the 8th date of Christmas

we strolled down 5th Avenue to see the Christmas window displays.
Enjoy the tour:)

Lord & Taylor

Huge wreaths on every building, apartment, hotel...

even the Diamond District decorates...

the tree of all trees

snapped a shot of my man being so patient with my desire to see the windows in the freeeezing chilly weather!

loved this one...a decorated hot-dog stand! almost more festive than my apartment...

a photo of the roasted chestnuts that we tried for the 1st time ever. We were slightly disappointed & are we are still wondering how these nuts made it into all the Christmas songs...

the big star

Tiffany's & Co.

the light display at the Time Warner bulding at Colombus Circle

We were absolutely FROZEN by the time we finished our stroll...but we love NYC this time of year!

on the 7th date of Christmas

on our 7th date of Christmas,
Kyle & I enjoyed our first taste of boxed chocolates for the season--a gift from my coworker-while we laughed at his favorite Christmas movie of all time, Christmas Vacation. Don't tell, but I strategically picked out & devoured both of the only two Butter Caramels in the entire box. Is that selfish? Unlike some of our other outside dates of Christmas, we enjoyed cuddling and being toasty warm in our little NYC apartment.

6...5...4...dates of christmas...

on our 6th date of Christmas...

We attended this beautiful building (love how they decorate this "Temple Square") for a Christmas concert directed by the missionaries.

My favorites were:

2 guys that one missionary had met while they were performing in a subway station! They played an awesome version of Angels we have heard on High on the violin and guitar.

"O Holy Night" which may be my favorite Christmas song, sung by one girl, while an entire group of missionaries and members from the Deaf branch signed the words. It was so beautiful and made me cry, a little.

It reminded me of my days as a missionary & my Christmas in Brazil. What amazing memories I have of my time there.

On our way home, we walked through many Christmas Tree "Farms" as I love to call them. Kyle just laughs and makes fun of this! I love it though. Walking through hundreds of trees just plopped and propped against each other on the sidewalks, lights strung overhead, and a heavy scent of pine that permeates the air. They are everywhere in the city. And I love them.

I also loved seeing the streets, all festive with sparkly white lights on the trees and lamp posts, as taxis rushed by. So, so New York.

on our 5th date of Christmas...

we did something, I tell you. I know we did. Too bad I cannot remember right now. I will have to edit this post later.

on our 4th date of Christmas...

we attended yet another Christmas party. This time with cupcakes galore and sprinkles of every sort. There were people in every nook and cranny of the apartment. It was a dream for little kids...we saw some who decorated and ate 3-4 cupcakes loaded with goops of frosting and then piled high with literally spoonfulls and spoonfulls of sprinkles. Most of which, actually made their way to the floor before the mouth of the child. All part of the fun. After wayyyy too much sugar, and laughing with good friends, we walked home, listening to Kyle's Iphone, placed in his pocket, ringing out with Christmas music as we walked.

I love these days of our NYC Christmas!

the 3rd date of Christmas

oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

before our 3rd date of Christmas (making holiday treats and attending 2 Christmas parties), I walked inside our apartment & Kyle surprised me with the cutest lil' Christmas tree one ever did see!


I had tried to hide my disappointment at not getting a Christmas tree this year. But we decided that since we would be gone to Cancun in early December and then home for the holidays--we would be fine without one. However, it made me sad to come home to a cozy apartment each night that showed no signs of the upcoming holidays.


But cute Kyle went to a Christmas tree farm (he laughs that I call them this) and bought us a tree and all the decorations without me suspecting a single thing! He even brought it all the way home on the subway, what a cute husband! We turned on Christmas tunes and decorated the tree with tinsel, festive ornaments, and a silver star for the top. And you know what, it just feels like Christmas now!

the 2nd date of Christmas...

How can you not feel the Christmas joy when even the hustling, bustling train stations are decked out for the holidays! I loved the green boughs of holly dotted with twinkling lights hung with the bright red bows to spread Christmas cheer to busy travelers. I just wish this season could last all year!

On our 2nd date of Christmas, we bundled up and jumped "all aboard" a train for Jersey.

We read "El Grinch" (the spanish version of The Grinch-turns out our local library was all out of english Christmas books when I stopped by) and ate creamy, gooey BYU bookstore fudge on our way.
Truthfully, we felt like we were on the Polar Express bound for the North Pole!

What a fun little overnight getaway we had with our friends Russ and Bonnie, who let us sleep under their Christmas tree after our fun double date/

the 1st date of Christmas

Kyle & I can't wait to go back home for Christmas. However, I realized that I want to truly enjoy all the magic of Christmas here in the city too and not just count down until we go. So, we have 12 days until we leave & wa-la. The 12 dates of Christmas. NYC style. Here we come!

