***the tour was through Classic Harbor Lines if you are interested, and led by AIA architects***

I digress, we ate our dinners here (yes, he won iron chef) and  here (my absolute favorite!!) We got snacks here and here. And had a few other tummy fillers here and here. Do not worry, we did WAY more than just eat. We walked miles and miles and miles, and more miles. So I pretty much lost count. We visited the fabulous High Line Park, and soaked up the beautiful weather!! We went in and out of baby stores. Three of my absolute favorite are: Ralph Lauren Baby, Bonpoint (to die for French baby line), and ABC Carpet and Home baby and kids section. At RL Baby we got him a teeny-tiny sweater and matching blanket. And from the layette, this. Oh he is going to be so stinkin’ snuggly! And at ABC, these little hand towels were fabulous! After all the “baby ooo-ing and aww-ing”, we came upon a fabulous RL Home sample sale and scored big time. Prices were like 80-90% off. Furniture, accessories, you name it – straight from the showroom floors! Score

But honestly I have been saving the best for last, an entertaining and WET night at Fuerza Bruta. It is kind of an indescribable experience. It is an interactive, standing show. It involves walter, running, dancing, music, LOUD music, and well…I will leave the rest for you to expereince for yourself. It goes without saying we got a fare share of “flirting with adventure”.

image via [+]

I am really thankful for my sweet sister. This girl is my heart. Five years younger than me, and I still look up to and respect her SO much. She is the most outgoing individual you will ever meet. She has a heart as BIG as Texas! Last Wednesday night we curled up in her BIG king size bed to dig through memory boxes of old cards from our friends and family. We were pulling out all the ones from my grandma-who has recently become very ill. We gathered up all the cards she’d ever given my sister and me. And I mean she never missed an occasion to send a card, so it was A LOT. Birthdays, graduations, Valentine’s, Christmas, other random holidays, honor society inductions, you name she sent a card. They were the sparkly, colorful, 3-dimensional, musical, fun cards too. So we filled Andrea’s bed with a puddle of “glittery tears” as we read aloud ALL of the cards. Grandma knew us both all to well. It was so special because every card for Andrea pointed out her cheerful spirit…after all it’s really contagious. If I just had an ounce of what she has. Not only did the cards bring light to our sprits, but to Grandma’s as well. She is a lady of grace and beauty. She always thinks of others before herself, and we especially felt that love as her only two granddaughters. It was such a blessing to have lots of time to spend visiting with my sweet grandma, and recalling wonderful memories.

And on another note. I have another wonderful memory that I will pass along to my grandchildren one day. It isn’t quite as touching, but it’s memorable. My dynamic duo and I here, along with my dear friend Amory, cheered AUBURN on to victory AND WERE THE FIRST THREE PEOPLE TO WELCOME THE AU TIGERS BACK TO THE LOVELIEST VILLAGE ON THE PLAINS. Yeap, you read that right the first. I’ll admit we did “act a fool”, but who cares, right? It’s hard to control your Auburn spirit. We were heading down College Street towards Toomer’s Corner, then heading to the Athletic Department to hang with the other fans who were out at 10 pm to welcome to team back home. Well, as we deceded the small hill to the side of the library, lots of blue sirens back flying up behind us. Our hearts raced, and then fell straight to our feet in fear, for a few seconds, before we realized it was the team escorts for the buses. However, we were “in the way”. So we pulled into the hotel and conference center parking lot. And by pulled I mean took a right hand turn on two wheels. Then basically all three sprung out of the car before we’d stopped, and sprinted to the curb where we jumped up and down and screaming “War Eagle” as the team passed by. We either looked like three hard core fans or three drunken girls. And that story will most definitely live on…

So as you can see I had a lot of extra fun on my Thanksgiving getaway back home. Not only did we have a turkey feast, we had family time and football extravaganzas!! Hope your Thanksgiving was HAPPY as mine!! Night, and have a Happy Monday as you enter a new week!

