A Blog Worthy Weekend

Guess where I went this past weekend???

Don't you just love all that Red....And the cart escalator SO COOL!

That's right people I went to TARGET this weekend, a rare treat when you live in the city!

Amy and I made our way to Grand Central Station Friday afternoon to board a train Greenwich, Connecticut bound. We went to see our dear friend Misty who recently moved there. She is an actress in the city, but moved out to the suburbs with the family she nannies for. It was so fun to get out of the city for a bit and relax in such a cute and quiet town! And how fun to catch up with Misty !

One funny moment from the weekend: We were walking down the sidewalk to the little downtown area. I looked down and what did I see? A sidewalk that was perfectly in between two large patches of grass. I was like WOAH there is grass surrounding the sidewalk! That's right, I am so totally use to having pavement, sidewalk, more pavement, building. It is so weird to leave the city and realize how different your environment is everywhere else. I never thought I would get to the point where seeing regular grass (except in Central Park) is such a rare occasion.

Now I do have to say that I went a little overboard at Target, not thinking about how I was going to get it all home! Let's just say, I thought I just might pass out on the subway from carrying such heavy bags for so long. I had visions in my head of a car in the parking lot of Target. You open your trunk, put your bags in and drive home. You then unload your bags and walk a few short steps to your front door. Um, yea my post Target experience was not like that. By the time I got home I was questioning why I thought buying a large glass vase for my apt was such a good idea? Ok, it was worth it, but I am still recovering!

P.S. Did you see I did two post tonight? In the words of Kari Jo I went on a little "blog binge"

Potato Bound

'

Conrad and Whitney are leaving us! One of the many things about NYC is that it is extremely transient. People come and people go. I met Conrad and Whiney about 8 months ago and it has been so fun to get to know them. You have probably seen them quite a bit on my blog b/c most of my adventures this summer included them! They came to NYC so Whit could do a dental residency. The year is up and its time for them to go. They are off to the land of potatoes(aka Idaho) to practice a little dentistry and be near their families. So sad to see them leave!

We had a little going away party for them on Saturday. Can you tell it was a sports theme party. To say they love sports is an understatement:-)

Some of the girls thought it would be fun to all pile on the couch. Perfect Picture moment!

We will miss you Conrad and Whitney!!

Happy Birthday To Me!

This past weekend one of my close friends Katherine flew to NYC to see me! We both had birthdays this weekend and so she came to celebrate, and celebrate we did!! It is not hard to celebrate a birthday in this city. We started in Greenwich Village for dinner on Friday night. We then trekked across to the East Village with some of my friends from here to hear some live music and do a little(or maybe a lot of) dancing!

Conrad, Megan, and Whitney are a few of the people who went out with us.

We had a great weekend together. We went shopping in Soho, went to the park, got desert at Cafe Lalo, talked a lot, laughed a lot, and, celebrated alot!

I had to put this picture below in my blog. I joke with my friends and family that when they come to stay with me they have to earn their keep. Everone knows living in NYC is super expensive, so whenever I have company they will ask me if I need them to bring me something from the land of cheap goods. They think I am joking when I ask them to bring their own toilet paper.:-) Actually I still have a stock of several types of toiletries that I have not had to buy in over a year because I have had enough company to stock me up. you should know this in case you want to come stay with me. Just Kidding! But honestly I do appreciate my suppliers:-)

Kiki earned her keep by ironing my clothes! I told her I was going to take her picture to put on my blog so others would know what I expected if they were thinking they might want to stay with me. Just kidding guys, I would not ask you to do that! But isn't she a pal!

So as I write this blog post I am another year older. This birthday was kind of hard for me. In some ways it was really cool to turn 27. I have prayed for years that the Lord would bring me to a city by the time I was 27. It was so fun to celebrate this birthday and see how the Lord answered my prayer. I have lived in this city for a little over the year and the Lord has been so faithful to me here. In other ways though I felt like by age 27 I would be in a different place in life. I would be further along in certain areas or be settled down with a husband and maybe a child. The last few days I have claimed the verse in Proverbs that says, "A man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." I am so often reminded that as much as we think we should plan out our lives, it is God who is in control and leads our steps. He has ordained each of my days and He is the one leading on this journey of life. I have to remind myself of that every day and fight to let go of what I think my life should look. I am continuing to learn what it means to walk in faith and trust a God who is so incredibly worthy of my trust.

