we had such a good day

we had such a fun and special 3rd wedding anniversary. i was feeling less than inspired to do anything, and really wanted to wait and celebrate once we got settled in our new home. but Bear insisted that we take a day off from packing and do something for our special day, and i could not of been more thankful. the day was planned out perfectly and it consisted of all of our favorite things. 

Bear and i have started reading this extraordinary wonderful book, "No Ordinary Time". The book is an illustration of Franklin and Eleanor and the influence that they had on American Society. FDR grew up in Hyde Park, NY and that is where we spent our 3rd wedding anniversary. 

we first toured around Eleanor's house. the house was dark and musky but ornate and cozy at the same time. all the original furnishings were in the house. it was very neat to look at all of her family pictures hanging on the wall. and i found it so fun that she use to frame Christmas cards and hang them in her dining room.  

 

Bear had made reservations for lunch at the culinary institute of america. the campus is amazing with views looking over the hudson river. the food was so dang good. but the dessert was even better. 

after our scrumptious lunch we headed to Franklin's house. the rooms were filled with expensive decor and floral drapes. it showed Franklins collection of just about everything; birds, british comic strips, and paintings. Again, everything was original and kept the same way as it was when he lived there.
the grounds were spectacular, filled with rose gardens, a barn, and lots of trees. Franklin planted over 500 trees while living there.

the day was filled with history, outdoors, adventure, and laughter... a perfect combination for an anniversary outing. we did no gift exchange (not even cards) but i did get a big kiss when i woke up and a day that was thoroughly planned out by the best husband in the world.

Strawberry Torte

A couple weeks ago we had a progressive dinner with some of our neighbors. We made the appetizers and dessert and they made the main dish. It was fun going from house to house. We even ended up sitting outside having a fire in our fire pit. 

Anyhow, the dessert was tastier than ever, and I wanted to share with all of you the recipe. You can Find it here. I promise you, you will eat the whole thing by yourself in one sitting. It is that good. Enjoy! 

The boxes

What a crazy and exhausting week this has been thus far! Packing, cleaning, maneuvering around boxes, and selling things on craigslist has been slightly overwhelming.  I think that this is the most miserable part about moving. Everything (at least almost everything) we own is sitting in boxes, taped up, and labeled with a black marker. It is like a large box fort around us as we watch TV. 

I feel bad for Shento, he might be experiencing the worst of this move. Every move he makes he is afraid that a box is going to fall on top of him. His bed has been moved and he has to go in between boxes to get to his food. His life and daily routine has been messed with, and he is not a happy puppy at the moment. 

We have somewhat planned our road trip to Utah. We have researched and come up with some interesting stops and yummy eateries along the way. Did I mention that Bear, myself, and of course Shento, will all be cozy up in the front seat of a 17 ft. uhaul (plus car trailer). What an adventure this will be.  An adventure that I am actually in a weird way looking forward to. Road trips are always exciting with Bear. Plus, we have these fun conversation cards that ask really interesting, personal, and entertaining questions. we will be pulling those out frequently to get a laugh at one another. 

In other news, we are looking forward to our hot dog roast this Saturday with all of our closest (New Jersey) friends. The weather has been strange here and right we are having some type of misting rain effect. I hope that it clears up and is beautiful for the hot dog roast. 

Anyways, Bear and I are going out for some rainy day Pho at one our favorite places. We have to eat up at all the favorites before we move...

the best 3 years

Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary... and I can honestly say that being married to Bear for the past 3 years has best years of my life. 

Isn't funny how you can grow and more and more in love with someone everyday? 

I still wake up and go downstairs with a big smile on my face because I am giddy to see my husband. 

I hope that never changes. 

I want to thank Bear for always being there, loving me unconditionally, and working so hard to understand me and my feelings.

Love you forever my babies... 

Annapolis, Maryland

The ocean is always such a calming and relaxing thing. It is something that both Bear and I grew up with and we miss everyday, our hope is that one day we will live near the great blue body of water. However, for the time being, it is such a nice place to visit. We spent a long weekend on a yacht in the Annapolis harbor with one of our closest friends, Ryan. When we arrived, Bear and I enjoyed touring around St. Michael's and eating our share of crab. 

Later, we met up with Ryan in Annapolis and enjoyed a night out on the town. The weekend consisted of eating lots of yummy food, boat rides, exploring the downtown of Annapolis, and hanging out with friends.

 As the weekend ended and we started our ride home, we could not resist taking a small detour to go visit Oxford and their delicious homemade ice cream.

Crabbing in Maryland

 

Last weekend we took a weekend getaway to Annapolis, Maryland. This is just the start of all the fun pictures that I took. Things have been a little crazy around here... packing, getting things together for our yard sale, and hanging out with friends. More about this wonderful trip coming soon. For now, I leave you with some pictures of us eating the best Maryland blue crabs ever!!! 

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Hopewell, nj

here are some photos from our day yesterday. we have been wanting to go explore this area more and learn about the history. Since we are moving, we feel like we need to go take it all in, and i am so glad that we did.

first, we ventured to rockingham historic site. George Washington called this place home for 4 months during the revolutionary war. the house is filled with furniture and belongings (replicas) from that time period. it was really interesting to see how they lived during that time. 

Later, we made our to Hopewell, a small quant town with a lot of history. we grabbed sandwiches and the best coleslaw around at the local grill.  we then toured the museum, learned all about the town (John Hart lived here), and walked through the cemetery.

it was a beautiful day, and Hopewell was a great town to visit.