Vacation Recap, Days 5-7

The last half of my vacation to the East Coast was spent in New York City.  I had originally planned to fly home Tuesday midday, but everyone convinced me to stay a little longer so they could take me to the city.  Let me tell you, they really had to twist my arm!  I was able to get things squared away with work and graduate school to stay the extra time so I did and boy am I glad it worked out!!

Tuesday morning after breakfast, all five of us loaded up and hit the road to the big city.  It takes about an hour to get from Dan and Laura's to the outskirts of NYC, but obviously with traffic and what not it took longer to get into the actual city.  When we first got to town we headed to SoHo to go to Kelsey's favorite store.  From there we headed to Little Italy and Chinatown and did some window shopping and browsing at the store fronts there.  We ended up finding some cute purses and jewelry that no one could say "No" too.  By this time we were all starving and decided that lunch was next on our To-Do List.  The last time Laura and Dan were in NYC they found Heartland Brewery and wanted to share it with us.  I had the most amazing plate of Tex Mex Nachos and a delicious adult beverage, sorry no pictures.  After lunch we wandered in and out of some of the boutiques and shops around Seaport.  I was also able to see the Brooklyn Bridge!

I had great luck shopping in that area and ended up with three dresses and a bunch of accessories thanks to Dan and Laura.  I'm telling you these two people are the best EVER!

After leaving the Seaport area we headed to our hotel.  For our impromptu trip to the city we stayed here...

The hotel was commissioned by William Randolph Heart in 1926 as a statement of love for Marian Davies, whose picture is located everywhere through the hotel.  Many old time Hollywood celebs have stayed at this iconic hotel back in the day and it really is beautiful!

Around 6:00PM we hit the city streets to walk to supper, but along the way we went by...

 For supper we went to Gallagher's NY Prime Steakhouse.  This particular restaurant has been serving great steaks in NY for 85 years!  That's a lot of beef!

We dined on clams, crab cakes, crab cocktail, sauteed baby spinach, sauteed mushrooms and of course some very delicious steak!  I had the signature "The New York Strip" which is dry aged to perfection for 21 days.  To wash it all down we drank several bottles of champagne and toasted to great trips, great friends and a great meal.  After we left the restaurant we headed to Times Square, which was really magical at night.

Times Square is certainly a big draw for tourists and I had no shame picking out magnets, key chains and signs to bring home for Matt!  Somehow we also found ourselves in this store with giant statues, where Kelsey found some of her relatives!

Isn't the resemblance striking?!?!  Love you Kels!

By this time the rain set in and we took refuge in the the BIGGEST M&M store I have ever seen!  There was just about every colored M&M you could imagine, as well as clothes, jewelry, and statues of the characters.  Do you have a favorite character?  I've always like Yellow, he crack's me up.  I also had the opportunity to try the Dark Chocolate Mint M&M's, holy cow they were yummy!  The rain had begun to let up and we decided to brave the sprinkles and head back to our hotel.  Along the way, Kelsey climbed into a fountain on a dare.  Did you know you can get arrested for that?  Oppsy!  Thankfully, we didn't get caught.  To wrap up a great day we all had dessert and drinks in the bar of the hotel and then headed to bed.

Wednesday morning Dan and Laura headed back New Jersey and left Kelsey, Luke and I in the city to be collected by Tommy, my chaffuere.  We had breakfast downstairs in the hotel and then headed towards Central Park for a carriage ride.  While it may be touristy, I didn't care I needed some horse-time!  Joey took us on a great trip and our driver Ian told us all about the park and neighborhood.

 After leaving Joey, Kels and I broke off from the boys who wanted food and headed to Forever 21 and did some more serious shopping!  We both did really well here and came home with some cute clothes.  From Forever we walked down the block to Macy's.

This store is seriously HUGE!  Seven floors and a whole city block huge!  Ladies, there is TWO floors of just SHOES!  The building itself is really cool, my favorite feature is the old wooden escalators.  Talk about historic. 

This is the last photo I snapped in the city and it's very "New York"...

Someday I hope to come back with Matt and actually go up inside.  That and do some of the serious tourist attractions too like the Statue of Liberty and a Broadway show!  Crowds aren't really Matts thing so it might be more like dragging him...

Leaving the city we went through the Lincoln Tunnel, which spurred an entire conversation of Elf quotes!

"I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel."

