Holiday Wishes!

Happy Turkey Day!

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving! For both of us, it was the first time we haven't spent the holiday with family in New York (definitely a little weird) and we definitely missed everyone. We began the day by running in a 5-mile race in Nashville before heading home to begin preparing our little feast. Being the 'Turkey Rookies' that we were, we really enjoyed cooking our first bird. Thanks to Renee, Damion and Rachel for spending their holiday with us -- we had a great time and hope you did too! And thanks to Grandma for the egg barley recipe! Why did it take us eight years to ask for that?
Photos: Thanksgiving in Nashville >

Colorful Times

There is truly nothing like the autumn colors that dot the highways throughout the Northeast this time of year (those drives to Binghamton and State College come to mind), but this year, we were awakened to a similar backdrop in Nashville. With views of the Warner Parks from our back deck, we invite you to share the colorful sights of Middle Tennessee this November.
Photos: Autumn in Nashville >

Welcome to Nashville, Trader Joe's!
After years of sending hopeful emails, wishful thinking and keeping our fingers crossed, Trader Joe's finally opened in Nashville yesterday. Jenn was one of the first customers in the store that morning and we both took a spin around the store after work that afternoon (of course, we picked up some of our old faves!). And what better way to celebrate this opening? A few Trader Joe's Vienna Style Lagers, baby!

Happy Halloween from Plinko the Elephant!














Until next time ...

We've been everywhere!

Sorry (once again) for the long blog-less spell! We just returned from a 10-day driving excursion to New York and back. What started as invitations to back-to-back wedding weekends quickly became much more…















Kean Wedding - 10/11/08
Heather and David have tied the knot and we were so happy to be a part of their special day! Jennifer was the matron of honor and Jeff did a reading during the ceremony. We then celebrated at the Milleridge Inn with great food and dancing. Also great to see Jonathan and Audrey, who made the trip from Williamsburg. Congrats, Heather and Dave! We also love the new house!
Kean Wedding Photos >



















Brett Turns Two - 10/12/08
It’s crazy how fast time flies … Hannah is 6, Spencer is 4 and Brett will turn 2 this week. Cindy and Heath – thanks for hosting Brett’s party early so that we could be there. Lots of kids and parents, great food and a magician. We are very impressed with Spencer’s Wii skills and we thoroughly enjoyed watching Mark and Dee try and keep up with him! Great to see Aunt Janet as well. Happy Birthday, Brett!
Brett Party Photos >















Fuggetaboutit ... A visit to Brooklyn - 10/14/08
While we certainly don’t miss riding the Long Island Railroad everyday to work, we hopped on the LIRR to Brooklyn to visit Nick, Leslie and Sam! While it never seems to be enough time to catch up, it was fun to spend the night at your beautiful new place (loved the views from the roof!) ... thanks for dinner and the use of the Internet!! Hope to see you soon!
Lewin Photos >















NYC - 10/15/08
The next day we ventured into New York City and enjoyed breakfast with the Lewins after a short detour! Following breakfast, we visited some of their favorite places in Lower Manhattan … we took a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and then enjoyed lunch with Tom at The Bridge Café. We sat at table #11, where we got engaged 7 years ago. Tom – thanks for taking time out of your schedule and leaving the set of FOX to hang with us. Hope to see you soon! The afternoon included visits to the March of Dimes office and then catching up with Howard and Dan before the Rangers game. Great to see you both. Dan – hope Lisa had a great birthday!

While some may want to call us the “jinx” since the Rangers suffered their first loss of the season, for us, the game also served another purpose … to see old friends from our Ranger days. Thanks to everyone who took time out from their busy game night schedule to see us. Sara, Barb, Jane and Ken – great sitting with you and always fun to catch up! Sara – thanks for organizing everything and we hope to see you and Cam on the Nashville trip when the Rangers come to town in March!
NYC Photos >















Welcome to the World, Sean Douglass - 10/16/08
A visit to this area wouldn’t have been complete without Jeff going to CT to see Rob, Sharon, John and their newest addition to the family, Sean. It’s been about 3 years since we’ve seen each other and it’s simply way to long! When the two of you are ready for a weekend without the kids, don’t forget about that Southwest flight from Hartford to Nashville!
Douglass Photos >

While Jeff was in CT, Jennifer was able to grab dinner with Jessica. Yummy Thai food, Jess, and always great to spend time with you. Hope a Nashville trip is in your future!