It really was a great Birthday! My friends and family were so great and I got some fun presents!

I also had a sweet time with the Lord on my birthday journaling and thanking him for specific prayers he has answered this year and specific things he has taught me and grown me in. I also spent time praying for things I would love to happen while I am 27 and areas I know I need to grow in. It was just really great to reflect and pray and be with the one who knows me the best and loves me the most!

A Day in New York City

So one of the things I love about living in New York City is that you can have days like I had today. My co-workers and I can play Hooky from work to go be in the audience of a morning television show and then hop in a cab to make to afternoon meeting that I had scheduled at the office. Many people travel from all over the country to be in the audience of a show such as this, go to Broadway, see the Empire State Building, and so on. I can combine all these things into my normal life. I am not saying that it is part of my daily routine to be in the audience of the Rachel Ray show, but it was a part of my day today!

Now I have to say, I have maybe watched the Rachel Ray Show once. I actually requested these tickets for my mother sometime back. Sadly I did not get them when she was in town, but instead received them at a time when she was unable to fly up. We were both sad about this, but thankfully I had three really fun people to go wtih me to the taping!

L-R Me, Tracy(my boss at Redeemer), Amy (a co-worker), and Kari Jo (see below blog post)

Even with tickets we had to stand in line for quite awhile before the show

Getting ready to go into the studio

We watched two episodes being taped and it was super fun. Rachel Was so great and has a wonderful personality. We also got some cool free stuff, which is always fun.

Quick Funny Story: The Rachel Ray show called me two days ago to see if I would be interested in being a part of the show in a segment called "Going To far". It actually did not work out for me to be a part of this episode, but I talked to another producer today who needs people to be a part of an episode they are taping next week. I just e-mailed her and there is a possibility that I (along with Amy) will be on a show next week. I will keep you updated

Otherwise I will let you know when these two episodes, that we were in the audience for, are being aired. It will probably air in a couple weeks.

Happy Weekend!

It's official...

Last night I joined my church. I am now an official member of Redeemer! Yay. My roommate Joanna (pictured below) joined with me.

At Redeemer you have to go up front to accept the vows. One of the pastors gave us a charge and then asked us 5 questions. I have been a member of other churches, but each time I agree to these vows I am reminded what a incrdible privilege it is to be a part of not only a church body, but the actual body of Christ. I am so thankful for Christ mercy in my life that he chose me to be his daughter. what a sweet calling it is to serve him at Redeemer in NYC.

After the church service, one of my friends had a cookout for me in her backyard. It was so great to have my friends with me at church and then celebrate with me afterwards.

My friend Whitney

Michael, Henry, Cory and Caroline relax while the burgers are grilling

Cory and Kari Jo Cates are a sweet couple at my church. They did my membership interview (before you join Redeemer you meet with a elder and his wife to share your testimony and go through each of the vows.) I have loved getting to know their family this past year. They have been such a source of encouragement to me over my first year in NYC

Besty is one of Cory and KJ's 4 kids. She and her siblings made me cupcakes for the cookout. She asked me to take a picture of her eating one of the cupcakes she made me for. So Cute:-)

Some of the girls from my fellowship group: Amy, Candace, Me, and Misty

Sara, KJ, and Josh hanging out

With Lisa, the host of the party

Kristin, Neil, Sara, and Joyce

I was not able to get a picture of everyone there, but those are a few snapshots. Last night reminded me of how faithful God has been to me. I came to New York 14 months ago not really knowing anyone. I felt alone and unsure of what life would bring. God has been so faithful to provide such sweet friendships for me. It was so fun to celebrate with friends and be reminded of how the Lord has and continues to take care of me.

