Here and gone

All traces of the holidays have left the building (literally and figuratively). We took down the decorations Monday night and it was back to the grind yesterday. I really can’t complain though, since our time off was well spent with friends, family and a healthy dose of date nights!

Here are some highlights:

Had my first red cup of the season.


Saw Young Adult and loved it. Charlize Theron was perfect for the role.


Discovered a new Pinot Noir that I like.

Went on a beautiful birthday celebration/double date night with Kristen and Sean at Longwood Gardens and Dilworthtown Inn.

Kristen and I at Longwood Gardens. Here is a full recap of the night.

Got 1 mani and painted my nails 2 more times.

Zoya Shay w/Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Big Money as an accent nail
Venique in B-Ceen-B-Gorgeous w/Venique in Twinkling Glitter as an accent nail


Revlon Scene Stealer

Had a fun shopping day in Delaware with my mom and got Red Robin…yum!

Went to WWE Raw with Geof (since he's taken me to see Britney and Lady Gaga). I’d be lying if I said I wasn't a little interested in the storylines. We went to Denny’s afterwards and some of the wrestlers showed up.

Geof and I at the Wells Fargo Center, me with The Miz and Zack Ryder, Geof with Nikki Bella and me with Dolph Ziggler

Watched Elf for the first time ever.


Drove around and looked at pretty Christmas lights.

Saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Besides a few differences from the book, I thought the movie was done really well.


Finally saw Love and Other Drugs (first half – good, second half – depressing).


Went down to the city to have lunch at Reading Terminal Market and then went to Macy’s to see the light show. It’s also where the movie Mannequin was filmed!




Baked lots of Christmas goodies.

Spent Christmas Eve at home with my mom and Geof.


Spent Christmas Day at my cousin Bill & Lara’s house with the entire family. I had such a blast with all of my cousins.

Me with two out of the three triplets on Christmas

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are gearing up for the new year!

A lovely night at Longwood

On Saturday night, we celebrated my friend Kristen’s birthday at Longwood Gardens and finished the evening with dinner at the historic Dilworthtown Inn. The night was all about Kristen, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it brought back memories of the night Geof proposed almost 5 years ago.


Geof and I at Longwood Gardens


Beautiful Christmas Tree


Pretty display inside the conservatory

Longwood Gardens is truly a magical place during the holiday season and photos don’t come close to doing it justice. I remember driving through the area as a child and seeing all of the beautiful lights begging my dad to take me there. As an adult, I enjoy it even more and truly appreciate all the work that goes into making it so special.


Kristen and I

We walked around the outdoor gardens to take in the pretty lights and finally made it to the conservatory to see all of the exhibits. The hybrid tea roses were a real standout and I also really loved the Bonsai display. Most of the trees were over 100 years old or close to it. To end the evening, we caught the fountain show and then headed off to dinner at Dilworthtown.


We went and found the bench where Geof proposed


Tea roses


Fountain Show

Dilworthtown Inn is my favorite place to dine. The history, ambiance, service and food set it apart from any other place I’ve been. The restaurant dates back to the late 1700’s and it’s located off the beaten path. You really feel like you’re away from the rest of the world when you go there. The restaurant has a total of three floors and fifteen different rooms. Every visit is a different experience and I’ve never been in the same room twice. We enjoyed a fabulous meal and it was great to share a new memory with Kristen and Sean.


Dilworthtown Inn


Us at the Inn with Santa (we all thought Santa was playing air guitar)

Happy Birthday, Kristen! I hope you had as much fun as we did.

Thanksgiving recap & blog swap reveal!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Mine was great. I got to spend time with Geof, my family and even did some Christmas shopping.

Wednesday, Geof and I went out on a date night to see Breaking Dawn and then went to dinner at a newish Mexican place called Dos Gringos. It was perfection!


Ready for date night!


Movie + Mexican = Perfection

Thanksgiving was spent at my aunt & uncle’s with the family and Friday we did some Black Friday shopping in Delaware. We scored some great deals! The rest of the weekend consisted of skating, relaxing, more shopping and a little work.


Thanksgiving at my aunt & uncle's

To keep with the theme of the Plenty To Be THANKful For Challenge, here is Day 9: I’m THANKful For Thanksgiving! (Post a picture of your table… if you have time!)


3 large tables for Thanksgiving this year

Day 10 I’m THANKful for Black Friday and Leftovers!


