wanderlust or bust

the countdown begins!* we leave thursday and return to stratton mountain, VT, for our second time wandering and lusting.

i'm excited to not be a newbie. to return to this wonderful festival as a practicing yogi, a teacher with almost a full year under my belt, a person who has pushed her practice further than she ever thought she could. my mom and i will walk onto that mountain top with all of the confidence in the world, because this time, we will have a map. this time, we will have our schedules. and this year, we will know where to park :)

last year was definitely a learning experience, as most adventures tend to be. yoga wasn't the only challenging part- figuring out where to go, getting lost between classes, running from tent to tent so you could get your mat closer to Rolf Gates than the hundreds of other yogis- was all very overwhelming.

i'm excited to see my mom try new poses and find out how far she can push her own practice. to spend time just relaxing, talking, and trying new things with her.

i'm excited to be a wanderlust sophomore. i wont be as cocky as a junior or senior and walk around like i own the place, but i might just have the balls to strike up a conversation with a couple of teachers that inspire me, like Seane Corne and MC Yogi.

i'm nervous AND excited to take the amazing classes i got into this year. handstands? paddleboard yoga?!? YES PLEASE.

i promise lots of photos and a recap that puts last year's recap to shame. wanderlust or bust- here we come!


*technically, i've been counting down since the day we got back last year...

all i can see is things going swimmingly

it's been such a hectic week, but we are checking off 'i do' to-do boxes left and right!

i've put my yoga class on hold for the summer, because numbers get low and because when i checked out my schedule, i realized i would only be in town for 5 or 6 sundays from now until october! craziness...

i'll still be expanding my practice with classes at local studios, and i will continue to attempt the impossible for me.... scorpion! i'm thisclose... i feel like my toes will never touch my head, and my teacher says that my over-flexible back is actually making it more difficult for me to hold this one. who knew too much flexibility could ever be a bad thing in yoga? but when i get frustrated, i just remind myself how i could barely hold a headstand a year ago. i worked on it daily and last weekend i was able to hold it for 2 minutes and 20 seconds! now, my goal is to headstand while paddleboarding this summer :)

so back to that 'checking boxes off' comment- in the past week alone, i found my rehearsal dress, bought my bridal shoes, and just got my wedding band! (is it bad luck to wear the wedding band now until the wedding? it's so sparkly, i can't help myself...).

the rehearsal dress is from a place called fancy schmancy in albany, ny. i was there to help my mom find her mother of the bride dress when this little tadashi number caught my eye and i had to try it on. love, love, love.

i had seen these shoes on pinterest (tgfp- thank god for pinterest), but couldn't locate them  anywhere.  they were originally from j. crew, but i finally stumbled upon a never-been-worn pair on ebay last week where they were just my size, and slightly cheaper than the original, so i scooped those bad boys up immediately.

as for the wedding band, it's just lovely. joey and i couldn't find any bands that either of us liked so we decided to have both of ours custom made. i wasn't sure if we were being ring snobs, or if we were just unique (joey says unique :). he had this beautiful idea to put his grandfathers ring inside of his, and have it covered in white gold. we went to glen peters in clifton park and they did an amazing job. for mine, i knew i wanted a double band (on either side of the engagement ring) with lots of little diamonds for that antique look. the last step was to get them engraved with something, and i was completely stumped until joey suggested an ampersand. i cried. it's so perfect for us. there is just something about a simple ampersand that says so much- after september 1, it will be me & him, it's that simple. we've also been planning on getting ampersand tattoos on our honeymoon, so it seemed fitting. i think i'll wait to share a picture of the ring until after the wedding, though. i've got to keep some of the mystery, right?

happy friday! xo

teach me how to use the love that people say you make

yoga training #9
So this training actually took place weeks and weeks ago and i'm slightly backed up, so i will attempt to take some blogging-metamucil and become slightly more regular with my updates...

hm. i just realized i make a lot of poop analogies. that's weird, right? one of my co-workers once told me that eventually, all conversations make their way back to boobs or poop and im starting to believe that.

