a new ADVENTure

this Christmas season, i decided to do something a little different.  i wanted to get back in touch with my faith since i've fallen out of the routine of going to church every sunday and it's for no good reason at all.  my typical excuse (which are true, but totally lame) is that i'm not a fan of our local churches - 5 of them in walking distance - because the music stinks and the sermons are terrible, so i never feel connected...plus the congregation is typically comprised of about 6 other people with an average age of 102.  i suppose it kinda adds up to me just being lazy though when you get down to it.

so this advent, i'm going to work on that spiritual laziness and get reconnected with the true meaning behind Christmas.  might sound geeky, but i've downloaded a bible app on my phone and began a 25 day reading plan that takes about 5 minutes a day.  you read a passage from the bible (or there's an audio option if you want to listen instead) and it gives you additional questions to think about or suggestions on how to incorporate God into your daily life.  i bought a journal to put down all of my thoughts, but so far i haven't written much.  i'm hoping the journey through the advent season helps me open up a bit more too!

if you'd like to join in on this journey, just go to http://www.youversion.com/ and create an account (my username is ldemic01).  You can participate via the website or through your phone (http://www.youversion.com/).  the reading plan i've selected is the Rediscovering the Christmas Season and although it's intended to start on Dec 1, you can definitely catch up quickly!

good luck and keep me posted with your progress if you decide to join in!

sky

I haven't been in much of a sharing mood, but felt bad that my blog was stuck so figured I'd do a quick update with some of the pics that are clogging up my phone.  I'm kinda obsessed with using my retro camera app to take pictures of the amazing sky...there have been some truly awesome sunsets recently!

Hope this holds you over for a bit!

girls' weekend in boston

just wrapped up another wonderful weekend with family.  my aunt, uncle and nana came to visit for a few days and we had a lot of great food (ate here & here and made this) and just as many laughs :).  didn't take any pictures though, so instead i'm going to recap another awesome weekend...last weekend in boston with my mom and sista...where i also took zero pictures, but luckily K had her camera handy!!

got into boston much later than expected last friday night, due to terrible rain storms, but still managed to have a great evening at local 149.  it was such a bustling place and the food was delicious!!  plus there was an awesome pumpkin beer (pumking) on tap that tasted like heaven.

the next day, mom drove up to meet up with us and brave the windy streets of beantown.  we put on our walking shoes and headed to the open loft event that kara had read about (she had everything planned and made up a cute agenda(er) for us! so thoughtful!!).  we went to the Fort Point Open Studios event which was really neat...after we got over the initial shock that 'open studios' truly meant what it said...that artists (young and old) were opening their studios (i.e. their homes in many cases!) to the public.  Totally fascinating to see some of the loft spaces and how people transform them in such different ways based on their art.  so glad we didn't chicken out and actually went into a bunch of the lofts!

we also spent some time in the firefighter's museum in the fort point area and got a whole lotta history about firefighting and the great boston fire (maybe a little too much from the man who had little to do ;-) ) before heading over to the Mothers' Walk and Faneuil hall where we were nearly boiled alive and then through a movie scene that was completely littered with busted car parts!

saturday night we had a scrumptious morrocan-esque dinner while listening to some live jazz at The Beehive!

love these ladies!!

on sunday we went to the most wonderful place of all...the SoWa market!! kara and mom had been and i was pretty jealous when i heard about it, so i was thrilled that they were willing to go back when i was in town!  so much to see (and eat), we could've been there all day!!  we all left with unique recycled silverware bracelets (by John Atkinson) that i can't get enough of...he sells in boston, ri, vt and then fl in the winter months...send him an email to track his jewelry down, you'll be glad you did!  thank goodness we did so much walking that weekend because we also ate at the south end buttery for brunch as well as here and here...and the food was decadent!  such a fun weekend, so sad when they fly by so quickly!

more pictures here!

let the fall festivities begin!

last weekend was so perfect!! filled with all of the fun that comes with fall, but the weather was nicer than most of the summer days we had with temps in the 80s and bright sun.  add in some apples, pumpkins, brunch and shopping and you've got an award winning weekend!  we also saw the movie 50/50 on saturday night and LOVED it, super funny and just a touch of sadness.  go see it if you get a chance!!


