Parents visit RI & CT

So we've been a little distracted, and Ben's been pretty busy so leave it up to me to try to recall what we did over a year ago. :) Here goes:

Ben's parents made it out to CT Oct 15-18 in 2010! It was their first time visiting CT and Bob's first time seeing NYC. With NYC so close, they first traveled to NYC during the work week and we had the weekend to enjoy time together. It worked out pretty perfectly. Ben always has a list a mile long of 'things to do' when anyone visits (after all there is a LOT to see and do within a New England). Friday we relaxed and hung out at home/went out to dinner at PlanB burger bar (by far our favorite restaurant). This place ALWAYS satisfies our bellies and taste buds, and that's coming from a couple midwesterners that are pretty particular about their meat. :) It's a staple to take any visitor to dinner there, as we're sure it will be good 100% of the time. We discussed all the options of things to see and do at dinner that night and finalized a game plan. I'm sure Bob & Gay were a bit exhausted after trekking around NYC, but Ben was excited nonetheless to show them his favorite place - Newport, RI.

We've taken several trips to Newport and have done something new each time, and it never disappoints. It's clean, beautiful, pretty quaint, has gorgeous real estate (our eye candy), and just had a laid-back feel (especially compared to NYC). This particular weekend was the annual seafood festival at Bowen's Wharf & marathon which finishes right along the shoreline, literally right on the beach. It was a little chilly in the AM, but by noon it was truly perfect fall weather.

At Bowen's Wharf with the Newport bridge in the background. Yes, we're silly but Ben and I get so giddy to ride on this bridge. We love the views! Plus, I don't have a picture... but there's a mini island that just big enough for... say... an outhouse? or maybe just room enough for a 1 person snow angel, but it's adorable and is for sale. We always joke about buying it.

We arrived! We checked out the marathon runners and some stranger's dogs at the beach. Yes, I've been know to play with other stranger's dogs since I don't have a dog of my own and thankfully my mother-in-law joined in on the dog fun. I'm sure it's rather embarrassing for Ben (sometimes) but I'm happy he patiently waited while we played. And... we meandered for a bit until we started the CLIFF WALK.

 



 


We checked out a few of the mansions. The cliff walk is 3.5 mi (one way) and we didn't have quite enough time to look at ALL the mansions. After our feet slowly started to hurt, we decided it was time for some more beach and seafood. The sandy beaches of Newport are unlike anywhere else (at least in New England). The sand feels like silk between your toes. We walked along the water with shoes and socks off after our cliff walk.




Look closely and you'll see 2 tiny people in comparison to the gates (at the entrance of THE BREAKERS).

 Fresh lobsters!

We had candy dipped apples, New England clam chowder, regional beers, etc. Daylight burns quickly in the fall and before we knew it was time to head back to CT. We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and catching up, making dinner at our place (flank steaks off the grill and hearing an owl outside our place), touring UConn, and taking walks back in the Devonwood area. It was so nice to have them here to SEE some of the things we talk about all the time. Unfortunately we didn't get pictures of the foliage while Bob & Gay were here. It was just starting 'peak' time. The fall is our favorite season and I'm confident that New England has the MOST beautiful fall. What a great time to come and visit! Thanks for making the flight and sticking through all of our crazy requests. I'm sure you both went home and slept for a 3 days straight. :)

Saturday night projects

I twisted Ben's arm. Please, please let's make the chair pretty. He started to unscrew the seat.

History lesson here: The chair has a sticker underneath the seat "Crocker Chair Co". After an investigation (aka google) it turns out these chair were made in the 1920's! We debated if we should mess with an antique since the going rate for some of the chairs were around $100 ea, but this one is holding together by some glue (and now some staples) - so we honestly don't think we could have tricked ANYBODY to buy it for $5 as is.
Let the fun begin...

Foam + Fabric =

New look! Bright Granny Smith apple green and aqua.
Saturday night we also assembled Ben's new grill.

Ben's birthday present from his parents! He loves his new charcoal, and I do too! I'll admit it has great flavor, but I think it's so silly while we continue to live in apartments...we manage to fill the deck with Ben's grilling supplies. Our prior apartment had a gas grill, a smoker and a mini gas grill. Now, we have added a charcoal. Someday (when and if) we eventually buy a house (who knows where) I hope we have a large deck to accommodate for ''Ben's Grill 'N Chill''.

