Another blizzard...

We're alive and trying to stay warm!

Ok, so when we first moved to Baltimore, we heard that the winters were pretty mild. Yes, we did have that big blizzard in December, but besides that, it's been very enjoyable. Mild temperatures and hardly any wind (and anyone who knows me, that's huge!). Well, we heard this past week that another blizzard was coming...seriously?! Again, we didn't know what to expect, as people tend to freak out at the smallest amount of precipitation out this way. The snow was predicted to fall starting on Friday...and on Thursday, schools were already declaring snow days for Friday. It was crazy. My work gave us the option to work from home on Friday, which I obviously took advantage of. I did have to stop at the grocery store on Friday, to get some food....normal food. I wasn't involved in any of that "panic purchasing" - buying huge amounts of toilet paper, 8 loaves of bread, 10 gallons of milk, etc. But believe me, there were a ton of crazies participating in that behavior. 

The snow started Friday afternoon and it really got us that night. We woke up to a winter wonderland yesterday morning! Chris, a friend of ours and who is in Evan's program, came over on Friday night and stayed until today! He's from Florida, so we enjoyed being able to experience this blizzard with him! Of course, him being here meant that Evan had a partner-in-crime for building igloos and playing in the snow - which of course they did!

The snow did cancel some plans that we had with my dad. He was supposed to fly into D.C. on Friday - which got postponed to Saturday - which got postponed to later tonight. We were going to meet him for lunch today down in D.C., but he's still not here. Bummer. We do get to see him in 2 months, when my parents come out for Easter - so yay!

I'll leave you with some pictures of the blizzard - I hear Nebraska is expecting some snow tomorrow - stay warm! We're supposed to get quite a few more inches on Tuesday - ugh!

 

 

Another weekend down...

Wow. We're now in the last week of January - I can't believe it!

Evan and I had another great weekend here in Smaltimore (yes, Smaltimore - the locals call it that because it's so small - which we've come to realize, it is!). Katie Madsen, my dearest friend, was in College Park, MD for a few days, so we were able to see her on Saturday. We spent time touring University of Maryland's campus with her and Josh Alvarez - who also went to UNL and ventured out to the East. It was wonderful.

I decided that Sundays are my baking days and I love it (and I think Evan enjoys what comes of it!). Yesterday I made pretzel chocolate chip cookies - yummy!

My dad will be out in D.C. for a few days in early February. We're hoping that everything works out, and we'll be able to see him. My mom and him made it back safely from their travels to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - they had a great time.

Enjoy the last week of January - February here we come (bring on the Winter Olympics!).

We have fallen in love...

With NEW YORK CITY! And I truly mean that. Evan and I decided that in the next few months, we are going to take advantage of our location on the East Coast. There are so many cities that are close to us - we feel we need to visit as many as possible. First on our list was New York City...a mere 3 hours away! We bought bus tickets from Mega Bus - a really cheap option.

We loaded up on the double-decker bus at 6:30 in the morning on Saturday and headed to NYC. They literally  just dropped us off in the middle of the city. It was pretty amazing. And we fell in love in an instant. Seriously. We first walked to Cafe Grumpy - a great coffee shop that Evan heard about from one of his professors. Best drinks we've ever had - probably because they use a $30,000 coffee grinder!! Next we wandered around the Financial District, Greenwich Village and NYU's campus. We ate lunch at an authentic Thai restaurant - a place that I wouldn't have chosen by looks alone - but it was delicious! And thanks to Evan for exposing me to new things! We then took the subway over to Brooklyn and walked back to NYC. The view was amazing.

End-of-the-day highlights included CRUMBS, Bryant Park (for those Project Runway fans!), Central Park, Rockefeller Center and Times Square. By the end of the night, we both felt that we could definitely live in New York City. Who knows what the future holds, right?!

EDIT: just realized the pictures I posted are mainly of food. oops. :)

Below: In Central Park

Below: CRUMBS - Red Velvet and Baba Booey (peanut butter/chocolate)

Below: Bennie's Thai Cafe

 Below: Evan's latte at Cafe Grumpy.

Hairspray, Sunday & Chicken Cacciatore

I received two free tickets to Hairspray at The Lyric Opera House from Urbanite, so Evan and I got to experience the musical in all its glory last Friday night. We went to a production of it while it was in Lincoln two years (Evan surprised me!) and I've been in love ever since (with the musical and with Evan!). When we found out we were moving to Baltimore last spring, I couldn't help but bust out the chorus to "Good morning, Baltimore!" Needless to say, I'm a fan. Friday night's showing was absolutely terrific, and we appreciate having had the opportunity to go.

Sunday was just as wonderful - I love Sunday mornings! We got up early to head to Trader Joe's and got our grocery shopping done. We stopped by Starbuck's for some coffee (thanks mom, dad and Grandpa Rogers - all who gave us Starbuck's gift cards!). After we got home and unloaded the groceries, it was time for church. All in all, a great morning!

I can't believe it's Wednesday already - this week is flying by. Although Evan hasn't officially started classes back up, he has been working with his team on their project. So we're both back into the routine of everything.

