Fashion's Night Out 2010

Eric and I spent the night out on the town Friday night, in a way that only New York can offer. We had another set of $10 Broadway play tickets, to see Brief Encounter at Studio 54. We bought these tickets months ago, without realizing that Friday night was Fashion's Night Out in New York.

But first, let me backtrack briefly. Our fashionable weekend actually began Thursday night, when we tried to take advantage of off-Broadway's current "20 At 20" promotion ($20 tickets 20 minutes before the show) to see Freud's Last Session. Unfortunately, we were just a few moments too late, and when we got to the front of the line they only had one ticket left. Bummer! But, we ended up having a great evening out anyway - we walked over to Lincoln Center and spent some time sitting by the fountain, and in other parts of the plaza. Fashion Week is taking place at Lincoln Center right now, so there was lots going on and it was fun to be amidst the action. Plus, I consider Lincoln Center at night to be one of the most beautiful places in New York, so it's never a bad time to spend an evening there.

I wish I could say we took this photo, but I found it online. Still, isn't Lincoln Center gorgeous?

Sitting by the fountain at Lincoln Center. The building behind me to the right is the Fashion Week setup.

Eric took a really fancy photo of me!

I tried to recreate Eric's fancy photography, but I'm just not quite as good.

So, Friday night was our play night, but when we started hearing about Fashion's Night out, we began to wish we had the night free to attend some of the festivities. Basically, Fashion's Night Out is a big event at all the fancy stores in SoHo and on Fifth Avenue. All these stores throw parties to lure people in - they give discounts on merchandise, provide free food and drinks, have DJs and celebrity appearances, and the designers often come out to their stores to join in the fun. As Eric and I heard more and more about what was going on at various stores, we started to wish our show tickets were for another night! But, we made plans to head out to Fifth Avenue before the play to take in a little bit of the fun before show time.

We got our first taste of what was to come as we walked past the Manolo Blahnik boutique, where crowds were already gathering in front of the store window to try to catch a glimpse of Manolo himself. We didn't stick around long enough to see him, but I did spend some time drooling over The Shoes that every Sex and the City fan knows so well:

Ahh...a shoe so beautiful, I nearly wept.

We continued on to the Armani Boutique on Fifth Avenue, where it was rumored that supermodel Bar Refaeli would be appearing. When we arrived things were still pretty quiet, but we perused the store (and admired dresses that would cost me half a month's rent) and sipped free champagne and snacked on free caviar. Hello, glamorous life. Perhaps if I had those Manolos on my feet, I could have died 100% happy right then and there.

Champagne and caviar in Armani

I tried to get Eric to buy this outfit, but I just couldn't make the sale.

We inquired about Bar's appearance and were told she wouldn't be appearing until 8:00 (show time! Oh no!), so we headed out in search of more fun. We had planned to hit up Bergdorf Goodman to watch a Canine Couture Fashion Show (see photos here), but the line to get in to Bergdorf was INSANE. So, we passed and headed over to Prada, where Dakota Fanning was hanging out and there was more free champagne and a DJ. Again, we admired the merchandise (and Eric felt some fur throw thing that was literally the softest thing that has ever existed) and sipped our champagne for a bit.

Dakota Fanning in Prada

Crowds in Prada

Eric touching the softest thing ever

Standing on the grass (yes, grass) in Prada, enjoying some champagne

Our next stop was Tiffany's, where they were debuting their new Tiffany Yellow Diamond Collection. They had a yellow carpet set up outside, Audrey Hepburn lookalikes galore, free lemonade, a free candy buffet, and a photobooth where you could have your picture taken and then shown on a big screen on the main floor of the store.

Doing my best red carpet pose on the Tiffany's yellow carpet

Eric with a couple Audreys

Enjoying some candy from the Tiffany's candy buffet

One of our photos from the photobooth

While we were there, we did the unthinkable - we decided to skip the Broadway play. GASP! SHOCK! HORROR! I cannot believe I ever agreed to such a decision, but we were having such a fun time on Fifth Avenue that we just didn't want to cut it short. I still feel guilty about it, even though we had a great night otherwise. I hope my theater-loving family does not disown me.

