Over the River and Through the Woods

Last week was just "one of those weeks"...and sometimes, the only cure for that is good ol' fashioned family time and a little bit of fresh air.  I've spent most of my life (with the exception of a few years as a young child) living in a different state from my extended family.

Winston and Franklin 

The DuPonts had to brave the airport craziness anytime we spent Christmas or Thanksgiving with our family.  But in 2010, when Mike and I moved to New York, we were a mere train ride away from my grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, dogs, you name it!  So I get to make up for 26 years of living far away from them, by heading out to Bristol, Connecticut whenever the heck I feel like it!

Home made guac

A little nap in the sun room

 I don't think I can even begin to describe how much Winston loves being out in Connecticut.  He doesn't have to wear a leash, he doesn't have to relieve himself on cement or trash bags, there are kids and other dogs, and there is an unlimited amount of balls for him to chase!  And when we get out to the country, he's happy, which is hard to tell on a bulldog, because in general, they look grumpy....but he's happy.  He loves nature, he's a nature dog. And he knows....boy does he know...when he gets a car ride to visit Connecticut.  Sometimes it's worth it, just for him.  Man, am I going to be a sap when I have a child. 


We don't need to do anything special when we visit Connecticut, it's not like we go out there because we want a crazy night out on the town.  I just feel lucky to have an outlet from the city whenever I need it.  And sometimes the best thing to do is just catch up with everyone and maybe attend a little cocktail party that my gram threw for all of her friends, regardless of the fact that I was the youngest by about 45 years.  Or sometimes, all you need to do is bust out the ol' Margaritaville machine and make a daiquiri, even though it's not summer.  Or sometimes you just need to do P90X in the living room with your uncle.  And sometimes, you just want to eat cocoa puffs and cinnamon rolls because you never have them at home.  It doesn't matter how old or how self sufficient you are, sometimes you just need a good home cooked meal, a family game night, and maybe a little time away from the daily grind to reboot yourself before another crazy week.  Thank God for family!

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!

Winston in a Dropkick
Murphys shirt

St. Patrick's Day was on a Saturday this year.  And not just ANY Saturday, the most beautiful Saturday so far in 2012...therefore a recipe for definite and absolute chaos.

The Mobleys were extremely prepared (as always with any holiday), with a Guinness beef stew, green rice krispy treats, and a refrigerator full of ice cold Guinness.  The sounds of Dropkick Murphys filled the home and the sun was bright and shining, allowing us to enjoy our wonderful patio space. Mike even made sure to get orange and green flowers for our apartment so we could proudly display the colors of the Irish flag.  Mike donned his kilt and we were dressed in the greenest attire we could throw together.

We can see at least six or seven different Irish drinking establishments directly from our patio, so we used our apartment as a base camp and start the day in some of the more authentic pubs, like our neighborhood favorite Molly's.  Irish pubs on St. Patrick's day are nuts to begin with, but then add on the fact that it was a Saturday, allowing for travel from the B&T crowd....and you've got an absolutely PACKED bar.  We are locals, and the Molly's staff appreciated that, so we got Guinness and some authentic corned beef and hash in record time.  The crowd was definitely interesting, and with people having the entire day off, it was an all day event, which allowed for more craziness earlier in the day.  People were 100% intoxicated before 2pm....which was just remarkable.

Our travels around the city took us to a couple more Irish pubs before we joined the rest of our buddies down on the lower east side.  This was the first time I think we'd all been together in quite a while.  I literally don't think we had the whole crew together since Mike and I had our Christmas party.  Nothing beats a night out with friends whilst being festive to celebrate a holiday. 

Somehow between 7 and 11p the night flew by and we had to leave to get home to our pup.  The night literally went by so quickly and I had such a blast with each and everyone of our friends.  Our schedules have all been so crazy lately that it was hard to coordinate with everyone, and Mike and I were starting to miss our buddies.  Everyone was in such good spirits and it was just good ol' fashioned honest fun.  We're definitely paying for it today, and Winston was up and at em' bright an early, but it was 100% worth it for a fun St. Patrick's Day with the best crew of people I know.

A Springtime Visit from the Mobleys!

 With the exception of what seemed like a month full of metal....we've had a relatively quiet and uneventful Q1 allowing Mike TONS of time to travel for work!  Now, I'm not saying that I'm ungrateful for have some quiet time, because once April starts, the Mobley's are going to be hitting the ground running for pretty much the rest of 2012.  There are bachelorette parties, showers, weddings, anniversaries, reunions, vacations, and recitals, oh my!  I'm not the least bit overwhelmed thinking about it, in fact I look forward to it all.

It's been a while since we had people come visit us in New York (outside of the monthly visit from my mom to keep me company while Mike travels....LOVE YOU MOM!!!!).  So it goes without saying that it was absolutely wonderful to have my in-laws in town for the weekend.  Mike's dad had some business here in the city and they were able to fit in some time with us on a beautiful spring weekend in New York. 

Minetta Tavern - Home of the Black Label Burger!

