Playing Catch Up

I've been silent on here for a few weeks now. Not because I didn't have anything to say... In fact there are a lot of things I actually want to blog about. 

I've been MIA mainly because I've been doing real life things and just haven't really had time to document it on here.

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind. We flew to Denver for a couple weeks for Christmas, and then drove from Denver back to Rochester with all of our stuff packed to the brim in our car. Driving across the country in the middle of winter is something I hope to NEVER experience again.

The weather was relatively mild except for a few rough spots, but not having any rear view mirror visibility (from all our stuff) while driving on icy, windy roads made for plenty of Hayley breakdowns. I'm a nervous driver/passenger anyways, and I cried a LOT on our 1600 mile journey back to NY. I'm a baby.

Now that we're back in New York, Chin is back in school and I've been working like a mad woman on our house/trying to find a job. Our new place is coming along slowly... like molasses pace. However, we're moving in this weekend and I couldn't be more excited! We'll still have a lot to do but at least we'll be able to stay there instead of driving over to work on it every day.

Our Christmas in Denver was delightful. We spent the time with Chin's family. We ate WAY TOO MUCH (I'm still full), shopped, got our butts kicked at a few spin classes, and spent time with our niece and Chin's family's pups. 

 

How was your Christmas? 

I have to admit that I'm excited that 2013 is here. 2013 is the year we move into our new place and settle into Rochester, and we're also headed to Ireland in a few months! Plus, come June Chin will have finished his first year of medical school and here's hoping in the next little bit I'll be able to start at a new big girl job. Fingers crossed! Bring it on 2013!

A Weekend in Denver

I've decided that I officially love being whisked away for the weekend. 

Leaving on short notice (and being taken by surprise) ended up being wonderful, and I was even able to get everything done that I needed to before we left.

 

 I feel really lucky to have the in-laws that I do. I had some people ask why we weren't going home to New York over the weekend, and simply, if my parents weren't across the country, we would have loved to go to New York. But my in-laws are some of the most incredible people I know, and going to Denver feels like going home too. 

It was a relatively quiet weekend; Chin's little brother, Graham, had basketball games Friday night, and we spent a good portion of the weekend eating, exercising, and being together as a family.

 

We had the chance to get together with some of the Pingree's family friends this weekend, the Fishels. Christian and David (the one in the checkered shirt) went to high school together, and have remained close friends since. They were groomsmen in each others weddings and we always try to get together with them when we come to Denver. 

We met them at the Union, one of the best bistros I've ever eaten at. The food was divine (Thai Chicken flatbread, White Cheddar fondue, Scallops with Apple Bacon Risotto, and Salted Caramel ice cream to name just a few) and the company even better.

And what wouldn't make the night complete without a waitress trying (and failing) to take a picture of our group? (Only a mild disaster) 

 

The Pings were also nice enough to help me celebrate my birthday (I swear I didn't wear that sweater the whole weekend...) a little early. On Sunday they made a great dinner filled with ribs, twice baked potatoes, and lemon poppyseed cake with raspberry curd.

bless them.

It was a very PINK birthday. I guess they know me well enough to know how much I love pink. They helped me check off a few things of my summer clothes wish list, including this pink seersucker bathing suit (thanks Chin!) and this new gingham button down and matching bracelet.

I'm telling you they rock. 

And then there were the pups. One of my favorite things about Denver is Sunny and Charli. Charli (the one being smothered by Graham) loves only two things: her tennis ball and her squirrel. The only ways to make her happy in life.

And Sunny. She must constantly be pet, snuggled, paid attention to, or fed. She's quite the girly girl and loves being pampered. 

She kept getting stuck in her blanket. Poor girly. 

How was your weekend?

I hope you're loving the holiday and catching up on some sleep :)

Denver

We had a great weekend. We booked it out of Provo Thursday night, after the week of all weeks.

literally. I had a story due, 2 tests, a presentation, a project, and a million things for work. it might not sound like a lot, but for yours truly who has a hard time being stressed, it felt like death.

