my favorite night of the year

back in 2011, i had only been dating my boyfriend a couple of months when he surprised me with tickets to american ballet theatre's opening night spring gala. by the time the day of the show finally came that may, i was so excited i could have burst. the performance was amazing and i was thrilled to see the who's who of ballet both onstage and sitting in the theater. mister even saw al roker in the bathroom at intermission. it was a win-win for both of us. ;) little did i know our night was about to get even better when he took me to one of his favorite restaurants, jean-georges. we hadn't previously discussed special dinner plans and i had no idea what sort of treat i was in for.

(beautiful flowers and post-dinner treats)

jean-georges was (and is!!) one of my most favorite restaurants. imagine the most delicious food you've ever tasted, impeccable service, all wrapped up in a gorgeous, romantic dining room. three courses were served followed by a dessert tasting centered around flavors of our choosing. caramel for her, citrus for him. at the end of the meal, house-made marshmallows, chocolates and tiny treats were presented. as we left, i was given a tiny bag filled with a box of chocolates. can you say perfect?!

i will never forget that first meal we shared there. (i just wish i had taken photos!) it was truly a magical night and i felt like a princess. after we came back to philadelphia, we decided to make this night in new york a yearly tradition. 

(in our private alcove booth last year)

(by the three star michelin sign)

last year was wonderful but really hectic because we had attended mister's college graduation that morning and were coming off of a weekend full of festivities. i will never forget our panicked drive to catch the acela express train and my speedy makeup job in the train's bathroom. even still, i was happy to be able to wear a dress he had bought for me and carry a gorgeous beaded bag my mom gave me. my favorite parts of the show were the pas de deux from flames of paris, tchaikovsky pas de deux (gillian murphy was proposed to in the wings right after she bowed!), and daniil simkin in les bourgeois.

(right after we took our seats this year--he chose well!)

this year was much calmer and i finally got to wear the dress that i got for valentine's day!!! (i think this whole "dress from the bf" thing might be becoming a tradition as well!) the only disappointing part of the show was that my favorite ballerina, natalia osipova, was injured and unable to perform. her fiancé performed in a pas from Le Corsaire with a different dancer and it just wasn't the same without her.

(in the lobby of the Metropolitan Opera House after the show)

after the show, we headed to jean-georges as per our tradition and had quite the memorable meal...but for all the wrong reasons. i'll leave that post for another day.

all in all, this is probably my favorite tradition that we have created since we started dating. he's a gem for taking me to so many performances and i'm so glad i can share my passion with someone who finds it interesting. it's the one night a year we can dress up as much as we want and enjoy an evening of glamour--in one of my favorite cities no less!

badge of beauty

i was in a ballet class recently and my teacher finished giving another dancer a correction by saying, "you just need to put a badge of beauty on the movement." this phrase really struck a chord with me and i started thinking about how i could learn to place a badge of beauty on my everyday life as well as my ballet life.

this winter has been incredibly busy and a bit stressful. i've spent many days traveling to new york for auditions on top of dancing every day in philadelphia. the trips can be tiring and the outcome is not always what i want. a couple of weeks ago, i had a not so great audition and was just feeling particularly tired and worn out. instead of wallowing, i decided to walk the thirty or so blocks back to the bus stop so i could say "hi" to some of my favorite buildings. the walk was wonderful and gave me the chance to clear my head and have some nice phone conversations with family back home.

at the end of my walk i couldn't help but think about how blessed i was to even be able to spend time in one of my favorite cities. growing up in louisville, i used to dream of spending time in new york. now i can go there basically whenever i want. that walk was a "badge of beauty" on my crappy day...

that was all before i stood in the cold for almost an hour waiting for my bus, witnessed two ridiculous screaming matches and was denied entry on said bus...because i had stupidly(!!!) messed up the dates and bought a ticket for THE DAY BEFORE. at this point the crappy day was back in full force and i felt like i was going to lose it. my fingers were frozen and i decided to just spend a big chunk of money and take the train home. luckily, i had a cute mister to pick me up in philly and bring me home so we could watch the oscars together (awards shows have been a guilty pleasure of mine since i was tiny). all in all, nothing that terrible had happened and my mind kept going back to that glorious walk.

