Our First Place.

I've never been more excited to start an adventure as I am about the adventure the manfriend and I are about to embark on. We just got our first apartment and it couldn't have gone more smoothly. We thought that looking for an apartment back home while living overseas in Greece was going to be very difficult but we definitely got lucky with this one. 

Every morning for the last couple of weeks my guy would check the listings in New York and see if anything fit what we were looking for. We were very specific with what we wanted, it had to be located preferably between both of our parent's homes, close to the main shopping areas, but also quiet and the apartment itself needed to feel warm and cozy.

 Well we hit the jackpot, about a week ago my guy called me into the living room to check out a new listing that was just posted, the pictures were amazing and the location was absolutely perfect. I immediately regretted looking because I fell in love, we sent the listing to our parents and contacted the landlord, keeping our fingers crossed. 

We made it a point not to get our hopes up because with our situation we doubted anyone would want to deal with us. As much as I didn't want to think about it I couldn't help myself, this was the perfect place. It was literally right between our parent's homes, five minutes either way. The apartment was clean and just what we were looking for and the best thing about it is that it is right across the street from the park, I would be in a runner's heaven.

The next morning we woke up to an email from the landlord and he said to give him a call. I thought, well if he didn't want to deal with us he wouldn't have us call, so this is a good sign. Because of the time difference we had to wait to call which made me anxious the whole day. The first attempt at calling we got his voicemail and left a message. We were literally playing phone tag because we had to call from Skype and couldn't leave a number, so we had to have him email us to tell us to call back.  

When we finally got in touch he told us, that he'd be more then happy to give us the apartment, he was aware of our situation and he was cool with it. We had our parents go and check it out, they thought it was great. We emailed him back to give him the go and bam we now have our first apartment. Nothing has ever gone this smooth in my life, especially something I wanted so much. I move in March 2nd and will have it all set up for my guy and I when he returns the end of April. 

This is the perfect first apartment, not to big, it has all the amenities, it looks so cozy and having a view of the park is pretty awesome. We have already started picking out furniture and coming up with ideas, I can not wait to decorate, entertain and turn this apartment into our home. 

Here is what we are working with.

 I am so in love with this kitchen, there is so much space.

 Cute Kitchen Nook

 Our Living Room, I can see a nice flatscreen on that wall...haha.

 The Bedroom 

 Another Kitchen Shot

The Bathroom

Quote of the day.

Hey Loves, Happy Hump Day! Had a great yoga session and I am ready to conquer the day. I hope everyone is having a great week.

Today's quote is by Plato who was a classical Greek philosopher. It is a cute quote and a little mushy, sometimes we need a little mushy in our lives. 

Enjoy!

According to Greek Mythology, Humans were originally created with 4 arms, 4 legs, and a head with two faces. Fearing their power Zues split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves. 

-Plato 

You're My Cuppy Cake.

What a guy! The other night after my manfriend's practice he decided to stop at our local cupcake spot, I Love Cupcakes and pick up some yummy treats for us to enjoy after dinner. I was so surprised when he came through the door holding their signature box. He sure knows the way to this girl's heart and that of course is cupcakes.

He decided to try some of the new cupcakes they had displayed, so along with two classic vanilla cupcakes, he also picked out an apple maple cupcake and a hazelnut mocha cupcake. I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened the box, these cupcakes looked like mini works of art, but that wasn't going to stop me from digging in. 

We started with the Apple Maple cupcake. It was apple maple cake, with bits of real apple in the cake, covered with an vanilla cream cheese icing and a thinly shaved piece of apple on top. This cupcake was so yummy, you could actually get away with eating one of these for breakfast because of the delicious maple taste. 

Next was the Hazelnut Mocha and this my friends was a show stopper. At first I thought it was only going to be mocha cake with hazelnut icing, but to my surprise the cupcake was filled with Nutella! This cupcake was so amazingly delicious I didn't want it to end. I must pass on this idea to my sister because this cupcake needs to be tasted around the world. 

Oh My GGGGG...

We saved the classic vanilla for the next day, the manfriend and I agreed that even though the other cupcakes were out of this world, nothing beats a classic vanilla cupcake. 

So once again much love to the I Love Cupcakes Shop, you always leave me satisfied and keep me coming back for more. 

Cupcakes and Baileys...Yes Please!

Book of the Week.

This week's book of the week is a great story by one of my favorite writers, Jon Krakauer called Into the Wild. Into the Wild was originally an article Krakauer wrote for Outside Magazine called, "Death of an Innocent", but because of it's huge success he turned the article into a book. 

 Into the Wild is about a young adventurer Chris McCandless and his journey in the wild. Chris graduated for Emory University in 1992 as a top student athlete, after graduation he gave up all of his possessions, donated all of his savings to charity and hitchhiked his way to Alaska, so he could live in and off the wilderness. The story turns tragic because four months later his body was found in an abandoned bus in the woods of Alaska. 

