Also, they’re very protective of their apples

But sometimes Elephants let you pose with them

And then sometimes you win $100.00 on the Today show

And of course there was that crazy party with the New Kids on The Block

What else are best friends for!?

Of course all of this happend like 1,000 years ago because I’m terribly behind in blogging. But still, I think it’s important to acknowledge that it happened.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

~Luke 2:7-14

I hope that you have the Merriest of Christmases! And if you aren’t a Christmas person, I still mean it because I think you deserve to have a wonderful day no matter what you believe!

May you have a magical day filled with sparkling lights, hot chocolate, and love.

God bless!

So this is her story. Matilda’s. Of the day she came home and became mine. And now she fills my apartment with whispy pine scents, and I just adore her!

Cocoa helped pick out the perfect tree.

She gets really excited about decorating the tree, too! Like mother, like daughter.

A few of my favorite ornaments: Hana brought me this from Russia when she went there on business earlier this year.

One of a set of 15 globe ornaments a co-worker gave to me last year. This isn’t a great photo but there’s a swan getting all bendy in there. It’s far more graceful in person.

An owl with mood lighting. This was my first ornament I bought for myself after moving to NYC.

School spirit! I’m not the best alum but I love Clemson for the great friend and memories it provided.

Another owl. I kind of have a thing. This is one from a set of three. He’s just the cutest.

This is from the Euro store in Florence, Italy. It’s like a dollar store, but with Euros. Amazing, right?! And my tree is pretty international. She’s cultured, that Matilda.

Almost done.

Tada! And here she is in her Christmas finest! That Matilda, I tell you. She knows how to clean up.

Merry Chirstmas!

Where am I going with this you may ask? Are you really just going to gush over how much you love Emma?

Why yes, yes I am. And to prove that she is gush worthy I wanted to post a video from my favorite movie Love Actually. It’s pretty heart breaking actually. But I just can’t get over what great film making it is. It’s so simple and beautiful and believable.

Here’s a little set-up for you (I guess you shouldn’t read anymore if you don’t want to know what happens but this is not the end of the film so I’m not really giving anything away).

Kinda sorta spoiler alert!

The setup: She is expecting to open the present and find a gold necklace because she saw it in her husband’s pocket after he bought it. When it turns out to be a CD, she knows exactly who he gave the necklace to (another woman) and escapes to the bedroom for a “moment.” We all have moments. But hers, well her moment is YouTube worthy. So watch and be amazed!

And I am thankful to have this blog where I can freely express myself! This list doesn’t even begin to cover all the things I have in my life that I should be giving thanks for everyday but it’s a start and it’s nice to have this time each year to pause and recognize that.

Wishing you a truly blessed Thanksgiving!

So.

Let’s talk about them, shall we?

In most places, carrying an umbrella is easy. It is meant to keep you dry as you travel from here to there. It’s not a thing.

But let me tell you, in New York, oh, in New York, carrying an umbrella is an art form. And one that few have yet to master. It involves strategy. There is an etiquette code that one would hope other fellow umbrella carriers would use. Typically, one is disappointed.

This isn’t a Wal-Mart parking lot. You can’t pull a Gene Kelly and swing your umbrella around with no worry of hitting anyone for miles.

You might travel blocks and blocks or be hopelessly lost in a dense sea of soggy New Yorkers with only your poor wind blown umbrella to guide you.

Oh yes, your umbrella will be wind blown. That I can almost promise you. If only it were magical, like Mary Poppins traveling via umbrella. But no, it’s not that kind of wind.

So, this post is my feeble attempt to enlighten my fellow umbrella carrying commuters.

Pay attention:
If you’re really tall, it is polite to lift your umbrella up above others as you walk past.
You should also lift your umbrella when your umbrella is the size of Texas and when you are walking by people who are umbrella-less.
Also, please be careful when timing the opening of your umbrella upon emerging from the subway station.

Mostly, this post is my plea to stop the umbrella abuse. I don’t like almost losing an eye because your umbrella is far too large for the little sidewalks. I don’t like having to lean to my left because I don’t have an umbrella and you refuse to lift your umbrella up.

Please be careful with those umbrellas. Please be aware that your umbrella may be at the height of one’s eyes. Metal prongs at eye level are unnerving.

And to all those concienscious umbrella weilders who have lifted an umbrella for me when it was appopriate, thanks! In the words of a rainy day lover, Eyore, thanks for noticing me!

On a completely different note, I am heading to Italy! But I have lots of blogging to catch up on (obviously) because I decided to write about umbrellas above all else. I felt it was important. Anyway, when I return I promise to play catch-up:)

Also, my Birthday is in 3 days! We all know how I feel about my Birthday. So, to everyone who has helped/is helping/will help me celebrate…. Thanks!!! I will blog about that when I get back, too.