So, we continued on. Our timing was great to head back to Armani to try to catch Bar Refaeli, so that's where we went. There was a line, but it moved quickly and before we knew it, we met one of the most beautiful women in the world. Eric was overjoyed, of course. Apparently that whole "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Model" thing is appealing to men. Who knew? Personally, I was thrilled because she is dating Leonardo DiCaprio, who I was MAJORLY IN LOVE with in high school. I still wouldn't be sad if he wanted to take me out, either, so you know...this was the closest I have ever been to him and that was super exciting. Bar had Twittered that he would be joining her at Armani, but we didn't see him. I would have died if we did!

Eric and Bar

Bar suggested we do a "sexy pose." You know what's intimidating? Trying to do a "sexy pose" with one of the sexiest women in the world. I mean, she does sexy poses for a living. She wins.

Making kissy faces - it's almost like I'm puckering up with Leo, don't you think?

As soon as we had our pictures with Bar, we hurried over to the Michael Kors boutique on Madison Avenue for another event we had really wanted to see: Idina Menzel giving a free concert! Unfortunately, we were too late to get inside. There were just far too many people for the tiny boutique, so we watched/listened from outside the store. We were able to see and hear a little bit, so it was okay. (Michael Kors himself also sang with her a bit, too!) The best part, however, was when Idina and her oh-so-beautiful husband Taye Diggs left after the concert! They walked right past us, and had to stop and stand in the crowd for quite some time as they waited for their car. We got so close to them, and they were so nice to the fans - they were smiling and waving and signing autographs. It was really crowded, so I was impressed at how calm and friendly they were. Nice people!

Crowds gathered outside the Michael Kors boutique to hear Idina sing

Idina singing

Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel after the concert

Beautiful man.

After that, we just went back over to Fifth Avenue and wandered around a bit more. It was just fun to walk from store to store, checking out all they had to offer. Plus, the people were awesome, too - everyone was so done up! There was lots of awesome fashion to be seen.

A couple other notable things we saw:

In Louis Vuitton, there were some dancers on the stairs in the store, and a live window display featuring a man licking a Louis Vuitton bag. (I mean, how do you get that job? "Okay sir, we have your resume...now can we see you lick the merchandise?") After he licked the bag for a while, another person came out and did a little dance. Very weird.

Dancers in the Louis Vuitton store

Guy in the Louis Vuitton window, licking a bag

VIDEO: Louis Vuitton craziness for Fashion's Night Out

There were also live window displays at Escada.

Live models in the window

At Diesel, they had a live window display featuring Kenny, Laurel, Paula and Johanna of Real World/Road Rules Challenge fame.

Kenny and Laurel

Paula

Our last stop was Rockefeller Center for a quick pose on the red carpet, and a brief look at the band performing beneath Prometheus.

On the red carpet at Rockefeller Center

Band in Rockefeller Center

By then we were pretty exhausted, so we called it a night and went on home.

This ended up being such a fun event! I think we will definitely go again next year, but probably with a more well-thought-out plan. There was just so much to do and see, there is no way you could see it all and I'm sure we missed a lot of awesome things. Next year we'll do more research beforehand to find out what all is going on and where, so we can make a "Must Do" list. But even with our unorganized approach this year, we had a great time! What a fun New York event!

Another Shameless Plug

 My sister Heather and Respect co-star Eileen performing on Good Day Tampa Bay

(photo from here)

So, it is no secret to you all now that I am my sister's Biggest Fan. That should be obvious by my regular gushing over her talent and beauty. It's sickening, really.

But, I'm here to do it again! Heather and the rest of the ladies of Respect: A Musical Journey of Women did a couple of media appearances this week to continue promoting the show. They appeared on Studio 10 yesterday morning, and Fox's Good Day Tampa Bay today. And what sort of fan club leader would I be if I did not share this information with you? Not a very good one, that's for sure.