anyway, our ninth training session was all about alignment and arm balances, which had me totally twitterpated. if i had to pick one thing that i would like for you to remember about me, it's that i am a huge fan of arm balances. also, i like fro yo. and puppies. oh, and the scratchy sound that old vinyl records make when you play them for the first time in years... but seriously- arm balances are such an amazing combination of strength, flexibility, and stability. maybe it's that feeling of victory once you nail an arm balance and hold it- i just get so excited! does that make me a yoga geek? i hope so...

we practiced our alignment for the first half of training and my teacher stressed the importance of using the 'knives edge' of our foot when in warrior 2 and other similar poses. for example, if you are in w2 with your left knee bent, your right leg should be straight out to the right side, hips open, foot pointing in the same direction as your hips, and you should be pushing off of the outside edge of the right foot. it actually takes a lot of the pressure off of your knees and helps with balance...

after alignments, we moved our mats up against the wall and practiced tri-pod, basasana (crow), headstand, shoulder stand and shoulder stand with blocks. it was glorious. and now im determined to do all of these sans wall... a good tip for attempting any of these inversions is to put a yoga block between your upper thighs and squeeze. this action helps you focus on your core muscles and isometrically pulls them together, which allows you to 'float' upside-down with ease.

and forget the fact that arm balances make you look super cool- they are good for you, too! my teacher explained how inversions have been proven to help depression, which makes a lot of sense- any time i am able to squeeze a downward dog into my day, i always feel much better afterwards.

after training, i was so pumped that i started attempting going into scorpion from several different positions and found that it was easiest for me if i came up backwards from bridge. i even held it for 4 whole seconds before i kicked joey in the face and fell on my rump. so worth it!

so the moral of this story is, find a crazy pose, make it your goal and go out there and nail it!

p.s.- remember on my last post when i eluded to a super special trip im planning? well, it looks like my mama and i will be heading to wanderlust this year in good ol' vermont!! so unbelievably pumped- 3 days of yoga and music in one of the crunchiest, loveliest states... more to come about that soon! *sigh

so wherever i go, im taking you with me

we interrupt these very important yoga messages to announce the 5 year anniversary of me and my boo. yup, count 'em! 5 big ones!

on february 23, 2007, a boy with a generally pleasant disposition and super long eyelashes agreed (via instant messenger) to see the movie "23" (starring jim carey, but not funny. the opposite of funny, actually. scary and weird. not a good combo.) with me at crossgates cinemas. he picked me up in his gold saturn- a car which i would later find out did not go in reverse- and we listened to jack johnson the whole way there.

a few months later, after we had somehow, unofficially become 'official', someone asked us how long we had been together. as we tried to figure it out, our dear friend geoff offered us this sage advice- "dudes, you dont know? you gotta pro-rate that shit back to your first date." so, after geoff (the business major) explained to me (the art major) what pro-rate meant, we did just that.

and every year since then, on february 23, my joey, (aka buster, my boo, thee fiance, and, lovingly, josephine) wishes me a happy anniversary... and then shouts "we made it!". how sweet...

so, i would just like to say,

happy 5 years, buster... we made it!
love, katie
(aka rascal, boob, tookers, and lovingly, your stink-butt)




p.s.- i know we use really weird nicknames.
p.p.s.- i dont really have a stinky butt.

paint myself in blue and red, black and grey

over the last few years, i've gotten a really great response from friends and family about my paintings so i thought i would share them with you. i never really thought of myself as a painter- i'm far too precise and controlling to paint a still-life or portrait, or heaven forbid, a landscape. when my screen-printing professor saw what i created for my collage assignment freshman year of college, she immediately declared that i should be a graphic designer... and loosen up a little. i looked around and realized that my precisely measured, neatly trimmed and delicately pasted collage was surrounded by heaps of torn newspaper, messes of glue, and random splatters of paint. and that moment marked the very first time that i became aware of the difference between fine-artists and graphic-designers. i was so jealous of the fine-artists' ability to throw caution to the wind and dive right into their projects, without seemingly second-guessing themselves.

not being able to let go of my obsessive tendencies, i figured i would never be much of a painter... until a couple of years ago when joey bought me a book by one of my absolute favorite artists of all-time: mr. andy warhol. i had always thought of him as more of a fine-artist, but soon began to realize he definitely had a method to his madness. his famous uneven register lines? deliberate! strange color schemes? modern! choice of subjects? the beginning of the pop revolution!

so, i digress. with a little inspiration and lot of nervous energy, i started to develop my own painting style. i've combined my love of typography, lyrics, pop art and bold colors, and this is what was born...   i hope you like!

