Mini of the Month: November

November's mini of the month was a cornbread cupcake? Really?!? I wasn't too sure about this one.  Don't get me wrong, I love cornbread.  But it's savory and buttery...and everything that is opposite of sweet in my book.

Ingredients: Cornbread Cake, Cream Cheese Icing, Yellow Nonpareil Topping

Much as we expected, we weren't huge fans of the cornbread cupcake.  It did surprisingly taste like cornbread, but the icing kind of threw me for a loop.  Hopefully, next month will be a sweet flavor!

Would you like a cornbread cupcake?

Andrea :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

There are SO many things to be thankful for this year!  Let's all take some time to reflect on our blessings today!  Hope you all have a wonderful day full of family, food, and fun!! 

Andrea :)

Songs in the Key of Life

Great isn't enough. Amazing is inadequate. Phenomenal doesn't quite cover it either.

Experiencing Stevie Wonder perform his Songs in the Key of Life album last weekend proved to be a highlight.  Of the week.  Of the month.  Of the year.

The performance was unlike any other I had ever attended.  There was no opener.  There was no pomp and circumstance.  There was just music...and Stevie.   Song after song...it just got better and better.

I loved every moment of the night.  The instrumentals were wonderful.  India Arie - the perfect addition on a handful of songs.  The atmosphere was simply divine. Oh, and Stevie is hilarious!  Super funny man!

Definitely worth the last minute trip to Philly the weekend after we returned from our honeymoon.  We were tired on Monday morning, but we wouldn't have traded the night for anything!  Plus, we got to hang out with some friends and their kiddos as well as run the Rocky steps and grab a quick cheesesteak while we were in the area.

The tour is only hitting 11 cities and runs through the beginning of December, but if you are anywhere close to where he will be performing, GO!  I promise it will be an unforgettable night!  We can't stop talking about how much we enjoyed it!

Andrea :)

Date Night - Pottery Fun!

In between our wedding weekend and our honeymoon, Chris and I managed to squeeze in a fun date night at Make Meaning on the Upper East Side.  We had been gifted a groupon for a fun date night at my bachelorette shower back in August!

We decided to decorate wine goblets since we already had mugs from an anniversary trip a couple years ago.  We grabbed our items and headed upstairs where all the paints were located.

We painted for a couple of hours before we were happy with our finished products.  We snapped a few photos and then handed everything over to be fired in their fancy ovens.

Have you ever painted pottery?  Did you enjoy the experience?

Andrea :)

Runners Tell All: My #1 Fan

This one was a no-brainer for me.  Christopher is without a doubt my #1 running fan!  My parents and brother Jordan's family tie for second since they came to NYC and trekked around the city (with Chris for a guide) when I ran the marathon last year.  But, back to my #1. 

Chris has been supportive of my personal endeavors from the beginning.  When we were long distance, he would often come to the city during peak racing months because I had weekend races to complete.  He would always come watch and cheer for me!

Now that we are in the same city, I feel it's a bit much to expect he be at every single little race. (I run a lot of 4-milers.) But I have told him many times that it makes a HUGE difference to me when I know he is there for support!

I have my last race of the year this weekend, and despite the potential low temps this time of year, he's gonna be there for me!  I can't wait to see him as I near that finish line!!

Thanks for all your support, Christopher!  It really does mean the world to me to have you out there cheering me on to the finish! 

Andrea :)

The Long Distance Years: 2010

I've thought about this a lot.  And the best way for me to share our story is to start from the very beginning.  We had quite a journey leading up to our recent vows.  We began that journey together WAY back in 2010.  You've likely already read about our first date, so I'll start from there...

APRIL-MAY-JUNE

We had a handful of dates during these months - a couple dinner and a movie nights, a Brooklyn Bridge and Grimaldi's pizza adventure, and an exploration around Albany.  We also met one another's parents!  Perhaps a little early for most, but mine were in town and we weren't sure when they might be back up in New York so we just went with it.  We sure did pack a lot into those first few months!!

During the Albany exploration with my parents...

