Apple Picking in Charlottesville

On Saturday Kevin and I woke up and decided to take a spur of the moment trip to Charlottesville to go apple picking and to see the city. We had the best time! The two hour drive was gorgeous with all of the rolling hills and changing colors of the foliage...Virginia is simply breathtaking in the fall!

We had heard from lots of our friends that the best place to go apple picking was at Carter Mountain Orchard and I think they are right! Set atop a mountain (duh...), the farm offers lots of different types of apples from Jonagold to Red Delicious and everything in between.

The amazing view overlooking the city of Charlottesville

Kevin and I decided to go with some Fuji and some Macintoshes

Kevin had to do most of the picking because I couldn't reach the apples...thank heavens for tall husbands!

I got to hold the bag...

I think that the best part of our trip was drinking the most amazing apple cider ever and eating hot and fresh apple cider donuts....the donuts alone were worth the trip!

Overlooking the vineyards...

After Kevin and I had our fill of donuts and cider we drove down the mountain to check out Charlottesville and decided that we liked it very much...especially our street!

Excuse the horrible lighting on this picture but I had to post this shot of Kevin standing in front of a Robert E. Lee statue. For some reason, Kevin's younger brother Brian (currently serving his mission in the Philippines) has this unexplained deep hatred of Robert E. Lee and we always make fun of him for it. I mean, the guy has been dead for sometime now and sure, he led the Confederates in the Civil War, but really, who hates Robert E. Lee? I just think it is all very funny!

Last Time Around...

Okay...there are still more pictures! I know! Leslie and Kevin were super picture happy, huh?

Kevin and I rode the subway to Brighton Beach, aka little Russia, and walked along the surprisingly beautiful beach. Kevin had a chance to speak some Russian (they all assume you're Russian there so I had a chance to speak some as well...not that I took them up on the offer...I just shook my head and said "nyet" to everything) so the hour long subway ride was worth it!

Times Square, baby!

Battery Park (Statue of Liberty in the background)

In front of the New York Stock Exchange...lots of camera crews and reporters!

That's it! No more New York pictures, I promise!

Give My Regards to Broadway!

Random Picture time!

After months of trying, Kevin and I were unable to get tickets to Conan O'Brian (he wasn't filming that weekend...how dare he!), so we had to satisfy ourselves by taking a tour of NBC Studios instead. I would definitely recommend it! We were able to see the studios for the nightly news, Conan O'Brian, and SNL! It was really cool!

After our tour of NBC Studios, Kevin and I stopped into Magnolia Bakery (made famous in the SNL bit Lazy Sunday) to "mack on some cupcakes." Let me tell you, biting into a $3 cupcake should have been a life altering experience, but Kevin and I both agreed that our good friend Kelly Crawford makes MUCH better cupcakes...thanks for showing us all that a cupcake could be, Kelly!
You're looking at almost $20 in cupcakes...this, of course, we didn't realize until we checked out. I hate it when they don't post prices and when I make assumptions like a "a cupcake can't cost that much...we don't need to ask the price"

Just down the way from NBC Studios is CBS Studios where the Late Show films

We went to see Phantom of the Opera...my third time (I am such a girl...who doesn't have a secret crush on the Phantom?) and Kevin's first...we loved it!

Toys R' Us Times Square

Did I mention that I ran into Johnny Depp while in New York?I never did get a Barbie dreamhouse!

Kevin and I ate dinner one night at Carnegie Deli...I didn't know what it was, but I guess a bunch of famous people like to eat there because the walls are literally covered in celebrity autographs!

On Location in New York

One of the most touristy things we did in New York was a bus tour around the city to see a ton of famous TV and movie filming locations. While touring around the city we would watch a clip from a movie or TV show and then we would go to where it was filmed...it was super cool! We weren't able to stop at all of the locations, but here is a small sampling of the places we were able to stop:

Hook and Ladder 8 - Ghostbusters and Hitch

The Friends apartment building. The restaurant on the ground level was also used for No Reservations with Catherine Zeta Jones (if you saw the movie it was the restaurant she opened in the end)

Will Smith's place in I Am Legend

The Cosby Show home (actually in Manhattan although they lived in Brooklyn)

During the tour, the guide asked several trivia questions, one of which Kevin answered correctly (Seinfeld question - of course he got it right!) - the answer was a "Black and White" cookie and we all got to eat one!

Washington Park - Big Daddy, August Rush, When Harry Met Sally

This is the original location of the "Soup Kitchen" - the owner of which, was of course, the inspiration for the Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" character

New York!

