Friday, February 27, 2009

Sweet

When Ryan and I started dating, there was another girl who wasn't too thrilled. Last night over dinner, she somehow came up in conversation and I playfully said, "It's not MY fault you picked me!" Ryan replied, "Yes it is." Awwwwwww!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Tinted Windows

If you know me at all, you know that I love me some Hanson. If you know me VERY well, you're a little scared of how much I used to love them. Obviously, those "scary" days are long gone, but there's definitely still Hanson love. Recently I was informed (by my best friend's brother, of all people) that Taylor is involved in a side project called Tinted Windows. Josey and I quite literally screamed at the dinner table when we heard this news. The twelve-year-olds in us will take Taylor Hanson's voice with just about anyone playing the other instruments (or, you know, with no instruments at all). This was such a welcome surprise!

I went and listened to the song on their website, "Kind of a Girl." Honestly, my first thought was "...Well, this is okay." It's a cute and very fun song, but it's got enough "Oh woah woah"s to put an episode of Hannah Montana to shame. The style doesn't surprise me concerning the beloved lead vocalist, but part of me feels the need to humbly thank the drummer from Cheap Trick and the guitarist from Smashing Pumpkins for playing with Taylor. The song is more juvenile (which is NOT a bad word in my vocabulary!) than a lot of Hanson's most recent work. Just an observation.

I'm definitely excited to hear more. The band is releasing an album (!!!) on April 21st and they're also playing at SXSW in Austin next month. The lunatic in me wants to drive down there for it. I doubt that'll happen, but it's fun to dream about.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Out of nowhere

I prefer Double-Stuffed Oreos to the regular kind. Is it because I love the cream filling so much? NO. I HATE IT. It is, in fact, because the cream is much easier to remove when it is in a thicker sheet. Then I am free to dunk the chocolate wafers in milk or spread peanut butter on them and stick them back together again.

That's all.

So....it's been awhile....

One year and one day, to be exact. THAT'S embarrassing. All the blame goes to me, though - my self-doubt got the better of me. Well, it won't anymore! Sorry for the ridiculously long absence!

Since so much has happened in the last year, I think I'll just document some of the things I remember the most and, of course, include some pics. Please excuse the random jumping around until I catch up to where I am now!

For one thing, since my last post, I've been to New York City two more times - and it has done absolutely NOTHING to help my obsession. Get ready for a VERY long post - these are only SOME of the pictures that I "whittled down" from my second trip to the Big Apple.

I got a flight from Tulsa into LaGuardia that happened to land fifteen minutes after my best friend, her mom and her sister got there from St. Louis. Perfect timing! They were there to visit their brother, who was living in NYC for the summer to audition for shows. (He ended up on Broadway in Spring Awakening! Congrats Gabe!!) I was there to see my sister, who landed the Dolce & Gabbana internship for which she interviewed in January (!!!) and was living in lower Manhattan (a.k.a. Knockturn Alley, if you ask me).

Let the pics begin....


Shortly after we arrived, we realized we needed some NYC Pizza. This definitely didn't disappoint.


We went on a Circle Cruise of Manhattan. I don't understand how ANYONE could have stayed in their seats - I chose to stay on the bow!


Take a look at those clouds! They don't make 'em like that anywhere else. Okay, that's a lie, but they look more beautiful in New York somehow.


We went walking around Central Park one day. I chose my "Giselle dress" - I got it in Disney World (a post on that later!) because the print kind of reminded me of the dress Giselle wears in "Enchanted." Excuse the boots - I hadn't brought any comfy shoes and these were on clearance at Journey's on 5th Avenue.


And guess who else was in Central Park that day?


Yes, that is Anne Hathaway! She was filming a scene for "Bride Wars" with....


Kate Hudson! I was too shy to ask for a picture, especially since I kind of have a tiny, miniature understanding of the need to focus while shooting a movie...more on that later....but I saw some other girls posing with her so I figured, why not?!

I learned the hard way NOT to call my mom first when I have exciting news to share - by the time I called anyone else to tell them, she'd gotten there first! After watching them film for about an hour and a half, we moved on. This is The Dakota, where John Lennon quite literally lived and died.



This is the "Giselle!" Bridge. I know that's not its real name, but I immediately recognized it as the bridge off of which Prince Edward jumps after hearing her sing and yelling her name, sticking his fist into his mouth. (Prince Edward must have had AMAZING hearing....this bridge is by The Reservoir, which is significantly north of where Giselle was singing if we're talking about human hearing range....) Anyway, we tried to cornily recreate the moment, albeit from a different angle.


Best friends in Central Park! One of my favorite pictures ever. (Yes, I'm wearing a different outfit...because this was taken on a different day. I tried to lump pictures together as best I could because if I posted about each individual day, this post would be longer than it is already.)


One of my friends told me I had to go to Magnolia Bakery. The original location is somewhere in lower Manhattan, but they have a relatively new location on the Upper West Side, so we ventured there after the first Central Park trip.


I was told I had to have a cupcake, but the cupcakes didn't LOOK like anything to go crazy over (oh, how I learned my lesson....but that was the NEXT trip with my husband, which you will see later....). Besides, I saw this and couldn't resist.


Key lime cheesecake. It was soooo delicious. If I'm being completely honest, The Cheesecake Factory's is better, but that's only because it's more tart, the way I like it. This was so much cuter though!

Other NY sights/happenings:

This was the only way I could think of to get my sister, my best friend and myself all in the same picture. Can you find all three of us? (My sister is easy to find, since she's the one in the glasses ;)


This Barbie was in the Toys 'R' Us in Times Square. Um, can I please be her?


This is B&H Photo, an AMAZING store for all of your photography/videography/looking at adorable Jewish people needs. It's on 34th and 9th. The website is where we get a lot of our photography equipment. And yes, it is run by Orthodox Jewish people. They don't accept web orders on Saturdays because of the Sabbath.


This is a "nurse" at FAO Schwarz. She helps little girls pick out the perfect baby doll and teaches them how to care for their babies when they bring them home. I think I know what I want my next nursing job to be....


And this, my friends, is (in my opinion) the most beautiful building in New York. Taken from the top of the Empire State Building.


That's all for now! Was it enough? ;) It's good to be back.