A Graduation & Vacation

Congrats to this guy for graduating from Colgate University last weekend! 4 years of friends, fun and lots of visits from me, I couldn't be more proud of him.   I spent graduation weekend with Brendan and his family with a huge picnic, ceremonies and one last night with his friends. I had the most amazing time and am so happy to have met so many amazing people through Brendan at Colgate. 

Next up was a trip to Montreal, my gift to Brendan for graduation.  I had been keeping this trip a secret for so long and then accidentally told him the week before (oops!). The drive, a longish 6 hours, was filled with many coffee breaks and breakfast sandwiches and ended with some serious traffic to get to our hotel.  We had the most amazing time perusing Montreal, exploring restaurants and the typical touristy sites and even got caught in the middle of a huge protest.

After going to London and wearing my classic sperry's around the city ALL DAY I learned my lesson and went with some sneakers.  All day I continually mentioned how touristy we looked with our sneakers and camera bag but it was fun and I made quite a few jokes about it.

We went to a few markets for cheese and baguettes, the Biodome (because you're never too old for the zoo), famous restaurants that were suggested by Anthony Bourdain himself (Dominion Square Tavern, Beauty's Lucheonette, and St. Viteur's Bagels)...YUM!

Congratulations Brendan!!

Park Ave Holiday Festival

Last night my two lovely friends from William Smith, Emily & Alyssa, came to visit.  Emily had been begging to see me and I thought the perfect time would be during the Park Ave Holiday Festival.  I had never been to the festival before and figured that going with them could be a great time.

The festival itself was quite interesting and rather crowded.  I should have known this since the summer Park Ave Fest is insanely busy but yet again I forgot to plan ahead.  So unlike me.  It took forever to find a parking spot and get reservations but once we did it was great!  I took them through ParkLeigh to look at the holiday gifts and we stopped for free Hot Chocolate outside a cute cafe.  

Dinner was at Magnolias Cafe.  We indulged in soup, salad and sandwiches.  The soup I ordered, Tomato with Artichokes and Crostini Bread was quite tasty for a cold evening.  My sandwich, The Rising Sunflower was piled high with turkey, pesto mayonnaise, roasted red peppers and havarti cheese along with the usual tomato lettuce and onion.  Toasty and warm. It most definitely hit the spot.

We later stopped at Stever's Candy Shoppe, a homemade chocolate shop on Park Ave.  The stop was a must since the last time they visited it was closed.  While I literally wanted everything in the store I chose three items.  Cinnamon dusted chocolate, a peanut butter filled santa (as a gift) and a dark chocolate gingerbread boy (gift).  I immediately dove into the dusted chocolate which was just as delectable as it sounds.  I HIGHLY suggest stopping by if you're ever in the area.

Inside Stever's Candy Shop! Insanely busy with a huge line but so worth it!

Dinner at Magnolias

Outside Stever's prior to meeting some very talkative interesting ladies!

Hell Week: Ballet Performance Group

This coming week, beginning today actually, is hell week for BPG. Hell week is the week prior to our show (this coming friday!) where we do full run throughs every night and really solidify all we have been working on this semester.  The name itself sounds rather daunting but I am really excited to meet more dancers and spend countless hours sitting in an auditorium. gymnasium. Fun stuff.

Over the weekend we had some serious dance bonding which started with an Alpha Phi "Alpha Traz" philanthropy night.  Our club president was jailed and was required to participate in all types of events to earn points and money for charity.

Last night we had a "kick-off" party at one of the guy's suites across the river which really made my saturday night.  What more could I ask for? Friends, funfetti cake, games and the like.

Did I mention that last night we all added some lovely BPG tattoos to our wrists? Yeah. I was pleasantly surprised to find it still on when I woke up this morning.  Rachel and I thought we should go ahead and show our dancer pride to the world.

Some of the girls pitched in and painted the tunnels to advertise for the show and I thought I would share an image of that also:

 How adorable right? I am so so excited!

Hope.

Some exciting news I MUST share with you: The HWS Figure Skating Club is finally hosting their first event! We are having a "Skate for Hope" in collaboration with the HWS Hope House which will be held at The Cooler Feb 27!

Tickets will be $5 and donations from various items sold throughout the event will be given to Camp Good Days and Special Times

The Organization allows children who have been affected by cancer and other debilitating diseases to enjoy summer and go to camp like other kids their age!

I am so excited that the HWS FSC will finally be hosting our first real event and am really excited to see how it turns out!  Sorry, but I will NOT be performing in this (I am not falling in front of everyone)!