Why April 1 was a sweet day

I had a lovely experience this afternoon. It was one of those New York moments that you absolutely have to write down so that you remember it when you wonder why on earth you put up with this place.



I left work early to go to a doctor’s appointment on the Upper West Side. I took the train to one of my old subway stops and walked up the steps just as school was letting out, peppering the sidewalks with high school students flirting away. Seeing this scene in the afternoon light reminded me of graduate school. I would take a quick run on the same streets, into the park and around the reservoir in the afternoon to clear my head. The freedom that comes with a student’s schedule!

I finished up at my doctor’s appointment, then I dipped into a hardware store that sits around the corner from my first apartment in the city. I walked the aisles looking for a spray bottle, but I instead remembered a weekend nearly three years ago that I went to that same hardware store to build bookshelves, feeling so proud that I could do that on my own. (Stubborn independence is an empowering side effect from divorce).

After leaving the hardware store (with no spray bottle), I started making my way to the subway stop. I strolled by a building where my friend Natalie lived before she up and moved to Canada. I smiled as I walked by Carmine’s, where my husband and I had our wedding dinner with our family and closest friends almost one year ago. A few blocks later, I looked up at The Melar building where another friend, Kelsea, used to live. She and I only crossed paths in the city for about four months, but Kelsea K. is one of those people you connect with immediately and love forever.

As I approached the subway stairs, I felt so much gratitude: gratitude that I get to live in this city, gratitude that I have memories here and gratitude thinking, dreaming of what’s to come.

Jenna Bush Hager let me in her home

I'm still banging on the doors of our anchors and correspondents for "At Home with TODAY," and in the last few weeks, I've been able to visit with Jenna Bush Hager and Jill Martin as they showed me and my fab photographer their homes.



Want to go inside? No problem. Get a tour of Jenna's favorite room - her daughter's nursery - and Jill's favorite room - her (incredible) closet. 



I can't believe I get paid to hang out with fabulous women. More to come...

Photos: Samantha Okazaki/TODAY

Running in the rain is not always pretty

Saturday morning was not pretty.

[caption id="attachment_1408" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Me with my running group...before the rain.[/caption]

I'm doing something crazy on November 2. I'm lacing up my running shoes and running a marathon with a bunch of other crazies in New York City. I've been running with a group in preparation and on Saturday, our coaches had us down for a 14-mile run in Central Park. Central Park is beautiful. Central Park is also a six-mile loop of hills, but ain't no thang. I've been running that green beast for two years, so I showed up Saturday morning ready to run two-and-a-half loops of the park - and with the crazy idea that hey, I'll throw in another two and run 16 miles. Yeah, that's what I'm going to do. (Running makes you crazy.)

But here's one thing we didn't know was coming. Rain. Pouring rain. Not just like, oh it's raining out. It was a DOWNPOUR, as if God just opened the clouds and continually dumped buckets on that park for two hours. My girlfriend and I started laughing after six miles as we trudged up a hill sloshing through rivers of water. After eight miles, we weren't laughing. We were quiet as we focused on trying to think of anything else besides feeling our toes sloshing in our socks. The fourteenth mile? My body just wanted to have a good cry. (Yeah, that 16-mile thought was saved for another day.) Oh, the best part: I wore a white bra with a white shirt. #wettshirtcontestwinner

I'm now typing this a few hours later wearing glorious sweatpants, no bra (which was pretty much how I ran errands today and I don't regret it), sipping orange juice and praying that I don't get sick. Oh, and that November 2 brings partly cloudy skies, 65 degrees and no rain. Join me in that prayer, please.

New series on TODAY

The TODAY show team gets to go inside your home every morning, but now the tables have turned.

I am knocking on the doors of our anchors and correspondents to bring viewers into their homes in a new TODAY original series, "At Home with TODAY." Check out the first post in the series - and prepare to have major kitchen envy - as Natalie Morales welcomes you to her favorite room in her New Jersey brownstone.

