Spring Resolutions

Jake and I like to refocus every couple of months with seasonal resolutions and since it finally felt like spring this past weekend here are a few of my goals for the warm and rainy months ahead…

- Continue to eliminate clutter from the apartment with the help of Marie Kondo's incredible book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - her approach is brilliantly simple - "does it spark joy in your life?". If you haven't read the book, here is a great article the Wall Street Journal wrote about Kondo and her KonMari method of decluttering a few months back.

- Run. Outside. In the sunshine. (Maybe buy these to help motivate myself??)

- Rework spring budget… so maybe no to the motivating work out pants.

- Make concrete deadlines for creative collaborations that have been in the works for too long.

- Research and plan European and West Coast trips!! (Zurich, Prague, Vienna, Dresden - San Fran, Big Sur, Santa Cruz, Portland, Seattle) Also, familiarize myself with the European map.  My knowledge of geography is dreadful.

- Check out museums on a more regular basis. Over Jake's birthday we went to the Tenement Museum and loved it! First up: Cooper Hewitt

- Ukulele???

I'm 28? I'm 28... I am twenty-eight!

In this 28th year of life

my motto shall be, 

as Beyoncé so eloquently coined it,  

"I'm a grown woman. I can do whatever I want."

**clap, clap, clap, clap**

Love,

KCG

Glasses? Yes, it's time.

Jake calls me Mrs. MaGoo. Why? Well, because I've pushed off getting glasses for the past three years by skirting the issue and being too busy. Yes, just too damn busy. Instead I have developed a sophisticated system of leans and squints that help me get the job done. But recently even I've given up. I can't see. (I currently have the font size set to JUMBO on my computer). I've had issues with reading glasses in the past, they always feel too small for my face or squeeze the bridge of my nose. If they're uncomfortable I am not going to wear them. Then I found these bad boys in Italy. Well actually a very nice Italian shop owner did after he watched me try on and discard no less than a dozen pairs. They are actually Dolce & Gabanna sunglasses that can be fit with lenses. Perfetto! 

Now about scheduling that eye doctor appointment… it's on my to-do list. I swear.

Took the test on Lens Crafter to see what my style is … they were pretty spot on: Glamourous. 

Happy New Year!

photo by the talented and lovely, Lauren Desberg

HELLO friends! After a six month hiatus from blogging and a new year on the calendar I am practically bursting with thoughts and words and you know, stuff to say. Ha. But seriously, I've got a bunch of great posts lined up for you all. 

First off - Happy New Year! 2014 is going to be a good one, I can feel it. Every year come January 1st I make these grand resolutions to reinvent myself and my life. Some stick, but most are forgotten before I flip the page to February. This year, I'm keeping it simple.

Be Kind. 

Work Hard.

Be Healthy.

To me, these are the keys to a successful personal and professional life. I feel that kindness is highly underrated in our society and a virtue that we so often forget when we are stressed or tired. Not this year. I am going to make a conscious effort to display kindness to everyone; my husband, my family, my friends, my colleagues and strangers. I've found in just a few days that intentional displays of kindness lead to joy and emotional fulfillment in my life. It's the definition of a win-win scenario. 

Working hard is my M.O., and it always has been. But sometimes my focus narrows and I work extremely diligently on just one area of my life while other aspects are neglected. This year I plan to work hard on my relationships, my career, my teaching, and my hobbies. For example, I've wanted to learn Italian well enough to have a conversation with people over the age of 2 years old for the past six+ years (gulp). This year I'm going to work hard at conquering this goal. I will work hard at being the best wife, daughter, sister and friend that I can possibly be. 

This year being healthy isn't just about a number on the scale. It also isn't about fad diets, deprivation or marathon workouts. It is, however, about cooking with fresh, organic foods, about stretching and long walks through the park, about laughing and it is most definitely about getting more sleep. 

Here's to being the best version of ourselves all year long! Cheers to 2014!

Tuesday Trend: The Party Nail

My Sister told me this is called a Party Nail. So i tried it. Whenever I looked at my hands, I felt the party. Have you tried it? What were your colors?

Essie: Maiden Name for my party nail, Fiji for the rest.

Sisters in the City

Last week while Jake was in Italy and I was lonely Alison hopped the bus from PA to NYC to spend the day with me, wander around The Metropolitan Museum of Art and take in the city's summer sights.

The moment I first arrived in New York I fell in love, hard. The kind of love that can't be defined. A devotional, passionate, irrational, loyal and sometimes unrequited love. I knew I had found home. I knew I could never leave. I knew I was in deep.

Alison, however, hasn't been as easy. New York has had to woo her. New York has had to work for her affection. And still, she strings my darling city along. Showing up for days at a time, smiling, wearing flirty dresses and then running off to Boston's quieter (and she claims, cleaner) streets.

I'm not offended. I'm not even defeated. Because I know little by little this city will make a New Yorker of her. It may take years, but just you wait one day she'll wake up with her heart in her throat and she'll know the only cure is to drive, bus or run her way back to this hustle and bustle. And an inexplicable calm will settle in her soul as cabs whiz by her and people push pass and buildings scrape the sky. Just you wait Alison Victoria, it will happen. How? you ask. Well, because New York City is magic.

^^The sculptures are always my favorite. Always^^

^^Museum feet^^

^^It started to drizzle while we were on the rooftop garden^^

^^Rooftop feet^^

^^We stumbled upon some wings of The Met I had never explored before that day^^

^^New Yorker: established - 2005^^

Daddy's Birthday: Hotdogs, italian ice and a cook-out!

If you know my Dad then you know one of his favorite foods is... hotdogs. Yes, hotdogs. He can tell you where the best hotdogs can be found practically anywhere in the tri-state area. So when we stopped by for a post-hike, cool-down at Rita's Italian Ice we noticed a hotdog place had opened right next door called, wait for it... Snoop's Dogs. 

Jake and my Dad both approved. There has even been talk of starting an annual Lehigh Valley Hotdog Crawl/Bike. Just sayin' - you should probably get on board.

After Rita's and Snoop's we swung by a local farmer's market to pick up some juicy watermelon and oogle the beautiful scenery and the delicious baked goods. Sometimes I forget how rural PA is. I guess when I think of PA I usually think about my house and my neighborhood and forget about the huge open fields and farmland. It's pretty glorious. 

 ^^Nature at her finest^^

^^Yummy^^

^^We had a cookout with... you guessed it - hotdogs, hamburgers and all the fixings for Dad's birthday dinner!^^

 ^^Sugar-free vanilla cake and sugar-free chocolate frosting for Daddy!^^

^^Cake topped off with whipped cream and strawberries!^^