Pictures from our adventures at Linvilla.  The place was mobbed, but unfortunately the apple trees were not quite so densely populated...many of the apples had rotted before ripening due to all of the recent rain.

RIP Mr. Jobs

Lookin' good Ab :)

Oh ya know, just chillin' with a neck pumpkin.  NBD.

It was just a tad bit crowded but didn't stop us from filling that cart to the brim with lovely pumpkins!

can't wait for boston this coming weekend...i know it's going to be another winner!! :)

you're never too old for Elmo

thank goodness for The Coterie Blog!  without it i would never have seen this sweet preview:



who doesn't love elmo?!  i'm absolutely going to see this...who's with me?!
check here to see if Being Elmo is coming to a city near you!

shows you should be watching

okay so i know that the majority of people aren't watching much more than baseball playoffs these days...but there is other stuff on tv people!! and it's really good!  and that's what DVR is for after all!

if you saw my entire tv line-up you might be disgusted...and/or think i'm a big chubby lady that never leaves the couch.  maybe i'm just making up for the many nights i wasn't allowed to watch tv...like, oh i dunno, every night of my school life...no joke, even through high school, there was very limited telly watching allowed in my house.  that's a-okay, because now that i'm a big kid i get to watch whatever i want...and many nights i go to bed kicking myself for being so lazy and for watching tv instead of cleaning up my room.  i guess mom knew best after all...but there weren't nearly as many awesome shows available back in the day so my clothes strewn allover the bedroom floor will have to stay there for one more day! :)

new favorite of the season is New Girl.  hands down hilarious.  i've been waiting for months...the previews looked so darn good that i made mz stop fast forwarding through the commercials and watch it every.single.time.  part of the reason i'm hooked on this show, even though there have only been 3 episodes, is that it's pretty much me.  like all of the crazy things that jess (zooey deschanel) does in the show are precisely how i act, so it holds a special place in my heart, haha.  most the time i can't tell if mz is laughing at the show or laughing at me laughing at the show...or laughing at the show because he's thinking about how it's basically his life.  here's a little clip...which you'll probably watch and think 'uhm, really, i don't get it, she thinks THAT'S funny!?'.  but trust me, just watch the show and you'll get it...maybe.
other shows you should be watching:
*Dexter!  the new season just started, can't wait to see what it has in store! fyi, you can always watch dexter online for free instead of signing up for showtime (if you don't mind slightly lousy quality) here.
*Breaking Bad - my absolute favorite.  there have only been a few seasons, you can catch up in a jiff, it's AMAZING.

i've got about 13 more that i could list, but those are my faves and you're really missing out if you don't have them on your dvr schedule already!

OCNJ 2011: a day at the beach...

...is better than a day just about anywhere else! even if it's gray and rainy and the ocean looks like it could eat me alive.  i love everything about being at the beach...listening to the crash of the waves in the morning, smelling the salt air, attempting to tame my hair that gets fluffier by the second, the beach can do no wrong in my eyes!

mz's family rents a house in ocean city, nj just about every year after the summer season is over.  it's a great time to be at the beach without all of the traffic and tourists.  we were lucky enough to take a few days off from work and spend 5 days down there this year...i did a whole lot of reading on my kindle, which was so nice and relaxing:

while mz and his brothers did a whole lot of this:

talking/debating about the most foolish things on earth...like how to properly stuff an olive with blue cheese.

we did get some pockets of sun and we took advantage of those days the best we could!  lots of beach walking and even spent some time on the boardwalk watching the ocean city air show - complete with wing walkers!

the waves were crazy and created so much foam...kinda looked like abby was out for a stroll in the snow!

perfect day for kiteboarding, there were about 30 of them out on sunday. i really want to try this next year!! who's with me?!

 view from the house on 45th street.

it helps to act like a bird in order to get the best pictures of them...or i just like to do weird things. :)

a few more pictures are hiding here.