"clear eyes, full hearts, cant lose" - friday night lights

"i need a big love" -counting crows

"all is pretty" -andy warhol

"if you're a bird, then i'm a bird" -the notebook

"i may take a holiday in spain" -counting crows

i could be your welcome. i could be your greeter.

dear albany,
some people think you are dirty and ugly, but i dont. they think you are dangerous and tell me to carry pepper spray when im walking alone, but i know you are just eccentric. they ask if i've ever been mugged, or seen a mugging, but i've actually seen more acts of kindness. sometimes, when i tell them i live downtown, they ask me where i park (on the street, duh), and what i do when it snows (shovel, like everyone else). i dont think most people understand or appreciate you albany, but we do, and that is why you will be missed...

it seems like it wasnt that long ago that i was writing about our big move to downtown and now, here it is a year later and we are about to attempt it all over again. did we forget how much our last moving day sucked? did we forget how hard it was to carry box after box up 3 flights of stairs? are we crazy????

perhaps.

as sad as we are to say farewell to you, albany, we are also excited to be moving to downtown saratoga! yes, after 8+ years of capital district dwelling, we've decided to give another city a chance, although you will always be close to our hearts... after all, it was at saint rose in albany where we met, (and then met again a few years later because i dont actually remember meeting the first time- oops), and it was where we went on our first date (regal cinemas at crossgates), rented our first apartment on circle lane, (and then our second apartment -downtown- because, as i've previously explained, we are crazy nomads). you, albany, were home to our first (and last) fish- rip frank. the place we meet up with friends for weekly dinners, birthday margaritas at bombers and festivals down on lark street... the location of our first real jobs, and second real jobs (and third & fourth for me- oy)...

this city is filled with memories for us and im sure we will find plenty of excuses to come back and visit you, but right now we are ready for some new adventures...

xoxo,
katie & joey

we've got the biggest hearts. and a big love.

so i have a bit of news- the "boyfriend' i often refer to in these posts has recently upgraded his status to 'fiance'. on september 24 (i know, i know-what took me so long to post this? well, life post-engagement has been fuzzy and i dont really have any good excuses besides the fact that i've been painting my nails more often since i put the *bling* on...but i digress) joey caught me completely off guard by kneeling down in the tiny living room of our tiny albany apartment, while i was in the midst of doing laundry and sporting a sweet early-morning faux-hawk, and made an honest woman out of me. just like the fairy-tales, huh? i loved it.

and of course, in typical joey fashion, there was an 'engagement mix' playing in the background, because that's just how he rolls. so i will be sure to add a few of those songs to my playlist- i hope you enjoy them as much as i did...

Some day somebody's gonna ask you,

A question that you should say yes to.

Once in your life...

Maybe tonight, I've got a question for you.-old 97s

i bet when i leave my body for the sky, the wait will be worth it

this past august marked 5 years since my nana monicas passing. i still talk to her daily and i can tell she's listening, because a few months ago, i was going through a particularly hard time with work and finances- i was visiting my parents one night and randomly started sorting through things in our basement when i opened an old jewelry box of mine from when i was younger. inside i found a pink envelope with my name written on it in her handwriting, and when i turned it over, i realized it was still sealed. inside the envelope was an easter card, dated 2 months before she was diagnosed with cancer; 5 months before she passed away...and inside the card were the words "all my love, nana monica" and a check for $100. i know it doesn't sound like much, but it was...

i think of her every day and smile, so todays post is a dedication to the memory of her. nana, these are a few of the things that remind me of you...

