she came, she saw, she conquered

And...then she left, which was the saddest part. One of my roomies from college, Katie, came to visit in NYC this past weekend and we had a blast! We went to Mexican Radio, a delicious newfound Mexican spot in Nolita, on Friday night for dinner, then Alice's Tea Cup for Saturday brunch before our Cirque du Soleil extravaganza on Saturday afternoon. Then (in the only fitting way) to end such a wonderful weekend, I made sure we stopped in for a Shake Shack dinner on Sunday night. We had such a good time traipsing around the city and spent 95% of our time laughing. She promised she would come back again before 2 years, so I am going to hold her to that!

and, celebrate we did!

Last Friday night (June 3rd) I mentioned that a celebration was in order. And, boy, did we celebrate! We went to only the best Mexican restaurant I've visited in the city yet. That says a lot because I've tried a lot of them... After we accidentally intruded on a private rehearsal dinner party for Candace and Cameron (or so the chocolate said) that was nearing its conclusion, we went up to the counter of Tacombi and bought tickets for our tacos.

Then we chose between one of two food trucks where we picked the taco combination(s) we wanted and watched as it was prepared right in front of us.

I sadly only got two tacos... I wanted more. And another grape soda because it was the best I've had. But, I held strong and saved room for dessert. It was a good thing since we quickly migrated to the Billy's Bakery across the street after dinner.

To add to the delicious food and anniversary event, we chatted about our most memorable (for better, or for worse...) times in the city over the past 1, 3 and 4 years (Kat, me, LA & Pamela, respectively). If only we could do this every Friday night...

june 3rd

Today is June 3rd and that's a special day in my mind. I have a brief recap of the providential meeting [here] that I wrote about last year. 4 years ago TODAY I met Katherine and Pamela in Central Park. Then I went to my first Redeemer church service that night. Then... well, the rest is history.

This picture is circa 2007 when we were just 5 interns making our way in the big city. Now fast forward 4 years. We are (almost) all back in the city. Amy J hasn't returned yet, but we're all still holding out and hoping. So, "How are we going to celebrate this monumental anniversary?", you may ask. At an indoor taco truck in Nolita! How else?

happy (belated) earth day!

Happy Earth Day (last Friday) from the Chi Omegas at Auburn University...and from the 1970 Alpha Beta chapter in the background. So brilliant.

happy birthday to this girl

Rose Lynn is turning the big 2-5 today. A quarter of a century. But even more exciting than that, she just wrapped up a seven year stint of college on the plains! RL is the smartest chem student I know, and she's putting that brain to good use. In fact, in a few weeks I'm going to have to start calling her Dr. Farmer. Rose finished up her last rotation of pharmacy school today, and I couldn't be more excited for her!! And now, because of it, she gets the pleasure of answering my medical questions at least once a week when I'm trying to avoid going to see a doctor. Thanks for all your help, RL! Happy birthday. Happy graduation. And be thankful that you won't be the newest pharmacist at CVS in NYC, for your own sake (and my detriment...)!

(outtakes)

I guess this is why I was satisfied with one successful picture as I mentioned below...

the wedding

As I mentioned earlier, Brendan and I had a wedding to attend last weekend! It was loads of fun: a small wedding filled with good friends, getting to be a part of Mon & Kev's special day, and dinner and dancing afterwards (er, just dinner for me). We didn't take many pictures, so I'm hoping Monica will share once she gets back from St Lucia or sometime in the future. But, at least Brendan and I managed to get at least one picture, which is sometimes rare!

mr. & mrs. barranco

The Barranco's wedding was absolutely beautiful! I can't imagine anything more perfect or fitting for Andy and Jenny than the wedding they had. It was such a lovely ceremony surrounded by family and friends who love them... and I mean, absolutely adore them! As I mentioned before, I've known Andy since the beginning and he is pretty special. However, I don't know him as well as I know Jenny but I know he must be one pretty incredible fellow if he got to marry Jenny! I'm so glad I was able to be a part of their special weekend. 

The rehearsal dinner was at a fabulous (and new?) restaurant in Auburn called Zazu. It was a neat, eclectic restaurant right in downtown. Jenny, Rachel, Rose and I had a few tears when we saw each other at the rehearsal dinner because none of us could remember the last time we had all been together in one place. It was a sweet reunion. 

