Radio City, The Rockefeller Tree, & All Things Christ-masy!

I'm telling you...New York at Christmas does not disappoint. I take way too many photos when I come here, and it has been nice coming to the city without it being so crowded. I am grateful to those who have stayed in their own state and not traveling here which makes the risk of the virus less contagious but unfortunately there will be tourists coming here which makes it unsafe for them if they don't quarantine or wear  a mask (which I've seen quite a few not wearing any already) but nonetheless we are careful when we are out and about and major social distance while taking photos. We only slide our mask down under our chin while snapping a quick pic! And here's our favorite venue Radio City. We will miss seeing the Rockettes this year but hope they will return next year to continue this tradition. 

Fifth Avenue At Christmas!

As promised here are more scenes and holiday decor from my favorite city. I absolutely love this time of year and as much as we are tempted to live here it would be amazing especially since rent costs are constantly getting lower, but it's all up to Jon's job and I don't think they want to lose one of their best drivers in Jersey! Anyway here are a few more photos. There is still so much to see and do around the holidays. I wrote this blog post last year and listed some of the fun places to go during Christmas. It truly is a magical city at Christmas!

These are scenes from fifh avenue. This year fifth avenue put up these huge toy decorations and they light up at night. Even though Noah is 11 he still found them entertaining and didn't mind getting in the pictures. After all...they are New York! 

NYC Scenes At Christmas Time!

I can't believe we are halfway through December and my writing/blogging skills have been completely lacking. The picture taking and posting it on Instagram hasn't. It has been easier for me to post on Instagram on a whim than to blog about our day. The "one line a day journal" I have also makes up for the blogging as well as writing in my regular journal which I honestly haven't written in it in a while.  I have a few more pages to fill before I start one up for 2021. I blame it on 2020. I blame it on Covid fatigue. And I feel I have every right in saying that I have 'covid fatigue' because my husband drives for UPS every day. My worries about him and his job however have somewhat diminished, but there are days when I still worry. Which is why I replace my worry with picture taking. I love taking pictures especially around the holidays. The perks about living near NYC is that I can drive in anytime and go to the best epic spots and capture a photo. It's the best and I LOVE the city around the fall and Christmas season. Since I have a ton of photos I may make a part two but this post will pretty much be all about Christmas decorations. We've been to so many epic spots that are picture worthy and I hope you enjoy looking at them on here or on my Instagram as much as I do! 

Holiday Decorations In New York City!

This past week so many ornaments have been displayed in the city. Some nostalgic that have been set up for years and some new. Our favorite decorations are the huge red ornaments near Radio City! It truly livens up the city at Christmas. And at night...oh you have to see them at night. They are so lit and bright! The huge bow displayed at Cartier, and the huge colored lights are another favorite. This year they added huge candy canes as well! Perfect for a christmas photo. We love everything about this city during the holidays which is why we keep coming back for more. 

Chelsea's Model/Photo Shoot for West 38.

One night while scrolling through Instagram I found a page where they had some of the most amazing photos of models. After carefully reading about them to make sure it was legit I decided to submit a few photos of Chelsea just for the heck of it. I honestly wasn't sure what was going to happen but then I get a phone call and sure enough Midtown models chose her to come in for a free photo shoot! So before making any appointments or decisions that weren't mine I told Chelsea what I had done and with a smile she said, "really?!?" She was excited that she had this opportunity but I reminded her that this was her choice and that if she didn't want any part of it that it would be okay. She obliged and so over Thanksgiving break we drove to the city where she literally was treated like royalty and the makeup artist and photographers were professional and agreeable.  She will be creating her own website along with her photos in hopes that she gets called in for some work! I have faith in her that she will get some work being that she has an amazing and bubbly personality adding beauty to the mix.to her 

I modeled when I was in my early 20's and it helped pay some of my student loans. I didn't get a ton of jobs but it was enough dough for two years! I am thrilled that one of my girls is following in my footsteps. And if she doesn't pursue it for very long I'm happy that she's got a great experience out of this and hopefully make some money in her future!

Shining Bright At Hudson Yards - NYC!

Can't believe December is here. In spite of Covid, and an insane election year and all the negativity it brought this year has gone by way too fast. At least for me. My daughter was telling me the other day that she can't believe this year is almost over. We are all pretty thrilled that it is and because of it being the last month of 2020 we are going to make this Christmas special and simple. Lately we have been going to the city a lot to see all that Christmas brings. There truly is nothing like Christmas in New York. I have soooooo many pictures to post but instead of writing about it on this blog I post it on my Instagram. So if you still read this blog of mine hop on over to my Instagram so y'all can catch up on what we've been up to. I feel that blogs are becoming a thing of the past so I haven't been writing as much but yet I get that writing nudge and just want to share, share, share! So for those of you who continue to read and are patient with my posts thank you! 