[caption id="attachment_1403" align="aligncenter" width="730"] Credit: Lance Booth/TODAY[/caption]

Coastline beach pics

A light drizzle fell upon the city last night as I walked home from work. It was just enough to make you want to get home, put on your sweats, cook some pasta and snuggle up for the evening. Which is exactly what I did. And while I love that, I'm already missing summer a bit. We didn't make it to the beach nearly as much as we had hoped, so I will have to live vicariously through these stunning pictures by German-based photographer Bernhard Lang.



He captured the colorful photographs high above the Adriatic coastline in Italy, showing rows and rows of seaside resorts’ beach umbrellas.



“The message might be to show the impact of human beings on the natural environment,” Lang said about the photographs. “On the other side, the birds-eye view reveals that we are just small creatures, not as important as we think we are.”



I would love to blow one of these images up and hang it in our apartment to get us through the colder months ahead!

Photos: Bernhard Lang

Jared & George

We have settled into a specific weekend routine this summer. I wake up at the crack of dawn to run for a few hours (marathon training). We meet up at our favorite bagel spot, run errands, then usually settle at home for a nap and maybe hit up a movie later. It's been nice...but we feel like we haven't been taking advantage of all the amazingness our city has to offer.

It was time for a change.

So yes, I still woke up earlier than any sane person should last Saturday and I still ran for miles, and I still hit up our favorite bagel spot for a raisin bagel with walnut tofutti, but then we decided to stop at The Metropolitan Museum of Art to pay George a visit.

"Washington Crossing the Delaware" is breathtaking to see in real life. We stared at it for 10 minutes, then tried peeling ourselves away to go to another exhibit, but I kept coming back to George. It's inspiring...and quite humbling. As we walked away, Jared and I promised one another that we would come see him again soon.

And we of course had to talk a stroll on The Met's rooftop before heading home.



That may be one of my favorite spots in the city.  It feels as if you could dance across the treetops, hopping from one to another. It's magical.

(Here are a few tips if you care to give the rooftop a visit!)

 

Baby George reacts to royal baby news

Duchess Kate is pregnant. This tweet is everything.

https://twitter.com/Charles_HRH/status/508926485491879936

Changing my name

I am in the throes of the name change process which has me feeling all sorts of things.

John Mayer poster

In five minutes on a weeknight, our house became a home.

Airstream trailer makeover

I currently manage TODAY.com's Home section and have been dreaming of featuring an Airstream trailer makeover for months. Finally, I came across the perfect one. A California couple purchased it in January and at the time, it was in dire condition. We're talking flat tires, broken windows, filled with trash and it even had "green slime."

[caption id="attachment_1349" align="aligncenter" width="833"] Credit: The Local Branch[/caption]

With one month and $3,000, the couple turned it around into a cozy home that they now live in full-time. You won't believe what it looks like today. See it here. 

Hitched

We did it!

On May 3, 2014 in New York City, Jared and I became husband and wife. And all I can say about that is: phew.

I had so much anxiety in the last few weeks of our engagement at the reality that I was going to be in a marriage again. And you know what?

There was nothing to worry about.

The moment I saw Jared on our wedding day, I felt such an overwhelming feeling of peace. We could not stop smiling at one another the entire morning, and as soon as we were pronounced husband and wife, I tangibly felt a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. I had a moment with my mother after the wedding and all I could say was, “I feel so much lighter.” That battle of “Should I get married again? and “Is this really the right thing to do?” and even the tag that “I am divorced” was — poof — gone. It was the lightest I had felt in a long time. I am so grateful.

We are now two months in to this whole party and honestly, it has been so much easier than I expected. Jared assured me leading up to our wedding day that very little would change from dating to marriage, and aside from moving into his bachelor pad and a few other aspects of our relationship  (ahem), there hasn’t been that much of a difference. No surprises. No secrets. We just laugh a lot more now…. and make mango smoothies every night before we go to bed.

You guys, there was nothing to worry about.

The Week of Our Wedding

This post is more meant for my journal, but that little book is packed away in a box, so we're sending it out on the blogosphere for friends, strangers and potential employers to read. Hey everyone!

