Where the *Bleep* Have You Been, Girl????

Oh hai there! Am back!

These past few months have been quite hectic, but I’m happy to say that they’ve been busy in a very good way. So, what on earth have I been up to?

Well, the holidays came and went like a whirlwind. I went to a number of Christmas bashes and then flew south with Gene to hang out in Atlanta for a night. We treated ourselves to the Atlanta Botanical Garden Holiday Lights Show which was AMAZING, and then we had an equally amazing dinner at Local Three Kitchen & Bar. Their chicken pot pie seriously redefines chicken pot pie. WOW.

Favorite part of the Atlanta Botanical Garden Holiday Lights Show – lights and colors synched to music

We then drove down to Alabama to visit with my parents and my sister. I was pleasantly surprised with the special gift of seeing one of my uncles and some of my cousins as well. It was a very fun and laid back holiday. Except for the part where we had to outrun a super cell of extra strong thunderstorms which were producing tornadoes. Yay. But, clearly, everything ended up being alright.

For New Year’s, we enjoyed a kick butt all you can eat dinner at Hill Country BBQ in Chelsea – which also happened to be the spot where we had our second date ever. Then, we braved the Meatpacking District and stumbled upon a fun yet low key party at La Vinatta Project. We put away a few drinks just before midnight, enjoyed a prosecco toast, danced our butts off for about an hour or so, and then sauntered home right around 1:30am. The best part? We spent less than $150 for both of us Now THAT’s a good example of the “low priced high life,” I think!

Oh, also, this happened:

The beautiful antique engagement ring given to me by my hubby to be Gene

Yep, that’s right. I got ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!! So, a lot of the time that I would have spent blogging has, as of late, been used to plan my wedding which will be held in the fall in the Hudson Valley. I am so FREAKIN’ excited, and I can hardly wait!! YAY!!!!!!!

Other than that, I’ve been hard at work kicking my real estate business into second gear – brainstorming about new marketing and branding ideas, getting out to more social events, figuring out ways to improve my customer service, etc etc. I also have FINALLY established meditation as a regular part of my daily routine – just 3 to 5 minutes a day, followed by an entry into my gratitude journal where I note 3 things I am grateful for that particular morning.

So yeah, stuff’s been happening, and yes, I did miss you guys Looking forward to sharing more happenings, musings, inspiration, ideas, etc with you all in 2013!!!

A Day in New Paltz, NY

I would be quite remiss if I let fall get away from me without sharing photos from my favorite fall day trip this year – a little getaway to New Paltz, NY.

New Paltz is just about an hour and a half north of NYC, yet, you feel like you’re a world away. It’s nestled in the Catskills Mountains and has a really charming Old World feel to it, especially Huguenot Street which is filled with gorgeous old stone houses.

Gene and I enjoyed poking around Water Street Market. It’s filled with lovely boutiques and the food…WOW! I had one of the best sandwiches ever at the Harvest Cafe and the most AMAZING cupcake at Moxie Cupcake. The variety of food available in this little shopping area was quite impressive – no matter what your diet (vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, etc), they had something there that could work for you.

New Paltz was also where I went apple and pumpkin picking for the very first time ever. And I have to say – I have really, really been missing out. The freshness, crispness and tartness of an apple from Jenkins Leuken Orchards right off the vine blows any store bought one out of the water. My biggest regret is that we didn’t get two of the larger bags. We went through all of the apples in about a week and a half  :-/

Our dinner, as hoped, was just as remarkable as the rest of our experience in New Paltz. A Tavola offers a dining experience that easily rivals some of the top restaurants in Manhattan…and at a fraction of the cost. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, the service was gracious and friendly and the food was just impeccable. My boyfriend and I were excited to meet one of the owners of the restaurant at the end of our meal so that we could tell her how much we loved eating at her restaurant.

We’re really looking forward to going back to New Paltz again. It’s so freakin’ wonderful that this treasure of a town is just a hop, skip and a short car ride away

Thankful to Be Able to Be Back

Hi Friends! Sorry for the long absence, yet again.

You’ll notice that the title isn’t simply “Thankful to Be Back.” It’s “Thankful to Be Able to be Back.” As you all know, NYC got hit by Hurricane Sandy about three weeks ago. My neighborhood lost power and heat for about a week. That may sound awful to some, but for me, it really wasn’t. It gave me a chance to catch up on some long overdue reading and quiet time. And it also provided the opportunity to reconnect with my boyfriend. I had plenty of food and water, and when I started to run low on supplies, I was able to walk 30 to 40 blocks northward to get what I needed. Friends and family made their homes available for hot showers and device charging. I joked with my boyfriend that we should fancy ourselves “electronic nomads.” Although I wasn’t able to get back to normal immediately once power was restored, after about a week or so of playing catch up, I felt right back on track. For me, Hurricane Sandy was not so bad at all.

But that’s not true for thousands of other people across the New York and New Jersey area. The magnitude of the destruction is even greater than what many of us see on the news. There are many who are in need of help and many for whom it will take a long time to rebuild. But I can help, and so can you. NY1 has one of the most extensive lists of ways to help those affected by the storm (NY1). It’s a great place to start and figure out what you can do. Whether it’s your time, money or, if you’re fortunate enough, both, it’ll help. Please do what you can to help out. Thank you

What I Did This Summer: BBQ at Harriman State Park

Cool vista near our picnic site

Another one of my favorite activities this summer was a family BBQ in Harriman State Park. Harriman State park is actually the second largest state park in New York (46,000+ acres) and, get this, it’s just 30 miles north of New York City. Given this fact, I am ashamed I had never been for a visit until just a few months ago. If you haven’t been, you should feel shame too. SHAME, I say!

