10.22.2016, Boulder, Colorado
Love of my life.
Tag: Love
San Antonio – AndWhatIDid (for the past two months, at least)
It’s been a a little while, I know. This transition to San Antonio over the past two months has been just that…a transition. Both my job and Brendan’s are going really well, we’re finally getting the hang of the layout of this city, we’ve had some serious eats at some awesome restaurants, we’ve been doing a lot of cool activities but best of all, we’ve been doing it together. It’s a good thing he’s my best friend since we have been spending a LOT of time together. Making friends in a new city is harder than I remembered, but maybe I’m just missing my friends and my family. In any event, it’s been great to be living in a city again – we’re taking advantage of it. Here’s what we’ve been doing, next up is what (and where) we’ve been eating.
Moving day morning snuggles with Colly, Mom and Murray before hitting the road.
Traveling through the southern states, spent a night in Knoxville and another in New Orleans – first time for both! Tennessee is so much prettier than I expected it to be and New Orleans was like Vegas for me: a quick trip in and out, some good eats, a little fun, cross it off the list.
Got to San Antonio after three days of driving and almost three weeks away from Bren.
La Crema for less than $10 a bottle at Trader Joe’s? Shopping at Anthropologie in my city? Two reasons I love San Antonio.
La Fonda quickly became one of our favorite places for its around-the-corner location, awesome food and the enormous Live Oak canopy on the backyard patio. Also awesome: scoring box seats to the Rampage, the rosemary in this city that grows like San Antonio was Seattle, “Ice Houses”, which are basically outdoor bars in every neighborhood.
Brendan: bed hog, camping enthusiast and belated birthday-celebrator.
Before we moved here, everyone was all “Ohhh, the River Walk!”, and I thought, “How good could this possibly be?” It really is. The Museum Reach portion of it, with art installations every block or so, is probably my favorite part, but the whole thing is just so beautiful and unique. It’s probably my favorite piece about living in San Antonio.
Went back to Colorado to surprise Brendan’s family and his grandparents for Thanksgiving. They’re all such great people and I’m so excited they’re going to be my in-laws.
San Antonio’s music scene may not be as well-known as Austin’s, but it’s strong. I love having the option of walking to shows just about any night of the week. Architecture in this city is also pretty incredible – Brendan’s office building is gorgeous, and are you kidding me with that Majestic Theatre???
The Octopus Project at Paper Tiger, Tamale Fest at The Pearl, Christmas Tree cutting.
The sunset here on my Dad’s birthday, wedding venue dreaming (8.6.16 in Breckenridge – check out that view!!), lit-up Cinderella carriages downtown, San Antonio Museum of Art, concert in a cave (which my environmental-journalist-fiance called his best date ever), 108 sun salutations in honor of the winter solstice.
Such thoughtful Christmas gifts from my cousins, how Christmas looks via Skype when Delta delays your flight a full TWO DAYS, ON CHRISTMAS, so your only alternative is to cancel your flight home and stay in Texas (don’t even get me started, I had a fullblown meltdown), Christmas weekend in Austin, where we ate the best Italian food I’ve had so far in this state, visited these ancient springs and saw a seven-months pregnant woman juggle a table, a vase and two of her three children, ON HER FEET. #KeepAustinWeird
Coming up next – AndWhatIAte. San Antonio is so much more than tacos!!
Texas, y’all
…as in two days until I begin the three-day drive to San Antonio. Brendan and I both got great new jobs, amazingly found an apartment in adorable Tobin Hill in a whirlwind 72-hour tour of the city, had some serious Texas eats and explored what’s going to be our new home. Or, I guess, what’s going to be mine, since Bren’s been down there for more than a week now.
Today, since this has been a pretty emotional rollercoaster, I have really mixed feelings about going. NEPA is my home, and home to the people I love most in the world (with the exclusion of JBG, of course). I’m going to miss my parents, my sister and my girlfriends more than I can express. But I’m also excited about starting this new life with the love of my life, living in a city (and an awesome one, at that) again for the first time in years, stepping up my career and watching Bren do the same with his, exploring a whole new part of the country and most of all, doing all this together. There’s nobody else I’d rather be with.