I'm looking forward to dinner tonight - a new recipe! Chicken Cacciatore in the crock pot - I'll be post the recipe and pictures on my food blog later this week. I'm excited to get home tonight and not have to worry about fixing dinner - it will already be done! Hope everyone's week is going well.

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year, everybody! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season - we sure did. We left one blizzard and experienced another one right away, once we got to Nebraska. Our 2 weeks at home was absolute bliss - and much needed! Although the snow cancelled a few of our family Christmases, we were able to see everyone. Evan was finally able to meet his nephew, Garrison...it was great! We also had two weddings to attend, so it was nice to see some college friends.

We got back to Baltimore on Monday - it was sunny and the snow was all gone! We're just trying to get back into the swing of things. We can't believe we've been here for almost 7 months, and that it's already 2010 - time keeps going by faster and faster!

Baltimore Blizzard 2009

 

Above: Evan built an igloo for us!

 

 

Above: The next day - that's a lot of snow!

 

Above: Our apartment's courtyard - Saturday night.

A Winter Weekend

So we've been hearing all week about this "blizzard" that was going to be hitting the East Coast this weekend. We really didn't know what to expect because we've heard that people out this way tend to freak out at even the slightest snow fall. Before we went to bed last night, we heard on the news that Baltimore expected to receive 20-30 inches of snow by Sunday morning...WHAT?!

We woke up this morning to a complete blizzard! The worst Baltimore has ever seen...and it's still coming down at 10:00 tonight! Today was great - we were lazy and watched TV and just enjoyed the day. We embraced the snow earlier tonight and headed out to our apartment's courtyard and had a little snowball fight with each other - so fun. Evan then had the idea to build an igloo...and he did! We both even fit in it! Don't worry - I took pictures, so be sure to look for those!

All of the airlines were closed today at BWI. We're hoping they can clean everything up by Monday night, as that is when we'll be flying out of here. We're very, VERY excited to get to Nebraska - and Evan will get to meet his nephew, finally!

I heard a rumor that Nebraska is expecting another snow storm...Tuesday and Wednesday? Goodness...it will definitely be a white Christmas! Stay warm!

December 10?

I cannot believe that today is already December 10! That means Luxon and I have been in Baltimore for almost 6 months (and married for 6 months!). Time is definitely flying by, and we are enjoying the holiday season in Baltimore. Last Thursday, we went to A Monumental Occassion - the official lighting of the Washington Monument, only 3 blocks from our apartment. There were roughly 4,000 people in attendance, and our mayor, Shelia Dixon (who was just found guilty by a jury last week for stealing gift cards that were supposed to be for the poor...) was the official lighter - woohoo! There was a fireworks display after the lighting - it was actually really fun to see. Later that night, we set up our first Christmas tree! It's only a 5-ft. tree, but it's perfect for our apartment! I'll be sure to post a picture of it soon!

We experienced the first snow out here in Baltimore last Saturday. It literally snowed ALL day...then was gone by Sunday morning! I hope everyone is keeping warm back in Nebraska - sounds like you've been experiencing a good ol' December blizzard.

Some of you may alread know, but I started a food blog: Ice Cream & Wine. The title represents two of my favorite things (as most of you know...). I plan on doing some MAJOR holiday baking this Saturday, so be on the look-out for those goodies!

We'll be coming home to Nebraska on December 21 and staying until January 4 - two whole weeks! We are very, VERY excited and hope to see as many friends and family as possible!

P.S. Christmas is only 2 weeks away! Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving...a day early!

We wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving. We hope it's filled with yummy food, relaxation and time with your loved ones. We are heading up to northern Pennsylvania this afternoon (t-minus 3 hours!) to spend the holiday with Evan's aunt, uncle and cousins. We are so excited to be with family that we don't get to see that often - it will be great. Of course, we hope our families back home enjoy the day - know that we will be missing you! Good news: 4 weeks from RIGHT NOW, Evan and I will be in Nebraska - you're excited, right? We are too!

Our weekend with Chad and Tanya was great. We headed down to D.C. for the Husker game on Saturday, and spent the night watching the game with other Husker fans at The Union Pub - a Husker bar! It was great - I felt at home there! We are so happy that they came to visit us. I'll make a selfish plug again: we welcome any and all visitors! :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

California & Nebraska

Hello, all! I can't believe my last post was on Halloween - my goodness, that was a long time ago. We've been enjoying life since then. Evan flew to San Francisco last week for a North American Spine Society conference - he went with his fellow team members in his program. Highlights include a bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and Napa Valley wine tasting. Needless to say, I was quite jealous. Not to be outdone, I had to plan a little trip for myself - I just couldn't stay in Baltimore for a week without Evan. So I blessed Nebraska with my presence, and it was amazing! I got to see my grandpa and Barb on Thursday, had coffee with Sarah and Liz Friday morning, stopped by Chi Omega to bring back old memories, met my nephew, had K-State ice cream with Ashley and Nathan, saw my grandparents in Milford and my in-laws in Omaha before I left on Sunday. Of course, I spent just about every moment with my parents! Jam-packed, but oh so fun!

We're back to grind here in Baltimore. We have friends, Chad & Tanya, coming to visit us this weekend. We're excited for their arrival (and hope they don't mind sleeping on couches!). :)