After the rehearsal dinner, Rose and I made a stop to see Anna Curl and Mary Love Bear. Anna was packing for her spring break trip to Chicago, so me, Rose and Mary Love Bear did a lot of catching up too. MLB was pretty excited about accompanying AC on her trip to the Windy City!

Saturday Rose Lynn and I had a lazy morning around campus. We walked around (I hardly recognized some areas of campus because it has changed SO much just in the 3 short years I've been gone!), got coffee and hung out on Samford Lawn. We tried for lunch at Big Blue Bagel, but... alas, they were out of bagels. I wasn't too disappointed with our second option, Bizilias.

Rose and I had a sad moment when we realized it might be our last time to see Toomer's Corner! It was a sad sight. It had a big "KEEP OUT" sign posted on the barricade around it. In my opinion, those two phrases should never, ever go together, and I can't believe that it might be gone soon...

The wedding was a blast! Beside the fact that Rose Lynn and I (accidentally) dressed like twins, the wedding was a huge success. It was beautiful and perfect for Jenny.

And, she had the best idea I've ever seen: there were Momma Goldberg's Nachos at the reception!

Lots of Chi O's made it to the wedding. I was a little rusty on my Chi Omega songs during our farewell to Jen, but they came back fairly quickly.

Thanks Jenny and Andy for including us in your wonderful weekend!! It was worth every mile traveled.

four friends, reunited

The weekend was even better than I could have imagined! It was so fun and exciting to be back in Auburn, catch up with old friends, and watch Jenny walk down the aisle. Here is a quick picture from the weekend at the rehearsal dinner...with many more to come!

a four friends wedding

This is a picture of four friends. We four friends went to Auburn together. We were all Chi O's together. Jenny, Rose Lynn, me and Rachel. And now, one of the four friends is about to have a new last name. I'm southbound tomorrow for Jenny's big day on Saturday. I can't believe it's finally here! I remember sitting in Mollie Hollifield in Spring of 2007 in Jenny & Rachel's dorm room trying to help Jenny think up a clever way of asking Andy to our Chi O formal (because Chi O's always seemed to ask their dates in a fun, creative way...). She ended up dropping off a huge care package for him at RBD library one night while he was studying, the basket was full of candy and clues to what she was inviting him. And...now they're getting hitched! My, how time flies when you're having fun. I'm so excited to celebrate these two on their special day!

stripes & polka dots

These days, I love the stripes and polka dots together. A little complicated, but the more the merrier in my opinion.

These make me also think of Rose Lynn because navy is her favorite color.

my new favorite cd

If you're looking for some great new music, you should check out Monica Allison's newly released cd, 'You Can't Take it Back'. She says that's also the return policy... but I can assure you, you won't want to return it! Check her out on iTunes or amazon.

where will you be december 15 at 9 pm?

Because, if you're in NYC, you should be at the Rockwood Music Hall watching Monica Allison in her Very Merry/Angsty Christmas Show! You don't wanna miss it.

[I also designed the poster, above, for her!]

war cam eagle

Sadly, it's been a while since I've been in the "true" football spirit. (Sorry, Rose!) People get excited about football in New York, but not like they do in the south, especially for the Iron Bowl! As an added bonus of getting to go home for Thanksgiving, the Iron Bowl was a mere 15 minute ride from home this year. Even more ironically, several good friends from Auburn migrated west after college and now call T-town home so I was able to spend the day cheering on the Auburn Tigers with college friends! I've never been so frazzled watching a game and so ecstatic all in the same moment, but I was this year for the 28-27 victory! It felt good to be back in the spirit!!

And I can't forget, even though they were wearing crimson and houndstooth, it was also great to catch up with some old friends from high school!

But, still, War Eagle!!!

birthday partaaay

I have the best and most gracious friends in the world. And this year for my birthday, they blew me away again! I got to choose the venue in which to celebrate: so I picked, crafts. We went to the Little Shop of Crafts on the upper west side and painted pottery to roll in my big 2-5. I painted a bright rainbow polka dotted mug that is big enough to fit 7 cups of coffee to wake me up every morning...just what I need! We had rainbow cake, ice cream cone cupcakes (complete with trick candles), guacamole, punch...and everything else that is so quintessential Perryn. I couldn't ask for friends that know me any better or for a better way to celebrate my day! Thanks to everyone for all the love (these girls have blogs to call out: Maggie, LA, Pamela, Bethany, and Katherine, and of course those without blogs, too: Ann-Marie, Victoria, Michelle, and Megan) who did so much to make me feel so special...and colorful!