Sweeney Todd

Last night, Brad and I had the chance to double date with these fine folks:

 Say hello to Dave and Elissa!

We had tickets to a production of Sweeney Todd, which was part of the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University. The show featured the incredible Dee Roscioli, who we got to see perform last month, and really was outstanding. Before the show we enjoyed a picnic on the lawn, which is apparently a tradition with theater-goers of these productions. The show was great--and only runs until July 1 (so if you're in the Lehigh Valley, you should definitely check it)--and the company was even better. We had a great time and spent most of the night laughing. Thanks for a great night, Dave & Elissa.

Now, Brad and I are off to a concert. Catch you later this weekend!

Blessings,
-Nikki 

NYC with Momma

I was lucky enough to spend the day yesterday in NYC with my mom. Last year's birthday present from my mom and dad was a trip to NYC to see a show, and since my next birthday is coming up fairly soon, we thought that it was about time for the trip.

Mom arrived on Tuesday night and spent the night at the Nelson Bed and Breakfast (which she thought was just lovely!) and we took a Beiber bus to NYC on Wednesday morning.

We arrived in NYC around 11:00 a.m. and headed straight to the TKTS booth to get tickets for a show. There were a few that we talked about seeing, but ended up with tickets to Ghost The Musical.

After our tickets were secured, we headed to The Shake Shack to grab some lunch. We took our burgers, fries, and shakes to go and enjoyed them al fresco in Times Square.

The show was good--it was definitely entertaining--but not the best show that I've seen. We still had a great time, and it was nice to spend the day in the city with mom.

We've got another jam-packed weekend planned, I'll be back with updates.

Blessings,
-Nikki

Anniversary Date Night at Bolete

What a busy weekend! We returned from our trip to Mexico and hit the ground running. Thursday night was a baby shower for Keith, Megan, and Baby K (heeyyyy guys!), Friday night was a surprise party for one of our Fuse friends, Sam, and Saturday included a Zumba class, lunch with Brad's mom and step-dad, an afternoon nap, and a date night at Bolete.

Bolete is a great restaurant that uses local ingredients. It was actually named one of the top 105 hottest new restaurants internationally by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. Brad had been dying to go there, and we were very lucky to receive a gift certificate as an anniversary present.

We started with some oysters (OK, Brad ate those), and I ordered some truffle fries (Chips & Dip according to the menu). Brad had a fried green tomato with lobster salad (I just ate some of the lobster) and some of the most delicious rolls that I've ever had.

Our entrees:

 I had the scallops with homemade gnocchi and non-mushy peas.

Brad had the prime rib with potatoes and greens.

Even though we were stuffed, we had heard great things about the desserts (thanks, Dave!) and decided to give it a try. 

Brad went with the butterscotch pudding--I had a bite, and it was delicious!

I chose the chocolate truffle cake with homemade caramel and caramel corn. It was unbelievable. 

We had a great time, and the food was absolutely incredible. Today was spent at church and Fuse, and Brad is just about to arrive home after an afternoon on the golf course.

Blessings,

-Nikki

Anniversary in Mexico

Brad and I were very fortunate to be able to spend our 1st anniversary in Mexico. We spent five days lounging on the beach, enjoying the sunshine, and eating delicious food.

 Our anniversary welcome

Brad being goofy

 A bit of the resort

 Love notes in the sand

 The banner across the door behind us says, "Happy Anniversary"

 Despite the smile, Brad was not excited that I made his pose for this photo

 This photo was taken on our actual anniversary, before our sushi dinner. This was the dress that I wore at our rehearsal dinner, and was pleasantly surprised that it still fits! We have gone out for ice cream quite a few times in the past year. ;)

Our last day, waiting for our ride to the airport. 

I can't think of a better way to have spent our first anniversary. Here's to the next 70+ years!

Blessings,

-Nikki

One Year of Wedded Bliss

Can you believe that we've been married for an entire year! What a great year it's been! We've had so much fun together and are looking forward to many more years together.

