the seasons are changing....

The end of summer always, always brings fall... leaves change, pumpkins become the new "it" vegetable to bake with, cook with, and have fun with, apples and cider are a plenty, and the weather gets that perfect chill to it.  I wanted to recap my start of fall with you.. a lot has happened, and because I've been so busy with my new job and training, I apologize for not keeping you more up to date...

So let's start at the beginning...

Back at the end of summer, Arielle and I got tickets to go see Jimmy Fallon live in Rockefeller Center!  It was amazing- we were literally in the front row and got to see Al Roker, and Lenny Kravitz.  I even shook his hand at the end of the show when he came around to say thank you to everyone!! He is absolutely hysterical, and now I even watch his show!

I went to Fashion's Night Out again this year with a bunch of friends.  This is a picture of my friend Kevin and I drinking champagne in the Michael Kor's store on 5th Ave.  Fashion's Night Out is a great time to just go out and experience things you wouldn't necessarily experience in New York City.  I saw Kate Walsh, spotted Khris Humpries that same day, and got lots of free champagne and treats from the various stores we visited!

Arielle, her family, and I took a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and at the end we had Sicilian Pizza at Ignazio's.  It was definitely not as good as Grimaldi's, but it was pretty delicious.  And I love the Brooklyn Bridge, so I definitely can't complain!

We had Ice Cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.  It's located directly under the Brooklyn Bridge and it is so yummy!

Coca-Cola Bottles!

The Bridge from the Brooklyn side

View of the Manhattan Bridge from downtown Brooklyn Heights/Dumbo.

Arielle and I on the bridge!

the walkway on the bridge

Brooklyn Bridge!

A few weeks later I got to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge again!  This time I did so with my good friends Kate & Michaela and their family!  We did a 3 mile walk for the National Eating Disorder Association to raise awareness for these terrible diseases.

Team Michaela's Sidekicks!

Leave it to us to start a kick-line at the end of the walk... Sinatra's New York song came on, so we kick-lined it in front of the entire crowd- Let's go Michaela's Sidekicks!

last glimpse of summer colors before the fall sets in...

The Memorial getting there!! This was taken just a couple of weeks ago and it looks amazing! I'm going to the Memorial this Saturday with my Dad so I'l be sure to post pictures from the inside!

Occupy Wall Street is in full swing as you can see... don't get me started on it....

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hosted it's Light the Night Walk just a couple of weeks ago.  I worked the registration table checking people in, but it was a beautiful experience.  Our special events committee puts three walks on and this one is the biggest of the three. The red balloons are for those who are supporting the cause, gold is for those in honor of someone who has passed from blood cancer, and white is for those who are currently undergoing treatment or for our survivors!  The walk brought in 6,000 walkers and raised over $1.7 million!  It was an amazing night for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and our mission!

We had a yard sale at my house last weekend to raise money for my Miami Marathon!  Proud to say we raised over $600- all going to blood cancer research!  I took some pictures around the house with my new camera lens that I got from my birthday.  This is the sun on the side of our house- no it was not for sale.

Records- and The Boss!

mickey mouse tie

Mom, Dad and I went to the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular last weekend at the Roger Williams Park Zoo.  The pumpkin carvings were amazing! I loved the faces!  There were over 5,000 faces.. my only suggestion- go later when all the screaming children have gone to bed and people get less pushy!  

pumpkins- we made sure it was a very pumpkin filled weekend... pumpkin cream cheese on bagels, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkins for carving, pumpkins for seeing, pumpkins for collecting, pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins....

On Monday, Mom Dad and I stopped in at the Scituate Art Festival.  These glass blown pumpkins caught my eye...

And so did the waves...

View of the church in town from the graveyard behind it... Very old historic graveyard, very beautiful tombstones.

