a glimpse into our eventful weekend

i still have photos that i wanted to post from memorial day weekend in north carolina. and now another weekend of fun. (we'll see if i actually get photos posted though considering that we have a busy busy month ahead of us!)

hans, an old friend from middle and high school, was back in town (this is his 3rd visit since we've lived here) along with ted, a friend of hans's that visited with him last time. they are quite a bit of fun!! i know seth definitely enjoyed their visit (i enjoyed their visit as well... i just don't have the same energy and have about zero desire to be awake past 9:30 p.m. so i wasn't as much fun.)

our weekend included a mets game, robert moses beach out on fire island, and an evening in dumbo. this is one of our last "fun" weekends as new yorkers. (next weekend is dedicated to craigslist and maybe a stoop sale/donating things to goodwill. the following weekend is our last FUN weekend - we'll be heading out to montauk with kendra's family (our first and only visit to the top of long island). the weekend after that is CRUNCH time!)

The Great GoogaMooga!!

Courtney's original dates to come visit were Memorial Day weekend, but after hearing about this new FREE music festival being thrown in Prospect Park, I convinced him and his friend, Jordan, to come the weekend before. I was hoping that the music festival would be all that I had anticipated it to be... and I think it was. Seth said he laughed at the two of them quite a few times during the afternoon as they talked about how awesome the whole thing was :) 

  
We got in early enough to get decent spots on the top of the hill. Since we didn't actually know any of the musicians, (well - turns out we did know some music from Hall & Oates - but we totally thought they were some local band that was just trying to make it big - obviously we are a little out of touch!!) anyway - since we didn't know any of the musicians, seeing the stage wasn't that big of a priority. 

  

  

A little arm wrestling. 

  

Food was another big part of the festival. According to the website, over 70 local places were represented! Restaurant tents pretty much lined the whole perimeter of the festival. It was a little torture since I now have to be more careful about what I do eat :) but I enjoyed some food and a delicious ice cream sandwich!

  

  
This is about the part where everyone starts standing and we start wondering why they are standing... and how they know the words to all the songs & who are these guys anyway! (Hall & Oates... we did recognize a few of their songs though... We aren't completely out of the loop!)

As Seth and I enjoyed the afternoon, we talked about how this would DEFINITELY be the type of thing we'd miss about Brooklyn. We love live music outside, and especially the FREE type!

Climbing

Seth and I joined Kendra and Ian for an afternoon of climbing at Brooklyn Boulders this weekend. It was my first climbing experience, and I am pretty convinced that I to want to go climbing again!

I am a bit out of shape (well - I don't formally workout - ever) and I would say I have pretty weak arms. Yet, I was able to feel some success with a couple tries and a few deep breaths to take away my fears of being high up off the ground (high up off the ground = 20 feet... high for me;)!

We climbed until we physically couldn't climb anymore. Our arms got so shaky that we both finally had to stop! We are both feeling a bit sore today (so sore that we can't even massage each other's arms to make them feel better!)

Top of the Rock

We have guests in town visiting. Having guests is about the only time we really get out and do any sort of "sight seeing" in the city. Today, we were off to the Rock to see the view after sundown. 

 

Seth's 30th

Seth celebrated his 30th birthday earlier this week! Last night we had a little get-together with friends and family, which included homemade pizzas, the game LIEbrary, a slide show of photos of Seth from his birth to now ;), and 80s music in honor of the decade Seth was born in!


The above photos is a pano photo shot by one of our friends of the banner I hung for him. I like the banner so much I want to leave it up :) ... Maybe I'll make a new banner to hang when we take his birthday one down.

Below is the cookie cake I made for Seth - I'm surprised it turned out, considering how impatient I can get when baking desserts!

Baby Belly

Our good friends, Pete and Christina, asked me to take photos of their pregnancy. They are expecting their little one later this month (and I'm hoping he'll stay in until I get back from my vacation ;) They were fun to photograph - Pete made it kind of interesting & funny with his poses and suggestions!

I love taking photos of people, and especially when they seek me out (I'm not so good at getting my own business yet ;).

Isn't she beautiful!

On the Roof of the Met

There is something about being on the roof of the Met enjoying the summer sculptures at sunset! The views are absolutely beautiful, and I'm often so shocked that this is even my reality! I think Who am I and how did I end up here!?

Ted, Seth, and Hans posing ;) 

We stayed up there until the roof closed for the evening. What a treat to watch the sun setting with that view!

Night photos on the roof! 

We have friends in town for the weekend. After they got in last night, we headed for the park to watch the world's fastest fiddler (from Ireland). Summer concerts in the park are truly one of my favorites! When it was over, we headed home and climbed to the roof to see the view. Of course we had to try out my new camera (G12 - a gift to myself for working extra this summer). We got some fun group photos with the self-time multiple shot function. It was like we were in our own photobooth! 

Today, we are off to explore the city. :) Love when guests come! I get to be a tourist for a day! 

Baby Shower

One of our favorite couples, Pete and Christina, is expecting their first baby (a boy!) later this summer! Saturday, the girls got together to celebrate Christina and her baby belly over lunch at Fiore (yum!) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I wish I'd taken a photo of the wrapping I'd done. I have a hard time actually buying wrapping paper or gift bags. It seems so wasteful to me, even if it's the norm. 

Usually, I repurpose brown paper bags. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull it off, but I decided to give it a try. I took a brown paper bag, wrapped the present. Then I found blue rickrack and criss-crossed it around the package. Next, I pulled pages from an old book that I've repurposed for various art projects. I put a number of pages together and cut them into larger circles. I then used the leftover halves and cut smaller circles. Using my scissors, I cut slits into the circles and started folding the edges up in various ways. Then I stapled the circles together in the middle. I took two more funky strings I had (green and orange), tied them in a small bow, and also stapled them to the circles. I attached this paper bow to the rickrack and voila! Another successful wrapping job without having to buy wrapping paper :)  I promise to take a photo next time! 

One of my favorite parts of the shower and this restaurant is a delicious lemon tart. I am now yearning the divine sweet tart now. YUM!

Birthday Ferry Ride

Yesterday I celebrated my 26th birthday. It was a perfect day: pretty casual, spent with people I love, and showered with birthday wishes from all those I love that don't live in the City with me :) 

I met Seth for lunch in Union Square. Following lunch I headed towards Williamsburg where I met Kendra. We grabbed iced coffees and headed for the pier to take the new East River Ferry towards Wall Street. 

Once we got downtown, we wondered the streets, admiring old landmarks along the way. We found our way to Battery Park and looked out across the water to Lady Liberty. When we felt we had sufficiently sweat enough, we headed towards Stone Street (one of my favorite streets in the City) for an afternoon drink.

Unfortunately our afternoon drink was interrupted by an afternoon down pour - we tried to weather it under our umbrella, but the wind picked up and the rain drops were huge, so we ran inside to finish our beers. 

When the rain stopped and the sun returned, we headed back towards the pier to catch the ferry back to Williamsburg.

Upon returning to Williamsburg, we headed to a new beer garden on the north edge of Williamsburg where we were met by a few friends. Our evening was filled with laughter, talking, and even a tournament of rock, paper, scissors (which I didn't win).

Wedding Fun

I always love being a part of people's weddings. It's a reminder of our own wedding, our own promises to love each other forever. Milos and Alissa's ceremony was wonderful - it was very personal and all about them and how their love started to what it has turned into. 

The rest of the night was spent celebrating, eating yummy food, dancing, and taking photos in the photobooth!! (Which were added to their guest book and will be an amazing way to remember the night!) 

On our way to the wedding, I made Seth practice poses with me for our turn in the photobooth ;)