dogs

Once we figure out our living situation, we would love to get two dogs and name them Sausage and Tuk Tuk. My boyfriend wants a dachshund (who will be Sausage), and I just love french bulldogs. We would probably end up adopting so it would be more of a personality test than a looks call, but maybe we could at least narrow it down to a big or small dog. Do you guys have a pet? Would you prefer a big or small dog?

stinky Mondays

Apparently my little niece, Ella, makes this face all the time. It's the same face that I make every Monday morning. : ) I feel you, Ella.

have a good weekend!

It's supposed to be another gorgeous fall weekend. What are you guys up to? I'm hoping to go to a haunted house tonight, working tomorrow, and am extremely excited for the "Legendary Champagne Brunch" at Restaurant X on Sunday. Have a wonderful weekend!

gifts from India

One of my best friends who trained in India this summer to become a yoga instructor came over yesterday afternoon to give me a private yoga lesson. I've tried yoga a few times before but never really got into it because I felt like I didn't know what I was doing and therefore wasn't getting the benefits of the practice. Also, I hate attending classes by myself, so having a private session in my living room on a rainy day was the perfect solution. I was blown away by how much better yoga felt when I had someone showing me the correct form. I actually felt my muscles working and then felt each muscle relax during the breathing exercise. By the end of the class I felt calmer and therefore more in control of myself. (And that's just one class!) I really loved at the end when she said to, "Say thanks for taking an hour for yourself." I had always viewed exercise as a time consuming chore, but considering it "an hour for myself" and my body really changes how I feel about exercise. I beat up my body with work and never take the time to take care of myself. Changing my mindset helps me to see yoga as an hour of loving and appreciating my body, instead of a burden.

As if the private lesson wasn't a gift enough already, she also brought me some little treasures from India.  I got these recycled paper bookmarks with the most beautiful designs. I absolutely love them and needed it because I usually just use scraps of paper or receipts as a bookmark. She also got me a precious little notebook ("because I'm always writing things down") and the book, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, that was printed in India. The greatest part about the book was that I had read it years ago, but I borrowed the book from a friend and wanted my own copy, but never got around to buying it. Also, when I last read it, the last page of the book was actually missing. I can't wait, after so many years, to find out how the book ended.

cats

While we were talking about the things we wanted and didn't want in our new apartment my boyfriend said to me, "Our new place is not going to have a kitty litter." I asked him why, worried that we hadn't been keeping the litter area clean, and he answered, "Because our new place won't have a cat." Haha. My boyfriend is more of a dog person, and I'm actually extremely allergic to cats, but I suffer for this angelic ball of fluff. I can't imagine a life where I'm not sneezing constantly, my eyes aren't watery, and my skin isn't red and itchy. Hmm- that sounds kinda nice.

home

My boyfriend and I had the exciting "living together" talk last weekend. We had always talked about it as "one day" and "in the future," but this time we got down to the logistics of where and when. It wouldn't be anytime soon, but I like that we can talk about it now and I can daydream of our home together. Our biggest question is where we should move. He needs easy access to Manhattan and I need access to New Jersey, so we're debating between New York and New Jersey. And after we decide that, we're debating between Queens or Brooklyn, or across the river in NJ like Hoboken, Jersey City, or Edgewater. We love living in NYC, but we're both so tired of paying so much for a tiny apartment...and we wouldn't miss the smells. I never imagined leaving the city, but the thought of not living like a college student is really enticing. What do you guys think? 

Fall bike ride

This past weekend I worked a 14 hour day on both Friday and Saturday. I could barely move my legs on Sunday morning. I rode the train back to NYC on Sunday and didn't want to waste any more of the beautiful day traveling, so we decided to go for a bike ride instead of driving upstate for Oktoberfest. We  normally ride along the river in Queens but my boyfriend wanted to try a different route. He suggested we ride to Flushing Meadows Park instead. We rode along Roosevelt Ave for most of the way which made me extremely cranky. I didn't want to spend the gorgeous fall day riding underneath a subway track with tons of cars cutting me off and having to stop at every light. Once I got to the park though, and I was fed, I was much happier and really glad my boyfriend suggested we check out a new area. We picked up some corn and chorizo from a street vendor and visited the Queens Zoo, which is in the park. It was such a perfect sunny afternoon spent strolling around looking at animals that don't normally live in  the city. After the park, we rode to Woodside to meet some friends for Thai food, then biked home. We biked a total of 12 miles on Sunday. So much for resting my feet. My legs were throbbing on Monday morning, but it was worth it. 

Halloween

Halloween is exactly 2 weeks away. Do you guys know what you're going to be? I'm debating being this cute dinosaur again. (It was sold out last year).

have a good weekend!

What are you guys up to this weekend? I'm shooting a wedding today and tomorrow and hoping to enjoy Oktoberfest in upstate NY on Sunday.

Hemingway love

I just finished reading The Paris Wife by Paula McLain last week and found it so interesting to read about Ernest Hemingway from the perspective of his first wife. I was so caught up in the story of their life in Paris in the 1920's and couldn't wait to devour more Hemingway so I ordered A Moveable Feast and The Sun Also Rises, which were both mentioned in The Paris Wife. I'm really enjoying A Moveable Feast right now. Have you guys read any of these books? Are you a Hemingway fan?

Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley. Aren't their matching boots and socks cute?

Apple Picking & Wine Tasting

Two weekends ago, we drove up to Warwick, NY to go wine tasting and apple picking. Can you think of a more perfect way to spend a sunny fall day? The Warwick Winery had a tasting for just $5. We really liked every wine and cider that we tried. Could you tell? The vineyard also had an apple orchard on the property so we went for a booze filled, apple picking adventure afterwards. No one could believe that this was the first time I've gone apple picking. Oh how I've missed out all of these years!

Thailand: Week 1: Bangkok

Phewf! This took me long enough, didn't it? I'm almost up to date with all of my projects so I'm hoping I can go through some of my pictures from Thailand to give you guys a recap.

We landed in Bangkok and spent our first week in the city. I wanted to make sure my boyfriend got to see everything, so on our first morning we got up early and headed to the temples. My mum and her boyfriend took us around so it was like a little sightseeing double date.

We started with The Grand Palace and The Emerald Buddha Temple, then Wat Pho (The Reclining Buddha Temple- or relaxing Buddha as my boyfriend liked to call it), and then took a little boat across the Chao Phraya River to Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn). We climbed up the extremely steep and narrow steps up the side of the temple to see beautiful views of the city from the top. I was so scared of falling forward on my way down that I scooted down on my bum, clutching the railing.

After a hot afternoon of visiting temples (there's barely an shade at the temples and you have to wear proper clothing that covers your arms and legs) we decided to cool off by taking a boat down to the famous Oriental Hotel for a cocktail. We were still jetlagged (and exhausted from walking around in the heat) so we tucked ourselves in right after dinner.

sick days

I'm sorry I haven't been posting. After a weekend of no sleep and a full day of drinking, I've fallen ill again. I've got some great photos from a lovely day of wine tasting and apple picking and cannot wait to share. -As soon as I'm able to get out of bed. 

Happy Humpday!

(This photo was taken in Otego, NY)