Caccese Wedding - 10/17/08
We met up in White Plains on Friday and after a quick lunch with Dee and Len (thanks for driving Jennifer up there), we headed to Albany for Mike and Jaime’s wedding. While we don’t have the opportunity to spend much time with Jeff’s college friends and their better halves, it’s incredible how quickly we all re-connect and it’s as if we haven’t missed a beat. Amazing what a little beer, wine and Jack Daniels can do! Hope to see you all soon and congratulations Jaime and Mike!
Caccese Wedding Photos >















Penn State 'Streaks' past Michigan - 10/18/08
Officially starting the drive back to Nashville, we left very early on Saturday morning and had one more stop to make … Penn State. We arrived with a couple hours to spend walking around downtown and lunch at Golden Wok before heading up to the stadium to witness the 46-17 win over Michigan … finally! It was a scary start to the game, but Penn State rallied back in the second half to win and be 8-0. We’re going to the bowl game, wherever it may be!
PSU-Michigan Photos >

In between all the visiting and catching up with friends, we were able to spend some time with our parents – Joanne and Len and Mark and Dee. It’s never enough time and we look forward to our next visits with you. Love ya!
White Plains Photos >

And now, after a long, long drive, we are back home to newly refinished floors on the main level. They look incredible and many thanks to Michael and Thom for overseeing this project for us while we were away. Now we’re ready to paint and we’ll be sure to post new pictures of the house after that.

Until next time ...

A Month of Travel!

San Francisco
It has been exactly three years since we last visited the City by the Bay, but when Jeff had the opportunity to attend a New Media conference at Stanford and UC-Berkeley, we decided to make a weekend out of it. Jennifer joined Jeff out there on Thursday and we stayed for two nights at the beautiful, trendy W Hotel in downtown San Francisco. While Jeff spent Thursday and Friday in his conference, Jennifer took to exploring the city by foot and cable car on Friday morning, before meeting up with the website folks from Artsopolis. On Friday night, we met up with some Travelocity friends that Jeff worked with in New York (and their better halves) – Jeff and Lori Varhol and Kyle and Leah Duffy. It was just like old times in NYC! Friday night we hit AT&T Park for the San Francisco Giants – LA Dodgers game. Probably one of the nicest ballparks we’ve visited (yum – garlic fries!). Manny and the Dodgers smoked the Giants, but it was an incredible time. A big thank you to Rob Capilli for helping us buy our tix – 2nd row off the field behind 3rd base! Best seats we’ve had for a big league ball game.

On Saturday, the six of us headed to some wineries, the Pacific Ocean and Half Moon Bay. We tasted at Ridge, Picchetti and David Bruce and had a delicious picnic with an incredible view of Silicon Valley! After a few hours of sipping wine, it was on to beer and dinner at Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. What a cool place! Across the street from the brewery is Half Moon Bay and the Pacific (including one of the top big-wave surfing spots in the world – Mavericks). A big thank you to Jeff, Lori, Leah and Kyle for spending the weekend with us, showing us some new sights and for being such terrific friends. We can’t wait to see y’all again soon!

San Francisco Photo Gallery >















North Carolina
It wouldn’t be summer without our usual trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This summer, we spent a week and Joanne and Len’s new house in Nags Head and had a terrific time! Even Plinko the Cat came along for the 10+ hour drive (he’s such a trooper in the car!). We enjoyed time at the pool, hot tub and beach, eating at our favorite seafood spots (Awful Arthurs, Kelly’s and Jolly Roger), taking a morning hike on Jockey’s Ridge, playing golf at Duck Woods County Club, attending a Outer Banks Dare Devils game (college baseball league), and even met up with friends Amy and Paul Walters from Nashville for a morning kayak on the Roanoke Sound! Jeff played his best rounds of golf ever with scores of 87 from the white tees and 97 from the blue tees! On July 30, we celebrated Len's 60th birthday with a special dinner at the country club and a surprise visit from Jonathan and Audrey. Also visiting Nags Head this week were: Audrey’s family (parents Joan and Len Kroll, brother Andrew and sister Ali), Pam and Roger Dallek, Katie and Kayla Moore, most of the Young clan (Kim, Diana, Cynthia and Don). It was a busy week, but it was really wonderful to get the chance to see so many friends and fam!

