Aubrey and Sarah Visit NJ/NYC: Part 2

On Saturday, A, S, & I caught the 9:23am train into the city from Morristown. I knew I wanted to take the train at least once into NYC while they were here so that the girls could experience it. Plus, it's always nice to be car-free in NYC and you could feed a third-world country with how much it costs! ;)

{On the train; Beware: there are quite a few 3-headed pics in this post, ha!}

This was Aubrey and Sarah's first time in the city and it was so entertaining to see their first reactions to  the city as we took the escalator up out of Penn Station! We grabbed some Starbucks and headed straight for Times Square. 

After the girls got the chance to soak up the craziness that is Times Square, we headed over to the the Gershwin Theatre. We put our names in the lottery drawing for Wicked tickets, but did not get drawn (boo). After my mom heard this, she did the sweetest thing and bought us Wicked tickets for Sunday afternoon. Score! From the theatre, we took off on our day-long adventure of seeing as much as possible in the city. 

{Spring in NYC is lovely}

We then walked up the Central Park. Side note: we did a TON of walking on Saturday. Could we have taken the subway more? Sure. But it was way more fun to walk and see so much, plus I didn't have to worry about getting my Saturday run in. Pretty sure I burned 1,000 calories just walking around NYC!

Experiencing Central Park in the spring might have been my favorite part of Saturday. As many times as I've visited and even lived in NYC, I've never done either of these while the sun was out the way it was on Saturday. There were people and dogs EVERYWHERE! Running, laying out, playing with footballs/frisbees/soccer balls/etc. I even took a quick video and sent it to Luke. If you can't find me in June, it's probably because I'm at Central Park! We took tons of pictures (which I've limited for you, you're welcome) in all of the beautiful trees and ate street tacos for lunch.

We then traveled down to Soho to visit Kate Spade NYC, Georgetown Cupcake Soho, and Purl (where I'm pretty sure Aubrey was in heaven!). And from Soho, we continued south into Brooklyn so that I could show the girls my old stomping grounds, Brooklyn Heights. We walked Montague St. and ended up down at the Promenade for another photo shoot.

{Pic stolen from Sarah}

We then decided to walk the infamous Brooklyn Bridge back into Manhattan. At this point, you can imagine that my feet were about to fall off. But of course, walking the Brooklyn Bridge is always worth it!

While in lower Manhattan, we stopped by the World Trade Center Memorial. I had never been to the new memorial and it was definitely a humbling experience. I'm forever grateful for those that gave their lives to fight for and protect America.

We ended our day with dinner in Hell's Kitchen and a quick trip up to the top of the Empire State Building. I'm a firm believer in people visiting the ESB at night vs. during the day. The view is absolutely breathtaking!

{Pic stolen from Sarah}

See? I was not lying! We did a TON on Saturday! But I must say, I was pretty proud of us. We took the train back to Morristown and crashed. It was good that we did though, because we still had another full day in the city to conquer. Sunday's adventures up next... :)

Have a lovely weekend.

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Aren't these pictures beautiful? Tomorrow, we're going into the city and I love the way the excitement of being in NYC never gets old. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, whatever you're up to.

:)

City adventures with sweet friends.

{NYC, I love you too}

Last weekend, one of my best friends/college roommates/sorority sister visited NYC with her mom, mom's friend, and mom's friend's daughter. Of course, I had to take advantage of her being so close, so I took the train into the city to meet up with these lovely ladies!

{Cat and I at The Plaza}

 While Cat and her posse attended a matinee showing of The Newsies, I met up for a quick bite with an old NYC friend. Stevie and I interned at CBS News together 3 years ago and hadn't seen each other since last March. The last time we were together, we talked about Luke and I moving back to the east coast and now here we are! We also stopped by the New York Public Library to see the new Charles Dickens exhibit. It was awesome!

{I can't wait for our double date in the city with our boys!}

After saying goodbye to Stevie, I grabbed a quick cup of coffee and then met back up with Catherine, her mom, and friends for dinner. We went to the cutest Italian restaurant, Casa Nonna. It was SO GOOD! I would definitely recommend it if you're ever in NYC and in need of some great Italian food.

{Coffee on a blustery city day}

{Fun dinner atmosphere}

And of course, Cat and I made sure to sneak in a Times Square picture before I headed back to Morristown.

It was so great to see Cat in the city! The last time we were both in NYC together was Spring Break 2010!! Cat--thanks for letting me crash your vacay and spend the day with you, your precious momma, and friends. Love you girl!!