When his remains were found so was his diary that documented his travels, and how he tried to survive, and what most likely led to his death.  Krakauer's book goes over the life of McCandless, it includes many of his personal diary entries and the mystery surrounding his death. Jon also makes comparisons to his life and adventures throughout the book.  The great writing by Krakauer makes this an emotional journey from beginning to end. 

 Into the Wild was made into a movie in 2007 staring Emile Hirsch and was directed by Sean Penn. The movie is great because it is so accurate to the book, and the cinematography is amazing. Eddie Vedder put together one of the most beautiful soundtracks for this movie, and it is a constant on my personal playlist. 

This book is a quick read with amazing writing, and I strongly suggest reading it. If you enjoy this story and Krakauer's writing definitely check out his other works, Into Thin Air, Under the Banner of Heaven and Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. You will not be disappointed.

Here is a song off the Into the Wild soundtrack called Guaranteed.

Happy Reading!

Quote of the day.

Hey there everybody, hope you are having a great Tuesday. I'm excited because my cousin will be visiting me in Greece in less then a month, it will be so fun showing her all the cool spots in and around the city. 

Also,  I think the manfriend and I found an apartment to move into when we get back to New York. I can't tell you how excited I am to finally have my own place, I know we are living in a sweet apartment over here in Greece, but it's not the same because we didn't get to pick anything out. I am really looking forward to decorating and making it feel like a home. 

Today's quote is actually a song off the Coldplay album Viva La Vida called Death and All His Friends. I know I've been using a lot of lyrics lately but sometimes a great song with an awesome message can really put things in perspective. This song is about worrying less, being more relaxed, harboring less resentment, and forgiving. I always end up running to this song because the music and words put me in the right frame of mind. 

Enjoy!

All winter we got carried away

Over on the rooftops, let's get married

All summer we just hurried

So come over, just be patient and don't worry

So come over, just be patient and don't worry

So come over, just be patient and don't worry

And don't worry

Try

Try

No I don't want to battle from beginning to end

I don't want to cycle, recycle revenge

I don't want to follow death and all of his friends

No I don't want to battle from beginning to end

I don't want to cycle, recycle revenge

I don't want to follow death and all of his friends

And in the end we lie awake and we dream of making our escape

And in the end we lie awake and we dream of making our escape

-Coldplay, Death and All His Friends

I included the song for you to take a listen. 

Enjoy and Happy Tuesday!

Decisions, Decisions.

The only bad thing about going out on a long run is that I have to much time to think. And when I get to thinking sometimes I concoct some ideas. 

While I was running I thought what if I try and run a marathon this spring to qualify for the Boston Marathon for spring 2012. I  would need to run a 3:40 marathon, which I am only seven minutes away from achieving. Originally I planned on running the Brooklyn Half Marathon in May to qualify for the New York City Marathon for November 2012. I would need to clock a time of 1:37 or better and I am less then two minutes away from achieving that time.  Now my head was spinning.

After my run I came back to the apartment to see if there are any marathons this Spring that I could run and not cut into my Half Ironman training. I found that the New Jersey Marathon is May 1st, which is totally an option. Now the decision is, qualify for Boston or qualify for New York. 

I've run New York twice, the first time I got in because I knew someone and the second time I ran for Team Livestrong. Boston I ran once and ran with Team Livestrong. So I never qualified for either of them. New York is my hometown and an amazing marathon, but Boston is the most prestigious marathon in the United States and to qualify for that is on my bucket list. 

So what will it be? I know I have the resources and weather in Greece as an advantage to really get in some great training while I am over here. But I also need to think of the overall picture which is competing in the Timberman Half Ironman this August, that needs to be my main focus. So will a marathon get in the way or is May enough time to recover? 

Ahhhh, a big decision needs to be made and I have to make it soon. 

What should I do? 

Boston April 19th, 2010.

 New York Nov. 1st, 2009

Athens Riviera

Yesterday the manfriend and I took a drive to Lake Vouliagmeni, after our swim which was extremely cold we decided to check out some of the area beaches. The beach right outside of Lake Vouliagmeni is known as the Athens Riviera and in all my life I have never seen something so amazing.

The Athens Riviera is a peninsula and a beautiful stretch of coastline. It's a quiet part of Athens where you came escape the hustle and bustle of the city. On the peninsula there are hotels and a wide variety of restaurants, but it is the incredible views from the Riviera  and the extremely clear blue water that would have anyone in awe.  I can not wait until the end of February early March when the weather really starts getting nice and taking a trip to the Riviera. 

Check out some of the pictures from our Athens Riviera Adventure.

 We spotted a rainbow.