National Dog Show

Do you watch the dog show after the parade on Thanksgiving Day?  We almost always have it on while we either cook Thanksgiving dinner or get ready to go visiting.  When Dave asked me if I wanted to go in person this year I said "yes," of course!

The dog show took place this past weekend and we spent most of the day on Saturday checking out the dogs and watching the group judging.  The show was quirky and fun to see in person (although a bit less glamorous than it appears on TV).  Here are a few pictures that I took on Saturday afternoon:

A Corgi getting checked out by the judge...

The Dalmatian sneaking a treat while he waits for his turn to circle the ring...

The Irish Terrier (he had a cute little beard!)...

The cute little Schipperke - Dave loved this guy!

Congratulating the winner of the herding group...

This particular dog show is benched which means that the handlers and owners each have a booth where they hang out in between judging.  Visitors can check out the different breeds and pet the dogs while the handlers groom them.  It's perfect if you're looking to get a dog, but aren't sure which breed is right for you and your family.

We left before the end of the show, so we'll still be watching on Thanksgiving Day to see who wins Best in Show. :)

I hope your (short!) week is off to a good start.

Weekend Getaway: New York, NY

Last weekend, Dave and I drove up to Brooklyn to visit Meghan and Derek. We were hoping to spend a relaxing weekend exploring the city with our friends. Luckily for us, that's exactly how things went down.

We drove into the city on Saturday morning...

Crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on our way into Brooklyn.

...and grabbed some delicious hot sandwiches at a local cafe before heading over to Roosevelt Island. We walked the length of the Island and checked out the lighthouse and the brand new memorial park at the southern tip.

Looking into Manhattan...

...and then looking over to Queens.

Check out the Oz-like FDR memorial just beyond Dave's shoulder!

As the afternoon grew cooler we started to make our way back to Meghan and Derek's apartment where Derek mixed up some Manhattans and we snacked on cheese and crackers.

Our college friend Julia joined us at Talde for dinner with her boyfriend. We ordered enough yummy Asian food to fill our entire table! My favorites were the Korean fried chicken and the Brussels sprouts.

We finished off the evening at the Brooklyn Academy of Music where we enjoyed after-dinner drinks and a jazz band.

Meghan made us buttermilk waffles on Sunday morning and then we headed home. Dave and I were so glad that we took this little weekend trip since we were stuck inside for a couple of days when Hurricane Sandy hit on Monday. I hope everybody stayed safe during the hurricane!

One-day Weekend Wrap-up

I had to work this past Sunday and I was seriously bummed about my 6:00 AM wake-up call, so Dave and I tried to make the most of Saturday and planned a dinner out for Sunday night.

I love to linger over a hot cup of coffee on weekend mornings. Sometimes I chat with Dave or I catch up on reading magazines and catalogs  Since we were making the most of this Saturday, I flipped through the new Anthro catalog while I enjoyed my coffee and then headed out for some new clothes.

I purchased a few new tops and indulged in the Fall polka dot trend...

After lunch at home, Dave and I took a long walk through our neighborhood.  I was on the hunt for some Autumn color...

On Sunday, I came home from work super sleepy and chilly so I snuggled up on the couch with a cup of tea before we headed out to a cozy pub for bangers and mash (Dave) and a burger and steak fries (me).

How was your weekend?  I hope you have been staying cozy these last few days - it has been so brisk.  Brrrrrr!

Weekend Wrap-up

How was your weekend? I took off on Friday and enjoyed an extra long weekend - yes! Last week was super busy for me, so I slept in on Friday morning and took it easy all day. My mom and I went to a big flea market on Saturday. It was great to spend the day outside chatting with my mom. We each came home with some new goodies and bags of gourds for Fall decorating.

Dave and I headed over to Valley Forge Park this morning for some fresh air and early leaf peeping. We hiked along the paved path for about two hours with occasional breaks for snapping pictures. I'm taking a photography class, so I've got to practice (my instructor showed me some of the different aspect settings on my camera, so I shot most of my pictures in this square format. Kind of cool, right?).

Darker clouds started to roll in as we neared the end of our hike and we made it back to our car just as the rain began to fall!

I hope you enjoyed the weekend and here's to a great week ahead!

D.C. Weekend Getaway Recap

Now that September has arrived, I find myself clinging to all things summer. I'm enjoying dinner and wine on the balcony, long walks around the neighborhood in shorts and flip-flops, and hot, sticky days more than I have all summer because I know they will be gone before I know it.

So, I thought this would be a great time to recap a little trip Dave and I took to D.C. in early August. I blogged about our fabulous hotel already - it was as lovely as ever. After we checked in on Friday evening, we strolled over to our friends Bekah and Nate's house for drinks. Bekah and Nate live in a sweet, cozy garden apartment that was the perfect place for catching up. Later, they took us up to their roof to show us the D.C. skyline at night.

