Can you dig it?

Sneaks in and pretends it hasn't (again) been weeks since she last posted...

So, back in August my husband and I bought a little piece of land that was once a field full of daisies. The daisies were cut down, and some random bits of building material started to appear in their place. 

A day later, most signs of green were gone and the field became a big old pile of dirt and gravel. 

A peek inside the big hole where all of that dirt used to be, and you find the area that will soon become our basement.

Footers were all in place and our little front porch staked it's claim in the former daisy field.

Not to be outdone, the garage area also marked it's territory and proudly displayed it's original earth (which was left in tact to better support the two cars that will someday sit upon it. 

 J inspected the plans carefully and made sure all of dirt was where it was supposed to be.

And that, my friends, is how our lot began it's journey toward becoming a home. With a few set backs due to the cooooold temperatures we've been having here, the drywall took a little longer to set than our builder planned. We will be in the house the first week of March. I am going stir crazy trying not to scratch the itch that is wanting to pack up every last bit NOW. I figured it was a good time to show you some photos on the progress. Promise that the pictures will get more fun as the house takes shape and the decorating begins. Stay tuned!

A Belated Big Apple Post

Why, hello there! I hope you all had a great holiday and are gearing up for New Year's Eve! I am personally looking forward to the many good things that 2011 will bring!

I am off work this week to enjoy some family time in Pittsburgh with my side of the family and to get some things organized for the upcoming move in a few weeks. When going through some photos, I realized that I never posted about the fall getaway that J and I took to NYC for our second anniversary! This marked our second road trip to the Big Apple in our 2 years of marriage (see the first one here), but we love the city and are always planning our next trip back there.

We were extremely lucky weather-wise. It was in the 50's and 60's for most of the trip- rare in mid-November! We stayed in the northern Times Square area and found it was a great location for us this time.

Crap iPhone pic but you get the idea. 

Our first night in the city, we set out on foot to explore and take in all of the madness that is Times Square before checking out "In the Heights." It was part West Side Story and part Rent (less heavy), and we loved it! Jordin Sparks from American Idol was the female lead, and it was fun to see her perform in person.

We set out early the next day to explore the Upper West Side. In all of the trips I've taken to New York, I hadn't been able to explore this neighborhood much and I really enjoyed it! We started off the morning with brunch at Cafe Lalo (those of you that have seen "You've Got Mail" will remember it as the place where Kathleen waits with the book and the rose for her internet friend to arrive, only to be greeted by mean Joe Fox). It was the cutest little place to spend a Sunday morning and drink a yummy mocha.

Picture Tom Hanks hanging on the fence- "She has to be!!!"

DEE-LISH!

After brunch we took our time walking through the neighborhoods and came across a Crumbs bakery. I had it on my list to try Magnolia, but after hearing so much about Crumbs we had to give it a try. I could not believe my eyes when we saw those huge cupcakes in the case! We each got one to enjoy a little later.

My selection- a coffee toffee concoction!

We hoofed it over to Central Park West, checked out the Dakota and the Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon.

The gorgeous weather invited us to take our time in the Park. We walked around for a few hours and ended up in Sheep's Meadow. GORGEOUS Fall day and some great photo opps...

And my favorite shot of the day:

On the way back to our hotel we went to check out West Elm for some goodies for the new house, and accidentally stumbled onto the set of a movie they were filming called "Tower Heist," an action/comedy about some Madoff-type scandal. Ben Stiller was on set filming- it was fun to watch for a few minutes! Here is the only shot I could get:

After a full day we headed back to the hotel to refresh before heading out to see another show. This time we saw Mary Poppins and it was delightful. We got half price tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square, and it was well worth it. We both liked it much more than we expected! The best part about this night was the phone call I got on the way into the theater letting me know that we had scored two of these tickets for the next day:

YAY! I'm a fan of the show (although I pathetically fall asleep before it's on anymore) and it was such a fun way to spend our actual anniversary! Turns out it was Sweeps Week, so they did a lot to prep the audience to be energetic. We got to see Dave interview Emma Watson (Hermione!), Scott Caan and Rascal Flatts. A great lineup!

We spent the rest of our day shopping on Fifth and wandering around the Upper East Side. I made J take me to the Alice in Wonderland statue so my butt could be in the same spot as R-Patz's butt. See?

Photo found here.

I heart you, Edward! : )

For our anniversary dinner, we booked a reservation at Nougatine at the recommendation of this lovely lady from her trip to NYC and it was fantastic. If I hadn't neglected to bring my camera and appear like a total tourist, I would have photographed our meal to share with you. The best part was the candle-lit molten chocolate cake that the chef brought out for us in honor of our anniversary- a nice touch! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for a great and reasonably priced meal in the city.

