adventures Archives - Page 17 of 29

{11} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading Finished reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed, about a woman who finds herself while hiking the Pacific Coast Trail. Sort of an Eat, Pray, Love in the wilderness if you will. I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys the outdoors. I am now starting Bossypants by Tina Fey, and hoping for a laugh.

writing Other than blog posts, I haven’t been writing much of anything else lately…

listening Violin and Dubstep? Who knew this combo could work. Check out Lindsey Stirling’s Crystallize. She’s mad talented.

thinking That I am extremely grateful to my husband and neighbor for installing our A/C window units this week. It’s 90 degrees here today!

smelling Yankee Candle’s Summer Scoop. A candle that smells like my favorite dessert? Yes please!

watching Well, I got dragged into a “Bachelorette Draft” this past weekend. Yes, it’s like fantasy football, but with Des and a bunch of hot guys. I really had no interest in this show whatsoever, but after investing time into making draft picks for a friend that couldn’t make the event…I am now finding myself wanting to know how this whole thing is going to pan out. Go Juan Pablo!

wishing Everyone a Happy Last Day of May! Can’t believe it’s going to be June tomorrow.

hoping For a fun-filled weekend with friends in the Big Apple.

wearing A dress that I found at Nordstrom Rack a couple years ago along with red, strappy Sam Edelman sandals.

loving This strawberry, banana, pineapple smoothie I’m consuming right now.

laughing At what happened when Vine tried to make a commercial for Vine. See over at FunnyorDie.com

wanting To meet my new little cousin, Noelle Raelyn, who was born yesterday! Congrats to her Mama and Papa, my cousins Brittany and R.J.

needing To figure out what to wear to a costume party on Saturday…Disney princess or pregnant Britney Spears? Hmmm…

feeling My little one kicking up a storm in there all day long. It’s such a crazy and awesome feeling!

craving I had been craving a pedicure (since I can no longer reach my toes well enough to paint my own), and luckily this was fulfilled on Wednesday. I went with the new Essie 2013 Neon Collection’s DJ Play That Song. I can now proceed with open-toed shoes again.

clicking Researching pediatricians and birthing classes for the little one.

What have you been up to lately?

Happy Friday!

Love,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.

#58 See the Grand Canyon

May 11, 2013

This is my final post about our trip to Arizona, and what better way to end the trip than with a bucket list check mark! I have been wanting to see the Grand Canyon for a long time as it is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, and it’s right here in the U-S-of-A. I had seen photos previously, but there is nothing like seeing it with your own eyes. The pictures cannot do it justice. I’m not even sure my own eyes could do it justice! This canyon is so incredibly massive that it’s tough to even understand what you are looking at…where does it end? Where does it begin? Where is the other side? How deep does it go? These are all questions I asked myself as I viewed this natural wonder from the South Rim in Arizona. I was a little disappointed to find out the glass bridge was located on the North Rim…I guess I didn’t adequately do my research. But it was still phenomenal nonetheless. We drove from lookout point to lookout point stopping to take numerous photos along the way. Finally, we started to hear people around us saying, “Ok this is the last time we are stopping!” And I have to say, I started to jump into that same boat. I mean, honestly, how many photos can you take of the same thing? Haha…apparently a lot. The views were incredible, and if we had planned things properly, we would have packed a picnic lunch to eat at one of the lookout points while taking in the scenery.

While we were in the Grand Canyon, we had a lovely fancy dinner at El Tovar lodge, which I would highly recommend. We ended up staying at The Best Western for the night, which was not too far out of the National Park and was actually pretty decent with a free buffet breakfast. It didn’t hurt that the concierge upgraded us to one of their best suites in the hotel! Points to my handsome husband for that one.

The only bad thing about our visit to the Grand Canyon was that it meant our trip to Arizona was coming to a close. We headed back to Phoenix the next day for our last dinner at the amazing Parlor, and then jetted back to NYC.

Hope you enjoy the last of our trip photos!

I finally got my wish…it is SUMMERTIME in the city today. Whew!

Stay cool, my friends.