San Francisco: the sights

before i start in on the stuff we did (other than eat), i realize i forgot something from the food post...Off the Grid!  While we didn't actually go to this food truck gathering, it sounded amazing so kinda sad we didn't have time to fit it into the schedule.

okay now on to where we went...really easier to say where we didn't go since we walked all over that city!  we didn't make it to the Mission district (supposed to one of the top 10 new restaurants in the country) or to haight-ashbury, but other than that you name it and we saw it!  we walked through fog, wind, a little rain and a few moments of sun....prepare for every type of weather if you're heading to the city by the bay...we'd be sweating on one block and then wrapping ourselves in sweaters and scarves on the next.  true story.

here are some highlights (or you can just click this link for the pictures if you don't want to read!):

Alcatraz Tours - book in advance and make sure it's a day that you're willing to be tolerant of a million nincompoops all trying to take in this site.

Golden Gate Park - this place is enormous!  we walked through most of it and then got picked up by david to get to the beach for lunch.  while you're in there, check out the conservatory of flowers (even if you don't want to pay to go in, there are nice flowers outside).  it also houses the deYoung museum...again we didn't pay to go in, but you can go up to the top of the observation tower to get a view of the city.  the botanical garden, arboretum, buffalo paddock and model boat yacht club can be found in this gem too.  really wish we had something like this, even on a slightly smaller scale, around PA!

Union Square - it seemed like there was ALWAYS something going on here, very cool spot and just so happens that our cousin is going to be doing a dance performance there later in the month!!  tons of nice stores around there as well...some way out of my price range but many 'normal' stores that just seemed larger than life since there are a lot of flagship stores there.

Golden Gate Bridge - duh.  we walked about halfway across and had to battle a lot of confused looking tourists and bikers, but it was a great experience!

Fisherman's Wharf - we walked through this area on our way to dinner and that 5 seconds was more than enough to let me know i never needed to go back there! haha very very commercial...kinda like the jersey shore boardwalk stores on crack.

Ferry Building - although crowded, i loved this place.  reminded me of chelsea market in NYC but with an amazing farmer's market.  we went here a couple of times, including saturday morning when the market wraps around the entire building...be sure to make it to the back of the market too, we almost missed it!

Muir Woods and Mount Tamalpais - you'll need a car for these trips (and a whole lot of 'parking karma').  awesome trees and gorgeous views...only wish we had brought better hiking clothes so we could've done more exploring.  we drove to the top of mt. tam and walked the path around it and soaked up the (obnoxious!) sun :).

Thanks to Uncle David, we were able to see much more than we ever would've expected.  We drove through the Presidio, including the palace of fine arts and Legion of Honor, and through a few different towns across the bay.  I'm so thankful that he was willing to put up with our touristy ways for a couple of days!!

I stayed in a terrible hotel the first few nights when I was there for the conference.  Thought for sure i was going to get murdered in the place or jumped on my 2 mile walk from Japantown to the Moscone center each morning, but luckily I survived! For the weekend we moved over to a nicer area and a grand, old hotel with newly decorated rooms; big improvement!

A few final words of advice - pack layers (LOTS!) and wear good shoes.  mostly everyone there wore flats or TOMS, the style is very laid back and functional compared to other big cities.  Also, I downloaded the GuidePal San Francisco app for android to use in conjunction with my fave phone thing ever - google maps - and it was pretty decent for a free app.

And last but not least, here are the PICTURES!! Enjoy and happy weekending! :)

San Francisco: the food

since it's dinner time and i'm starving, i figured i'd start my trip recap with the places we ate around town.  plus, when you really get down to it, food can really make or break any vacation!  i had a LOT of great recommendations and unfortunately not enough time to take them all in, but we ate our fair share...and luckily walked a good deal to burn off all of that deliciousness!

