New York State of Mind

We are ecstatic to announce that after a year and a half of New York networking visits, countless resume checks, three internships, living out of state for a few months, sleepless nights, numberless interviews, and phone calls, Adam has accepted an offer as an intern at Lazard.  My husband is on his way to becoming an investment banker on Wall Street.  Not only is he going to be working on Wall Street, but he is going to be able to call the Rockefeller Center his stomping grounds.

I am so proud of all his hard work and sacrifice to get where he is now.  It has been a long road, but every second has been worth it.  We have had so many great experiences, adventures and met some incredible people.  We are so excited to go live in the city that never sleeps!

and 

 I guess you could say I am pretty excited to see my man in a suit everyday, good food, shopping, runs in the park and seeing a show or two.

New York, we are coming for you!!

  

Tis the Season

Our good friend Madeline hosted a holiday party last night for all of our high school friends.  It was a blast getting together and finally getting to know everyones significant others.  We sipped hot cocoa, ate handfuls of Cadbury chocolate, laughed till our stomachs hurt and exchanged white elephant gifts.  

It was just the break Adam and I needed after a long and busy week.

Tis the season of ugly sweaters, white elephant gifts, santa hats, holiday gatherings and some hot cocoa.  

Date Night Extravaganza

As mentioned previously, life has been pretty busy around our house.  Date nights are far and few between with my full time job and Adam involved in recruiting.  With an entire five days to ourselves, last holiday weekend we packed in as much as we could from sleeping in till eleven to black Friday shopping to finding our very first Christmas tree to eating a lot.  Boy was it a much needed weekend.  We had such a blast.

Our cute little Christmas tree bundled up and ready to be taken home.  The Jetta handled it like a champ!

Isn't he cute!

After we picked out our tree we headed straight to one of our favorite local eats here in Provo, Cubby's.  If you have never given it a try, you must make a special trip.  Everything on the menu is to die for.  Their salads, sandwiches, and sweet potato fries will leave you wanting more.

I tried the tri tip salad for the first time and was very pleased with my choice.  I would recommend it!

Do you see that cookie or better known as whoopy pie? Ya, that was our appetizer.  We scarfed it before our food even got to us.  It was a heavenly chocolate cookie with peppermint frosting in the middle.  Ad is not much of a sweet guy and said this was by far one of the best desserts he has every tasted.  It melts in your mouth!

We were so grateful for a few days of to enjoy the holiday season and spend some time together.  Hope your holiday weekend was relaxing!

Thanksgiving Day

A Turkey Day tradition in the Wilmarth household is our annual TTT - Thanksgiving Tennis Tournament. We started  the tradition about four years ago and it has been a favorite of ours ever since. When we first started it was the Wilmarth family of six on one court. Now it is the Wilmarth family of ten on two courts + our number one cheerleader, Tucker.    

They have their game faces on!

The man who started it all 

 My partner for a set or two!

The Crew

I may not know what I am doing when it comes to tennis, but I sure had fun!

We spent Thanksgiving this year with my side of the family at my Aunt and Uncles house. There was a huge spread of the usual turkey dinner + Sue's famous pineapple dressing. 

We were all pretty entertained by Tucker and his delicious mess of blueberries all over his face.      

We hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Eve

As I sit here on Thanksgiving Eve in our small quaint and quiet little apartment, I am overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude.  Adam and I live such a simple life in our small home, with little money, mismatched decorations, just enough food for two, and no television, but we feel we have so much to be grateful for.  We feel so fortunate to be where we are and enjoying the many experiences given to us.  No doubt we love our simple life and everything that comes along with it. 

Here are a few things in life I am grateful for!

Hot showers

Late night cuddles

Raindrops + smell of rain

Colorful leaves

Frozen yogurt

Healthy body 

New tennis shoes + ability to run

Ocean boardwalks + Beach houses

Flat water + a solid waterski pull

Date nights with my Adam

Surprises of ANY kind

Peonies

Family hangouts

Peace right after snowfall

Change

Adventures with Ad

Honeycrisp apples + peanut butter

Sweaters + Boots

Clean house 

Warm car

My religious beliefs

Mountains

A job 

Sunsets

Good Friends

Summer nights

Christmas lights

Long Chats

A good laugh

Sweet Peaches

and most of all my husband!

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving full of family, fun and good food!

Concrete Dreams

^^Image via here^^

Concrete dreams. Our blog name describes a goal we have. We want to live in the city that never sleeps. We have a dream to live in the concrete jungle, better known as New York City. And there is one person working so hard to make this dream and adventure a reality.

My husband.  

He is the hardest working human being I know and also truly understands the value of determination, persistence, and devotion. I am grateful for the endless time and effort he invests into school and his future career. It has definitely not been easy, but I fully support him and am loving being along for the ride.

Understanding he is not doing it for himself is what makes it worth it for me. Ad has the purest heart of anyone I know and does everything so that others can be happy. He is constantly thinking of our future family.

Through this process we have been so incredibly lucky to meet so many amazing people and make some of our very best friends. They are full of caring advice and are always looking for ways to serve us. We feel so blessed to have them in our lives!

^^The Petersons, Crawleys and Us^^

We are so excited and anxious to see what the future holds. We feel we have been so blessed through this crazy process and everyday we are crossing our fingers to hear positive feedback. Here's to recruiting season, months full of interviews, New York trips, and sleepless nights.