i guess all of this goes back to the gratitude resolution i made at the beginning of the year. when i spend more of my time being grateful, it immediately gives less weight to everything stressful or negative in my mind. over the next two weeks, i'll be travelling to and from five cities and i'm hoping to find plenty of moments of beauty along the way, especially because the days will be busy and full of potential stressors. 

month of l.o.v.e.

i love love. growing up, valentine's day at my house was really special: red and white dinner, candlelight, little heart-shaped chocolate boxes at each place, usually a small but special present, and heart confetti that covered the table. i never cared that i didn't have a boyfriend because i loved that family dinner so much. the focus was on loving your family and sharing an extra-special meal together.

these days, valentine's takes on a new meaning. some don't like this holiday but i think it's the perfect time to stop and have a special dinner with the one you love (especially if it falls on a weeknight!!) and reflect on all the reasons you share that love in the first place. i am so grateful to have had the same valentine for the past three years. our first valentine's we went to georges' and i ordered a massive steak as i was not yet a vegetarian. the second year we went to R2L and experienced amazing views of downtown philadelphia.

(last year at R2L)

this year we went to stella, my very favorite pizza place in philly (and where we also went on our two year anniversary). i am obsessed with their brick-oven pizza and the salads and gelato are amazing as well. i recommend the octopus salad, pistachio or cucumber pizzas, and don't forget the stracciatella gelato! i have seriously never had anything there that wasn't delicious. and its location makes it perfect to catch a movie afterwards at one of the ritz theaters nearby.

i also got a huge surprise this year...mister couldn't wait until our dinner celebration to give me my gift so he gave it to me at midnight the night before: an HERVÉ LÉGER dress! we have never really been big gift givers on holidays besides christmas so i was shocked to say the least. i have wanted one of these dresses for what seems like forever and honestly, i never thought i would have one. thank goodness for a guy who notices what i like and has good taste! i guess this means i'm officially spoiled.

(our 2 yr. anniversary at Stella this year)

(a peek at the dress)

also, i have been listening to the new album "heartthrob" a bunch lately. i saw t&s a couple of years ago in columbus and it was one of the best shows i have ever seen...it probably helped that the friend i was with fought the crowd to get us to the front row! here are a couple of lines from my new favorite track by them: 

love, they say it heals all wounds

love, removes the hurt in you

love, i know that this is true

love, they say that it is blind

love, they say it all the time

love, i know that they are right

...

love, they say there's only one

love, the kind that's not undone

love, i know you are the one

i can't believe i am blessed enough to know those lyrics to be true. i hope i never take it for granted. and although i usually keep these things pretty close to my heart, sometimes it's good to take a moment to remember the special occasions. i'm the luckiest girl in the world.

i am a ridiculously blessed girl...

...and here are a couple of reasons why:

january is the beginning of audition season in the ballet world. basically every ballet dancer looking for a job is busy going to every audition every weekend in nyc. thankfully, i can get to the city easily and relatively quickly by bus or train. (i actually think the people from megabus know me...which works in my favor when i decide to change buses last minute.)

i had originally planned on going up to new york on saturday for an audition, coming back late that night, and then heading back up on the train early the next morning for two more auditions. it was going to be a bit brutal but i figured it would be better to come home than spend a bunch of money on a hotel room...although i was secretly dreading the long of hours of dancing followed by sitting on a bus with tired legs.

when i woke up on saturday, i checked my email on my phone like i always do and saw that the first email was a link to a hotel-booking site from my boyfriend's dad. i figured he was just trying to clue me in to some good deals for the future. but when i clicked the link, i realized it was a confirmation page. he had booked me a hotel room for the night. i was blown away by the generosity and thoughtfulness of my boyfriend's parents. these two people have gone above and beyond to treat me like their own. it's crazy to think that this is one of the small ways that they have provided for me and shown me love.