• bright red hair (but more specifically, a shade of red that isnt found in nature)
• old black and white movies
• deep belly laughs that shake your whole body but are almost completely void of sound
• spontaneous curse words inserted into unexpected sentences
  example: "those damn flowers are so pretty, arent they?"
• bejewled sweaters for every occasion, but especially christmas
• flamboyant costume jewelry, most likely from avon
• floral upholstery in every shade of pink
• the sound of frank sinatra
• playing poker with pennies
• calling out every sign on the road as we drive by & following that with a comment of some sort
  example: "toyota? oh, they have nice cars. stewarts? i used to know a guy that worked at a stewarts once. the flower shoppe? i wonder how much their hydrangeas are... the olive garden? i like that broccoli cheddar soup they've got."
• acts of kindness to complete strangers
• everybody loves raymond re-runs
  "everybody really does love raymond, dont they?"
• mauve nail polish (again, most likely from avon)
• this poem:
  After Glow, by Helen Lowrie Marshall
  I'd like the memory of me
  to be a happy one.
  I'd like to leave an afterglow
  of smiles when life is done.
  I'd like to leave an echo
  whispering softly down the ways,
  Of happy times and laughing times
  and bright and sunny days.
  I'd like the tears of those who grieve,
  to dry before the sun.
  Of happy memories that I leave
  When life is done.

all my love,
katie

just one of those nights that i have to share

on october 23, i turned 25 years old. i was spoiled by my family and friends, starting with a breakfast at the madison cafe with my former roommate sully :) then we had an afternoon visit from michele and sean, the cutest married couple ever :) they treated us to dessert at crisan, and then we stopped by the best gift store everrr, on lark street :)

sean, michele, and the little marzipan man that sean was slowly dismembering

later that night, our friends came over to see our new apartment and have a few cocktails before we hit up bombers for the free margarita, and then hollywood for some pool, and then lionheart for darts, and then... well, i'm just going to post pictures because i dont remember much of that night :)

back row: geoff, eric, joey, jurian, cayden, pierre, jake
front row: bryande, birthday girl, jermain
as pierre would say, 'we roll deep" :)

bombers...

hollywood...

lionheart?...

thank you to everyone who celebrated my birthday with me :) xoxo

days like that should last and last and last

the boyfriend and i were fortunate enough to spend time with both of our families this past weekend :)

friday night we drove into broadalbin to support a fundraiser that my dad was participating in called real men can cook. basically, men in the local communities volunteer to cook one dish each, and tickets are then sold for a 'buffet-type' meal, with all proceeds going towards breast cancer awareness. my dads been involved for the last 3 years, and we always make sure to attend because the food is so yummy! (this year he made a tomato pesto soup and he named it after me :) my mom, grandparents and i also entered a few raffles, so fingers crossed that we win that wheelbarrow full of adirondack goodies :)

and today, we celebrated our trio of october birthdays! joeys mom and sister both have birthdays in october, as do i :) so every year we get together for a big dinner and to exchange presents. first, we went to red lobster and filled up on yummy cheddar biscuits... then we had everyone back to our apartment for cupcakes and gifts :) i got a pineapple themed basket, with a whole pineapple!, a pineapple wedger, mai tai mix, and a book with different drink and appetizer recipes. this made me think it's time to start those dinner parties up again with the gang :) i also got some very sweet office materials for my new job, (along with a hip new tote bag) so i can be fashionable, and functional at the same time :) thanks guys! we hope you liked your presents too!

<3

this is the story of a girl

yesterday, september 13th, was my nana's birthday, and (she's going to kill me for including this but i must) she turned 79. we bought her a big basket of yellow mums and a tiny box of chocolates because she cant resist sweets. my parents decided to celebrate sunday night and!!! we were joined by my aunt mary and uncle frank, who flew in from new mexico :)

mama and pooper

my nana <3

a little bit about my nana.... she is feisty and little and italian :) she likes to pinch (which my papa is usually the victim of), and bake (her peanut butter balls are A-MA-ZING), and occasionally get her gardening on...

nana phyllis, as i refer to her, is my dad's mom, and her family (tartaglia) descends from naples. at the young age of 79, she is 2 books deep into the twilight series and currently has her own facebook account (i'm serious – go friend request her :) how freaking cute is she?

happy birthday nana! we love you! xoxox


p.s.- sorry for saying "freaking"

i smile just because, i've got a city love

i feel like i've been neglecting this blog – the recent move and my impending new job are keeping me busy lately... but that's enough excuses for now :) the next couple posts are my official attempt at catching up :) i'll keep them short and sweet.


starting with...this past weekend. the boyfriend and i left friday night to visit his family in MA.

