What's New With Me: December Recap

December... always a month to remember! 

The month started with a trip to Jamaica, which I will go in to detail about on Friday! Just know that it was a ton of fun and only the second time I've stayed at an all-inclusive resort... and plan to make it happen many more times because it's awesome!

December is also my birthday month! I spent the day as I usually do, taking off from work, sleeping in, and doing "nothing"/whatever I damn well please! Blue bought me roses and joined me for dinner, and then I actually celebrated with a birthday dinner with close friends a few days later at my favorite BYOB Italian restaurant around the corner from my apartment. 

It was awesome that my birthday fell on a Thursday, because the next day was our work holiday "ugly sweater" party at a local bar which started at 2 (holla at a half day!). I like that unlike a lot of other departments, we actually go out for our holiday party. I was chosen to be part of the planning committee this year, so I made sure there were lots of fun things to do like Jingle Bell Bingo, a gingerbread house competition, and Reindeer Ringtoss! 

My mom also celebrated with me the following weekend- we went to see Rock of Ages on Broadway, followed by a delicious pasta dinner. 

I'm lucky in that my company closes from Dec. 21- Jan. 1st. I look forward to this break every year, and I try never to take it for granted! The first half was very busy with lots of last minute shopping, wrapping, packing and sending packages, and visiting. 

I guess I'd be amiss if I left out Christmas completely. On Christmas Eve, Blue and I opened our presents to each other, and then went to her brother's house (as we do every year- tradition!). I gorged myself on my SIL's manicotti (again, as I do every year- tradition!), and all the other yummy food she prepared for us before opening (more) presents.

Christmas Day was spent alone, waiting for my mom who didn't show or reach out. Honestly, it was the best day! I was exactly where I was supposed to be (in the comfort of my home), doing "nothing"/whatever I damn well pleased (which on this day included drinking copious amounts of coffee, wine, and mac n' cheese). 

The day after Christmas was spent with Blue's sister's side of the family. They came over for Asian fusion take-out and a game night. And they completely spoiled me! I swear they bought nearly everything off of my Amazon wishlist! I mean, I did share it with them, but only to give them ideas! They really outdid themselves this year. 

I guess somewhere around here I should mention that our cat, Keebler, got sick. Why it always happens on holidays where we have to take him to emergency care is beyond me (and also really f*ckin expensive!). Anyway, we noticed him getting sluggish and wiping his bum on cold surfaces again, so we brought him in to the urgent care vet. Without getting into details, he had to stay overnight but we were able to take him home on Christmas Day and after a few very medicated days, (and one more check-up) he finally started acting like himself by the end of last week. 

I laid low after Christmas. I attended our annual Mountain Mama brunch (upstairs from Blue) and exchanged Christmas presents with them, and New Year's Eve was spent at another Mountain Mama's condo (downstairs from Blue). I didn't leave the building at all from Dec. 29 -Jan. 1, and only left on Jan. 1 to go back to my place. We slept in, stuffed ourselves, and watched a lot of TV/movies. It was glorious. 

How was your holiday season?

Linking up with Kristen! 

Halloween 2018: May The Force Boo With You!

Every year Blue and I throw a Halloween party. Last year we went with Game of Thrones, or "Medieval." The year before was Stranger Things, and the one before that was theme-less because it was our first and we weren't that creative yet! This year was Star Wars- Episode IV (since it's our 4th one). 

As we've done in years past, there was a photo wall for pictures, goody bags for every guest, and a costume contest where everyone votes on a winner or couple's costumes and the winner wins a bottle; this year we chose The Velvet Devil (Merlot). All of the decorations are from the Dollar Store and Amazon. We usually have about 20 guests, there's lots of snacks and dancing, and though we do have beer and wine, our only request is that you bring what you're drinking. Anyway, enough chatter. I'm going to let the pics do the talking!

The Invite:

This year we created a Star Wars intro invite that you can see here, but here's what it said: 

"Coming Soon to a galaxy not too far far away, actually....