i ended up having a really positive first "audition" weekend and i know that a lot of it had to do with me being well-rested and relaxed. i grew up with parents who loved me more than anything and when i moved up east that was the one thing i was so afraid to leave...but over and over i see how God planned for me to be right in this exact place. i am beyond blessed to be surrounded by people here (and back home!!) who love and support me and think that a career in ballet is worth pursuing...and that is saying a lot.

2012

last year was really tough. tough and beautiful all the same. you know those "things" we know for sure? that whole notion was rocked for me this past year. it's crazy how quickly things can change in life. i'm definitely ready for a fresh start.

i usually hate new years...it's one of those holidays that i feel is supposed to feel like the biggest deal, but never actually does. there was something really sweet about spending the whole day and night this year with my favorite person and just doing a whole lot of nothing. 

this year it is my goal to be more intentional by...

- focusing on not being as selfish. knowing that "not everything is about me" and actually living like "not everything is about me" are two completely different things. this will probably be a lifelong struggle but why not start now?

- pulling out my nice camera. i wanted a dslr so much and now that i have one i hardly ever use it. i guess i just need to get over being uncomfortable/embarrassed pulling out a big black camera when i'm out and about. i don't want to look back on this time and wish i had documented it more.

- writing here more. again, the older i get the more that i think i should be documenting my life more. i so wish that i had more information and photos from when my mom was my age. maybe i'll have a daughter that will want the same one day, and then she can look at this.

- focusing on my faith more and spending more time in the Word. it's so easy for me to push this part of my life to the back burner. i want it to be the most important part of my life, not an afterthought. i also feel so much more centered and whole when i put this first...just like it should be.

- being grateful everyday. i might even start writing a specific "something" down each day. when some things in life get tough it is so easy to get down about everything. my mom reminded me recently that if you do the above (spend time with God) and focus on what you have to be grateful for, there is no way you can stay down.

here's to a new year of intentional living!

12/11/10

today marks a pretty special anniversary for me. not only is it the day that my pants fell off during a performance, but it's the day that something in me changed in a way i could have never predicted. two years ago today i came to terms with the fact that i was beginning to like a really special guy...a guy that i now love. tonight i am grateful and feel like i should make a note of it.

a case of the sickies...

i've been feeling terrible since tuesday night, so i thought i'd make a list of some of the fun things i did before i got sick to make myself feel better...

-i was inspired by some good articles 

-i went to the swiss consulate for an event. everyone was french...and i speak no french. good thing i had a translator. :)

-i went to a wedding out in the country. although it was really chilly, i loved spending time with my love.

-i had a great dinner at verdad. it has an all-tapas menu and i've decided it's one of the best restaurants on the main line.

-i went to church. i love that i've found a place away from my home church that i look forward to attending. 

-i finally got to see the dead sea scrolls exhibit at the franklin institute! it came to louisville a couple of years ago and i missed it so i was grateful to be able to see it in philly. (and the titanic exhibit that i also missed in lou is coming here soon!) hands down, my favorite part had to be the opportunity to write a prayer and stick it in a model of the west wall. when the exhibit ends, they will take all the slips of paper back to israel and place them in the real wailing wall. 

-last but not least, i had a delicious dinner at stella after going to the franklin institute. this is definitely may favorite pizza place here and if you are ever in philadelphia you should make a special trip to old city to try it. everything on the menu is to die for and they have lots of vegetarian options. my current favorites: the pistachio, zucchini, and spinach (respectively), and start with the octopus salad.

in all honesty, i can't complain that much. i'm grateful for antibiotics that have been fighting my illness and people who have birthdays this week...because birthdays mean georgetown cupcakes! one of my favorite things, and the perfect recipe for renewed health. :)