Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!!

Happy 2008!

So ... I have not written in a while...maybe that should be my New Years Resolution? To blog more? Eh...we will see.

So as you probably figured out we are all moved and getting settled in New York City. I will have to write later and give you a tour of our tiny apartment...but I will wait until it actually looks cute. Right now it is just in a state of disarray.

So the week of my move to New York was totally a blur. Lets see:

*I flew in on a redeye and took my first New York taxi by myself in morning rush hour

* Toby flew on a different flight than me (he flew Continental since they are supposed to be the best airline to fly dogs on). I was pretty much freaking out flying him. He does not like his crate so flying him under the plane was causing me much distress. Our friends dropped him off at the airport and reported that he was a very good dog. His flight got in at midnight the same day I flew in. Eric and I rented a car and left in plenty of time to get to him on time...or so we thought.

The moment we got into New Jersey (keep in mind it is midnight) there was some of the worst construction traffic we had ever seen. We were literally stuck in a parking lot on the freeway for over 2 hours. Tobys flight time came and went....and I began to have a nervous breakdown (please keep in mind I am going on no sleep). I was literally balling my eyes out in the car worrying that Toby was not ok and that the people at the airlines would think we were the worst pet parents ever.

We finally got to the airport around 1:30am (Tobys flight got in at 12:15). Eric runs to the pickup area fully thinking that Toby would be there freaking out and barking. He looks...and there Toby is ... chilling in his crate just taking a nap. The ladies at the counter were like...he has just been sleeping the whole time. Who knew we had such a good dog??

*The next day we found out that Eric's grandmother had sadly passed away. We quickly booked a flight home for the funeral and were lucky enough to find someplace to board Toby (On Christmas Eve!). Our trip to Michigan was very short (I believe it was a total of 36 hours) .. it was very nice to see both of our families .. we just wished it would have been under better circumstances.

So you can see...my arrival into NYC was quite a whirlwind. But now the whole family is here and we are just trying to get our apartment to look like a home vs. a college dorm room.

Our New Years was very "Sarah & Eric". You see ... we are self-proclaimed big dorks. Here we are in New York ... the New Years capital of the world and what do we do? Stay in.

We got some carry out, rented some movies and cuddled on the couch with Toby. Its sort of our idea of a perfect evening.

I also made some Yummy Pomegranate Sangria (see recipe at the bottom). In one of my food network watching marathons Bobby Flay made this delicious Sangria. I knew I had to whip some up.
I was totally ghetto. I had no pitcher...so I had to make a makeshift pitcher out of an old water gallon jug. Classy huh???

But I gotta say it turned out great and it was the perfect way to ring in the New Years.

So as Fireworks were going off in the distance and the millions of people were celebrating in time square just a few blocks away...we were happily sipping Sangria all snuggled up on the couch.

Pomegrante Sangria
from Bobby Flay


1 bottle fruity red wine
2 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup Triple Sec
1/4 cup simple syrup (equal amounts sugar and water, heated until sugar dissolves, cooled)
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1 large orange, halved and thinly sliced
1 green apple, cored, halved and thinly sliced
1 cup red grapes, sliced in 1/2
Combine all ingredients in a pitcher, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 48 hours before serving. Serve over ice.

9 comments:

Jaime said...

hey sarah! happy new year! i'm glad to see that you made it to NYC safely. i would have been just as worried as you were about toby...i don't like the idea of flying pets but i know sometimes it is inevitable. glad to hear he made the trip ok too! :)

hey i saw that sangria recipe on tv too! it looks so good! sounds like you guys had the perfect evening together last night :) that's exactly what we love to do too!

i am so sorry to hear about the loss of eric's grandmother. my thoughts are with your families....

Anonymous said...

well.. happy new year to you and eric.... read the blog..and most enjoyed the part where you "invented" a plastic wine vase,,, good thinking....
also read all of your new reviews... no fear,,, you had already told me about "S factor,, and like you said... you are 30 now
Love
Dad

April Ziegler said...

Happy New Year, and welcome to the east coast! I hope you guys like NYC. Thanks for the sangria recipe, I'll definitely be trying that out. Love me some sangria. I might have to try out the pitcher too, it just rocks =)

Amanda said...

Hahaha :) Our first New Year's living in New York City and we did the same thing. Made fajitas, home-made sangira, watched football, and I fell asleep before midnight. It was perfect :)

Happy New Year's and welcome to New York City!

Mary said...

What a crazy time for you guys - I'm so sorry about Eric's g-ma, that's very sad. But the sangria looks yummy, and I'm glad you're getting settled in! I'm definitely coming to visit and see the show one of these days!

Rhonda said...

I would have been just as nervous and upset as you were about my babies flying. Glad to hear that he was not as concerned as you were.

Sorry to hear about the loss in your family

Happy New Year!

Christy said...

I'm sorry to hear about the loss in your family.

OMG I totally would have been freaking out to if my "kids" were at the airport without me. Glad he was okay.

Haha love the pitcher! :D
I was wondering if you guys were at TimesSquare on NYE. Our idea of a good evening is staying in too. :)

Sarah Gemba said...

You've been tagged!
Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Anonymous said...

=D

We'd all love it if you wrote more!