10 Year High School Reunion!

This past weekend was my 10 year high school reunion. I'm really glad I got the opportunity to go - it had been such a long time since I'd seen so many people, and it was the first time seeing my friends since I got engaged! I was lucky that most of my high school friends were able to make it! I was happily reunited with my best friend and Maid of Honor, Courtney, as well as three of my bridesmaids - Ashley, Janeen, and Jessica. The reunion was a whole weekend of events - I got to go to Friday and Saturday night's events. Friday's was a mixer and it was a blast! The music was throwback to early 2000 hits, reminding all of us of our high school days! I was reunited with several friends from high school including Amanda and Julie (in the picture below).

Saturday night was the main event! There were a couple slideshows, talking about what grads are doing now and their favorite memories from high school. There were also a few fun "alumni superlatives" - a take off of senior superlatives. I won "most traveled" for my world travels (22 countries and counting!!). We also had a super cute photo booth with big "2003" balloons that we could take fun pictures together. I was so proud of my friend Ashley for organizing the entire thing, she did an amazing job! Here's my favorite picture from the weekend: Me, Ashley, and Janeen in the photo booth!

I can't even imagine how much life will change before our 20 year reunion! So much has happened in the last 10 years. I'm so grateful for my enduring friendships with my friends that will be part of my wedding to Nate (who I also met in high school)! While I've changed a lot, I will always be so thankful for the four years I spent at GHS! Go hurricanes!!

Chrissy Visits!

A couple weeks ago, one of my best friends Chrissy came to visit! Chrissy and I met in Pi Beta Phi eight and a half years ago and became fast friends. She's also very close to Amanda (they were piphi twins back in the day - and both are bridesmaids in my wedding!). She came up for a long weekend in the city and we had a blast! Friday we started out at Boat Basin, one of my favorite outdoor happy hour spots. We sat by the water and caught up before meeting up with her friend Alyssa for dinner on the upper west side at my favorite sushi spot, Tenzan. Later we headed downtown to West Village with several of our friends! Saturday we had lunch outside at Cafe Ronda followed by a long walk in the park. Saturday night was the most fun - we started off on Amanda's rooftop and then had dinner at Yerba Bueno, one of my all-time favorite restaurants with amazing Mexican cuisine and custom cocktails!

It always means so much to me when my friends come to visit! NYC is so far away from where most of my friends and family live. It is so special to get quality time together! Chrissy and I had a great visit - I can't wait for more to come! And I'm glad she got to meet the close friends I've made in NYC!

Return to the Dominican Republic!

Finally - catching up on blogging! June has been totally crazy (!!) and just now able to catch up on all our adventures! So Memorial Day weekend in the Dominican Republic was absolutely amazing! We got lucky and had amazing weather our entire visit! The cool thing about this trip is we went totally different places than when I visited Jenni in January! We even flew into a different city! We started the trip in Santiago, the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic (smaller than the capital city Santo Domingo, which I visited my first trip!). Santiago was really cool and relaxing! We visited the Monumento a los Heroes de la Restauracion, a monument to those who fought in the Dominican Restoration War 1863-1865. That night Jenni took us to a great pizzeria and a casino where we had local Dominican beer. Yum! 

The next day we took the local transportation (buses that tend to fill up and become overcrowded called guaguas) to Puerto Plata. We stayed at the Riu Bachata resort at the west end of the beach - less touristy and not at all crowded! It was absolutely beautiful, with a nice pool and a beach covered with a shade of palm trees. It was my first time at an all-inclusive and I enjoyed not having to stress about paying for things - just rested and relaxed!

We were treated with warm but not hot weather - it never broke 90 degrees, but hovered in the mid to low 80s. Other than the occasional afternoon thunderstorm - for which we were usually inside napping - we had amazing weather. The water was a beautiful, clear turquoise blue!

My favorite moment of the trip had to be when we watched the sun set over the surrounding countryside. Of course I made Jenni and Nate pose for several rounds of photographs! But it was so worth it - the sunset was absolutely gorgeous! Jenni was a patient tour guide throughout our entire experience - and her spanish is super impressive!

