Tag Archives: Dave

White Rose

What a weekend it’s been! I returned to San Diego on Monday for a few days (48 hours to be exact) before I jet set back to the East Coast on Thursday. Call me crazy, but I’ll tell you I’m having the time of my life living bi-coastally.

I am currently recovering from an amazing weekend spent at Dave’s fraternity formal in New Jersey.  In March, I was  invited to Sigma Nu’s White Rose Formal – this formal not only celebrated the chapter and its accomplishments but also the 115th Anniversary of the founding of the fraternity. It was a very big deal and was hosted at a beautiful resort in the mountains.

I flew out of San Diego on Thursday morning and stayed with Phebe for our typical girl’s night in the city. The first thing we did after dropping off my luggage, was grab a slice of dollar pizza. I hadn’t eaten all day and since she had yet to find shoes for formal, I knew that I needed some fuel before embarking on one of our shopping adventures. We rushed to Macy’s and couldn’t find anything, but we ended finding some cute white heels with studs around the ankles at Aldo.

The following morning, I had an interview uptown and was also able to meet up with my old bosses, which was great . I was very fortunate I had the free time to squeeze in the interview and see everybody! Later that day, Phebe and I headed to Hoboken with all of our gear ready for formal weekend. We got to the house before the boys were done with practice, so we dropped off our bags and beelined straight to the store to grab some snacks to fill up the cooler for the weekend. A cooler, you ask? Yes, you read that right. Right after Dave asked me to formal,  I came to learn that it is a fraternity tradition for a girl to decorate and fill a cooler for her date to show her appreciation. Most people know that I have close to ZERO experience or skill with a paintbrush, but I was determined to decorate it to the best of my abilities with some of his favorite things (Volleyball, Beaches, The Chargers and Bills)  and surprise him with it.  Even though I struggled tremendously with the artistic aspect of decorating the cooler, I would like to believe I excelled in filling it with goodies, transporting it 3000 miles across country, and answering a million questions from other curious flight passengers. I’m in the process of making a time-lapse video and  blog of how one should go about making a cooler – I’ll upload that as soon as I finish it!  After the boys were done with practice, Dave and I went out to 1 Republik for dinner and later to Tally Ho to play some Jenga with one of his friends. It is weird to think that it had been nearly two months since we had last seen each other, but we picked things up right where we left off.

On Saturday morning we got up relatively early to head to the resort so we could make our tee time at noon. We carpooled with one of Dave’s fraternity brothers, Chris, and his girlfriend Lexi, who also happened to be our golf partners for the day. We arrived at Mineral Springs about 20 minutes before our tee time so we headed right to the club house instead of check in. To be honest, I was pretty worried about my golf game (or lack thereof), but I was assured that we would be playing best ball and it would be fun. Much to my surprise, we had A BLAST on the golf course playing the first nine holes. By the end of the round, we had a little less than two hours until we had to be on the buses headed to the formal venue. One quick cat nap later, we started to get ready and hopped on the bus. This was my first formal fraternity function, and I was beyond impressed with everything! I loved seeing the guys and their dates dressed up and looking dapper in suits, learning about the tradition, and meeting current and former brothers of the fraternity. In addition, the Gamma Delta chapter (Steven’s)  was awarded the Rock Chapter Award  for excellence in pretty much all that they do. Congrats guys! Overall, the weekend was magical – we had perfect weather and danced the night away – a perfect ending to say the least!

Sunday morning, I returned with Phebe to the city, while the boys practiced. I decided to meet up with my former roommate Erin in the park after grabbing bagels from Tompkins Square Bagels – it had been months since we had caught up. After the boys finished practice, I headed back to Hoboken to meet up with Dave and grab some dinner. As some of you know, I LOVE trying new restaurants, so Dave took me to this great hole in the wall called Tony Baloney’s . I’m not the biggest sandwich fan, but between Vito’s and Tony’s, I think I’ve changed my mind. I ordered the Kaka Sub, while Dave munched on the Revel Boy and split the Shitfaced fries (absolutely delicious). Tony’s is one of my new favorite restaurants and definitely recommend trying it!