We took them to Minetta Tavern for my first experience with one of their world famous Black Label burgers!  It was absolutely delicious and I devoured every tiny morsel.  There are a few burgers in New York City that I'd put above this one, but it was definitely in my top 5 burgers I've ever had!

New York is definitely not in the full swing of springtime yet, but it was some of the best weather NY has seen in a while, regardless of the mild winter we had this year.  And boy did we enjoy it!  Mike drank his coffee & read the newspaper outside, while Winston engaged in his favorite past time...sunbathing.  It's the silliest thing this little pup does and every time there is just a sliver of sun on the patio, he's out there getting his tan on!

Our visit with Mr. & Mrs. Mobley continued with some lovely downtime at our apartment.  Mike and his mom sipped delicious martini's while I enjoyed a nice scotch with my father-in-law.  We may not have had the fanciest appetizer spread, but let me tell you, our bar is fully stocked 24/7.  And our night continued to one of our favorite neighborhood spots, Almond.  Dinner may have been a little late as were were all a few cocktails deep by the time we got there, but Almond always promises a great time and great food (we went there the next morning for brunch as well...WHOOPS!). 

We finished up the weekend with none other than a good ol' fashioned Sunday dinner!  Mike and I haven't shared a Sunday Dinner with anyone other than each other in ages.  I've been trying new Pinterest recipes and experimenting with the crock pot every week, but we always have TONS of leftovers and no one else to try my cooking.  So this Sunday, we actually had guests!  I made one of my staples, Shephard's Pie (although the weather was a little warm for it), along with my husband's favorite little pudding pie dessert.  I love entertaining people in our home (especially now that we have more room), and I LOVE LOVE LOVE, having family in town.  We can't wait to see the whole Mobley family one month from tomorrow in beautiful Sayulita, Mexico!!!

1984

My sweet shirt that used
to fit my husband

My birthday tends to fall within a time of year where there just so happens to be a lot of concerts.  Since Mike and I have been dating, we've celebrated my birthday with some type of epic musical performance.  In 2009, it was the 10th Anniversary concert of Jimmy Eat World's Clarity album, one of my favorite bands of all time.  2010 took us to Las Vegas with the Blades' for my first ever Bon Jovi show.  Last year was another JBJ show at MSG, and this year....well this year was Van Halen.

Birthday 2010 in Vegas for Bon Jovi!

For everyone who doesn't know by husband, Van Halen is his favorite band of all time.  It is the perfect blend of metal, awesomeness, and serotonin (as evident through the single "Jump").  I often boast of his amazing Van Halen tatoo on his arm.  So here we are with another 2012 first for me.  My first ever Van Halen show!   I can always rely on my husband to get amazing tickets to every concert and for Van Halen we were 6 rows away from Eddie Van Halen shredding his face off and David Lee Roth's little twinkle toes.  This reunion has been a long time coming, and as soon as they made the announcement in December, it was the best Christmas gift Mike had gotten all year.  It was such a treat to see one of the greatest guitarists of all time from just a few feet away.  And it was the perfect way to end a very musical and metal week after 4 days of rocking (literally and physically) on the cruise!

But yesterday I celebrated 28 wonderful years of life and I thank everyone out there who made me feel special.  Growing up, my family always knew by birthday was coming because right around February 20th, I started milking it.  "Can I stay up an extra 20 minutes please, it's my birthday?".  "Can I sleep over at a friends house on a school night, it's my birthday?".  "Can you do all my chores in the house for me, because it's my birthday?".  "Can I have two Popsicles for dessert, it's my birthday!"  "Can you get me some water, it's my birthday?".  If you didn't know it was my birthday, you saw it coming weeks before the actual day. 

A little birthday toast

I'm not sure at which age I stopped with these tendencies, but my birthday used to be my favorite day of the year.  Better than Christmas, better than Halloween...better than the last day of school.  I could never understand why crazy ladies started to not like their birthdays over the years. But this year...I completely understood, and THANK GOD I have my amazing husband who made sure I felt special and that there was no time for me to turn into a crazy lady because you're

My birthday bouquet and
a bulldog card...what else?

"sensitive" around your birthday.  He gave me presents all day, which included: a beautiful silk dress he picked out himself! (and knew what size I was!!!), P90X II (no, I did NOT take that gift the wrong way...for those of you who know me....P90X is pretty much my life), and best of all....two round trip, FIRST CLASS tickets to Italy in September!  Mike took me to one of the finest restaurants in New York City, Gramercy Tavern where we enjoyed some exquisite cuisine and spotted a few New York celebrities while indulging in one of the best brownie sundaes I've ever had!

But after another year and as I grow older and wiser, I am reminded of just how lucky I am to have all the amazing people in my life.  Even though I had a few crazy "I hate my birthday" moments, I had overwhelming love from all my friends and family to ground me and make me feel special.  Thank you to Joanna DuPont for giving birth to a 10 lb baby girl (those were some ugly pictures that day I was born...not my best) 28 years ago!  And thank you to my patient and sweet, sweet, husband for a day full of treats!