The Weekend Update

Happy Sunday!!!

This weekend as well as last weekend have been all about relaxation and comfort! In one day I get to fly home for Thanksgiving. This will be the first time I have been home since last Christmas! I honestly can't believe how long its been.

Friday night a friend of mine asked me to join her a basketball game for her alma mater. The University of Arizona was playing Mississippi State at Madison Sq Garden. While watching the game I remembered how much I love basketball!!! Being a Hoosier basketball is in our blood! After the game we had dinner at Park Avenue Tavern. I had the salmon and tomato confit! Amazing!!! I've never had salmon with a tomato base. So good!

Saturday I was able to sleep in and wake up to a beautiful Saturday morning! One of my new Saturday routines is to head up to the Equinox on 63rd & Lex and join a friend for Fab, Fit, & Fresh! A workout class I like to call Lunge, Lunge, Lunge! :) Post class I came home and heated of some leftovers and made some popcorn and had the most relaxing Saturday night inside! I have previously mentioned how much I adore my new room and these new curtains I have! I love spending time at home watching movies and spending time in my room.

Today I woke up and made my morning coffee. So good. After reading through The NY Times and getting ready I'm off to church. My small group is in charge of setup today so I need to go earlier. Then it's off to yoga and a thanksgiving dessert with Kelly!!

Only two more days!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Xoxo

B

Dinner Parties

One rule my mother has always taught me was, "to have parties!" My mother is most definitely the host of all hosts and has all of her T's crossed and her I's dotted, when it comes to the details she puts into the parties she holds.  Details down to the serving utensils and how relevant they are for the current season/holiday.  

Sunday night we had a dear friend in town and to honor her visit we decided to throw her a dinner party.  We had about 3 other girls come to the apartment and socialize while we all sat and drank wine, ate delicious food, and munched on dessert!  Even in our little railroad apartment, the dinner party was a success.  Kelly cooked the main coarse-Stuffed manicotti with a Greek Yogurt and Kale stuffing, and I made an appetizer.  My mother's own Baked Brie with Apples & Pears.  What a fabulous evening.  We may not have a kitchen table or enough seating for everyone, but the evening itself was love(er)ly.  We talked about boys and laughed about funny situations with men, work, and friends.  It was the perfect end to a great weekend with Molly.

Fabulous Friends

In Times Square after En Vogue

One thing I am truly thankful for are the friendships that I still have between both my high school friends and my college friends.  Two of my friends from high school came out to visit me at the beginning of October.  There are no words to describe how great the weekend was!!!! Mindy and  Jan flew into NYC early Friday morning.  I still had to work so they were able to catch up on some lost sleep and get a bite to eat.  By the time I was done with work they were ready to get up from their nap and we were ready to hit the town!  I had purchased tickets to En Vogue for the evening and then we were going to go out later that night.

Saturday we woke up and had an amazing breakfast at the new Ihop located on 14th street (a little obnoxious but soo worth it).  Central Park was in order for the day and it was even better because my best friend Katie, from FIT who just moved to NY, was able to join us.  The day was perfect! Great weather; amazing memories!

Girl time

Amazing Grilled Cheese at Juniors 

Cheesecake at Junior's in Grand Central Station (Snoop Dog's fav)

Bethesda Fountain

The Boathouse

Fun at FAO Schwartz

Saturday night we met up with our friend Katie

Sunday we went to a fabulous brunch at The Smith on 13th street in the East Village; one of my favs.  After devouring our food we sat at the table and conversed about our favorite parts of the weekend.  You know you have truly amazing friends when you can sit for hours and talk about nothing, listen to country music while getting ready, and laugh constantly for an entire weekend!

Brunch at The Smith

Mindy and Jan, thank you so much for coming to visit.  You were a breath of fresh air in NYC!  I couldn't have asked for a better weekend with better friends!

Here are a few snapshots from the weekend.  

Enjoy...