Sending you lots of love and umbrella well wishes!

It is now I guess.

Also, has anyone else noticed the downward spiral of customer service? Baristas who just stare at you, cashiers who tell you their register is closed after you’ve waited in line for 10 minutes. Well, I smiled at that barista and I marched up to that cashier and I got my customer service. But I shouldn’t have to work for it. You should just be nice to me. That’s your job.

So we’ve had cable a little over a month at my apartment (first time I’ve had cable in 2 years) and I am obsessed. If DVRs were people, I would buy them really nice Christmas gifts.

What am I DVRing you ask? Well, Glee, Pan Am, 2 Broke Girls, New Girl. I gave Playboy Club a shot, too but it really didn’t work out for me. Apparently it didn’t work out for anyone else either.

I am really obsessed with Instagram.

Ofelia (my “god daughter.” She’s a cat.) is very sweet and cuddly. If you knew her, you would know how amazing this is.

And I think that if acting doesn’t work out for me I would be really content being a stay-at-home dog mom. My Cocoa puff is the cutest.

Also, why did they remake Footloose? Unnecessary.

Ok, that concludes this episode of “Elizabeth doesn’t know what to write so she’s going to ramble for a while.” Hope you enjoyed.

My drama teacher came in the room and turned on the TV explaining that a plane had just flown into one of the twin towers. Nobody knew what was happening. We watched.

Finally, my teacher said we should go do some theatre games like we had planned and would come back to the news later.

So we did. We missed the second plane hitting. Looking back, that was probably for the best. I’m not sure our 10th grade Southern hearts could handle seeing that live.

I don’t remember if we watched the news when we got back to class. I don’t remember if we saw the towers fall or heard about the the pentagon right away. Either way, we found out soon enough. We probably saw some of it unfolding live. But now. Now I have seen it so many times , every year, on my tv, for the past 10 years. I think what I saw live and what I’ve seen in replay so many times since has blended together.

I will never forget those first few moments. Like most, I will always know exactly where I was, what time it was (9:30am ish), and what day it was (Tuesday). I think it’s natural for some of it to blur together after those initial moments. Doesn’t that seem to be the way with really tragic and really happy events? There’s that first moment that the happiness or the tragedy hits you that you cannot forget and then everything just blurs, and blends, and and swirls around you.

The other moment that stands out to me from that day is this: My friend said, “well, do you still really want to move to NYC?” In the moment I think I said something like “We’ll see,” so she wouldn’t think I was crazy. Who could want to move to NYC in that moment?

I wanted to. Literally at that moment? No. But my desire was not taken away. NYC would still someday be my home.

Even before we knew what was happening or why it was happening, in those first moments of tragedy, there was already this feeling, this great pull to all be one. To throw everything you had, all your support behind the places and people affected. How could I abandon my NYC dreams now? New York has always been strong. I knew that long before I visited or dreamt of living here. But for that moment New York City needed all the support the rest of the country could give. So how could I turn away and go somewhere else?

As the days went on and the people of the USA proved that the word united is there for a reason, the love that I saw those rumored rough, and closed off, and sometimes rude New Yorkers have and share and give to each other was inspiring.

Of course 9/11 wasn’t just an attack on NYC, it was an attack on the USA and unfortunately, NYC, and DC, and PA suffered the deepest wounds. I don’t think that my refusal to give up on this city was anything special, but if you add it up with everyone else who felt the same way, who stuck to their decision to move to NYC, who stayed in NYC, who sent a note to a firehouse, or a prayer to Heaven,  I think it made/makes a difference.

This city has my heart.

It will be a while until I feel like I earn the title “New Yorker.” There are a lot of people from my hometown who will never visit New York City. But I think for a few moments we were all New Yorkers.

I went shopping at the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market and bought some vintage earrings

I saw Midnight in Paris (and now I want to move there)

I saw Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows pt. 2 at midnight, in Imax 3D, with 7 friends, while dressing like a member of Gryffindor

I went to Broadway Bares and saw some very good looking people dance around on stage scantily clad (all for charity of course)

Gay marriage was legalized in NYC and I am so happy for all my friends here who now have equal rights!

I went to some cookouts where Cocoa was very popular

I learned the joys of instagram

I learned how to disable auto-correct on Talulah (my iphone 4) (settings => general => keyboard =>auto-correct=> onoff)

And finally…..drum roll please…..I reached 3 years of living in NYC! Actually, it has been 3 years and 5 days since arriving, 3 years and 4 days since my mom drove back to SC, and 3 years and 3 days since I had my first full day in NYC all by my (grown up?) self.

Some of these events deserve photos. I will try to post a few soon. Many additional lovely events occurred this Summer which deserve longer posts that I will also hopefully write sooner rather than later.

Happy labor day, friends!