Welcome Home, Siena!

Siena today, October 27 2012, 8 weeks old

Today our baby girl dachshund puppy came home with us! It is surreal to have a puppy around the house but we are so excited and loving her already. For the past few months Nate and I talked about wanting to get a dog - but decided to wait until we were done with all our travels for 2012. Last month we started the discussion again and after dog-sitting our friend's dog, decided to start looking seriously. We found an ad on CraigsList and eventually were sent pictures of a few puppies, but we knew our dog as soon as we saw her. It's a huge commitment to get a dog - I've been reading "The Art of Raising Your Puppy" and doing tons of research online. We feel ready, and even though it's an adventure she is part of our family now!

We named her Siena after one of our favorite cities in Italy. The city is believed to be the inspiration for the color siena (sometimes spelled sienna) due to the shade of the city's ancient walls and the color of the earth. Given our puppy's beautiful red coat, it seemed like the perfect name for her, combining our love of travel and our new love for her into the perfect name. So far, she seems to like it! The next few days and weeks I'm sure will fly by and before I know it she will be a full grown dog! Her birthday is September 2, so she will join Nate and I in celebrating our "birthday month" next year!

Here's one more picture... this was the first picture we saw of her a few weeks ago:

Siena at 5 weeks old

Stay tuned for more pictures and stories in the weeks to come!

Rooftop Sunset in Brooklyn

One of my friends from work turned 30 a few weeks ago and invited everyone to watch the sunset on her rooftop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was an incredible view... reminds me things like this are why we live in NYC! Enjoy the pictures :)

Boozy Birthday Brunch

One of the best things about living in New York City is the tradition of "boozy" brunches - otherwise known as brunches including mimosas, bloody marys, sangria, bellinis, etc. It is made even more fun when you get all your friends together. So, this year for my birthday we decided to do a boozy birthday brunch with all our friends. The destination: Calle Ocho, a spot I'd been dying to try that includes unlimited sangria for the duration of your meal. So fun right? We had an AMAZING time.

After brunch was over, we did a mini photo shoot (of course) outside the restaurant on the beautiful beginning of fall day. My favorite pictures are below. The funniest part was the "Gainesville connection" picture - Nate, Amanda, and I are all from Gainesville, our friend Alec went to high school with us (and UF, later on) and our friends Janie and Russ went to UF! So we did a Gainesville connection picture and a "we're not Gainesville picture" - with Jen, Steven and Kendra. These are definitely my favorite!

All in all I had an amazing birthday and feel so thankful for our great friends in the city that we had a blast celebrating with!

PS: I highly recommend Calle Ocho - just call a few weeks in advance for a reservation, especially if you have a large party!

Birthday-ness at Asiate

Our birthday dinner was MAGICAL... as in years past, Nate and I did a joint birthday celebration. Since we live in a city with infinite possibilities, we would rather do things than have things. Last year we did Babbo for our birthdays and it did not disappoint! This year we did Asiate, an Asian restaurant at the top of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. It has the highest rated view in the city, and it lived up to the hype. Huge windows give diners a panoramic view of Central Park and the Upper East Side skyline.

We did the tasting menu and our favorite dish was the lobster... but everything was amazing. Check out the pictures below of our incredible view and magical view!

Happy Birthday to us!!!

September in a Nutshell

Some pictures summing up September: Rooftop Happy Hour, Yankees Game, & UNGA

Stay tuned for posts on birthday-ness excitement.

October Health Challenge

Bah.... I'm behind on blogging again. What happened to September?

September in a few words: work, UNGA, work, UNGA, work, birthdays.

I'll be catching up on that soon. In the meantime - I've decided to challenge myself this month to kick-start healthy habits again! I'm calling it the October Health Challenge (although when I'm complaining to Nate I call it "Noctober - things I'm not allowed to have this month."

Disclaimer: I don't believe depriving yourself is a good long-term strategy for healthy living. I don't believe in dieting, I believe in a lifestyle of moderation and healthy habits, and enjoying food, wine, and exercising. However after my very very bad month of September with no healthy habits and lots of excuses for junk food, I challenged myself to go a month without my vices in order to kick-start healthy habits. So, what's the challenge?

1. Stick to Weight Watchers. It's a lifestyle, and it works. Just look at Jennifer Hudson. I've been on it for a year but I decided to "take the summer off." THAT worked out well. Not. Haha. It's such a great system and if you stick to it, it just works.

2. No alcohol. But it's October!!!!! It's pumpkin ale season! Yes I know. But I can do it and it's going to make a difference by the end of the month. I'll add it back in once we get to November so I won't be completely deprived of my favorite seasonal beer, Sam Adams Octoberfest. ;)

3. No carbonated beverages. Bye bye diet soda and red bull. I don't even really LIKE this stuff. But when you're working overtime somehow they become the most delicious treats in the world.  I don't need them and after a week I can tell you I honestly don't miss them. They may not make a reappearance in November. I am, however, letting myself have coffee. :)

4. Dinners at home. We ate out a lot in September and cooking is cheaper, healthier, and when we cook together it's even more fun. So we're cooking this month and not eating out (woah, a whole month you might say?). It goes by faster than you think. We've already had some delicious healthy meals - and it's much easier to stay on healthy habits when you're cooking and planning ahead.

5. Working out. Those who know me know I LOVE working out. Those who know me well also know when I am stressed the gym is often the last, not first place I turn to. Well I'm trying to change that! This month I'm keeping my workouts varied, doing kickboxing, pilates, running, elliptical, and walks in the park.

I'm already one week into my October Health Challenge and I'm LOVING it and feeling great! Stay tuned for an update at the end of the month!