Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The Home Life

With all the travelling we've done so far, it is sometimes so nice to just spend time at home. Case in point, last weekend was the first of 4 straight weekends of us staying home. As close to home as one can be since there are always trips to NYC thrown in the mix.

This weekend was great. I love hosting and having people over for dinner so my aunt, uncle and cousins came over and I whipped up dinner. Usually Kunal and I go to their house but we turned the tables around. The last time we had dinner with them was the beginning of June so it was definitely nice to have a typical Friday night dinner again. I made homemade pizza courtesy of my sister's blog and it was a huge hit. Pizza really is one of my favorite things..next to sushi and mexican and thai..okay I can't really pick one but I do enjoy it. The rest of the weekend was spent running errands, seeing friends, and of course, watching the Olympics.

It's nice to finally settle in a routine again after the constant travelling. It definitely helps being in one place for the wedding planning I'm undertaking (from 8 hours away). I went home for a week and met with and finalize the majority of my vendors. The only one I'm missing is a videographer which will hopefully come together this week or next. It's exciting to start seeing the wedding come together. We had an engagement shoot when we were in NC. I know that I've been engaged for quite some time and it might seem pointless...but I love engagement shoots. They make the couple look so amazing and when you put on the pictures at the wedding, it really does add a little bit extra to that special day. I knew I wanted one for as long as I could remember. Now that I've done it and I;ve gotten the wonderful pictures back, I can see the light is brightening. I remember when it was just a distant goal and now..8 months away!

Between the wedding planning and the Olympics, I am sure time will fly and before I know it, I will be boarding a plane to the UK. Speaking of the UK, I really need to get the ball rolling on my tourist tour of London and Paris. This is going to be one fun trip!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Exploring the Northeast

During our 3 week stay in NJ, we've decided to venture around and check out some of the "cool" things up here. Last week, we went to Atlantic City. We've been there multiple times before but it's still fun to go back. I unfortunately was not so lucky on the tables and came away with less money than I started with. On the other hand, Kunal was on a hot streak and made enough money to cover my losses along with food and cabs and still have a good chunk of pocket change. It was definitely a fun trip after hectic travel plans prior.

This week I only had work Monday and Tuesday so I was super excited about my 5-day weekend. I haven't worked a full week since before Memorial Day! I at first thought I would just stay home and be extremely lazy. You know, get in that summer vacation I so dearly miss. Sometimes I miss it so much I think about going back to school or teaching!

Instead of being a couch potato, we've planned a whirlwind trip that will take us to 3 of the Northeast's major tourist traps. Tomorrow to celebrate the birth of this great nation, we will be in NYC to celebrate with friends from school. I've never been in NYC for the 4th so I'm very excited and I adore fireworks so that shall be a fun site to see. Also, I love doing anything on a rooftop so I'm looking forward to having a picnic up in the sky.

The following day, we are going to a place where we can take off our grown up shoes for a bit and just have some fun acting like a kid..a kid tall enough to ride roller coasters, that is! We're going to Six Flags Great Adventure. I've been there multiple times when I was younger. I still remember the one time we went and I was too short to ride the brand new Batman ride and my sister was tall enough! Looking back, her short height now must have been karma for her teasing as I sat outside the ride and waited for her, my dad, and my aunt to get off the ride. Kunal has never been so he is very excited. We are going to go through the safari in the morning and then spend the day at the park. We've never been to an amusement park together so this will be a first for us!

Friday, we're planning on going to Parx, a casino in Pennsylvania that we've been wanting to check out. Hopefully it lives up to the hype that Atlantic City has given casinos.

Finally, we're ending the mini-vacation with a stop at a local vineyard on the way home Saturday. Kunal and I love going to local vineyards, something we've done in NC that we try to continue up here in NJ. Let's hope the vine is good!