North Carolina Photo Gallery >

New York
It was back to New York for a quick weekend in July. We always have fun trying to challenge ourselves and see how much we can pack into one weekend there … well, here it goes! We actually flew into Philly and drove to NY because it was close to $400 cheaper. Arriving very early Saturday morning, we slept in a bit and then headed to one of our faves – Stuff N’ Bagels in Oceanside. Then, we met up with Jessica and Jonathan Fish for an afternoon of sand and sun in Long Beach. It had been over a year since we were at this beach – our old stomping grounds. That night, we attended Andy and Cortney Bernstein’s wedding and we were able to catch up with several of our best friends – always a great time! The drink of the night had to be the margarita-chicken skewer shots – we’ll be borrowing that one, for sure!

Sunday started with a delicious homemade brunch at Melissa Schlaks and Mike Rice’s new apartment with breathtaking ocean views in Long Beach! Following brunch, Jeff headed up to CT to see Mark, Dee, Cindy, Heath and the kids and spent time swimming in the pool with Hannah, Spencer and Brett – future Olympians!

Jennifer and Joanne met up with Kim to put the finishing touches on a surprise bridal shower for Heather Young at Steven’s Pasta in Long Beach. The guests arrived in early afternoon and Heather was completed shocked! Kudos to the bridal party for keeping the surprise and creating a memorable surprise for Heather. A big thanks to Steven’s for a delicious lunch and a fabulous time! Following the shower, Jennifer, Joanne, Len and Kim headed to Coyote Grill in Island Park to see our wedding band – The Mystic. Always great to see the band and bring back the musical memories of our wedding day! In addition to a nice dinner on the water, Jennifer ran into some friends from high school – Jessica Amato Salierno, Phil Salierno and Liz Peyron. After catching some much needed Zzzz’s, we hopped in the car on Monday morning and drove down to south Jersey to see Jen Mankey and her son, Jack (sorry we missed you, Curt). We spent a few hours catching up before heading to the Philly airport and back to Nashville. A whirlwind of a weekend (as always), but a lot was accomplished. We’ll be back to NY in October and hope to catch up with many more of you then!

Andy and Cortney - Wedding Photo Gallery >
Heather - Bridal Shower Photo Gallery >

Many Reasons to Celebrate this Holiday Weekend

Hope you enjoyed a great holiday! This weekend, as we celebrated America’s birthday, we also had another reason to celebrate … an accepted offer on the house we had always dreamed of! Now, don’t get us wrong—we loved our house in Island Park, NY. We were one mile to the beach, had a quick walk to the Long Island Railroad (don’t miss that commute for a second, though) and made it a cozy place to call our own. But it was a starter house and we knew that. If all goes well this Friday during the inspections that we have scheduled, we will likely be closing on our Nashville retreat sometime in early September—an incredible way to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary.

This house combines an incredible location in Nashville, with plenty of room to grow into and a one-of-a-kind outdoor oasis that will be a nice substitute for our close proximity to the beach on Long Island. Just another reason to get down here and visit us in Nashville! Fingers are crossed for everything to go well and we’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Photo gallery - 345 Harpeth Ridge Drive >















Barb and Mark made the trip to Music City for the weekend and it was an absolute blast catching up with them for a few days ... a great dinner at Bistro 215; an amazing concert (Phil Vassar, Michael McDonald and the Nashville Symphony) and fireworks show at the downtown riverfront; a morning at The Frist Center for the Visual Arts; and a day of live country music at LP Field with Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Gary Allan, LeAnn Rimes and Sammy Hagar. Thanks for making the trip to Nashville!

