Habitat for Humanity - Staten Island

Reflecting back on 2013 memories… 

Over the summer we had the opportunity to join Hope for New York and Habitat for Humanity on Staten Island for a home build. I'll be honest with you, I had no desire to build any part of a house. I've coordinated house builds before for volunteer groups but never participated in one. The thought has always freaked me out. I've had kitchen fires, spilled a paint can in our kitchen and Richard's car, and I'm not one for patience or measuring... so we usually have extra holes in our walls and I never use paint tape. I know. 

But I went and...

Loved the team building and sense of accomplishment.

Saw for myself just how bad off areas still are and how they have not returned to normal. 

Proved to myself that I could do a home building project. 

Became delirious and laughed a lot. 

Prayed for the community and the recovery. 

I'm glad I went. I've said before that defining your volunteer journey can be tricky. And it is. But I'm glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone. 

Christmastime in the city. NYC 2013.

BAM. Christmas arrived in New York City. And I just loved it. Loved, loved, loved it. 
This year, we stayed in the city and soaked in the magical lights and sights.

It's funny how much one single day holds. Christmas Day. This day shines light on childhood memories, it highlights what we have to be thankful for, it reminds us of grief and family issues, it makes us happy to be part of a family… and for many, it is a day of rest. A day to symbolize hope for a new year ahead… hope for health, prosperity and that those life struggles we face would fade away in the New Year.

Dear Christmas, we put a lot of pressure on you. But that's OK, you seem to return to us every year… full of jolly and sparkle. And you come knocking down the door ready for the celebration of Jesus… so that we may be well equipped to face those life struggles that will certainly come in the New Year. Among the holiday parties, delicious calories, festive cocktails and gifts upon gifts, you find your way to our hearts and allow us peace, comfort and celebration.

Christmas will never be perfect because life is not perfect. But we will choose to celebrate, among a broken world filled with dissapointment, heartache and sadness. Why? Because this is not our final stop… and for that I am thankful. I love the life that I've been blessed with - even through the messiness it often brings. But this Christmas I celebrate that I'm still on my journey… all because our Savior was born in a manger on that cold night in Bethlehem.

Merry Christmas from New York City, our favorite place on Earth. Here's our guide to celebrating Christmas in NYC…

Grab some friends for photo fun!

Listen to carolers in the snow at your neighbor tree lighting - Carl Schurz Park 

See THE Christmas tree in Rockefeller! 

Get fancy for a black tie party with friends…

…and drink, sing and laugh the night away.

Give back to the community by volunteering 

See the tree at the glorious Plaza Hotel!

Shop for your holiday favorites at your local grocery store, Trader Joe's!

Be suckered into decorating your church on Sunday mornings for Advent. ;) 

Take so many strolls through your neighborhood in the beautiful snow...

Have the weather be a constant conversation with strangers!

Sip fun, warm and festive cocktails in tiny New York apartments with friends.

Quote your favorite Christmas movies every chance you get.

Check out the holiday shops in Bryant Park, Grand Central and Union Square.

Stare at the ice skaters. 

See one of your favs in concert!  

Drink mulled wine with friends while it snows. 

Enjoy laughs during your community group's White Elephant Exchange!

See the oversized Christmas decor across the city!

Keep up with your family in Texas through a ton of photos and texts! :)

Enjoy candlelight service and good company during dinner.

 Make your mom's recipes for Christmas Day.

Stroll through Central Park with your love on Christmas Day at sunset. 

See a movie and window displays on Christmas Day!

Have "A Christmas Story" dinner at a Chinese restaurant! 

Snuggle with your furry favorites! <3 nbsp="" p="">

Isaiah 9:6-7

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Decorating for Christmas in 450 sq ft.

Everything is a challenge when you live in 450 square feet... including decorating for Christmas. So, when I'm living in an abundance of square footage one day, I want to remind myself of how much I actually loved decorating our tiny New York apartment... with my dollar store finds. Oh come on, you know we have no place to store our Christmas decor. It's sitting in a storage unit in Texas. When you have tons of square footage, you actually have to buy decor to fill up empty spaces. 

Here we go... our New York apartment at Christmas. All 450 square feet. Enjoy!

Dining table centerpiece with $1 ornaments + grandmother's champagne flutes + $1 Xmas wine glasses + fancy whiskey glasses... functional and festive!

Our front door! Hello, $1 stocking. 

Entry way! I absolutely love Christmas cards. In fact, it is one of my favorite things about Christmas. The little globe was Richard's as a little boy! 

Another thing we brought back from Texas recently... a handmade knit pillow. This also belonged to Richard as a little boy. It's the perfect easy addition to our chair! 

When we were first married, my mom bought us a little Christmas tree just like this one. We love little trees so much that they have become a Christmas staple. 

Having a chalkboard in a small space is so easy for transitional decorating. It can stay up all year, and you simply change it with the seasons. 

Adding a stand of lights to your alcohol collection is festive, easy and makes your kitchen sparkle! 

Aren't these cute?! I found these $1 steals for Pickle's & Sundae's first Christmas. I love the colors. The start to our Christmas morning is always the dogs running to their stockings for lots of treats! 

