Spoiled.

Dearest Nicholas,

Thank you for spoiling me this weekend by making a quick visit to the Big Apple. Your presence was definitely needed. After a long red eye flight, I'm sure your little eyes were exhausted (planes just aren't suitable for a 6'3 body) upon your arrival here. Nevertheless, you carried onward to enjoy the precious few moments you had with me. We kicked off the weekend by eating breakfast at one of your favorite TV shows, Seinfeld's stomping grounds, Tom's Restaurant. 

Although it was overcast and wet most of the weekend, the rain didn't put a damper on our plans. On our way to venture Times Square, a place neither of us particularly enjoy, we decided to get our faces drawn...worst.decision.ever. Lucky to our *my bargaining skills, we weren't scammed too poorly. Unfortunately, we walked away with a seductive looking me posing alongside a stranger with big muscles. Although, the resemblance is far from close, we have another memory to add to the list. 

The best part of Times Square is Broadway. Before fleeing from the rain we saw The Last Five Years, a play that I wanted to see about a twisted romance with an incredibly creative delivery. I hope it didn't bore you too much with all that raw, emotional drama -- I know you get plenty of that from me. 

After a quick nap and an excuse to escape the rain for a moment, you did the unspeakable--Wicked tickets! The only play I came here hoping to see. I know the tickets weren't cheap, but the experience was priceless. I gasped almost every scene by the set and how the plot came together. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Thank you for saving me many disappointing nights at the Wicked lottery. I owe you one. 

On Sunday, we went to my work at the church office building for Regional Conference. It was nice to have a your familiar face at church again. On our way home, you had the idea of exploring my neighbor's house, the Catholic Cathedral. Like wet dogs, we entered the doors, and to our delight, found that we were actually welcome into its premises.  We, like children, decided to venture to the highest floor we could--floor 20. It was nice to get a different view of the city that is slowly becoming familiar to me.

After a few hours drying off from the rain (I apologize again for how unfortunate it was to have a downpour on two of the most precious days of the week--weekends), we ventured out into the city. I wanted to show you my favorite part of the city, Central Park. We shared my small umbrella as we wandered through the park. Eventually we botched the umbrella because the damage was far too severe for any salvaging to be done. We then treated ourselves to the yummiest shakes and the best burgers in town...hmm, Shake Shack is delicious.

To conclude the weekend, we ventured the ferry to see the Hudson lights. We saw the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, a couple's engagement, and other various sites our entitled tour guide felt to accentuate during our journey over the water. 

Oh how it is nice having you in the city. 

Though all of our adventures were wonderful, my favorite part of your stay here was Monday afternoon in Central Park. We rented a boat and went out to the middle of the lake. Thank you, again, for pleasing me by gently rowing us over to the side of the lake at the site of basking turtles. Lucky for us, the sun decided to show itself so we and all the wildlife could thoroughly enjoy the afternoon without running indoors for cover. Oh the day was nice. We kicked our feet back and slowly crept along the water shore enjoying each other immensely.  It was so refreshing to have a safe haven, a place away from the world with little distraction--just you, me and the boat.  

To please my growling belly and to prevent a potentially grumpy Chelsea, you bought us warm waffles from one of the Waffles and Dinges stands near the outskirts of the park. It started to get dark, so after a quick people-watching downtime and catnap on the grass, we headed home. 

It has been one of the most pleasant weekends since I have been here. The hardest part is saying goodbye to a familiar face--your familiar face--for a time being, to be left in an unfamiliar city. 

I do enjoy our time together Mr. Nicholas. My bosses were pleased with you and talk about you often since your departure. Thank you for spending your weekend with me.

Five weeks. 

Love always,

Chels

xoxo

breakfast at Tom's.

 

*I hope that's not what we look like...by the number of people smiling walking by, we knew it was going to be a treat.

Wicked

Hudson Lights Ferry Tour

Ms. Liberty

   ^^our rainy selves^^

the lake. 

Nick rowing

^^the turtle club^^

on my lunch break

his farewell gift. kindness.

*gratitude

I'm feeling blessed today...

I had a great conversation with my mother on the phone last night.

A special visitor came to play with me this weekend**stay tuned.

I am enjoying my internship very much; I love my bosses, all five of them:).

I found a free fridge in the hallway. Needless to say, I got groceries for the first time. 

I saw Wicked, the one Broadway show I have been DYING to see.

The humidity is clearing up my acne. 

I just bought bus tickets to D.C. for Memorial weekend. 

The sun has made a few appearances the past few days--NYC is a different place in the sunshine.

Lastly, I discovered this beautiful running trail (^^featured above) lining the Hudson River. 

Boy, it's beautiful. 

Missing Home

Lately, home has become a little more dear to me. When everything familiar is stripped away, it's hard not to reminisce on all the good times that have collectively contributed in some way to who I am today.

...because sometimes I wake up and wish I were a child again.
I miss waking up to an open schedule and a mind to preoccupy me for hours. I miss spending an entire afternoon in our unfinished basement with my lovely accomplices {Jackson Girls} filming commercials, choreographing dances, and rollerskating around the staircase until our ankles turned red. I miss naming my crushes after candy bars in attempt to keep my love life a secret. I miss the moment I saw my first baboon -- Rach and I rolled on the floor laughing for hours about God's sense of humor with that animal. I miss decorating valentines' boxes for my elementary classrooms. I miss cuddling with my family in my parents' bed late at night.
It's wonderful to see my friends and family members progress and accomplish their aspired dreams and goals; however, at the same time, it makes me sad that we can't all remain in a static state of play. That static state where we always have each other near. I miss that.

Naturally, to reminisce, I turn to pictures. Pictures have a beautiful way of expressing moments, more so than words.