The last five months have been a complete whirlwind. Well, let's face it. The last three years have been a whirlwind, but ever since Jared put a ring on it, life seemed to slam on that gas pedal.

I sit here now typing in my Upper West Side apartment on the week of our wedding. On Thursday morning, the movers will come and move my things to Jared's apartment. I'll wave goodbye to my view of the most charming water tower you have ever seen, blow a kiss to Matt Damon's (former) building across the street and close the door to my little piece of Manhattan. I have lived here longer than I have lived anywhere in the last 10 years, and this little spot has been so special to me during the last two years. I started graduate school with this home. I worked late, late, late nights typing away in this room. I dressed up for dates, rode out a hurricane, collapsed on the bed after red-eye flights, finished graduate school, interviewed for jobs, accepted my position at NBC and so much more surrounded by these walls. This place is a piece of me and I ache to say goodbye.

Hours after moving, my momma will land, followed by the rest of our families, including my brother all the way from China and our dear friends from California to Mississippi. Jared and I will be family by the weeks' end. And that is just crazy to me sometimes.

One thing my first marriage taught me is that marriage is crazy. I walked away thinking I never, ever wanted to do that again. And those memories still tug at me. So why go for another round?

Because Jared is my best friend and I want a family with him. I see that. I want that. And God willing, that's an upcoming chapter in my life. Those tidbits are the sweet parts of doing this. I also know that the painful growing pains, they will in fact be growing pains. I am stepping into a lifetime of practicing choosing love and compassion in countless circumstances.

I don't think I feel as put together as I thought I would be at this point. I'm still figuring out how to take care of Amy and have a few walls remaining from round one. The engagement has been mostly fun, special and loving, but the last two weeks have been particularly difficult as anxieties set in. But I'm also marrying a guy who is as patient as they come. He has stood on the sidelines for two-plus years waiting to step up.

Marriage can be terrifying, but this week (and for weeks, months, decades to come), I am choosing to be brave. I am choosing love, compassion, courage, hope all wrapped up in that tall, sweet man of mine. 

Update on the insanity

Aside from my relationship status, a lot has changed in the last 30 days! So a quick run down on the insanity seems to be in order.

First of all, I am now a master of journalism! And I will only be addressed as such. Kidding, kidding. But I did finish my graduate program in mid-December and can (finally) check that dream off of my bucket list (yes, I have a bucket list and yes, getting a master's degree in journalism is on there). During the ceremony, I walked through the doors and immediately spotted my parents with Jared. It all felt so much more significant than a piece of paper and a new line on the resume. When I was living at my parent's house a few years ago, I would wake up early, say good morning to my dad as he read the news in his office and head to the basement, where my mom had set up a study area to cram for the GRE. Even when I was accepted and had moved to New York, she would listen to me vent and even sometimes cry from graduate school exhaustion. And Jared, oh Jared. At one point last winter the poor guy was giving me pep talks on an hourly basis. We both still talk about a night in March when he called me from the Wall Street subway stop to find I was having a breakdown, and the sweet man gave me some serious tough love. That guy won't let me get away with doubting myself. Graduate school was the hardest thing I have ever done. But I did it! With a lot of help, I did it.



And I have a job! Four days after walking across the stage to get my degree, I started working as an associate editor for TODAY.com. The job is better than anything I hoped for moving to New York, so I'm still pinching myself. Follow me on Twitter to see what I'm working on there.

And yes, I sing this song to myself daily as I walk to 30 Rock.

Cheese Wedding Cake

Jared and I have barely dipped our toes into planning our wedding...But I spotted this stroke of genius earlier today before work. A cheese wedding cake!



Would you do something like this? While I would go for this any day,  Jared and I are thinking of ordering our guests our favorite red velvet cheesecakes from here. During our first year in NYC, we would use any excuse to stop by and pick one up to share.