Doing Black Friday shopping in Delaware was definitely something to be THANKful for since we not only got some things on sale, we didn’t have to pay sales tax!

Last but not least is the Plenty To Be THANKful For Blog Swap Reveal!


Look how pretty she wrapped everything!


Love all my new swap goodies!

I was partnered with Stephanie from Life’s Lyrics and to say she spoiled me would be an understatement. She sensed my love for nail polish right away and even got me a shade that was on my Christmas wish list (Rainbow Connection from OPI). She also sent me some other beauty goodies and a gorgeous Christmas ornament along with a gift card for Starbucks!

We connected right away and it turns out, we have a ton in common from our favorite color to our taste in music. That’s why I love swaps, because it’s always nice to meet other great bloggers. Please pay her blog a visit. She’s wonderful!



Thank you to all the ladies that took the time to organize this challenge and swap. Putting the posts together has been a blast and also given me the opportunity to reflect on the things that I’m most thankful for this season. I’ve also “met” some really nice ladies. I’m thankful for you all!

Weekend recap

It has been forever since I’ve written a weekend recap and it feels good to be getting things back to normal around here. I had a pretty fall-tastic weekend with great friends and here’s what we did.

Friday, Geof and I went with some friends to Pennhurst Asylum for some haunts. This was the first time we’ve been there for the Halloween attractions and once we got there, I realized how creepy the place is on it’s own without being all decked out for Halloween. It was an actual mental asylum that operated 75+ years. They had 4 attractions; the Asylum, Tunnel of Terror, Ghost Hunt and Dungeon of Lost Souls. Every one of them was very scary, but the tunnel spooked me the most.

Saturday, I went ice skating and brought my friend Kristen along. It was her first time skating and she did a great job. After skating, Kristen’s husband Sean came down along with our other friends Colleen and Donald for a triple date night. We went to Linvilla Orchards, took a “Harvest Moon” hayride, went to see the animals, Pumpkinland and finally checked out the Farmers Market. We made the visit complete with some of their delicious apple cider donuts! After Linvilla, we went out for pizza and beer at Pinocchio’s.


Date night at Linvilla!


The girls at Linvilla


Sweet little Deer that I got to feed


Colleen and I...the sunset was breathtaking Saturday night

Sunday was spent relaxing after cramming so much in on Friday and Saturday. It was a very lazy day of everything from watching football to Father of the Bride.

Weekend recap

This was easily the best weekend of the summer…so far. Friday, my mom took Geof and I out to The Melting Pot to celebrate our birthdays. We had a great server who really hooked us up on the cheese and chocolate courses. Everything was delicious and we had a really nice time.


Painted my nails with OPI's Flit A Bit


Dinner at The Melting Pot

Saturday, Geof and I got up bright and early and headed to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. It was in the mid 80’s and perfect water park weather. We went slipping and sliding, jumped waves and floated along the lazy river all day long. Exhaustion set in around 6. We got a quick bite at McDonald’s (which from the heat and running around all day tasted like the best Mickey D’s I ever had in my life) and then made our way back to PA.


Lazy River at Hurricane Harbor


Another pretty summer sunset

Sunday, we spent the afternoon at the pool. The weather was hot and the pool was cool, just how I like it. Later in the night, Geof went out with one of his buddies and my mom and I went to Target.

Weekend recap

As you know, Friday was a bad day and I won’t get into that again. Thank you to everyone that left me a sweet comment on my post. It made me feel much better.

Saturday, we worked around the house and ran errands. I had baked cupcakes for Geof’s birthday on Thursday and we celebrated in the evening with those and some homemade tacos. I also managed to paint my nails later in the evening.


Geof's birthday cupcakes!


Wet n Wild's Wave of Enchantment

Sunday, Geof and I had a date day and went to see Transformers 3 in 3D but not before a quick stop at Ulta (I couldn’t resist). The movie was definitely more of dude flick and not for me. I’ll give credit for the special effects, but it was way too long at almost 2.5 hours.



After the movies, we went to McKenzie’s Brew House for dinner. We’d never been there before and it was a great choice because the food was delicious. We had a Fontina Fondue for an appetizer and Geof got one of the McKenzie Wit beers they brew in-house. For dinner, Geof got a deal that couldn’t be beat. He got his beer, a salad, filet mignon crowned with beer battered onion rings and a baked potato for $20. I know what I’m getting next time! I was boring and got meatloaf, but it was so good. Comfort food like that soothes the soul.


