nyc anniversary trip, night 1

we took a weekend trip to nyc for our 7th anniversary last month. it was short but we packed in a lot of fun stuff. I'm always curious about people's travel itineraries (because I'm a planner-nerd like that), so I thought I'd post what we did each day in photos. 

night 1
we flew in friday evening after work & made it into the city while it was still light out. so we dropped our bags at the hotel & immediately started wandering around the lower east side. robert gets pizza-obessed when we come to nyc, so we tried san marzano for dinner. tasty, but not anything to write home about.

after dinner & drinks we made our way to momofuku milk bar for some late night dessert. I had heard so many things about that place & was dying to try some birthday cake truffles. big disappointment. they were so sweet that I couldn't even finish one (and that's saying a lot!). however robert's cereal milk was super tasty & I would have gone back for one myself if the line hadn't been so long. next time I'll get a cookie & the crack pie! 

antiques roadshow

my mom & I got tickets to the antiques roadshow when it came through town yesterday. she took an old book that she'd had since childhood & I took my great grandpa ace's pocket watch. it was a lot of waiting around in long lines, but we finally got to talk to the appraisers. the book was only worth about $30. we were told the pocket watch was french & made around 1850 & was very rare, due to it's thinness. it's 18k gold, but because my great grandpa used it every day (he rode the bus for all of his errands & was always checking the time), the face was quite worn & therefore not worth as much as it potentially could have been. he appraised it around $2,000.  guess I can't quit my day job. 

 {the moment of truth...}

{one of the twins! we also got to see mark walberg... that's walberg, not wahlberg, unfortunately}

 {inside of the pocket watch, which I had never seen before. anybody know french??}

seven year itch

seven years of marriage already?! where has the time gone? I'm proud to say I haven't felt the slightest itch, nor a need to scratch it. ;) as usual, I stuck with tradition & gave robert the traditional anniversary gift, which was wool (or copper) this year (year four, year five, year six). for the life of me I could not figure what to give him, so on a whim I ordered some wool roving & hoped I could figure out something to do with it. a few days before our anniversary I found this tutorial on how to make a felt ball garland & got to work. it turned out super cute & I tied a card with some tickets to a baseball game to it (you know how much I must love robert to buy baseball tickets). 

robert surprised me by making the most adorable gift - a record (he tried painting it a copper color to go with the theme, but it didn't work out so he nixed it) with a label he designed, titled, "seven year itch" by "ain't gonna happen," from the record label "slim chance." ha! this guy cracks me up. so. thoughtful. 

and then he also purchased the most amazing house gift- 2 vintage hanging lights that I have been talking about for months. leave it to robert to find an amazing deal on ebay! I didn't take pics of those but hopefully they'll be hung soon & I can share them. 

anyway, I'm not gonna lie- I love gifts more than the next person. but in all seriousness, I am so truly grateful to have the most amazing gift of all- a loving, talented, thoughtful, trustworthy, fun-loving husband that I get to share the rest of my life with. that is a gift enough (although I really like the light fixtures....)

{wool roving in it's original state}

{form a loose ball & then keep rolling with soap up hot & cold water until it forms a ball}

{they look super cute once you've made a couple & start stringing them on some thread}

 {after expressing excitement over tickets to a yankees/red sox game, robert sweetly told me, "we don't have to stay for the whole game." god bless that man!}

{gotta love a husband who remembers our anniversary flower!}

{handmade gifts are the best.}

ina's mocha chocolate icebox cake

breakthrough. I think I may have just improved an ina recipe. yes, the food goddess, ina garten. how arrogant is that? she's got this delicious recipe for a mocha chocolate icebox cake, but you see, it calls for layering in box cookies. now I'm sure that these $8 tate's cookies that she calls for in her recipe are tasty. however, as a lover of cookie cakes (that place in the mall is the best), I thought it would be better to give this cake a soft cookie crust bottom. so if you ever decide to make ina's cake (which is surprisingly easy), I highly recommend switching it up & giving this method a try. because I'm no ina, but I do know a good cookie cake when I meet one, and this is a winner. and a happy mother's day to my mom & grammie, who also agreed.

 {make cookie dough -I used a bag mix *gasp*-  & spread into bottom of spring-form pan}

 {bake it for about 15 minutes}

  {let the cookie cool & make the mocha topping. spread on top of cookie. let chill overnight}

  {chop up some chocolate shavings for the top to hide any imperfections}

{cut a big slice because if not, you'll have to go back for seconds}

cake plate addiction

not only am I addicted to cake, I'm also addicted to buying the adorable little stands on which they're displayed. I've had a crush on cake plates for many years & have slowly added to my collection. I honestly did not realize the amount of cake plates I actually owned until I unpacked them all after moving a few weeks ago. and I found 3 more cakes plates after I took this shot. I need an intervention. 

we bought a house!

guys! I bought my very first house! well, "we" bought a house, but robert's not a property virgin like I am. it was pretty exciting. I can't wait to share the story of how we found this original 1950s gem. we're trying decide if we should start a separate blog to keep up with the house renovations or what. I'll keep you posted. for now, here are a few photos of our move over easter weekend. we are living with my parents right now until the hardwood floors are refinished so all our junk is packed into the garage & florida room. hopefully we'll actually get to move in next weekend! so much to do....

{closing day! we got the keys}

{the penske. a love-hate relationship}

{we filled this puppy up twice}

{thank the lord for robert's friends, brothers & my dad for helping us move!}

{and robert's nephew for doing most of the heavy lifting}

{yup. garage is packed.}

happy (belated) easter

this post is a week late but I hope everyone had a wonderful easter weekend. and thanks to my mom for whipping up an amazing meal and dessert (my kitchenaid is still packed away). and also for making sure the easter bunny still frequents the house every year ;)