" I'm a cotton-headed ninny-muggins."

"SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!"

I seriously love love love this movie!

Once we were back in NJ we were all spent!  Exhausted hardly covers it.  The evening was spent watching movies, eating Chocolate Covered Pretzel ice cream, and relaxing. 

Thursday after packing and breakfast, Tommy showed up and took me back to the airport in Philly.   Matt and Bella both showed up in Bloomington to collect me, talk about the welcome wagon!  I'm not sure who was more excited to see me, Matt or Bella?  The trip out to New Jersey was wonderful and I'm so grateful for the Muirhead/Young family for having me out to see them!  I'm ready to come again whenever you are! 

Another Weekend. Another Adventure.

Have you noticed a trend?

I'm not real big on sticking around home, especially during the summer!  There's just too many fun things going on to be cooped up in the house.  And summer provides the perfect backdrop for things like traveling, horse shows, and day drinking!  Pepper in some gal pals and I'm a happy camper.

Speaking of day drinking, isn't Little Big Town's song the perfect summer anthem?

Tomorrow I'm on the road again.  Five of my girlfriends and I are heading down to Carbondale to partake in some college reminiscing and wine trailing! 

The wineries of southern Illinois really came to life while I was in college at SIU.  Some are quaint and homey, others are quite grand!  In college (if I remember right... but with all the wine some of the memories are a bit hazy) I spent at least one day a week parked on a patio with a bottle of wine or pitcher of sangria.  Since graduating, Matt and I try to go down at least once a year! 

Technically, I may go more than Matt...

 

We've rented a cabin smack in the middle of all the winery goodness and I have created what may be the. perfect. itinerary!  And it just so happens to be the weekend before I celebrate the THREE-OH! 

Yep, I'll be "thirty, flirty and thriving" come Monday!  Name that movie.  

Okay, I'm off to work knock out a few more items from my 30 BY 30 list before I run out of time...

Have a great weekend!! 








 

Weekend Replay

I'm all for a quiet weekend at home, but given the option I'd choose fun and friends any day!  Who's with me?!?

After work we loaded up the car and hit the road south bound for Missouri.  Matt and I were both anxious to see our college pals and the four hour road trip was the only thing standing in our way!

Thankfully, the trip down was pretty uneventful.  We dealt with a little rain and some traffic around St. Louis, but nothing too terrible.  Come to find out, we timed everything just right and missed all the Cardinal baseball traffic as we went through!

When we got to Eric and Jamie's the party was already in full swing.  The bonfire was blazing, the beer was flowing and as predicted, so were the stories!!  Honestly, those stories may be old and tired, but they still bring a smile to my face!  

Saturday morning came a little too early for some, but for the most part we were all up and at 'em in pretty good time (and shape)!  After lighting a fire under the slower movers, we lit out to meet the company we rent the canoes from.  

I've only ever floated/canoed with this company, but how they typically organize everything generally goes like this:

1. Pay for your group.

2. Drive down the hill and park vehicles where we will finish on the canoes.

3. Load coolers and people into a large wagon and ride down to the river.

4. Organize canoes and float off.

This year we had a bit of a snafu between 3 and 4.  

Everything was all fine and dandy.  We had loaded the excessive amount of beer all our coolers and were on the way to the river.

 

When there was a bit of a problem... 

Now, you can't convince me that the hitch broke just because of the weight of 17 people and all those frickin coolers, but it sure didn't help!  And it makes for another funny story that will be told for years to come.  

We finally managed to make it to the river.  Hallelujah!

This year, Matt and I decided to shake things up and not be each others partners.  Sometimes it's just for the best.  Jamie and I decided that we were going to pair up and the husbands could be partners.  Best. Decision. Ever.  

Laughing at you and your partners mistakes is WAY more fun that being PO'd at the end of the day because you (or your significant other) did something dumb.  And this way, Jamie and I could chit-chat and gossip for the next six hours!  It worked out perfectly.  Jamie and I had a blast and I was still speaking to Matt by the time we were done!  

Being the lone 'girls only' canoe you can also get away with certain things too!!  

"Paddle boys, paddle!"

After countless laughs, multiple cans of beer and several miles spent on the river, a few of us took the lazy way out and fast-tracked to the finish. 

