Nov 28th-Dec 4th - Being Home & With Friends In NYC

On Wednesday Mike and I ate lunch with Jorge and he gave us presents which was unexpected and not necessary but very sweet. Mike got an elephant carved out of a white and beige Peruvian stone and I got a gorgeous black, grey, cream colored blanket made in Peru!

Later I spent time with my kitty Cookie Dough and then Mike and I met up with my Mom to go shopping. Afterwards we went and got chocolate cake at Friday's mmm!

The next day Mike and I met up with Tony and looked at equipment at Guitar Center. Then I went to dinner with my best friend Liz at Aladdin's Natural Eatery in Pittsford, New York. We had a great dinner catching up and she gave me a gift for signing with FORD Models which I absolutely love!

After dinner we went to St. John Fisher College to watch the Dance Team perform in their Winter Recital and they did a great job! It was Liz's first time watching and not being on stage, and we both miss it a lot!

Friday night was the Scott Miller Salon & Spa annual sale and VIP event so Mike and I stopped by and there were a lot of people there! I ran into photographer Carrie Mateosian and her husband and we caught up which was nice. After the event Mike's family and I went out to eat at Plum Garden Japanese restaurant with a couple from the salon which was nice.

(Me, Helen and Alex at the event)

The next day Mike and I ate lunch together and then I flew back to Manhattan and spent the weekend Christmas shopping. On Monday I packed to leave in a couple of days for my first cruise! At night I went out to eat at Posto with my friend Ritz because it was her birthday on Saturday. We had a good time catching up and eating thin-crust pizza. Glad you had a happy Birthday Ritz!

On Tuesday I met up with my friend Lucy who is a very talented photographer and retoucher. We have done great shoots in the past in Rochester, New York but we had not seen each other since we both moved to Manhattan! It was so nice to meet up and talk about working in the industry. We went to a place called Cafe Orlin and I had amazing pumpkin pancakes with cinnamon frosting!

Later that night my roommates and I watched the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show together. The models, collections and performers were great, as usual!

Nov 19th-Nov 27th - Going Home & Thanksgiving!

On the 19th I packed and flew home to Rochester for Thanksgiving! The next day Mike and I went to go eat at Village Bakery and then went to the salon for him to get a haircut. Wednesday I was home and we went to eat lunch at Natural Oasis and then my Mom and decided to make fall cookies. I found a recipe on Pinterest for caramel apple cookies so we made those and they were delicious!

For dinner Mike's family and I went to Rocco and it was amazing as always! Afterwards Mike and I, his sister and her boyfriend and our friends Maria and Charlie all went to Goodluck to hang out which was nice. 

Thursday was Thanksgiving and it was a beautiful day!

At home I watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and then we went to a friends house for a nice Thanksgiving meal and later we had another great one at Mike's house! They had 19 people over for dinner and his parents and sister made everything! 

I am so thankful for everyone who has been a part of my life. Giving and receiving endless love and support is something I am so blessed to experience. Thank you everyone who is there for me, I am so grateful.

The next morning my Bestie Sarah and I went shopping on Black Friday! We got some cool presents and did not experience the madness that usually occurs, which is good! At night Mike's family and I went to see Life of Pi. I had been so looking forward to it from what I saw in the preview. Some parts were sad which I was not expecting but I thought it was a pretty amazing movie. 

On Saturday we drove to Connecticut to go to my Uncle Austin and Aunt Melissa's house for a family party. We all hung out and played Backgammon and it was so good to see my family! We drove back the next day and then Monday I went running with Mike's Mom and Sister through the park which was cool.

(Instagram effect)

I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned and then Mike and I enjoyed massages at Scott Miller Salon & Spa which was super nice of his parents to treat us to! For dinner Jon's (Mike's Sister's boyfriend) Mom and boyfriend came over and we had a good time. 

November 27th was seven years since I was crowned Miss New York Teen USA! Not a day goes by that I don't think about that great experience and look forward to competing for Miss New York USA and going on to Miss USA and Miss Universe. 

(Latin Fashion Week 2006 in NYC)

That day for lunch Mike and I met up with our friend Charlie at Village Bakery. Then Mike's parents picked up our friend Jorge from the airport and we met them and Mike's family at Tony D's. The guitarist Chet Catello was sitting at the table behind us which was cool. We all had a great time together eating delicious pizza!