Photo gallery - Poets and Pirates Tour >

July 4th Fireworks Show - Nashville, TN (Video)


The End of the Route for Len











Congrats, Len! We are thrilled that you now have a new boss—you! We couldn’t be happier for you on your recent retirement. After years of hard work, you deserve those mid-day naps and rounds of golf at Duck Woods! However, we’re not too happy about paying for dry cleaning now, so we ask that you please reconsider …

Music, Hats, Horses and Wedding Bells

Bluebird on the Mountain
The Bluebird Cafe is one of Nashville's incredible music treasures and every summer they take a few of the city's incredible songwriters, invite a few hundred friends and create a picturesque outdoor musical event atop Dyer Observatory. Denise, Rebecca, Jeremy, Kimberly and David -- we had a fabulous time!














Hats and Horses
Without question, the top people-watching event in Nashville has to be the annual Iroquois Steeplechase. Combine the hats and sundresses of the Kentucky Derby with beer, wine, whiskey and horses and you have a mega Music City bash in the beautiful hills south of the city. Many thanks to Gail and Steven for your incredible hospitality -- we had a blast!
Steeplechase Photo Gallery >














13.1
Last year, we ran our first Music City 1/2 Marathon, had an incredible time, raised some money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee and vowed to make it a yearly event. So, on April 26th, we tortured our bodies for another 13.1 miles and had another great time. Thanks to everyone who helped us raise $750 for BBBS! We added a new twist this year as Barbara and Eileen came down from New Jersey for the race. You both did so well and it was an absolute blast showing you around Nashville for the weekend. Can't wait for Barb and Mark to come down in July!















Celebrating in OBX
We spent the Passover holiday at Joanne and Len's beach house in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Despite a mostly rainy weekend, we had a blast (as always) and had the chance to "officially" congratulate Jonathan and Audrey on their recent engagement. They will be getting married in Williamsburg, Virginia on July 18, 2009 -- we can't wait!

Mets in Memphis

Living in Nashville couldn't be better but it's not always easy to get our fix of some our favorite things from New York ... pizza, bagels, snow (OK - if we never have to shovel snow again, we will not shed a tear), and the New York Mets. When I looked at the Mets spring training schedule in January, I had an idea of jumping down to Florida for a weekend and to catch a game or two. But when I saw that they were wrapping up their exhibition schedule with a game in Memphis vs. the Chicago White Sox (annual National Civil Rights Game), a lightbulb went off in my head.

Since moving to Nashville, Jenn and I had talked about going to Memphis for a weekend. What better reason to make the 3-hour drive west than to catch the Mets in the afternoon and to hit Beale Street for some live blues music at night?!

Rather than telling Jenn about the game, I decided to make the trip a surprise. I told her that we'd be out of town on March 29 but kept a tight lip on what our plans were. I scored two seats 10 rows behind third base for the game and then reached out to our buddy, Joel Frey, for our 24-hour itinerary. Joel lived in Memphis for many years and works at Travelocity, so who better to ask for some of his local secrets?! Joel -- thanks to you, Jenn and I chowed down on the best ribs we've ever had at Cozy Corner, stayed at Talbot Heirs -- an incredible boutique hotel across from the renown Peabody Hotel, grabbed burgers and beers at Hueys and spent a few hours listening to an incredible blues band at Rum Boogie Cafe on Beale Street. A shout out also goes to Erin Hornsby for some great tips. Sorry we missed Silky on Beale, but there's always next time! Oh yeah -- the Mets won 3-2 and we had a blast at AutoZone Park (home of the Memphis Redbirds, the AAA team of the St. Louis Cardinals). Many more sights to see but we were short on time. The National Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, Sun Studios will have to wait until our next trip.

To check out our Memphis photo gallery, click here.

To keep our weekend alive, we spent Sunday night at the Sommet Center for the WKDF Birthday Bash, a Nashville country music station concert that NowPlayingNashville.com was a sponsor of. The show was great, particularly a surprise appearance by Tricia Yearwood and the chance to meet her backstage.

Until next time ...

Are we the worst bloggers in the blog-o-sphere?