I headed back to the airport on Monday afternoon, but unfortunately my flight was delayed nearly four hours and I didn’t get home until past midnight. On a positive note, the flight attendant that I bonded with over the cooler (on the original the trip over), sat next to me before boarding and asked about my weekend!

I had a great weekend at formal and can’t wait for this upcoming weekend, where I’ll be catching Dave and his team, the #1 ranked Steven’s Volleyball team host and compete in the NCAA Championships.

 

 

Surprise!

If somebody were to ask what the three most important things about me are they’d be (in no order of importance): 1. I love to workout   2. My friends and family are the most important thing in my life and 3. I LOVE surprises, both being surprised and surprising other people.

Long story short, I bought myself a plane ticket to NY to surprise my old roommate, Erin, for her birthday, celebrate Galentines Day with Phebe, and see Dave play some volleyball. It was a whirlwind of trip, but a much-needed trip back to frigid temperatures to see my closest friends.

Here’s some  quick highlights of my long weekend in the city that never sleeps:

Saturday: landed at JFK and headed straight to Phebe’s in the East Village.  After indulging ourselves with See’s Candies, we headed over to my old apartment to surprise Erin. SURPRISE Erin! Cue lots of hugs and “Is this real life?”  a la David After Dentist. Head back to Phebe’s place and get ready to go to Hair of the Dog on the LES.

Sunday: Wake up and engage in our old “habits”. We head to Coles to workout and watch the men’s basketball game, then I head to Hoboken see Dave.

Monday: Brunch with Erin at Cafe Gitane followed by a workout at Coles with Phebe. Cafe Gitane is a cute French Moroccan place that is most known for its Avocado Toast. It is absolutely divine – a must try on my list.

Tuesday: Erin’s Birthday!  Lunch with my former marketing professor, Ted Philipakos, at local Greek restaurant, Ovelia,  in Queens to catch up.

Wednesday: Head to Hoboken to hang with Dave. Grab lunch at my favorite Italian Deli, Vito’s (I ordered the Vito). Watch Dave and the rest of his team destroy SUNY New Paltz in three straight sets with Phebe.

Thursday: Breakfast with Phebe and Etan at Hoboken Gourmet Company. Head back to California. Cue tears and nostalgia.

 

It was a quick trip, but I’m so glad I was able to see my friends and surprise Erin! Hopefully I’ll be back before graduation!

No Sleep Till Brooklyn

New York owns a very special place in my heart. It’s the place where I feel most alive, I feel like I belong. The city is a playground that I haven’t quite discovered, and Brooklyn is one of those “undiscovered” places. Though I have walked the bridge a few times, Dave had not ventured over to Brooklyn via the bridge and I had always wanted to walk it at night so we decided  to kill two birds with one stone and embark on a Megventure across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Though it was late January, the weather was tolerable and the bridge wasn’t too crowded, which made for great photos. After our trek across the bridge and through DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), both of us found ourselves craving some pizza. I had tried to eat at Grimaldi’s a few times before but had never been able get in, so I recommended that we try to grab a table. Grimaldi’s is located right next to the Brooklyn Bridge and is home to the best slice of Margherita pizza I have ever had in my life. As soon as we walked in, we were seated upstairs, but reminded that it was cash only. Between the two of us we had 16 bucks, enough for a small pizza, generous tip, and some great memories. The small ended up being the perfect size for the two of us and we gobbled down the extra thin pie before venturing back to the city.

Graduation

I can’t believe I’m officially done. I know that I’ve been saying that a lot recently, but the truth be told, a lot of things are officially coming to an end.  Mom and Dad flew out to NY to visit for a few days during to the first week of December to celebrate my impending graduation with the President of NYU, John Sexton. Earlier this Spring, I took a class with him titled Baseball As A Road to God, and upon hearing of my early graduation, he invited me to a private ceremony in his office.

It was so great to see my parents again and have them be present for this special moment. The best part of the weekend, however, was not actually “graduating”, rather celebrating with my friends and family  at my favorite restaurants including Arturo’s with Dave and Erin, Serafina and Morton’s Grille with Phebe and some local spots with my parents.