Below is the video of the ladies' appearance on Good Day Tampa Bay this morning (you can also see the online write-up here):

VIDEO: Heather and the rest of the Respect ladies on Good Day Tampa Bay

I can't figure out exactly how to get the Studio 10 appearance videos directly into my blog, but if you're interested in more Respect action you can read about it here, or watch their interview and performance of "Respect" here (I like when they all name their favorite parts of the show!), and/or watch another performance of "I Am Woman" here.

And remember, Respect runs through September 26th at the Straz Center's Jaeb Theater! Be sure to check it out!

Go Heather!

Huddle to Fight Hunger

Yesterday morning Eric and I went down to Herald Square to check out the kickoff of Kraft Foods' Huddle to Fight Hunger, featuring Joe Montana (former 49ers QB, and Eric's favorite childhood athlete), Erin Andrews (ESPN reporter, Dancing with the Stars alum, and fellow Gator girl) and Pat and Gina Neely (celebrity chefs from the Food Network).

The event was scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m., but we got down there around 9:30. They had quite a setup, with a football toss station, media stations, and a cooking station. The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was also there, and we soon had the Kool-Aid Man, a Giant Oreo, and Mr. Peanut walking around among us.

The event area, all set up and ready to go

Wienermobile, Kool-Aid Man and Oreo

Mr. Peanut

We didn't have to wait long before Joe Montana showed up! It was very exciting.

Joe Montana arriving at the event

Hi, Joe!

We made note of where Joe entered from and started hovering around there, waiting for Erin Andrews to show up. We were both wearing Gator gear and were hoping for a picture with her. Unfortunately, she snuck in from the other side of the setup! So, we missed her. She went right in and got down to work, interviewing and being interviewed.

Erin Andrews being interviewed

Erin doing the interviewing

The Neelys also showed up pretty soon after Erin, and went right over to the Wienermobile to kick things off. (Confession: I actually don't know who the Neelys are, but a lot of people were excited about them so I guess they are a big deal. I don't watch the Food Network, so I guess I am out of the loop. No offense, Neelys!)

The Neelys

Unfortunately, the whole thing got off to a late start (around 10:30) and Eric had to get to work for a conference call at 11:00. So, he had to leave pretty soon after Erin arrived. I stuck around for a bit, though. (Funny side story - as Eric was leaving, he walked behind me to head north and sort of ran his hands across my back as he passed by. I was standing next to a couple of NYC cops, and as soon as Eric passed, they asked if I knew him. They were concerned that he was pretty "handsy" and suggested that I check my purse because he may have lifted my wallet! Ha! I assured them that it was alright, he was my husband and therefore was allowed to be handsy and probably did not steal my wallet. Funny!)

The whole event was really pretty fun, featuring all sorts of ways to "earn" meals for local charities. For instance, you could get in line to do the football toss alongside Joe Montana, and depending on which holes you got the football through, they would donate a certain number of meals

 Erin and Joe did the football toss first, before the spectators. Would you like to guess who was better?

Joe in the football toss area

VIDEO: Joe Montana throwing a football at the Huddle for Hunger

What a shame Eric had to go to work and didn't get an opportunity to throw with Joe! That would have been so awesome.

They also had a media station set up for Erin Andrews, and you could sign up to be interviewed by her. One interview earned 10 donated meals! Unfortunately, I didn't get around to signing up before she left.

Erin interviewing one of my NYPD friends

You could also earn meals by doing various things on Facebook or Twitter (such as "liking" their Facebook fan page here). If you want to see other ways that you can earn donated meals, click here for a full list.

They also had the Neelys doing a Kraft cooking demonstration - they were grilling up some burgers and hot dogs, and they smelled delicious!

The Neelys, doing some cooking

And of course, all of the various celebrities took turns hopping into the Wienermobile for a photo-op!

