Thankful For My Sis.

Grateful for sisters who stick together through the thick and thin of life. I'm so thankful for this wonderful sister of mine! I'm glad she was able to take time off from work last month to spend a few days with me. I sure needed to see her and it was so fun to have kept our time together chill and simple without feeling the ne need to go everywhere. Sure there was a moment where we could have gone to the city but she was like, "I've already been to New York." We did go to Philly and she was able to see some the main historical sites such as the Liberty Bell, Rocky steps and statue. She took most of the pictures in Philly and I mainly took pictures of us in Princeton. It's pretty sad that when she visited me last time we never ventured out in my own backyard! LOL! 

Autumn In New York & An Expression of Gratitude For This Season!

It's been over 10 years since I've been blogging and it's been a few years since I've kept up with gratitude posts. I blame it on Covid and the lack of motivation that it has caused me to "keep up." There are times when I just want to "live" without feeling the need to post and blog all the time. The fact that my back is beginning to hurt as I sit down in front of a computer for hours doesn't help my motivation either. But alas here I am expressing my gratitude and love for autumn online. I love this time of year where the leaves change and the temps become cooler. Fall is indeed becoming my favorite season over summer. Now I know I'm getting old having written that! So let's see how long I will keep up with these posts. There might be days when I'll skip a couple days and a month where I literally write something everyday in November like I did back in 2018. But for now I want to express my gratitude for autumn in pictures. I especially love Central Park in the fall. The fall foliage, the people in the backdrop of some of the pics, the energy that you can sense by looking at them. I love it all and so thankful to live close to this magical city that can make you happy and cry at the same time! It's bittersweet not having the girls around anymore during this colorful  time for photos but luckily Noah doesn't mind being in pictures...for now! 

14.

Roblox, comic books, playing the guitar, action figures such as Naruto, venom, and Spiderman are among the many things this 14 year old continues to have interest in. And I love it! I love that he still plays with action figures. He even made a little video of Naruto & spidey fighting and it looks so cool. You can see it on my TikTok if you'd like. Although he's a homebody he also loves the city. He loves Cane's. That is his favorite place to eat. It used to be McDonalds but Cane's is his love language now. I can't believe our baby boy is not so baby anymore. He'll always be my baby but first, he will always be my buddy, my sidekick, my true love and major heartbeat! Happy 14th birthday to this kid who always says, "life is pretty good right now." 

 

Historic Village Diner in Red Hook!

One of my favorite diners is nestled in the small town of Red Hook in upstate New York. The breakfast is amazing and although it can get a bit crowded it's worth the wait and the small space that it serves. I swear the kitchen is bigger than the entire diner. Nonetheless the service was great and the food was delicious. It was a perfect time to come in the fall to go leaf peeping. Seeing all the fall foliage on a rainy day was gorgeous. We didn't mind the rain and love to venture our and of course, we love FOOD! It was the best and we will definitely come back! 

Pumpkin Picking in Vermont!

October was great and went by way too fast. I thought I would be able to travel as much as I did last year driving all over New England to see the fall foliage as well as in upstate New York but because of all the rain we got for the past seven weeks it was impossible for me to venture out and capture all the halloween decorated stoops that the city has to offer. The upper east side had a ton of decorations and I only got to capture these ones. They were lovely but I wish I had more time to go and see more. However, I was excited that we were able to go to Vermont to do some pumpkin picking at Armstrong farm. All the pumpkins here including the huge ones are way cheaper than the ones in Jersey. You can buy a ton for under 20 bucks! And the jam and the syrup are top notch! Although it drizzled a bit while we there we still had fun picking and Noah felt like a little kid again dragging around the radio flyer wagon. 

Happy Halloween!

13 years old and this kid still wanted to go trick or treating! I love that he still wants to go out and get all dressed up and get some candy for free instead of just staying home doing nothing. He certainly misses Chelsea and how they would trade candy at the end of halloween night. He was a ghost and I love that he chose a simple costume. Cheap and easy to make and he was a cute one. He came home with a bag filled with candy and he was satisfied with what he got. He gets his braces off next Monday and he is counting the days until he can eat his gummy bears, skittles and popcorn balls! It was such a fun day and capturing moments in the city all dressed up is always fun. There are times when we wish we lived there and then we look at where we are and say, "the burbs aren't too bad" but nonetheless we always make our halloween adventures a fun time whether here or in the city. Maybe next year we will experience the trick or streets in New York! And just look at all the decor on these brownstone stoops! Absolutely amazing! 

