Rebels win Toys for Tots!

Here ya go Jake..

My fearless and furious Rebels battled it out last weekend in one of my favorite tournaments. The Toys for Tots tournament is designed as a 'Free' tournament. Instead of each team paying $500 for the rights to play, they ask that each player bring in a new unwrapped toy. Umpires volunteer, fields are donated, and trophies are donated. The league rents a POD trailer and they try to fill it with toys by the end of the 3 day tournament. Awesome right?

The Rebels went in with a winning attitude as always, but hit a few bumps the first 2 games. Basically they played like the Bad News Bears. Like it was the first time they had ever seen a baseball. Jake is a perfectionist so you can imagine his mood those two nights. They were in serious danger of being eliminated from this tournament, but managed to pull it together and make it to Championship game!

They versed the Salt Lake Blast which is a team we scrimmage with a few times a year because they usually beat us and we like the challenge. They played like rock stars. Very few errors were made. Jake pitched the last 3 innings and his curve ball was seriously 'sick' as Wade calls it. He held them to 1 RBI to win the game. This is a quick video of their celebration after Jake throws the last pitch which resulted in a pop up caught by a teammate.

It was also our first games in October which is Breast Cancer Awareness month. We always bulk up on the pink during this month because one of our team Grandma's is in remission. The boys look forward to it, and love all the compliments they get from the other teams on how good they look with their pink gear on!

Rebels rock! Proud of you Jake. Maybe next time I'll un-bury my head from my blanket and try to watch you pitch. I just get so nervous for you!

NYC...the wish, the dream, the reality...Part II

On to day 3.

The climate was vastly different from the previous 2 days. We wake to a drizzly rain and the expected 50's! Out come the Ugg's. Hooray! Seriously though. It was almost like we visited 2 different cities in 2 different seasons while we were there. Loved it.

After our traditional Starbucks stop, it was back on the Subway to head Uptown! Now when you step off a subway and this is the sign that greets you, you tend to get a little tachycardic. Holy shiz, we're about to see Central Park!

And then there it was...
I had heard that this park was magical, quiet, majestic, lush etc. It lived up up to all of this and more. Here are a few of my favorites. You could literally walk this park all day long. So many wonderful iconic things to see.
 

Belvedere Castle...

 Bow Bridge...

 and musicians everywhere...

After a lovely stroll through the park we furthered our adventure to the Metropolital Museum of Art

We had brunch at a little French Restaurant with a snooty French owner-waiter. Business would be better if you weren't such a Jack Ass dude! Seriously. So New York.

Then we were off to the Guggenheim to view the Picasso exhibit!

Being thoroughly educated on the life of Pablo, we were ready to hit Madison Avenue for some 'Big Girl Shopping'. Dropping a large amount of money on a purchase in the Upper East Side has always been a part of my NYC dream. We visited several high end shop, but I knew I had hit pay load when we waltzed into Tory Burch. Beautiful colors that popped greeted us. Sales girls singing, us being offered a job when we were spotted straightening a rug in the hallway, it was all a magical combination of everything right. I perused the store a bit until my eyes rested upon a little fuschia beauty that begged to be mine. Here she is... I call her Ella.

 Happy, Happy Shopper!

And this is her previous happy home on Madison Avenue. Isn't it shiny?

On to our next shopping stop... Tiffany's!

Lynsey and I are both grateful recipients of a few Tiffany items, but since she's a 'Big Girl' now she wanted to make her own purchase. Here she is with the salesman wrapping it up in that perfect little blue box.

 And at the storefront. Dream realized. Check.

That evening we ran into a few other cool things we weren't necessarily looking for...

Radio City Music Hall

 Magnolia Bakery (I highly recommend the banana pudding, in a to go container, to be enjoyed late at night from your hotel room)

 Last day...sigh. Up and at em! Our last day was filled with last minute stops as we needed to depart from the airport by 4:00 PM. We subway'd it to Levain Bakery for legendary Chocolate chip walnut cookies. (worth it)

Went to afternoon tea at Radiance...

Shopping at the Uniqlo flagship store. Trust me, you WILL hear more about this company coming soon. NYC is a bit ahead of Utah when fashion is considered. When you hear about it you can say I told you when...

Our time had come to an end. We had 45 minutes to spare so we chose to spend it quietly, getting one last cocktail at the Marriott lounge.

