Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

last moments in New York

~ Etc.

My last moments in New York consisted of thrift shopping where I scored many awesome finds, rode the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty while eating a sesame seed bagel & cream cheese(what is it about their bagel that makes it so good?), and eating at Mono Mono, an awesome place that plays bunch of records and live jazz music.  Their walls are stacked with old records from floor to ceiling, I wish I had a wall like that at my house!  We ate their mango salad, corn on the cob, and chicken wings, which were all very good. 
I had half a day the next day by myself before I had to catch my flight, and I walked around Times Square and looked for souvenirs for my girls and Jay.  I also went to Mood fabric store, and I was imagining I was one of the designers on Project Runway.  The store was a bit of a disappointment to me however, and I didn’t find any fabric I loved.  I guess when your budget isn’t $2000, you don’t have as many options. 😉  I had fun walking around the store, and imagining the day I’ll be able to go to a fashion design school so I will have the ability to execute every design I think of in my head and be just as good as the amazing people in Project Runway.  

New York, see you again soon.

New York- MET & Magnolia

~ Etc.

We walked around the city and went to the Metropolitan Musem of Art.  We only saw maybe 10% of the museum and it was so interesting to see so much history with all the exquisite details from all over the world in one place!  After the museum, we went shopping and then stopped at Magnolia Bakery and got their famous banana pudding and cheesecake, along with I love Roma Pizza, and ate on the bed while we watched Pitch Perfect.  It was a perfect day.

Hello Utah

~ Etc.

I’m back from New York!  I got back a few days ago but I’ve been busy spending time with my husband and the kids to make up for all the time I’ve missed!  I cried several times during the trip, especially when I saw little kids around adi & ana’s age, and the parents must have been so freaked out by this strange girl sitting across from them in the train, starring at their kids with a big grin on her face and intense longing in her eyes to just grab and hold them and to give them a piece of candy or a toy while telling them how special they are.  
While I missed my family everyday, I’m not gonna lie, it was soooooooo nice to just take care of myself instead of someone else.  Two words to sum up my 5 day break would be peaceful, and rejuvenating.  It was such a nice break, and I pondered a lot, read a lot of scriptures, and made many goals to be a better person/wife/mother.  I came back home energized and refreshed and couldn’t wait to see my family!
A big thanks to my husband for making sure all my plane rides were windows seats, a touching card he had me open only when I got on the plane that made me cry, not only taking excellent care of the girls, but being genuinely excited to spend 24/7 with them for 5 days, and for letting me come back home to a spotless, meticulously clean home, and this amazing chore chart he made.  I’ll show you guys later, but seriously, I came back to these amazing, well behaved, listening when asked only once-kids, and I was speechless.  This goes to show he would make a way better mother than me, and I’m so grateful we are partners in parenting.  Now, I just need to find a job that will pay me more than his so he can be a stay at home dad!  

A surprise

~ Etc.

Every year for the past four years, Jay and I have made each other gifts for under $10 for Valentine’s(see  2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).  To me, a well thought-out gift that doesn’t cost a lot of money is the best gift, and means more to me than any expensive materialism, and I have a feeling Jay loves it too. 😉  So for this year, I told Jay last month that we should keep our gifts handmade and under $10 and he agreed.  But guess what…. he had another plan on his mind!

He surprised me with an early Valentine’s gift.  After spending v-day with him, I get to fly solo to N.Y for 5 days while he uses his vacation days to watch the kids.  He also gave me a shopcard to use to go shopping in N.Y!  I will first go to Rochester for 2 days to visit my brother and his family, and then to New York City for 3 days to visit one of my best friends.  I’ve been wanting to go visit them for the past couple of years but never initiated it to make it happen and Jay’s so sweet to remember and actually make it happen. He talked to them beforehand without me knowing to set the best date for me to visit them and everything!  I’m so excited!!!
If you know of any awesome places to visit or to eat, please let me know!  So far, I want to go to Moods fabric store, and see the Statue of Liberty, but that’s all I have on my list right now.