Montauk!

This summer I got to spend a glorious long weekend in Montauk, on Long Island. A friend of Brian and I's had reserved a room at a hotel right on the beach - it was amazing! A group of us headed out on a Friday morning - Anthony, Brian, Mike, Matt, and I. Anthony drove (yay!), but since I was the only girl, I got stuck in the back seat in the middle.

Anthony's car has a moon roof, which was great, except for the fact that I got a sunburn before we even got to the beach! You'll see the seat belt tan in a later picture.

Moon roof!

When we arrived, we realized that our hotel was more of a resort. It was beautiful and we had a perfect room and location.

 Path to our room.

 Inside our room - adorable table!

Living room area. The couch pulled out into a full bed. We also brought a blow up mattress.

 Ta-da! The view out of our front door. You can't see it, but the ocean is straight ahead. Also, you'll see later that none of the other rooms have this awesome set up.

 More beach chairs.

 And a grill!

 Everyone else is lined up like domino's - we had a private sand yard.

 Mike playing the guitar. That's Anthony in the back.

 So happy!

 The entrance to our private yard.

 Walking down to the beach.

 Brian, Mike and Anthony.

 To the beach!

 They have employees who set up your beach chairs and umbrellas, as well as provide you with towels. AND there was a complimentary iced tea and lemonade stand on the beach.

 Ahhhhhh.

Matt and Mike. What a perfect day!

For dinner we drove into town to eat at Gossman's on the dock. 

 View from dinner.

 My dinner! YUM!

 Here you can see my lovely seat belt tan.

 Brian and I.

 Matt (and if you look verrrry closely, you may be able to spot Mike too).

 We also played mini golf one day!

 Boys.

 Sun setting at mini golf.

 One night we went to a German Bier hall, where they also had fuzeball.

The BEST sauerkraut. 

Beach, mini golf, lobsters, brats and bier, and perfect weather. Was a great weekend getaway!

Summer Kickoff

For the second year in a row, friends and I kicked off summer by going to the Belmont Races. This year it was especially crowded, as there was a chance that California Chrome would win the triple crown. Luckily, our friend Anthony came with us this year - he has a car. We got to skip the Long Island Railroad madness!

 I borrowed a hat from a coworker. Jewelry courtesy of Amy, from her new job!

 We parked off site from the racetrack and took a school bus right to the front entrance. Here's Brian, along with our friend Anthony in the back. When's the last time I rode a school bus?! I can't remember.

 Belmont!

 I naturally based my bets off of the horse names, and bet no more than $5 at a time...usually the minimum $2 bet. Needless to say, I did not make any money at the races!

Brian and I! We both dressed up for the occasion this year.

Wonderful time and definitely a yearly tradition.

New Apartment!

As you already know, Brian and I moved into a new apartment in June! We literally walked every street in Astoria, wrote down apartment addresses that we liked, and got to work. We ended up with an amazing find - 6th floor, one bedroom apartment with huge ceilings and huge spaces. It's probably twice the size of my old apartment!

It's still in Astoria, and about a 5 minute walk to the subway. We love it!

 Hitting the streets.

 The lobby of our new apartment building!

 The living room! Love the wood floors and natural light.

 Bedroom! 3 windows!

 View from the bedroom window. We can see planes coming in to land at LGA.

 Long narrow kitchen, with much more cabinet space.

 Kitchen dining area.

 View from the kitchen window.

Looking back down the hallway.

Bathroom.

So far, our biggest problem has been filling the space! We inherited Amy's couch, which has helped. We have a queen bed, two dressers, two bookshelves and two chairs in the bedroom and STILL have extra room! It's amazing. We also love living on the top floor - no one clomping around above us. AND we have an elevator! Couldn't ask for more.

Guess Who's Back!

After a 6 month hiatus from the blog (sorry to my loyal followers), I am back in action! So much has changed since April! I'll rewind waaaay back to May, when I went out to Manhassett, New York, to meet Brian's parents.

Manhassett is on Long Island, where Brian's paternal grandfather lives, as well as many other family members.

For a weekend in May, Brian's parents had flown into NYC to stay with an uncle of Brian's (Mike...don't even try to keep track of names - there are so many of them!). Brian and I caught a ride to the house with Brian's cousins, Mike Jr. and Tommy, along with Mike Jr.'s then pregnant wife, Kristen. Mike Jr. and his wife lived in Astoria at the time.

Anyways, the house was absolutely beautiful and all of the family members that I met were so gracious and welcoming.

 Driveway. Love all the trees.

 Entrance to the backyard..

Backyard panorama.

 The pool!

After an afternoon poolside, we all headed to the country club for another uncle's birthday party. It was opening weekend at the country club, and the theme was "camping." That included an amazing outdoor barbeque of steak, lobster, beans, corn, corn muffins, etc., followed by an indoor dessert bar. Yum!

 Vintage trailer - it was for sale!

 Outside the country club - outdoor buffet style.

 Brian and I on the 18th hole.

 Brian's dad and one of his uncles lighting Chinese lanterns on the green.

It was a beautiful evening, and I loved the opportunity to meet so many of Brian's family members.