Thanksgiving in Framingham

This year my Thanksgiving was a little different. As flights skyrocket for the holidays because airlines don't like family gatherings, I decided I'd opt for a bus. And as a bus to KC would take days, I had to choose a closer destination. What better place than one with family and my favorite food of all time? There isn't one. Framingham, MA it was. My dad's mother and her mother live there along with my Auntie Judy and Uncle Louie and their daughters Gina and Angela.

It was my second Thanksgiving in Framingham--my cousin Abby and I went my senior year of high school. I'm always very happy to see that part of my family as I don't get the chance very often. I am also always always always ecstatic when I am able to eat my favorite food... CUPPELLETTIS. It's apparently a word my family made up. There are cappallettis, which are similar but have meat in them, and then there are cuppellettis. They are sort of like little dumplings in chicken broth. Cuppellettis have no meat in them, basically just cheese and bread crumbs. Sounds like a poor man's food, but they are absolutely delicious. No one left in Kansas City really knows how to make them so having them for TG was a true treat and instilled jealousy in all members of my family at home. We are all determined to learn how to make them because they are TO DIE FOR so I'll update you when we take on that task.

I was so glad I was able to spend more time with my sweet, sweet Grammy. Grammy is 97 and kickin'. She is so remarkable. She does not take on single pill and can manage to do nearly everything on her own. That's good, right? I've got longevity built in. My Grandma is in her 70s and she gets around just as quick as I do. We went into Boston for a day and she kept up with me no problem. I hope I am able to do that in my 70s. It was really nice to actually go into Boston. I had never had the pleasure to see the city, and after hearing my mom say how wonderful it was, I wanted to make the trip. We took the train in for a few hours and hit up the major sights. There is still much to see, and I'd love to go back. I'm hoping that we can all go back after the baby is born so we can get a picture of 5 generations of women. That will be amazing. I'm crossing my fingers for that!

I also had my first Black Friday experience. It was not too bad, and I got some great deals. There was no sales tax in Framingham on clothes so I had to take advantage! I did a little X-mas shopping for others, too, so don't think I was entirely selfish!

I will leave you with a few pictures. And no, I didn't grow. My Grammy is just that small.

Massachusetts State House

Grammy and me before I left.

Grams and Grammy.

Fam is Fab

Some how my mom and sisters ruby slippers got confused when they clicked their heels last Thursday. Instead of going to their respective homes, they ended up at my home! What a lovely surprise that was. OK, so it wasn't a surprise, but it was lovely. It is always nice to see family, and I love showing people I care about around my neighborhood.

Mom, Kate and Aubs arrived Thursday night... on time. Blake never seems to have that luck. I cleaned the apartment all up and lit candles to make the place smell great. We were all pretty tired and kept saying, "OK, we need to go to bed," but we accidentally stayed up talking until midnight. Girl talk!

Friday morning we all got up early. Lisa and I headed to work, and the girls headed downtown. Luckily, I was able to take a half day and we spent the afternoon running around Little Italy. We had lunch there and were all thoroughly stuffed. However, we literally could not leave Little Italy without desserts so we just had to suck it up and eat 'em. They were fantastic. I think all the Gunn girls have a sweet spot for Italian desserts based on our lineage, but anyone in their right mind would have loved these. A chocolate dipped creme puff filled with chantilly cream, a chocolate dipped cannoli, a regular cannoli and we'll call it a fruit pie due to my poor memory. Delish. After that we had to head up to Herald Square to pick up my ring that was unexpectedly done early. Now that was a nice surprise! No more rubber bands.

While we were up there, we went in Macy's. That was an absolute mad house. I know people come into the city to do their holiday shopping, but I think I'd leave. It is mid-November and you could hardly move. We did ride the original wooden elevators, though. I thought that was neat. They were much smoother than I'd imagined. We hurried out of Herald Square because of all the people.

It had been a long day so we came home and ordered in a pizza.