I was, in fact, so inspired by the Spectacular that I wanted to carve my own pumpkins.  So this weekend went like this for me- Friday I watched Hocus Pocus.  Saturday I got up and ran 6 miles with the Miami Team and then went out to brunch!  Saturday afternoon I went to the Union Square Farmer's Market where I bought my pumpkins, apples, apple cider, fresh broccoli and heirloom tomatoes.  I came home, made Broccoli Cheddar soup and had a caprese salad with my tomatoes!  Sunday morning I got up and went for a run, bought some new running sneakers (highly suggest the Nike Lunarglides), and came home to watch the Pats and carved my pumpkins.  Some weekends are just the absolute best when you have them all to yourself!

Needless to say, fall has been busy, busy already!  I'm in full swing with my new job- I'm coordinating the Manhattan Half Marathon for the winter season and running the Miami Marathon.  I'm getting to meet everyone and my co workers are just amazing people!  I absolutely have never been happier- I wake up and am so excited to get to the office, it truly doesn't even feel like work.  And I am loving training for the marathon- can't wait to run those 26.2 miles again!

In other news, this week is all training and then Dad comes to visit on Friday!  Can't wait!! I'll keep you up to date with all the fun things I have planned for the rest of October!! Enjoy the pictures!

Halloween Weekend

This past weekend, Halloween weekend, was eventful to say the least.  It's incredible how many people dress up and go all out in costume just to celebrate this holiday.  To kick off the weekend, on Saturday I went to the Brooklyn Brewery!  It is easily one of my favorite places in Brooklyn, not only because they have great tasting beer, but because it's such a fun, social atmosphere.  Going for the 3rd time since I have moved here, I was finally able to see the start of the expansion that they are undergoing.  Instead of the one tiny room they had us tour the last time, they took us to the space next door to see just how huge the brewery is going to be when the construction is all finished!

 The Logo hidden behind the new construction- the logo was actually created by the same guy who designed the I <3 NY design that you see on t-shirts and bags and sweatshirts all over the city.  Instead of charging the Brewery for it, he simply stated that he wanted a part of their company and free beer for life.  Not a bad deal at all!

All the new tanks and kegs!  Still in phase one of construction!

The Brooklyn Brewery logo with some of the old tanks in the main building.

Next time you're either in Brooklyn or at your local liquor store- definitely pick up a six pack and try some of their beer! It's easily one of my favorites and they have a ton to choose from!

Saturday night I went out to celebrate Halloween with some friends!  I chose to dress up as Holly Golightly- Audrey Hepburn's character from Breakfast at Tiffany's!  

I didn't get any pictures this weekend because my camera died when we went out Saturday night- but I was the same thing as I was last year and this is pretty much what I looked like!! This picture was taken last Halloween with my best friend from IU!

On Sunday, the annual Halloween parade occurred in the city, starting in the West Village.  I went out to try and see it with some friends, however, with thousands of people in the streets all dressed up in costumes it was nearly impossible to even catch a glimpse of the parade.  I did manage to find some pictures online to give you all an idea of what the parade was like!  

As you can see, there is a lot going on in these pictures!  People get all dressed up in costumes of literally every kind and even participate in the parade.  They have everything from marching bands to floats to huge marionette skeletons!  Some people are extremely creative and others are not, but they all have one thing in common- going out to celebrate a great holiday!

trying new things

On Friday, after months of thinking about it, I finally decided to buy a pomegranate from Whole Foods Market in Union Square.  I know what you're thinking- something as simple as a pomegranate can't be that fun, but believe me, it was definitely an adventure for me and the kitchen.  

My pomegranate!

Yes, I know; I cut it the wrong way at first, but I still was able to get the seeds out!

Yummy pomegranate seeds!!!

I had never had just plain pomegranate seeds before, only flavored juice or pre-mixed things.  While it is definitely the messiest fruit I have ever eaten; my kitchen was covered in purple juice and my face dotted with purple freckles... and even though it took nearly half an hour to get all the seeds out- I can't wait to buy the next one!! The seeds are so yummy, sweet and juicy!! 