This Boy

There is nothing quite like an innocent spirit.  Nothing quite like the joy of a small child.  Children are so pure and perfect in every way.  They find bliss in just about anything.  They are completely unaware of the business and corruptness of our world.  They see the world as their giant playground.  Everything is amusing and enjoyable. Children find joy in the simplest things.  They are perfect examples of how we should be.

^^Those curls melt my little heart^^

This sweet boy brings so much happiness to our family.  He is most definitely the center of attention. He is an endless source of entertainment.  Nothing else matters in the world when he is around.  There are constant smiles when Tucker is around.  He can make us laugh the most pure and sincere laugh with his witty personality.  He brings simple joy to our lives.  When everything seems upside down, he is the perfect amount of medicine.  He is a small piece of Heaven in our lives.  What he doesn't know the kind of example he is to our family.  We sure love you Mr. Tucker Norick Long.  Your the sweetest thing that we have ever seen.

Thank Heavens for Fall Break!

As a school teacher I get to enjoy breaks just about once a month. Boy is it heavenly. I am not sure I would survive without them. This month we had three days off for fall break. For those of you who attend or did attend BYU know what an anomaly  this is. It has been almost 5 years since I have enjoyed a fall break. I always felt left out when my entire family had a week off in October and I did not. Now I get to reap the benefits of choosing a career that has that luxury.

Lucky for me my family just so happen to plan a trip to our all time favorite vacation spot right during my fall break too Southern California. We stayed in a beautiful beach house right in the heart of Laguna. It was magical I must say and a much needed break.

My family was there for an entire week, but I flew in half way through the week and stayed for the remainder of the time.  Although I was only there for a few short days it was completely worth it.  Not to mention we fit about a weeks worth of stuff into 3 days.  Not only did we fit in a weeks worth of stuff, but we fit in my most favorite things.  Even BJ's pizza! Be still my soul, their pizookies are like nothing you have ever tasted.

It was an absolute blast to have majority of our family together.  It has been several years since we have all been able to enjoy a vacation together.  Unfortunately my main man couldn't be there because of the whole BYU and fall break thing.  We missed him so much and were just wishing he could be there with us.  It wasn't quit the same without him.

Here is our trips in pictures.  Enjoy!  

Day 1: Beach Day

You don't have to tell me...I already know he's the cutest thing that has ever existed! 

He melts our hearts 

Catchin' rays with my best friend

Shopping and Carousels at South Coast Plaza

Day 2: Newport Beach and Huntington Beach

Breakfast at Rose's Bakery.  Their breakfast sandwiches and burritos are to DIE for.  I crave them year round.

 If you have never tried it you must.  Cherry and Vanilla cokes from Ruby's are the BEST!

What's a trip to Newport without a Seaside Donut.  I prefer the donut holes when they are warm!

Bikes on the boardwalk

Tell me you don't want to die when you see this

Ferry to Balboa Island

Favorite spot on the Island. Adam's grandparents live right on this board walk. So many memories are associated with this picture.

Day 3: Morning walk and a flight home

It's a sad day when you have to leave something this beautiful. Until next time sunny California!

Honey Crisp

You've heard it before from everyone else, but I am going to say it too...I just love fall!!  There are so many reason to love fall.  Sweater weather, boots, colorful leaves, warm drinks, cool evenings, hats, holiday galore, and family gatherings to name just a few.  But I bet you have never heard this one before, HONEY CRISP apples.  One of my favorite snacks is apples and nut butter, but nothing compares to Honey Crisp apples and nut butter.  If you have never tried it I would be running to the grocery store as we speak.  Honey Crisp apples go fast, everyone loves them and everyone wants them.

*Pair it with Justin's nut butter...you won't be disappointed!  

Surprise of a Lifetime

February 18th, 2012...The most shocking moment of my entire life.  Really, it was a surprise of a lifetime.  I always told Adam whoever proposes to me better do it without even a hint.  I didn't even want to go ring shopping before. I wanted the ring to be a surprise.  Boy did he grant that wish. You probably won't believe me when I tell you we weren't even dating when this happened.  Hardly even talking.  The guts that boy had.

I can say one thing though, I wouldn't have it any other way.  It was absolutely perfect.  A dream come true. A fairy tale ending. A happily ever after!  Thanks to the blonde hair blue eyed man of my dreams, I am the happiest girl around.  February 18th will always be a special day for us.  It was a day that changed our lives forever.  Love you Ad!

Love is in the Air

Last month a good friend and I got to shower one of our very best friends!  It was a long awaited engagement so we felt it was necessary to go full out...Plus, she is pretty much the greatest girl ever and deserved it. We spent several months planning, designing, organizing, assigning and creating.  Lets just say we had a blast doing it and it turned out to be a very pleasant evening.

The entrance/Welcome Table

Our guests entered through a magical walk way along side the house filled with greenery and stepping stones.  Romantic right?

This is where the bride sat and opened her gifts.  The sign was created by our friend Brittney.

We had a delicious taco bar for dinner.

 Mexican coke to go with our Mexican theme

 The Bride and Groom

All the beautiful ladies who attended

P.S. If you like what you see and you don't want to go throw the effort of planning your next party.  Just call Wendy and I.  We would love to do it and thats not a joke!

Congratulations Sarah and Ty.  We love you!