We are back from a long weekend trip to Dayton, OH to attend Bryan (my cousin) and Holly’s wedding. We rented a Cadillac Seville deVille (a comfy and roomy ride) for the four of us– me, Rich, Mom, and Uncle Poli. We left early Friday morning in the midst of some rather snowy conditions, but once we were on the road it was a pretty smooth trip. Making just one stop for a quick lunch, the ride took us less than 10 hours– just in time for the pre-wedding day cocktail party at the hotel.

Bryan and Holly were married on Saturday, March 20th– the 1st day of spring –in a beautiful Catholic ceremony at the Church of the Ascension in Dayton. This was followed by a fantastic reception at the Dayton Art Institute.

Update: Bryan and Holly made the New York Times (log-in required)!!!

Everyone had an awesome time. The Art Institute was the perfect backdrop for a fun and elegant evening. The food was excellent, and we all danced the night away to the live band. Rich and I even got to practice our swing moves! Congratulations to Bryan & Holly for pulling it off!

On our way back from Ohio, we stopped in West Virginia to visit the Angulos– longtime friends of the family. It was so nice to see them again after so long. Tita Edith prepared a scrumptious South Beach friendly dinner (she is a great cook and fellow SB dieter we found out) and we spent the night in their very big house. Monday morning, it was back on the road for us.

All in all, a fun trip If you don’t believe me, check out the pictures.

Finally, another work-week is behind us. Why does it always seem that the week goes by so painfully slowly but the weekends just zip right past? Anyway, I’ve added some new-old pictures to the site– we went to Mohonk Mountain House back in November for their “romantic weekend getaway.”

It was great! Mohonk is a beautiful Victorian resort up in nearby New Paltz. The weather was unseasonally mild, so we were able to do a lot of outdoorsy stuff like hiking, ice skating, bird-watching (ok maybe not that)– and even went on a horse-drawn carriage ride. They also had tons of activities/classes which I dragged my husband to– like yoga class, swing dancing, couples massage, and even couples sketching (if you know Rich at all, you would know this is funny).

Anyway, the crisp air, mother nature, and did I mention fine dining?– did us well. We had a beautiful room with a fireplace and lovely views. A perfect weekend getaway. We will definitely be going back soon. I think a spring visit may be in order…

So we picked up Rich’s new suit yesterday (since he has lost so much weight he needed a new one!)… It really aggravates me that he can walk into a store and have an entire ensemble– jacket/pants/shirt/tie — picked out in less than 15 minutes, and have it tailored in the same shop, to be ready in a week’s time. Meanwhile, it takes me weeks of trying on every dress in every store within a 30 mile radius to find something that I will probably only wear once, that I will have to take to a tailor to be fitted, not to mention find matching shoes, bag, suitable undergarments, jewelry, etc. for!

Well, it is all for a good cause anyway… we will be attending my cousin’s wedding (Bryan & Holly) in Ohio in a few weeks and needed some new duds. We are taking a few vacation days, renting a car, and making a long weekend out of it. We have a new appreciation for weddings, now that we have gone through it ourselves!

ok i think i finally got this thing to work so let’s give it a try…

Hello there! So, what’s new with us? Well, as it is quickly approaching our one year anniversary, I figured maybe it’s about time I updated our webpage. Not much to look at now, but eventually I will post some new pictures and stuff. The hubby and I are doing well and enjoying married life (although I have to say its not much different)… and no, we are not pregnant yet (since that’s what everyone always wants to know)!

Orlando…We just celebrated Rich’s B-day– The BIG 3-0! — with a trip to Orlando. Since he had never been there before, I thought maybe Disney would help the old guy feel like a kid again-lol. We stayed at the Portofino Bay Hotel– one of the three hotels on the Universal Studios property (and in my opinion the best of the 3). I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone planning to spend time at the Universal theme parks. Not only is this a picturesque 5-star hotel, but one of the perks is you get to use your room key for VIP access to all of their rides… in other words, you get to cut in front of the hundreds of poor souls waiting to get on the “Spiderman” ride! Trust me, the envious glances as you stroll past the crowds to the front of the line is well worth the price of admission.

We both had a great time at the parks… I even got Rich to go on his very first roller coaster– “The Hulk” at Universal– a pretty cool upside down, twisty, loopy, one! We also made time to spend a fun day at Epcot Center in Disney. However, our biggest feat of all, was that we both managed to stay on our diets throughout the entire trip (we both started the South Beach Diet in January)… even resisting dessert at Emeril’s Restaurant, where we had a scrumptious dinner on Valentine’s Day! Now that’s willpower.

Pictures of our trip are posted here…