Joe, the Neelys, and Erin with the Wienermobile

The celebs all left after about an hour or two (as did I), but the fun continued into the afternoon. I hope they were able to earn a lot of meals for the hungry!

Labor Day Weekend

How was everyone's long weekend? We had a very nice holiday and I hope you all did, too!

Our weekend started off with a movie at home: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Do you believe we have gone this long and this was the first time we saw any of the Harry Potter movies? We haven't read the books, either. Clearly, we are not "with it." We did enjoy the movie and the second one is next up in our Netflix cue.

Saturday Eric spent doing what Eric loves to do the most: golfing. He was gone all day long, golfing at Yale with people from work. I was shocked and appalled at this activity choice for the day, given that it was the first Florida Football Game of the season. Where are his priorities??? But, he chose golf, and left me to watch that mess of a football game myself. My Gators better get their lives together, here. Sheesh.

On Sunday, we started our day with a family trip to the dog park. In the afternoon, we had tickets to see a new Broadway play called Mrs. Warren's Profession at the American Airlines Theater in Times Square. I had come across a discount code that enabled us to get tickets to a couple different new plays during their opening weekends for only $10 each! Considering that $10 per ticket is less than it costs us to see a movie here, we jumped at it. I enjoyed the play, although I think I am more of a musical person. It was about a daughter who finally realizes that the comfortable life she has been afforded has been thanks to her mother's profession of prostitution, and she struggles to deal with that. Cherry Jones (who I recognized from Ocean's Twelve, but perhaps I should be embarrassed by that because she has won both Tony and Emmy Awards in her day) played Mrs. Warren. Our seats were in the very last row, but hey, they were $10. And an afternoon at the theater is never a bad afternoon!

 We picked up a movie from a Blockbuster Express on our way home and spent Sunday evening at home, watching our movie and drinking margaritas. Good times!

Monday was another gorgeous day (we're talking high 70s and sun here, people), so we decided to go for a picnic in Central Park. We picked up some lunch and then set up our blanket at my favorite spot near Wollman Rink. We spent quite some time there, eating, watching kids climb on the nearby rocks, and relaxing under the trees. It was so wonderful.

Family Labor Day picnic in Central Park

And on our way home, we stopped at Achilles' favorite store - Bed, Bath and Beyond!

That dog just loves to shop for housewares.

Monday night we cooked burgers and sweet potato fries for dinner, then spent the evening relaxing and watching college football. It was a nice end to a great weekend.

And in related Labor Day Weekend news, yesterday (September 7th) marked 12 years since Eric first asked me to be his girlfriend. He asked me on Labor Day of 1998, when we went spent our day off from school at the beach together. I can hardly believe 12 years has passed already, but I'm so glad he asked me then and I'm so glad I said yes. It's been a great 12 years!

10 Years? Already?

You know that in June, I went home to Florida for my 10-Year High School Reunion. I have no problem believing that 10 years have passed since I graduated high school, really. I feel very far-removed from high school, so that is easy to believe.

However, last week I came across an article marking the 20th anniversary of the Gainesville Murders by Danny Rolling. As you probably know by now, I have a great fascination with the serial killer psyche and have read extensively about various serial killers, and Danny Rolling primarily. That interest is what led me to pursue my degree in forensic psychology. But when and how did this area of interest come about, you ask? Well, it started 10 years ago, when my mother dropped me off at my dorm room my freshman year of college and as she got ready to leave, she mentioned that it was the 10-year anniversary of the Gainesville murders. Great thing for a mom to mention to her child about to spend her first night ever living away from home, right? But all it did was spark my interest, and I spent quite some time that night looking up that case and reading about it online.

The point of this story is that coming across that article about the 20th anniversary made me realize that it has been 10 years since my parents dropped me off at Murphree Hall on the University of Florida campus. Yes, I know. It only makes sense that it has been 10 years since I started college, if I just celebrated my 10-Year High School Reunion. But for some reason, I am having a much harder time believing that 10 years have passed since I began my freshman year than I do believing that it has been 10 years since I finished high school. I guess I still think of myself as pretty recently out of college, but that is not the case - I graduated six years ago already!