Procession Of The Ghouls!

Last Friday Noah and I saw the Procession of the Ghouls for the first time at the Cathedral church of Saint John the Divine and it was absolutely amazing. Every year the present a film before the big ending and this year they showed the German horror film, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" which was accompanied by a live organ. The music was perfect. The film was long at first but then it became funny and interesting. Reminded me of the Chaplin movies I used to watch as a kid with my mom. I loved the ending when all the ghouls came out dancing and their costumes were so cool. My favorites were the dancing demons and the skeleton cellist. I love how they interact with the audience. I absolutely loved it and will definitely come next year and bring Jon. It's a halloween event I wish I would have started coming to years ago but am so glad we finally saw it! Captured a few blurry photos...

Matthew Gray Gubler - The Little Kid with the Big Green Hand!

This was our second time meeting with Matthew Gray Gubler and it seems as if I just met him yesterday. I swear we act as if we've known each other for a long time. He was so accommodating to Noah and we loved every second talking with him about his newest book. He is definitely someone we'd like to hang around with. He is hilarious and down to earth and the sweetest human you can meet. I was lucky enough to be the 24th person to meet him and although he arrived late he made quite the entrance. Jon was like a little kid sitting in his VW bug and really enjoyed meeting Matthew for the first time. So glad I had these two come with me to see him again and we had a great time. From what I heard Matthew stayed at the bookstore until 2am or possibly even later! What a guy! He truly loves his fans and appreciates them to the point where he did not rush out of line. I hope that next time my girls get to see him. They were pretty jealous so Matthew, if you're reading this-write another book! haha!

Irving's Legend In Tarrytown!

Last weekend we saw Irving's Legend for the second year in a row. We absolutely love Jonathan Kruk. He truly is a master storyteller and does such a great job. His voice is mesmerizing and the way he tells the story of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow is captivating. We took Noah this time around and he absolutely loved it. He has read the book and seen the movie with Johnny Depp many times! It's not scary to him at all. In fact, he would love to live in sleepy hollow in New York (so would I!) It was a fabulous evening and even though it rained; it gave it so much character as we watched Jonathan tell the story under a tent. We met him after the show and he is the kindest man you'll ever meet. You can tell he loves telling stories and books! My kind of pal. We could have talked all evening about Texas since that's our native state! And Noah's favorite part....was meeting the Headless Horseman! 

Jersey Shore in January 2023.

Who says you can't go to the beach in the fall or in the winter when it's cold. That's the best time because there are no crowds, you don't need to pay for tags, and when the weather is overcast and the waves are choppy it's a good time to take pictures and go surfing. But we didn't go surfing. We just took pictures and along the shore while Noah chased the seagulls and enjoyed the sounds of the waves. We are so grateful to live near the shore and to be able to come here any time of the year! Every now and then we need to hear the sounds of the ocean and pretend you're the only family on earth! Now for some joyful moments with my two favorite boys... 

The Perfect Little Pumpkin Display!

True autumn days have officially arrived here in the east coast and according to the forecast it looks like it's here to stay! Fall is such a short season and the older Noah gets I just want the season to last a bit longer! This is why I'm always taking pictures of everything autumn such as pumpkin patches, fall foliage, and pumpkin displays. The fact that Noah and I are both autumn babies gets us even more motivated for the season and to enjoy all that comes with it. He's always loved pumpkins since he was a toddler and looking back at this post gets me all teary eyed knowing that the years are flying with this kid! We continue to adventure on and over the weekend we stopped by this cute little garden shop. Every time we are on a road trip I will stop at anything that catches my eye and this display did the trick. We just had lunch and as we were roaming around Connecticut passed by this garden nursery in Bethel and it was charming. I think Noah's favorite part of this prop was the truck! So here's hoping for more autumn adventures, and leaf peeping before this season ends and the cold begins!