I (heart) NY

Feeling spontaneous? Alex and I were last week. In fact, that's what happens a lot of the time when we take short trips to fun destinations - we (mostly I) suddenly decide that it sounds fun to go to Seattle, or San Francisco, or New York. And then, thanks to Priceline, Southwest, and travel boards (and a wonderful husband who humors my passion for travel), we successfully get a little vacation lined up in no time, and for little money! Sometimes it pays to do last-minute traveling!

I've had the hankering for awhile to get up to New York to enjoy the sites. And, in my opinion, there's nothing better than NY during the holiday season! So on Wednesday I put in a bid for a hotel room for Friday night, and got it. It was right across the street from Ground Zero, and this was our view from our hotel room. It's a pretty humbling experience to look out across the remains there, especially when I have stood in the World Trade Center once before.


We walked over to Rockefeller Center and looked at the grand Christmas tree - along with thousands of other tourists.


We feasted on "authentic" Brazilian cuisine, and then had some fun at the m&m store in Times Square. I think there were 4 floors of m&m paraphernalia. Who knew that there was such an m&m craze?!


Saturday morning we did something totally fun. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It's actually pretty amazing to stand in the middle of the bridge and look out in all directions. And the bridge itself is pretty neat. Highly recommended!


And for our final destination on this whirlwind of a trip, Canal Street, aka the place to go for knockoff goods. I've heard stories about going there and being ushered into hidden rooms to look at the knockoffs, so I was a little intimidated. It was definitely an experience! I've decided that I'm just not decisive enough to do that kind of shopping. I like to look at things and deliberate over them. I'm notorious for buying things, looking at them every day for a week, and then deciding to take them back. I have serious buyer's remorse. I did have fun, and ended up getting a couple of things, but Canal Street is probably something I'll save for when my mom or sisters-in-law come out. And now that I know the ropes, I'm happy to go with any of you! :)

Thanksgiving in Virginia

We successfully made it down to Virginia, stuffed ourselves silly (the pies were amazing), and had a rousing game of soccer about an hour after eating (the old men and me vs. the young men - we whooped them!). It was great!

We decided to go into DC to check out the sites. We walked around and saw the monuments, and went in the museum of natural history, and the air and space museum. There's just something about our nation's capitol that gets me excited every time I go there. I even got to sneak away for a little bit to buy a White House ornament as a memento of our trip! This is a picture of Alex, his cousin Eric, his Aunt Diane, and Uncle Jim in front of the state capitol.

Surprisingly we found out that my brother and sister-in-law were in Virginia for Thanksgiving (they live in Japan, so it was actually a huge surprise!). We were able to stop by and see them and their kids for a couple of hours. It was nice to visit with them and see the nephews. It's amazing how fast kids grow. They're so cute! We'll get to see them in Utah at Christmas time, so that'll be nice, too.

For the last leg of our trip we went to Harper's Ferry in West Virginia. It was great to learn more about what happened there and the role Harper's Ferry played in the civil war. We also got to stand at the place where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet. In the town there are all of these old buildings that are depicted as they would have been during the civil war, and you can read all about what life was like then. There's so much to learn about! After we sufficiently toured the town, we went and had a little picnic. It was hilarious! We sat out on this picnic table, and it was FREEZING! We were all shaking from the cold and our teeth were chattering. Finally Alex's aunt was smart enough to say, "I'm going to the car to finish my lunch." Thank goodness for Aunt Diane!

The start of the Holiday season

For me, Thanksgiving has always been the official start of the holiday season. There’s nothing like gathering around a big turkey dinner, overeating, and then taking a nice afternoon nap. It never hurts to squeeze in a little football either - how fitting that the BYU v. Utah football game is Thanksgiving weekend…

This year we’re headed down to Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with Alex’s Uncle Jim and Aunt Diane. We’re excited about the adventure the drive will be sure to bring, and the time getting to know our relatives better. Even though I don’t know Alex’s uncle and aunt very well, I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a blast.

It’s funny because after Thanksgiving I feel like I’m justified in beginning to think about Christmas (or at least publicly, since we all know I’ve been thinking about it long before Thanksgiving). One of my favorite things is putting up Christmas decorations and getting a Christmas tree. Alex and I have been collecting ornaments from all of our fun travel adventures over the years, so our tree is starting to actually look nice. We also have these awesome red fabric balls that we inherited from my Grandma that add the perfect touch!

Here’s wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving! I’ll leave you with a list of things that I am thankful for: my husband, family, friends, the Gospel, rain, snow on Christmas day, hot chocolate, tulips and roses, puppies, fresh peaches and strawberries, traveling, memories, and the list goes on. Happy Thanksgiving!

Scenic Byways

Alex and I took a road trip today up to the Delaware Water Gap and the Poconos mountains. Our mission: find fall foliage. We decided to avoid all major highways so we were driving through some pretty rural areas. At one point we were driving along and there were about 5 wild turkeys waiting to cross the busy road. I tried to get a picture, but they were too quick. I have never seen a live turkey in person, let alone crossing the road - it was awesome! We stopped at a Farmers Market along the drive and stocked up on fresh apple cider and homemade fudge. Yum! The drive was beautiful, and led to a very scenic picnic along the Delaware River.


