today is a dreary, rainy, cold day so i thought it would be a good day to put up pictures from a beautiful, sunny day!

on sunday we took a picnic to the park trying really hard to make good use of the last bits of sunshine

the park was lit up in all of its fall glory! seriously, it was magical!

we took some good books (julia child and glenn beck )

family photo!

haha i think roxie was tired of taking pictures…she sure wasnt happy heehee

Just wanted to show you a few pictures from before Mom did the NYC marathon…

…picking up her number and supplies at the expo

…the expo was pretty fun! people from all over the world hustling and bustling around picking up their supplies

…she is so cute

that night we just layed low and hung out so she could save her energy. but we did find some time to eat some really yummy pizza!

the morning of the race…this is a bad photo, the settings were off on my camera, but it was also about 5am and rainy! but i was so proud of her!

bonus picture: the night before the race was halloween… and even though we dont celebrate, so no costumes for us, my downstairs neighbors adorable cat Dex was all dressed up!

…little lobster! so stinkin cute!

this weekend was one of the coolest experiences i have had in nyc. my awesome mom participated in the nyc marathon and kicked some butt!

it was so much fun just cheering her and the other 43,000-something people that walked and ran with her. there were people running, walking and cheering from tons of different countries. it was great standing next to people who were cheering in spanish, french and italian, but we were all cheering for every single person running that race. talk about community! there were also so many inspiring participants. people with disabilites, people who were in pain, but finished anyways, people who were running in honor of loved ones. i definitely teared up more than once watching some of these people!

i also loved seeing all the people dressed in costumes while they were running! hilarious! and so cool!

…french clowns

…this man was juggling 5 balls

…this man was a bit odd

…um, this man was carrying the eiffel tower. viva la france!

i was so proud of my mom when i saw her. i didnt see her till the 24th mile or so, and when she got to me she was still power-walking and going strong!

here she is about 400 meters from the finish…

and she finished strong!!! 6:48:13 she really did awesome, and i loved that when she was done we walked right by my apartment to take her to her hotel. all day it was fun seeing people with their shiny warming cape things walking around our neighborhood. husby got mom a grilled cheese sandwich from the diner next to the hotel, and we let mom get some much-deserved rest.

she was so inspiring! i was just so proud to be her daughter we decided she should wear her medal everywhere she went for the next week

this weekend i went home to raleigh for a very special treat! Barlowgirl is an awesome christian girl band, made up of 3 rock-and-roll sisters. my parents chose to sponsor their tour this year through one of their businesses Live The Dream . it’s a tee-shirt company and one of the shirts proceeds go to help our favorite minst Mercy Ministries. Barlowgirl sells the shirts at their concerts…and so it all ties in together

ANYWAYS,we were so blessed to be able to go see the concert and then meet them afterwards.

It was a perfect fall day for the concert! it was at an amphitheatre in the woods and we got all bundled up(just like these guys who were very resourceful using their blankets as fashionable scarves )

…and the whole thing was just fun it was a perfect girls night out!

as you can tell, we were REALLY excited …

we got the chance to meet them and take a quick picture. they were super nice

after that some of us went to Hayes Barton Cafe in downtown Raleigh. so yummy! girl time is always so energizing

also this weekend i got to meet my parents new puppy Kaiser….

…he is 8 months old, 80 lbs, clumsy, and adorable.

here are a few videos from our trip to amish country. they are all really really short, and some are quite humorous….(the last one seriously cracks me up ) enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kx4i-breaE ….roxie meets a chicken

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfKIFglgiBE ….amish buggy alert!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC_fNJ6Bk4g ….beautiful amish country

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c46BPszJpM8 ….really, really fast amish people

so im really behind on my blog updates. i cant believe i let it go a couple of weeks! back in september we took a little weekend trip to amish country in lancaster county, pa. the landscape was so beautiful, and the weather was perfect, it was just starting to be jacket weather. we had absolutely no agenda, just had a great time driving around and seeing what we could find.

we started out saturday morning by taking a buggy ride, and touring an amish farm.

this was hans, our driver…im pretty sure he was only pretending to be amish….he knew that a GPS system says “recalculating”…which seems pretty suspicious to me.

it was really neat seeing a simpler way of life. i especially loved the clothes hanging out on the line. when i get house, i might just start doing this

i loved all the barns and farmhouses…

this was the amish school, they only go until 8th grade!

heres husby and puppyface hanging out in the buggy …

after our amish experience we went to the whoopie pie festival. now, it was kind of funny because the website sort of made it out to be much bigger than it actually was. lets just say we were the only people there that didnt have kids. because it was definitely more for like, 5 year olds. but we still had a good time. they had a local band play that was actually really good, and we got a few different whoopie pie flavors to try (for all you southerners, whoopie pies are a northern treat made of two round pieces of cake smooshed together with frosting in the middle….pretty much awesome.

next we ate lunch at this little diner down the road. we ONLY stopped there because they had THIS FABULOUSNESS outside…

the next morning we randomly decided to drive over to gettysburg, we didnt know it was only 30 mins away, so when i discovered this we decided even though it was the opposite direction of home, we couldnt be that close and not see it. matt was SO excited!

we decided to drive to tour instead of walk the 30 miles or something, because we did have to drive all the way back to NYC that day. we got this cd that explained what every monument and landmark was. it was really cool hearing the history and seeing the actual sights.