Gorgeous summer sunset


McKenzie's Brew House

Monday was spent relaxing around the house and I unfortunately had work that needed to be done, so it was a very quiet 4th. The most excitement was watching Sara Bareilles play at the Philadelphia Welcome America Celebration. As much as I want to go down there and see the talent live each year, it’s not worth it and I’d much rather just watch from my living room in HD.

I hope you all had a fun, long weekend!

Weekend recap

I’ve been so busy (hence my lack of blogging) and decided that enough was enough. This was a weekend to relax and get some fun back in my life.

Friday, we made a quick mall run and then hit Arby’s for dinner. We stayed in the rest of the night and relaxed. Just what I needed after a long week.

Saturday, Geof and I went to Spice for dinner and I got my usual Indian dish (Chicken Tikka Masala). It was so good, as always. From dinner we went to the movies to see X-Men: First Class. It was really good and kept my attention the entire film. I’m not into comic books, but have seen all of the other X-Men movies and it was interesting to see the backstory on Professor X and Magneto. Sorry if I sound like a huge nerd right now, but I love superhero-ish movies. Hugh Jackman also made a cameo which was a nice little surprise. Jennifer Lawrence played the young Mystique and I’m realizing more than ever how absolutely gorgeous she is. Kevin Bacon also played a great bad guy. There really aren’t enough good things to say about this movie.



Chicken Tikka Masala



Sunday, our friends Kristen and Dan came over and we headed down to World Café Live in the city to see The Daylights and The Parlotones. We met up with our friends Emily and Jen and all had a really nice time. We first saw The Daylights on the Vh1 Best Cruise Ever and became fans there. It was nice to see them again and they sounded fantastic. The Parlotones are a band from South Africa and they were great as well. It was the last night of their tour together, so both bands played plenty of pranks on one another during their sets.


Geof and I with Ran from The Daylights


The Parlotones

Monday I took the day off and Kristen and I went to the pool. Pure relaxation!

Memorial Day Weekend recap

Friday, Geof and I both got let out of work early. I went to get a mani and then we headed right for the movies to see The Hangover 2. This place becomes a ghost town on the weekend during the summer months, especially on holiday weekends when everyone heads to the shore. We were able to get to the theater in no time, which is always nice. The sequel was funny, but nowhere near as good as the first one. I did like it though and it’s tough to compare them since the first one is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. Zach Galifianakis had me laughing out load at many points and I also didn’t mind staring at Bradley Cooper for 2 hours. It would have been nice to incorporate Doug into the shenanigans this time around.


Essie Borrowed & Blue


The Hangover Part II

After the movie, we headed to Uno for some pizza and then home to get ready to go out for the night. Our friend Dan came over to meet up with us and we went to The Deck for the night. The weather was perfect for being outside on the river and I had a good time with the guys. I also bumped into some people I haven’t seen in awhile, which is always nice.

Saturday, we relaxed around the house most of the day and went out to Media in the evening for a date night. We had another gorgeous evening and it was nice to stroll around town. We settled on dinner at Fellini and it was absolutely delicious. There is nothing like authentic Italian food and it’s B.Y.O.B.


Beautiful sunset


Mozzarella Sticks wrapped in spring roll wrappers


Fellini

Sunday, we went to the pool and it was glorious! It felt like forever since I spent time in the cool water and basked in the sun. This past winter was too long, so I’m more than happy to see that summer is almost here. We got to catch up with our friends from the pool and made it a great day.


Getting ready to head to the pool!


View from my lounge chair at the pool...it looks like the clouds are forming a heart

We got home from the pool and my mom came over to visit. Geof made us bleu cheese stuffed burgers and I made s’mores for dessert. So good. We caught up on So You Think You Can Dance on the DVR and had a relaxing night in.

Monday was pretty laid back. We ran some errands, went to Old Navy (I got some great workout pants thanks to a coupon from sweet Kathie), Bed, Bath & Beyond and then to Chik-Fil-A for lunch. I’m super excited about the zero gravity chairs we got from Bed, Bath & Beyond. I’ll be lounging in one all summer long at the pool.

Once we got home, I ended up organizing and going through some more things to get rid of. We have been on such a mission lately getting the house together and it feels good. In the evening we watched the remaining episodes of Modern Family and Cougar Town on the DVR.

I hope you all had a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend too!

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!!