On Saturday, I took a trip to Central Park to try and take pictures of the leaves changing, however, for some reason, I live in a stubborn city and the leaves only want to turn from green to yellow.  It's not the same as New England, however, it was still a lot of fun.  I managed to see 3 or 4 different couples getting married in the park- they were lucky since it was such a beautiful day and I was able to explore my favorite parts of the park!

Bethesda Terrace packed with people as always...

Blowing giant bubbles on the terrace...

I would like to think I have my dad's eye for photography.. :)

View from Bow Bridge in the park... pretty leaves!

beautiful day for a wedding....

Mini Sailboats in the Conservatory water...

I honestly couldn't have asked for better weather or a nicer day.  I love Central Park- there's always something to see, a place to sit and think, or endless paths you can just wander down.  It was a nice, relaxing weekend and still warm enough to wear flip flops! Regardless of how much I love the fall, I'm still trying to hold onto the summer!!

Can't wait to see what NYC has in store for me this week!!  

fall in the city

It's safe to say that fall and especially the month of October is one of my favorite times of the year.  If it were a perfect world, I would have the rest of the year be like the months of June-August and I would keep October just the way it is.  Fall in NYC is a little different than in New England.  For one, I don't care where you're from or what kind of trees you have, but the leaves changing in New England are unlike any other place in the world. I don't exactly have access to tons of trees in the city, but Central Park will have to do.  And, as I sat and thought of Halloween costumes last week, I began to wonder where in the world do the kids living in the city go trick or treating?  It's kind of hard to ring the bell of an apartment complex and there aren't many houses- when I find out, which I'm still trying to do, I will have to let you know! Overall, I would say my fall experience is pretty complete.  I attended the art festival and got a nice bag of my kettle corn, I've drank enough apple cider and eaten enough apples to turn into one, I've baked cookies and made homemade soup, I've sampled everything pumpkin flavored from lattes to scones, I carved a pumpkin and had seasoned pumpkin seeds, and even got to visit Zack during a college's best time of year!  And, as of last night, I was even able to watch my favorite Halloween movie: Hocus Pocus!  I swear that movie never gets old; reminds me of the times my brother and I would watch it everyday when we got home from school living in North Providence!  As my favorite month comes to a close, my last thing to do is dress up and go out for Halloween... any costume ideas would be much appreciated!!

Trees are finally changing in Park Slope!

family weekend at UD

This past weekend, my family and I took a trip down to Newark, DE to the University of Delaware where my younger brother goes to school.  Home of the Blue Hens, UD is a gorgeous campus; red brick buildings, grass lush enough to lay in, and of course, Main St.; a college street lined with shops, restaurants and bars, a staple at any school!  We got to campus on Friday, and after surprising him by bringing his girlfriend, the fun began!! We hung out with him all night, followed by dinner at the Iron Hill Brewery!  Dinner was delicious and it was great to be back together as a family again!  I missed my brother... a lot would be an understatement!

meeting zack outside his dorm

walking down main street the first day there, love mom's face!

frankie, zack and me at dinner!

On Saturday, we explored Zack's campus- he showed us where his classes are, the other dorms, the bookstores (had to get some shopping in) and where all the college kids hang out!

pretty campus!

UD!!!

meant to be :)

After walking around campus, we discovered a small arts and crafts fair on Main Street!  Frankie and I made scarves- simple silk carves literally dipped in acrylic paints sitting on the surface of water.  They were beautiful!!!

adding color...

making my design- this is what the scarf looked like!

dipping my scarf in my design!!

After walking around all day, we went to dinner at an Irish Pub!  On Sunday we went to brunch with Zack at his dorm and had to say our goodbyes... We had a great family weekend and I can't wait to go back and visit again!! I'm so proud of my brother, and it was awesome being able to finally visit him at school!!!  

Come to think of it, I liked it so much I plan on being the mascot next year- make sure you look for me on the field....