Exploring Baltimore

Vince & I have made it a goal to try to explore as much as we can on the East Coast while we have easy access to it. So this past weekend we decided to head south of the Mason-Dixon line and check out Baltimore. A little added bonus was that our friends Trish & Jim were in Baltimore for Trish's sisters wedding. We spent Saturday exploring downtown Baltimore and the Inner Harbor. We had lunch at a local pub and sat outside with the local just relaxing. This is when we really realized we were in the South...people were actually friendly and a lot of men were smoking cigars! After we ate we walked around and sat by the water and had a snack before returning to our hotel to get ready for dinner.

Vince had found a restaurant on the water that seemed promising and it was! We started with some yummy crab dip and followed it up with 8 jumbo crabs. I didn't realize how hard we would work for our dinner and how dirty we would get! But it was a blast and the best crab we have had!

We got back to the hotel and met up with Trish & Jim at the hotel bar. It was great seeing them and catching up. We also got to spend some quality time with baby Madelyn Sunday morning! After a quick lunch with Trish, Jim & Madelyn we headed back to Philly for a nice relaxing Sunday evening. I was really surprised how much I actually liked Baltimore and I still can't believe it is only 1 1/2 hrs away!

June has not been what we have expected-cool temps and rain almost daily. So we are looking forward to July and hopefully some summer weather! We are also excited for all the visitors that will be visiting us Matty will be here next week followed by Molly and then Erin! We are so excited to get to show our family & friends what Philly is all about! We hope for more visitors in the following months!

The Big 3-0 in NYC

Well Vince completely out did himself for my birthday. He took me to New York City for the weekend! We stayed at The Regency by Loews at 61st and Park Ave-it was a very nice hotel! Unfortunately Friday was super wet-it rained all day and all night. But that didn't stop us from still having fun and exploring!








We went to lunch at Serendipity which was a cool atmosphere but the food lead something to be desired.






Then we walked around and ended up in Bloomingdales and V told me to pick out a present...what a great hubby! We came across a build your own charm necklace and I was in luv! I got 3 charms...a V for Vince, a Paw Print for Miles and a Star to represent our future goals/wishes.






Then we headed for dinner at an Italian restaurant called Scalinatella-it was a very nice dinner. We wrapped up the evening at the hotel lounge for a night cap.














Saturday was a busy day full of sight seeing!

We started out at a diner for breakfast and then took the subway to Battery Park. We wanted to
go to the Statue of Liberty but as we were in line for tickets they sold out. So we walked around the Financial District and saw the Bull and the NY Stock Exchange.














We then grabbed a quick lunch and took a ferry boat tour on the harbor. We got to see the whole city, Lady Liberty and Ellis Island.


































When we got done we went to St Paul's Chapel which is one of the churches that the firefighters slept at after September 11th. It was a very touching experience.

We then went and cleaned ourselves up and went to Union Square to meet Brian & Daniel for dinner at an Asian restaurant called Saigon Grill. It was a nice birthday dinner. Vince ordered the Sea Bass and below is a pic of what came to the table!
















At dinner Vince had another present for me...a beautiful diamond necklace. He did an amazing job picking it out!














We then went out to grab a few birthday drinks at an Irish Pub called Slones and then headed to Hells Kitchen and went to a bar called Mercury and then went and walked around Times Square. They have closed off Broadway in the heart of Times Square and placed lawn chairs out for people to sit and take in the views.























Sunday morning we hit another diner for breakfast and then headed back to Philly. Miles' kennel was full for the weekend so he had to go to PetsMart and stay at their hotel. I was a bit worried since he is so weird about being away from home but he had a blast! He went to day camp and loved playing with the other dogs! All in all the weekend was way more than I could have expected I am so lucky to have my hubby!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a busy busy Memorial Day weekend! We had our friends Amber & Sean over for a BBQ! We made beef, shrimp, chicken and veggie kabobs! They were soooo yummy! We had fun catching up with them on the patio and breaking in the new patio table!

Sunday we went and met our friend Emily in "Old City" (Old City is the historical section of the city-the Liberty Bell, Mint, Independence Hall ect... are all in Old City) at Farmicia for brunch and then headed out to explore a bit. We came across a cemetery which was beautiful and Ben Franklin and his wife are buried there.

On Monday we went to the Eastern State Penitentiary-which was so so so cool. We had no idea we had our own Alcatraz a few miles from our house! Here is some brief history that we learned...

