Khloe Kardashian via Twitter

"Someday, someone will walk into your life and make you realize why it never worked out with anyone else."  -Khloe Kardashian

After years of dating and watching many of my friends find "the one", fall in love and get married, I began to think maybe there was something wrong with me. I thought maybe my expectations were too high, maybe I had watched one too many chick flicks, maybe there isn't such a thing as a soulmate...and then I met Greg. I realized then that there was nothing wrong with me, Greg just hadn't come into my life yet. 

The other night, we went to dinner at Vermillion, which happened to be where Greg took me for our third date. It was fun to reminisce about that night. In fact it was after the third date, Greg came back to my apartment (and we won't say how late he stayed), and we talked for hours. Greg still tries to deny it to this day, but it was that night that he first told me he was falling in love with me.  And of course, the best part was I knew I was falling in love with him too.

I still cannot get enough of this guy!

He truly is my best friend, and I'm so excited that I get to spend my life with him.

I could not be any happier.

And thank you NYC for being the place where all of the magic happened. You will always have a special place in our hearts.

 

End of July

Summer is my FAVORITE time of year. I love the sunshine and warm weather, and in NYC, I love all the fun things there are to do.

Well it just recently it hit me that the days are getting shorter and summer is more than half over, so I kind of kicked into overdrive trying to make sure we take advantage of every free moment before the cold weather comes and we go into hibernation.

So sorry for the long blog post, but we've been so busy I haven't had time to blog. 

Here is our update for the end of July.

Metropolitan Opera in the Park

Such a beautiful ampitheater in the Jackie Robinson Park in Harlem. Loved sitting on the bench with Hubs with my eyes closed. The music was incredible! And don't forget the popcorn!

Alexander McQueen Exhibit

We rushed to the MET and waited in line for an hour to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit before it left. We loved it! Such a talented (and crazy) designer. It was fun to see his different perspectives and emotions come out in his fashion. Incredible exhibit, and the gowns were to die for!

Rockaway Beach

We borrowed Jon and Leah's car for the day with plans to head out to the Hamptons. However, with ridiculous traffic and NO A/C, we had to reroute ourselves to Rockaway beach (the closest beach, and the one you can actually get to by subway, haha). We did get to enjoy a few hours in the sun. And, oh, did I mention that Greg's brother Eric is now living in the city? So fun! We did enjoy a nice breeze and great views of the city on our way home.

Friends, Cupcakes and Bocce Ball

I had never even heard of bocce ball before. Turns out, I'm a natural! You can see below the results of my very first toss - it happens to be the blue ball RIGHT NEXT to the white one. And fortunately, my luck didn't stop there! Greg and I dominated winning 3 out of 3 matches. Such a fun Sunday evening - perfect weather, the park of course was beautiful and we got to share it with great friends.

Kayaking, Yankees and Inlaws

It was during my and Greg's very first date, that I knew that I would love Mel and Linda Reeves. They are seriously the most wonderful people and the best inlaws I could have ever asked for. 

It was such a treat to have them come and visit us in NYC last month.

Jon and Leah and Greg and I had fun taking them to lots of fun places in the city. But the best part of the trip was just having Mel and Linda in our home and being able to spend time together. I think Greg and I both got teary-eyed when they left.

I must apologize now for letting Linda take all the photos during the trip. We really did see and do a lot of fun things. It makes me sad that these are the only pictures we have to show for the amazing week.

We all went kayaking on the Hudson, which is something Greg and I have wanted to do for a long time. Mel and Linda were so fast getting out on the water that I could only get a shot of them taking off!

Jon and Leah rode in a double kayak.

Loved the views of the city!

Happy Sister's Day!

I love my brothers, but I always wanted a sister - someone to play with, share a room with, share clothes with, stay up late telling secrets with, etc. 

As a little girl, I used to pray every night that one day I could have a sister too!

Now I have not one, but ten!

Each one is so beautiful, smart, talented, kind and loving. I am so lucky.

Happy Sister's Day (yesterday) to Julie, Jenny, Laurie, Carrie, Jen, Leah, Jessica, Emily, Allyson and Valerie! I love you!

Proud to Be an American

There are few things more "American" than hot dogs and Coney Island.  Combine them together and you have the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest, and this 4th of July Greg and I decided to go see it live. What a crazy event! 

62 hot dogs (and buns) in just 10 minutes. 

Totally disgusting, but also freaking awesome! 

I have to give it to Mr. Joey Chestnut (he's the one in between the guy with the face paint and the guy with the Mohawk, also the one on the big screen shot). At times I didn't think he would be able to keep it all down, but no one else even came close to devouring as many hot dogs as he did. Truly a champion in his own way!

After the event we (along with everyone else in NY) spent some time walking around Coney Island.

 The beach and boardwalk were crammed with people.

 We didn't want to pay to ride the oldest roller coaster, so we opted for a picture of it.

 Oh Coney Island, you are one interesting place!

That evening we got together with friends at Riverside Park to watch the fireworks. The weather was perfect, food and company were great, and the fireworks were just as impressive as always. 

Great job NYC, and God bless the USA!

Arizona Heat!

Just a week after my family left, we hopped on a plane for a trip to the desert, and just in time for a heat wave in Phoenix. 110 degrees is hot; I don't care if everyone says it's a dry heat!

But we couldn't miss the chance to be there for one of my dearest friend's wedding! Unfortunately, I being the good friend that I am, did not take one single picture of the bride and groom, so I stole this one off her facebook page. Jen looked beautiful and just radiated joy. There's nothing sweeter than seeing one of your friends find her soul mate.

While we were out west, Greg also had an interview at Thunderbird. Greg has been studying for the GMAT and looking into various MBA programs, and Thunderbird has always intrigued us - mainly because of it's focus on international business and our wild dreams of living abroad for a few years. Anyway, the interview went well, and we will see where we end up in the next couple years.