I have such great memories of my college days. Eric and I often fondly reminisce about our time on the Florida campus, and say how much we wish we could go back to those days. We had such an awesome time. In honor of 10 years having passed since I started college, and school starting for so many other people right now, and the first Gator game tomorrow (woohoo!), I thought today would be a good time to take a little look back at my college life.

As I mentioned, my parents and Heather drove me up to Gainesville to get settled into Murphree Hall, Section A, Room 131. Murphree Hall was in a great location, right next to the football stadium, and the rooms were huge - there were actually two "rooms" in each room (if that makes sense) plus a sink. The downside? NO AIR CONDITIONING. And oh, the heat. We lived with box fans in every window, and even still, your makeup would melt off before you finished applying it. And it was no better in the winter. The heaters were old and made the most awful clanging noises when they turned on, and heated the rooms so well that we still kept our windows open even in winter. Basically, we were just always hot. And the fire alarms went off ALL THE TIME. So yeah, it was an awesome place to live.

Little college freshman me in front of my dorm. My room was the third set of windows on the left, just above the little balcony.

View of the stadium from my bedroom

My freshman dorm room

But, I loved it. My first year I roomed with a girl named Jonnali, and quickly made friends with Kristina (whose wedding I went to last year) and Nancy. I adjusted well to classes and made friends with some of the boys in our dorm, too. I went out to parties and nightclubs, ate pizza from Italian Gator across the street, downloaded music on Napster, watched the Homecoming Parade "illegally" from the little balcony outside my window, attended my first Gator Growl, and mostly just hung out with my friends. At the end of the year Kristina, Nancy and I went to Daytona Beach for a weekend, where we Nancy and I pierced our tongues and generally got into mischief. We all then bid farewell for the summer, and I went back to St. Petersburg just in time to be Eric's date for his senior prom!

Me with roommate Jonnali, and neighbors Kristina and Nancy

Daytona Trip: Nancy and me in the car on the way there, and Kristina and me in our Beatles-themed hotel room

Eric's senior prom

My sophomore year, both Jonnali and Nancy moved to other housing so I moved into Kristina's room with her. She and I remained roommates for the rest of college. We set up our room a little differently -  rather than of each of us having our own "room," instead we shared bunk beds in the main living room and had a separate room for our desks. It was a great setup. Eric joined us at UF that year, and he moved into an apartment at the Courtyards with three very random roommates. Before long, we had a good little group going, when Kristina and Eric's friend Jeff from high school (and now our former DC roommate) started dating. We did everything together that year. We did much of the same stuff as freshman year: Gator Growl, nights out at Alligator Rocks (with rides on the Later Gator bus), Italian Gator pizza, etc. We just had a larger group to hang out with this year!

Top row: Eric and me and Kristina and Jeff at Gator games; Bottom row: Eric and me in my dorm before a night out, and Kristina and me on the Later Gator bus

That year, however, started off on a very somber note with the events of September 11th, 2001. I remember that I was walking to my morning class that day and overheard people talking about a plane crash. My first two classes proceeded as usual, and then my third class was Nature of Human Conflict or something like that. My professor thought we should discuss the events of the day, but I still didn't know what was going on. Before we could get into it the college announced classes were cancelled, so I went back to my dorm and stayed glued to CNN for days. We just couldn't believe it. I remember trying to call my parents but the cell towers were so overloaded, it took forever to get through. I went to a memorial service at the university, and that year I spent my spring break in New York visiting a friend and was able to see Ground Zero just six months after the attack. That will always stick with me. They were still sorting through the rubble at that time, you could still see that iron cross on the scene, the gravestones at St. Paul's Chapel were still blown over, and sides of buildings adjacent to Ground Zero were still blown out. Everyone just stopped and stood silently as they passed. It was intense.