In the meantime, though, I’m loving the time I’ve been spending with my family and my girlfriends. They’re some of the greatest people in the world, and I’m just so lucky and grateful. We’ve been in each other’s lives for decades, and their support, encouragement and love is unparalleled. I’m really going to miss them but I’m so fortunate to have spent all this time with them. Ugh, let’s just get this purgatory “transition” time over with already!!!! On another note, if anyone has tips for things to do or how to meet people in San Antonio, I’m all ears, because Bren and I are going to need it!
Three days in San Antonio to do everything:
Our engagement dinner at my parents’ house:
Birthdays, last day of work, Steamtown Marathon Sunday, Race for the Cure, Indigo Girls:
I love you and I’ll miss you, NEPA!
Love, Love, Love (is all we need)
When I answered the phone at work one day in December 2013, I never thought the voice on the other end was that of the man I’d eventually marry. Journalist Brendan Gibbons, despite our eleven year age gap, complete resistance on both of our parts to falling in love with each other because we were “trying to be practical about this,” different backgrounds, interests and life experiences (so far) is, without question, the love of my life. And we’re engaged.
I’ve been in a lot of relationships, with a lot of different kinds of guys. At some point, I tried to convince myself that I was willing to settle for “less than.” But that kind of thinking can only carry you so far, and now, after nearly two years with Bren, I finally know what it’s like to be with a man who challenges me, excites me, thrills me and loves me so deeply and whole-heartedly that I can’t believe I ever tried to convince myself I wanted anything less. Of course we drive each other crazy sometimes, but there’s nobody else I respect or admire more, or who I have more fun with. He’s the best guy I’ve ever known, and I’m so grateful we’re going to spend our lives together. It’s going to be an incredible adventure.
JBG, thank you for loving me the way you do. I’m the luckiest.
Paris, Part Deux
…In which my mom and sister go to the Chanel Couture show, we meet Terry de Gunzburg, sit next to Lenny Kravitz at lunch, enjoy the Musee d’Orsay and travel to begin some serious wine-tasting in Bordeaux.
Pretty much everyone should start off their day like this. La Maison Favart has one of the best and prettiest showers I’ve ever experienced in their Carmen suite, and a breakfast worthy of the same adjectives.
And then, NBD, my mom and my sister went to the Chanel Couture Week show. Seriously unreal. The crowd was amazing, the show was completely over the top (so I hear) and my mom got to cross one of the top items off her bucket list. I hung out for almost an hour after dropping them off to people-watch (who were among the best-dressed crowd of my life) despite being dressed in neon workout gear and enduring a solid 45 minutes of papparazzi screaming at me in French, ‘GET OUT OF THE SHOT!!!” Oh, settle down, crazies.
Paris, Part Un
I haven’t been back here since I was 21 years old, but it didn’t take long for me to remember why this is my favorite city in the world.
Angelina’s has the world’s best hot chocolate, and their salads aren’t too shabby either.
I mean, come on:
My mom and my sister, to make a very long story short, were invited to the Chanel show during Couture Week. I’ve rarely seen my mom more excited than when their invitations (which, without question, I’m sure were more expensive than the cost of an entire wedding) were delivered to our hotel.
Oooh, la la
Honestly, I don’t know why I always seem to get so lax about posting during the summer, but it’s probably because there’s so much more going on.
For example.
Late Sunday night, I got back from a 10-day trip to France with my mom and my little sister. We spent a couple days in Paris, went down to Bordeaux for wine-tasting, then back up to Paris again. I used to live there in college, and I hadn’t been back since, and honestly, I forgot about how much that city makes me feel. Everything is so vibrant and beautiful and exciting and – most importantly – grounding in a way I can’t even fully describe. Paris brings out the best in me.
This was the first girls’ trip my mom an
d sister and I have taken in a really long time, and we had a blast. We had experiences, dinners and wine among the best of my life, scenery that could have been out of a movie and I also got some serious quality time with two of the people I love most in the world.
This post is a two-parter, for sure. It may actually end up being a three-parter, since I just spent 40 minutes editing pictures and I’m not even to Bordeaux yet (and I’m still on Paris time, which means it’s 8.18 p.m. EST and I’m exhausted.) Happy Bastille Day, France!