One last tasty item:
Perhaps you can't read the message or the item clearly. Allow me to explain:
I've been driving around with my trunk full of clothes, pillows, rugs, etc. all of which have patiently waiting to be donated. About 1 month ago, I dropped off SOME items at an consignment store in Avon, CT and the left-overs were meant to be donated. Glastonbury is a pretty rich town, so I figured I would donate our items to a second-hand store THERE (so that I could shop around while they unpacked our stuff). While I did see some great finds (for super cheap), I only spent $2 on this fun treat - a vintage 'New England' pie pan! I'm sure it's nice enough to bake with, but I'm planning to hang it in the kitchen (through one of the perforations) or keep it on a stand. I love the New England on it. A little cheesy? Maybe.

During my time browsing the store the ladies unpacking my donations small talked with me. Sure enough the question "where are you ORIGINALLY from" came up in conversation, and quickly another lady answered "the Midwest". I smiled and laughed. I take it as a compliment. :o) Although we're happy and excited to be living on the East coast, I love it when I get the chance to talk about Nebraska or the Midwest in general. *Although, I have to make a secret confession* Every time we travel to NYC I make bets with Ben on how many times I am going to be asked directions (b/c I want to appear to be "from" NYC). Hehe. I don't want to look or act like a tourist. It never fails, I DO mistakenly get asked questions about the city when we're in the city! I nudge Ben and with a smirk say, "See, I'm really a New Yorker". Ha! Maybe you would have to be there to get it. We have a strange sense of humor.

Speaking of NYC - this weekend is the "TASTE OF NEBRASKA" in NYC. We're stoked! We're heading down with Helge's and making a weekend trip out of the deal. Ben has high hopes to catch a BBQ restaurant (we're desperate for BBQ out here - nothing compares to Kansas City's). We also hope we can snag some tickets to see the Yankees! Ben's work offered free tickets to the Yankee game tonight (vs. White Sox) but we had to work late, so it just wasn't going to work out. It was depressing to pass up FREE tickets. Oh well. Better luck next time.

Peace out.

'Twas a late night.

Saturday: we cleaned. we did laundry. we went through the mail. we vacuumed. we went to dinner with some Nebraska friends. he had beer. I had vino. We caught up with cleaning, caught up with friends and wanted some R&R.

Ben assembled the blow-up bed in our living room (yes, for a slumber party) while I grabbed the sheets and started a movie on Netflix. We tried the NEW Ben & Jerry's Late Night Snack, for dessert... well it was after all, a late night snack. It was really good too! For all you salty & sweet lovers out there, check it out.

Funny how at 1:30AM with one eye closed, I could hear our phone ringing on VIBRATE. In college it was a 'drunk dial' but now the new thing is a 'drunk skype'. Haha.

Long story, short: We caught up with friends/family in Nebraska until 3AM.

It was a good day and an even better late night. :o)

Birthday!

It's your birthday...
but you're the one
who's given me more than
I could have hoped for.

And I want you to know
just how grateful I am...
for the day you were born,
for the person you are,
for the wondrous ways
you've changed my life.

Happy Birthday to Ben!

Attitude is everything.

“Attitude”

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude to me is more important than fears.
It is more important than facts.
It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a business or home.
The remarkable thing is that we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude that we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change the past. . . .
We cannot change the fact that people will act a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. . . .
I am convinced that life is 10 percent of what happens to me, and 90 percent of how I choose to react to it. (By Charles Swindoll)

Happy 2011!

Happy New Year!

