Well, it officially feels like fall out there today! Considering I was planning my wedding all summer, I feel like the chilly weather came about way to fast, but oh well. Here’s to jackets, apple cider, and pumpkin season. Have a great weekend, world!
RIP Steve Jobs
Yesterday I wrote a post for the Educational Alliance’s blog, dedicated to Steve Jobs. I am pretty proud of the entry and wanted to post it here as well… Take a look.
The New Partyspace Site
Partyspace has completely given their blog a makeover. Not only am I still their bridal blogger, now they have extra help this summer with some lovely interns. They are blogging about tips and trends, real weddings, and wedding-related news and articles. Bookmark this new site or subscribe:
Officially a Freelancer!
So. My big news:
A Philadelphia (soon to be national) wedding vendor company found my Wedding by Color blog and asked me to be THEIR bridal blogger! They loved my stories and my conversational tone. I am a writer so this is the best news… and especially because I have been blogging about my wedding all along. So now to officially be a wedding blogger making some wedding money now is amazing! Please follow my journey at partyspace.com/blog.
Thank you all.
Here is New York
Below is a passage entitled “Here Is New York” that was written in 1948 and appears in “Essays of E.B. White”, Harper, 1977. I may technically be a “commuter” but at the end of the day, I feel like the third New York. Coming here for the very first time ten years ago, felt like coming home to me. And, even though my quest to come took some time, I am now finally here as more than a visitor and loving every day. Hmmm, well some more than others — but that is a whole other post 
Anyways, I hope you enjoy and live in your very own New York now or someday soon…Happy Holidays!
There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter–the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. Of these trembling cities the greatest is the last–the city of final destination, the city that is a goal. It is this third city that accounts for New York’s high strung disposition, its poetical deportment, its dedication to the arts, and its incomparable achievements. Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion. And whether it is a farmer arriving from a small town in Mississippi to escape the indignity of being observed by her neighbors, or a boy arriving from the Corn Belt with a manuscript in his suitcase and a pain in his heart, it makes no difference: each embraces New York with the intense excitement of first love, each absorbs New York with the fresh eyes of an adventurer, each generates heat and light to dwarf the Consolidated Edison Company. . . . 
The List of Fours
I saw this list on a blog I stumbled upon today and was reminded of the old AOL survey chain letters… figured it would go well with a 5 minute tea break.
1. Four shows that you watch:
-How I Met your Mother
-Kendra
-Desperate Housewives
-Amazing Race
-How I Met your Mother
-Kendra
-Desperate Housewives
-Amazing Race
2. Four things you are passionate about:
-My circle of loved ones
-Writing
-Mexican and Italian food
-Happiness
3. Four phrases you say a lot:
-Dang
-OMG
-WTH
-Love you too
-Dang
-OMG
-WTH
-Love you too
4. Four things you’ve learned from the past:
-What is meant to be will be.
-Regrets are a waste and do not change anything, anyway.
-Sometimes the best plans become the worst plans.
-Life is really, really, short.
5. Four places you would like to go:
-Italy
-Hawaii
-Turks
-My mom’s deck or pool on a 80 degree day
-Italy
-Hawaii
-Turks
-My mom’s deck or pool on a 80 degree day
6. Four things you did yesterday:
-Crazily Yankee-Swap shopped.
-Drank amazing white wine and ate amazing Mexican food.
-Made people laugh.
-Discussed our life.
7. Four things you are looking forward to:
-Seeing the Fiance for more than 1 hour tomorrow… Date Night!
-The FFs being reunited this weekend.
-Spending time with friends and fam for the holidays!
-A thicker, hopefully warmer winter coat.
8. Four things you love about Winter:
-This is a hard one for me as I heart Summer….. hmmm, watching Jared track snow on the “doplar.”
-Turlenecks and scarfs
-My Gram’s Xmas cookies
-Chapped lips, oh no, sorry wrong question…. flicking the fireplace switch at the rents house.
Only one week until that flick. Yah, PA! Happy Thursday, bundle up.
The House that Built Me
My youngest brother, Ryan recently purchased my old childhood home in Perkionmenville, PA. Talk about freaky but also pretty fantastic. It was the place where we all grew up the most and made so many forever memories. My parents bought the house when I entered first grade and the next six or so years truly flew by. I learned to jump rope, hop scotch (took awhile for both), twirl a baton in parades, play the violin, hit a softball, sled down an enormous hill (our street) during that enormous blizzard (no school for a week!). I hosted many, many sleepovers with my best friend April W., mastered the Polaroid camera, fell in love and helped train my first puppy dog, Jasmine the Dal, became a bus patrol officer, jumped off boulders and swings, created carnival games for us in our rooms and the bathroom, picked raspberries and bleeding hearts in my driveway, and I could go on and on…. basically I did a lot and learned even more. Living in the woods can kinda do that to ya, I guess.
Needless to say, when we moved, my brothers and I were half-excited yet half-sad to leave this amazing house. The boys were getting their own room finally, so they were probably more excited than me at the time. The night before we left I decided to make a time capsule. Since most of my belongings were packed, I had to scurry around for anything fun to include in it. I found random things crammed in the crevices of my room — a Pick-Up stick, a sticker of the Ghostbusters secretary, an English composition of a real life family Halloween incident and a letter “to whoever finds this” – I bundled it all together with one of my headbands. I safely hid the time capsule in the insulation in my attic closest and wrote myself a note for directions on how to find the time capsule – just in case I was ever in this house again.
