central park in the fall

having been born & raised in florida, I honestly don't think too much about this "fall" season you people talk about. don't get me wrong, I love pumpkin-flavored everything, fall decor & plaid flannel shirts. but the season doesn't hit our state quite like it does the rest of the country. but boy did I get to experience a true autumn while strolling through central park last weekend. the weather was a crisp & perfect 64 degrees & the tress were covered with yellow, orange & red leaves. it was incredibly beautiful & peaceful in the midst of this crazy, busy city. 

{my wonderful friend & tour guide, kristin}

 {kristin is also a master braider}

cousin matthew crawley

remember when I said watching the downton abbey wedding episode was like the best thing ever? well I lied. obviously, meeting cousin matthew IN PERSON is the most awesome thing ever. I went to nyc to visit my friend kristin & we got tickets to see a play on broadway called the heiress, starring him, jessica chastain (from the help) & david strathairn (you know, the dad from the river wild). the play was excellent, especially since we moved from our balcony seats to some empty seats in the second row after intermission.  

afterwards, we hung around the stage door waiting eagerly for cousin matthew (yes, I prefer that to his real name, "dan") like teenagers at a justin bieber concert. we all screamed & jumped up & down when he emerged from behind the door & my camera flash was going off like I was a paparazzo. he was so humble & sweet & gave autographs & posed for photos until everyone in the crowded had seen him. his british accent was pretty dreamy & I even gathered up the words to tell him I was impressed with his american accent in the play. 

oh yea, & jessica chastain was also gorgeous & so incredibly sweet as well. here she is signing a program for my friend kristin. what a night! 

september cookie: chocolate-drizzled coconut macaroons

I actually did make these in september, but for the life of me, could not find the recipe to post until now. I'm not a huge coconut person, but these were pretty tasty (and super easy to make!). 

{chocolate-drizzled coconut macaroon recipe}

inspired by: a royal wedding

not that royal wedding. the downton abbey royal wedding, of course. you're gonna hate me in about 2.5 second, but I watched the first episode of season 3 last night. yes! a friend sent me a link in an email that looked totally sketchy with instructions on how to view the first episode that just aired in Britain. I got some gross pop-ups of naked lady spam & I probably some kind of virus on my computer during the process, but it was worth it. I don't want to post the link because I am still a little unsure of how safe it is, so I thought I'd do an "inspired by" post instead of some things you can look forward to seeing at royal wedding. you will swoon, for sure. 

royal wedding details here