Christmas would not be complete without displaying some of our favorite Christmas movies! 

Changing out our island runner is super easy! We always grab a few festive fake flowers and re-purpose a candle holder or jar! 

Last, but certainly not least... Hand wash! Festive hand washes are one of my favorites. I love the purple I found this year... It still matches our bathroom, but it's Christmasy too! 

The best part of our Christmas decor is that it all fits in one medium-sized bag. Thanks for touring! 

Our 50 State Travels: Places We Would Live

Part of the fun in traveling all 50 States is playing the "would we live here?" game. Once you've made a crazy big move (ahem…Dallas to NYC), you realize that picking up your life, making new friends, adjusting to a new climate and securing jobs really is a possibility!

However, you have to have the right mindset. You really have to be open to change. And, probably most importantly, you have to actually want to live in your new destination. Therefore, Richard and I like to keep an open list of places we would consider living. You never know what the future has in store! But, I can tell you, we absolutely love living in New York City at the moment.

San Francisco, California 
I don't think I have to convince anyone that living in San Fran would be awesome. The weather is amazing year-round, the city is fun and vibrant and it such a great place to move a career - especially for the two of us! We also kicked off our honeymoon in San Fran, so it will always hold a special place in our hearts! And…you know, only the best show of all time was filmed there. FULL HOUSE!

Portland, Maine
I have one word to describe Portland - quirky (just like its sister Portland, Oregon). We experienced Portland in the Fall when it was bursting with rich colors and chilled with cooler temps. The city is filled with young artsy families, and everyone seemed to own their own adorable business or deliciously creative restaurant. Plus, you can walk pretty much the entire city, and it sits on the water. Richard is a sucker for living near water, and I think I'd have to agree.

Austin, Texas
We are Texans, so it's not too surprising that a second Texas spot is welcome on our list. Austin is a city filled with food trucks, nonprofits, and its own charm and style. Very much a college town, it has small town charm but is still a fairly large city. Plus, the cost of living is fantastic. Another great spot for for our careers.

Seattle, Washington
I have to give a disclaimer. It's never actually rained while we have been in Seattle. So I'm not sure if I'm fully decided on this one - but we have loved every minute of both of our Seattle trips! Again, it is close to water and we love how close it sits to Vancouver, Portland and San Fran.

Easthampton, New York
Right. This is never going to happen…but one can dream! We journeyed to The Hamptons this past summer with friends. It's pretty easy to fall in love with Easthampton. Not only do you feel like you are in a movie, the neighborhoods are picture perfect, you are near water and the shops and restaurants are all locally owned, quaint and charming! And the houses… oh the houses!

A few spots in Colorado
Fresh air, mountains and a continual picturesque backdrop. Need I say more? However, I do not ski, snowboard or do anything remotely outdoorsy when it comes to snow.  So I guess my pastime would be making snowmen or drinking wine in a hot tub. I suppose I could manage that… :)

…and of course, two very special places we love:

Dallas, Texas
Dallas is home to me. Richard moved to Dallas when he was 18 for college and loved it. It's our college town. We began our lives here together. We got engaged here and married. The majority of our oldest friends live in Dallas, along with family. Pickle and Sundae both joined our family here. We served our neighborhood through apartment ministry here and both started our careers here. Dallas was good to us and will always have a place in our hearts. It's a truly amazing city, has Southern charm and values, a unique skyline and centers its life around family and enjoying life. It also has a fantastic cost of living!

New York, New York
NYC is our crush. Our crush that we got to move in with and now spend every single day with. Some days it drives us crazy - it can be loud, too busy and smell bad. But other days - it's amazing. The energy, lights, uniqueness and possibility. It has such a rich history and you never, ever, run out of things to do here. We often find ourselves walking down the street and saying out loud… "wow, we really live in Manhattan… we finally made it here".

So for now, this is where we will stay. Living in a city that still gives us butterflies and leaves us wide-eyed and excited. "I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, "There's no place like New York. It's the most exciting city in the world now. That's the way it is. That's it." - Robert DeNiro

Thanksgiving in New York City. 2013 Edition.

Thanksgiving flew by and officially launched the Christmas season for us. We gobbled til we wobbled… and then gobbled some more.

This year we are extremely thankful for the close friendships we have made in this magical city. A city that can easily become very lonely and large. We are thankful for our health, for a happy marriage and for careers that utilize our talents and passions. We are thankful for the opportunities we've had to travel this year and to experience our world through a variety of tastes and sights. And we are thankful for the strength and comfort we find in prayer when life takes unexpected twists and turns, as often seems the case.

Thanksgiving flashback…

Volunteering at The Bowery Mission

Thanksgiving-Eve Drinks with friends at Vero Wine Bar

Upper West Side Balloon Line-Up on Thanksgiving-Eve

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

One my favorite recipes from my mom… cherry jello-nut salad!

Thanksgiving Day fun with our NYC family!
So thankful for them and Friendsgiving!

Post- Thankgiving Thai Friendsgiving

Love dinner parties and this group!

Black Friday online shopping… :)