XO,

Gina

Red Rock Country

Sedona, beautiful Sedona. This was one of my favorite parts of our Arizona trip. I had never seen such stunning red rock mountains like these before, and they were absolutely breathtaking. We spent two days in this area. The first of which we mostly drove around the area with Zack’s aunt and uncle, taking in the beautiful scenery. We had a delicious cheap lunch at Tortas de Fuego, with the best churros I have ever tasted for dessert. The second day, we explored a little more checking out the West Fork at Oak Creek. Unfortunately, we could only walk a little bit of it, because my prego body was pretty averse to the Arizona desert heat at this point. Next time we go back, I would love to do this whole trail. I would also love to do the overnight hike to Havasu Falls, which I hear is amazing. But, we did what we (or I) could do, and we had a great time doing it! What a beautiful place to visit.

Can’t believe it’s already Thursday. I’ve been enjoying my low key week, and I’m looking forward to Memorial Day Weekend!

Who has fun plans? Would love to hear about them!

XO,

Gina

Sedona on Dwellable

Ride the Wave {Waveborn Part II}

Remember my friends from Waveborn? Well, they were also kind enough to send over a fresh pair of Baysides for my husband to rock this summer, so I forcefully…err kindly…asked him to show them off in this blog post since he was wearing them all over Arizona. I love the look of these shades, and I have to say, my man is lookin’ pretty studly in them…or maybe I’m just biased 😉 Remember, every pair of shades you purchase from Waveborn also helps give someone the gift of sight! Check out their campaign here.

Sunglasses: c/o Waveborn / Button Down: Thrifted – similar here, here, and here / Jeans: ZARA – similar / Flops: Reef

Happy Hump Day everyone! Yesterday ended up being a beautiful sunny day, and we enjoyed a lovely dinner outdoors at Spina in the East Village with two of my favorite Aussies. The $5 mussels and meatballs were to die for as well as their homemade fresh pasta dishes. Nom Nom Nom! Tonight is going to be a low key one. I’m hoping the sunshine will come out to play again despite the weather reports.

Have a good one ya’ll!

XO,

Gina

The Journey Continues in Prescott

Just some more updates and photos from our Arizona trip. After Phoenix, we headed to Prescott to see Zack’s Aunt Bobbi and Uncle Doug. They moved out there over a year ago, and they are loving it so far. They took us around Prescott and out to the mountain town of Jerome as well as Sedona. We had a great time catching up with them and getting to spend some quality family time out west. Many thanks to them for hosting us on our trip!

IMG_8648_Layers_v1 — I kind of wanted to just kick these saloon doors right open!

IMG_8651_Layers_v1 — Enjoying lunch with Uncle Doug and Aunt Bobbi in Prescott

IMG_8656_Layers_v1 — Uncle Doug’s fabulous ride

IMG_8682_Layers_v1 — The mountain town of Jerome

We are finally having some beautiful warm weather here in NYC! Zack finished up the garden last night, and it’s looking fabulous!!! He planted tons of tomatoes (for my homemade sauce!), basil, peppers, eggplant, cilantro, and snap peas. My tum is already getting hungry. Speaking of food, tonight we are having dinner with two of my favorite Aussie mates, and I could not be more excited!

In other news…my heart goes out to all of those affected by the Oklahoma tornado. All of these natural disasters have been so heartbreaking lately. I’m saying lots of prayers for everyone out there, and if you are looking for ways to help with the relief, you can start here.

XO,

Gina

Prescott on Dwellable

Wild Wild West

I borrowed this romper from a friend of mine recently, and I could not wait for some warm weather to wear it. The Arizona desert seemed like the perfect opportunity. I love the tribal embroidery detail in the top half of this piece, and because I was in the west, I just had to top off this look with some fringe booties. This outfit was super comfortable, flowy, and free…and I’m hoping to get a few more wears out of this bad boy before my bump grows too large!

Romper: Borrowed from a friend – similar here, here, and here / Fringe Ankle Booties: Target / Bracelet: (Old) Street Vendor / Necklace: c/o Guilty Jean / Chevron Stack Ring: Baublebar / Watch: Betsey Johnson / Earrings: ALDO / Shades: NYC Soho Street Vendor / Lip: Lancome Fearless

It’s FRIDAY! Hubby is home from ATL, and we are heading out on a little date night tonight for a belated 2 year anniversary celebration. I’m currently in the dark on the surprise, so I’m excited to find out what’s in store! We also have some visitors in town this weekend, so looking forward to seeing and catching up with some friends and family.

Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!

XO,

Gina

Phoenix From My Phone

For one reason or another, it proved easier for me to take photos on my phone while in Phoenix. This first photo is from my DSLR, but the rest were snapped from my iPhone. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have already seen some of these, but here is a little more description about our travels.

