Much Ado About Balloons

When this trip started coming together, the initial thought was to go see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But after talking with some parade-going veterans, the idea of getting up at 5 a.m. to snag a spot in body to body crowds to maybe catch a glimpse of the floats started sounding less and less appealing. So, we decided we'd go the night before to see the balloons being blown up and prepped for the parade. This is an annual event and the balloons are visible as you walk around the block that surrounds the American Museum of Natural History.

We headed down to Central Park West where the bleachers for lucky ticketed spectators were already set up.

See? Almost as good as seeing the parade. 

As we neared the festivities, it became clear that everyone and their brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousins and nanny wanted to see the balloons, too. See that arrow? The line just to enter the block around the museum started there. It went down that side of the street...

... and then across the street. INSANE.

Finally! We could spot the balloons!

Very very cool to see a part of Americana!

Here's something you should know about this event- the block around the museum was barricaded off by metal gate barriers. Additionally, the event staff and officers weren't regulating the number of folks who entered at all. There were no exits which meant that you had no choice but to go around the entire block in the body to body massive crowds. 

Dumb. Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb. 

We saw one kid that had gotten separated from his family, but thankfully they realized it quickly and were reunited within minutes. Still, it was nerve wracking not to have any option to exit. This definitely made the whole thing less enjoyable than it could have been and confirmed our decision to not try and attend the actual parade.

Love me some Charlie Brown.

Kermit! He was my favorite.

At this point, we were seriously starting to lose it. So. Many. People.

And then Hello Kitty made it all better.

We finally reached the end of one side of the block which meant there was breathing room at last!

We paused for a few minutes on the steps of the museum to catch our breath, people watch and research dinner options.

A quiet stroll down a blocked off street before dinner is always good for frayed nerves. 

Dinner procured and groceries purchased for the next day's Thanksgiving brunch, we hit the subway (my eighth mode of transportation for the day, thankyouverymuch) and headed home.

Yeah...when I saw this shot this morning, I was really happy to still be in my pjs on Robyn's couch eating quiche. 

Good decision.

#turkeydayvacay

Well, hello! There are a ton of things I should have been blogging about in the last month, but the adventure I'm on right now definitely needs to be recorded. 

I'm spending Thanksgiving in New York City! 

I adore this city, the timing was perfect and one of my best friends lives just across the Hudson River in Hoboken. {Sidenote: Jason's gets to have his own adventure, having surprised his family back in Abilene, TX!} 

We've got a long list of sights to see, ones that I haven't managed to see in my last two visits. Brooklyn Bridge, more time in Central Park, exploring the Upper West Side, going all the way up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty and about a dozen other things. 

So thankful for the chance to do this! Prepare yourself for picture overload...

First things first, fly into LaGuardia.

I've never had the chance to fly into New York before and all I could think was, "How in the world does that island stay afloat with all those buildings on top of it?!" Seriously, insane.

Next, jump on a shuttle into the city.

 {Times Square. INSANITY.}

{Why, yes, that is a zombie Santa having a hot dog at Papaya's}

After reuniting with Robyn, we headed down to the waterfront to take a ferry over to the city. 

Lovely Lincoln Center

We headed over to Central Park West to check out the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons. That's going to get a post all to itself, but let's just say after being corralled like cows through police enforced barricades with no exits for blocks, I felt confident in our decision to not try and make it to the parade itself. CRAZINESS.

The balloon excursion took about two hours, so dinner at 10 p.m. sounds totally normal, right?

We returned home to Robyn's brownstone with aching feet and the satisfaction of having tackled the beginning of our #turkeydayvacay list.

We're spending a quiet Thanksgiving Day watching the parade, Robyn made a delicious brunch for us and we'll probably take some time to wander around Hoboken today.

I'm thankful for so much today. For a wonderful husband who gets excited when I have the chance to see one of my favorite places, for a mom and sister who love me so well, for family that I was born into and for Jason's family who embraced me, for more friends than I can count across the states and now continents, for a loving God who is gracious and merciful, for you if you're reading this...Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

My 30's are turning out to be my favorite

It's my birthday and I'll blog about it two months later if I want to. That's how the song goes, right? I am still all sorts of jazzed about Christmas, but since I still haven't decorated our tree or house and am seriously stressing out my husband by my lack of motivation and therefore have no pictures to show for it this birthday was extra special I couldn't let it go by without a blog post of its own. Settle in, y'all, this is going to be a long one (and if you just muttered "That's what she said," WE ARE SO BEST FRIENDS).

