First Comes Love. Then Comes Marriage.: May 2013

Earlier this month, I turned a year older.

We celebrated and it was a lot of fun. The husband is great with surprises and celebrations. The day before, we met my sister, brother in law, and nephew at the Pier One Park and ate Grimaldis pizza and drank ginger jasmine soda on the grass. It was a beautiful day and so much fun eating with the skyline in the background, fellow picnickers enjoying themselves, and the sun shining brightly.

On the day of, I woke up to a whole day of festivities, mostly involving food, which was perfect. Along each stop, he had a package and a note with a clue to what we were doing next. We ate awesome food, picnicked in parks, walked the High Line, met with friends for dessert with many stops along the way. We talked about this past year of my life and some goals for this next year. This is one of my favorite things to do on our special celebrations--reminiscing and setting goals. This is something that takes place quite often around here, especially on these types of days. I am so grateful for the wonderful memories I have from last year and I am looking forward to what is in store for me this next year. I look forward to continuing on this adventure of life with the ones I love.

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Here's to another year!

A few days ago, we returned home from our quick trip up north. We visited some friends in Providence, Rhode Island. Strangely enough, this was a dream come true for me. Ever since I learned about the states in grade school, I told myself that one day I wanted to make it to the "smallest state in the United States". I know that sounds a bit strange, but I am really glad that I was able to explore this quaint little state and the people that live in it. One of my husband's childhood friends attends Brown University, so we spent a lot of time around the school. While we were there, we also made a trip up to Boston, MA. I had never been there before so we thought we'd make the hour drive up to explore. We visited the Central Park-like Boston Commons. We made our way to the Freedom Trail and spent the rest of the morning following the red path throughout the city visiting graves, churches, battle passes, Paul Revere's home, the US Constitution ship, etc. After finishing the historic trail, we made our way over to Cambridge to walk around Harvard University and MIT. After getting a parking ticket (nearly 4 minutes after our meter expired--they're quick!), we ventured off to grab some dinner. Life Alive caught our attention and we chowed down on some healthy, vegan food. We stopped by the bombing sites from the Boston Marathon. It was heartbreaking to see the items of homage sprawled out on the curbs. It's one thing to see on television but things become much more real when you are there, taking it all in. On our way out, we stopped by Fomu to grab dessert. This is an ice cream shop that uses coconut as the base for the icy-treat. It was delicious and definitely a place that we would go to again when back in Boston. It was a lot of walking, but I think that living in New York this last year prepped us for the day on our feet.

The next day, we said our goodbyes, left Providence, and headed for New Haven, CT. Another one of my husband's friends attends Yale University, so we stopped by to visit him and explore the campus. Yale University is the most beautiful campus I have ever seen--the trees, gothic architecture, the community feel--all of it. It was such a treat to tour this charming school. For lunch we stopped by Frank Pepe's Pizza. Seriously, the best pizza we have ever had. If you are in the area, you must go.

Before heading back to Brooklyn, we stopped and visited a family in Redding, CT (we also stopped by Terrain--amazing!). It was great to grab dinner and catch up with them and their lives.