On Saturday, Dave and I ate a leisurely breakfast near our hotel and then headed over to the Newseum. We spent the afternoon wandering around the museum before heading up to the roof (are you sensing a theme?) for some fresh air. The view was great up there and it felt like a little bonus to the exhibits.

Dave is such a trooper - he very patiently let me take
several pictures of him throughout the weekend.

We worked up an appetite in the Newseum, so we headed over to Oyamel for tacos and limeade. 

Later that day, we met up with Bekah and Nate in Alexandria for a bit of window shopping and dinner. Alexandria is lovely and you will have to visit for yourself to get a feel for the town because I forgot to take pictures - bummer.

On Sunday, we drove over to Arlington for brunch with our friends Andy and Danielle. Danielle made us delicious omelets and mimosas which fortified us for our drive home.

I feel so fortunate to make this trip every summer and we always have a great time. I hope you enjoyed reliving a bit of summer fun with me. :)

Weekend Getaway: D.C.

Tonight, I'll be packing up my weekend bag for a trip to D.C. Dave and I go down to the capital every summer to visit friends and explore the city. Normally, we try out different hotels, but this year we are returning to The Normandy. Check out the gorgeous rooms:

 

Our plans are still a bit up in the air, but we are going to try to check out the Newseum. Have you ever been? I've had my eye on this museum for a while, but we never managed to fit in a visit.

I'll be back next week (I have off all week!) to share photos. Have a great weekend!

Sunday at the Lake

Dave and I like to go for hikes in the parks and lakes that are near our home. We squeezed in a hike around Lake Galena on Easter Sunday.

I love to watch the woods slowly becoming greener...

I hope you enjoyed today's beautiful weather. Happy spring!

Meghan's Bachelorette Party

Last weekend, I made a quick trip into New York City to celebrate Meghan and her upcoming marriage. Her sister hosted a bachelorette party for her on Saturday night and since I wasn't able to stay late (I had an early flight the next morning - more on that later) I caught an early train into the city. I made my way to Brooklyn to catch up with these two ladies over tea. Later, we met up with the rest of Meghan's friends for dinner at B Bar. It was a chilly night, but we were still able to eat outside in the restaurant's charming garden.

One of Meghan's former college roommates gifted her with a decadent box of chocolates...

Meghan's sister gave her the prettiest tiara to wear since she isn't into sashes and shot glass necklaces...

And we toasted to lovely bride, of course...

I hope these ladies had an enjoyable evening! I hailed a cab (my first time!) back to Penn Station and just made my train out of the city. I secretly love taking taxis in NYC at night - it always seems so exciting to watch the city whirl by. This time was no exception. :)

Meghan is getting married next weekend and I can't wait for that first glimpse of her in her wedding gown!

Friday Night Shake Run

Last week was a bit rough for me, so Dave and I decided that a late night shake run was just the thing to get the weekend off to a good start. We headed to our local Micky D's for some delicious, minty Shamrock Shakes. The shakes are quite good this year (sometimes they taste like toothpaste - yuck!). 

Have a great week!

Weekend Getaway: Ithaca, NY

I'm super excited for this weekend! My mom and I are going on a yoga retreat in the Finger Lakes. My yoga studio is running a three-day weekend retreat including yoga classes, wine tasting around Lake Cayuga, and delicious dinners. We will be staying at La Tourelle Resort which looks lovely. Our room has a fireplace - what a luxury!

I can't wait to hit the road tomorrow and start our weekend! I promise to take lots of pictures to share with you when I get back.

Weekend Wrap-up

I was looking forward to Friday night dinner all day at work. Dave and I dined at the Sergeantsville Inn. The restaurant is in a cozy old stone building and we were lucky enough to snag one of the coveted fireside tables. I had pheasant and mushroom risotto - so good!

I woke up to snow on Saturday morning. I love the surprise of finding a snowy scene outside my bedroom window when I get up in the morning. I went to yoga, cleaned my house a bit, and treated myself to a new pair of moccasins. I've been spying a lot of cozy moccasins on blogs lately and I've been thinking about picking up a pair for a while. I chose a lovely yellow pair and they are so comfortable.

Dave made a delicious lasagna on Saturday night and we invited my parents over to eat with us. I love having dinner guests during these long, winter months (plus, they brought chocolate cake!).

Dave in action!

I hope everyone had a relaxing weekend!

I'm sick, again.

I've caught another cold - yuck! I stayed home from work today to rest up and, hopefully, get better. I drank lots of tea and water with orange slices, read books and blogs, and watched old episodes of This American Life on my laptop.

Cold aside, I had a very pleasant weekend spent with family and friends (and it snowed!). Dave hosted another wine tasting. This month we tried five different Champagnes and sparkling wines and Dave treated us to a pear tart and caviar. We also hosted both families on Sunday night for a much-delayed Secret Santa gift exchange. I have to admit that it was kind of fun to receive Christmas gifts in late January.