And NYC--It's always lovely to spend the day captivated by your beauty. Thanks for being a constant in my life. You're good for this girl's soul.

Welcoming 2013.

For NYE, Luke and I went into the city to this lovely place. 

We danced, toasted with champagne, and kissed at midnight (of course).

Afterward, we took a pedicab over to a friend's apartment to check out her rooftop.

Breathtaking, right? I. Love. This. City.

Here's to you, 2013. May you be the best yet!

A City Christmas.

Although it wasn't our traditional Christmas and we were sad to be away from family, we made the best of it by taking a trip into the city. We walked through The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park, ate chocolate-covered strawberries, drank hot tea, walked up to Central Park, and then took a pedicab ride about 24 blocks back to our car. Although it was a quick trip, we had a great time getting out of the apartment and enjoying the Christmas spirit in one of the greatest cities in the world.

P.S. Happy 18 months of wedded bliss to my sweet husband. :)

Our Big Annoucement!!

"Load the car and write the note. Grab your bag and grab your coat.  Tell the ones that need to know, we are headed north." -The Avett Brothers
I have dreamed many times about what a blog post like this would look and like. I've also wondered what it would feel like to write it. Well, here goes nothing! It is with much excitement and anticipation that I tell you...
Luke and I are moving to New Jersey!!!
Yup, it's true. And I'm sure you're wondering, "Why New Jersey? What's in New Jersey??" Well, let me explain a little further... 
First and foremost, this is utterly and completely a God thing. I had been looking for a new job for a while. Although I liked my media sales job in Corpus Christi and it served it's purpose, I never got to the point where I felt like it was something I'd do long-term. I had done a few interviews for jobs in both Texas and out of state over the last few months, but nothing stuck. This was incredibly frustrating. By August, I was at a point where pretty serious tears occurred about once a week and I found myself explaining to my sweet husband that I just wasn't happy, I didn't feel like I was reaching my true potential, and that my heart yearned for more. And then a couple of weeks ago, I discovered that the corporate office of the same company my parents own a franchise of was hiring for a marketing position in New Jersey. I applied, but didn't think too much into it. I mean, at this point my heart was a little raw and I didn't see much hope in a job out on the east coast. But God knew what He was doing. He had been preparing an amazing opportunity for Luke and me and it was finally time for Him to unveil it! On September 7th, I received the call that offered me the job!!
Here are a few facts about my new job: 1) My official title is Field Marketing Manager for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. I am one of five field marketing managers (who all live in other parts of the country) and I will manage the marketing efforts for our offices in the New England states.  2) The corporate office is in Parsippany, NJ, about 28 miles west of Manhattan (you cannot even begin to imagine how happy this makes my heart!). 2) Luke and I must be in New Jersey by the middle of October. This means we have just a few short weeks to wrap things up in Texas. This part does overwhelm me quite a bit, but I know we can do it!  3) We aren't required to live in Parsippany, we just need to be close to it. So, we are doing a ton of research and will take an apartment-hunting trip up there in the next couple of weeks. 4) I technically work from home, but will travel often. Although I drive a lot for my job in Corpus, this new job requires an entirely different type of traveling (flying/rental car/train/subway). This will be an adjustment, but I'm up for it. I've always wanted to travel for work! 5) I am headed to Atlanta next week for Jackson Hewitt's national convention. Talk about hitting the ground running. I'm really excited about this!
I know this announcement may come as a shock to a lot of people. Luke and I are South Texas kids, born and bred. Such a huge percentage of our friends and family are in Texas and yes, we anticipate this being a huge transition for everyone. As easy as it could be to turn this opportunity down and stay where we are comfortable, we are ready for the next great adventure. We believe that it's when we step out in faith into the unknown, God is able to grow and teach us the most. We're looking forward to the way He is going to use this move to grow and strengthen our marriage. We are excited to see what church He'll plant us in and to meet the friends He has chosen for us. We're still processing all that has happened in the last few days and all that will need to happen before we move. But we are ready to go wherever the Lord has called us and we know He has big plans for The Hintons in New Jersey!
Please, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. There are so many things to work out: packing/shipping/driving our lives to the east coast, where we'll live, what Luke will do once we're up there, etc. But again, God would not have called us to New Jersey if He didn't already know the plans He has for us (Jer. 29:11). And make sure to keep up with the blog! I know I've been neglecting the ol' blog lately, but it's because so much has been going on personally and I needed to bite my tongue until everything was finalized. Now, I cannot wait to share this great adventure with all of our family and friends!

{The Hintons in NYC, circa 2010}
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." -Henry David Thoreau