Skydiving

Mitch has wanted to go skydiving since we met six years ago.  He has tried to go several times over the years, but every time the plans fell through.  But not this time around!  His officemate, Andrew, organized a group from work and they all headed out to Skydive Long Island on Sunday.  I went along for the ride, and it was not nearly as nerve racking as I expected.  He had a blast, and I am so glad that he finally got to go!  Below are some pictures that I and the photographer/videographer took. Note: I am not the one taking the pictures 13,500 feet in the air...just in case anyone was concerned.

Johnny Cash by Kelley McRae

Our good friend Kelley McRae is a fabulous musician.  She and her husband Matt are touring the country playing various venues and house shows.  They recently played a couple of shows in Lynchburg, VA and their host shot the below video.  I think it turned out beautifully!  Check out her website here; she might be in your hometown soon.  And if you like what you hear, you should definitely buy her music!

Video Blog #5 feat Kelley McRae from Randy Scott on Vimeo.

Empire State of Mind

Last night was a beautiful, clear, spring night here in NYC, so I decided to redeem the last of my Valebirthtine's Day gifts.  Have I told you about Valebirthtine's Day?  My birthday falls five days before Valentine's, so our first year of dating, Mitch developed Valebirthtine's Day.  I get a gift each day from my birthday to Valentine's Day.  It makes me feel so loved and cared for!  This year, my gift on Valentine's Day was tickets to the Empire State Building.  We were going to go on V-day for a very romantic, Sleepless in Seattle evening, but the weather was terrible...so we decided to hold off until a better night.  When I viewed the weather for this week, I knew that Friday night was our night, and it was perfect!  As I mentioned in this post, I love a cityscape, and the view did not disappoint.  We had a fabulous evening admiring this city that we have grown to love.  Enjoy the pictures!

Baked Potato Soup

I love potatoes!  I like them plain, mashed, baked, souped and saladed.  Seriously, if you make them, I will eat them.  My favorite is mashed potatoes, but this soup is a very close second.  I found a version of this recipe in Southern Living before Mitch and I got married, and it was one of the first things I cooked for him after we tied the knot.  It has evolved into a staple in our household; we eat it no matter what time of year, and it makes wonderful leftovers.

Baked Potato Soup

6 large russet potatoes

1 large onion, chopped

3 14 oz. cans chicken broth

1/4 C butter

2 1/2 t salt

1 1/4 t pepper

1 C half and half

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

3 T chopped chives (I often use dried chives from my spice rack)

6 bacon slices, crumbled

Peel potatoes and cut into cubes.  Combine the first six ingredients in a dutch oven or soup pot. Cover and cook on medium high heat until the potatoes are really tender, approximately 30 minutes.  Mash mixture until the soup is thickened.  Stir in the cream, 1 cup cheese, half of the bacon and chives.  Top with the remaining bacon and cheese.

You can also do this in a crockpot.  The only variation is that you cook it on high for four hours or on low for eight.  I did this a lot when I was working.  Happy Eating!

Crawfish and City Bakery

Last weekend we went to a delicious crawfish boil at the Boat Basin Cafe on the Upper West Side.  One of Mitch's good friends from Starkville, Jimmy, started an organization called Crawfish for Cancer after his dad was diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer.  This was the third annual boil in NYC, and it was a blast.  We spent about five hours outside eating crawfish and talking with friends.  There were several people from Starkville that came up to help cook, and they can cook some mean crawfish.  All around, it was a lovely Saturday afternoon and the close to 700 people that showed up, helped raise a lot of money for a great cause.


On an unrelated note, I was introduced to a wonderful bakery/restaurant near Union Square, and I am slightly obsessed.  I met my discipleship group at City Bakery on Saturday morning, and it was delicious!  I got the bakers muffin, but there were so many other pastries I wanted to try.  And I hear their hot lunch buffet is pretty delicious too.  I can't wait to go back and try lunch sometime soon!  Also, their space has a great feel to it, and is huge by New York standards.


I hope everyone is having a great week!  We have been engulfed in baby registering around here; which has taken a little bit more time than I anticipated.  I couldn't resist buying a couple of cute little outfits and headbands for little Maybelle...they are just so darn cute!  I will post pictures of our purchases soon.

Fabric Shopping

I went fabric shopping earlier this week and had a blast.  My friend Ashley kept me company and helped me haul the spirals of fabric around the store.  I found P and S Fabrics online and really liked the store a lot.  The workers are really nice and helpful, and the fabric selection is pretty good.  The only downside is that they don't have a good selection of printed fabrics.  But the price is certainly right.  It was fun to get inspired by the different colors and textures.  I am going to work on a burp cloth for Maybelle today using that pretty pink fabric.  I'll report back tomorrow with the finished product, and hopefully it will resemble an actual burp cloth! :)

Royal Wedding and Our Weekend

Did you watch the royal wedding on Friday?  I was not dedicated enough to get up in the wee hours of the morning, but I did watch it on delay as soon as I could get Bo to doggy daycare and pick up my breakfast.  I decided to bring out our china for the occasion; it seemed like there really wasn't any other way for me to have my bagel and coffee.  I loved watching all of the coverage and fell in love with Kate and her dress.  It was amazing!  And I loved that they just looked like two normal people in love and getting married....even though millions of people were watching.  I am not usually this into "celebrities," but I was glued in on Friday.

Mitch and I had a wonderfully relaxing weekend together.  It had been a pretty busy week, and it was nice to recharge.  Saturday night we went on a lovely dinner and a movie double date.  Natalie always knows the best restaurants, and this time she introduced us to some of the best BBQ we have had since moving up here.  The movie was really good, but had a plot twist at the end that kind of made you wonder whether you should like it at all.  Sunday we rented a Zipcar and headed out for the morning.  It was wonderful to stretch our wings and see that there is in fact green space outside of a park and that single family homes are still prevalent.  And Bo loves riding in a car, so it was nice to give him a treat that he had been missing for seven months.

Did anyone else watch the royal wedding?  What did you think?