We were very blessed in 2010. Blessed with health, opportunity, friends, family and travel. Ben & I slept in today, and as we laid there on our backs listening to our neighbors outside playing in the snow we reminisced about 2010 and we decided to come up with a 2010 top 10 list. And next yr, we'll have a 2011 Top 11... and so on, and so on.
So 2010, you were good to us...here goes:
1) May - I graduated dental school! Probably one of the most exciting days of my life (second to my wedding day)
2) June - We took the opportunity to move to CT! Why not?
3) We lucked out so much with our townhouse, that we decided we should include that as a top 10 moment.
4) Ben finding a job as soon as he did - a great blessing.
5)Aug - Elliot & Bobbi come visit CT! We were truly so excited to see familiar faces. It was fun hosting these two.
5) Oct - Our parents visited during the beautiful Fall. I know our parents wanted peace-of-mind to physically see where we were living, working, etc. It was fun to show them around the area and spend time with family.
6) Mini trips to Boston. Boston is an unbelievable city with so much history. Exploring Freedom Trail with Stu, Katie and Elliot was a pretty memorable experience. It could have been the good company, or the perfect summer weather, the Boston Lager, or the sites... but when you get all of these wrapped up in one - well, it makes the Top 10!
7) Able to go home for Christmas! Boy, oh boy, it is a lot of work to travel over the holidays. "I'll be home for Christmas" isn't just song, it's a goal. It required planning, but we learned not to expect those plans to actually happen the way you imagine it - which in general is a good life lesson that we learned over and over in 2010. Ok, ok we got it now. We're here to go with the flow.
8) Our Graduation/Going-Away Party. After arriving in CT there was a bit of shock that hit us. Wow, we really moved FAR away. No familiar faces, grocery stores, restaurants, streets, phone numbers, shopping malls, etc. We knew we would miss friends and family and we remind people of that all the time - but it's amazing how we've only been able to come back a few times a year. The holidays is an extremely difficult time to get together - it's busy, people have their own plans, families, etc. Having that party and all those that attended, really made the occasion an important and memorable one. Bottom line, people need to gather and party more often.
9) We became Godparents!!! To a perfect and handsome lil' man, Kyler (our newest nephew). We have Skyped a time or two with Kyler and at 3 months old, he doesn't say much - but it's been a good way to watch him grow. Plus, he's easily entertained by the computer and the fact we can play hide and seek with the magic of a laptop and camera on the computer. He's a cutie and we were happy to physically be able to hold him and meet him over Christmas.
10) Going to NYC! We love any chance to go to NYC. Our anniversary, the Martha Stewart show, the Macy's Day Parade and for New Year's! We had a party of 8 carting around the city together for New Year's. The partners in crime: Ang & Peter, Jana & Shervin, Nicole & Seth (and a recruited couple - Scott & Koko and some girl names Indra, haha). We mainly ate, drank, splurged on a dessert, and then repeated steps 1-3. We did get to see some sites and we went on long walks through the slushy left-over snow from the big snowstorm. We attended a rooftop party and had plenty of entertainment (a belly dancer??) to welcome in the NEW YEAR! Lot of stories, cocktails, love and laughter from the 31st floor.

Hope this note finds you well and here's to the new year!
Cheers!
-B & P

Happy Halloween/Happy Snow Day!

Ok, ok... so we are a little behind in posting our entries. We've been a little lazy lately. Nonetheless, we should post about each of our respective parents visit to CT. I am done with my entry. Ben just has to complete his now :o)

My parents were able to make it to CT for the first time over Halloween wknd. Before I absolutely forget what we did, I better publish it! First off, CT is my favorite in the FALL! Actually, fall is my absolute favorite season! With all the trees and their beautiful colors - who wouldn't love it? Sitting at a stop light, being stuck in traffic, running errands is FUN now - with all the pretty scenery to sit back and enjoy. I was hoping our parents could make it out specifically during the fall to share its beauty. While there were several things on our 'to-do list' with our parents we had to improvise bc time was limited, naturally.

Above, is a picture we took along our 4 mile walk right by our townhouse. Ben & I love walking through the gorgeous neighborhood that extends behind our place and couldn't wait to show our parents the HUGE houses and colorful landscape.

In route on our walk.

Just another nice photo opt. Note: Mom is a FAN of Dunkin' Donuts now (a New England must-have).
Not quite 'beach' weather, but we were bound and determined to take my parents to the beach for another walk - followed by some fresh seafood. Dad tried the New England special: Lobster Roll! He's hungry for more, next visit. haha. I LOVE them too! Poor Mom (allergic to shellfish) can't indulge in lobster and butter on a toasted hot dog bun.

For some mom/daughter time...my mom also showed me how to make her famous apple pie! Since Ben & I were away from family for Thanksgiving, the holiday was going to feel a bit 'weird'. Ben & I discussed our families traditional meals and we were going to miss my mom's apple pie, among other things...like our families too! We used the fresh apples Ben & I picked the week before my parents arrived. (The apple orchard was also an adventure that should have been blogged about! Maybe I'll add those pictures someday too, completely out-of-sequence?) Anyway, it was sad to see them go back to NE - but I'm so happy we got some great pictures and shared good memories of our first fall in CT!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
-OR- should I say...Happy snow day!! After all, it's Feb 1st now and due to all the nasty weather I'm home and updating our blog (FINALLY)! It's been SOOOOO great to have 2-3 day work weeks! I'm loving the snow! It's so beautiful too!