Saturday morning we slept in a bit. Our Grandma Gunn and Auntie Judy came up from Boston, which was a surprise, so we met with them in Time Square. We ran around uptown all day. We hit all the major sites including Rockefeller Center and the Bethesda fountain in Central Park. Even though we had already been to Time Square once that day, we had to go back to see it at night. They all concurred that it is much cooler at night.

One thing that was annoying this weekend was that there is subway construction on our train tracks so we had to take a shuttle. Why do buses seems like such a bigger hassle? After hustling it back on the bus, (side note: I literally had to pry the bus doors open with my hands. Another NYC first.) we grabbed burgers, fries and shakes at Flipster's. My family has a thing with 50s diners. If there's a 50s diner, we'll unintentionally find it. Flipster's isn't necessarily a diner, but it has the food and it's good so we had to humor ourselves. Then we had another low key night. I love those.

Today we just ran around Park Slope. We saw Prospect Park, Brooklyn Library, the Grand Army Plaza with the arch and did some shopping. I got some new winter boots-- waterproof and impermeable. I think they'll be great for the inevitable NYC snow storm.

Now my family has gone and left me. Alright, so technically I went and left my family but still. I'm sad to see them go, but I'll be home in three weeks so it's not bad. All in all it was a great weekend, and even though NYC is far less green than Emerald City, I think they had a good time. I know that I did. I'll leave with you some photos from the weekend.

New Website

I just got my new custom domain set up. I am currently working on my personal website. I'll link you all to it when I get it launched, which should be soon! This is so exciting!

Wine and a Camera

It always seems that my weekends are that much better when Blake is here. I guess that's why I'm marrying him. We had a good time playing with my new camera and spending time together.

Friday night we cooked in, which was an adventure. Blake and I living (and cooking) together will be an absolute adventure. That's just one of the many challenges we will face. Blake has a tendency to just throw things in the pan... and not that I'm Rachel Ray or anything, I just like to be the one throwing in I guess. It will be fun though. I'm into it.

Saturday we got ready for our housewarming/birthday party that night. We cleaned the apartment. Katy cooked up a storm. I made the rice crispies! We had the cutest set up for the party. We also had a lot of wine. I think our party turned out to be a success! Here are a few photos for you to enjoy. I'm loving my new camera.



After our party we went out on 7th Ave. That was fun seeing as it was our first time out in our neighborhood! On Sunday Blake and I headed up to Hell's Kitchen. We walked through Time Square. We had lunch at a really cute pub, which was delicious. We then headed over to Intrepid. There we saw a lot of cool airplanes, got to go on a submarine that carried nuclear weapons during the Cold War. The beds on it were so insane. I'm not even sure how they got in them, and how they didn't bonk their heads each and every day when they woke up. It was a beautiful sunny day so we got great views of Jersey. We could even see the Statue of Liberty! After that we headed to Washington Square Park because neither of us had ever been there. We wanted to see the Arch. We took some photos and headed over to the Pourhouse which is a KU and Chiefs bar in the city. Blake took some photos for his internship and we headed home. That night we relaxed and, much like last time, the morning came all too soon. Blake had to head back to KC and I had to go back to work. I miss him already. Here are some photos. There will be more to come next weekend as my sisters and mom come to town! YAY!



Those are the beds. WOW. Teensy. Now, these last few photos are just because I want to share them.

New York City First

I had another New York City first today. I had to hold the train doors open for myself. Yeah, I know. It may seem miniscule to a NYC native, but that was interesting for me! I've seen it in the movies, and now I can say that I've officially done it.

While writing this, I had another first. I just heard a huge cat/dog/creature fight. Loudest cat I've ever heard. Hands down.

I also purchased my first dslr camera today. You know what that means... MORE PICS! I know you're excited. I bought it so that I can take photos of my niece when she comes, but I figured I'd go ahead and purchase it now so that I can take photos in NYC while I am here as well. I can't wait to practice with my new toy!

Have a good day. Stay cool if you're in NYC, stay warm if your in Kansas and stay awesome everywhere.

