Back Home Again In Indiana

Excuse the cheesy title. It kept getting stuck in my head as I was writing. 

Since it's been a solid two weeks since I last posted, I decided it's about time I quit making Bee do all the work. I can be a serious slacker sometimes. Here's a little recap of what I've been up to. Christmas time meant that I got a much-needed trip back home. With so many things to do, people to see, and parties to be had it was a whirlwind of a week. 

Nothing says "Welcome to Indiana" quite like an IU basketball game....

.....or two.

It's been far too long since I've been in Assembly Hall.

Of course no game is complete without a trip to Nick's afterwards. I got to have a mini reunion with some of my college friends, which is becoming increasingly harder to do as we keep spreading out across the country.

Champ.

After spending practically a whole weekend in Assembly Hall, I finally had some down time at home.

I got to hang with these two cuties, Amelia and Elliott.

Isn't this just the sweetest little baby smile that you ever did see?

I'm not sure is Amelia quite grasped the concept of our hide-and-seek game. Although after seeing this pic I think she deserves more credit than we gave her because she does blend rather well.

FINALLY Christmas Day came. I had to hurry to snap a few last pics of the presents and tree in all their glory. It's scary how quickly this:

...turns into this:

Liam dubbed this year his "Best Christmas Ever". He was thrilled with all his gifts, not so thrilled about my photo shoot however.

Look at all that open space! Who would have thought I'd be excited about an empty corn field. While I absolutely love living in a city, being home made me realize there are two things I miss. The first is driving. It's the one time where you can be completely alone, something that doesn't ever happen in a city. There's also the fact that I like to be in control of when and how I get somewhere, and besides, sometimes you just need a little jam session in your car. The other thing I miss is space. In Manhattan, space is a luxury. Seeing this huge open field (which a few months ago would have been totally normal) gave me the urge to go run around. Don't worry, I didn't.

It took two trips to the airport to get back to NYC, but I finally made it. AND I got a bonus vacay day out of it!

Until next time!

XO,
Lo

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Bryant Park Winter Village

Bryant Park is one of my favorite spots in New York on a normal day, but at the holidays it gets all dressed up as a winter village that makes it extra special spot. I've covered about every inch of the village, but any time I'm in the vicinity I manage to find an excuse to go back and roam around some more.

 These mini green houses are pop-up shops and cover the whole park. There's food, art, Christmas shops, and boutiques. Basically it's a one stop shop for Christmas shoppers.

 In the center of the park they've put in a giant ice rink, a staple for any winter village.

Perfect combo.

 This place is genius. It's a two story bar and restaurant built temporarily for the winter village. It overlooks the ice rink, so once you're good and frozen you can go sit by the space heaters with a cocktail to warm back up. Given my lack of figure skating skills, my personal plan would be to just camp out here and watch everyone on the rink try not to fall down.

 Bryant Park Grill seems like a charming little place that I can't wait to try, expect a post about it soon.

Merry Christmas!

XO,
Lo

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It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

As tradition has it, the day after Thanksgiving my sister and I take on the great task of decorating my parent's  house for the Holidays. Every year it goes a little something like this…

• We blast Pandora Christmas tunes with the likes of Ella, Bing, Frank, Dean and Rosemary
• Ambitiously craft some new Christmas decor to add to Ma's collection. This typically ends with a "Who's idea was this?"
• Recruit Pops, the electrician, for just about everything that requires illumination. He was blessed with far more patience than the rest of us.
• Finally, a "team" Christmas tree effort commences. EB and Ma do a bulk of the work. Dad helps in vertically challenging moments. Jared pretends to help in general. And I do a little here and there trying not to overexert myself.

Here is our little craft project. Glass ornaments filled with glitter and strung to the chandelier. It will give your dining room table that mystical, magical Harry Potter look.

What you'll need:

Clear glass ornaments - we used multiple sizes

Glitter

Funnel - homemade paper ones worked just dandy

Fishing wire/thin string

Coffee filters to contain the glittery mess

Now onto the family affair of tree decorating.

Proof that Jared pretends to help.

 EB looking for a little assistance.

A certain someone being extra difficult.

Tartan on tartan on tartan

 Poser.

This is where sibling rivalry really kicks in. Who can get all their ornaments front and center first. Let the games begin.

Jared's "special" bear.

My elephant/rhino.

 EB's googly eyed reindeer.

 She had very chubby cheeks as a baby.

 My light bulb reindeer and puzzle Christmas tree and Bell. I'm clearly winning.

 Turns out Jared understands Swedish Ikea instructions. At least he is good for something.

 The final product. It's a beaut!

So excited to be back home again with the family in just a matter of weeks. In the mean time I have lot's of shopping to do. 

XO,

Bee

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