Date 12 of 12! We did it!!!

Date 12 was something I don't think Tristan & I ever ever ever thought we would do in our lives….be in Times Square for New Years Eve! The catch here is that we were at a private party so we were inside and had a bathroom.  There was a roped-off section where we could watch the ball drop from outside and then go back inside where there was a concert. It was incredible. I don't think I'll ever forget the confetti falling down and covering the street and it was definitely an awesome way to end the 12 Dates of Christmas and celebrate our first New Year's Eve as a married couple!  

Dates 9, 10 & 11

Soooo, our 12 Dates of Christmas went past Christmas but that's how live goes! Either way, they were fantastic. 

Date 9:
Tristan and I met for drinks at a midtown bar after work, called Faces & Names.  I met one of his friends from college there and her fiance and then Tristan and I ventured on to dinner at our favorite local Turkish Restaurant. Was a really nice Friday night and the perfect way to start a long weekend!

Date 10:

Les Misérables was an incredible movie and it's how we spent Date 10 of our 12 Dates of Christmas.  I've actually never seen the musical on Broadway, and now can't wait for it to return. I thought the movie was filmed beautifully and the music was amazing. I'll be downloading that soundtrack shortly and highly recommend seeing this in the theater!

Date 11:
Until this past week, I had no idea that seeing the New Year's Ball up close and personal, but it turns out IT IS! Tristan was able to get passes and we ventured to Times Square on December 30 to see the ball. It is HUGE and so so pretty! That was definitely a once in a life time thing to do, and I'm so glad we were able to do it together.

12 Dates of Christmas continues... Dates 7 & 8!

Date  7 was a much needed relaxing night in. We had a movie night staring The Dark Night and mugs of  Movie Night by Davids Tea, one of our favorite.  We were so exhausted that we will need to rewatch the movie, because neither of us had an attention span, like at all. It seemed like it would be good though! And as always, the tea was delicious.

Date 8 is actually date 1, but we didn't officially give it that label until now!  We spent the first weekend of December in Boston, visiting Tristan's friend from college Rob and his wife and newborn baby. We had a great time, and on our first night there Tristan surprised me with dinner at Top of The Hub. It had an amazing view of Boston and delicious food. Check out our view…  

Date 6!

For Date numero 6, Tristan planned a really great and thoughtful surprise. He signed us up for a painting class at  Painting Lounge. It's a BYOB studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where they talk and teach your through recreations of famous paintings.  I do illustrate often, but I work primarily in collage. It has been quite awhile since I sat myself with a bunch of acryrlics and I forgot how fun it can be. It was awesome. The class is a bit like paint by numbers for adults, but in the best way possible. I can't wait to do it again. 

Check out some photos we took while recreating The Scream!

Dates 4 & 5!

For date 4, I surprised Tristan with a Mixology class in soho, that used infused teas. It was something different that we've never tried and the class was really small, aka just us! It was fun, I'm glad we did it, but I'm not going to be hardcore bartending anytime soon. The restaurant, Sanctuary T, the class took place in was very cute and the food was delicious. They have a really great menu of tea cocktails, and I'm sure we will be back to try some. This class was offered by a site I found, called Course Horse.  If you're looking for something different to try, I definitely recommend browsing Course Horse.

Date 5 was the definition of festive! For about 1 month a year, a restaurant called Rolf's goes allllllll out on their holiday décor. It seriously looks and feels like you're sitting inside a Christmas tree! A few friends recommended we check it out, and so we did! It was insanely packed, but definitely really cool and I believe a Tristan & Margot annual tradition was born. 

So far the 12 Dates of Christmas has been really fun. It's a great way for us to spend time together and take advantage of some of the things of the city that we wouldn't usually make time to do this time of year. We're not going to be able to get 12 dates in before Christmas. Life gets busy, I get tired!  The important part is making memories, and we're definitely doing that! What are you doing to make this holiday season special? 

Date 3 of 12!

Wellllll, some of you might know about my childhood obsession with the movie Annie, and how it's an obsession that I might not have ever outgrown. And some of you might even know that Tristan rented out the mansion the movie was filmed is on our wedding day for photos as a surprise to me…and now you know that for Date 3 of our 12 Dates of Christmas my husband took me to see Annie on Broadway! How cool/sweet/awesome is that? Very. Very very very.

We went out to dinner first at Sosa Borella, and Italian-Argentinian restaurant near the theater district. Then we went to the show, which was adorable! I loved it. If you have kids or a soft spot in your heart for Annie, go see it.  PLUS my friend Amy designed the styleguide for the musical. How amazing is that? 

Tonight is date 4! :-) 

Date 2 of 12! 12 Days of Christmas continues…

….and I'm just a bit behind on the blog coverage ;-)

I surprised Tristan with reservations at Smoke, a jazz club located about 5 blocks from our apartment! We pass this place ALL ZEE TIME and every time, Tristan mentions that one day he'd like to actually go in!

Well, I did some research on the place, and a Sunday night date was born. 

I didn't really know what to expect, but I have to say- IT. WAS. AWESOME. We had so much fun we stayed for an extra set! I highly recommend this place for a date night, and you can learn more about it HERE. 

Also, I recommend not going on a Friday or Saturday, because there is a music fee on those nights. 

Tristan is surprising me with date 3, tonight! Stay tuned…

12 Dates of Christmas! (date 1)

Last year my friend Elsie was a a newlywed and started a tradition with her husband, inspired by Rockstar Diaries. The idea is….The 12 Dates of Christmas! 

Tristan and I altered it a bit to fit our schedules, so the 12 dates are not consecutive, they're spread out through December.  Also, I didn't make a cute advent calendar for them BUT I do plan on making one for next year!  

Anyway, last night was Tristan's pick and the first date of our tradition. We had dinner at the location of our first date, a bar on the Upper West Side called Cleopatra's Needle. Oddly enough, we have not been back since our first date and today marks 2 months of marriage for us!  

We had a great time and he surprised me with flowers. During our first date, I had texted my friend from the bathroom telling her it was going well and that I really liked him. I didn't text anyone from the bathroom this time, but good news! I still really like him :-)

So far this is a great tradition. The holiday season is so busy. Life is so busy! So it is really nice to schedule time to do special little somethings along the way.  Looking forward to the next 11 dates….I've got a special one planned for  Sunday evening.