To start things off, Allie surprised me with a sisters trip to Atlanta and tickets to see Sugarland and Sara Bareilles in concert. Hooray! After making a quick stop at the outlets in Calhoun to pick up my birthday present from Jason (dreamy tall brown boots, thanks hon!), I met Allie at Ikea. This seemed as good a place as any to start the early birthday weekend considering that I had never stepped foot in this much talked about ohsotrendy spot. 

We headed upstairs to the restaurant first so I could try their famous Swedish meatballs. Can I tell you a secret? Lean in....real close now....they're just meatballs. Tres anticlimactic.

Armed with a map and the free measuring tape, we headed off into the vast realms of prefabricated glory. 

I managed to find the couch of my dreams (hello, Hovas couch, you lovely thing you) but as we neared the end of the top floor, my head was swimming. I made it about halfway through the bottom floor when I finally turned to Allie and said, "I don't care how cute or affordable this stuff is, I'm on sensory overload and I WANT OUT." So we booked it to the exit only for me to realize that I'd forgotten to look at a kitchen table, as I'd promised my NYC bestie, Robyn, that I would do. So, back to the top floor went we.

After a fruitless search in the table section, I was ready to turn around and go against the grain of the Ikea-imposed one direction maze and get the heck outta Dodge. My military rule-following sister would have none of it and so we walked through the entire top floor. Again. Have I mentioned I was already on sensory overload and my new anti-anxiety meds had yet to kick in? GOOD TIMES.

We'd gotten to the middle of the stairs leading to the bottom floor when I started looking for a quick exit out. The conversation between me and Allie went something like this:

Allie: There isn't a quick exit. We have to walk through the bottom floor again 

Leslie: WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO QUICK EXIT! THAT'S RIDICULOUS! THEY HAVE TO HAVE ONE!

Allie: Well, they don't. They want you to have to walk through again so you buy more stuff.

Leslie: NO WAY. NO. WAY. I AM NOT WALKING THROUGH THIS ENTIRE FLOOR AGAIN

{Sidenote: I may have actually stamped my foot at this point. I am nothing if not completely mature when under extreme duress.}

Allie: Well, get over it, Lu, because that's what we're going to have to do. 

{Another sidenote: There was much rolling of eyes at this point.}

Leslie: UUUUGGGGGGHHHH!

Annnnnnnnd, scene.

At this point, the angels smiled upon us and I looked to the right and saw a shortcut exit right next to their childcare center. Hallelujer. Crisis averted, we headed back to the hotel and then over to Phillips Arena for the show. It was, of course, awesome.

This was actually the very last show of their Incredible Machine Tour and so there a few pranks that night (see here and here), but one of the coolest parts of the show was a surprise that a local radio station put together. The last few months of tour took a tragic turn when Sugarland's stage collapsed in Indiana killing some of their  fans and crew members. To give them some encouragement and show support for the band, the radio station gave everyone a sign with some relevant lyrics from their song "Little Miss" and asked us to keep them hidden until that song was performed.

It was pretty cool to see all those signs go up at once.

The obligatory mid-concert shot, of course.

Sugarland always manages to work in cover songs so you never really know what's coming. All you Young Life folks, make sure you listen at 1:11 where Allie and I pay homage to our Mount Tabor YL roots.



Our weekend in Atlanta was pretty fantastic. Allie has a strong record of giving me amazing experiences for my birthday gifts and this one was right up there. Thanks, seestur!

Next up was a fabulous pseudo-slumber party hosted by Christine and Sarah. Hooray for girly time!
The birthday cake? Oh, they nailed it. Well done, friends, well done.

Hand crafted touches were everywhere...

I requested a menu of breakfast for dinner, one of my favorites. And you know what beverage goes perfectly with breakfast?

M'more mimosas, please!

Homemade quiches, Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls and fresh fruit seemed to make everyone happy.

And this?

This photo is a tangible answer to a prayer I have prayed for three years. It's missing a few more beautiful faces, but the women here have loved me, cried with me, walked with me, prayed for me, we've laughed together, crafted together, worshiped together and they've allowed me to step into their lives in a way that is such a rich blessing it brings tears to my eyes every time I look at this. They help make Chattanooga home and I am beyond grateful for them all.

Other highlights from the actual birthday...

This hilarious note from my mom explaining why she signed my card with her first name instead of "Marmee". Lordamercy, I love that woman.

Cupcakes from my work study students. Aged to perfection? I'll take it.

A birthday gift from my new friend Renee and a new favorite snack- Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms.

DIVINE.

And best of all? Coming home to the love of my life, a decorated living room and a delicious home cooked meal.

My cup runneth over.