 

In our defense, there is always an amazing spread of food waiting for us back at the house.  That and a hot shower!  After we got back, cleaned up and our bellies were full of food most of us retreated to the bonfire and you guessed it... more old stories resurfaced!  And because it's what Illinois men do when they get together, there was also euchre into the wee hours of the night.

By 9 o'clock Sunday morning, everyone had packed up and headed for home, but it's tradition for us to stick around and have brunch with Jamie, Eric and his parents.  Mostly we relive the float trip and make notes for next year (t-shirts and music on the river!), share what's new or swap recipes.  This year, I came home with a new recipe for pasta sauce that I'm anxious to try!  And since there's 30 tomato plants in our garden, I think we will have an opportunity to make something new this year!

On our way home, we stopped at our friend's house for their daughter's 1st birthday party.  Jill out did herself decorating and everything looked spectacular!  Even more exciting than the decorations, Adelynn's last gift that she opened announced that she would be getting a new baby BROTHER in December!  The family is obviously excited, but I think John is super stoked for a boy to even up the score at home.  

So tell me, did you go-go-go this weekend or did you recharge your batteries?  

Linking up with Biana and Meghan.

Five Float Trip Faves

Another weekend, another adventure.

This weekend we are headed to Missouri for Matt's annual AGR Float Trip!  As soon as work is over, we're beating feet to join up with our college pals for a couple days of fun.  And for today's link-up, I'm highlighting some of my favorite parts about this trip...

The Crew.  Once upon a time, I saw many of the people who attend the float trip no less than 5 or 6 days a week.  It may have been in class or at a fraternity/sorority function or it could have very well been at the bar... but sadly, those days are long gone! 

Which brings me to my next point. Playing Catch Up.  A good portion of this evening we will spend sitting in lawn chairs around a bonfire figuring out all the who, what and where's of life in the last year since we've all seen each other.  In the early years it was dominated with wedding details and first jobs, but we're progressing to stories of buying houses and first, second (or in some cases), third kids.  Gracious, things have changed. 

Our host, lovingly referred to as Crazy Legs, and his wife also do a spectacular job feeding everyone all weekend long.  Crazy Legs, yes an old college nickname, is a grill/smoker connoisseur and never disappoints in The Eats department.  My mouth is watering just thinking about pork barbecue!

Hands down, my favorite part of the whole weekend is all the Reminiscing that goes on.  No matter how many years post college we are, as the drinks begin to flow... so will the stories from our college days.  These stories are old, tired and should probably be laid to rest, but there is no doubt in my mind we will talk about the fun times we had dancing at Fred's Dance Barn, partying in the basement of the AGR house and the general college craziness which includes stories of fraternity streaking!

And the actual, physical Float Trip is pretty fun too!

How are you spending your weekend??

Linking up with Karli, Amy and Amanda. 

Cape May, NJ

This past weekend while I was visiting friends in Jersey one of the things we did was drive down to Cape May.  Cape May is as far south as you can get in New Jersey without cruising straight into the Atlantic!

This seashore town oozes curb appeal with its gorgeous homes and gingerbread cottages!  While there are many private residences, most of the big homes near the water are B&Bs.  The restaurants are all very unique and offer a completely different selection compared to what this Midwesterner can get at home!

One of my favorite places was the Cape May Peanut Butter Co. 

 

Not only was there grinding stations for all different kinds of nut butters (almond, cashew, and hazelnut to name a few!), they had packaged and baked goodies to take with you or enjoy as you walked around town.  Hands down the coolest part was the custom PB&J's made to order!  It took everything I had to not get the s'more inspired sandwich!!

Another awesome shop that we found was Sea Bags.  All of the bags are made in Maine from recycled boat sails!  Pretty neat stuff!

If you're still undecided on where you're headed for summer vacation, give Cape May some serious thought!  We only spent the day down there, but I know you could spend several days enjoying the beaches, shops, restaurants and wineries!

Front Porch Decor

It's a rainy, cool day here in Illinois and all I really wanted to do this morning was stay snuggled up in bed!

Unfortunately, that wasn't a reality so I'm sharing some pictures of the pretty flowers and tasty herbs I've potted up and have sitting on my porch at home.  While I don't always appreciate the rain, they sure do!

 

Linking up with Tuesday Tea!

Summer Daydreams

Hooray for the 'unofficial' start to Summer kicking off this weekend!  Are you excited too?!?