Now, the “family” I went with was my boyfriend’s family whom I see very often. Part of the reason why I enjoy seeing them so often is the fact that my boyfriend’s mother and sister in law are AMAZING cooks. The BBQ was no exception – all sorts of deliciousness was on display. Thank GOD there were trails for walking because I needed to work off all those calories :-/ A few pics of the outing below.

The guys are manning the grill

Another shot of the area near the picnic site

My boyfriend’s super awesome sister-in-law (right) and her cool lil’ sis (left)

Our nice shady little picnic site

My Natural Hair Journey, Part 4 – Little Chop, Very Big Deal

One year ago in September, I officially went natural. And it totally happened by accident…

My plan during my transition was to cut off a little bit at a time until I was left with just a few relaxed ends. Based on my “growth projections,” my hair was supposed to be ready by December 2011.  I was looking forward to it with great excitement…and a LOT of trepidation. I really wasn’t sure what my hair would look like au natural, and I really wasn’t sure how much I would actually like it.

I got a small “preview” when a Bantu knot set turned out a bit different than expected – rather than loose waves I ended up with a very “Afro” like halo of curls. To my surprise, I really liked it. I never thought in a million years I would be able to rock an Afro…

I set up an appointment for a small trim of about an inch in late September. It was supposed to be unremarkable. But as the stylist went through my hair, she had a puzzled look on her face.

“You sure that’s all you want to cut?”

Me: “Uh, yeah. Why?”

Stylist: “You’ve only got about 1.5 to 2 inches of relaxed hair left. The rest is all natural. You’d have a cute ‘fro.”

I sat and looked at myself in the mirror for a while. This was not the plan. I wasn’t prepared for it. And yet…I wanted SOOO bad to pull back the curtain and see…

Me: “Alright. Let’s go for it.”

Snip, snip, snip.

And less than an hour later, I was 100% natural. I could scarcely believe what I had done. I texted a photo to my best friend Corrie soon thereafter and she was positively over the moon for me. I had officially joined the Curly Girl Club.

My all new ‘fro the day of the big chop.

I won’t lie – it took a LONG time to adjust to it. It was much more densely curled than I thought it was, and I was disappointed not to have a certain type of curl. I thought it would “fall” more, but nope – it was a giant poof ball. The first couple of weeks, I was a little depressed actually. I didn’t look like “myself” anymore. I didn’t know who this woman was in the mirror.

But over time, I realized that that was okay. This was a chance to build a new self image – a better one. And wasn’t that what I was after in the first place? With that, I began to embrace it a lot more.

I found products that my hair loves and I’ve discovered hair styles that really work for me. I love rocking a “faux-hawk” or a big poof pulled up on top of my head.  And of course, I love to sport a curly ‘fro.

My “faux” hawk – LOVE this hairstyle.

As far as the pursuit of length…wouldn’t you know it, my hair is actually getting longer than it was when I had relaxed hair. And it’s certainly way thicker.

With my boyfriend at a friend’s engagement party sporting one of my FAVORITE hairstyles.

Nowadays, I can happily say that I really LOVE my hair. Sure, I still have bad hair days – who the heck doesn’t? But, I feel like my hair is finally a true reflection of my personality – fun, beautiful and quirky

Hello Fall!

I have to say, I am SOOO glad to see fall. As mentioned previously, my summer was a bit CRAZY. Plus, running around for appointments in Manhattan in 90+ degree heat isn’t exactly a lot of fun :-/ I’m looking forward to cooler temperatures and changing leaves, and of course all the fun things the city will have to offer. Fall is a great time to be out and about in the city.

Here’s to what will hopefully be a great season!!!

What I Did This Summer: Windham Mountain

View from the top of Windham Mountain, NY

Summer is almost over folks. It’s been quite a ride.  Admittedly, this summer was rather stressful, but I still had a chance to take in some great activities. So as we welcome fall, I’d like to do a bit of summer stuff sharing

World Cup Downhill Mountain Biking – Windham Mountain, NY

My boyfriend is really, really, REALLY into almost anything concerning biking. He is especially fond of downhill mountain biking – the crazy kind where they fly down ridiculously steep inclines and fly off small cliffs. So, of course, when he found out that the annual World Cup was just under 3 hours away from NYC, he insisted on going. I was a bit reluctant at first but agreed to come along since it was a chance to get out of the city for a bit.

Man, oh, MAN am I SOOO glad that I went!!!! Windham, NY and all of the towns nearby are GORGEOUS!!! Nestled in the Catskills Mountains, the views are stunning, the air is fresh and crisp and it is sooo peaceful.

Another expansive view from Windham Mountain

We rode a gondola to the top of the mountain so we could walk down the length of the race path during the event. This resulted in some rather unexpected advanced hiking which we both got through, shockingly, without incident. One portion of the mountain was so steep that you could just sit on your butt and slide down in the areas that were covered with grass. That was a hoot and a holler for my inner 5 year old

A rider navigating the treacherous and exciting race path

At the end of the day our guy, Aaron Gwin, won, and I got to enjoy a photo op with the 2nd place winner Stevie Smith of Canada (who recently won his first circuit race).

Runner Up Stevie Smith from Canada

We capped off the day at the AMAZING Red Onion Restaurant & Bar in Saugerties, NY. We sat outside on a lovely porch, enjoying wine, one of the best meals I have EVER had and a beautiful sunset. As an added bonus – we came in covered in dirt from our mountain trekking and the waitstaff didn’t even blink an eye

We definitely hope to make the trek up to Windham again next year. Hard to believe that such a treasure is just beyond NYC.

My boyfriend Gene and I, giggling like children after our downhill ride