As we were driving along through a small town, I noticed this amazing tree. I made Alex turn around so I could get a picture of it. There's something about a tree with leaves that turn red in the fall...


At one of the scenic overlooks of the Delaware Water Gap, we found a hiking trail that led to the Appalachian trail. We decided to go for a little hike, and we were not disappointed.



All in all, I would have to say mission completed.

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Mel - so here go my answers! I tag Natalie, Sara, and Shannon!

1. Best thing you cooked last week.
Definitely my apple pie. In Alex's words, "the crust is tender and flaky, and the inside is not too soupy."

2. If money and time were no object, where would you go and with whom?
I would buy one of those around-the-world plane tickets and Alex and I would hit places like Japan, Australia, Brazil, Africa, any island in the Pacific. And then to top it off Alex and I would move to Ireland. :)

3. When was the last time you cried?
I think it was when I was watching High School Musical 2 when Gabriela is breaking up with Troy... :)

4. 5 things you were doing this month 10 years ago.
1) I was a Junior at Woods Cross High School
2) I was playing soccer
3) Although I have no concrete evidence of this, I'm pretty sure I had a sleepover with my friends this month
4) I went to Sadie Hawkins with JD Dunn
5) I'm assuming I went to a halloween party

5. 5 things on your to do list today.
1) Make a roast for dinner
2) Pack up my work computer for work tomorrow (my team got to work from home on Friday)
3) Get Sam's b-day card ready to go
4) Get Alex's cousins wedding cards ready to go
5) Email my family about my mom's b-day present

6. 6 favorite snacks:
1) Red vines
2) Jelly Bellies
3) hummus and pita chips
4) a bowl of fresh fruit
5) chips and salsa
6) beef jerky - especially when traveling

7. 5 bad habits:
1) I have bad skin and I itch it
2) I don't write in my journal
3) I let the recycle bin overflow and take over our house before I take it out
4) I take the clean clothes out of the dryer and put them in the hamper to be folded, and then never fold them
5) I check travel websites at least once a day to see if there are any good deals

8. 5 favorite foods:
1) Gyoza
2) Cheesecake
3) Kung-pao chicken from PF Chang's
4) European chocolate
5) Gelato

9. 5 places I've been:
1) Ireland
2) The Bahamas
3) Germany
4) Portugal
5) England

10. 6 favorite memories:
1) Traveling with Alex
2) Playing soccer and being awesome at it :)
3) Spending Thanksgiving up in Park City with my family skiing, drinking hot chocolate, and watching Anne of Green Gables
4) Any family get together because it's always an adventure, especially with the family growing!
5) Doing my MBA with Alex
6) My dog, Indiana

Great Harvest - The Freedom Franchise

As I was driving home from work today I was listening to NPR and there was a story on Great Harvest Bread Company. They were interviewing a man who owns a franchise, and he was talking about how much he likes the freedom that this franchise gives him. Freedom franchise means that they are pretty flexible with how the owners run their own stores. The only three things that are required by Great Harvest are:

1. The franchise has to display the Great Harvest logo
2. The franchise has to make the signature honey wheat bread
3. The franchise has to grind their own flour every day

That's it (well, I guess the franchises are encouraged to offer free samples)! Other then those three things, the owners are free to run their stores any way they want to and to make whatever kind of bread they want. It's suddenly making sense why I see Great Harvest at farmer's markets all of the time...

After hearing that story all I wanted was Great Harvest bread! I had flashbacks of high school when we would go down to Keva Juice and get smoothies and then go next door and get a free hugely thick slice of bread at Great Harvest, and we would put butter and honey on top of the bread. Smoothies and bread - you really can't ask for a better combination! Yum!

I don't want to get old

So my grandma has been having a hard time this past week. She has been overdosing on her meds, and had to go to the ER last Friday night. It's hard because I'm so close to her, and part of me wishes I could be there for her. But the good thing about my grandma (and my mom) is that we can always find humor in the silliest things.

I guess grandma wasn't taking one of her medications that calms her, and she was very anxious and emotional. My mom took her on a walk and when they got back my grandma burst out in tears. My mom was trying to figure out what was wrong, and she said she knew something bad had happened to me and my brother. After some coaxing, my mom found out that she thought I was on drugs (I know, so characteristic of me :)). My mom called me and asked me to reassure my grandma that I wasn't taking drugs and our conversation went something like this:

Grandma: "Kristin, tell me that you're not on drugs."
Kristin: "Grandma, I'm not on drugs."
Grandma: "Are you sure?"
Kristin: "Yep, I promise."
Grandma: "Oh good."

Now, this is a conversation I honestly thought I would never have - especially with my grandma. All the while Alex was sitting in the other room listening to only my end of the conversation...

Anyway, so this whole story reminded me of my old roommate's grandma. Mel's grandma lived near us in Provo, and she would call and leave the most classic messages on our answering machine. "Melanie, this is your grandma." It just brings a smile to my face and reminds me of how I don't want to get old! :)

Here's a picture of Grandma in a hat my mom knit for her a couple of years ago - isn't it great?!