A Bicycle Built for Two - A Blog About Food, Healthy Living, and The Adventures of Life

Friday, January 27, 2012

Home Sweet Home

Remember me? Probably not after all of these months away! I can't even believe I haven't blogged in months. But, when life happens...blogging doesn't. And life sure has been happening. We're all moved into our new home in PA and couldn't be happier :) We are living right under my sister, brother-in-law and adorable nephew and it is so much fun. Here is a little glimpse into our apartment:

We invested in a few new pieces of furniture since almost everything in our last apartment were hand me downs. I spent a lot of time at a antique shop near my parent's house also! That is where the shelf (an old shutter) and our coffee table (a chest which we put legs on) are from.

A few DIY projects of course took place! Like the "EAT" sign in the kitchen. Who wants to pay

$22 a letter from Anthropologie? Not I. These were under 10 dollars made with crafts from JoAnnes.

Hello new computer! We bought this bad boy to edit with. Great investment...we love it :) We have more weddings than we can probably handle this summer so it will definitely be put to good use. Say hello to the lovely Chelsey & Alyssa on our wall-two of our beautiful clients!

And finally, our bedroom. Well, half of it (I never took a picture of the other half). I do love the color green...

Our apartment is great-not only is it much bigger than our other one, but much nicer. It finally feels like home. We are missing so many people in NY, but are so happy to be back with my family when they need us most. The family I used to nanny for e-mail me last week saying, "There are reasons you were called home." Her words could not have been more true. My uncle passed away last week and I can't imagine not being home for that. My extended family is

extremely close and we all need each other right now. I was brought home to comfort my cousins. I was brought home to be a rock for my mom. I was brought home to spend my Fridays off with my grandmother who is fighting pancreatic cancer. I was brought home to make my sister laugh and remind her how important her job as a mother is each and every day. I guess the saying, "home is where your heart it" is true. And how can I not love life when I get to look at these two cuties every day?

(Wyatt, my nephew, is on the left and James, who I nanny for now, is on the right).

Much love from us to you!!

Keep reading. I promise now that we are all settled in, blogging will happen more.

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

My best friend...

For the past two years I have had a best friend (besides my husband, of course) and he is 3 years old. Yup, you heard me right. You may think that me claiming a 3 year old as my best friend is silly, but it's the truth. You see...

A best friend is always there for you. Sean has always been there for me. We have spent every day together for the past year and a half. He was there to have good, productive days with and there to have lazy days with. He was there to comfort me and there to make me laugh.

A best friend listens to you. I could tell Sean anything. If I was having a bad day, he often reminded me, "But Caityin, it's a beautiful, sunny day outside." He always listened to me and offered his advice. While shopping at Target and looking at shirts, he sometimes turned to me and said, "I'm not sure you like that one." He was the best listener...

A best friend takes care of you. When my toes were cold and blue (which was very often), Sean would cover them up with his "bumpy blanky" (his very favorite lovey) to warm them up. He would check their heartbeat by "doctoring" them, as he called it. When my belly hurt, he would tell me, "Caityin, the bathroom is right in the other room, go use it please." He constantly comorted me and encouraged me. His is on of the most compassionate and empathetic people I know, and yes, he is only three years old.

A best friend makes you laugh. Sean made me laugh daily! By saying huge vocabulary words such as accordingly, actually, avocado and crescent. By asking me to say the word "mummy" and when I pronounced it wrong saying, "It's ok, that's a hard word for you Caityin." By telling me that my sister should name her baby boy "Monster Truckey." By singing "Moves like Jagger" and "Life is a Highway" at the top of his lungs to me. By walking into our house and seeing a pillow completely destroyed by our pup and saying "Uh-oh, Ollie did something very naughty." By simply laughing-his belly laugh is contagious.

A best friend teaches you. Sean has taught me more about myself than most people in my life (including highly educated people such as professors, pastors, friends, etc.) He has taught me the simplicity of life, and that is ok to "roar" like a monster truck in the middle of Panera Bread or Dunkin Donuts (our favorite morning date spots). He has helped me learn the meaning of selflessness. Sean has taught me the true meaning of love...

Sean may never really know or understand the things he has taught me, but I think that is the biggest reason why he is my best friend. A true friend does the above things without even knowing it. They do them because they love you.

I will miss my little buddy and best friend more than I can even imagine right now (considering I am typing his as he is napping and we haven't even officially said our goodbye yet). And although he may not remember me in years down the road, he will forever hold a special place in my heart and I will always be grateful for him-for teaching me how to one day care for and love a child of my own...

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Leftover Thanksgiving Paninis

We spent Thanksgiving with Jeff's family this year. All of his siblings weren't able to make it so it felt very different to celebrate without them. Much quieter which was sad yet relaxing at the same time :) With just a small amount of people, we were really able to spend quality time together. Thanksgiving day consisted of staying in our sweats, playing games, writing down and sharing what we are thankful for and of course stuffing our faces :) On Friday we made the trip to PA to be with my family and celebrate Jeff's 25th birthday! We spent the day shopping for furniture for our new apartment, went on a Panera coffee date, had dinner at Bonefish Grill with my parents and enjoyed dessert at my sister's house after. I would have loved to celebrate my birthday that way and I think Jeff did too!

On Sunday evening we had a quiet dinner with my parents before heading back to NY. My mom had the greatest idea to make paninis with Thanksgiving leftovers.

Ingredients:
-Whole wheat bread (fresh baked, thick is best)
-Stuffing (my mom makes the BEST with sausage in it)
-Turkey
-Cheddar cheese
-Cranberry Sauce

Simply put all of your ingredients together and grill on a George Foreman for a few minutes to melt the cheese and toast the bread!

Hi Mom! Hi Jeff!

We enjoyed our sandwiches with a bowl of sausage & lentil soup.

We have been busy organizing and packing for our move to PA this month. Jeff and I have had a lot of fun picking out new furniture and decorations for our new place. The furniture we have now we actually picked up off the side of the road one day. It is pretty nice, but we have always wanted to upgrade. That time is finally here! I have an exciting coffee table project that we have been working on and can't wait to share with you. It involves an antique trunk :)

Did you do any Black Friday shopping? I hate supporting Black Friday but Cyber Monday did convince us to make a big purchase. An imac :) Jeff will be like a little kid on Christmas morning when it comes next week. We have needed a new computer for a while and this will help so much with all of our photography editing.

I'll leave you with two pictures that are on our Christmas card this year...

Off to roast a chicken before the hubs gets home from class! Enjoy your night...I'll be spending mine drinking vanilla & cinnamon black tea while watching Top Chef :)

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