Birthday/Anniversary Weekend.

You know what happens when your anniversary falls three days before you birthday? You have a weekend jam-packed with amazingness, that’s what.

Festivities started on Thursday with a trip to NYC to go see the New York Rangers play. Had you told me a year ago that I’d be excited for a hockey game, I would’ve laughed in your face. Yet I was so thrilled, actually, that I kept forgetting the reason we were going to the game: to celebrate mine and Erik’s first anniversary, which was also on Thursday.

At least I got to see Lundqvist during warm-ups.

The game was so much fun. My favorite player – goalie Henrik Lundqvist – came out for warm-ups but then we realized he wouldn’t be playing because he’d be playing in a game the following night. I was thoroughly bummed out. But the evening was still exciting; the game went into overtime and the Rangers won it about three minutes in.

So excited!

Friday was mostly a low-key day. We slept in and ran errands for my party (ordering sandwiches and picking up beer and wine). Then, at my request, we decided to go ice skating with our friends at a local outdoor rink. Despite getting tired and dehydrated after an hour, it was still fantastic. I love ice skating because I find it so relaxing, and being on an outdoor rink made it that much better.

After spending a little too long lazily laying in bed Saturday morning, we finally got up and prepped for my party. People started arriving around 5pm and it was an absolute blast. It was so great because almost everyone I’d invited was able to make it; catching up with everyone and playing Wii games with them is always the best.

College girls, minus Danielle who was busy interviewing for residencies!

The boys, with whom I always neglect to take pictures. That's Kyle (Nat's fiance) and Matt (Melissa's fiance) in case the faces don't look familiar. They're both wonderful guys.

Being the birthday girl meant that everyone kept “pressuring” me to drink (it's in quotes because I gladly obliged). Every time my wine glass was low, my friends offered to fill it up – sometimes to the actual brim of the glass. With the exception of three glasses had by Melissa and Natalie, I drank the whole (large) bottle of wine myself. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel that drunk, just really sleepy by the time everyone headed out.

So classy. But really, I drank from a glass for most of the night - this was just for dramatic effect.

I can't say that Sunday morning was particularly fun, but it wasn't too bad. Meaning, there was minimal nausea/stomach upset; instead, I was exhausted and had a headache. The majority of my day was spent laying in bed with Erik, watching TV and just hanging out. He was kind enough to go get Dunkin Donuts for me at my request. We had Chili’s To-Go for dinner with my family (because I was not up for a dinner out, which was the original plan) and cupcakes to celebrate my actual birthday.

This weekend was a perfect kick-off to my year. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday or anniversary celebration; I'm so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.

How was your weekend?

superbowl ramblings.

Before college, I never paid attention to the actual game during the Superbowl. I was more interested in the silly commercials and pigging out on onion dip and chips. Because of the massive junk food consumption and resulting bellyache, I often thought that there should be an official school holiday the day after the game.

In my freshman year at college, I spent the evening with my three best friends at the time. We muted the game itself and tried to pay enough attention to turn the sound back on to watch the commercials. Then when the game was over, we ran to the convenience store on campus and back in record time to grab snacks before the newest episode of Grey's Anatomy (when it was still good...).

In sophomore year, my friends and I were the fresh new executive board for the Residence Hall Association. Our idea was a good one - serve free pizza and hot wings while showing the game on two projector screens and a big-screen television - but whichever teams were playing that year, there was little interest. Well, other than in the food. People lined up to get their pizza and went back up to their rooms. That's what you get when you hold it in the main lounge of the freshman dorms.

Junior year was the best Superbowl experience I've had to date. The Giants were playing and I was decked out in a bright blue shirt with curling ribbon in my hair (the dance team-er in me never died). We had learned from the prior year's mistakes and had ordered triple the amounts of pizza and hot wings, making sure to stow a pie or two away so we actually had something to eat. All day, we made sure the projectors worked and the sound was set up correctly. We duct-taped all the wires to the floor and set up the dingy tables, sofas and chairs. The room filled quickly with people, who promptly lined up to get their food. They were so ravenous by halftime that they were watching when exactly we left the room to pick up the second batch of pizzas. And although I paid literally no attention to the football season preceding the big game, I was giddy with excitement as (mostly) everyone cheered on the Giants. It was an incredibly exciting game, due mostly to the spirit of everyone in the room. Hands down, it was one of my favorite college experiences.

Since then, my Superbowl festivities have been rather calm. Last year I was sick in bed, not making it back to school in time for The Boy's party (for which I had actually made Superbowl-themed cupcakes). And today? I'm relaxing with my family, eating onion dip and chips again. Except this time I also have a Smirnoff Ice in hand. Which makes it infinitely more awesome than five years ago.

world series, here we come.

I am by no means a full-fledged sports fan. While I generally understand how baseball and football work (the only two sports I like to watch), the intricacies are completely lost on me. I don't necessarily follow a certain team to the extent where I watch their first game of the season to their last. If you asked me somebody's stats or how they compare to other players, I wouldn't have an answer for you.

Basically, I'm your stereotypical girl watching sports. I'm not as bad as those people who confuse terms for each sport, but I'm close.

All that being said, I have a soft spot in my heart for local teams, specifically the Giants and the Yankees. There's absolutely no basis for my loyalty. It's not family tradition. It's simply the fact that they're from New York. I'm not really sure if that makes me lame or not.

When the Giants went to the Superbowl two years ago, I was beyond thrilled. Why? No real reason. I hadn't watched the season at all, I was just excited to see them in the Superbowl. Being a member of my Residence Hall Association (RHA shout-out!), we threw a huge party in the freshmen dorm main lounge, putting up two large projector screens to show the game and offering free pizza and hot wings. Needless to say, we had a large attendance, because what college student doesn't love free food!?

I spent the morning putting my look together, debating between jeans and leggings to go with my bright blue shirt from Kohls that I'd purchased (on clearance!) just for the game. I put curling ribbon - red and blue, of course - in my pulled-back hair.

I forgot to mention the blue EARRINGS, too. I go all-out, people.

I watched that game with so much excitement, feeding off of the energy of my friends who were all rooting for the Giants as well. It was just too much fun not to. Had I gone to that party and not cared who won, I would've been bored to tears. And I will say that since then, I've followed the Giants just a little more, making an effort to catch some of their games on TV.

But back to the main reason I'm posting in the first place - the Yankees won the ALCS and are heading to the World Series! After the game last night, I may or may not have jumped up and down on my bed, done a happy dance, then pumped music too loudly in celebration. Despite having paid little attention to them during the majority of the season, I started watching the ALCS games, knowing that they were a step away from the World Series. It was so fun being a part of the excitement as friend after friend posted Yankees-based Facebook statuses.

Now that they've made it, my adrenaline is running so high. I'm TOTALLY STOKED for the World Series, even more so considering it's Phillies versus Yankees (which, on a side note, is also totally scary considering that New Jersey is filled with die-hard fans of either team who would hate for the other team to win. Gulp). Let's go New York!