It's hard to believe I've already been to this country twice and I already want to go back!!! Guess I'll have to be patient. All in all it was a wonderful trip, so excited to see my sister and spend quality time with her! Next time I'll see her will be in October, can't wait!

Catching up on May: Chef Adventures!

We had such a fun time in May going to not one, but two amazing James Beard Foundation Chefs events! The first was Chefs Night Out which was at The Plaza Food Court this year. Chefs Night Out is a late-night event, starting around 9pm (we were there early, didn't stay as late!). The food was amazing! There were French macaroons, sushi spreads courtesy of Sushi by Gare, lobster rolls, signature cocktails, prosciutto and more! It also marked a year since we met Janie and Russ, two of our great friends in the city! Chefs Night Out is the less formal of the two events, but we were still dressed up and of course took some pictures at the stop-and-repeat photo call!

The second night's event was the JBF Awards and Gala, which are hosted every year at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. The Awards are always so much fun - it's so neat to see which restaurants and chefs win awards - some of them we've usually been to! This year Del Posto one several awards, including service, and that was Nate's first 5-star restaurant in NYC! We went in summer 2010 with my parents and Jenni! After the awards is a gala reception, with dozens of food and signature drink spreads. This year, our favorites included mini burgers, the momofuku milk bar dessert spread, and sushi (my favorite, of course!). My favorite part of the gala reception is going on the second floor terrace overlooking the fountain in Lincoln Center. We got lucky with amazing weather - nice and cool! We were also treated to a few celeb sightings including Martha Stewart, Mario Battali, and Emeril Lagasse! All in all it was an amazing evening and we had so much fun at both events!

Wedding Countdown: 1 Year!

I can't believe it, but we are officially one year away from our wedding! Nate and I decided that even though we're both from Florida, we built our life together in New York City. We're having a small, beautiful wedding in NYC June 7, 2014. The ceremony will be at the St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University. The reception following will be at the Columbia Faculty House - starting with a cocktail hour in the Ivy Room and then a four hour reception in the Skyline Ballroom and Terrace. We can't wait to celebrate with our family and close friends. This picture is the view of midtown, Manhattan from the Skyline Terrace. It's a beautiful venue, we feel very blessed to have the chance to celebrate in our favorite city. Stay tuned for more wedding updates!

Photo Credit: Columbia University Faculty House

Summer Spaghetti Squash

Nate and I are always looking for fun, new, and tasty healthy-eating recipes! This is one that's so super easy and you can vary it with whatever you have around (presuming you have a spaghetti squash). The funny thing is spaghetti squash is TECHNICALLY a winter vegetable so it can be hard to find in the summer (although to me, it tastes summery, so silly vegetable, you're being born in the wrong season!). However a great food market called Citarella's has it year-round so we're lucky.

You take the spaghetti squash and cut it halfway down the middle and gut out the seeds. While it's baking, you prepare your filling - so this is a super quick meal! Sometimes we like to sauté the tomatoes, sometimes adding spinach or olives, and then top with crumbled feta. Tonight we made it with fresh heirloom tomatoes, basil, and mediterranean feta (a mix that is one of our favorites from Trader Joe's). We served them room temp (didn't sauté them).

This recipe is almost all vegetables, super quick and easy, and delicious! And it's perfect for summer! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved and gutted
• 3 heirloom tomatoes (or 2-3 cups of halved cherry or grape tomatoes)
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
• 3 ounces or so of feta. Add at your own discretion
• 1/4 cup diced olives, if you like
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Place the two halves of spaghetti squash inside-down on a baking sheets. Bake for 30 minutes.
3. Dice your tomatoes, basil, and olives and toss with the olive oil in a separate dish
4. Remove spaghetti squash from oven and separate strands using a fork
5. Toss with your tomato-basil mixture and top with crumbled feta cheese
6. Serve and enjoy!

Bad Blogging Dana

Ya'll... it's JUNE!

I missed most of April. And the entire month of May.

In short, I've been a bad blogger. I will be posting more updates soon - to recap, I fell at work and severely sprained my ankle and I've been playing catch-up ever since! Of course that meant no half marathon (total bummer) but that doesn't mean we haven't had adventures! Stay tuned for more fun recipes and a recap of our May adventures, including chefs weekend and our trip to the Dominican Republic!