I hope your week got off to a good start. Happy Chinese New Year!

Three-day Weekend Wrap-up

My office was closed yesterday, so I enjoyed a relaxing three-day weekend (long weekends are the best!).

On Saturday morning I went to yoga and then Dave and I headed over to my parent's house to celebrate my mom's birthday. My dad ordered a delicious cake to celebrate - vanilla cake with raspberry filling. Yum! Dave and I hung out at home on Sunday. I drank tea, read magazines, and took a nap. Relaxing days always feel like such a treat.

Last night, I made beef and carrot ragu in my slow cooker for dinner. Dave and I gobbled it down and then watched Sunday night's episode of Downton Abbey. Are you watching Downton? I'm obsessed.


Food pictures: appetizing or gross-looking? I can never decide...

Have a good (short) week!

Weekend Wrap-up

My weekend began with homemade pizza enjoyed with Dave on the couch. I was exhausted after my first full week back at work and needed a relaxing evening at home. On Saturday, Dave took down our Christmas tree while I was at yoga and whisked it away for recycling. We spent the rest of the day packing away ornaments and decorations and cleaning up pine needles. I felt a bit melancholy as I packed everything away, so I was glad that Bekah was up visiting her family and was around to join us for dinner. I'm happy to report that the curried chicken stew tasted great! Dave mixed up kumquat mojitos and Bekah brought a lovely cheesecake for dessert.

Fresh kumquats are a nice way to make summery mojitos work for January.

Dave and I drove into Doylestown for brunch (I had the best blueberry pecan pancakes!) and a walk around town on Sunday. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and then attended a dinner given by the wine shop where Dave works. Several of his co-workers are also in our wine club so it was fun to catch up with everyone.

I hope you have a great week!

Christmas Around the House

My weekend got off to a great start on Friday night; Dave and I had a few friends over for wine, cheese, and chatting by the fire. I love having something easy and fun to look forward to at the end of the week.

Dave had a ton of papers to grade this weekend and while he was busy with the papers I worked on getting our house decorated for Christmas. I chose "woodland glamour" as my decorating theme this year. A bunch of our decorations and ornaments easily fit into this theme, and I picked up a new table runner, some pinecone and acorn ornaments, and a few new mercury glass votives earlier in the week. Here are a couple of snaps from around the house:

We kept it super simple this year and only trimmed
the tree with white lights and ornaments.

I love this little snowy cottage ornament.

A perfect fit with this year's theme: golden, glittery acorns.

Our mantle is decorated with mini boxwood plants, Grandma's
silver candelabra, mercury glass votives, and silver glitter deer.

On our Christmas table: a rustic runner, nuts,
glamorous mercury glass, and German glitter birds.

I took Monday off to finish up my shopping; I'm hoping that the stores won't be as crowded as they are on the weekends. Have a great week!

Weekend Wrap-up

Here's my weekend wrap-up delivered to you on Tuesday night. Better late than never, right? :)

This past weekend was full of Christmas-y fun. I spent Friday night with my mom. We went on the Christmas in Doylestown House Tour and had fun driving around town and getting to peek inside four gorgeous houses all decked out for the holidays. We apparently had a lot of catching up to do because we could barely get one story out before we were on to the next topic.

Dave and I spent almost all of Saturday at Longwood Gardens with his family. We ate lunch together and then headed over to Longwood Gardens around 5:00. We explored the grounds and admired the lighted trees and fountains as darkness fell. Then, we walked over to the greenhouses for more exploring and a short concert. The staff had set up clever trees (full-size!) and wreaths throughout the greenhouses made out of unusual materials like aloe plants, orchids, succulents, and even parsley! I've never visited Longwood Gardens in the evening during the holidays, but it turned out to be such a treat.

An elegant tree all ready for Christmas at Longwood Gardens

We put our Christmas tree up on Sunday evening and enjoyed its twinkling lights while we watched "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and drank hot cocoa.

Visiting Terrain

Terrain at Styer's is one of my absolute favorite places to visit! This garden shop features a huge outdoor garden center, greenhouse, store, cafe, and restaurant. I like to visit at least once every season and I almost never leave empty-handed. My parents drove down with us on Saturday and we had a great time winding our way through the Christmas trees outside, hunting for gifts in the store, and sharing lunch and a bottle of sparkling apple cider in the restaurant.

Poinsettias all ready for Christmas in the greenhouse.

Mom and me at lunch.

This huge bloom was the centerpiece on our lunch table.

Dave and Dad enjoying some sparkling apple cider

P.S. Terrain has an awesome brunch, too! Dave and I just visited with Lindsay and Dave a few weeks ago. :)