Well hello, hello. It’s been a bit, yes?
I know I’m not alone in saying that life and the world has just … been *a lot* lately. Things feel overwhelming at times, and when a lot feels out of our control, this can add to the emotional weight and baggage in our days. It’s all filed under different layers of stress, and I’m in the era of naming, addressing and managing it — something I’m learning to do thanks to my latest studies on stress, sleep and recovery.
Focusing on the things you *can* control when important things in your life feel out of your control is a coaching strategy I use with clients (and myself), and you can read more about what to focus on during these challenging seasons here.
There was a part of me that wanted to wait until January to dive back into blog content, but there’s so much to cover and many glimmers to appreciate throughout the madness. Plus, I’m not about the “wait until January/Monday” procrastinating mindset anymore. Life is too short to keep delaying your goals and ending up where you want to go.
So here we are. 🙂
The last post I shared was back in September with a round-up of Summer highlights, so it only seems right to go back and cover the biggest highlights of the Fall today.
I can’t cover everything, but here is a look back onto a handful of important celebrations, milestones and happenings around our household and city. Thank you for reading, and I’d love to hear something you’ve celebrated recently in the comments, too.
Friday Favorites are back, baby!
Latest Friday Favorites :: Fall Highlights
- Halloween in Park Slope
First things first, we’ve missed some major holidays. Halloween is always a HUGE one recognized in our neighborhood, and this year did not disappoint.
We live in Park Slope, Brooklyn and it’s known to be one of the best places to trick-or-treat and take part in Halloween festivities with kids in New York City. Every street and avenue from our apartment to Prospect Park is flooded with kids, families and dogs in costumes, and everyone comes together after sunset to march in a parade towards the playground. It’s something we’ve participated in and looked forward to ever since Skyler was a baby!
Also, shout out to some of the brownstones that go all out in decorating their stoops. The Barbie Dream house was a favorite this year for sure.
With a new obsession for Ghostbusters this year, Skyler asked to dress up as the movie gang and we obliged. My mom was in town visiting, and she sported this adorable retro Ghostbusters tee I ordered from Etsy. Scott obviously had to be Stay Puft (the giant marshmallow man) with his mascot background, and it was really funny watching them interact and battle the entire night.
(Click over to Instagram and scroll for the slow motion melt defeat towards the end of the night – it’s extraordinary.) We even saw another Stay Puft out in the wild, and I’m proud to say Scott dominated that dance battle during the parade.
It was hilariousss.
Even though we headed out as soon as we could after gymnastics, a lot of the stoops and businesses were out of candy by the time we arrived. We left with a half a bucket-full this year, so in my mind, we won all around by having a respectable amount of candy to stash.
It was a memorable night!
- Free City Events + Playscape (Battery Park)
Every now and then, we’ll stumble upon special events and outings in Brooklyn or Manhattan that are free and fun for all ages to attend. There’s always something going on if you look hard enough!
Scott received an invite to a promotional event back in September for the new Toyota Highlander called Camp Romper, which featured several play stations and activities for kids.
We deemed it an excuse to get out and enjoy ourselves on a Friday night, and we were all pleasantly surprised by the amount of things to do from face painting, craft areas, scavenger hunts, live science demonstrations, music performances and more.
We took some photos with their photographer and answered a few questions for their press article, so I asked for access to the proofs in return. I think they turned out great – hehe.
We typically order pizza in or dine out for pizza on Fridays, so we made sure to end the night at a nearby restaurant for a couple pies after some time at the playground. It was a nice night in the city that helped me remember why New York is a pretty cool place to be.
By the way, the Playscape playground at Battery Park is amazing! If you’re ever in the area, it’s right by the ferries that take you to see the Statue of Liberty and is completely free. (Hidden gem!)
- Scott’s Milestone Birthday
Just a few days later, our focus switched over to celebrating Scott as he approached a BIG birthday milestone.
You read that right, my husband turned fifty this year. I am now officially twelve years younger than him, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over that, lol. The funny thing is … Scott will always have much more energy and physical stamina than I do. He will forever be spontaneous and thrill-seeking (while I am NOT), and he has inadvertently convinced me that age is just a number.
Since my mom was in town visiting, she helped me order a few surprises like big 50 balloons and make his favorite German chocolate cake with homemade icing.
I planned a nice birthday dinner with his family coming into town at Carne Mare in Seaport (Pier 17). It was the perfect atmosphere for an upscale dinner without feeling too stuffy, and the food was delicious. (The views were wonderful too!)