On our 1st date of Christmas,
we had a candlelight dinner while cheery Christmas tunes seranaded us in the background. Then we bundled up and enjoyed the festive lights and Christmas displays and of course, the Rockefeller Christmas Tree!

love the giant string of Christmas lights!

and the elegance of the giant ornaments in the fountain...

and we ended at the ever- famous tree and then sipped creamy hot cocoa to end our lovely night.

we LOVE nyc

woke up at 5:30 am this Thanksgiving to experience the magic of a nyc Thanksgiving.
the cutest new balloon addition of 2009...

wish you all could have been here to enjoy it with us!

a big turkey & a big parade...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving...oh, I am so far behind on posts that this will just be a teaser. Us with some friends at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...love this city!

so grateful...

*my simple list of blessings*

family
husband and best friend

sisters:)
gospel

joy & peace
good friends
talents
hobbies
work and education
tender mercies

tender memories

a new start each new day

happy thanksgiving!

Big Shiny Car.

Kyle is away on a business trip. And this is the set of wheels his company gave him. Red. Convertible. Mustang. Bet he is loving driving around. Anyway, la la la. I am so happy I could sing because these wheels are taking my Kyle back to the airport right now. & you know what that means. He'll be back to me tomorrow! Can't wait!

just because i like this photo. he is so cute & he makes me so happy. bummer that my Prince Charming is once again out of town for work. so i guess sitting around & blogging about him will make the time go by faster? haha.

$36 Pumpkins...

so. happy halloween!!!

cute kyle knowing how much i love to carve pumpkins searched all over the entire city of Manhattan to try to find a pumpkin on Halloween night.

guess we waited a little too long.

no luck.

at the very last store he went to, he found one huge pumpkin & was overjoyed thinking that his persistence had paid off. to his dismay, he discovered the pumpkin was $36. seiously. i may love pumpkins, but i think it was a good judgment call when he opted not to bring it home.

instead he found these mini pumpkins in a "paint a stenciled pumpkin" kit. except, the last pumpkin was an original creation, if you couldn't tell. kinda cute, huh? and way better for the budget than the monster $36 pumpkin!

so many people...

So the other day something funny happened.

Kyle and I happened to get on the EXACT same subway car on our way home from work without evening knowing it. We were on the car for about 12 minutes, sitting diagonally from each other. Still did not notice. And, we had been standing probably just steps away from each other on the platform waiting for our train to arrive, never knowing that each other was right smack there.

Crazy. In a city of so many people, that my husband could be standing right next to me without us even knowing!

Unwelcome intruder...

I hate cockroaches. In fact, I despise them.

My bold, heroic man just spent the last 2 nights exterminating our kitchen to get rid of these intruders. If there is ever a time I am brave, it is most certainly NOT when these guys are around. No matter how big or small, just the mere sight of one of them...& I squirm, I shriek, I yell, I jump up and down. I act like a total lunatic. Seriously.

So tonight, Kyle pulled apart our microwave, where more than ten of these bad boys were hiding. I tried to cheer him on, but the sight was more than my unbrave, uncourageous, cockroacher hating body could handle.

However, I am proud to say, we are now cockroach free! From the countertops to the floors to the...microwave, random as that is. I just hope we never ever ever have to repeat this again.

All I can say is I used to be completely in love with this wonderland we call New York City. Now, I am having second thoughts...

the changing seasons...

Don't you just love the fall?

The changing colors of the leaves...

The crisp outside air...

And now, experiencing all of this in NYC...

Doesn't this image appear to come straight from a fairytale?

I love Central Park & the best part is that all this exists just a few simple steps from my front door!

Tourin' the city...

The Kings of NYC!

This amazing fella....

And this handsome dude...

Are New York bound. Today. 5 awesome days with them in this bustling city...I can't wait!

lonely

The man is out of town today & yes. His girl misses him.

She thought it might be fun to have a 2 day shopping spree, to do facials and manicures and all that girly stuff that she sometimes resists when he is around. At least she told herself this would be fun.

Wrong. Typical "newlywed?"

Maybe.

Good thing she has only 28 hours and 30 minutes until he returns, because even that could not come fast enough.

he bought me a surprise...

Kyle came home with a present for me. Totally caught me by surprise. When he said the word surprise, I was thinking flowers maybe...

Nope. It wasn't flowers.

Nope, it wasn't chocolates or a new shirt or jewelry.

It was a new Razor. Now we both have them. Kind of funny. Two adults scootin' through the streets.

But, oh how convenient it can be here in the city. A big time-saver & I love that.

And oh how we love feeling like little school boys without a care in the world as we zoom through the streets!

Couldn't be happier!

a day at the museums

i love our saturdays!!

Museum of the City of New York

MOMA

I saw this. In real life, just inches away. Van Gogh's famous Starry Night

And this... Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup collection. Honestly, a whole collection on the 32 flavor variety of Campbell's soup. And he is famous for it.

We also saw a suit, pinned to the wall. That was it. And wa-lah. Art worthy enough to be exhibited in one of the most famous museums in NYC. I am beginning to think Kyle should have become an artist...