Hercules

We've been hit by Hercules over here! And he's beautiful. At least he is when I'm sitting at my window with a mug of tea in the middle of the night watching it fall. Commuting to work in an hour may be a little less beautiful, but nothing my boots and I can't handle.

Have a great first of weekend of 2014! Jared and I are headed to midtown tonight to watch the Orange Bowl (Buckeyes!). Tomorrow, lunch in Brooklyn with girlfriends and "Scandal." Lots and lots of "Scandal." Stay warm and safe out there!

Resolutions in three words

It's the second day of the new year. Are you already slipping on your resolutions? I schlepped to Trader Joes in the rain earlier this week to stock up on fruits and vegetables (trying to recover from my graduate school diet, which was....less than stellar). Here's a little trick I read about last night that could help keep us all in line!

Chris Brogan chooses three words to focus on his New Year's resolutions.

The idea is that you choose three words that will remind you of the steps you want to take to achieve your goals. So for example, if your resolution is to lose weight and you want to do this by eating more plant-based foods, you might choose the word "green."

"The words you choose will go past being a simple goal and will become part of the way you identify yourself," he writes, "and thus, a guiding light for your efforts."

I tried this with my (very long) list of 2014 resolutions and came up with: vegetables, one and weekly. Any guesses what my goals for the new year are?

Happy New Year!

Happy 2014, friends!

A year ago, I predicted 2013 would be a year of hard work.

I was spot on.

But folks, the hard work paid off and I'm kicking off 2014 with a full-time job at the "Today" show, engaged (what?!) and tickled to still be living in the greatest city in the world. It feels very surreal. Too good to be true, frankly. But I'm taking deep breaths and trying to soak it all in.

I think 2014 is going to be about setting new beginnings, new goals, new chapters. Here's to a new year, folks! I hope it's a grand one.

(Photo: WeHeartIt.com)

Engaged

While on vacation last week in Mexico, Jared asked me if I would marry him.

And I said yes. 

New York Print

I have loved this Sugar Paper print ever since I spotted in it one of Jillian Harris' rooms.

Remembering past falls

I took a nice, long, overdue walk through Central Park Sunday morning. The yellow leaves were falling from the trees and being swept away by the wind. It was cloudy and drizzling just a tad-enough to make you want to cuddle under the covers and eat some sort of carbohydrate made with pumpkin. I love this time of year.

Fall has become a rather sentimental period for me. The colors, the changes, that crispness in the air...I find myself continually taken back to this time two years ago. It reminds me of packing up my apartment and selling my reupholstered green wingback chair that I had once imagined my future children sitting in. It reminds me of hugging my ex-husband goodbye after signing the last of the divorce papers.  He wanted to remain friends, but I knew deep down it was the last time I would ever see him. It reminds me of sitting down to dinner with my parents and sister, who graciously let me move back into my childhood home for a year. It reminds me of spending Thanksgiving in Cancun with my mom, aunt and uncle. My aunt had insisted that I join her on her annual Mexico vacation after she found out about the divorce. We laughed so much during that trip. I still remember my mom and I giggling in the airport security line at the TSA agent who was more like a drill sergeant. It reminds me of flipping through vocab. flash cards in my cubicle at work as I studied for the GRE and imagined a future in New York. It reminds me of going to my friend's wedding in Utah. I hadn't told any of my friends about the divorce at that point as I didn't want to put a damper on the day. I remember driving my rental car to the wedding location and giving myself a pep talk. "If you can hold it together for the wedding," I told myself, "then you can cry as much as you need to tonight when you're back in the hotel room." It reminds me of the overwhelming amount of love and support that I was shown by so many people during that fall season. I tear up just thinking about it.

Oddly, I miss that fall so much. There is an amazing sense of clarity that comes in challenging times. I knew exactly what mattered and didn't care much to spend my energy on anything that didn't. I have tried so hard to hold on to that clarity, but I find it often gets muddled. To be honest, that really terrifies me. Here's to continually being grateful for our hard times, for grasping on to a clear perspective, recognizing what really matters and not spending energy on anything that doesn't.