As pumpkin flavored beers and spiced lattes invade the galaxy, our heroes Dani and Blue summon the Resistance to gather once again for an epic battle of booze, food, and debauchery in celebration of Halloween!

We hope you can come, we'll see you at seven, but our Rebel Base must shut down at 11!"


The Decorations:

goody bags for the guests

Death Star, Falcon, and other aircraft decals

character decals- excuse the messy kitchen!

Han Solo in Carbonite poster

The Menu: I forgot to take pics of the food, but we had a good selection of hot and cold appetizers, and of course lots of desserts!

porgs in a blanket
mozzarella sticks
popcorn chicken
mini quiches
veggie platter
allthechipsndips
caramel apple sangria
brownies/ Kahlua cake/rice krispie treats

The Costumes: Costumes are strongly encouraged, but they don't have to go with our theme- any costume will do! This year I was Chewbacca (with a Porg on my shoulder) and Blue was Han Solo. I didn't get a pic of everyone (some were on other cameras), but here are some other fun costumes!

Me and Blue as Chewie and Han, Darth Vader, and a Jedi Master

Me and another Chewie!, our winner Princess Leia,
half of our Wendy and Waldo couple, and Star Wars group shot

Our Mountain Mama group, donut, 80's girl,
and Belle of the Masquerade Ball

Construction worker, devil, cheerleader,
mad scientist, Minnie Mouse, and an Oreo

I think (hope?!) everyone had a great time, I know I did! 

Did you attend a Halloween party this year? 

What are you wearing for Halloween?

What's New With Me: June

June was a craaaazy busy month, but that's because it's finally SUMMER and time to get outside after the endless drone of winter and the non-existent spring. We kicked it off with free VIP tickets to the JerseyFest Food Truck Mash-Up (thanks Michael!). Blue and I stopped attending these because though the food trucks were good, the lines were certainly not, and sometimes they ran out of food before you even got to try it. But with these tickets we got in 2 hours before everyone else and some specialty dishes. Plus, we finally learned how to do it right from prior experience. Not only did we split everything we tried, but we brought tupperware to bring home even more good eats for dinner. Here's some other stuff that happened in June...

BOOK CON! I attended my first NY BookCon and it was awesome! So many books, and authors, and fellow book nerds all in one place! If you've ever been to a comic con it was kind of like that, except with books and literary swag. My favorite parts were getting to hear James Patterson and Bill Clinton talk about the book "The President is Missing," a panel with Rainbow Rowell and Charles Soule called "Marvel: From Pose to Panels" co-presented with NY ComicCon about the similarities and differences between writing novels vs. graphic novels, and "The Reel Real" panel about the process and what's it's like having your book turned into a movie with Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give), Becky Albertalli (Simon vs. the Homo Sapien's Agenda/Love, Simon), Lauren Oliver (Delirium series), and Soman Chainani (The School for Good and Evil series). Oh, I also got Sarah Morgan to sign a free copy of her latest book, "Holiday in the Hamptons." It was such a fun experience! 

We went to see Vertical Horizon, Tonic and the Gin Blossoms perform at a local theater turned venue. Be still my 90's loving heart! They had so much energy and were just as fantastic as they were back then (minus Robin Wilson... he was lacking, but everyone else totally made up for it). 

Blue and I attended the PopSugar Play/Ground, which promised to be fun pop-up weekend (with single day passes available) filled with yoga by Kayla Itsines, panel discussions with Mindy Kaling, Kate Hudson, Arianna Huffington, and Tiffany Haddish among others, shopping, free makeovers, and concerts by Tinashe and AlunaGeorge. It was not fun. It was a hot mess, which I should have known because even the online schedule was a disaster. Honestly I should have known when I read the description for one of the panels described as a "talk about owning your smart-girl self." It was very, very YOUNG (think early 20's- I'm 34...) and very crowded. I think we stayed for 2 hours (including the panel discussion). I'm glad that we went (no FOMO here), but ecstatic that I was able to get tickets for $20 instead of $70. 