the menz family :)

on saturday, after about a dozen loads of laundry, we took a little trip into bean-town to see wicked and eat at a local german pub. it was our second time seeing the musical (we first saw it 2 years ago in NYC), but i think a few of the actors were actually better this time around. as for the pub, there were a lot of beers with names i couldn't really pronounce, and one really good irish cider that i highly recommend :)

the boston opera house

falling asleep to the sound of sirens

last night was our first night in the new apartment. we were packing, moving and cleaning from 7 am until 10:30 pm, but we managed to move just enough boxes to find our futon and fall asleep to the busy sounds of lark street beneath us around midnight.

we are both super excited to live downtown, especially with larkfest coming up soon! the move was tough, but luckily we have amazing friends and family who are incredibly selfless (and also very strong :). thank you, thank you, thank you – mom, dad, stephen, sully, al, jake and eric! annnnd thanks to everyone who offered to help (bryande, yajaira, and anyone i might be forgetting)! we love you guys :)

oh, and a special thanks to the strange little man that walked by us yesterday as we were unloading the Uhaul, blew kisses at our apartment, and said "mwah, mwah, mwah- now your home is blessed"... i think i'm going to like it here :)

love burns brighter than sunshine

congratulations to ginger and duke, aka mr. and mrs. romaine!

ginger & duke married on august 28th, 2010

they were married on the evening of august 28th at pine lake beach, as the sun was setting. it was an absolutely beautiful ceremony and i think we all got a little choked up as kristins dad recited a quote from captain corelli's mandolin:

When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots are become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the desire to mate every second of the day. It is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every part of your body. No... don't blush. I am telling you some truths. For that is just being in love; which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over, when being in love has burned away. Doesn't sound very exciting, does it? But it is.

it was a fairly small wedding– mostly close friends and family– and the reception was held indoors at the pine lake lodge. their theme was very adirondack-y, with lots of leaves and candles covering the tables and tiny bags of wildflower seeds given as favors.

the bridesmaids and groomsmen all received button bouquets and button boutonnieres, respectively, as a thank you from the bride and groom for sharing in their special day... they were super cute :) everything went pretty smoothly, other than the whole "bride sat in chocolate" incident, but that crisis was averted with a little help from a tide-to-go pen :) we sat down for a family style dinner, and then boogied the night away... our evening ended with a spontaneous game of flip cup in the middle of the dance floor, and a song tribute from the bride to her bridesmaids (soco amaretto lime <3). doesn't get much better than that.

fix your dreams just right...

i have some wonderful news to share with the blogosphere-

[insert drum roll here]  

yajaira and pat are engaged! yay!

ooOoOoo- yajaira's shiny new engagement ring

he popped the question about a week and a half ago on top of a mountain while they were hiking (how cute is that?). they really are so sweet together and i am incredibly happy for them both. congratulations guys!!

p.s. i'll be sure to get a picture of these two lovebirds to post asap :)

she is love

the pup formerly known as Pinney :)

meet the newest addition to the guiffre family! she is an 18 month old lab/collie mix, fully grown at about 40 pounds. she's good with kids and her general demeanor is sweet and affectionate... basically, she's a lover, not a fighter :) my parents adopted her just last night, and i've been told that she's already found 'her spot', which is apparently in the middle of their bed. i cant wait to meet her this weekend!

in the meantime, we could use some help... while she was at the shelter, her name was pinney – which is kind of a strange name and it doesn't really fit her. we are trying to come up with a new name for her that is similar enough so that she doesnt get too confused... so far, i have winnie (as in, 'the wonder years') and minnie (as in, the mouse)...

got any suggestions?

UPDATE:
we are going to stick with the name pinney, because we've decided it sounds similar to 'pinstripes' which represents our beloved team, the yankees :) so no need to brainstorm everyone - i'd like to officially introduce you to our pinney <3

doesn't she look guilty? i wonder who chewed that hole in my quilt...

we spent the weekend with her, playing at the beach and giving her lots of biscuits. she is such a cuddler! we learned that she isn't quite comfortable with water, she is literally afraid of her own shadow, and she enjoys the taste of my childhood stuffed animals :)

you're the nicest, nicest boy i've ever met...

my boyfriend thinks i'm cute :)

i love you oh so well...