I'll begin with visiting the lights at Hudson Yards. Can you believe how beautiful these twinkling lights are? Apparently there are 2 million lights illuminating all of Hudson Yards. This mall has so many shops and restaurants to choose from and it's free to see the lights. This place is definitley going to be on our go to place to come to during the holidays  Such a beautiful sight! Always "shine bright!"

"Give, Love, Believe" Theme At Macy's In NYC.

Thanksgiving was very different this year. Due to the pandemic this was the first time in years that the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade was televised with no spectators. We watched it on the telly and in all honesty wasn't too thrilled with the results but we understand why. There wasn't very many balloons but the new ones that came out like Boss baby and the artist Kusama's octopus balloon was pretty cool. Still...watching it from home was making me miss it big time but we are thankful to have been present at past parades and to have been at home safe watching it on the television. We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with all the mixings and great company. We are so thankful for the blessings we have received this year so far with being spared from covid and to be safe in the comforts of our home. The #givethanks campaign really put my life into perspective on expressing more gratitude. Really grateful that President Nelson challenged us to give thanks. It truly does wonders when you either write in your journal about all the things your thankful or expressing it online. It was the best healing gift he could offer to everyone in the world especially with all that's happening right now.

Now that Thanksgiving has past and the Christmas season is here we are looking forward to Christmas in the city. We love exploring all things Christmasy in the city and the GIVE, LOVE, BELIEVE theme for this year's Macy's holiday display is so fitting for this year. So let's continue to "Give, Love, and Believe!

The Bow Bridge In Central Park At Golden Hour.

One thing I have never witnessed during golden hour is the Bow Bridge at Central Park. A couple of weeks ago we decided to spend the day in the city and take in all of nature's gold before the rain hit and took all the leaves away. Central Park is definitely beautiful time of year and one bright thing that 2020 has brought this year is a beautiful autumn. Another bonus besides taking in all of nature's glory at the park is meeting Beth Beckman. She is a pretty big deal in New York and because of her IG page I get to find out about all the events that are happening in the city. It was a pleasure to meet her and her son and hope to get together with her soon in the near future! 

Here are a few photos from that day and you can see more on this post of me and Noah when we went on another day. We took quite a few. I'm also glad that Jon took a day off to spend time with us and that he was able to see Central Park in all her beautiful glory!

After The Autumn Rain...

Fall has been so beautiful this year and I'm so glad that it lasted as long it did. We sure did need some color this year and Mother Nature did good in bringing color into our neck of the woods. Next to summer, Fall is my favorite and the fact that I have a November baby is a plus! I love that Noah and I both share autumn with our birthdays and that we make the best of this season. After the rain last week we went to a nearby park where everything was golden. The ground looked like a carpet of leaves. It was glorious and beautiful and I captured a few photos of Noah walking and running all around the park. It was a nice time for him to be able to get out of the house after a long week of zoom school to roam around free. And he really needed to get out!

More photos below...

Carl Grimes & Princess Juanita Sanchez from The Walking Dead!

Going a bit backwards here on the blog and sharing a few pics from our Halloween this year. This Halloween, although extremely different was filled with last minute costumes, and last minute trick or treating. We were going to have a chill evening and dress up, but because the kids have had one hell of a year decided that they should go trick or treating. Chelsea wasn't going to dress up at first but at the last minute decided to be Princess Juanita from the Walking Dead and so we did some last minute shopping and she found all the pieces of her costume at Goodwill. Noah was her motivator since he was dressed as Carl Grimes from the walking dead. We went around our neighborhood first to trick or treat but to no avail. Not many neighbors were giving out candy or had candy out for kids to grab. Luckily our old neighborhood had a ton of houses who had treats already set out for kids to grab. The kids had so much fun and they came home with their bags full of candy. I am so happy that our old neighbors pulled through and made this Halloween fun for the kids. They truly deserved all the candy they got! Hoping that next year will somewhat be filled with more trick or treaters, but then again it was nice being outside with an abundance of caution all while the kids were smiling all throughout the evening while trick or treating!

Noah Turns E L E V E N!

One thing that has been helping us get through quarantine and this pandemic are the celebrations that we have within our family. Our family. Meaning just us. The four of us. Noah turned 11 today and this past weekend we had a little celebration of our own. We ate at one of Noah's favorite burger places and just had simple fun as a family. Since his birthday fell on a school day we ate his cake late and it was the simples birthday ever! It was simple and sweet and that's all he needed. Sure gifts are nice and all but in all honesty he prefers food! He received a few little gifts from family, and even had a singing birthday telegram via telephone from his Tia Maggie. The simple things are what truly matter the most and are what help us appreciate what's important in this life. One doesn't need a big party to know they are loved. One doesn't need many presents to feel secure. All one needs on their special day of birth is lots of love, and munchkins from Dunkin Donuts! Happy birthday chulo!

More photos below>>>