My mom took a photo of Ryan and I at the house’s SOLD sign which now hangs on a calendar I made for him. The next time there would be a SOLD sign at that Perkiomenville house was when my brother bought it! He moved everything in this past Fall and after all the moving stress settled, was like a little boy on Christmas enjoying his first home. Jared and I slept over in September with my parents after a Beef & Beer — as soon as we got in the front door, I anxiously took “the tour” but my mind was always on my time capsule. He had tried to find it to no avail (thank God!). We crept up the stairs to our old bedrooms and I rushed into the closest. I sat down on t he floor and tried remembering which panel I had put it into (I was too lazy to figure out which box I had stashed those directions so many years before) with my Dad right next to me. Ah-ha! I finally felt something in the fourth panel! I tore off the headband and opened up the note. Dust flew into the air. Now remember, I was just drinking so as soon as I read the “to whoever” I burst into tears and said, “that’s me!” What a crazy moment! I read the letter to everyone and showed off my new “treasures.” In the morning, Jared read my composition out loud in the kitchen. Pictures of the day after are below — my Dad, the Photo Genius that he is, even Photo-Shopped the house image into one of the time capsule pictures (Thanks Dad! Amazing!).
When I heard Miranda Lambert’s song, “The House that Built Me,” I immediately thought of 1636 Haywood Road in Perkiomenville. Enjoy the lyrics and never forget where you came from. Some day, life may even surprise you and bring you back there….
“The House That Built Me”
Written by Tom Douglas / Allen Shamblin
Sung by Miranda Lambert
I know they say you can’t go home again
I just had to come back one last time
Ma’am I know you don’t know me from Adam
But these handprints on the front steps are mine
Up those stairs in that little back bedroom
Is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar
I bet you didn’t know under that live oak
My favorite dog is buried in the yard
I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself
If I could just come in I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me
Mama cut out pictures of houses for you
From Better Homes and Gardens magazine
Plans were drawn and concrete poured
Nail by nail and board by board
Daddy gave life to mama’s dream
I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself
If I could just come in I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me
You leave home and you move on and you do the best you can
I got lost in this old world and forgot who I am
I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself
If I could just come in I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me
You Look Thirsty. Make Some Lemonade.
I was completely inspired by a fellow blogger’s post today, so thought I’d share her views on taking the unhappy route versus the uncertain route. Her inspiration came from a quote by Timothy Ferris: “Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.”
This past month, I took the uncertain route filled with crazy, big changes. I was not certain they would bring me complete happiness, but still I needed to try.
Don’t be scared of the unknown. Embrace it and keep on living. You’ll soon get to where you are meant to be.
Lemonade is usually better after stirred, anyway.
Finally… we are moving
It has been over two weeks since my last post! So sorry! My life went into overdrive since then. But I am back. Hopefully! Well, until wedding season
It took many trips up to north Jersey, but we finally found our dream apartment. I have been living there on week nights while the fiance finishes up his job in Philly (more about my job in another post). He has been coming up Friday, we go back to Philly Saturday, and then back together on Sunday (he leaves in the evening). We have been bringing up boxes each trip, so a quarter of our belongings are in NJ while the rest (and one of the cats) is still in Philly. We are renting a truck this weekend for all the big furniture. Hopefully it will be painless. I can taste the champagne my mom is bringing up already LOL.
2nd floor
Our place is literally a mansion compared to the last apartment… an extra room and a half, plus a kitchen and bathroom which are double the size of what we are used to in Philly. The house was built in 1901 and I used almost every adjective in the book to describe it when I first got the tour with the landlord. Charming and cute were my faves. Hard wood floors, old key doors (worth 400 bucks each haha), secret storage areas! But especially with working in a hustle and bustle city, coming home to a quaint, quiet, tree-lined street is the ideal amount of balance in my life.
Our girl cat came up with me the first weekend and it took her about 5 days to come out from underneath my covers. Now she is running around — and eating — like her usual self! Thank gosh the constant crying is past us! It will be interesting to see how our boy cat reacts as Philly has been his only home (my girl has lived in 3 apartments now and my grandmother’s house for 3 months). Plus the two have been separated from each other lately, so hopefully they missed each other!
One of my girlfriends came up to stay with me one night to keep me company. She couldn’t believe I had been living on my own in a new city, new state with a new job in a new city, new state for two weeks. When she stated it that way, okay, it seemed scary, but for some reason, I felt perfectly safe and content. I think it’s because this has been my dream for so long. Trying to get to a certain place in your life, accomplish a certain goal, and not seeing results for so long, can really put a damper on your life at certain times. But, everything is in place, everything seems perfect. I could not be more happy. I could not have asked for more (Ek! Sounding like an Edwin McCain song, sorry!). Seriously though.. every time I emerge from the subway to head to the office, I look around the Lower East Side and smile. Every time I emerge from the office and look around, I smile (especially these past few 70 degree weather days!).
My second day, I accidently left “underground” (was in Penn State looking for NJ Transit) and magically was in the middle of Times Square/Madison Square Garden. I giggled like a little school girl! I may not be writing my own column for a newspaper or living in the most beautiful brownstone like Carrie (which I’ve seen in person BTW!), but I do have my Mr. Big and My NYC Soul Mate in my back pocket. 
EdFilms Digital Imagery Photos:
