A Haunting in Sleepy Hollow

Mike & I visited Sleepy Hollow back in 2012 just hours before we were hit by Super Storm Sandy.  We were there for the big block party, and we stayed through the evening for some fun on the haunted hayride through the Sleepy Hollow Graveyard.  Because we were in the UK last Halloween, we skipped out on our new tradition - but we would be damned if we missed it again!

There really is no better way to get into the Halloween spirit than to spend a day in Sleepy Hollow.  It's spooky, the entire town takes on the tradition (I mean...the high school mascot is the HEADLESS HORSEMEN!), and it is absolutely beautiful during the fall  - even in the expansive, yet completely haunted graveyard.  Outside of the yearly Halloween celebrations, there are not a ton of other activities to do in Sleepy Hollow - but it is a staple to get into the spirit.

This year, we added a new item to the itinerary after touring through Sleepy Hollow & the world renowned cemetery - we headed up to Croton on the Hudson for the Great Jack-o-Lantern Blaze!  We drove along the Hudson River during a blood-red sunset to arrive at one of the most spectacular exhibitions of pumpkins I'd ever seen in my life!

We traveled through a maze of intricately carved pumpkins in the most elaborate displays you had ever seen!  There were stacks of pumpkins up to 4 stories high, there were tiny pumpkins carved with only the tiniest of hands, and giant pumpkins carved to perfection.  All illuminated flawlessly by the flickering light of real candles....not one was blown out...and not one was powered by any sort of battery!  Mike and I were in absolute awe at what seemed to be a display of over 10,000 jack-o-lanterns.

Here are a few snaps from our 2nd trip up to Sleepy Hollow.  Even though we made it out here two years ago, it was every bit just as festive the second time around, especially with our addition of the Great Jack-o-Lantern Blaze...an event I'll be sure to frequent for years to come as a Westchester Halloween mandatory!  We hope you enjoy some of the photos, and we hope you all had a happy & haunted Halloween.

A trip to Harvest Moon Orchards

Mike & I have been trying to explore Westchester during our free time on the weekends in hopes of discovering the town of our future home.  There are just so many gorgeous places in Westchester county, and sifting through the possibilities is an extremely daunting task - but we'll talk more about that later.  Last weekend, we decided to visit Westchester by way of a pumpkin patch!  Sure, we can get pumpkins across the street at the local bodega - and of course I'm obsessed with our Union Square Farmers Market, especially in the fall.  But it's always more festive to pick out your pumpkin from a real farm - especially when dogs are welcome at this farm!

The three of us loaded up in the Jeep to head out to Westchester on a quest to find Harvest Moon Orchards.  It was a chilly autumn New York day, and rain was threatening a little bit, but the three of us were in for a true Halloween excursion.  When we arrived, the crowds all had the same idea as the Mobleys, but it was the first pumpkin patch we had been too since moving to New York!  And we found everything you could ever want from a farm - apple orchards, acres of pumpkins, a corn maze, hay rides, apple cider, and aisles and aisles of mums & Halloween decorations.  The grounds were extremely dog friendly - and of course Winston was pretty popular with all the sweet little children.

We were back in the Jeep returning to the city in no time, but it's amazing to just get out of the city and explore the beautiful state of New York.  It's easy to think that the best parts of New York are all found right here in Manhattan, and you can get anything you have everything at your fingertips living on this little island.  But some of the best parts of the city are still to be discovered if you can take some time to explore.  There is no where like the East Coast during autumn, and words cannot describe the beauty you can stumble upon when the leaves change just a short drive north of the city.  I never appreciated autumn growing up in California, because it just doesn't happen there - so we're both eager to soak up every gorgeous view and every fantastic tradition that we can in October & November.  It's worth making a trip out here just for the trees!

Winston was beat from chasing an endless supply of "balls" (aka apples everywhere!) when we got home from the Mobley farm adventure, and we had arm fulls of perfect pumpkins.  I can't wait to continue the tradition of visiting an authentic pumpkin patch next year and in the years to come.  It's just a little embarrassing when everyone is taking pictures of their little babies among piles of pumpkins - and I'm whistling at Winston to pose for some snaps.  But when you don't have kids, you take pictures of your prized pup at the farm!  If you haven't already visited a real farm for your pumpkins, I strongly urge you to make the trip and enjoy the wonder that is autumn in New York State.

Sister Tiiiime!

Jenny & I don't get to spend a lot of time together - we especially don't get to spend a lot of time together with just the two of us!  We love our husbands, but sometimes life just calls for a little sister time.  So after Sarah & Ian's wedding, Jenny decided to come back to the city with Mike & I for a girls night in NYC!  Her husband was on the first flight out of LGA back to Dallas, she had to keep her suitcase in the living room, she had to sleep on the couch, and both Mike and I had to work the next day, but Jenny didn't care!  She just wanted to spend some quality time with her favorite New Yorkers (but mostly me) before heading back to Texas.

Riding back from Rhode Island after a late night at a wedding was rough...definitely rough.  At least the drive through New England was pretty with some early signs of changing leaves - but it was over 3 hours, and we were all a little beat up.  But that didn't keep us from a good ol fashioned rally when we got home to the city.  Within 2 hours of walking through the apartment door, we were dressed up in our Sunday evening best, we had flawless hair, and we were walking out the door with a low-key agenda for a girls night.

We stopped first at Eataly, Because it was a rather off-peak time, we were able to get a table to have some meat & cheese with rose wine to start our evening.  In my almost five years of living here, I've always had an agenda or a very specific grocery list to fulfill when I battled the crowds through Eataly.  For once, I enjoyed having a reason and a guest to just stop and smell the burrata with me!  We closed our tab and hopped in an Uber up to the theater district and walked into a theater where Chicago was playing.  Also, never in my five years of living in New York, have I walked in to a theater seven minutes before a show is scheduled to start, and buy tickets!  And because we were so polite, and dressed so nicely for the theater - the ticket clerk gave us 7th row, center tickets.  But here's the catch...they were only $100!  It totally pays to be spontaneous - and polite, of course.

Jenny & I had little sippy cups full of champagne and we got some snacks to share during the show.  And it was hard to not enjoy any Broadway play when you have such fantastic seats!  When the curtain closed we were swiftly out the doors and home in cozies in no time.  Since we were hosting Jenny, Mike made sure to have some pizza delivered for when we got home...because that's just being a good host!

It meant a lot to me to have just a few extra hours of quality time with my sister in law.  Every time we see each other it's for a very short amount of time or it's for some major holiday - we need more "just cause" nights like this.  Now that we're officially related, I'm confident that we will create more reasons to have these nights.  We're always happy to have people visit us in New York, but the best guests are family - especially any one of our siblings. I love my newest sister, I love that she stayed one extra night to be with us, and I love that the night we spent together was perfectly spontaneous and girly in every way.  Jenny (and Garrett I suppose....) you're welcome back any day you ever want!

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Orefice!

I wrote last Memorial Day about my cousin Sarah's engagement to her long-time love, Ian - and after 17 months, the big day was finally here.  Mike and I have been to a ton of weddings since we started dating over 6 years ago - but there is something extra special about family weddings. It's just more fun when you get to go to a wedding where you absolutely know, that at the very least - you'll be related to more than 30% of the wedding attendees.   And we've been lucky enough to have TWO of those this year.  After Garrett & Jenny got married in May, we shifted focus to Sarah & Ian & their impending September 27th nuptials.  There was so much excitement and anticipation between all families leading up to the big day - and now it was actually upon us!

Sarah & Ian decided to have their wedding in Warwick, Rhode Island - just 20 minutes outside of Providence, at the Aldrich Mansion.  I don't think the weather could have been any more perfect for an early fall wedding in New England.  I had never spent any time in Providence, so it was lovely not only to spend some time in a new city that I had never explored before, but to also experience the place that meant so much to our bride & groom - the place where they fell in love as two Providence College students 10 years ago.