this is what people outside our car saw for most of the day…

the mississippi monument…

these men were dressed up like soldiers, just visiting the sights…they didnt work there.

in case you couldnt tell what we are standing on…this is how far up we were. you could see the whole valley! lovely!

this was really cool, the hole in the bottom of the roof is an actual cannonball shot that ws never repaired! crazy!

we stopped in a little town on the way home. we stopped at the coffeeshop in a cute little townsquare…and right next door was this BEAUTIFUL old mansion…complete with this creepy fake family…

our last stop of the day…THE SHOE HOUSE

…husby said this house was made for me, since my shoe collection is rather large(although nothing like my mother’s!)

it was such a great weekend, just blowing wherever the wind took us!

matt went to Kansas City this weekend for business, so for once, he was gone and i was here. i decided to use the time for ME. i did nothing but things that make me happy. and it was seriously one of the best times i’ve ever had in NYC. there are some days i dont feel like a new yorker. this was not of those times. i felt like such a local walking all around the city, and was so pleased when the pedi-cab drivers did NOT ask me if i want a ride. that means i did not look like a tourist.

i started out on saturday morning by going to see Coco before Chanel. it was playing at the Paris Theater, next door to the Plaza hotel.

its a really neat old theater with a balcony, which is where i sat. the film was perfect for a rainy day in the city. i absolutely loved the movie and loved sitting up in the balcony, and i loved that when the movie was over, the rain had stopped and it had turned into a BEAUTIFUL day for walking around the city

then i walked down to this really neat little tea house called Radiance, which was so,so,so yummy! its a chinese tea house and they not only serve these healthy delicious tea drinks, but also homemade dumplings and other goodies. it was seriously one of my favorite lunches ive ever had. i had chicken and mushroom dumplings, edamame, salad with homemade ginger dressing, and ginger milk tea. i also brought along my new book “my life in france”. it just felt right for that day.

i then walked back up to my apartment, but i took the long, leisurely route.

i started out at the very south edge of central park,and just enjoyed the sunshine as i walked uptown. it seemed like the whole city was in the park!

heres me….with windblown hair, enjoying the day …

i made a stop by magnolia bakery to try their new s’mores cupcakes. i haven’t been eating a whole lot of sugar these days, but ive made a few exceptions for special treats. this cupcake was a special treat

i finished my walk to my apartment, and just enjoyed being in my neighborhood, which i LOVE. we are so glad we moved to the upper west side. its totally perfect for us!

i went up to grab roxie and then we headed back out to do a little bit of shopping. i was feeling so happy with the fall weather that i needed something autumnal for the apartment, so me and roxie walked down to the corner market and picked up some pretties.

and here are the pretties back at the apartment. right next to my pumpkin candle

i finished the day by watching April in Paris….i was incredibly thankful and so very content!

look at what i found out on the ledge by our trashcans….

isn’t it pretty!? i am so glad this person chose not to actually throw this away, but left it for someone like me to find thats one great thing about nyc, there are little hidden treasures everywhere!

so much to update this week! my parents rented a beach house in topsail last week and i wasnt planning on going, but my mom apparently needed a buddy to hang out with and booked me a flight to come play it was a nice getaway and i got some much needed quiet time. theres just something about the beach that helps you focus and breathe

this is why i love NC …

this is also why i love NC….

mom and i found out there were some sea turtles being released from the sea turtle hospital, so we headed to the beach to see what that was all about. it was really fun being a part of it! they released 9 turtles, 7 little bitties and 2 GIANT ones! everyone made two lines and they walked the turtles down to the water, and let them free

this guy weighed 400 lbs!!!!…

putting him into the water…

it was such a neat experience. the sea turtle hospital is a really big deal on the island, and mom and i have been going there every year since we were both born, and we had never seen a release. i’m so glad we finally got to see one!

i LOVE riding on the boat! this is my favorite view

mom and i love to walk around “the point”, the tip of the island where the sound meets the ocean. the landscape had changed a little this year. for some of our walk we were in the water, but it was really cool walking out there at sunset

this is seriously my most favorite spot on earth …

…especially when there is a pink sunset

i got this Fiesta Fry Pan Dinner recipe off of allrecipes.com

SUBMITTED BY: Taste of Home’s Fast Family Favorites

1 pound ground turkey or beef *

1/2 cup chopped onion *

1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning *

1 1/2 cups water*

1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini *

1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained *

1 cup frozen corn *

1 1/2 cups uncooked instant rice *

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese*

DIRECTIONS 1. In a skillet, cook turkey and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain if necessary. 2. Stir in taco seasoning, water, zucchini, tomatoes and corn; bring to a boil. Add rice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. 3. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand until the cheese is melted.

**NOTE**

this was really quick and easy and yummy and cheap!! all the things im looking for in a recipe i didnt cook the rice in the pot with everything else, i just cooked a bag of ben’s 90 second rice and added it to the bowl and spooned the mixture on top, then i added the cheese on top of all of that. it was a little bland for our tastes(we like spice!), even though i thought it would be really salty with the taco seasoning. i added some everglades(my fave seasoning salt) some garlic powder, cumin and some chipolte chili powder. just add your fave mexican seasoning to taste!! i feel like this was a really healthy dish, and you could add more veggies if you wanted

it says on the website this makes 10 servings…. id say it makes less than that, but definitely enough for seconds, and some for lunch the next day which is always nice!