Typically the morning involves a post-workout shower. That is if I find the energy to drag myself out of the bed in time to do all the “morning routine junk”, and get to work at a decent and acceptable time. So I tend to find ways to multi-task. Quiet time and coffee. Brushing teeth while rinsing out the coffee pot. Catching a glimpse of the morning news while drying my hair. And talking to my Mom on speaking phone while I add a little color to my face. I leave ‘blackberry” on the bathroom ledge and…talk, until it really is time to hit the street running, catch the subway AND cheer [internally] when you barely slip through the doors before they chime and close. Hooray…I feel I like I made it and can breath!

The weekends however are a little more relaxing. I find it okay to linger down the street, walking and avoiding public transportation. I enjoy the stimulation of the city streets: the noises, the colors, the flowers, the architecture, the people, the fashion and the unfashionable, strange and sometimes a little scary.

Oh, and I cannot forget to mention to entertaining. It was just a few weeks ago this was filled to the brim with water. Kids were barefoot and splashing around, and now a FULL size piano rest inside and music and “pole” dancing.

One of the scary parts of the city are the pigeons. They are NOT, and I repeat NOT, afraid of the the human race. They find great pleasure is swarming by you, all 100 of them at once. It is terrifying, and not to mention rather disgusting in my book. I am NOT a fan of pigeons. If you see the glimpse of the red shirted lady in the top of this picture, well she was really liking the pigeon attention. She reminded me of the freaky pigeon lady on Home Along 2.

After we finally made it through “pigeon zone”. We found our way up the NYC marathon, around Central Park South (across from the Plaza Hotel). No worries, or “heads up” – Charlie Sheen was not throwing any harmful objects out the windows. I digress, we were here to cheer on some friends, who were running. At this point, they were embarking on the final mile, and some of them looked like they had just started 2 miles ago, not 25. Amazing human athletes. And just like NYC, you saw everything. A man in a banana costume, a lady as a bride, a BAREFOOT man, a lady in converse shoes and slacks, a snail costume, wacky colors, tutus, wigs, peacock feathers, a speedo and cape and WAY TO MANY OTHER [sometimes INAPPROPRIATE] HILARIOUS THINGS.

Well folks that’s a wrap. My time for this post 32:00. That’s the time I was shooting for! Off to work. xo.

this weekend was lots of fun. halloween is a site to be seen in nyc. the festivities lingered on and on. i am pretty sure these kids are going to be on a month long sugar high, because they probably filled there bags 5 different times over the course of the past week. there were school parties, neighborhood parties, apartment building parties, and more. however, someone i didn’t score ONE piece of candy. i must of always been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

costume-wise we sure saw everything under the sun, and i mean everything. a fortune teller riding the subway handing out fortune cookies. slutty tigers, waitresses, divas, and everything else that lacked appropriate coverage, bed bugs, twin bees with a daddy beekeeper and mommy flower, mcdonalds fries with a ketchup packet purse, disney characters, 70s disco girls, cheerleaders, animals, celebrities look-a-likes, and LOTS of other cute, scary, funny and inappropriate things. today in tribeca, kids filled the streets as they went door to door to door (really meaning shop to restaurant to apartment lobby) trick-or-treating. stan and i were heading out for a run on the West Side Highway, along the water, and on our route that direction we slower our pace and lingered through the neighborhood as we admired all of the fabulous costumes the kids were rocking. AND THEY WERE IN EVERY WAY ADORABLE. so i really do NOT like the ghost, goblins, mummies and witch part of the whole “halloween” thing; but sure do i love the pumpkins, fall weather, and stinkin’ cute kids. that is for darn sure!!

what did you do for halloween?

This awesome gal picked me up from the airport. Yeap, that’s my Mom. I could not of been happier to see her. It had been over two WHOLE months. Despite the fact that I talk to her two, three and sometimes ten times a day; I have really missed BIG hugs and face-to-face chats. As she waited at the top of the escalators by baggage claim in the Atlanta airport, she spared greeting Stan and I with smiley face balloons or large flower bouquets. Instead she left the alstroemeria bouquets scattered around the house. The flowers being a finishing touch on a massive renovation overhaul Mom’s been tackling over the past four weeks.