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms." - Tom Hanks, You've Got Mail

When Kevin and I first considered spending Fall Break in New York, all I could think of was the above lines from You've Got Mail. Isn't that such a great movie? Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have been to New York in the fall and I echo Tom Hanks' sentiments exactly! Kevin and I had a fabulous time and the weather could not have been more perfect! Bright blue skies, changing leaves, and a cool breeze that made it chilly enough to wear a sweater but warm enough to forego a jacket...simply perfect!

Kevin and I flew up Thursday evening, grabbed a taxi, and headed straight to our hotel - the Renaissance Times Square New York. For my job, I book a LOT of travel and have thankfully made some friends in the industry and was able to use the Marriott Friends and Family discount rate for our trip making the room almost affordable!

I couldn't resist taking a picture!

After freshening up a bit, Kevin and I wandered around until we found a good place to eat and stumbled upon a really fun place called Ellen's Stardust Diner. This is not the place to go for a quiet dinner as the wait staff sing (loudly, I might add) fun show tunes and other classics while you eat. This would ONLY work in a city like New York where you have a large pool of incredibly talented singers just waiting to be discovered.

Side note - the restaurant is located on Broadway and during one number, some of the restaurant patrons had the chance to sing along and after the song was finished the performing server said, "Now you can go home and tell your friends you sang on Broadway".....how sad!

We had a great view!

more to come!

Lunch with Kevin

I hope this doesn't embarrass Kevin too completely, but I have to take a minute and brag about what a wonderful husband I have! Three times a week, Kevin brings me lunch and eats with me at my office. I look forward to my lunches with him every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday because I know that not only will Kevin have prepared us a fabulous meal, but I get to spend time with my favorite person in the world (too lovey-dovey?).

Kevin doesn't do anything halfway! All of his lunches are fantastic and range from grilled cheese and ham sandwiches (for which he apologizes because he thinks they are too simple) to shrimp cocktail, spinach dip in bread bowls, and driving to Richmond (130 miles round trip) to buy me Panda Express (oh the lengths we go to get some orange chicken around here!).

Kevin always tries to surprise me with little things and today I have to hand it to him! When Kevin brought me lunch yesterday (Quizno's sandwiches - yum!) I whined that I wanted ice cream. Acting like Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I complained that I wanted ice cream (I love ice cream in the afternoon...and at night...well, anytime, really!) and I wanted it now. Well, not only was there ice cream in the house when I got home, but it made a special appearance at today's lunch. After eating leftovers from dinner last night, Kevin said that he had a surprise for me and pulled out a coffee mug. Thinking that he had brought me hot chocolate because it was chilly today, I grabbed the cup and quickly realized that it was COLD and could only be ICE CREAM!! He brought me ice cream in an insulated coffee mug - how cute is that? Of course, I could only start crying - I tell you, it's the little things that get me!

He loves me too well sometimes! I know I don't always deserve him (like when I am whining about ice cream), but I am glad that he thinks I do! I can go on and on about the wonderful things he does and the delicious lunches he brings me, but I just want him to know that I love him and appreciate all that he does for me.

I love you, Babe!

In Seach of the "Great Pumpkin"

On Saturday, the Crawfords invited us to go pumpkin picking at the College Run Farm in Surry and while the weather put a damper on the whole excursion (it was scorching hot!) we had a great time. Of course, every trip to Surry starts with a speedy ferry ride across the James River filled with bird feeding off the back of the boat and cliche phrases like "I'm the King of the World!" (reference to Titanic...I didn't say it out loud, but I always think it!). I love riding the ferry!

After a short meandering drive through gorgeous countryside, we checked in with the farm and to my surprise were handed cutting shears...I guess I didn't realize that we would actually get to PICK the pumpkin! How cool is that? I just assumed that we would choose from already snipped overpriced pumpkins like most patches (that's my California upbringing coming out...not that we ever went to the fancy pumpkin patches with the petting zoos and the pony rides as a child because the pumpkins were always SOOO much cheaper at the grocery store). I guess that's the difference between a farm and a patch!

On the Ferry

Aptly named Cinderella Pumpkins

The search is on!

Alas! We've found our pumpkin!

Snip!

Super proud pumpkin pickers!

The Crawford's adorable boys, Sam and Liam, kept things entertaining in the sweltering heat! Sam kept playing our pumpkins like drums and staking them like blocks!

A Liam-sized pumpkin...

I think Sam was frustrated that this "blocks" didn't stack right!