Birthday weekend...
So, I had a FABULOUS time spending this weekend up in NYC with AMC and Adam. It was great, because I rolled into town around 10:15ish, AFTER the bus in Baltimore arrived 45 minutes LATE. I went through Megabus, and rode in a double decker bus. It was nice, because even though we left late, we still arrived on time! :)
Saturday morning, we spent the majority of the day staying inside. We made an excellent breakfast and then eventually headed out to gather some things to make this FABULOUS Peanut Butter pie and Lemon Bars. That night, we braved by going into the Rockefeller Plaza to see the tree and attempt to go ice skating. IT WAS MASS CHAOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were all shoved into such a small area and we were carried away with the current of people going in the same direction that we wanted to go to. Anyway, we nixed the ice skating due to the crowded ice rinks and decided to walk through the small plaza of outdoor boutiques. It was fun to see the different boutiques that pop up and interesting to see what was being sold.
Today, I woke up to a small flurry of snow and it was a great way to start my birthday. We actually went to one of AMC and Adam's favorite places to eat, the Spotted Pig. SO GOOD!!!!! Afterwords, we walked down to Union Square, where there is another marketplace of outdoor boutiques. The three of us also got some Christmas shopping done. :) Then, we headed back to Chelsea neighborhood of NYC where we had a couple of hours till the caroling and hor d'ourves with Young Adult's group at the church AMC attends, Brick Church. While I was catching up with FB and emails, AMC and Adam started to sing Happy Birthday and brought out the Peanut Butter Pie out with 7 candles in it. It made my day! Also, the three of us played a rematch of Scrabble, since Saturday Adam was not having the best of luck with letters and the fact that he had to last.
It turns out that the pastor of Brick Church, his son, Ben Lindvall, went to Hope and it was AWESOME to see him there! I also saw a fellow Hope College alumni, Matt and met an '08 Hope Alumni, Katie Baker, who is now in Princeton, NJ at the seminary. Needless to say, it was a great time of fellowship and laughter, and it makes me want to find a church group like this back at home. I've had a few church suggestions sent my way, and I will definitely look into them. :)
Around 6:15ish, We headed out to Park Avenue where we sang some Christmas carols before the Park Avenue's trees were lit up with Christmas lights! It was GORGEOUS! Afterwords, we were invited to go to the Lindvall's home for home-made Chili. Again, it was GREAT to spend time with such a great group of people. I met a friend and roommate of of Ben and Matt's, whose name is also Ben. LOL! Very sweet guy.
Needless to say, this weekend was a blast. I head back to B'more tomorrow early afternoon and I'm SO glad that I was able to spend this extended weekend with a group of Hope Alumni, AMC and Adam.
So, THANK YOU for a wonderful weekend! :)
Saturday morning, we spent the majority of the day staying inside. We made an excellent breakfast and then eventually headed out to gather some things to make this FABULOUS Peanut Butter pie and Lemon Bars. That night, we braved by going into the Rockefeller Plaza to see the tree and attempt to go ice skating. IT WAS MASS CHAOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were all shoved into such a small area and we were carried away with the current of people going in the same direction that we wanted to go to. Anyway, we nixed the ice skating due to the crowded ice rinks and decided to walk through the small plaza of outdoor boutiques. It was fun to see the different boutiques that pop up and interesting to see what was being sold.
Today, I woke up to a small flurry of snow and it was a great way to start my birthday. We actually went to one of AMC and Adam's favorite places to eat, the Spotted Pig. SO GOOD!!!!! Afterwords, we walked down to Union Square, where there is another marketplace of outdoor boutiques. The three of us also got some Christmas shopping done. :) Then, we headed back to Chelsea neighborhood of NYC where we had a couple of hours till the caroling and hor d'ourves with Young Adult's group at the church AMC attends, Brick Church. While I was catching up with FB and emails, AMC and Adam started to sing Happy Birthday and brought out the Peanut Butter Pie out with 7 candles in it. It made my day! Also, the three of us played a rematch of Scrabble, since Saturday Adam was not having the best of luck with letters and the fact that he had to last.
It turns out that the pastor of Brick Church, his son, Ben Lindvall, went to Hope and it was AWESOME to see him there! I also saw a fellow Hope College alumni, Matt and met an '08 Hope Alumni, Katie Baker, who is now in Princeton, NJ at the seminary. Needless to say, it was a great time of fellowship and laughter, and it makes me want to find a church group like this back at home. I've had a few church suggestions sent my way, and I will definitely look into them. :)
Around 6:15ish, We headed out to Park Avenue where we sang some Christmas carols before the Park Avenue's trees were lit up with Christmas lights! It was GORGEOUS! Afterwords, we were invited to go to the Lindvall's home for home-made Chili. Again, it was GREAT to spend time with such a great group of people. I met a friend and roommate of of Ben and Matt's, whose name is also Ben. LOL! Very sweet guy.
Needless to say, this weekend was a blast. I head back to B'more tomorrow early afternoon and I'm SO glad that I was able to spend this extended weekend with a group of Hope Alumni, AMC and Adam.
So, THANK YOU for a wonderful weekend! :)