I need to note that the staff went above and beyond to help make our night special with personalized menus that said “Happy 50th Birthday Scott!” at the top and two chilled bottles of champagne for toasting served upon arrival.
Scott knew that the six of us would be there, but he had no idea that I also conspired with three sets of friends to also join us. Four flew in from Michigan to be there for the night and weekend – I still can’t believe that we all pulled off the surprise!
Longtime readers might remember me covering many outings and celebrations with Alex and Alex, and it was a huge treat to have them here with us for this one. The same goes for Chad and Holly, also very close friends who we met while working for the Detroit Pistons together. Brittany and Jacob are close friends of ours here in Brooklyn, and it made me smile all night to see them all together in one room.
We love you all, and thank you so much for being a part of this night and weekend with us!
- 2023 TCS New York City Marathon
Our weekend around the birthday boy continued into Marathon Sunday. For the first time ever, Scott ran 26.2 miles through all five boroughs and we were so, so proud of him.
If you’ve never experienced the joy of spectating the New York City Marathon, it’s an incredible and emotional experience. We’ve seen the runners every year as we live close to a watching point on Fourth Avenue and attend church near another watching point in Williamsburg. I get teary each and every time. There are so many people running for many different reasons and it’s *so* inspirational!
The 2023 TCS New York City Marathon was the world’s largest marathon with 51,402 total finishers – which is also the third largest edition of the race in the event’s history. (!!!)
Scott had a dream to run this race during our season of living here, but his motivation fully came by running in honor of his late Step-dad, Wendell. Unfortunately, we lost him to cancer this past February and spent some time with his family in Missouri around that time. Once we found out he was sick, Scott attempted to get into the 2022 Marathon with a charity team, but wasn’t able to do so. This year, however, he gratefully accepted a spot on Fred’s Team and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to run for Wendell and raise money for cancer research along the way.
He did awesome by finishing in 4 hours and 12 minutes, and had a goal to simply cross the finish line. He was really flying, however, for the first half of the race at a much faster pace. It all caught up with him around Mile 24, and he lost several minutes to stretch and recover to be able to keep going.
All of that said, we couldn’t be prouder of the hard work and dedication it took for him to train and run this race. Let’s do it again next year? Only time will tell.
- Costa Rica (our honeymoon, take two!)
The day after the marathon, Scott flew out to China to work an event, then arrived back in New York for one day to turn around and fly out again the next day. I planned an adults-only vacation for the two of us as a “light at the end of a very busy tunnel” present, and we hadn’t taken one in YEARS. We invited his best friends from college to tag along, and our time in Central America was just the break everyone needed.
I’ll be back to share more about this trip and recap some must-see things and places near Guanacaste, but for now, here’s a sneak peak into a few highlights …
I’m already ready to go back … again!
- Thanksgiving in Houston
We flew through Houston to get to Costa Rica, with the purpose of dropping Skyler off at Scott’s sister’s house during our vacation and made a last minute decision to extend our layover by several days on the way back home. It had been too long since we were able to enjoy quality time with all of this side of the family, and it was a treat to stay at their house over Thanksgiving.
Skyler had the best time soaking in the Texas weather with his cousins, aunt, uncle and Grammy! He told us the highlights of his trip included cannonballs into the hot tub, going on play dates, and playing with the bunnies they have in their house. (I was starting to guess if he would even want to come home!)
Some of my other highlights include days without a normal schedule and all of the wonderful meals we shared at their home. Both Brooke (Scott’s sister) and Kevin (Scott’s brother-in-law) are fabulous cooks and hosts. The night before Thanksgiving, we made our own pizzas in a coal-fired oven and they were so. flipping. good.
I can’t end this section with out a HUGE shout out to Brooke and her family for entertaining Skyler, enabling us to enjoy a vacation without responsibilities, and hosting us all week.
(Do you see Scott sleeping in the background of this photo along with two free-roaming bunnies? lol)
It really was the perfect ending to our vacation!
All right, I think that’s a good stopping point for today. I told you – there’s a lot to catch up on!
I’m still finding a balance in how much I want to share on the personal front, how much to cover trips/travel along with events and life in NYC, and how much I want to share healthy living content, so please let me know what you like reading about the most. (I appreciate you!)
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
See ya over on Instagram until the next time.
xo
amolchichole
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