My favorite ornament

I have a few very special Christmas tree ornaments, but one in particular is very dear to me: the handmade ornament we got in Venice, Italy. This ornament, which is made completely of Murano glass, has amazing attention to detail (although it's hard to see in the pictures). I can vividly recall the store we got it from, and the great conversation we had with the owner. When I put this ornament on the tree, I will always remember the wonderful vacation we had in the most romantic city in the world.

Christmas at the Kleins

Rob and I always have fun decorating for Christmas, usually over Thanksgiving weekend. Check out our 2010 Christmas tree:

We prefer the fatter trees, but the place where we usually get our trees wasn't open just yet this year so we settled for Home Depot. Last year we cut down our tree, but we were covered in sap after choosing one and felt bad for taking one down while there are so many more that are already cut. Last year's tree was pretty nice, too:

November 24, 2007

Happy three years, honey, and many more!

Anniversary Card

Check out the adorable anniversary card our niece made us. Don't you love the picture of me serving Rob food haha

A Trip to the American Girl Store

Rob totally surprised me when he suggested stopping by the American Girl Store, located on Fifth Ave and 49th Street, when we were in New York. I had an American Girl doll as a kid, so I did not turn down the chance to go see the new accessories you could by in this mega store.

Although I've heard great things about the store, I could not believe how much it had to offer. Hospital admissions, dining with your doll, a hair salon, ear piercing (yes, for your doll), and so much more. I was even impressed by the bathroom, which has a holder for your doll:


They have the new dolls - which you can get to look like you - along with the a wide array of clothes and accessories. They even have a historic section, which is where I expected my doll, Samantha, to be. Imagine my disappointment when they told me she was moved to the archives a few years ago!! On the up side, I still have her in great condition and she's a collectors item. On the down side, I'm so old that my doll has retired. Great.

If anything, I'll save Samantha for my little girl so I can share these special moments with her. I would highly recommend a trip to these stores if you have a little girl, or if you are a little girl at heart.

Review of "Elf" The Musical

As part of our anniversary evening in the city, we saw the musical "Elf." Although I was somewhat nervous seeing something that had a movie version, I was pleasantly surprised with the singing, costumes and choreography of this play, which is only in town for a special 9 week engagement.

The cast was fabulous, and I was so excited when reading the Playbill that Norm from the hit show "Cheers" played Santa. He was hilarious, and this show did a very good job of recapping the movie while putting that Broadway spin on it.

It's shows like these that make you appreciate the fine acting and singing that is found on Broadway. My only issue was how expensive tickets were. At least we had great seats - 5th row from the stage!

Below are a few shots to give you an idea of the show. I was so excited when it started 'snowing' on the crowd that I had to capture that magical moment. Don't worry, no flash disturbed the show.



We give it two thumbs up!

3 Year Anniversary in NYC

Although our anniversary is on Wednesday, November 24th, we took advantage of a relatively quiet weekend and ventured into Manhattan to celebrate on Saturday night. It was a perfect night to take advantage of the all the city has to offer - especially before the mad rush for the holidays.

We started off getting tickets to see "Elf" the musical. Although we were torn between that, Mary Poppins, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, we decided Elf would be fun since it's a festive play, it's new, and it's only here for a few weeks. (Mary Poppins has been on Broadway for a while so we could see that anytime, and we've seen the Radio City Show before.)

After scoring 5th row orchestra seats, we decided to head to Rockefeller Center to see how the tree was coming along. Strolling along we saw the tree (which is still being decorated), lovely storefronts, interesting people and then grabbed a cup of Starbucks. That's when we stumbled upon The Sea Grill in the lower part of Rock Center. We checked out a few other menus while walking around, but since we ate here before and knew the food - and the view - was amazing we decided to grab dinner here. We were seated right by the window so we had a great view of the Rock Center Ice Rink, and even saw two couples get engaged on the ice!

The food was delicious - and didn't stop coming. We started off with a special salmon appetizer from the chef, followed by crab meat salad with avocado and lemon-tarragon aïoli. The third course was grilled calamari in a delicious Thai peanut sauce, along with a delicious gemelli pasta with fresh seafood. The food just kept coming, as our main entrees were Cacciucco a la Livornese, spicy lobster bouillon, Long Island clams, shrimp, Gulf of Maine mussels, and lobster for Rob, while I had the jumbo lump crab cake with a stone ground mustard sauce. The fresh seafood put anything you get around here to shame. We were so full but had to make room for delicious desserts: key lime pie, and a caramelized apple tart with a whipped caramel ganache and granola streusel. Rob was too full for anything but cappuccino, but I took one for the team and somehow managed to find room in my tummy for both :) AMAZING. Just when we couldn't eat more, they send out a cookie platter - homemade biscotti, truffles, even a white chocolate peanut butter and jelly that was to die for. Overall, no complaints about this restaurant. We'll definitely be back!