72 Hours Never Seemed Shorter

This past weekend I hopped on my always-delayed-Frontier flight out of LGA and headed back to my roots. Because my wonderful fiance is the man (of my dreams), he was at the airport to pick me up with my sweet dauger Macy!

She remembered me, of course. I was very thankful for that. I am a bit of a worrier, and being that Macy can't figure out how to look at the screen when Blake and I Skype, I thought maybe Macy wouldn't recognize me. I was wrong! She loved me as much as ever. It took her about 2 minutes to warm up to me. I miss that sweet girl so much. I can't wait until Blake, Macy and I get to live together! Oh that time will come soon enough... Until then, let's get you caught up on the weekend!

Friday morning I woke up early and headed to VZW. I had to show of my ring obvs! I loved catching up with co-workers and getting caught up on VZW goings-on. I feel so out of the loop now that I am no longer working for the company. I miss it! After visiting for a while, I headed to Nicci and Brad's apartment. Man, it is nice! I couldn't help but think, "damn, this would cost 5 G's a month in NYC." I am so jealous of their place, but I mean I love our place in NYC. Nic and I went to Global Cafe on Mass St. for breakfast. It was delicious! After breakfast, I headed home and then to my grandma's house!

It was nice to visit with her and show off my ring some more. She told me how excited she was to have Blake in the family. I am so lucky that I found such a great guy that my family loves so much. At grandma's we raided her closet! I got some great vintage blazers that were my moms. I love them. After g-ma's house, Mom, Aubs and I went to Jen's salon to get my hair done!

Jen and I got to catch up, which was obvs great. We gave Jen my mom's old leather jacket for her birthday because I knew she would love it! I left there with a great head of hair and met Blake at home.

I went back to VZW to visit more co-workers before dinner in Lawrence. Blake, Kate, Jimmy and I had dinner at Bigg's BBQ. I got to meet Blake's boss which was nice because I've heard a lot about him. I was so spent from not being able to sleep the night before that I was ready for bed at 10pm. So that's what we did. Well... Blake started a movie and I fell asleep.

Saturday Blake and I went to visit Hannah Hashman and my aunt before we headed to the Homecoming game. It was great to see friends in Lawrence, but the game was not so great. That night Blake and I went back to Kate and Jimmy's house. We had a chill night there... well everyone else did... I was still having post-game fun.

Sunday we had lunch at Blake's parents house with his parents, my parents, his grandmother and brother. It was a fun in-law lunch. Again, I am so lucky to have found someone with such a great family that I am so happy to be a part of. We even figured out that Linda might watch my niece when my mom goes out of town!

Speaking of niece, I couldn't be more excited. I am literally thrilled to be an aunt and I just cannot wait until I am ACTUALLY an aunt rather than just talking about it. I am getting myself a nice camera so I can be the baby's paparazzi!

Sunday evening I had to head home. It was all too soon. I will say that as much I am loving New York City, Kansas is my home. I am happy to be coming back to Kansas soon enough.

Speaking of New York, things are going well for me here. I am enjoying both of my jobs. As I think I've already told you, I'm learning a lot. I am so glad I decided to come. Katy, Lisa and I hang out regularly. I really like our apartment and our living situation. It's so fun. I'll miss living with them when I'm gone!

Thanks for getting caught up, and I'll be writing to you soon!

And with the drop of a knee...

Everything changes!

I could shout it from the mountain tops. I could have shouted it from the Empire State Building if I hadn't been in complete shock! I'M ENGAGED! I am so excited. I'm pretty sure I could not be more excited than I am. So now, to get you excited too, I'll tell you the story!

But first, a little background... I want to keep you waiting! Before I left for the city, Blake and I sat down and chose a weekend for him to come visit me. We both were prepared for our long distance relationship as we had done it once before while I studied in Spain, and we knew we would want to see each other as much as possible. To make things easier on Blake after I told him I had for sure decided to move, we bought a ticket so we knew for sure when we would see each other again. I was very much looking forward to his visit, but of course, he was delayed! It wasn't too bad though because Lisa and Allison were both flying out on the plane that Blake was flying in on so they kept me company for the majority of his three hour delay! When he finally got here, I was so excited to take him back to my apartment so I could give him a real tour of our place!