Matt, Bella and I are heading to my parent's farm on Saturday for Family Game Night.  Lots of family and food.  Two great things!  Sunday we will be spending on the lake with friends.  Bella will be in seventh heaven!  Plenty of people to throw her sticks to fetch, loads of snacks to beg for and at least one boat ride around the lake.  Monday's plans are still TBA, but I always like to find a Memorial Day service to pay tribute to the deceased veterans.

In honor of Summer being just around the corner here's just a taste of what I'm going to be daydreaming about during work looking forward to over the next few months!

Cookouts

Vacationing in Colorado

Frontier Days Rodeo

Chilling on the porch (with an adult beverage in hand)

Lady Antebellum concert

Lazy lake days

Horse shows

Tan lines

Baseball games

Winery weekends

Big birthday celebrations (mine and my dad's)

What about you?  Are you daydreaming about any of these too?  

I Can't Wait For Summer Because...

Drinking wine is more fun outside under the umbrellas at Blue Sky.

I'd rather pick fresh veggies out of our garden than pay for them at the store.

My winter clothes have lost their appeal.

I'm headed out to Colorado to see this cowgirl and her momma.

I love sitting on our porch drinking a cocktail while we wait for our food to come off the grill.

Boat shoes are much more awesome when you can wear them on or near a boat.

Louie is much more handsome when he isn't covered in long, wooly hair.

What can't you wait for when summer finally sets in? 

Linking up with Taylor and Helene

Vacation Recap, Days 1-4

It seems like forever since I've last posted something to my blog here.  Sorry about that!  Since most of the people who frequent this site are friends and family I'm sure you knew I was out on the East Coast visiting some family friends.  This was my first trip to New Jersey and hopefully it won't be my last!  My friend Laura invited me out to celebrate her son Luke's HS graduation and I jumped at the chance.  Laura, her daughter Kelsey and I met showing horses a long time ago and we've stayed in touch after all these years!
Side note: Kelsey and Luke are actually both attending my (and Matt's) alma mater, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  
I flew in to Philly, PA Friday and arrived at Dan and Laura's house in New Jersey around 1pm.  That evening we all went out for a nice supper and then headed back to the house to crash.  The next morning Number #1 on my To-Do List for the day was to create these little wonders....

Have you seen them online or via Pinterest?  They were a cinch to make and everyone at the party loved them!  They are so simple to make you literally unwrap the peanut butter cups, attach the chocolate square with some melted chocolate chips and then attach a 'tassel' using frosting and top it with a chocolate candy.  In addition to the candies, Kelsey and I were in charge of decorating the porch and pool deck with balloons and streamers.  We were also enlisted to go to the ice cream shop down the road and get some 'fun' flavors.  Ice Cream on 9 has over 127 varieties of homemade ice cream, as well as sugar free and Italian ice options!  Kelsey and I decided on Smurfette, Mint Cookies and Cream and Chocolate Covered Pretzel, in addition to good ol' fashion Vanilla.  The Chocolate Covered Pretzel was the freakin' BOMB!!  Salty!  Sweet!  Delicious!  Laura and I actually discussed with 100% seriousness, shipping some back to IL using dry ice.  Instead, I've decided that it is my mission this summer to re-create it back here in IL.  Not just the ice cream was amazing either, I took full advantage of this machine and created some yummy margarita's for myself the party guests!

Isn't she a beauty?  This is by far the best way to make margarita's!  I'm adding it to my wish list for birthday's, Christmas, etc.

To recuperate from the party, Sunday we did a lot of this...

Cotton Kitty used to be a barn cat back in Illinois when Laura owned her own boarding and training barn, but as you can see she is assimilating nicely to the fine living she is enjoying now!

On Monday we headed down to the NJ shore.  Laura's brother-in-law opened up his home to use for an afternoon of swimming, socializing and jet skiing.  This was the first time I'd ever had the opportunity to ride, let alone pilot a jet ski and it was a blast!  The whole afternoon was ahh-mazing, the house, the view, the hospitality all above and beyond!  Although this Illinois girl is a Chicago Cubs fan, who can fault Yankee fans when they let you come hang out at a place like this?

 

From Bill's we went down to the boardwalk at Seaside Heights.  This is the same location the television the Jersey Shore is filmed at.  Although we didn't see any celebs, we did partake in some delicious fried treats and pizza bigger than my head!

Tuesday morning we all headed for New York City, more details to come!