Those Hardings

It’s January.

2012-01-24T00:29:57Z

It’s January. Blegh. Because it’s January I haven’t taken many pictures lately. Which means I haven’t thought about blogging much. But I wanted to jot down a little update.

It finally snowed for the first time this winter, on Saturday. This January is so different from last year, I can’t believe it. I was beginning to wonder if it was going to snow at all. I’m glad it did, this winter now feels legitimate.

I agreed to cover someone at work on Martin Luther King Jr Day, which was a huge bummer since Klane had the day off. But he was wonderful and used some of his day off to do the laundry and clean the bathroom. It’s been over a week and I still can’t get over how much it meant to me that he did that. It’s the little things, I guess.

We’re planning a trip to Italy to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary in April. I borrowed Rick Steves Italy from Casey and have been obsessing about Italy for the last week. I’m so excited!

Klane is starting a new job next week! He and friend Pat are teaming up and moving to BBDO. (Yep, Klane is moving from DDB to BBDO. That’s not confusing at all.) We’re really excited about the change, and Klane is excited to be working with Pat. I think they’ll both be really happy there.

Friend Casey is having a baby in the next month! I am so excited to meet her baby girl. Last weekend I went to her baby shower downtown and it was so amazing. Kelsey made a lot of the food and it was so good! I took a few pictures but Lindsay took more, so I am posting some of hers here, in addition to a few of mine.

Facetime birthday party

2012-01-24T00:30:16Z

I love technology. Tonight we got to “attend” Ethan’s birthday party via Facetime. We sang Happy Birthday to Ethan along with the family, watched him blow out the candles, open presents and cut the cake. It’s so fun to look through that little window into a room filled with family, thousands of miles away. We do miss them so much! Thankfully we still get to be a part of these special family memories. Our nieces and nephews grow up too fast, so any chance to see them is a treat!

Cold… and a Great Jones date

2012-01-15T22:26:51Z

This week was frigid! It still hasn’t snowed, which is strange compared to the insane amount of snow we had last January. I enjoy the chaos that a good snowstorm brings, making the daily routine funny and out of the ordinary. New Yorkers can’t be so serious and hurried when they’re slipping and sliding and jumping over snow mounds on the sidewalk. I like the way the snow forces people to slow down and laugh at themselves a little. Hopefully it snows before winter’s end. Even though it’s been cold, it was actually nice to get bundled up (dear Annie, I love my new leg warmers! thanks!) and get walking again. I like my pedestrian lifestyle.

Klane and I received some good news on Wednesday, so we went for dinner that night. I went to Klane’s building at 50th and Madison, kitty-corner from St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and waited in the lobby for him to come down. I took a picture of my reflection in the polished granite wall and appreciated that this has become such a familiar place over the past almost-three years.

We ended up at Great Jones Cafe in NoHo. I love going downtown, and I had been graving the creole wings from Great Jones for a few days. They are amazing! It was a lovely evening out.

I am grateful. For this huge, beautiful, exciting city and the opportunity we have to live in it, and for the wonderful man sitting across the table from me. He’s the best.

Ice cream and resolutions

2012-01-15T22:11:38Z

For Christmas, Klane gave me the ice-cream maker attachment for my Kitchenaid and a Ben & Jerry’s recipe book. We have been eating a lot of homemade ice cream around here lately. So far we’ve made oreo mint and chocolate chip cookie dough. Both were delicious!

A blogging note: when used with our blog template, the latest version of WordPress has a bug which makes adding pictures to my blog posts a lot more difficult and time consuming than it usually is. Hence the lack of enthusiasm about blogging lately. Hopefully they will fix it soon because it makes me hate posting on here.

But hey – blogging is not on my list of New Year’s Resolutions. I’m still going to blog because I love having a record of our lives… I am just not going to let it run my life. It can get quite overwhelming at times if I let it. But I have more important things to worry about and to do with my time.

Like going to the temple! Klane and I made a goal to make it to the temple once a month this year (sadly, we fell short on this goal in 2011). We started off right by dashing to the 7:30 pm session after work on Thursday night.

It was wonderful to be back in the quiet peace of the temple. So many things get in the way if we let them. But once we were there, I was reminded that any sacrifice we make to get to the temple is always worth it. Our evening there realigned my priorities and elevated my thinking. We will be back next month! (And the next month, and the next month, and the next month…)

{far-away view of our urban temple, from four blocks away on my walk to work.}

We’re home!

2012-01-26T04:01:04Z

We are back in New York after a Christmas vacation that was nothing short of wonderful. We were in Utah for over two weeks and I loved it! It was so nice to have so much time. We didn’t feel rushed at all, which made for a much more relaxing and fun trip. We had time to spend with family without worrying about dividing limited time equally. We spent nights at the cabin, stayed up late, slept in even later, ate way too much food, had family dinners, went to movies and basketball games and girls nights, Klane went shooting with the boys, I got makeovers and frozen yogurt with the girls. We did puzzles and drank hot cocoa and met friends and family for lunch and ate out and stayed in and wrestled with the kids. We opened presents and saw the lights and gave gifts and went to church. It was just so wonderful to be with our family. I loved it!

Even with how long it was, I still was sad to leave at the end of our trip. I don’t think I could ever get quite enough – unless we moved back to Utah. I am sure that will happen someday, but that day is not yet. I was bummed out on the way to the airport Sunday night, but when we arrived in the city on a bright, crisp January morning and rode into the city on the train, then walked to our apartment, I felt really happy. I’m finally at the point where missing family in Utah doesn’t make me dislike New York or our life here. I am still 100% in love with New York City. That’s a good thing. I’m happy to love where I am. I do miss family, but I am grateful for the times we get to visit (we have another visit planned in March! So soon!).