I think the best part was that afterwards we found this tiny Southern comfort food brunch spot  called Spoonfed NYC serving up fried okra, grits, and fried chicken and waffles. 

I joined my mom at Trinity Church for a Pulse Nightclub memorial mass and reception, and on the way back found some really cool recent murals near the Oculus. 

Michael joined me for a night at Gulliver's Gate. I first heard about from my friend who builds models there. Basically it's an entire world of miniatures. And yes, I mean literally the world. There was a New Year's Parade in China, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, the Sphinx in Egypt, even the Muslims on their pilgrimage to Mecca. My favorite parts were the interactive ones though; they give you a key to insert in certain places and you can make Santa and his reindeer circle a mountain, raise and lower the London Bridge, and even get your face to appear in Niagara Falls! You also get a "passport" that has things to look for in each location (like the Beatles crossing Abbey Road in London, pictured below). If you are in the NYC area, I HIGHLY recommend checking it out! 

I had to take 8 days off from work or lose them by June 30th, so I didn't work any Mondays or Fridays the whole month. I can't say I did a whole lot during that time besides rest and relaxation, but I did redo my bedroom (does anyone else remember doing this as a kid/teen?) and purging a whole lot of stuff. That pic below was the second Vietnam Veteran pick-up this month! I'm really happy with my room now; I feel like I'm finally utilizing the space well and everything has a place. (Sidenote: when you move your bed, waking up and not seeing the same view you wake up to every day is very disorienting.)

Always good eats- sliders, seafood Paella Valencia, personal pizza, and classic mac n cheese for national cheese day. 

We celebrated some birthdays with day drinks at a local bar, my friends came in from Denver for a short weekend trip and I met them in NYC, and I saw some old coworkers turned friends for dinner at my favorite Portuguese restaurant.

The month ended with a quick trip down to Key West, FL for my friend Kathy's wedding. It was extremely hot, but the ceremony was short and the food was great and after the reception we all went out to Irish Kevin's and danced the night away... until my shoe literally fell apart (pictured below) and I hobbled back to the hotel in one shoe. Also of note: they had a mac and cheese AND a mashed potato bar which is something I've always wanted for my wedding. It was as amazing as I thought it would be. Also, check out that Cheeseburger in Paradise wedding cake (ya know, because of Jimmy Buffett)! It was alternating layers of vanilla and chocolate with cream filling. Nom. 

That's it for me. What's new with you?

Linking up with Kristen! 

What's New With Me// Currently

Hoooowwwddddyyyy Hoooo!

No apologies for the unannounced mini-hiatus- December was BUSY. But I'm back! I'm currently warm and cozy in my PJ's under a blanket with coffee by my side during what's being called a "bomb cyclone" (aka blizzard) because we have a SNOW DAY! I love snow days just as much now as I did as a kid, possibly more. And it was definitely needed after a being away from the office for 2 weeks and then coming back to stressful days of being at work by 7AM and meeting my new boss. But enough about all that; here's what I was up to in December. 

Celebrated my friend Michele's 50th birthday with my fellow Mountain Mommas (group of friends who all live in the same condo complex on top of a mountain) and actually wore a dress for the first time since summer...

Bought myself some fun warm thermals from Old Navy during their super sale (currently wearing the gray one as I type this)...

Was completely, utterly, and totally embarrassed at Dueling Pianos with friends. Why, you may ask? Well, Blue and co. thought it'd be a real hoot to tell them that it was my birthday (it was a few days later). But they had already sung happy birthday to someone else. So they called me up to the front of the restaurant, made me stand directly in the center and sang this Monty Python song instead. I turned bright red (which is hard, I'm brown you guys) and wanted the floor to swallow me whole. Then they gave me a dirty toast which I don't really remember. But then they played Ed Sheeran and I got Blue back by making her slow dance with me in front of everyone for at least half the song. 

I celebrated my birthday in Vegas with my favorite couple who came in from Denver for the festivities! Full recap on that next week!