JULY

We attended our first wedding together on the 4th of July.  Little did we know it would be the first of MANY we would attend over the next few years!  We also celebrated my birthday!  Seems like ages ago that we danced the night away with friends at PS 450.

At Dave and Susan's Wedding :)

Happy Birthday to ME!!

AUGUST

We hit up the US Open and a US Soccer match.  And made a trip to Pittsburgh where I met all of Chris' closest friends (this trip was actually mentioned in one of the toasts at our wedding...so fun!).

SEPTEMBER

We went to our second wedding and made another trip to Pittsburgh for a football game.

All smiles at Mary and Dave's wedding...

OCTOBER

We went checked out covered bridges in Vermont, went apple picking, and dressed up for Halloween.  Attended another wedding.  And another soccer match...Red Bulls this time.

At Larri and Ro's wedding in upstate New York...

NOVEMBER

We visited Chris' friends in Boston and saw lots of awesome penguins at the aquarium.  We also went to our first Bengals-Jets game together...and went to see Lombardi on broadway. 

The J...E...T...S won this one :(

DECEMBER

We made one last trip to Pittsburgh in the early part of the month so I could cross another stadium off my bucket list.  Then, Chris came to Kentucky just before the New Year to meet my brothers and some other friends back at home.  We rung in the New Year at my cousin Tricia's!

WHO DEY BABY!!

Andrea :)

My Legacy...

Legacy.

A familiar term...and one that carries a huge weight.  I remember hearing it so many times at sorority meetings in college.  Being a legacy is a major deal when you went to a college that was at least 85% Greek.  So...since I wasn't one, maybe it lost a bit of its relevance for me during those years.

But now...far too removed from college to admit...I've given it a considerable amount of thought. 

Who am I? 

Better yet, how would I like to be remembered when I'm no longer able to be whoever it is that I am?

It's heavy.  It requires much thought.  Far more than I have given it, but I do have some ideas.

I want to be known as one that kept her word.  If I said I would do it, then count on it to be done.  Dependable, Reliable, Consistent.

I want to be known as thoughtful.  Someone who gave gifts with meaning.  Someone who cared about those around her.  Someone who was searching for a way to help others.

I want to be known as creative.  Innovative, Unique, Thinking outside the Box.

I want to be known as loyal.  Particularly when it comes to family.  The family that Christopher and I recently formed and the one that has been mine for the past 31 years are my very backbone. The bonds are thick...and tried...and true.  I am fiercely loyal in general, but also specifically to this group.

I want to be known as a learner.  Always reading, curious, motivated. 

I want to be known as a traveler.  Interested to see new places, try new things, experience new cultures.  Never afraid of the unknown.  Always looking for another adventure.

Most of all, I want to be known as a Christian. I hope that people would know that He is the reason for my kind heart, giving spirit, and loving nature. After all, there is no greater legacy than Christ.

What legacy do you hope to leave?

Andrea :)

#MarriedMaitlands - ONE Month!

I simply can't believe it has already been one month since our wedding!!  Time has flown this month...likely because we spent a good portion of it on our honeymoon :) 

After following along on Amanda's monthly photo journey this year, I decided it would be fun to take a photo with Christopher on each of our month anniversaries for this first year and fill you in on some of our fun date nights and other notable happenings! 

Dates

-Dinner at Water's Edge

-Make Meaning Pottery Fun

-Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life Concert (more to come on this amazing night!)

Movies/Shows 

-Dear White People

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Chris' Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Traveled

-From our wedding location - Louisville, KY- back to NYC with an overnight stop in Pennsylvania

-Honeymoon: covered nine European cities in eight days though we were away for 12 days total - nearly half of our first married month!! We started in Venice then our Mediterranean Cruise stopped in Kotor (Montenegro), 3 Greek Isles - Corfu, Athens, Mykonos, and Dubrovnik (Croatia) followed by some time in Florence, Pisa, and Amsterdam before returning to NYC. It was SUCH a wonderful time together! Full recaps of all the fun will make appearances on the blog...eventually!!

-Weekend Trip to Philly (Nov. 15-16)

Notable Events

-Hung out with Carolyn (Mary and Dave's new little one!)

-Made the final payments on all wedding related purchases

Andrea :)