Views of Ground Zero in March 2002: still sorting through rubble with the iron cross in place, and buildings around the site still undergoing repairs

Kristina and I ended our sophomore year with another trip to Daytona Beach, this time with friends Gaby and Bonnie from the dorm. I also got to paint the 34th Street Wall for the first time, in honor of my friend Sleiman's birthday. Then I spent another summer back in St. Pete, working at Steak 'N Shake.

Back in the Beatles room in Daytona with Kristina

Painting the 34th Street Wall

My junior year, Kristina and I moved into an apartment at Oakbrook Walk. We wasted no time getting settled in. Eric left the Courtyards and moved into an apartment at Gainesville Place with some old high school buddies. Again, many of our activities didn't change: classes (with a longer walk to get there, thanks to our new digs), parties, clubs (Jetset, most often), Gator games, Gator Growl, get-togethers with friends. Eric and I started attending FCA, and I became involved with Sigma Phi Lambda, a Christian sorority just getting started on campus. I worked at a consignment boutique called Sandy's, and Eric started coaching JV football at Gainesville High School. For spring break, we went to the Cayman Islands with Eric's family.

Clockwise from top left: Eric and me before a Gator football game; Halloween (me as a cowgirl and Eric as a "Tennessee Fan," ha!); Eric showing off his Gainesville HS letter I got him in honor of his coaching job; and us in the Caymans for spring break

That summer I stayed in Gainesville and took a few summer classes, but made trips to St. Pete for Heather's high school graduation and to be the maid of honor in my friend Fran's wedding. Eric took an internship in Washington, D.C. and I went to visit him for my birthday (I turned 21!). Little did we know we would end up living there together just two years later!

Fran's wedding; Eric and me by the Reagan Building in DC

My senior year, Kristina and I were still living in Oakbrook Walk and Eric was still in Gainesville Place. Sigma Phi Lambda was officially on campus, and I was a charter member with a "little sister" named Holly (who is getting married this weekend! Congrats, Holly!). I made the most of my last year of Gator games and my last Gator Growl. Eric turned 21 years old, and our friends Coral and Alexis helped me paint the 34th Street Wall for him. He also came to Cleveland at Christmas with me for the first time, which meant a lot to me. Eric was very involved in student government that year, campaigning for the Access party. We spent spring break in the Bahamas with Coral and Alexis, which was an interesting but very fun time.

 Top row: At a Gator game; Kristina and me at Guavaween; Eric and me with our pumpkin on Halloween; us at my last Gator Growl

Bottom row: In Cleveland; me with "little sis" Holly; with Coral and Alexis in the Bahamas; Coral and Alexis helping me paint the 34th St Wall for Eric's birthday

Before I knew it, it was graduation time! Could four years really have passed so quickly?

College graduate

College was really one of the best times of my life, and I'm so glad to have those memories. I just can't believe it has already been 10 years since it all began. But, I am proud to be a Florida alumna, and a part of the Gator Nation!

Life in NYC, According to "The Onion"

A friend of ours posted a pretty awesome article by The Onion on Facebook today entitled "8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize New York City A Horrible Place To Live." For any of you who may not be familiar with The Onion, allow me to explain that it is a satirical entertainment newspaper made up of hilariously sarcastic "news reports." For example, one of my favorite Onion headlines of all time was "Over-Hydrated Terrier Proud Owner of Six City Blocks." Ha!

I found today's New York-related article laugh-out-loud funny. It told the "story" of the day all 8.4 million New Yorkers in all five boroughs finally said "enough is enough" and hightailed it out of town. A few of my favorite excerpts were (comments from me in brackets):

According to residents, the mass exodus was triggered by a number of normal, everyday New York City events. For Erin Caldwell of Manhattan, an endlessly honking car horn sent her over the edge, causing her to go into a blind rage and scream "shut up!" at the vehicle as loud as she could until her voice went hoarse; for Danny Tremba of Queens it was being cursed at for walking too slow; and for Paul Ogden, also of Queens, it was his overreaction to somebody walking too slow. [I have totally yelled at honking car horns, and overreacted to people who dare to walk too slow.]