I am pretty sure she has been running on no sleep and WAT-AAH!!, which my sister and I found to be completely hilarious. We pretty much fell on the floor laughing. Why is this bottle so funny to me?? I told Mom I am not sure it can be water + extra oxygen. After all isn’t water to molecules of hydrogen and one oxygen? H2O. So added oxygen would not result in water according to my very basic knowledge of chemistry. But I will not argue. After all my professional training involves design, NOT ANY SORT OF chemistry or scientific hoopLA! I digress…

So my design soul was on complete overload when I walked inside “home”. Mom and I kind of play this game of guessing what has changed? What is moved?  New fabrics. New floors. New tubs. I was in complete shock honestly. Only my Mom could transform an entire floor of a house in FOUR WEEKS. That is unheard of in the coordination of construction workers, painters upholsters and moving help. All it took was Dad taking a sledge hammer to the old tub, and there was no turning back. Ready for the work being greeted by workers at 6 a.m. had begun. So what did I find? The entire exterior trim, painted. Refinished hardwoods. Fresh paint everywhere. New hardwoods  in the master. A reconfigured master bath. Sister’s room was changed. Pretty rugs, and other things. FOUR WEEKS. I am still shocked. I was completely surprised too. I only knew about the floors. Mom laughed and said every time I’d call she’d be at ADAC or driving somewhere in Atlanta to pick up faucets, mirrors, etc. So I am asuming life is calm and orderly, but in fact it has been complete disorganization and chaos. So when I arrived to the finished product, we tip-toed throughout the house after getting in at 11 p.m. from the airport, so that I could take it all in. 2:30 a.m. came way to quickly and decided we best make our way to bed.

Friday involved lots of treasured time.

7 a.m. coffee with my mom, and then again when dad got home at 8. At 11, sister and I’s usual walk from The Flower Store and through Grove Hill. The hunger pains were coming on about 12. We went for sister bonding time over Momma G’s a split order the famous nachos. Then to brother’s office for a long awaiting reuniting hug, accompanied by a sonic happy hour slushy. Later a trip to EarthFare Grocery. Then back home to reunite and rekindle a forever treasured friendship with Amory. After we chatted about everything under the sun, I got ready for dinner.

The table was set, and the drinks were being made. Our family reunited, and Stan’s family joined.

Us grown ups laughed and carried on entertaining conversations; while for the kids…we set a kid’s table with kid-friendly entertainment.

Day #2____________________________________________________________

I know greet you from the heart of the Loveliest Village on the Plains, a few miles from the home base we’ve been chatting about. Saturday at 2:30, well over 87,000 fans filed into be apart of the crowd that watched Auburn beat LSU’s butt. And it didn’t stop there. The eagle flew. The crowd put there hands in the ayer. We saw as Cam Newton set the SEC single-season record with 1,077 rushing yards for a quarterback.

And at the end of the game, Cam sprinted to the end zone to celebrate with the Auburn Fans. Afterwards he quickly made his way across the field to the student section where he showed off his high jumping skills. He literally jumped over a fence the separates the stadium seats from the hedges, and partied with his Auburn Family.

For now, I’m back in New York. The weekend was awesome. Auburn is now ranked #1 in the BCS poll. The trip was fast and furious with way to many people to see and way to little time. When I start to miss “community”, and feel like it is so very hard to meet people, I find myself comparing the “what is” to “what was”. Then I quickly remind myself that those relationship were built of 23 years. Things take time, and patience. God is allowing me to grow by leaps and bounds in the “patience arena”. As I reflect on my time at home a find that I am so much more appreciative and grateful of/for my Auburn “family”. You all mean the absolute world to me. Thanks for fabulous conversation, and a warm welcome to what will always be “home” to me. Yeap, some things never change.

saturday came quickly. my birthday high faded…i worked out hard after my BIG dinner. and made way to the au bar to watch the tigers stomp all over the razorbacks. war d*** eagle my fellow tiger friends. cam is part of the heisman talk, so i might just be in attendance to that announcement @ nyc’s nokia theater. just so you know…auburn’s got hard core fans in nyc. we cried “war eagle”, cheered until our voices faded, and chanted “it’s great to be an auburn tiger”. however, we didn’t roll times square. maybe for the iron bowl, after all it would be crazy convenient considering the charmin restrooms are nearby.