P.S. Going back to the first picture of Joanna and I. Joanna moved in with me a month ago. That is yet another reminder of how God has provided for me. It has been such a blessing to live with her.

P.P.S. This week is a crazy week for me as work, so if you read this I would LOVE for you to pray for me. The great thing is I get to the end the week by going to a taping of the Rachel Ray Show AND my close friend Katherine King is flying up for the weekend to celebrate our birthdays!

Happy Labor Day....A Little Late!

It has hit me this week that summer is over! School started this week in the city, everyone is back from vacation and the streets are busier, the air is crisper, we have our big kickoff Sunday for Children's Ministry at Redeemer this Sunday, and fall activities have begun. I have to admit I am a little sad. I had a great summer enjoying the park, enjoying a less crowded city, late nights with friends, and all the summer activities that NYC offers. Before this "fall" week began, my parents came to the city for Labor Day weekend....and they came to work!

It was great to have them here and they helped me get some projects accomplished in my apt. We spent the first day painting. (My dad actually did most of the painting, but I do not have a picture of him in action)It is so nice finally have some color in my apt to help make it feel a little bit like a home!

The 2nd day we did quite a bit of shopping! We hit up the fashion district to pick out fabric to make curtains and pillows for my living room. Fabric shopping in NYC is a whole new experience!

We left fashion district (with fabulous fabric in tow) and headed downtown to one of my favorite stores, the container store. If you live in a city you totally need to go here. It has everything you could possibly imagine to help you get a small space incredibly organized. I had a personal shopper help me pick out a metro shelving system for my kitchen as well as a few other things to help me organize my bedroom. By the way, does anyone recognize name on the bag I am carrying? I actually got all my fabric for my apartment at "Mood" fabric store , which happens to be the fabric store that all the designers buy their fabric from on the show Project Runway. Watch the show, and you will see this store on there every week. They have some great stuff, check it out. I will have to show you pictures of my fun fabric after my mom makes my curtains and pillows. (Thanks Mom!)

So after painting, shopping, and having my dad do some projects around my little apt (Thanks mom and dad) we did get to do some fun things!

We walked through Central Park. Isn't Poet's Walk gorgeous!

We spent some time in Time Square

We went on a 2 hour boat cruise that took us down the Hudson, into the harbor, and up the East River. It was so cool to see the city skyline and bridges from the water. of course we had to sail by Lady Liberty

We spent quite a bit of time on the water this trip. Most people's first thoughts of NYC are not the beauty of the waterfront (even though it is an island), but some of my favorite places to go in the city lie along the rivers. The next 2 pictures are taken at one of my favorite restaurants, The Boat Basin. It was a 2 hour wait to get seated, but at least we had a pretty place to wait.

Although I could not fit all the pictures from our weekend, we had a very full few days. My parents helped me get a lot done and I showed them different parts of the city. I took them to some of my favorite restaurants to eat, my favorite ice cream parlor (which actually happens to be in Brooklyn), and a few really fun spots in the city. The nice thing about having guests come visit me here is that we never run out of things to do or sights to see. My parents are coming back for Thanksgiving. Don't hate me, but we actually will get to watch the Macy's Parade from my office building which sits on Broadway 2 blocks from Macys. It's a tough life, but somebody has to do it!:-)

Happy Fall!

Tennis Anyone?

I had the opportunity last night to go to the US Open.  It was so fun!  Being that I grew up playing tennis it has always been a dream of mine to go to this tournament(actually I have always wanted to play in this tournament, but I guess watching from the stands is close enough.haha)   It was so great to finally have the the experience!  

Watching some of the matches on the smaller courts before heading in to Center Court

Ok, I know this is an awful picture, but I had to post it.  This is the skyline of Manhattan and the sky really was this orange!  It was unbelievable!  This was the view from the stadium. 

The view from our seats

 Maria Sharapova slamming a serve.  

By the end of this men's match (Ernesto Gulbis vs Andy Murray) this is how close we were.  They needed people to fill in the courtside seats for tv purposes.  We were eager to help them out! 

Interviewing Andy Murray after he won