We arrived first to the Tempe area and stopped at the Mystery Castle. It is a house that was built out of recycled and found materials of the area. It was constructed in the 1930’s by a father for his daughter who didn’t want her “sand castle to wash away.” It was an interesting stop off with a cool backstory, and the house was unique with tons of art and crafts produced by the family, mostly the daughter.

We then headed to Mill Avenue, home of Arizona State University. We drove around the campus exploring, walked around the town to the different shops, and then stopped off for lunch at Caffe Boa, which was absolutely delicious. Being Cinco de Mayo, I expected it to be a little more crazy than it was considering ASU is supposedly the “#1 Party School in America,” but I think students were graduating and finishing up their finals…and it was also a Sunday.

We later arrived at our hotel, Hilton Tipatio Cliffs Resort, which was absolutely stunning. The views were gorgeous, and I couldn’t wait to jump in the fabulous pools. However, we were zonked, so we crashed for the night.

The next morning we woke up and decided to hike the short but steep climb, the North Mountain Trail, which was surprisingly connected right to our hotel (as well as at least three or more other trails). It was pretty great, and we got some nice views of downtown Phoenix as well. After the hike, we suited up and headed to the pool for the day. A (virgin) pina colada, sunshine, swimming, and a good book was just my idea of vacation that day!

That night, we met up with some cousins of mine who moved to Phoenix about 10 years ago, and went to dinner at a great Mediterranean place called Fez. It was so wonderful to catch up with them and share stories after not seeing each other for so many years.

We were also able to meet a family friend in Phoenix before we went on to our next destination, so we were happy to be able to make our rounds and see everyone we had planned on! That about sums up our time in Phoenix until the end of the trip. Stay tuned for my next post of Arizona adventures!

FYI…my bathing suit is my first maternity one from Target. The book I’m reading is Bringing up Bebe – an American mother discovers the wisdom of French parenting. I would definitely recommend this to all expecting mommies!

It’s supposed to be sunny and warm here today in NYC, but I’m still waiting for the clouds to part. Hubby returns from ATL tonight, and I am definitely looking forward to it!

Happy Thursday!

XO,

Gina

Phoenix on Dwellable

Dotted in the Desert

The weather was beautiful in Southern Arizona, and I was so happy to be rockin’ a sleeveless dress with no jacket! I wore this little handkerchief hem dress to the Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson, and I even got a little suntan! This flowy little number was perfect for my prego belly and very comfortable in cotton. And I must mention that this dress is not a maternity dress! I have found that by buying dresses san zippers and in comfy material, I can find items that are much more fashion forward than the typical things I have been finding in the maternity sections (although there have been some good exceptions!)

Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Dress: Target / Sunnies: LOFT / Sandals: Sam Edelman via Nordstrom Rack / Watch: Michael Kors / Skull Bracelets: c/o Guilty Jean / Spike Bracelet: ASOS / Bow Bracelet: Baublebar / Toe Polish: Essie Avenue Maintain

Today is overcast, a little rainy, and a little chilly here in New York, making me miss that Arizona sun! This week I’ve been trying to play catch up at work, at the doctor’s, with my DVR, and on life in general. Hubby had to skip town for a quick business trip to Atlanta, so we are going to celebrate our two year anniversary (bc Arizona just wasn’t enough) with a date night when he returns on Friday.

Happy Wednesday!

XO,

Gina

Tucson Reunion

You may recall, two years ago, when I met my pen pal, Angela, in person for the first time. Yes, that’s right…I said pen pal! I wonder if kids even know what those are these days? Crazy as it may be, we met on my wedding day after 18 years of writing and keeping in touch with each other. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, and I grew up in Maryland, eventually moving to New York City. While, it was absolutely amazing she flew all the way out to the East Coast for my wedding day, I wished that we had gotten more than 10 minutes to speak to each other. So now, two years after our first brief meeting, and 20 years after we first started writing, Zack and I headed out to Arizona for the first time to stay with Angela and her boyfriend, Leon, in their Tucson home.

Angela’s entire family blocked off their Friday night to welcome us with a wonderful homemade Mexican feast at her Nana’s home on their family ranch. Back in the day, they hosted roping competitions and rodeos here, and there are still many folks who keep their horses on their stable grounds. It was so awesome to finally hang out with Angela, meet her entire family (minus one sister who wasn’t in town…we missed you!) and see the place and land where she grew up and wrote from all these years.