i was able to spend some time with the girls and their little boys this past weekend, and i can't believe how big they are getting. megans son, landon, is 16 months old, but he's so smart! he said my name for the first time ever on sunday, and my heart just melted :)

and kristins son, leland, (aka- my beautiful little god-son) is 14 months old, and he does not stop moving for one minute! he used to be my cuddle partner, but now that he's figured out how to climb and run, there's no stopping him :) here's a picture of my little man before we put him to sleep the other night:

my godson, leland mason hayes <3

i love this kiddo :)

i've been up all night, and i might sleep all day

this past weekend was a doozy.

it all started when boyfriend and i drove up to lake george on friday night to camp out with his family. we stayed up late visiting with everyone, and then, after a little dance party and several pb s'mores (reeses peanut butter cups instead of hershey bars- yum!), we passed out...

the next morning we all hopped into the car and headed over to the best place on earth- tubby tubes, co.- for an early morning tubing adventure :) there were 9 of us altogether, and we floated down the river for 3 hours with our stash of coronas, trail mix and spiked fruit salad :)

unfortunately, after tubing i had to say farewell - i had bridesmaid duties to tend to! so i packed up my car and drove back home to loopies pub, where the girls and i were throwing ginger a lovely bridal shower :) she loves nature (hence the wedding invites i designed for her) and her favorite color is green, so that was my inspiration for these 'leafy' cupcakes:

*chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting

after we finished cleaning up, we went home to get ready for the bachelorette party that was scheduled for later that evening. a few of us met up ahead of time at kristins to take pictures:

kristin, the maid of honor, and the bridesmaids: me, mar & megan <3

everyone looked so nice :)  the limo picked us up around 9, and then it was off to saratoga for the night! first stop, the racino – and as you can see, ginger was excited to gamble :)

soon to be, mrs. romaine

after we lost most of our money, we wandered around caroline street, hopping from bar to bar and celebrating one of her last nights of 'single-ness' :) there were tequila shots and beer pong tournaments, champagne toasts and bottles of wine.... needless to say, when the limo came back around to pick us up at 3 am, we were ready to go home – or pass out at somebody else's home, which is exactly what i did (thanks kris!).

after a couple hours of some much needed sleep, i met up with boyfriend, his sister and her boy, and we got ready for another trip down to saratoga. we took them to the sushi thai garden for dinner, bettie's cupcakes for dessert, and then plum dandy for some post-dessert frozen treats :) finally, we were ready for the main event- john mayer at spac! the place was packed, but the show was amazing... the set list consisted mainly of his more well known songs like gravity, why georgia, waiting on the world to change, perfectly lonely, etc... but he also squeezed in a few covers of clapton, zeppelin, and prince.

overall, this whole weekend was seriously exhausting and i'm going to need a few days to recover... but i loved every minute of it :)

every time music plays, i smile and i cant feel anything

sully and i went to the concert last night and, as always, adam duritz & co. put on an amazing show. the skies stayed clear, so we moved back and forth between our indoor seats and a blanket on the lawn :) they started out the night with a tribute to van morisson, covering caravan (nah nah nahnah) and they continued to play a great set list throughout the night, jumping from oldies like anna begins, to some of my favorites like holiday in spain. they even slipped in a few bob dylan and beatles covers towards the end, during verses of rain king... they really mixed it up, coming back slowly after intermission with a long december, but picking it up when they were joined on stage by augustana and about a dozen other random people (i'm pretty sure adam duritz girlfriend- actress Emmy Rossum- was there, too) for a unique collaboration of hangin' around.

counting crows at SPAC, August 2, 2010

and it was actually a relatively small crowd (maybe because it was a monday night?) so we were able to meet up with amanda & kristin, which has become sort of a tradition for the three of us. i think we've seen 4 or 5 of their concerts together :) i dont get to see them often, so it was nice to spend time with them and their family, listen to some sweet music and dance like hippies with one another :) overall, one of the best concerts i've ever been to- thank you sully!!

me & sully enjoying the concert from the lawn

adam duritz, performing holiday in spain

"everytime music plays, i smile and i cant feel anything.

and i all i want to say is everything's alright and i'm ok..."

♪♫ a. duritz

for more info, check out this article