Yes … considering our last blog entry was in 2007. We have a lot to catch you up on. The first few months of 2008 have been exciting and busy, so here we go …

January started with a visit from Mark and Dee for the Sound and Speed Festival—an annual weekend event that combines NASCAR and country music. Mark and Jeff rubbed elbows with Taylor Swift and have a great photo to prove it. We had a great time at the concert, featuring Alan Jackson and Swift.We also spent some great time with Eileen and Abbie, who were in town for a dance competition. We kept Mark and Dee a secret and Eileen’s reaction was priceless!

After a few months of waiting, we finally had our new hardwood floors installed. It was a crowded, cramped condo for a few days, but it was worth it...just in time for my 34th birthday. We had an incredible dinner at Flyte, a relatively new restaurant in Nashville that has an incredibly creative menu and a strong focus on wine.

Jonathan and Audrey paid us a visit at the end of the month and we had a fun time showing them the sights and sounds of Music City. A few highlights included a Grand Ole Opry show at The Ryman Auditorium, a Predators game (and a nice OT win), the honky tonks of lower Broadway and Printer’s Alley, a drive to historic Franklin, and The Loveless Café. Kim also paid us a fun visit at the end of February. Great to spend some time with you, Kimmer! Any other takers for a trip to Music City? Just say the word and we’ll get the pull-out sofa bed ready!

We have also been training for the Country Music ½ Marathon, with a few 5Ks under our belt already. We had a blast at the Nashville Zoo Run Run and the Predators Fangtastic 5K. Once again, we are running with Team Rio and raising money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. If you would like to support us in this effort, click here to show us some love! Many thanks in advance.

February got off to an incredible start with the Giants incredible run to the Super Bowl! Thanks to Michael and Thom for hosting a fabulous shindig at their house and for all of their guests hopping on the Big Blue bandwagon!

Nashville is a city with a million things to do. We have definitely been taking advantage of some of these events and shows. We had a blast with Claudia and Jimmy at Zanies, where we laughed our asses off for a few hours, including a great performance by Kathleen Madigan. We have seen ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ and ‘Spamalot’ at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (both very entertaining!), attended performances of ‘Junie B. Jones’ and ‘Most Valuable Player’ at the Nashville Children’s Theatre (not just for kids!), enjoyed a few amazing shows at the stunning Schermerhorn Symphony Center, rooted the Preds to a few key Western Conference wins and enjoyed a new exhibit (and a few delicious lunches) at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. We certainly can’t leave out our 7th row seats for the Brad Paisley show at the arena. Rodney Atkins and Paisley put on a kick-ass show to say the least and the seats were incredible!

Besides all of the fun that we’re having, we are actually working too! NowPlayingNashville.com continues to keep Jenn busy, with some exciting new marketing and promotional initiatives that are helping to grow awareness about the site. She also spent a few days in sunny Los Angeles at a conference. Len took advantage of her time there and flew out to meet her for a great dinner at Roy’s and a Lakers game at the Staples Center—a life-long dream of his that finally was fulfilled. A big thank you to Jason for helping to coordinate the tix! Jenn also had the chance to catch-up with some friends, grabbing dinner with Jen K. and Carianne. It was great to see y’all! Jeff has also earned some Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points of late with a quick trip to Chicago for a business school conference. What an awesome city! Can’t wait to go back and hopefully catch a Cubs game.

February 5th proved to be a scary night, as we faced a tornado warning while we were at the Preds-Carolina Hurricanes game. With about 10 minutes left in the game, the PA announcer announced that downtown Nashville was under a tornado warning and for all fans to remain in their seats…an announcement that was repeated with one minute remaining as well. About 10 minutes after the game, we all filed into a hallway in the main concourse until the storms passed. Luckily for us, the tornado decided to skip the downtown area, but unfortunately caused fatal damage in surrounding areas.

Last but not least was an unfortunate car accident for Jenn on February 19th. A car turned without warning and cut her off a few blocks from our condo, causing a scary scene. She is fine, but our silver Honda Civic is in need of some repairs. Hopefully we’ll be a two-car family again soon, although it’s kind of been fun to commute to work together again in the last few weeks.

We got a nice weather surprise last night when a few inches of snow fell in the area. Thanks to the good ol’ white stuff, we have been able to catch up on a bunch of things, including this entry! We have some cool stuff coming up in the coming weeks and promise to hit the laptop more frequently with updates!