hi, it's so nice to meet you!

I always love when other bloggers post q & a/getting to know you posts, and thought I'd do one of my own!

1. Where were you born? Philadelphia, Pa

2. What is your eye color? Green

3. Where is your favorite vacation? ARUBA

4. What is your favorite movie? The Holiday (Hey, Jude)

5. Favorite food? This is seriously a toughie because I LOVE ALL the food!! Top picks: Seafood (lobster, shrimp, crab, clams), Sushi, really good salads

6. Where would you like to visit? Portland, Maine and St. Lucia are at the top of the list currently

7. Guilty Pleasure? Definitely my obsession with Bravo reality TV, right now Ladies of London to be exact ;) and wine, love my wine!

8. I'm happiest when I am at: the beach

9. My favorite piece of jewelry is: my wedding rings

10. Drink of choice? depends on the time ;) I love my two cups of coffee each morning, but when happy hour hits my go-to is a crisp sauvignon blanc, or a dirty martini with really good olives

11. Favorite flower? anemone (white with black center) and ranunculus

12. Weekend hotspot?  love my weekly wegmans & costco runs ;) followed by a date night.  lately, been loving our date nights at home watching back to back episodes of homeland

13. How do you relax? a day at the beach is preferred, but not always possible! I love to curl up at home in a bed of blankets with my husband and Daisy girl

14. Favorite season? As much as I love the sun and sea, fall just must be the best time of the year

15. Can't live without? mascara, nude lipstick, cuyana tote, and of course my family

16. Celebrity Crush? Based on looks? George Clooney, Daniel Craig (hello james bond), Ryan Gosling....  Based on personality? Jimmy Fallon, Andy Samberg - they make me laugh :)

17. Girl Crush: Blake Lively, Joanna Gaines

18. Dream job: Shawn and I would love to have a small farm with goats, sheep, chickens, and lots of dogs! To bring home the bacon, we want to own a small coffee shop where Shawn brews the java and I bake the sweets :)

19. My passions: running, reading, shopping, trying new recipes, and spending time with my family

20. Looking forward to: holidays with my family!

3 years

yesterday, shawn and i celebrated our third wedding anniversary! sometimes it feels like we've been together forever, and there are days where i just cannot believe our special day was three YEARS ago.  in keeping with our "year of us!" theme, we planned an extended weekend trip visit boston, a city neither of us had been to before.  the weather was a perfect, crisp 68 degrees, and i was thankful that i packed mostly long sleeves, jeans, and a scarf...and, of course, a comfortable pair of shoes! we packed in our three days there with lots to do.  but, i already want to go back.  boston is such a gorgeous, clean, historic city.  i could absolutely imagine living there (and may, or may not, have pretended that we did ;) )....now, on to some(lots of) photos!

we stayed at the copley square hotel, which is one of the nicest hotels i have ever stayed in! the bed, was honestly a dream! so, so comfy! the shopping near the hotel was unbelievable! everything from outdoor markets to high end stores - this area has it all.  also to note, the public transportation is super easy to navigate and very reasonable.  we parked our car friday when we arrived and didn't move it until we left on sunday.

day one - we ventured around the hotel area, shopping the local markets and along newbury street.  we had lunch at an irish pub, which was delicious.  later we took the subway to cambridge, where we took our own little bar tour, and had the best lobster rolls at the bostonia.  at our first pub, we watched boston police officers parade through town playing bag pipes to pay a tribute to 9/11.  i had chills the whole time! cambridge is where we ventured through quincy market, fanueli hall, and along the harbor.  this was our favorite part of the visit! we loved it so much that we came back on sunday before heading home :)

day two - we discovered the cutest coffee shop called "the thinking cup" near our hotel.  we loved it so much that we made a couple visits throughout our stay :) on this day, we toured harvard.  harvard is gorgeous! i think we both expected it to be somewhat of a college town, or have a college/party feel.... but let's be honest.  these people are serious about their studies! we had lunch (lobster rolls! ha) in an adorable beer garden, then walked about for hours admiring the town.  again, lots of cute outdoor markets and shopping.  we stopped for a coffee and listened to some live music before heading back to our hotel for complimentary wine during happy hour:) to be honest, i needed a bit of a cat nap before our dinner reservations, so we added that to the agenda! then, it was off to my favorite restaurant of the trip: the wink & nod.  we so enjoyed our walk to this restaurant, which took us through a more residential area of the city.  streets were lined with gorgeous brownstones, and cobblestone streets, and i, again, was imagining/pretending to live there.  we arrived at our destination to find a well dressed man guarding the door.  after a wink & a nod ;), he allowed us in and we walked downstairs to find a lounge-y/sexy ambience.  this restaurant changes chefs every 6 months, and is known for its clever cocktails.  during our visit, the menu took nods from the areas of the phillipines, japan, and bangkok. we shared several items and even a cocktail... i'm still dreaming of it!

