Our New York Christmas

Since we are spending the next few days in Kentucky, we celebrated Christmas in New York this past weekend.  We spent time visiting with Chris' family and exchanging a few gifts out on Long Island before a delicious dinner and the trek back to our apartment.

At the last minute this year, I decided we needed a small tree for our apartment.  Our little tree wasn't much, but it sure is cute!  When we exchanged gifts, I was SO excited to find tickets to see Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf in Misery on Broadway as well as a year-long subscription to audible in my package from Chris!!  Definitely two perfect gifts for this girl!!

I got Chris a new board game for our next game night and a ticket package for Red Bulls games this coming season as well as a fun California ornament that highlighted all the exciting places we visited on our anniversary trip this year! 

We had a lot of fun exchanging gifts and spending time with Chris' family, but the most important thing this holiday season is that we are all healthy and ready for the coming year!  I am looking forward to more family fun in Kentucky the next few days - can't wait to see my precious niece and nephew and all the excitement on their little faces when Christmas morning rolls around!

Andrea :)

The Color Purple

Wow!  What an incredible display of talent - absolutely stunning voices! Cynthia Erivo as Celie was breathtaking!  An amazing voice that easily overshadows all others - and that's saying something when Jennifer Hudson is making her broadway debut as Shug Avery!  And Danielle Brooks is putting on a show of her own as Sofia.

An uplifting story about the power of love, faith, and confidence for women finding themselves in even the most trying of circumstances. The story isn't a new one if you've read the book or seen the movie starring Oprah, but I would certainly recommend checking it out if you are in the New York area. A truly wonderful revival of this great story with a soundtrack for the ages!

Have you ever read The Color Purple or seen the movie?

Andrea :)

2015 Goals - Final Review

1 - Read through the Bible! 

Well...I didn't complete this one, but it will be going on my list again next year.  And I have a new game plan - audible.  I still want to physically pass my eyes over the words as well though.  After some discussion with friends, I think it might really help me stay on track to both hear and read it simultaneously.  I've already downloaded it so I'm ready to FINALLY conquer this one in 2016!

2 - Focus on my health and nutrition.  

Overall, I did pretty well on this one.  Though we've spent far more time in December at restaurants and holiday parties, on a regular basis we rarely eat out these days.  We will continue to try to focus on portion control and healthy options going into the new year.  I haven't done much running since the marathon and my short run at the end of November, but I did begin tracking steps with my Fit Bit on December 1 - definitely an eye-opener!

 3 - Enjoy life as newlyweds.

I'll give us a high-five for this one!  We had a great year - lots of fun and exciting adventures.  It is still hard to believe we passed the one-year mark already!  Time really flew this year! If you are interested in checking out our newlywed adventures, look no further - Month One, Month Two, Month Three, Month Four, Month Five, Month Six, Month Seven, Month Eight, Month Nine, Month Ten, Month Eleven, and Month Twelve.

4 - Do more things for me.

I still have a way to go on making this a constant priority, but I have gotten much better.  I still have a number of things I want to do, but I'm slowly marking them off my list.  One of the things I am most excited about in the new year is the ABC Reads Challenge that Mia and I will be hosting for all the book lovers out there!!  And, of course, the ever-elusive improv classes are still on my list.  As are the mounting pile of scrapbooks that simply MUST be completed soon!!

5 - Redesign this blog. 

I sort of lost my interest in this one toward the end of the year, but I did manage to update my blogger profile photo!  I guess that's progress on some level.  I need to do a bit more searching and determining if I was to refocus the content before I firmly decide on making a switch with name or design.  I'll just leave it at that for now.

6 - Find my passion.    

My hope is that all the soul-searching and struggling that I did throughout this past year will find meaning as I further explore the paths toward my new passions in the coming year!  It certainly hasn't been an easy road, but I'm hopeful I'll look back on it down the line and realize its value.

 Did you manage to complete all your 2015 goals?

Andrea :)

#MarriedMaitlands - 1st Anniversary Photo Shoot

It has been a couple of months since we celebrated our 1st Anniversary, but one of the things I was adamant we do was take some professional photos!  Just a couple weeks shy of the big day itself, Chris and I met up with the lovely Tara (Wiley) Robstad of Tara Wiley Photography for a fun little shoot.  Chris and I had fun while she worked her magic behind the lens.

Here are our favorites:

Which one do you like best??

Andrea :)

Invisible Thread

Invisible Thread is one of the most exciting and inspiring shows that I have seen.  Ever.  It tells Griffin's story...a true story...and it is phenomenal.  The music is poignant and beautiful.  A cast full of stunning talent...and incredible emotion!

Griffin Matthews, a gay Christian in an interracial relationship with Matt Gould, attempts to find purpose in his life by volunteering as an aid worker in Uganda, Africa.  Of course, he finds SO much more than his purpose.  In the meantime, his relationship is strained and his resources drained.  Eventually, Griffin returns to New York, but his heart is still in Africa.  The story is heart-wrenching, but told with sprinkles of humor.  And the soundtrack is unbelievable!  If there was a way to purchase it, I would have done so yesterday...SO fabulous!!

Unfortunately, the show isn't on for much longer so if you are in NYC...immediately click HERE and buy your ticket!  If you aren't able to see the show, I'd still invite you to learn more about Griffin's story by checking out his Uganda Project website here.  And, if you want to hear a couple of my favorite songs from the show - click here and here - you won't regret it!!

Andrea :)

Mini of the Month: December

With a name like Snowstorm...especially given the incredibly warm winter so far...I was expecting a real treat from this month's mini.  And I always love those marshmallow toppings so my hopes were high for this one!

Unfortunately, there was just too much sugar going on for me to really enjoy it the way I had envisioned.  The white vanilla cake with vanilla icing and nutella stuffing worked, but the white sugar topping was a bit too much - though I did love the mini marshmallow topping!

Do you like nutella?  What about sugar sprinkles?

Andrea :)

WHO DEY!!

It's a big day in Bengals-land!!  Another showdown with the Steelers is on tap for today.  Always a great match-up.  Unfortunately, I'm stuck at work today...but I know one place in NYC that will be rocking when 1pm rolls around - Phebe's!!!

Chris had been promising to go with me to the only Bengals bar in NYC all season and we finally made the trip down to the Bowery last weekend!  I was amazing at the number of people there all decked out in their orange and black!!  Who knew there were SO many Bengals fans right here under my nose?!?!  Since there were a multitude of touchdown's scored (thank you, Browns!) I was able to experience the full-on insanity that breaks out each time six points is added to the scoreboard!  So fun with the whole TD song and Who Dey chant!!  And the food was super tasty, too!!  Definitely recommend checking out this gem...especially on a Sunday :)

Props to Chris for decking out in full Bengals gear - husband of the year for sure!! :)

How's your team doing this season?

There is plenty of room on the Bengals Bandwagon if you want to jump ship!!

Andrea :)