sunday i found myself on a long local train commute to church with a friend from san diego. the express train was not running. too bad i didn’t have the chance to enjoy a subway jam session from these guys. instead i was lucky enough to enjoy three amigos and there mariachi band. it was lovely at 10 in the morning. i went to church here. it was spirit filled and full of passion for jesus. we talked about conflict resolution, “if we really want to be a community, that means there will be conflict. how do we deal with this in a loving, Christ-like way?” we prayed for our city. we prayed for it’s believers. and we prayed for a spirit-filled world. the holy spirit was alive and well.

then ali took me to lunch for a late birthday. we went to a favorite: the hummus place. i have officially visited every location in the city now, i do believe. then we went for a longggggggg walk along riverside drive and the west side waterfront. beautiful. we were fully aware of god’s amazing creation that surrounded us, and completely swept away from the craziness city life. we found ourselves surrounded by green trees, the rocky banks of the hudson and a million bikers/walkers/runners/precious families.

god i thank you for a beautiful weekend. your grace is enough. all the good gifts we enjoy in our daily lives affirm your love for us.

Friday night, us gals met for a fabulous dinner @ Elizabeth, We throughly entertained each other with conversation. And then headed out on the town…that is…until the town couldn’t handle us any more.

Saturday, Erika and I hit the Hell’s Kitchen Flea. She “enabled” me to make a purchase. I should have buyer’s remorse over it (b/c I have plenty of warm coats!) – BUT I DON’T. How could I say no? It was my size. It was Vintage Chanel. It was $200 (but I bargained the lady down, until she would have NO MORE!) The buttons were so fun. We stuffed it in the Baggu and headed South to ABC Carpet & Home. We ate at ABC Kitchen. We all four got different dishes, and played pass me a BITE. Then we walked and talked and saw John Derian at his store. But totally wimped out and didn’t strike up any sorta conversation with him other than, “yes I would like to checkout now.” They are hiring, and yes Erika…”maybe I will mail you half price surprises soon. ha!”

Saturday night. Stan and I met friends at Bread in Tribeca. It was deliciously YUM to the TUM. And then we headed off to a late night movie in Battery Park City. Stan informed me we might be in need of an oxygen tank as we escalated UP and UP and UP and UP and UP more escalators until we finally reached the theater another 1,ooo feet above sea level. Colorado Altitude sickness was coming on. Movie Theaters work a little different here in New York than in the ole’ South. Real Estate is prime, and things go UP. We saw The Social Network. I know think of Facebook in a totally different. In a weird way the movie was not good, but it was good. It was slow,  but kept you on edge, so it was constantly engaging. It would flip back and forth between the early days and flash forwards to legal proceedings dealing with lawsuits. You know more than 500 million people share details of their lives with Facebook. Crazy! It all started as a social network on Harvard’s campus.

Sunday was chill. Dinner in the West Village at a “contemporary American restaurant in a historic space” – Commerce. Totally recommend if you are in NYC. The food is fantabulous. [I got a Tapioca for dessert (I am not a sweets girls) in honor of you Dad!]

My weekend is not 50 minutes over. It was fun-filled. Tell me about yours. What did you do?? Anything stellar?

There are so many things to do in Montreal. The city offers a little bit of everything from downtown high rises to the charm and history of the Old Port area. My favorite street being Rue Saint-Paul. The little cafes, charming boutiques, cobblestone streets and historic facades are reminiscent of a little street in a European town. If this doesn’t scream CHARM, then I don’t know what does.

Now only was the architectural elements of the area fabulous, but the landscaping got lots of attention too. The early cool weather up North, with 40s and 50s already gracing the city with it’s presence, there was an abundance of MUMS. They were everywhere.

As I walk down the streets of Montreal, I came to quickly understand that Tim Hortons is the Starbucks of Canada. I don’t know about you, but the name, “Tim Hortons”, does not really suggest coffee, bagels, donuts and pastries, but HEY I needed my morning dose of caffeine. It works for a quick morning pick me up. After grabbing a cup I felt compelled to join in on this fabulous conversation between these three lovely and rather plump bronze ladies. I do not know why I am even posting this picture, but it made me laugh. Typical woman chatting anywhere, even in the graffiti adorned alley way up on a platform with planters flanking their sides. Too funny.

