Boston Archives - Popcorn and Pandas

Twenty Eight: A Reflection

bday — My Aunt Marie, My sister on the left, and that’s me on the right – My sister and I are two years and three days apart, and we’ve been celebrating our birthdays together our whole lives. Love you little sis!

–

twenty eight: a reflection

twenty eight

you’ve been great

so much has happened

from the past year to date

it started with

a new camera to shoot

a photography class

to give this blog a boost

went to the obx

on family vacay

relaxed on the beach

all worries kept at bay

katie’s oc bach

was a ton of fun

laughing and dancing

til up came the sun

summer days at ft. tilden

with erin and rai

summer nights in dewey

to celebrate labor day

this year brought us very

many weddings galore

most of them being

near baltimore

there was one in boston

during a crazy manhunt

another in montauk

on the gorgeous waterfront

a ten year reunion

for my high school class

can’t believe

how much time has passed

a trip to a.c.

for a bachelorette

dinner and dancing

complete with roulette

brunches and bar crawls

in the n-y-c

pollard potluck had

their 5th anniversary

nights in new york

during santa con

thanksgiving and christmas

had lots of family to bond

we went through some struggle

went through some strife

when we lost our little peanut

it cut like a knife

we tried to stay strong

and looked up above

for some courage and guidance

and we got through with love

next came a photo shoot

with blue balloons

a new baby coming

for us all to swoon

we call him little monkey

our pride and joy

we can’t wait to meet

our sweet little boy

my fav blondes came to visit

new york in the spring

we walked on the high line

and of course went shopping

arizona adventures

brought me to tucson

hung out with my pen pal

hiked in phoenix at dawn

prescott, sedona,

and the grand canyon too

are all the great places

that we got to view

after over ten years

our huge fam got together

with over one hundred kin

and some beautiful weather

a father’s day feast

with the notes clan one day

gathered instruments together

and a concert we played

the fourth of july

brought us to maine

the lake house was awesome

and the lobster insane

this year has been wonderful

twenty eight has been sweet

but this year is now over

and we cannot repeat

twenty nine is stepping in

so let’s have some cake

celebrate, cheer, and sing

for the new memories we’ll make!

–

Can’t believe another whole year has passed by, and boom I’m in my last year of my twenties. Time really does fly by. Twenty eight was awesome, and I am really looking forward to embarking on so many more of life’s adventures in year twenty nine. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful wishes I have received thus far!

I would also like to say a special early “Happy Birthday” to my little sis, Angela, who is also celebrating her birthday this weekend. We are lucky to have our birthdays so close, and we have always been able to celebrate together from either near or far. Love you Pooks!

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday and a fabulous weekend ahead!

XO,

Gina

Beantown Strollin’

We were very lucky our trip to Boston was not cut short as they were able to capture the Boston Marathon bomber. After being on lockdown for quite some time, the residents of Boston were eager to get out and about on that Saturday afternoon. The streets were packed with people trying their best to get back to “normalcy.” We stumbled upon this sidewalk chalk memorial, which was very sweet. Passersby could stop and add their kind words and thoughts. We were a block away from where the explosion happened at one point, and there were plenty of police officers still there blocking off the streets. We saw many flowers and tributes to those who were lost or injured.

It was very sad to see, but it was also encouraging to see the camaraderie, love, and support of the Boston community.

We spent the day walking around with my old college roomie Danielle, her husband, Andrey, and their baby, Gray. We had a great time catching up with them, and this was also sort of a little parenthood preview of what it will be like to raise a baby in a big city. Fun times were had, and we look forward to having them visit us in Brooklyn sometime soon!

This week I am counting down ’til our big trip to Arizona!

I’m also planning on meeting up with my Bronx cousins in the city this week to celebrate an engagement as well as our Little Monkey. It’s been awhile, so we have lots to catch up on!

Happy Tuesday!

XO,

Gina

Boston on Dwellable

Boston Love

I finally found some time to go through the tons of photos I took at Jamie and Kaitlyn’s wedding in Boston. For those that don’t remember, their wedding took place on the same day as the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bomber. It was an extremely crazy day, and I am proud of the bride and groom for taking everything in stride. Their original ceremony location was supposed to be held at a church that was in a lockdown area, so they had to move it at the last minute to the same location at the reception. I think they did a phenomenal job with the transformation, and this couple proved that the show must go on and love prevails!

Tons of love, patriotism, and Boston pride were shown at this wedding from start to finish. The groom and his men dressed in Naval attire, the sword arch ceremony, the altered speeches, and the irish jig and Bostonian song lyrics gave this wedding a special touch. It was so nice to see their family and friends rally around the bride and groom on their special day, and also rally around their city in light of such crazy times. I’m sure you can see the love here in the photos below. Enjoy!

IMG_7959_Layers_v1 — Me and the hubby (with the little one doing a good job of hiding)

What a fun night!

Stay tuned for more photos from our Boston trip to come.

This past weekend we went to Maryland for the 1st Annual John Petrovick Memorial 5K in Baltimore. You may remember I ran for John and raised over $5,000 for the Johns Hopkins Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery back in October. Well, yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of his passing, and some good friends of mine put on this special event to honor his memory and inspire others. John was a truly inspirational person, and I am so happy this event went off without a hitch. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and about 250 runners and walkers participated. This was definitely the best possible way we could have spent the day. “Inside all of us is HOPE.” Miss you, John.

Hope you all are having a great start to your week!

XO,

Gina

{10} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading May issues of Health Magazine and Marie Claire. Got some yummy new recipes and a desire to return to Italy!

writing Thank you notes for all of the kindness my family and friends have shown toward Little Monkey so far! He is a lucky little boy!

listening To the news. I admit, I am not the best when it comes to keeping up with the news. I usually get my updates from Facebook and Twitter (I know, that’s horrible, but true). But events from the past week have kept me tuned in.

thinking That I cannot believe I am halfway through my pregnancy! 20 weeks in, and 20 weeks left until I get to meet my Baby Boy!

smelling Not much of anything. I have been sick and stuffed up all week.

watching The always entertaining Real Housewives of Orange County. Never a dull dinner party.

wishing For safe travels as we head down to Maryland this weekend.

hoping That I can pack my bags in less than 2 hours. For me this would be an accomplishment.

wearing Today is a lazy day. I blame it on being sick all week. I’m literally in yoga pants, New Balance tennis shoes, layered tank, tshirt, and sweater. On days like today, I’m so very lucky my office is low key.

loving The fact that 215 people have signed up for the John Petrovick Memorial 5K this weekend! I am so thankful to my friends who have put this event together. This is a great turnout for the very first event, and John would be so happy and proud. So excited to see you all in Baltimore!

laughing At myself trying on bathing suits with my prego belly last night in preparation for our trip to warm-weather Arizona. No really…it was quite comical.

wanting To be outside playing in this sunshine today. It’s gorgeous in NYC!

needing To flush this sickness throughly out of my system as soon as possible.

feeling Super excited for our trip to Arizona at the beginning of May. Hanging out with my pen pal in her hometown for the first time, seeing family and friends, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, warm weather, Mexican food, our two year wedding anniversary, and our “baby moon” trip…so many reasons for this excitement!

craving Everything and anything neon. As seen on Monday’s post.

clicking I took a million photos during our Boston trip last weekend of the wedding and the rest of our adventures. Once again, I’m blaming my sickness for my delay in posting these, but I promise they should be up sometime next week!

*Sidenote: I just got my Waveborn shades in the mail today, and I cannot wait to rock them oh so soon!

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.