Oh Christmas Tree

In NYC, picking the perfect tree is a bit more, should we say complicated?

Step 1. Find a Christmas tree lot.

Not hard, you can see they are just about on every street corner, though you may have to look around for the good deals. We found our steal of a deal at our 6th lot.  Whew.  Lotta walking.

2. Find a strong man to carry your tree home.  You may have to beg and make a deal, especially if you live almost a mile away. 

3. Invite your strong tree delivery man inside & out of the cold. 

It worked for me!

4. Viola! And there you have it.

Our Christmas tree this year.

We might have overdone it...the branches of this tall balsam pine almost reach our ceiling and take up a big chunk of our living area.  But we love it.  It sure has made us feel all Christmas-y every time we see it!

Only 1 more day until we leave our tree and our NYC home to go home for Christmas!

a visit from k+b

my cute sister kristin & her husband blaine came to visit us for thanksgiving.  as it was their first time in nyc, we had to make sure to give them the full new york experience. 

broadway shows + backstage tours + brooklyn bridge + central park + yummy restaurants + shopping + weekend brunch + the macy's thanksgiving day parade. 

i think we wore them out! the week went way too fast & we were so sad to see them go. 

so sad, that as we were saying our final goodbyes at the subway station, we were both crying as the subway started to leave the station.  it was then that we realized that i still had kristin's purse dangling from my arm! what followed was 60 minutes of a high speed chase--subway rides & running through the ny streets to try to get it back to them so they wouldn't miss their flight. 

the good news: we made it & they made their flight

the bad news: no extra days with them

we can't wait to see them again with their new little baby this time!

I see London, I see France....

Finally, a peek into our big debut EUROPE! Now if I can only get this blogging thing under my belt...

First stop...London, England.

After much anticipation for our trip, begging for practically a sabbatical from work, & stressing over packing exactly 2 backpack style bags to travel Rick Steves' style (how hard is it for a girl to pack exactly 2 pairs of shoes, 1 pair of pants, and 5 shirts for 17 days?? I may have squeezed in a little bit more...Kyle did find out eventually) we made it!

On the first of what would be many flights, a cute elderly lady next to me asked where we were traveling & with a twinkle in her eyes said, "Oh, what a fun honeymoon! You are such cute newlyweds!" She just made my day.

After very little sleep, we jumped on the Hotel Hoppa, dropped our bags at the hotel, and hit the city running! We did not want to miss a thing! I immediately loved the English accents & loved catching glimpses of places I had always dreamed of seeing and we topped the night off with a fabulous performance of Les Mis. Even though we were both guilty of dozing off a little during the show...However, for the rest of the trip we caught ourselves humming and singing the music.

After a ride on The Tube, my first view of the city.

The majestic Big Ben

classic pose...

We loved the warning site to the right "Watch out. Horses bite."

Kyle wishes I would have sported my leopard print dress & heels that day like our friend...

Our fantastic guide on the bus tour

Not the best picture of us at Les Mis. However, a perfectly nice stranger was literally down on his knees, in the street, with oncoming traffic I might add to snap this shot. We were too afraid for his life to ask him to take another one!

Next stop...more London & France!

surprises surprises

I know, I know. I promised travel updates a looong time ago.  I promise I will get to them soon. 

But first, I am going to have the time of my life this weekend with my beautiful sister who flew in on a redeye flight just to spend 2 days with me in NYC! 

Plans include shopping...brunch...decorating...leaf peeping...Central Park...& unlimited laughs for sure! 

home at last...

17 days

6 countries

6 flights

8 high speed train rides

2 water taxis

3 cable cars

1 missed Chunnel Train

1 transportation strike

metros, and subways, and buses OH MY!  

2 parachutes

1 BMW motorcycle

2 scooters

and over 10 gelatos later...

we are home.  

we had the time of our life.

we wish we were still there.

luckily, we have over 1,899 photos to let us relive 

the moments of bliss 

over & over again.

stay tuned for photos, adventures, laughs,

& of course, some travel mishaps too.

and we're off...

adventures from london, paris, switzerland, greece, rome & venice coming soon!

Let's hit the road...

For a 1 year anniversary surprise,

I wrapped up keys to

 this Sweet Thing

 for a weekend getaway!

We saw...

the beautiful gardens at Wave Hill

the quaint small towns along the Hudson

& even drove through the famed Sleepy Hollow

before stopping to enjoy dinner outside at

the cutest restaurant and a night

at a charming old b&b,

where we awoke to the rising sun over the Hudson-

not a sight we get to see in the city.

We loved the wind blowing against our faces

and the freedom we felt, road-trippin'

on the scooter.

Happy one year!