I also had another surprise for the Blakester! I didn't have to go to work on Friday so we would get to spend the whole day together. I thought this was great, but I came to find out Blake thought, "oh shit!" He had planned on doing some preparation that day, but in my world of proposal oblivion, I hadn't planned for that!

Friday we just ran around Park Slope and hung out. We had planned to go to the Empire State Building that night, but we postponed it for Saturday. Saturday morning we woke up. Well.. let me be clear. Blake woke up, and then thoroughly annoyed me until I woke up. By the time we got up and around it was 11 so we headed to Manhattan to watch the KU game. That was depressing so we left there to go shopping. Blake was oddly cranky that day, (I think he was under a little stress ;)) but we had a great day. Blake helped me finally find some boots that I have been hunting for! After I found my boots, we walked up Fifth Avenue and went to the Empire State Building. The line was sooo long! We waited for at least an hour and a half before we got up to the top, but I can now say it was totally worth it.

Once we got to the top of the Empire State Building, it was around 6:30. It was sunset. The city looked so pretty! I was a little shaky because it was chilly. Blake was a little shaky for his own reasons. We had made our way around 3/4 of the building and stopped to look out to the east. Blake mumbled something and the conversation went as follows:

V: What? Did you say 'do you know what would look pretty up here?'
B: No
V: Oh. Well I was going to say a big fat diamond.

It was the perfect setup!

And as I turned around to giggle at my comment, I noticed Blake was not towering over me as usual. I heard, "Babe. I am ready to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" So the obvious reply was, "uhhh yeah!" Then Blake stood up and gave me a million kisses! I was in total shock. I had been teasing him about proposing because let's face it, we're made for each other, but he had said literally the day before, "Val, seriously, no. Not 'til after I graduate." I think he was trying to keep me off his trail and it worked!

Once I had my beautiful ring on my finger I was so afraid to be up there. I just knew I was going to drop it! Blake called his mom, and we spent a little more time looking at the city. It wasn't until we were about to go down that I actually realized what had happened and started to tear up. My heart was racing, much like it does every time I look down at my left hand and see my ring. I have never worn a ring on that finger specifically so that when I got engaged, it was even more special. It feels so weird to have a ring there!

Now I'll keep the rest short, because I know that nothing compares to that. That night we went to dinner in Chelsea with Katy, friend and assistant wedding planner, and to Norwood. We had a champagne toast to start our engagement, but we headed home early. I had had a big day and was ready to snuggle up in my cozy bed... I mean futon. Sunday Blake and I went down to see the Statue of Liberty, hung out in Battery Park and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a perfect first day as an engaged couple. Alex took us to City Island to dinner that night. Blake and Alex are obvs bffs, so they love hanging out. City Island was a nice escape from the city. After dinner we headed to LaGuardia to pick up Lisa. It was nice to have her home!

Sadly, the next morning Blake had to leave at 5, and I had to be back to work. I was wishing my weekend with Blake could last a little longer, but I had to get back to my real life... in New York City! I still love that. I'll post a pic of the ring, but I don't think my iPhone does it justice! It's perfect for me. I am in love with it. More so, I am absolutely 100% in love with Blake. No one makes me happier. No one makes me giggle like he does. No one balances me out quite like he can. No one can make me feel better when I am mad, sad, stressed. No one ever, ever will. I used to be a little afraid of spending the rest of my life with one person, but now I'm more afraid of what my life would be like if I didn't get to spend it with the one person that I care about the most. Yeah, yeah, mushy I know, but if ever I can get away with a lovey dovey blog post, this is it! I'm in love, and I fall more and more in love every day. Signing off as the future Mrs. Kasselman, which is still weird, but I have two more years before I have to get used to that! Here are the pics.

Me right after Blake proposed.

Close up of my ring!