Catching Up-Five on Friday

It's time for a catch up post! Here are Five things {or events, or people} that have me thankful this Friday. Linking up with April and the girls for Five on Friday!

My mom came to visit! We had a wonderful time shopping, going to the Museum of Modern Art, eating lots of good meals and going to see a taping of Katie! Unfortunately, we hardly took any pictures. Shame on us, Mom! I miss my family so much so it was such a treat to have a little dose of home in form of my mama for a few days in the big apple.

Then, I turned 29.

My hubby deserves earned some major points for this birthday celebration. It started on Saturday. I came home from work {yes, work!} and he had a glass of wine, flowers, and a card with three envelopes waiting for me.  He had planned out a treasure hunt and had me open the first card. The first place took us to where I would pick out my birthday present...this alone was very exciting! Once we were there, I opened envelope #2, which took us to the Plaza hotel for cocktail hour. Being in New York, this is something that has been on my "list" of things to do. It did not disappoint and we felt very fancy. :)

 Envelope #3 took us to a delicious dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. Way to go, mister!

Sunday was Easter. We went to church in the neighborhood, had brunch, then we headed out for a drive. We did a little shopping at some nearby outlets then came back for a long walk and park trip with the dogs.

Monday was my actual birthday, but it felt like we'd been celebrating for days! The sweet friends from work sent me home early with a cupcake and told me to enjoy my day. So, I did. When TJ got home we headed to Flex Mussels for a fantastic meal of mussels{and truffle fries}, bubbly and doughnuts instead of birthday cake. I was with my love, and had heard through cards, calls, texts, facebook, etc. from all of my family and friends who I couldn't hug in person. It was a great day. 

Spring in New York seems to be finally sticking around. Although I'm told May will be really nice. Being a Southern girl, I'm used to the weather turning nice before it has here, but that's okay. I love the proverb "No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow."  It's true. This winter was a long one, for mostly everyone, and it's so nice to see the trees blooming and people coming out of their winter hibernation. I also love this message for life in general, that no matter how long you happen to be in a "winter" season of life, things will eventually start brightening up, blooming and changing for the better.

 I thought it was time to update the wreath, too. It looks a little busy right now so I will likely change it up, but I do love the pops of color when coming and leaving the apartment.

I mentioned before about sample sales in New York and how you can pretty much find one or more every day if you wanted. I went to one in the fall and haven't been to one since, but saw that C Wonder was having one and I wanted to check it out. It did not disappoint! A pair of tortoise flats, long sleeve tees, an ipad cover and some home goods and my total was under $100. I love all the bright colors and fun prints!

Other things we've been up to...

A photography class a little while back in Central Park and the MET museum because it was raining so hard we had to go inside. :)

And, we are almost 100% positive that Turks and Caicos will be the place we visit and celebrate our five year anniversary in September! I will be dreaming about that white sand and clear blue water for the next few months!

We also went to see All the Way on Broadway, The Other Woman at the movies, and have been trying new restaurants and seeking out new neighborhoods now that weather is warming up. I promise to take more pictures and not let it be so long between updates!

I hope you have something fun planned this weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Five on Friday

Happy Friday!! I missed last week's Five on Friday {and maybe the week before?!} so I'm excited to link up with April and the girls today!

Happy {almost} Birthday to one of my best friends ever, Kelly! I wish I could be in NC celebrating with you in person, and I hope you have the BEST start to your 29th year. We must be getting old because when I did the math I figured out we've been friends for 20 YEARS. Love you, Pooks!

 

 

New Friends. We've been in New York {almost} six months, and I'm very thankful that we're starting to feel acclimated to our new city. Anyone who has moved to a new place knows that making friends, getting settled, and feeling comfortable is not an easy task. We've made a few friends through work and friends of friends, but I made a new friend back in the fall while walking the dogs. I kept running into Lindsey as she walked her Bernese Mountain Dog, Heidi. I remember thinking how funny it was that we live in this big city and I kept running into the same person on our walks multiple times a week. We have so much in common and our husbands do, too. We will try new restaurants or get mani/pedis regularly and have so much fun. Yesterday she asked me if I wake up some mornings not believing that I live in New York City, and the answer is yes. I really can't believe we live here. Sometimes it definitely still feels like we're visiting but more and more it's feeling like we live here. I can't call it home just yet, but it's getting more comfortable and I'm thankful for that. And I'm thankful for new friends, too.

 

 

I finally made a facebook page for this little blog! If you'd like to "like" it {is that right?} here's where you can find it: www.facebook.com/findyoursparkblog I'll try to figure out how to post the link on the blog soon so it's easier to find. I hope to share posts and pictures throughout the week there along with instagram.

Let's Get Physical. Now that the weather is warming up, we've been getting outside SO much more, and just overall getting more active. I started going again to my favorite form of exercise to date, Pure Barre. I enjoy it the most of anything else I've tried, and makes it possible to love and hate a workout over the course of an hour. If you haven't tried it, give it a go.

And I am so proud of this guy. He's gotten so into running and has run up to 9 miles lately. He ran a race in the park over the weekend and we came to support him, of course. Then we ate brunch outside and it was glorious. Sunshine works wonders for the soul.

He inspired me to get running again, so I thought I'd try to run the loop around the park. I haven't run in a long time, so I wasn't sure how this would go! I finished the 6.3 mile loop {albeit very slowly} and I just felt so proud that I finished it. Running used to be something I did much more often, and even trained and got close to running a half marathon near our wedding, but I let life get in the way and never ran it. Since then, it's remained something on my "list" and I wonder if this year will be the year that I run one. Never say never!

With Easter approaching, I've noticed these awesome, huge eggs all over the city. They are all apparently a part of the big egg hunt which is such a fun idea. Aren't they beautiful?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! My mom comes to town on Monday and I can hardly wait. Thanks so much for stopping by!