The night before the wedding, Sarah & Ian hosted a giant welcome dinner at one of their favorite bars in Providence.  Between the two of them - I think there were over 100 family members alone at the dinner!  It was so great to see everyone arriving and spend some time with all of the wedding guests, but there was a definite highlight of the rehearsal dinner - and it was Ian's special video dedication to our favorite bride.

Ian has spent his entire career in production - the guy has an EMMY! - so it was only fitting that some of his greatest work was the personalized video he shared with all of us and his blushing bride the night before the wedding.  It was a beautiful mash-up of photos from their 10 years together, some adorable anecdotes from some of our favorite romantic comedies, and of course a perfect proclamation of love for his soon to be wife.  When the credits rolled, there were quite a few tears, a few sniffles, and more than a few wives punching their husband in the arm for Ian making all the men in the room look bad!

I'm not surprised that Sarah remained completely calm and unnerved during most of her wedding planning, which made being her bridesmaid one of the most enjoyable wedding parties I've had the pleasure of being a part of.  Sarah let us pick our own style of bridesmaid gown, and she let us do our hair, nails & makeup any way our hearts desired - which made her pretty much the opposite of a Bridezilla.  But there was definitely some stress on the big day - but only the stress that comes when you spend too much time worrying that every single detail will be absolutely perfect and flawless on the most important day of your life...the day that's been 10 years in the making....NO PRESSURE!

When Sarah put her dress on, and slipped on those sparkly bridal shoes - she was a vision. My cousin looked flawless.  Sarah is my first cousin to have a wedding - so part of me just saw my sweet little Sarah as the tiny 3 year old in a big pretty gown playing dress up, with her stuffed Puff that she brought everywhere.  But the other part of me appreciated and admired the gorgeous woman she has grown up to become and the friend I've been happy to have for 28.5 of my 30 years of life.  It goes without saying that I was extra emotional when she took her steps down the aisle towards her soon-to-be-husband with my Uncle Cary.  It's always my favorite moment of any wedding - but it really takes your breath away when that father & daughter are some of the most important people in your life.  Despite some sniffles that I may have blotted with my bouquet, I was so happy to be there by her side for her a lovely ceremony.   .

There were a few things that were truly unique about Sarah & Ian's ceremony & reception.  First was the venue.  I already mentioned that it was at the Aldrich Mansion, but if you don't know anything about it, it's a historic site that boasts some incredible views.  It was like a mansion straight out of Great Gatsby - complete with the vintage champagne glasses, luxurious sitting room, lush gardens, floor to ceiling windows, and a back porch that overlooked the waterfront and was big enough to host the entire party.  In between speeches & meals, we wandered around the different nooks of the mansion discovering all of the charm in the expansive estate.

The second element was the collection of family of friends the two of them had in attendance on their special day.  Between the two of them, their list of family members is overwhelming - but it was just that many more people who love these two fantastic humans.  It was just as impressive getting to witness all of the friendships that they have been able to nurture over the course of their lives.  They both had so many childhood friends, friends from High School, friends that the two of them have from their time at Providence College, and friends from beyond their college years.  We're so lucky to have been able to see the entire DuPont side of the family back in May for Garrett & Jenny's fabulous Long Beach wedding - so getting a double-dose of DuPonts was the icing on the (wedding) cake!  I adore, ADORE, events when we're all together.  And thank GOD we get another one together in 2015...I'm already counting down the days!

And finally - the bride and groom.  Ian got a lot of grief from my Uncle Cary & some of his groomsmen for this day being "ten years in the making", but those ten years just meant more time for memories between the two of them.  More time for them to grow their many, many friendships as a couple,  More time for people to witness how perfect the two of them are when they are together.  And just a tiny extra time to make sure that the day was absolutely flawless.

I know I'm late in saying this again and they are approaching now their 3rd month of marriage - but congratulations again to some of my favorite cousins.  You guys mean the world to us & we can't wait to see what the future has in store for you both as all of our families continue to grow.  We love you both....TONS!