We ended the night with a walk down to Rockefeller Center to see the tree. Just a few weeks later and we'd have seen it in all it's glory, but it was still fun to see the work in progress.

So much to do there in so little time. We had to leave the next morning with lots that we didn't have time to do, but can't wait to get back! If you have any tips for our next trip to NYC, please share them with me!

730 ago

"I don't get many things right the first time

In fact, I am told that a lot

Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls

Brought me here

And where was I before the day

That I first saw your lovely face?

Now I see it everyday

And I know

That I am

I am

I am

The luckiest

What if I'd been born fifty years before you

In a house on a street where you lived?

Maybe I'd be outside as you passed on your bike

Would I know?

And in a white sea of eyes

I see one pair that I recognize

And I know

That I am

I am

I am

The luckiest

I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you

Next door there's an old man who lived to his nineties

And one day passed away in his sleep

And his wife; she stayed for a couple of days

And passed away

I'm sorry, I know that's a strange way to tell you that I know we belong

That I know

That I am

I am

I am

The luckiest"

- Ben Folds

Happy Anniversary, Sweet Husband! Our second year of marriage has been amazing, and I know the years to come will bring even more blessings. love, laughter, and much happiness. I truly am the luckiest.  


XOXO,
Amy

"You get better, Pumpkin."

One of my favorite Fall photos. I took it at a pumpkin patch near Chicago last year.

Ahhh, Fall. Don’t you just love it? The beautiful foliage, hot apple cider, snuggly sweaters and the start of boot season, crunching through the leaves, Halloween and Thanksgiving and those Charlie Brown TV specials about them… I could go on and on. In this part of the country the weather has turned cooler, and I am enjoying every bit of it. Today after a particularly rough morning at Job #1, I was feeling down, frazzled and needed to step away from the desk if you know what I mean. I went to lunch to take a breather and get something warm and yummy to eat. I decided on the old standby- a little place called Zoup! Fresh Soup Company. Do you have these where you live? Each day there are about 12 different kinds of soup on special, and they encourage you to sample as many as you’d like before ordering.  I usually get one of the same 2 or 3 different flavors, but something else caught my eye today. Pumpkin pie bisque. Ate the first spoonful of my sample and I nearly died from pure taste bud bliss. The actual bowl of it even had little sprinklings of pie crust on top! It had me at hello. Bonus that it wasn’t all that bad for me either (it was marked low points for those of you familiar with Weight Watchers). I was a little hesitant to try it because sometimes I think I like the idea of pumpkin more than the actual taste.  Pumpkin cookies- like. Pumpkin pie- maybe a little bite. Pumpkin pecan cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory- yes, please. Pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks- just “meh” (too sweet and fake pumpkin-tasting for me).  Pumpkin pie bisque though- L-O-V-E, love, I tell you! It was just enough, and I’m not ashamed to say that it made my day. It made me excited for Thanksgiving. We’ll be spending it with the in-laws this year. If anyone has any good pumpkin recipes that I can impress them with, please share!

Bonus points to anyone that knows which movie gave me the quote in this post's title. If you know me at all, you know that I can't help myself from quoting movies!

Happy Fall!

The most money I've ever spent.

See that? It is a nice little slice of land that my husband and I can call our own. Handing over the down payment for this piece of earth and the house to be built upon it was both sickening and exhilarating all at the same time! While I was away these last few months, the daisies have gone away and the beginnings of our first house have popped up in their place. I present to you, the largest purchase I've ever made. Ta da!

We searched real estate listings and toured many, many existing homes for the better part of our first year as newlyweds, and just couldn't find "the one." While we have the interest, we have little time to do any major renovations. When it came down to it, we were able to build a new house with most of the features that we liked for less than it would have cost to purchase an existing home that needed renovations done. Kitchens and bathrooms are expensive, and J isn't much of a handy man (he's had limited opportunities as a renter to be fair). I'd rather spend the money on furniture and other things to make the house more "us" a lot sooner. After years of renting, we are worn out of the hand me downs and mismatched hodge-podge of stuff that we have carried with us from apartment to apartment. In a little under three months, this house will become our home! I'll be posting more as the house gets more fun to look at and will want you all to weigh in on some decor choices and suggestions!

If you have any favorite decor blogs, furniture/decor shopping links, etc. please post them below or shoot me an e-mail. I am soaking up all the inspiration I can handle.