We rehashed our whirlwind trip. Talked about what we would do if we came again. Agreed that we would not change a thing about it. It was perfection in every way. Even waking up to no hot water because the boiler had gone out was somehow just part of the experience! It was a once in a lifetime trip. We realize we are so lucky to have experienced it. We <3 nyc="nyc" p="p">

I love you Sista. You are my traveling soul mate of the female variety. Next stop... Paris! ;-)

NYC...the wish, the dream, the reality...Part I

What self loving fashionista doesn't have a dream of visiting the fabulous city of New York? I sure did. Ever since my teen years, it has been very high on my 'to do' list. Unfortunately, it was never very high on anyone else's. Don't get me wrong, I have thoroughly enjoyed every single state, lake, beach, and country I have visited. But always in the back of my thoughts was this diamond in the sky, this unreachable destination, this unrealized trip that I thought would never come. Until god gave me an all grown up sister with the same dream. My Lynsey was my new partner in crime. Fears of being lost or mobbed in the streets be damned... we were taking the plunge and making this dream a reality!

We took flight from our prospective cities and met at JFK. A nauseating cab ride through congested traffic and an easy check in at a hotel dropped us in the center of Times Square.

No time to waste, the theater awaits! A quick freshening up, change in the sparklies and we were off! To say that we were a bit wide eyed upon hitting the streets is a huge understatement. I think we stood in the center of Times Square with a freshman-greenie-doe eyed-dopey look on our faces for several minutes. Ahhhhh newbies!

With no culinary goal in mind except for a drink & snack, we started walking towards the theater. We stopped at an Oyster Bar with full glass windows facing the lights of Times Square. We were in a word, blissful.

$90 later (not kidding) and an agreement made that we would only do that splurge once a day, we were off to the Theater! 

Now I realize posting this photo is going to bring me a lot of scrutiny from some. Bring it. I can take it. This musical was pee your pants funny for a girl raised in Utah. Yes it was crass. Yes it bordered on crossing the line several times. If you can't laugh at things in this life, then what do you have? I inherited my sailor-like sense of humor from my Dad and I thank him for it every day. After the show we had a great burger at 'Juniors' which included onion rings wrapped in so much breading they first appeared to be unglazed doughnuts! Glutony...

Next morning dawned bright and warm! Wait a second. It's fall in NYC. I packed for the 50's! After a wardrobe re-working we were off to find a subway stop and take a bite out of that city. Maneuvering the city of New York was the numero uno stress for Lynsey. We did it like locals. We probably rode the subway 6 times a day. We never got on the wrong train, and we only went in the wrong direction once. Quickly realized it & flipped around at the next stop. Not bad for a couple of small town girls!

First stop was China town for some $5 Pashmina scarves, then Little Italy for cannoli's!

Satiated with Italian sugar we were ready for the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge..

And a tiny glimpse of this great lady... (some day I'll take my boys to meet her)

And a courtesy photo by a very kind stranger who witnessed me trying to set the self timer on my camera.

Look out for the bikes, they don't slow down for anyone! Well we made it across the bridge and GPS'd our way to Grimaldi's, the greates of the New York style pizza. The hour long wait was totally worth it. What's more New York than waiting in line for food, right?

That's my 'I adore you' face I have on there.
We hopped the subway to SoHo for a visit to the 9-11 Memorial Site, only to find out that you need a ticket and the next opening was the following afternoon. Strike 1. Fortunately across the street was a great little unheard of gem called Century 21! Half price designer goods! That's where I bought these pretty little ladies. They will be making their social debut next week.

Another Subway trip into SoHo for exploring of all the great stores, boutiques, and Department Stores. Now my previously mentioned wardrobe re-working required the wearing of flip flops all day by me. Dur da Dur. Half way through SoHo I sat in a window sill and informed Lynsey I could not take another step due to the triple layered blister that had formed on the top of my foot. In true city girl fashion, she found a pharmacy on her phone, and returned 15 minutes later with bandages and ibuprofen. Crisis averted and the shopping continued! I love my Sista!
That night we had dinner at a Brewery, stumbled in to several New York hot spots such as this..

The Naked Cowboy..

The Late Show with David Letterman

And any city that sells flowers on the corner at midnight is OK with me!

And then ended up at the 'W Lounge' for Lynsey's wish to spend a little time in a Club. Thank god for very friendly Canadians who will humor an old woman and chat with her while her sister is getting her groove on!

I knew this wound be a lengthy post so I'm going to split it into 2 parts (because I don't trust blogger and know that it is about to freeze up on me at any moment)

Stay tuned...