I miss...

...tadpoling in the summer.

...hometown parades.



...the many adventures schemed by my mother.

...Adams Canyon celebratory dances.

...the waterfall.

...family in Arizona--oh Gramma J and the clan.

...our many Salt Lake Endeavors. {cemeteries}

...painting G.G.'s nails while watching The Great Race.



...concerts and that one time Liza was smaller than me.

...fishing. Who said girls aren't tough? Estrogen power!!



...family vacas.

...my dad, for handling all of us and for teaching us how to be tough.

...my family.

 
...supporting my sisters in school events. ^^^Hannie as Bell.

...Sunday curlers.



...my sweet, sweet friends.



Oh, how I miss you girls...{+Ash}

...track.
Need I say more?

...late nights with the girls...Alice--always the night owl (This picture is us in a nutshell).

 ...Rach.



...college pranks. Boy, do we know how to get 'em.



...marrying that one man...named Brigham.

...being weird and Elise.

..temple trips.


...getting lost in Zion National Park--it was worth the pic.

...receiving missionary letters...oh missionary letters:)


...that one time when we killed everyone.


...fishing in style.


..well kind of.


...girls, Jeru, Beyonce...

 
...these fine folks who never cease to make me laugh.



Thank you my friends and family for reminding why life is so grand.

*cheers to the future, may it be as bright as the past.

Sarah in the City

I have had the privilege of hangin with one of my best cousins, Sarah, for the past few days. She has come to spend the week with me, here in New York City. Let's just say it has been a cozy stay thus far. She is currently laying on my floor on a mattress, squeezed between my desk and my bed -- there is literally no where else to sleep. Despite this uncomfortable room setup, I love waking up and looking down to see her on my floor. Unfortunately, I have work during the week, and therefore this weekend was the first time we actually spent some quality time together.

Here is a recap of our adventures. Please enjoy {though it is impossible to accurately express the fun we've been having}:

On Friday night we attended our very first opera.

Funny story. This woman came into the LDS office looking for a way to contact her friend. She ended up staying an hour or so talking with me about wonderful things to do in the city. By the end of her visit, I had a new friend and two tickets to Friday night's opera at the Met Opera House.

Little did I know what Sarah and I had in store.

The Met>>

Number one--the production was FOUR HOURS LONG. Holy Moly. I had no endurance for such a production to say the least. Good news, it got progressively better as the production went on. Bad news--I was one tired (a little grouchy) girl after the show. 

Ah, I will refrain from stating my honest opinion, for fear of hurting someone's feelings. Let's just say, it was a great cultural experience, but I'll definitely think twice before attending my next opera. 

Our new friend, Judy:

...ask Sarah about it. She will be a little more positive.

Saturday morning, on our way to the subway we saw, oh, you know, Ben Stiller rehearsing a scene for an upcoming film. Welcome to New York City, baby! All I gathered from the scene was a women frantically looking for a stuffed camel, Chips. ????

Then FOOD, lots of food.

Falafel, for you Jeru lovin' people.

Dinner at Junior's:

NEWSIES

We went for Newsies lottery tickets Saturday afternoon. A group of eight students, Sarah and I included, went to put our names in the drawing to win discounted broadway tickets -- talk about the MOST stressful thing ever -- my heart was racing the whole ten minutes they were drawing names. The box office declared they were only drawing 14 names for Saturday's matinee. Chelsey, a girl from my program, was the first name drawn. There's two tickets. Then about the 8th person was my professor, two more tickets. Biting my tongue now, I was preparing myself for the blow. The 12th person, was another one of the BYU students, TWO MORE TICKETS!! Sarah and I were the only two left from the group who hadn't received a ticket. There were only two more names left to call. The 13th person..."Sarah Jackson." I screamed out of utter joy. We were going to see NEWSIES in all its glory.

Our tickets read seat 112 and 114, who was 113?

Seat 113 was occupied by this lovely pillar. Sarah and I were the only seats in that row, and we were separated by this large pillar. We laughed. No matter. The show was too fabulous to care. The dancing was my favorite part. The cast consisted of a group of handsome boys with high energy, jumping, leaping and pirouetting around. I highly recommend this production to anyone with a heart. *Loved

The Guggenheim Museum

Due to the rainy weather all week, we decided to attend a museum. The Guggenheim was the perfect choice due to the discounted admission on Saturday nights.


{Warning: major tourist section, but this was a MUST for Sarah...we laughed about ourselves the whole time. Oh, how I love her}

Times Square

The Disney Store.

Sarah is a Disney girl, to say the least. So naturally, we made our way over to this children's store. Needless to say, we acted like children.

The New Year's Ball in real life...

{it's so much smaller than I thought}

The confetti that drops from the sky on New Year's is in fact these pieces of paper with peoples' dreams and wishes written on them--neat. 

Bring on the candy!!!

And more candy...

Grand Central Station

This is my, "Let's get to Central Park face before my feet fall off." ^^

AHHH Central Park, at last.

A little Central Park never hurt anyone. It was such a beautiful Sabbath day, here in Central Park. Everyone came out of their nooks and crannies to enjoy the sunshine and beautiful weather. It was so crowded, but the great company made for a much better people-watching afternoon. Oh how I love weekends. 

Calling our moms for Mother's Day...

Sarah. 

^^{it was a windy day}vv

Sarah is a photographer--I got embarrassed to have the camera in my face for a shoot. Needless to say, there were several shots of my hands:) 

We both loved taking photos of the city. I am learning from her wisdom in photography. Sarah has at least 1500 photos of beautiful New York scenery. She is a master in the works. 

*I apologize for the length of this post. There is simply too much to see and too little time to post. 

xoxo