Other incidents that prompted citizens to pick up and leave included the sight of garbage bags stacked 5 feet high on the sidewalk [YES]; the realization that being alone among millions of anonymous people is actually quite horrifying; a blaring siren that droned on and f***ing on [awful]; muddy, refuse-filled puddles that have inexplicably not dried in three years [seriously, where do they come from? Why are they there?]; the thought of growing into a person whose meanness and cynicism is cloaked in a kind of holier-than-thou brand of sarcasm that the rest of the world finds nauseating [I do worry about that]; and all the g**d*** people [PREACH ON, my friend].

In addition, 3 million New Yorkers reportedly left the city because they realized the phrase "Only in New York" is actually just a defense mechanism used to convince themselves that seeing a naked man take a s***  on a park bench is somehow endearing, or part of some shared cultural experience. [Ha!]

(To read the full article, click here.)

I just found it funny to read such a sarcastic (but not necessarily untrue) take on New York City life, and wanted to share it with you. I still love this place, though! Smells, garbage, noise, people and all.

Our Second New Yorkiversary

Tomorrow will mark two years since Eric, Achilles and I stepped off a plane at JFK Airport and officially became New York residents.

We took a cab to our new apartment, where all of our belongings were waiting for us after having been delivered while we vacationed in Florida and the Cayman Islands. Our first priority? Pizza at Sacco's, of course. Then unpacking and calling around to set up our cable. The next day we wandered around in search of a free internet hotspot, and ended up on the steps of Lincoln Center (and I posted my very first blog post from NYC). We got right to work settling in, as I had to go back to DC on business just days later, and as soon as I got back we dove right in with our first visitors (Ronnie and Tom).

Since then, we have done our very best to experience everything there is to experience, see everything there is to see, and enjoy every minute of our time in the city. I think we have been successful, and I am so blessed to have had this time here. There is just no place like New York City.

 Just a few of my favorite moments we have shared since moving to NYC! (click to enlarge)

At this point, I still don't know what the future holds for us here. Last year at this time, I was already starting to get the itch to move on, and that hasn't really changed. Not because I want to leave New York (in fact, the mere thought of watching the skyline fade away in the distance from an airplane window with no plans for return makes me want to cry), but because I know that it will not be our forever home and I'm anxious to know what our next step will be. I don't do very well with not having a plan. Of course, I realize that even the best laid plans don't always work out as you expect, but I at least like the illusion of being in control!

Many of you have been asking for updates on the Hoboken situation, so I figured now would be a fitting time to update you. Except, the update really is that there is no update. Hoboken is still very much on the table, but no definite progress has been made. Shortly after I first posted about it, the prices at the apartment building we would move to went up significantly. It would still be a substantial savings compared to what we pay now, but if we're going to make this move we want to do it in a way that will enable us to save as much money as possible. So, we decided to shelve the idea of Hoboken for a bit. We figured that we will just wait until our lease is up in February and decide what to do then. If we still want to go to Hoboken, then we will have more options for where to live - we won't be tied into this one building (which we would be if we moved now, because the only way we might be able to break our lease early is if we stay with this property management company), so we might be able to do more looking and find something even cheaper. Or, if we decide someplace else is a better fit for us right now, we can make that move then, too. Plus, we would get to spend another Christmas living in NYC.

However, we have continued to keep an eye on the apartment prices at that Hoboken building, and lo and behold, they've fallen again...to even lower than they were when we first looked. So, now we're all out of sorts again, trying to figure out what is best for us, can we make this move now, should we make this move now, are we ready, can it happen, etc. So basically, my update is that we are pretty much in the exact same place as we were when I first posted. Sigh.

I'll continue to keep you updated as our plans develop, but for now we will just continue being residents of Manhattan and all making the most of all the awesomeness that comes with it!