New Year’s Eve with the Markhams

2012-01-13T01:53:59Z

We spent New Year’s Eve up at Sundance with our good friends the Markham’s and their cabin-neighbors the Moe’s. We had delicious fondue, it was like the Melting Pot! Kevin and Lisa did a deep fryer and a broth fondue to cook steak and chicken and scallops, and a yummy cheese fondue, and we did a chocolate dessert fondue. It was fantastic and so much fun to sit by the fire with good friends exchanging funny stories. We love the Markhams! They are so much fun to be around, they tell the most hilarious (and borderline inappropriate) stories, and they feel like family to us. It was also great to catch up with Bryce and Michelle, who have been busy with school and we haven’t seen them in a while.

Poor Klane caught a nasty flu the day before and was really sick that night, so he couldn’t do much more than lay on the couch and nibble fruit. Poor guy, I felt so bad for him. He was such a good sport though!

After 11:00 we went back to our cabin and rung in the new year with Justin and Andrea, Brandon and my parents. We were having another Super Mario Brothers marathon and paused it just in time to count down the last 35 seconds to the new year.

2011

2012-01-15T22:11:45Z

2011 was a great year! After looking through my photos and remembering all the fun we had, I am feeling so grateful for the wonderful year that was 2011. There were endless opportunities for good times with the people who mean the most to us: our amazing family and friends.

A little look back at 2011….

January
- Record snows make for lots of winter fun
- Spontaneous visit to Utah to witness nephew Gabe’s birth

February
- Our camera is broken, then fixed
- Lots of time spent with the Galbraiths watching BYU basketball
- JIMMERMANIA

March
- March Madness!
- Sara comes to visit – we meet up in Soho

April
- Trip to DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival with Matheny’s
- We move into a new apartment in the heart of Harlem
- I appreciate spring more than ever after a long depressing winter

May
- Trip to Chicago with my office for a convention
- My addiction to Sprinkles cupcakes begins
- Klane and Johnny’s summer softball league starts
- We go backpacking in Southern Utah

June
- Annie comes to visit NYC
- Mike and Sara move in with us for the summer – MASSIVE FUN ENSUES
- Klane’s birthday celebrated in CP and at Rockaway beach

July
- Independence Day weekend in Boston
- More beach trips!
- I go to Utah for Justin’s homecoming

August
- Graf family trip to Maui
- Klane’s Tropicana campaign runs in Grand Central Station
- I rent a bike for Summer Streets while Klane’s on a campout

September
- Fashion week with friend Eliana
- I go to Lake Powell and rappel off a 300 foot cliff
- Indian summer gives way to a long, slow fall

October
- Our besties Johnny and Joanna move to Boston (BOO)
- Visitors come to see the city – Markhams and Maglebys
- Procession of the Ghouls to celebrate Halloween

November
- We go to the Quidditch World Cup and all my dreams come true
- I go on a 3 day birthday shopping spree
- Thanksgiving in the city with my family

December
- Holiday fun in the city
- Klane’s ski safari in Idaho and Wyoming
- We visit home for two whole weeks!

2011 was so good to us! We have so much to be grateful for, and so much to look forward to in 2012. Here’s to a great New Year!

Moments from Christmas Break

2012-01-14T01:52:57Z

The Grafs and Markhams met at Magleby’s restaurant for a delicious breakfast buffet.

I saw Santa on State Street

A shot of Mom’s Christmas tree on Christmas Eve

Went to Annie’s house a couple times. Caught a bit of Jimmer playing in the NBA

Sara and I wore the same color sweater – and the exact same Gap jeans – completely unplanned

Kaylene taught me how to make ebelskivers

We had a delicious brunch before the BYU bowl game

Had lots of fun talking about wedding plans with Justin and Andrea, including a meeting with Sara to discuss invitations!

Met up with my good friend Amanda for brunch at Communal

And I found every excuse I could to take pictures of mount Timpanogos.

Justin and Andrea’s Engagements

2012-01-13T03:07:14Z

I secretly hoped Justin and Andrea would ask me to take their engagement photos in Utah, and I also thought that pictures at Sundance in the snow would be great. So when Andrea asked me to take their photos, I was really excited! And then when she suggested we take pictures at Sundance in the snow, I could barely contain myself. Great minds think alike!

I am a huge fan of these two, so taking their engagement photos was a dream come true. I had so much fun taking and editing these photos! Our shoot included multiple outfits and locations, two days, a few hot cocoa/warm up breaks, and some Super Mario Brothers in between. It was a lot of fun. Here are a few favorites!

Just hanging out

2012-01-13T03:19:03Z

Annie and Lynsie brought their kids down to the house for the afternoon and we spent the day playing. Our nieces and nephews are so cute and so much fun. We miss them when we’re away and it’s so fun to catch up on all the time we’ve missed. I’m just happy when the younger ones, who were born since we moved away, remember who we are!

At one point the game changed from chasing each other around the house to “everyone grab Klane’s legs while he tries to walk”. Oh, it was great fun. :) Of course, when Klane collapsed of exhaustion, the kids all piled on top in a giggling mess of tangled arms and legs. Good times, good memories. I love these little people.

We enjoyed one of many gorgeous sunsets that night. Here’s the view from the back porch.

Sigh…. I love Utah.