Saturday, they gave us the grand tour of Tucson starting off with the Sonoran Desert Museum. I must have repeated a million times “I’ve never seen anything like this!” mostly in regard to the huge giant cactus, err saguaros, that littered the desert. In the museum, we also saw tons of other flora, fauna, and animals. My favorites were the coyotes and the prairie dogs…so cute! After the museum we stopped at The Mission, which is the first Catholic Church in Arizona, and also the oldest European structure in the state. It was extremely beautiful and special to see. For more info on the history of the Mission, click here. We grabbed lunch in South Tucson at El Torero, a yummy Mexican local hotspot, and then headed downtown to do some exploring. The city is extremely artsy and many of the shops displayed a “Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead” theme. Angela, actually had one of her paintings displayed in a gallery downtown which was really cool to see. I am so proud! We drove past Angela’s elementary school, St. John’s, where she wrote me my first letter. It was really interesting to see how different the architecture was from my grade school, St. Mary’s. Saturday night, we attended a Live Theatre Workshop, which turned out to be a hilarious performance, and we ended the night with a fab dinner.

Sunday, we were sad to leave, but also excited to continue on to Phoenix on our state-wide tour. We had such a blast in Tucson, and it was so much fun getting to know Angela in person. She is exactly how I thought she would be from her letters over the years, and we all got along wonderfully. I am so grateful to her and Leon (as well as her entire family) for being such amazing hosts, and I look forward to having them come out to visit us in Brooklyn sometime!

IMG_8283_Layers_v1 — Angela and I on her Grandparent’s Ranch

IMG_8438_Layers_v1 — From left to right: Me, the hubby Zack, Angela, Leon, Angela’s parents

Angelas House — The sun shining down on Angela and Leon’s house

Four of Us — The four of us at breakfast on our last day in Tucson

After our 10 day hiatus, Zack and I are now back in New York, and I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of photos I need to go through! I have so many updates for you regarding our trip to Arizona, and this is only the beginning. Stay tuned through this week and next for photos and stories of our travels, outfit posts, and more.

In other news, Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary to my amazing husband! Can’t believe we were saying our “I do’s” two years ago. Tomorrow also marks 8.5 years that we have been together. I am so very lucky to have him in my life, and I am excited for what this upcoming year will bring for us. We have embarked on so many journeys together so far, and I can’t think of a more exciting and important one than parenthood.

Have a great week everyone!

XO,

Gina

Tucson on Dwellable

Our Brooklyn Garden

Since moving from the Upper East Side to Brooklyn, we have acquired a ton of outdoor space. Last year, my husband and I decided to grow a little garden in our front yard. It was crazy plentiful with tons of basil and other fresh herbs, tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, peas, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and of course some pretty flowers as well. But as you can see from this photo, it was also quite a bit of a mess. This could possibly (ok definitely) have a lot to do with the fact that I think we only weeded once the entire growing season, but regardless, this year my husband was bound and determined to create a much more organized and clean structured looking garden. He even created raised beds…raised beds! I have to say, I have been very impressed with all the work he has put into it. He has been working his tail off, while I haven’t even lifted a finger this year. I’m using my pregnancy as an excuse, but frankly, I’m just not that into yard work. I would much rather be doing laundry. Luckily, our neighbors have been very helpful. Our one main problem is the stray cats in the area, which is the reason we fenced off portions of the garden last year. They like to dig up our fresh eats and relieve themselves in our flower beds. Darn cats. So anyway…here is the transformation from last year’s garden, to the new and improved 2013 Brooklyn Garden.

Last year…

This year…

IMG_8248_Layers_v1 — This empty space here is waiting for a nice little outdoor table and chairs set

IMG_8249_Layers_v1 — Fresh spinach growing

Since I took these photos, those darn cats have returned, and they have started to dig into the spinach bed. Therefore, my husband was back out there last night putting up a little fence around the bed, and I’m sure he will have to do the same with the other beds as well. Hopefully that will do the trick as it did last year. I am dreaming about making fresh homemade tomato sauce and fresh pesto sauce this year…mmm…I can’t wait!

Tomorrow, Zack and I are leaving on a jet plane and heading west to Arizona! We are super excited for our 10 day adventure and state tour. I’m pretty sure I won’t really get around to posting or editing anything next week, since I will be too busy exploring, so follow along with my adventures on Instagram!

XO,

Gina