Right Here, Right Now

When we got pregnant, a lot of people started asking us if it changed our timeline for staying in New York.  I would be lying if I said it hadn't crossed my mind several hundred times in the past year, but I am even more confident in our decision now than I was a year ago.  Yes, I so wish that we lived closer to our families, and there are days that I desperately want a car and a house and a Publix down the road.  Living in the city is hard and has gotten harder since little miss May arrived, but I love this place and our life here.  There isn't any place I would rather live right now.

You see, while it takes me two trips to get May, the car seat, the stroller and the diaper bag down our apartment stairs and onto the sidewalk; and every time we venture out the door, I have to bundle May up in a snow suit that she hates putting on, so she screams bloody murder while I am putting her in it; and I can't just open the back door to let Bo out, I have to do the aforementioned routine, even if it is just to walk a couple of blocks; and I have to make my own network of friends with babies because we don't have close friends nearby that have ventured into parenthood yet; and our 550 square foot apartment feels even smaller now that May and her things have arrived and taken over.....there are so many more things that I love about living here right here, right now.

May sees as many new things in our walk to the park as she would in a week of driving around in a car in any other city we would choose; and we have our choice of this, this, this, or this mommy and me class (and that is just in our neighborhood); and May learns every single day that the world is made up of people of all different kinds of nationalities; and we can pick up and go to four different zoos or an aquarium any day of the week; and we walk to church and are learning what it means to live in community; and there is a kids sing-a-long in a local bar every Wednesday morning; and we get a lesson on our country's history just by walking around lower Manhattan; and we can walk to no less than five playgrounds without breaking a sweat; and most of all, we have wonderful friends who have taken care of us like family.

We will undoubtedly get back South at some point, but right now, we are so thankful to be right where we are.  And we are so glad that May gets to start discovering the world in this wonderful place.

Dinner + Drinks + Movie

There is a lovely new theater a few short blocks from our house.  If it weren't exciting enough that we can go see a movie in our little Brooklyn neighborhood, they serve you dinner and drinks while you watch.  Yep, you read that correctly, dinner and drinks and a movie, all at once.  The Nitehawk Cinema is amazing, and we love it.  The food is quite delicious!  We went on a little date Saturday night and stuffed our face with an appetizers, entrees, drinks and popcorn.  We saw The Descendants and think you should too.  It wasn't quite up to all of the hype, but it is still a really good movie.  And lets be serious, who doesn't love George Clooney?  It was date night perfection!

The Past Two Months

I have been such a blogging slacker these past two months!  So much has happened, so in lieu of trying to type it all out, I am including a ton of pictures.

We are less than two weeks away from Maybelle's due date, and we cannot wait for her to get here!  We will keep you posted on her arrival!

Sugar Plums from our CSA

Our Brooklyn Shower

 Cake Decorating Class with Natalie

Laurie Beth gets married!!!

 Funny belly shot

Hurricane Irene

Mitch's surprise baby shower at work

US Open....one thing checked off the bucket list

Nursery painting

Bo Carnell testing out the crib

 I think he is ready for Maybelle to get here, so we stop pestering him....

Doughnut Heaven

I went this morning for my glucose challenge test.  I made my appointment in our next door neighborhood of Greenpoint.  Since I couldn't eat anything from about 9:00 last night, I was famished this morning!  So after I had my blood drawn, drank a sugary orange drink, waited an hour and had my blood drawn again, it was time to reward myself.  I had been wanting to try Peter Pan Donuts in Greenpoint for a while, so this was the day.  Man oh man, it was amazing!  For $2.00 I got an old fashioned glazed doughnut and a cup of coffee.  The doughnut was the perfect cake consistency with the perfect dip of glaze!  And the coffee was perfectly creamed and sugared.  I cannot wait to take Mitch there this weekend!

picture from cakespy.com

Coffee Shops

I just love them!  They are always so warm and cozy and inviting.  I have not always loved coffee, but I have loved coffee shops since early college.  Ann, my roommate during college, introduced me to Chai Mai Chai Tea, now Big Train Chai Tea , during our sophomore year.  I fell in love with it and luckily every coffee shop in Auburn had this wonderful treat.  Chai tea was the extent of my coffee shop experience until my fifth year at Auburn when I started waking up really early to finish my accounting research projects and one of my roommates had a coffee maker.  After that, I became an avid coffee drinker and now have it pretty much every morning.  But my love of coffee shops does not come from the coffee itself, while very tasty, but from that fact that I would often meet friends there to catch up on life.  I have the fondest memories of my coffee dates with friends and will always love coffee shops because of that.  When I enter a coffee shop, I feel like I have left the hussle and bussle of life and have entered a quiet, comforting haven.  


Mitch and I have found a wonderful place about three blocks from our house to grab coffee and a pastry.  We go there at least once a week and usually more.  They have the most amazing almond croissants you will ever have!  And they make delightful desserts as well.  If you are ever in Williamsburg and are looking for a cup of coffee or pastry, you must make your way to Margo Patisserie Cafe.  It is amazing!  And if you come to visit, I promise to take you there!  Also, during one of my  many walks about the neighborhood, I noticed this coffee shop off the beaten path with no name, just a blue bottle on the window.  I was intrigued, but not enough to go in....until I heard about it one of my favorite blogs, Today's Letters.  My interest grew, and today I went for the first time.  They slow drip every cup of coffee, so don't go if you are in a hurry, but it was a wonderful cup of joe!  Seriously, the coffee is superb, and I will definitely be taking Mitch back there, but I think Margo's will remain my location of choice to meet friends.


Does anyone else love coffee shops as much as I do?

I hope ya'll have a wonderful weekend, and I am going to run because the lovely Sarah Godwin is on her way to see us and there is much to be done around the house!  


**The picture above is our favorite coffee place in Crozet.