New Room

A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of having the entire apartment to myself for the whole weekend. I knew that I wanted to eventually paint my room, but never found a weekend to do it, but then when Kelly told me she would be in CT all weekend, I immediately knew I was going to be busy painting. It had been a few months after moving in and the walls were still white from when Kelly lived in it.  Not that white is a bad color, it's just not me.  I'm a very loud and bold person and I have always reflected my energy and personality with my bedroom decor.  This room was a bit of a challenge because I had already previously purchased my dusty eggplant bedding.  

In the end...I decided to go with a deep plum on the back wall and a light purple on all the others.  Fearing that the room would inevitably become a giant grape I chose to accent with my black dresser and add in a taupe for a little contrast.  Living in a railroad apartment I have a set of curtains hanging from above one doorway to the other.  This gives me the illusion of actual privacy and creates a walkway for others in the apartment.  Pictures are below.  I can't even describe how great it feels to finally get my room in order.  I kept putting off the decorating due to lack of funds and energy, but after buckling down and getting it done, I am so thankful for the end result.  It's great to have a place where I can retreat and relax after a long day in the office.

Enjoy the pictures...

The Weekend Update-Finally Fall

Kimberly and I on one of our little outings-Kingswood in the West Vill. 

Wow! Fall has truly arrived and it's about time!!! This weekend has been so relaxing.  The past couple of weekends were spent going out and hosting guests, and as thrilling and exciting as that is, it can really tire one out.  This weekend Kelly and I had a dear friend come to visit.  She arrived on Friday night.  We chose to go to Yaffa Cafe in the East Village, where I proceeded to order an amazing spinach and brie crepe topped with a lemon sauce and a side salad with asian carrot-ginger dressing, all while simultaneously drinking great wine and conversing about life, boys, and work!!! It was so great to see Molly.  What a gem of a woman! 

Saturday, after taking it easy during the day I met up with my new friend Kimberly.  Kimberly and I met through Kelly and have been getting drinks/dinner each week.  It's amazing how God can place certain people into our lives at the time that we need them to be there.  She has literally been an angel and blessing sent from Heaven.  We met up and went to a workout class and had some hot tub time at her gym and were able to catch up.  I love when I can see people at one point during the week and then we meet up again two days later and still have SO much to talk about.  I am seriously so thankful for Kimberly and I's new found friendship! After working out I went uptown to the Upper West Side where my best friend Katie lives.  She and I went to FIT together and became best friends and has since then moved to Manhattan.  It was an amazing night.  We had a girls night with cookies, great food, movies, and tons of laughter.  Definitely needed in the business of New York! 

Today is church.  I have been getting back into church and have been attending a bible study that I just love.  It starts at 3:00 and then church starts at 5:00pm.  It's great having a whole day dedicated to rejuvenating my life with the Lord!  God has been so good to me lately and I am so thankful for that!  I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Take care,

love Blair

Living it up Latina Style

My dear, dear friend Angela came to visit last week and my goodness...what an amazing night!!!! She flew in on a Monday morning and then was flying out the next day, but while she was here she was attending the 15th anniversary party for Latina Magazine!!!! She had asked me a couple weeks prior, to be her plus one and I most certainly agreed.  A chance to see one of my best friends??? Are you kidding??  I was so excited to see Angela.  The last time I saw her was during the weekend of my race.  She graciously allowed me to spend the weekend at her apartment with she and her sister! Great weekend btw.

Anyways, the Latina Party started while meeting Angela at The Standard and then hoping in a cab uptown to the event.  The guest of honor that night was Pitbull.  I don't think I have ever met a bigger fan of Pitbull than Angela.  The girl lovessssss her some Spanish Rap Radio.    Well....WOW!!! What a performance? Pitbull performed and was AMAZING!!! Each song was filled with so much energy and passion that you could do nothing but fully get into it, even if you didn't know the song.  I love concerts like that.  We also had the luxury of standing front row during the performance as well.

Angela,Wow! What a concert. Thank you again for inviting me to be your plus one.  I couldn't have asked for a better night; followed by INCREDIBLE conversation!!!! A night I will never forget!!!!!! Thank you again!

