Halloween 2010

For Halloween this year we went into NYC with some friends (and tons of hilarious people walking the new york streets too!) We met up at Tiehls house for a little pre-partying and then took the train into the city to a party at The Lott! It was crazy- so many costumed people running around NY. It was awesome to see all the creative costumes and spend the evening with wonderful friends! Jeff had been in Waterbury doing his surgery rotation so we spent the entire weekend in the city for some much needed date time.

Jeff- a one night stand and Me- 80's rocker!

Me, Fermina- Lara Croft, and Lori- Lady Gaga

Nick, Lori, Janina and Gus

Almost ready to leave for the party

I was keeping Lori warm and being her boyfriend :)

Dancing at The Lott

Partying with Lady Gaga!

New England Fall

My parents came to visit this October to experience a true New England Fall! They were here for a week and got to explore CT and also Boston. Below is our Boston Adventure in pictures:

Faneuil Hall

Inside of Faneuil Hall

The New State House

Ready for our boat cruise!

Dad, Me and Jeff on the boat

Gorgeous view of Boston

Old Ironsides

Old North Church

The window that Robert Newman climbed out of after he hung the lanterns in the steeple

Old North Church Organ

Ready to start the pub crawl at The Green Dragon

Visiting the JFK Museum

In CT they visited Yale, Mystic for some lobster, Godspeed Opera House for a performance of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", dinner with the CT cousins club & fam, and of course Cracker Barrel-yum!! We had such a wonderful visit with them and we are so glad they could come see our CT home!

Olivia's Bat MItzvah

I am so behind in posting this, but work has been extremely busy (and wonderful) lately! At the beginning of October our cousin Olivia had her Bat Mitzvah. When a jewish girl reaches the age of 12 she is a "bat mitzvah" and now considered an adult. This occasion is usually marked by the bar/bit mitzvah leading a Torah service followed by a HUGE party! Its pretty much a mini wedding. Olivia did such an amazing job, we are so proud of her! We even got to be a part of the service, we were honored that Olivia asked us to bring out the torah from the ark. The extra special part of the the whole weekend was that The Sieglers came out from CA for the event and we got to spend a few days together. We met for lunch when they landed at the airport then headed to the hotel to get ready for the big night.

Me and Mindi at the party

Aaron and Mindi

Liz, Mindi, Karen, Peter, Jeff, Jodi & Me during cocktail hour

The morning after the Bat Mitzvah Jodi and Pete hosted a brunch at their house to celebrate. There was so much delicious food- oven baked french toast, challah, lox and bagels and babas cookies!! yum!

Some of our wonderful Aunts, Uncles and Cousins

The Sieglers!!

The Mendlingers and Sieglers

Congratulations to Olivia and thank you very much to our fabulous cousins Pete and Jodi for hosting such a fun weekend. We were so happy we got to hang out with Karen, Lew, Mindi and Aaron, hopefully there will be another visit soon. My parents also got to join in the festivities and come for the brunch. They happened to be coming into town to visit Jeff and I and it was perfect timing that everyone was in town for the Bat Mitzvah. We miss you all!!

Mo's Bachelorette Bash!

Mo is getting married in about 5 months so a few weeks ago we all flew into Las Vegas to celebrate with a Bachelorette Bash!! The extra special part was that the guys also had Brians bachelor party the same weekend. So I got to fly out with Jeff and also got to say hi to Brian, who we never get to see since he lives in Qatar. The guys and girls all met up at Yard House to catch up and have a drink, it was so much fun to see some college friends I haven't seen since our wedding!! After that we split up for our fabulous girls weekend, and what is any girls weekend without Hello Kitty?!?!? Mo loves hello kitty so I picked up some awesome pink hello kitty cups for our champagne!

Our Bar- complete with Hello Kitty cups and napkins

The beautiful bride to be! Sporting her amazing veil that Elvia brought

Bride and Matron of Honor

After grabbing some dinner we headed over to a bar at the Mandalay Bay

All the girls getting ready to head out for night 2. We spent the day lounging by the pool, drinking and eating- so relaxing. Ready for a night on the town!

At Paris, heading to dinner

At Mon Ami Gabi

After dinner we headed over to LAX nightclub to dance the night away! We got table service so we had a great area to dance, sit and not have to go back and forth to the bar. It was so much fun toasting to Mo and her upcoming wedding! Cant wait for the big day- Congratulations!!

Mr. and Mrs. Joyce!

In late August I had the chance to go home to California and celebrate Ryan and Renee's wedding weekend!! The extra special part was that I also got to see my family :) As soon as I landed Renee and I met up at the rental car office and chatted about all the fun details for the upcoming weekend. She dropped me off with my mom and dad and we had a wonderful family day!! We met up with Sarah and Kathy and had a delicious lunch, it was so nice to be able to see Sarah before she moved to Texas a few days later. We went shopping with Matt and Ashley and then hit up one of my favorite restaurants Lucilles! Delicious sweet tea and brisket! I also had the chance to meet Enzo- Matt and Ashleys adorable baby kitten!! Loved snuggling with him.

The following day was Renee and Ryans rehearsal dinner- full of margaritas and wonderful Mexican food. It was so much fun meeting more of Ryans family and getting to celebrate with all their friends.

Saturday morning, the day of the wedding, we all met up for a girls lunch for Renee's last single meal. We all got ready together at the hotel, it was like the old days getting all primped for school dances. Renee looked breathtaking!!!! What a beautiful bride. We all headed down to The Cannery, the wedding site, and helped set everything up. Cocktail tables with yummy gold fish crackers and swedish fish, candles and sand in the centerpieces, frisbees, and table names. It really came out perfect! It was all so beautiful against the blue backdrop off the harbor.

Beautiful view and cocktail tables

After the cocktail hour Renee and Ryan had their ceremony overlooking the water with all their friends and family watching. Karen, the officiant, also read a history of Ryan and Renee- it was so cute to hear all about how they met. This is the first kiss as husband and wife!!!

Table number and centerpiece

Me and my dad!

My amazing parents!

The 3 bridesmaids with the Bride, just missing Dani- the MOH

Mom :)

The beautiful bride! Congratulations Renee and Ryan, love you both and wish you a lifetime of happiness!

Feeding each other a bite of dessert. It was cheesecake and creme brulee!!

It was a wonderful weekend getting to see my family and also celebrate with Renee and Ryan. Busy October coming up! Next weekend we get to see Jeffs parents & Mindi and Aaron for our cousins Bat Mitzvah! And then my parents arrive for a fall Getaway! So excited to see everyone!

Birthday Boy!

2 weeks ago Jeff and I headed into Manhattan to celebrate his 28th birthday with friends! Since Jeff is living in New York during the week for his rotation our weekends are extra special. We checked into our hotel room then went to meet up with friends at Carmine's Italian Restaurant. They have the most delicious spaghetti and meatballs!! Everything is served family style so we all enjoyed plates and plates of food and some delicious oreo cupcakes that Lori and Nick brought.

The whole crew

Jeff scarfing down on one of his birthday cupcakes!

Lori and Me

After dinner we headed down near NYU to do some bar hopping

On Sunday, Jeffs actual birthay, we decided to be tourists! We hopped on the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island up close. Lady Liberty was so beautiful, even though she is made of metal her dress looks so soft and just drapes across her body. We had such a great time just staring up at the statue and imagining what it must have been like to build her or see her as your first sight in the US.

On the ferry to the Statue of Liberty

Lady Liberty

Main building on Ellis Island

Registry Room

Happy Birthday Babe! Hope you had a wonderful birthday weekend, we all enjoyed celebrating with you :)