Thirsty Bear - went there with some work peeps before the metallica concert...great apps and tapas style bar food. some spanish style cuisine, but had something for everyone (even our iowa constituents!).  dessert was awesome with a funky flair...candied corn (like real deal corn) on the side of a cheesecake...mint/pea sauce with a chocolate torte.  strange but oh so tasty!

The Slanted Door - holy cannoli, this place was so flippin' tasty.  very fresh and modern, right on the water in the ferry building.  super duper busy so we just sat at the bar for lunch - which was an excellent choice because the bartenders in sanfran really take pride in their craft.  more people seem to order cocktails in this city and with outstanding bartenders everywhere you go, you could see why!

Mamacita - found this through a google search for top mexican restaurants while on the ferry back from alcatraz.  we thought we were going to be out of luck since open table said there weren't any reservations available....but the coolest thing we found in sanfran was that many of the restaurants don't take reservations on the weekends and even if they do they always hold a certain number of tables for walk-ins...so we walked right in and had some exceptional tacos.  we also were glad to have found this place because it was in a great area that reminded me of a grown up manayunk.

Rose's Cafe - it quickly became clear why michael's cousin picked this spot when we went for dinner...a little neighborhood feel and jazzed up home cooking made it a winner!!  everything was delectable, even down to the ridiculously flavorful olive oil.

Yogorino - this was right near mamacita's, too new to find in googlemaps...loved their gelato but steer clear of the barley flavor (what?! ew, gross.  it's supposed to be dessert, it doesn't need to be THAT healthy!)

Beach Chalet - we went here for lunch with michael's uncle david who was the best tour guide ever! can't thank him enough for showing us around and making the trip perfect!  there was live (very loud) music on the back deck so we sat upstairs and enjoyed the view of the beach...which looked incredibly cold!

The 'Balb' - one of david's many local haunts which had phenom risotto!  the menu is not what you would expect from the street, but it more than impressed, try it out!

Il Fornaio - mmm, who doesn't love italian food?!  seriously, so good and the fastest service ever!  plus, after our meal we walked through a fountain in Levi's Plaza which was such a fun experience!!

Yank Sing (Rincon Center location)- oh my! be prepared to first wait for a table and then be completely bombarded with some sensational dumpling selections.  i've never been for dim sum but it's always been on my list...never really worked out timing wise or hunger wise so i was really excited to stuff my face in a james beard award winning spot!

Delarosa - we only sat at the bar to rest our feet and grab a drink on our last day in the city, but the drinks were excellent (and do i need to mention the fab bartenders again?!) and the menu/food passing by looked awesome.

Susie Cakes - don't know why they don't mention the gorgeous pies in their name because those things looked baked to perfection!!  totally down to earth place without any frilliness, just honest to goodness tasty cupcakes with the right amount of frosting.  salted caramel apple and strawberry were our cupcakes of choice for a much needed afternoon snack.

Our last meal was at David's house...believe me, it was like something out of a magazine shoot.  Gorgeous french utensils and wonderful homemade minestrone soup.  So impressive!!  Maybe if you're nice he'll invite you over while you're there :).

Other places that were recommended but we didn't have a chance to try were:
tadich grill
kokorri
swan oyster depot
hog island
sears fine food - so sad we didn't get to go to this spot (right across from our hotel) but the line for breakfast was INSANE!!

just a note - while the menus in some places were a little pricey, every place we ate was well worth it...and nothing was fancy dress wise so it made it all that more enjoyable!
 
the one place we didn't eat...but made me laugh every time we passed one...which was like every 5 seconds because they were everywhere:

Most of the pictures I've taken since the conference have been with Cam instead of my phone so I haven't had much to share, sorry! Heading back to PA tonight on the red eye and going to work tomorrow, ugh, so hope to have a bunch of pics and posts up here by wednesday.

Me @ crissy field trying to get a decent shot of the ggb through the fog (taken by mz's iphone...thanks bud!)