And for the rest of the trip? Here is a TOP 10 LIST (in no particular order):

1. The El Charo 

No trip to Mesa is complete without at least one trip to this family-owned Mexican establishment. My family has been going there for over 65 years, and my uncle even proposed to my aunt in one of the back booths. We have lots of memories there, and nothing beats their bean and cheese burros and beef tacos. Greg even loved it (which according to my Aunt Udell makes him officially part of the family).

2. Bluth Cousins

I was so happy we got to see my cousin Chelsea and her husband Shane and son Gus and my cousin Amy. They were all leaving on Friday to go on vacation to California, but they were able to squeeze in a few hours with us the night before they left. We love them and wish they lived closer so we could see them more often.

3. Sale at JCrew

Greg has not gotten new clothes since we started dating. I feel like a horrible wife, but I always needed him to come shopping with me. So since we had time in Arizona, we looked online and found the only JCrew in the Phoenix area that carries men's clothes, showed up, and they were having a summer sale + 30% all sale items + the regular 15% off you get when you use your student ID.  It was AMAZING! And I even happened to find a few things for myself.

4. New Babies

It's so fun to see the family grow and to see all my little cousins becoming parents. Trey and Eli are so cute and lucky to have such beautiful mommas! We loved the mini Sturdivant family reunion at my grandma's house. We're all crazy, but we sure do love each other!

5. The Western Hotel

My grandparents were so nice in letting us stay at their beautiful home in Mesa, and they treated us like royalty! We had good food and great times sitting around talking. Greg kept saying over and over how happy he was that he got to know Grandma and Papa better and how they really made him feel like part of the family. It makes us excited for the days when we will be bringing our kids out to Granny and Papa's house.

6. In-n-Out. 

This was our first official stop when we landed in Phoenix. The plane was so cold, and we were so happy to be out in the sun that I begged Greg to eat outside with me. He didn't even complain when the sweat beads started forming on his forehead.

7. The POOL

We spent lots of time in the sun. Every day we went to the pool (which is not something we get to do in the summer in NYC). Greg, of course, used the time to study. While laying out, I was able to finish two books and catch up on my celebrity gossip from my grandma's magazine collection.

8. Engaged Couple

We loved seeing Greg's cousin Lesley and her fiance Paul. They are getting married in the fall, and we couldn't be happier for them. We were so lucky that they were able to take time out of their busy schedules to meet up.

9. A Frozen Deer Head and A Gun Collection

Probably the highlight of the trip for Greg was when his cousin Kimber's husband showed him his freezer full of fish from a recent fishing trip, a deer head (which he obtained after hitting a deer with his truck and cut off the head so he can mount it on the wall in his son's room), and his gun/rifle collection. He even made Greg hold the rifle and pull the trigger so he could feel how it kicks back. We definitely had a good time with Kimber and Ryan that night!

10. Four Entire Days Together!

No explanation needed.

"I'm In Such Great Walking Shape"

I love my dad for many reasons, but mainly for how much he loves life and how excited he gets about little things (even when the rest of the family doesn't quite share his same excitement). Two years ago my entire family came to visit me in NYC, and in preparation for Cody's first trip to the big apple my dad was trying to explain to him about the subway system. He would go on and on about how public transportation works, how fast the trains move, how many people ride it, and how the whole network of tracks is underground a city of more than 6 million people. He said, "Cody, it's like a whole 'nother world down there!"

Unfortunately for Cody, my dad was so enthusiastic about the subway system that once in NYC he had to point out every subway entrance and say, "Cody, it's a whole 'nother world down there." It became our running joke during the trip.

Two years later my family comes to visit NYC again, and my dad hasn't changed a bit. Although, this time it wasn't about the subway system, it was about walking. I have to give my old man some props. We walked A LOT while they were here; I mean, even I was tired, and I live here! So my dad complained the first day, but he was totally amazed at how quickly his body adjusted and thus was born the phrase, "I just can't believe I'm in such great walking shape!" He must have told us at least five times a day (for the next seven days)! In fact, I think he even mentioned it multiple times once they got back to Wyoming.

I let my parents take most of the pictures on the trip, but here are a few from the day we went to the Natural History Museum and did the paddle boats in Central Park.

And yes, we did spend at least ten minutes staring and laughing at the weiner on this dude. My dad titled this exhibit "Granny and Grandpa leave for their Honeymoon". Only my family would be so immature as to take a picture of what everyone else calls "science"and "evolution".

Jeff really enjoyed the dinosaurs exhibits, especially once we told him they were "Little Foot" and "Three-Horns" from the Land Before Time.

I love Central Park and NYC in the summer!

After a few days in NYC, we went on an east coast roadtrip down the coast to Delaware and Virginia and then came back through Washington DC and Pennsylvania. Here are a few highlights from our day in the nation's capitol.

This picture is classic: my dad with his reading glasses on looking at a map, my mom trying to text a picture of the white house to her mom and sisters, Jeffery brushing his hair, and me and Cody apparently had seen enough of the white house and were ready to move on!

Such a beautiful afternoon to take a walking tour of the monuments.

Jeff was apparently not happy about the picture and the hug my mom was giving him...and Cody is especially happy cause Greg just grabbed his butt right before the shot!

And once again, why I love my dad. He loves to stop at places along the road to take pictures. But he won't get just any shot; no, he will squat down on the ground for the perfect shot!

We had such a great vacation. And even though I'm 28 and married, I still cry every time I have to say goodbye to my family. We're already counting down the days to Thanksgiving! Sure do love and miss you guys! Thanks for coming all the way across the country to spend time with us.