Opened in 1829 as part of a controversial movement to change the behavior of inmates through "confinement in solitude with labor," Eastern State Penitentiary quickly became one of the most expensive and most copied buildings in the young United States. It is estimated that more than 300 prisons worldwide are based on the Penitentiary's wagon-wheel, or "radial" floor plan.
Some of America's most notorious criminals were held in the Penitentiary's vaulted, sky-lit cells, including bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone. After 142 years of consecutive use, Eastern State Penitentiary was completely abandoned in 1971, and now stands, a lost world of crumbling cell blocks and empty guard towers.

We can't wait for visitors so we can go again!

After that we went to "Center City" (Center City is the center of the city-this is where Vince had his apartment while he lived downtown. It is an area where there are lots of shope, restaurants and bars. We had lunch at one of Vince's fav Italian restaurants and then did a little shopping and ended our day downtown at Scoop Deville-my fav ice cream place! When we got home Vince planted his tomatoes! Lets see how they grow in Philly soil!

New Patio Furniture

New Table

Broken Table

Many of you know about our exciting experience with wind-umbrella-glass table! For those that don't the long & short of it was wind took our umbrella out of our patio table and the pressure shattered the glass table top as we sat at it. Luckily we escaped with just a few minor cuts-thank god for safety glass! So today I went on the hunt of a new table-we are having our friends Sean & Amber over on Saturday for a BBQ and we need a place to sit! I found a great deal at Target and got it home and Miles & I decided we would try to put it together. Mission Accomplished! It looks great! And we are excited to try it out this weekend!

5 Fab Days in KC Pic's

Trish & Vince


Patrick, Me & Molly



Molly & I always seem to end up double fisting Captain.
We need to communicate better about ordering each
other drinks!


Emily, Me & Jaclyn

McCormack Kids

The Graduate Matty!

Mom, Matty & Dad

He did it...It's an official KU Grad!

Lauren, Matty, Danny, Me, Patrick & Vince at

the Wheel!

Matty & his crew at the Wheel!

5 Fab Days in Kansas City

We finally made it back to Philly yesterday morning after having our flight get cancelled on Monday due to mechanical issues. It was a bit scary because we aborted during takeoff-but we were glad to be safely on the ground! We had a blast in KC. It was great to kick it off with lunch with Mom, Patrick, Trish & baby Madelyn at Winsteads! Ohhh how I do miss Winsteads! Then it was off to family dinner at Larry & Marq's with sibs, cousins, aunt & uncles! Marq & Larry out did themselves with a great spread of food! Thanks again for having us all over! The night didn't end there...the next stop was Paddy's! Which was an absolute BLAST! It was great to see our friends all in one place! Thursday was spent recovering from Wednesday and then we got to have our Mexican food fix at Cactus Grill with Carol & Jimmy. It was so nice to have some one on one time with them! Friday started with a great lunch at Zest with Joie & Rich followed by my very yummy birthday dinner of homemade fried chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, and veggie casserole! Thanks MOM-I know you hate making that meal! We then made our way to Waldo and hit up Lew's for a few beverages! It was also a great night with family and friends! Saturday began at Gwen's baby shower! It was so great to see her and her super cute baby belly! We can't wait til Baby Girl Gigous makes her way into the world! And thanks Emily for the lift to Topeka-it was great catching up on the drive! Saturday night was Matty's KU Graduation Party! What a great party full of family & friends! It was great to see AB & UM! The party just kept going and going and going with more and more people! It was a BLAST! Cousin Bryan was pure entertainment all night! Hopefully he has now recovered! Sunday was a fun day in L-Town! I miss Lawrence so much. It was great to be on campus and seeing all the graduates! CONGRATS to Matty & all his friends! It's official now that all 3 McCormack Kids have made the walk down the hill! Rock Chalk! After graduation we headed to the Wheel for a celebration drink and of course a piece of Wheel Pizza! We had so much fun with Matty & his friends! And V got me a great surprise...a official t-shirt from the Wheel! What a great hubby! After a few drinks we had to head back to KC for dinner at Hibachi! Yummy in all of our tummy's! Our final hours in KC ended with a great lunch at Spin with dad! I miss my daughter/dad lunches. And then the flight drama started-but it was ok because we had such a great trip that this hiccup was just par for the course! Miles was super excited to see us yesterday! He was very tired when we got back-so he spend the whole afternoon & evening snoozing! Now I need to start laundry and catch up on DVR!

Here we go....

Vince & I thought it might be fun to start a blog so that all our friends and family could see how life in Philly is! The past few months have been pretty busy for us with visitors, traveling and yard work.

Today is a big day for Miles...the fence is finally getting installed! Miles will have his freedom back and can get back to his fav game of frisbe. I have started laundry so I can start packing for our trip back to KC on Wednesday! We are so excited to come in and see everyone! I can't believe Matty is graduating from KU on Sunday-wow how time flies!