Happy anniversary to the love of my life.

Happy Father's Day

 Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the world. 

 Brad and I are so blessed to have such a great family. Thanks for everything, Dad!

Vacation

Catch you in a few days!

A Day With Friends

Earlier this week, I was able to spend an entire day with some folks who are absolutely incredible. Kathy and Lydia are up from Nashville for a few weeks, and Lauren made the trip to the Lehigh Valley so that we could all spend some quality time together.

 Strike a pose!

We spent the day laughing, catching up, playing, and eating. What a blessing!

Date Night + A Double Date

It's crazy how life can get so busy so quickly! This was another one of those weeks that just flew by! Luckily, Brad and I were still able to spend some quality time together. Brad was out of town on Tuesday night, and I was able to have dinner prepped and ready to go when he got home on Wednesday evening. After a delicious salmon and quinoa dinner, we took a quick walk around the neighborhood and then went to check out YoFresh, a new self-serve frozen yogurt bar in the area.

Our verdict: delicious! Just watch out, those bowls are huge (and easy to overfill!).

On Thursday evening we were lucky enough to have a belated birthday celebration for Brad at the Savory Grille with the Guinans. Dinner was fabulous, and the company was even better. 

Pre-dinner photos

Just for the record, one of the only "rules" of date night is that no cell phones are allowed. Last night we did have to make an exception so that Brad could guide our dinner guests to the restaurant. 

For dinner, I had the scallops:

 And Brad went with the pork:

Everyone was in agreement that their meals were delicious. My favorite may have been the homemade mint ice cream (with mint fresh from their garden), which had swirls of caramel and chunks of pineapple. It's a combination I never would have put together, but was surprisingly delicious.

We've got more fun planned for the weekend, so there will be lots to catch up on. See ya later!

-Nikki

From Mud Run to Gala

Happy Monday!

Here's a quick recap of our weekend activities. Friday evening included a trip to the gym and a quick dinner at Paese-Mio, our favorite local pizza shop. The rest of the evening was low-key on the couch, since we knew that we had a busy weekend ahead of us.

Saturday morning was Race Day! Brad and I decided to run a race organized by Faith Church to support their mission teams, and also to honor a member of the church who passed away earlier this year. It was a great race with over 100 participants. The course was very hilly (and wet and muddy from all the rain we've had). We had a good time (OK, I enjoyed being done with the race more than I actually enjoyed running, but you know what I mean).

 This was my favorite part of the morning: a trip to the Emmaus Bakery after the race. This doughnut was almost as big as my head!

Oh, and I did come in second place in my age group (Brad was shocked!)

After an afternoon of errands (including a trip to the farmer's market), we got ready for our second big event of the day: The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival Gala. 

On our way!

 At the event: 

We had a really great time, and ended up meeting some really amazing people. The highlight of the night was a performance by Dee Roscioli, a Lehigh Valley native who played the role of Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway. Very cool!

Sunday was spent at church, Fuse, and a ladies tea party with some women from the church. Brad was able to spend some time with the Grizz while I was with the ladies, and we rounded out the weekend with dinner and a game of Jeopardy. 

What did you do this weekend? 

Randomness

Things around here have been busy! After a relaxing Memorial Day by the pool, the last few days have been a blur. Brad's been working really had, as evidenced by this note I received in the mail late last week:

Thanks Kevin! This is proudly displayed on the Nelson refrigerator. And on a totally random note, look where I found McGee last night:

What is he wearing? Those are the groom Mickey Mouse ears that Jen sent home from Disney World with my mom, dad, and brother when they were there in May. I have bride ears, too. Don't worry, there will be a picture soon. Thanks Jen!

Speaking of that, we're rapidly approaching our one year wedding anniversary (can you believe it?!?) and are incredibly excited to be celebrating our anniversary here:

More details later. Enjoy the weekend!
-Nikki