There was snow on the ground when we landed in Denver. SNOW.

it through me for a loop but then i remembered that i like snow, and i like cuddling up to Christian inside watching the snow. it was then alright.

did you know that the more pollution in the air, the better sunset there is? I knew Utah was good for something.

i snapped this on our way to the airport.

 On Friday, Chin had an interview at the University of Colorado med school in Denver, and my in-laws had a funeral to go to, so I had the morning all to myself. I ended up playing with these two girls all morning, and by the time my in-laws got home, i was covered in dog fur.

 My mother in law, Lou Ann, took me to some home boutiques, where the stores were having major holiday sales. I found so many cute ideas and an idea for my Christmas decorations color palette (white, silver, and gold). I found this felt braided garland, and can't wait to make my own.

did i ever mention that i'm obsessed with these dogs?

I finally got to do a little bit of shopping, and with Lou Ann's help (she has impeccable taste) I was able to find some winter staples:

1. She treated me to the gold paisley shell, that i can't wait to wear to practically every holiday event for the next two months. bless her.

2. I finally found a black purse! I've been searching for a nice leather bag for quite some time, since i actually don't even have one at all, and i found this little gem at the Nordstrom sale this weekend. It was half price and still worth every penny. hello go-to bag for the next 10 years.

3. A frosty colored cableknit. I'm all about warm cozy sweaters this fall, and i fell in love with the heather mint color.

i took this picture a while ago, but i thought it applied to our drive back home last night.

 

i apologize for being a terrible picture taker! i left my camera at home, and instagram was my angel this weekend, however i missed getting pictures of the fam and of Chin. he is obviously more camera worthy than i am.

how was your weekend? 

denver

christian and i are spending our christmas holiday in the beautiful suburbs of denver, colorado. 

so far our vacation has consisted of:

3 hours of pretzel making for the pingree neighbors and friends,

playing with their adorable golden retrievers sunny and charli (a substitute for my puppy rusty back home in new york),

Graham's Eagle Court of Honor (way to go! he's only 15!),

dinner at Morton's Steakhouse; the nicest steakhouse in denver in honor of graham's eagle. it was the best filet mignon i have ever beheld,

too much eating,

movies,

frequent trips to the gym,

and lots of cuddling and lounging.

all in all, i'm having a good time. i miss my family though. a lot.

see you later, see you soon

thank you stephen kellogg and the sixers for always being able to sum up my life for me.

goodbye New York for a while.

this summer has seemed to fly by. all of the sudden, it's the middle of august, i'm MARRIED, and i'm leaving new york until thanksgiving. i still can't believe the time has flown by like this.

let's go over my year in review and examine how drastically my life has changed.

summer '09: was not at all prepared for the monumental change of going to college.

fall '09: moved to utah, started my freshman year, took 14 credit hours, socialized, had a freaking BLAST

december '09: met Christian, survived finals...

winter '10: fell in love, decided to drastically change my life AGAIN by deciding to get married this summer

spring '10: survived more finals, came home, left my college friends, landscaped, planned, worked my tail off

summer '10: went to pageant, kept planning

, got married, and oh yeah... moved back across the country.

CAN YOU SAY MONUMENTAL LIFE CHANGE?

my life has changed so much in the past year it makes me dizzy.

now chin and i are in denver for a week until

we head out to our apartment in provo to move in! we have a reception tomorrow night at the inverness hotel and we are having a blast.

today we drove up to Pike's Peak, one of colorado's 54 Fourteeners. We made a day out of it and had a big bbq tonight.

chin and maureen on our last night in fairport... big diff

love you moeski

this was only HALF of our luggage... i'm not kidding. i think i have opd (over-packing disorder)

chin and i on top of pikes peak, my first 14er!

my parents, tim, ben, tutu and grandad, alex, chin and me at the zenith

i did not want to get wet.

but of course i did. he was in big trouble :)

the sisters poolside