. We walked all over the city and checked out the National Constitution Center, Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell, just to name a few. 

Display in the museum housing the Liberty Bell. 

National Constitution Center

Independence Hall

The Liberty Bell

The tree in Rittenhouse Square

Funky art house on South Street

We couldn't leave South Street without pizza from Lorenzo's!

If you've ever been to Philly, you've likely been to Lorenzo's. They offer pizza by the slice and toppings aren't an option. The slices are bigger than my head (literally) so Chris and I split one. 

Penn Station- Philly

It's funny, I always seem to be coming or going from Penn Station. It's either Baltimore's Penn Station, New York's Penn Station or now Philly's Penn Station. Chris met me by the Christmas tree when I got into town. Isn't the tree beautiful? You can tell how high the ceilings are with the tree as reference. The tree was at least 15ft tall if not taller! 

Sal and Jo were generous enough to host us this weekend. Sal welcomed us with pumpkin beer and snacks. 

Chris told me that he had a Christmas surprise for me a month or two ago. Obviously, I was dying to know what it was! He told me to bring a dress, but wouldn't give me any clues as to what type of dress other than "a nice one".

Hmmm...what type of "nice" dress would you bring? 

Whenever I asked him what we'd be doing, he said we were going jetskiing. 

Haha, very funny. 

 Needless to say, I brought three dresses. 

Finally, on Friday after we got into town, after much pestering on my part, he told me where he was taking me! 

Luckily, I had brought an appropriate dress!

We went to dinner at a cozy Italian restaurant, La Viola, and then went to one of the most beautiful concert halls I've ever seen. It even began to snow on our way there! 

The Kimmel Center hosts "The Glorious Sound of Christmas" each year, where the Philadelphia Orchestra performs with a choir. They played traditional Christmas carols, Tchaikovsky, Handel, and even did a jazzy interpretation by Duke Ellington of a piece of the Nutcracker. It was incredible. The acoustics in the performance hall were phenomenal. 

 Santa made a trip down from the North Pole to conduct a portion of the event and a local newscaster read the Night Before Christmas. 

I adore Christmas music and they performed all of my favorites. 

I loved every second of it. Christmas is such a great time of year and this event really put me in the holiday mood! We had amazing seats and the music was done so well. 

This is the view from our seats of the audience behind us.
The hall was magnificent. 

I was so excited when Chris told me his parents were going to meet us. We had such a great evening with them! 

Isn't he handsome?

I didn't have a mirror to see behind me when I was doing my hair,
so I made Chris take a picture so I could see if I needed to fix any of it.
Worked like a charm! (He thought I had completely lost my mind!) 

Santa!

We also got to meet up with some friends from our Bali adventure while we were there. I was completely surprised by my holiday weekend and had a wonderful time. Chris definitely spoiled me! 

What do you like to do to get in the holiday mood? Do you have a lot of annual traditions or do you like to find new events to attend every year? I'd love to hear about how your family celebrates! 

I hope you all are enjoying your holiday preparations! Back to studying for me. One Accounting final to pass tomorrow night and then I can relax for a bit. 

Happy Holidays!!

Time to Wassail

This weekend we ventured out of the city to Pine Valley Farms. We blasted Christmas Carols the entire way there to shoo away any non-Christmastime thoughts brought on by the gorgeous high-50s weather. 

I had my heart set on a cute little baby tree, and Chris had his set on a tree grown for giants. 

 With contradictory expectations, we debated the merits of many a tree. There were so many, I got separated from him more than once! 

Finally, after almost losing hope, we saw the perfect tree. Not to big, not too little....but just right! It's not the baby tree I had originally envisioned or the gargantuan behemoth that Chris had in mind, but we were smitten. 

She's a beaut! 

No defects and it smells of Christmastime. 

Chris handled the crawling under the tree portion of the sawing, and not to be outdone, I jumped in to trim the lower branches off the fallen trunk. 

Not that anyone cares, but for the record, I don't buy jeans with holes in the knees. These jeans were bought circa early high school and they've earned their wear and tear over the years! 

Can you tell how proud we are of our tree? Chris still claims he loves that crazy big tree he cut down the best, but I'm pretty sure this one is better.

I don't think he was as thrilled about my photo documentation of our adventure as I was :) 

Terrible photo quality, but the start of my mantel decorations! I give complete inspiration credit to Aura.

Chris tackled the outdoor lighting. We used these very cool LED lights around the door. They are larger than the regular lights and look like those old school large bulbs. I added the ribbon bows and Kath contributed the wreath. It might be time to get rid of our last pumpkin. Some rabble-rousers chucked our other pumpkin into the street some time in the wee hours of Sunday morning. 

This might be my most favorite tree of all time, mostly because it's my first one I've gotten since moving out. Can you believe there are 500 lights on this baby? (Chris went a little bit light crazy as we were shopping. Even as I stood in line, he ran back to get three more boxes!!) 

This weekend was the perfect start to the holiday season. I got to see two of my favorite ladies, spent time with Chris, went on a tree adventure, and celebrated the holiday with my coworkers in DC. As cliche as it sounds, I am blessed.