day three - we decided that one trip to cambridge wasn't enough, so after packing up, we jumped back on the subway for one last taste of our favorite town.  we picked up some goodies from the indoor market (cider donuts, homemade jams, and syrup!),  had one more lobster roll for good measure, and a mimosa from, where else, Cheers!

shawn and i agreed that this trip was second best only to our honeymoon, which can never be topped. the people were SO nice, the city was SO clean, and the food was SO good.  Boston, i love love love you! hoping to find ourselves in your presence again one day :)

the beach fixes everything...

in my previous life i must have been a creature that lived by the beach because i sure do long to be there every moment of every day! we have been lucky to have the chance to sneak away again this summer as my aunt has a house in beach haven, lbi.  shawn and i snuck away for an extended weekend away and my soul and heart are full! (though i cannot wait to be back there this weekend)  i'm fairly certain that i could live at the beach year round, scooping ice cream or being a barista... i don't care, just get me closer to that sand and sun! my mornings consisted of long runs scoping out my dream houses (obsessed with charming beach cottages), yummy coffee, and walking Daisy along the beach.  days were spent soaking up the sun and reading good books. and evenings were devoted to a cocktail (or 2!), fresh, unbelievable seafood, and a bike ride to watch the sunset.

is it friday yet??

a girls weekend

about 6 years ago my mom began telling me about plans for a girls trip that included some of her cousins and their daughters.  many of these women i had never met before and, i admit, at first i was not fully into it.  she explained that we would meet at the half way point, an old farm house surrounded by sheep in the middle of pennsylvania.  i didn't know at the time that this trip would begin a tradition of yearly "lamb camp" getaways that have created memories and priceless lasting relationships.  we made our trek to bedford, pa about a week and a half ago for lamb camp 2015, and i am still having some withdrawal after a wonderful 4 days with some amazing women.  the weather could not have been more perfect and, because it is the heart of lambing season, there were plenty of babies to snap photos of.  if only we were allowed to hold them!!

until next time, lamb camp!

window boxes

spring is officially here! my heart is so happy knowing that the temps are rising, the days are getting longer, and the world outside is getting brighter & greener each day. this weekend i have grand plans of planting our garden and putting together our window boxes.  when we first moved in last june, the very first thing i did to make the house our home was add window boxes out front.  i'm so excited to fill the boxes with flowers and greens again.  below are some of my inspirations...

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last year i used sweet potato vines and plan to get them again this year.  i love how full they become, and especially love how they cascade down the front of the house by the end of summer.

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{something about all shades of green}

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chocolate chip cake

good monday morning... but is monday morning ever really good? anyway...our weekend was relaxing and busy all at the same time.  we had some family visiting from out of town and i feel like it made our easter holiday even more special.  this year, i made sautéed green beans and a chocolate chip cake.  i've made the cake several times before and it is always a hit, so i wanted to share this recipe. it's fairly simple, and doesn't require too many ingredients.  (i received this recipe from a family friend at my wedding shower) enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cake

1 cup of room temperature butter

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix above until light and fluffy

Add 3 eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg

In a separate bowl combine:

3 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Add the dry ingredients to the creamy mixture a little bit at a time, alternately with 1 cup of milk.  Mix well.  Stir in  1 bag of semi-sweet MINI chocolate chips

Place batter into a well greased and floured tube or bundt pan

Bake in 350 degree pre-heated oven for about 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

When cool, dust with powdered sugar, and enjoy!

please excuse my amateur food photography :)

have a great day!

a sweet escape

late last night shawn and i arrived home from a few days away in florida.  we spent most of our days with my in laws in boynton beach, but the main reason behind the visit was to attend a wedding in Islamorada, one of the gorgeous Florida Keys. we try to escape to florida once or twice a year, and my in laws try to make it up here at least once, but the goodbyes never get easier and we always leave teary eyed!

this visit was an especially fun one, though, and i am still laughing at some of the adventures we found ourselves in the midst of!  particularly, friday when we set our for an early morning kayak and found ourselves caught in a thunderstorm.  i didn't want to show it, but i'm pretty sure my life did flash before my eyes! thankfully, we were able to find shelter under a bridge and wait out the storm.  afterwards, the sky was bright and sunny, and we had a delicious outdoor lunch of fresh seafood and pina coladas..YUM!

many days were spent relaxing by the pool with a book in hand.  i have to say, this was the best time of year to visit south florida because the temperatures stayed in the 60s-70s, a welcomed change from our start of spring 40s-50s.

i hope you enjoy a glimpse of our trip! . . .

now it's back to the real world...already day dreaming of our next vacation... :)