Walking towards the Old Port from Downtown you surely will not miss the colorful facade of the Palais des Congres. The whimsical and playful facade gives way the structural workings of the building. It is interesting to me because the structure is so “SERIOUS” and the facade is “FUN”. And on another fun note, who doesn’t like to play airplane when they eat there spoonful of banana baby food. Or better yet, race car or ducky? Product designers have such a nifty job. How fun are these baby spoons.

And after walking in and out of boutiques in Old Port, admiring architectural buildings and exploring secret gardens our stomachs quickly reminded us we had not eaten lunch (or breakfast for that matter). That coffee had warn off. So we head over to Cluny ArtBar. It is found in the Old Darling Factory. And with out a doubt if you go to Montreal, eat lunch with local artists and trendy businesswoman/men at CLUNY. You will not be disappointed. The lunch grub is to tasty and fresh. It beautifully presented. The atmosphere is somewhat reminiscent of a Tribeca cafe in NYC or Urban Standard in Birmingham, AL (for my old stomping ground friends).

And after lunch, we trekked up the Lachine Canal (way further than we’d anticipated” to the Atwater Market. Aside from some good ole’ exercise, the walk was well worth it. The market smashed FALL all in my face and I loved it. I knew I was born in October for some reason. I love fall. The weather is crisp, temperatures are cooler, pumpkins + mums are all around and the smell of apple cider and pumpkin spice fills the air. I discovered flowers I’d never seen before, interesting varieties of tomatoes and an extensive meat selection at this market. To bad I didn’t have a kitchen in Canada. I was feeling very tempted to buy up the market to bring back to NYC. I remember that US Customs isn’t so friendly on the declaration form when it comes to trying to bring foods back into our homeland, so I keep temper my excitement with snapping lots of pictures.

And if we hadn’t had enough walking for the day. We hiked all the way across town to climb to the top of Mount Royal. Keeping our fingers crossed the clouds would clear, we climb…

catching glimpses of beautiful homes along the way.

and climb, and climb, and climb…

And finally. The VIEW of all of Montreal.

RE:ENERGIZE…we walked enough this one day to deserve a more restful (I use this term loosely) day. We hoped aboard a “ducky boat” (as Mom and I would say from our Boston experience“) also known as the Amphi-Bus. You know the one’s that go on land and water. It was a blast. We toured through the Old Port area, and enjoyed miraculous views of some of the famed architecture of Montreal from the water vantage point.

The trip was fun. Just not the cab ride home. I was calm traveling the entire way, even waiting 2 hours at the airport. But I wanted to lose my cool with this cab driver. He went the most ridiculous way home, and I just wanted to get HOME. Why? He went on the wrong bridge, went north, curved us through Little Italy, took us to East SoHo and everywhere in between. UGH. I repeat over and over to myself. Patience, patience, patience. 

I digress…

Other MUSTS in Montreal: 

Eat @ Olive and Gourmando, Barroco, le Cartet, Fairmount Bagel, Le Enfantes Terribles, 

Stay @ Hotel Le Crystal, St. Paul Hotel, Hotel St. James, 

See Botanical Gardens, Olympic Stadium, beautiful homes along Redpath Crescent at the base of Mount Royal, all of Old Port, Mile End, the interior of the W Hotel, Basilique Notre-Dame (light show), beautiful homes

My weekend involved lots of excitement. Everything from Central Park to Governor’s Island and lots of things in between like :: the Auburn Bar, Whole Foods, walks along the West Side Highway, church sermons, indian food, design your own drinks, and pilates classes.

What did you do for Labor Day my lovely readers? Was it fun-filled with lots of family, friends, relaxation, good food and to-die-for weather?

Oh and and on another note, a highlight of my weekend…

Well highlight – that just might be a slight overstatement – but the quatrefoil”esque” shapes on St. Patrick’s Catherdral are on up there on my list. You might remember my quatrefoil obsession from an earlier post here.