Had an excellent Christmas Eve brunch with all the Mountain Mommas...

Spent Christmas morning opening presents with Blue, then headed home to spend the rest of the day with my mom. As per tradition, we watched movies, ate Chinese food, and drank wine. We added manicures and masks this year because it was there and we were already in PJs so why not?! 

I did a whole lot of nothing during my week off between Christmas and New Years which was blissful. New Year's Eve was spent at Blue's in my jammies with friends. There is a terrible video of us singing TLC's "Waterfalls" (among other songs) because the little one (my friend's niece, she's 12) brought a karaoke game. We also played Llama-Rama (below) which I'd given as a present because... llamas. 

iPhones of missing Mountain Mommas that couldn't attend

Other December things:

- Watched Star Wars: The Last Jedi (great), Pitch Perfect 3 (meh), and Home Again (bad)

- Spent actual birthday off from work chillin and then went to my fave restaurant with Blue

- Attended other holiday parties/festivities and Christmas Eve dinner at the "in-laws"

- Was not at work or on a computer at all from 12/16-1/2

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Currently...

Reading: Tell The Wolves I'm Home- Carol Rifka Brunt

Listening To: One Foot- Walk The Moon

Watching: Ellen's Game of Games, Married at First Sight (S6), Top Chef, Young Sheldon

Starting: blogging again after my unannounced and unplanned holiday hiatus and tracking my eating again with myfitnesspal.

Hoping: for another snow day tomorrow! (Wishful thinking, for sure)

Scheduling: a Veteran's pickup for 1/12, a few doctor appointments, and a vacation for sometime in March.

Playing: Llama-Rama, a rhyming game, on NYE.

Looking forward to: Blue and I celebrating our 3 year anniversary this weekend! 

What's new with you?

Linking up with Kristen, Gretch, and Anne.

This Is Halloween!

Now that I've got that stuck in your head...

Every year (meaning last year and the year before), Blue and I throw a Halloween party. This year we went with Game of Thrones, or "Medieval." As we've done in years past, there was a photo wall for pictures, goody bags for every guest, and a costume contest where everyone votes on a winner or couple's costumes and the winner wins a bottle, this year we chose vodka. Luckily we had a non-alcoholic prize too (a pumpkin carving kit and TJ's pumpkin muffin mix) because our winner was our youngest guest, my friend's 12 yr old niece. (This is an adults-only party, but she's always around and she's pretty awesome.) All of the decorations are from the Dollar Store and Amazon. We usually have about 20 guests, there's lots of snacks and dancing, and though we do have beer and wine, our only request is that you bring what you're drinking.  Anyway, enough chatter. I'm going to let the pics do the talking!

The Invite:

"Halloween is coming,
prepare to raise your glasses,
Because this year we're going medieval on your asses!

Be a king or a queen or a knight or a wench,
But any costume is fine if you're still on the fence.

We'll have plenty of food and treats if that's what you're thinking,
our only request is that you bring what you're drinking!

We hope you can come, we'll see you at seven, but our Kingdom requires we shut down at 11!" (written by Blue)
The Decorations: 

Castle photo wall, banners, and a 6 ft. "Mountain"/Knight

knights and banners- party prep time

goody bags

The Menu: 

Chicken "Littlefingers"
Theon Greyjoys in a Blanket
Bagel Bites
(meatless) Baked Ziti
allthechipsndips
Halloween cookies
Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Red Wedding Punch (with a giant brain shaped ice cube)

The Costumes: 

"The Dude" The Big Lebowski

Our 1st place winner- Thing 1

Game of Thrones- 2 Melisandres, Dany, her dragon, and The Night King

Dead Construction Worker

Hot Mess Express

Unicorn

Our "true" winners- Belle and the Beast

Dana Barrett and Louis Scully from Ghostbusters

Yours truly- Daenerys Targaryen and her dragon

The Mountain Mamas group shot

Do you celebrate Halloween? 

What's been your favorite costume this year?