Fab Friday Faves 11.28.14

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  We had a fantastic day with my parents who flew in from Saskatchewan on Wednesday morning.  My phone died on Monday and Verizon won't replace it for some reason so I was short on pictures, but I managed to get a few yesterday.  We also went for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at the Skylark across the street and we are exhausted so I'm going to keep it short to get out Black friday Shopping!  Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend!

1. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade took place yesterday morning and we had to go check it out!  We were up bright and early in the snow and got to see some of it before we got cold and left haha.  It was amazing and you really don't realize how huge the floats and balloons are.  The blonde in the photo is Meagan Trainor btw!

2.  While out sightseeing we checked out The rink at Rockefeller Center and went up to the Top of the Rock.  This Josh and I am my parents.  You can see the partially decorated Christmas Tree behind us as well.

3.  We randomly walked up to Saks Fifth Avenue while there really cool light show was happening on the side of the building.  I have also never seen this before and loved it!

 4. Last night we went to see the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular.  I can't recommend seeing this enough!  The talent and work that goes into this is incredible and it is so amazingly done.

5. We decorated our skinny Christmas tree yesterday as well.  It is cute and perfect apartment size for us.  I love have having the tree up and I wrapped most of the presents as well.  Can't wait for Christmas now!

Today I'm linking up with:

Lauren @ Style Elixir
Clare @ Fitting it all in
Nicole @ Adventures of a Wild Sunflower
Lauren @ The Lauren Elizabeth
Christina @ North Carolina Charm

My Birthday in Kauai

For my 30th birthday Josh and I decided to go to Hawaii.  It was perfect timing, right after we finished the Alaska job, and about a month before we had to leave for Peru.  Not to mention, I was mildly concerned about turning 30, and I think Josh knew he needed to either keep me busy or have to deal with me curled up in a ball under a rock somewhere.  We also had to wait 5 days for the truck to arrive in Seattle on the barge from Anchorage, so we had some time to kill.

We arrived in Seattle, dropped the cats off with a shuttle service to take them to a boarding facility and hopped back on our plane to take us to Bellingham Washington, where we ended up being hours delayed, causing us to miss our flight from Honolulu to Kauai.  On the bright side, we got to stay at the Wakiki Hilton for the night!  We ended up making it to Kauai about 14 hours late, but we made it in any case.

We threw our stuff in our hotel room, and headed out to start our adventure.  I don't remember all the details but I have some pictures to share!


The Fern Grotto boat tour:

The road to Hanalei Bay, for Josh to go surfing:

Hanalei Bay, one of the most famous surf spots in the world.  Josh in the orange trunks:

Kilauea lighthouse view.  One of the most beautiful views I have ever seen.

Some goats on the side of the road on the way back from Hanalei.

The largest Mohagany plantation in the US.

An evening view of Hanalei Bay.

Chillin' out in a tree on the ocean.

There are chickens everywhere on Kauai!

Our meeting point to go on a snorkel tour, the Spouting Horn.  You can see there is a guy to the left in the photo to tell how huge it is!

Barking Sands Beach. Miles and Miles of empty beach that is actually military property.  Don't tell the rental company we drove our car down a very long dirt road to get here.

Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.  Breathtaking!

My birthday Kayaking trip to Secret Falls.  It was a long trip but so worth it!

Gilligan's Island Beach.  a couple of the first episodes of the TV show were filmed here.  It was nearly empty too and so nice for snorkeling and looking for creatures.

Headed out for my birthday dinner.

Yacht trip along the Na Pali Coast, the view again was unbelievable and we got to see lots of whales.

Our last day, a drive to Wailua Falls.  These are in the opening scene of Fantasy Island.

We LOVED Kauai and would go back in a heartbeat.  If you are a partier, this is not the best island to chose but if you love being away from people and a quieter adventure scene it is amazing.  now I really want to go back, especially since we are supposed to have a blizzard tomorrow in New Jersey!

Fab Friday Fave 11.21.14

Happy Friday darlings!  I hope everyone is staying warm and out of the snow.  It has been a quiet week, most of it too cold and windy to do too much, but I managed to get into the city a couple times at least.  I also finished my Christmas shopping, a lot of cleaning and wrapping the presents.  Next Friday at this time, my parents will be here visiting and I am more than excited for that, I can't wait!  I also have a surprise coming on the blog very soon so watch out for it.  Everyone have a fantastic weekend and stay warm, oh and Happy Thanksgiving!  

1. Yesterday afternoon while walking to my subway stop, I came across this outside of Macy's; TCM (Turn Classic Movies) had set up a movie screen and couches to sit on and were playing "A Miracle on 34th Street". On 34th Street in Manhattan!  How fun is that?!

2. Last Saturday I went down to the South Street Seaport on the lower east side of Manhattan for the Out to See Festival.  The South Street Seaport is a gorgeous little area with cobblestone streets and old stone buildings and is a common place to leave on boat tours.  Right now they have a Christmas tree and skating rink set up and it is truly a little wonderland!  The festival was filled with food and hot beverage vendors perfect for a cold day of shopping the little Etsy style shops.  I found some great stocking stuffer ideas (for myself!) and got some delicious cookies, sauces and spices.

3. At the Out To See Festival I picked up these fantastic sauces and spices from Ukuva i-Africa.  The company is based out of Capetown and all of the spices and sauces are inspired by different areas and people of Africa.  The company is a member of the World Fair Trade Organization, meaning the people producing the ingredients that go into the product are treated and paid fairly and ethically.  They also donate part of the proceeds back to a trust for education for the workers.  The beautiful beading and wire work  on the bottles is also done by the Cape Mental Health Society.  I forgot the most important part; the sauces and spices are AMAZING.  Totally unique and delicious.  Visit the website to see where you can buy or to order.

4. Nicole and I went Christmas shopping this week on the coldest day of the year so far, so we had to stop by Starbucks and try out the new Chestnut Praline Latte.  So good, but we still think they need to bring back the Eggnog Latte!

5.  I also made a stop at Old Navy last weekend.  They had some fantastic sales, and I also had a 35% off coupon so basically everything I bought was less than half price.  I ended up getting 7 shirts for under 60 dollars (they weren't all for me!).  These are the ones I got for myself.  These Christmasy ones put me in the spirit and I have wanted the grey and pink plaid one for ages! They have more crazy deals on right now and lots of online coupons if you need to finish up your Christmas shopping.


Today I am linking up with:

Jennie @ The Diary of a Real Housewife
Lauren @ Style Elixir
Clare @ Fitting It All In
Lauren @ The Lauren Elizabeth
Amy @ The Farmers Wife
Nicole @ Adventures of a Wild Sunflower 
Karli @ September FARM
Christina @ Carolina Charm