Dreamforce global gala & expo

Totally normal to attend a work type event that includes food trucks, stilt walkers, people giving out temporary tattoos, metallica qnd will.I.am.

INSANITY!

In reality I am learning a LOT and there's a whole bunch of classroom type sessions and speeches that I'm attending too...but who wants to see pics of that?!

Scenes from the streets...

...and inside the massive Moscone center where I'm attending the salesforce.com Dreamforce conference.

This event is so wild, I know it's nerdy but I've definitely been drinking the kool-aid this week and am so excited/impressed by everything this conference and company has to offer!

New job?

Instead of coming back east I think I'm going to stay in cali for a bit and get one of the crazy/hilarious jobs advertising on the street.  What do you do for a living? Oh just stand around with a giant balloon attached to my backpack.  NBD!

next stop, san francisco...

but for now I'm in the Denver airport chomping away at an overpriced slice of 'za that was one of the few "safe" choices I could find without going to a sit down restaurant!

I flew Frontier airline here and it was great!! Would def recommend it if you're coming to Colorado or just have to make a stop on your way across the country.  I volunteered to gate check my bag...since the aftermath of Irene meant completely packed flights...and it totally paid off! Not only did I get to board early but they also gave me tv/movie for free (they have directTv in flight) and my bag will be waiting for me at the gate in SF. So easy!  Oh and frontier comes around with warm chocolate chip cookies after beverage service, how exciting is that?!

Say hello to misty, my arctic fox travelling buddy (she's just chilling at the end of the wing and on the tail)...wish I was out there with her instead of sitting next to a lady that smelled like dirty soap. Ick.

Looked like it was a gorgeous day in Denver...need to get back here for a trip! Love that the airport looks like cirque du soleil dancers are waiting inside to welcome you :).

Can't wait to be in California!!

Mean Irene

Watch "Hurricane Irene in Marlton NJ" on YouTube

Triathlon was cancelled...flight to California was cancelled...might as well make fun of the weather people (click the link above)!

a stroll down memory {card} lane

typically i upload my pictures from my camera as soon as i get home.

sometimes i keep a couple on my camera just for smiles.

every once in a while i just plain forget and pictures get 'stuck' on my memory card for ages...especially when i leave my camera in the closet to sulk.

so here's what you've been missing in the past few weeks...or months.  eek!

epically long picture posts begins now:

 we went to Phillies Picnic in the Park! So cool...well really like a million degrees that day, but really fun experience to be out on the field.  oh yea, just so happened to have a root canal that day, yuck...hence the awkward crooked smile below.  401 love!!

 tried out the miniature effect on my elph, fun fun!!

 we went to the lovely wedding of our triathlon friends tom & jess..

 michael wore a bow tie, which he felt uncomfortable about at first...even brought a 'back up' option...but i think he rocked it!  apparently he decided to try to eat me..

 sat with some cool kids...lauren & chris...

on another random day, i did something weird and mz took a picture of it, go figs...

 woosh...and then we were swept away to rhody for a long weekend that included a 10 mile road race (go us!) and a trip to the Breakers (newport mansion)...

 we also were surprised with a delicious Brickley's ice cream cake and an awesome bride & groom biking cake topper for an early anniversary celebration.  thanks sistas! wish i had that cake right now, i'd eat the entire thing!!

what else...oh yea, this little guy turned THREE! seriously?! wow, so old, can't believe it!! he celebrated by eating as many fruit snacks as possible, pretty impressive...

 alex decided it would be fun to drive on the lawn...excellent chauffeur service

 in between triathlon training took place plus lots of eating and drinking...but nothing else photo worthy...so that's it!

california pictures will be making an appearance on the blog starting next week (i leave Monday morning, please don't mess that up Irene!)...but they'll be phone pics and mobile blogs for the most part.  i'm sure in another 4 or 5 months after i get back i might get some of the actual pics off of my memory card ;-).

have a great weekend...stay safe with all of this crazy hurricane activity going on!!