A friend-date with Pho

So Kelly and I have this lovely tradition (which sometimes fails to occur on the regular) that we take Sunday night to ourselves and eat dinner together.  Sunday dinner.  A couple times we have cooked in the apartment and other nights we chose to go out for dinner.  Tonight was one of those, "let's go out" kind of evenings.  

In my first couple months of arriving in New York, Kelly introduced me to vietnamese food.  Particularly to Pho, a brothy soup with rice noodles and green onions usually served with beef, however vegetables, tofu, seafood, or chicken could also be the main protein.  As previously mentioned in "The Weekend Update" I am starting to fight a little head cold and the beef broth and rice noodles totally hit the spot.  

The best part of the evening was the ability to have a "family" dinner with Kelly.  We talked about anything and everything.  She truly is one of the most amazing friends that I have.  Dinner tonight wasn't about the pho...it was about friendship.  

Happy Sunday,

Blair

The Weekend Update

Well Fall is FINALLY here!  I'm so excited to get outside and venture into the city on this beautiful, sunny, crisp day.  The weather says that it's supposed to rain later today, but hopefully that holds off.  

Yesterday morning I started to welcome in a nice head cold. Choosing my fate for the weekend. A good two days of rest and full of liquids.  

Today Purdue plays Notre Dame and I couldn't be more excited to watch the game.  I think my rest though is going to be interrupted with game-day festivities.  My friend Leigh and I are going to head uptown to our friend's apartment and watch the University of Illinois game and then continue on to the Purdue game.  I couldn't be more excited.  It's the best that I can do to relive college on a homecoming (at Purdue) weekend!!!

Tomorrow is church and bible study.  We are currently studying the book of Colossians.  This study will continue on until Christmas when the Advent Season begins.  It's been extremely interesting to see how God is continuing to work through my life with this study.  

New York has been quite the experience thus far.  I recently celebrated my one-year anniversary in the city and my one-year anniversary with work, as well.  First off, it's crazy to think that I've been here a year and am still going strong.  I mean I have been able to continue to feed myself and not end up on the street...JOKE! 

Anyways, with all joking aside this year has been one of the hardest years of my life, but I guess that's what makes it so exhilarating.  I'm doing well and figuring things out.  Work is going well.  It too is hard to figure out what's next, but I'm realizing how strong I am and how much I could give up and come home, but I wouldn't be happy and that's not how I was raised.  I realize that this is part of life and this is only going to make me a stronger person.  With that being said, I'm off to get ready for game day!!! BOILER UP BABY!!!!!!!!!

xoxo

Blair

F.N.O

A couple years ago the fashion industry started an event called Fashion's Night Out in an effort to get people to spend money.  This was the September following the stock market crash in 2008.  The night turned out to be a HUGE success and the industry decided to continue this tradition in the years to come.  This past year it took place on a Thursday night.  I attended the event with my best friend Leigh.  We headed to the Meatpacking district to a couple of shops.  Popped into Theory, Rebecca Taylor, and Calypso. Each one had amazing merchandise...all of which I did not have the luxury in purchasing.  Nonetheless it was still an exciting night to be out and about.

The Hawaiian Housewarming Party

I mentioned before that on Friday night we went to Brooklyn for a housewarming party for our good friends Nicola and Zach.  They both previously lived in the apartment that I am currently living in.  I am actually fulfilling out their portion of the lease and they have since moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn! 

They decided to have a Hawaiian themed Housewarming Party to welcome everyone to their new residence.  It was so cute.  Zach had cut grass skirts for the cabinetry and they served BBQ chicken sliders made from Pita Rounds and served everything with a Mint-Gin Pineapple cocktail!  How delicious!!!! In addition to the grass skirts, they also had other luau decorations throughout the apartment.  There were hula girls on the wall in the living room and had Netflix streaming old beach movies from the 60s.  There was also beachy-surfer music playing the whole time!  So cute and festive.  What a great way to say goodbye to summer, Hello to Brooklyn, and welcome in Fall!  

xoxo

Blair