Uptown Girls.

Not everyone gets my love for New York claiming its "loud" or "dirty" but its absolutely perfect.

Matter of fact, New York is one of my favorite places. Maybe its the perfect shopping, amazing food options or the fact that when in New York i cant help but add you know you love me xoxo Gossip Girl after everything that i say. Well in my head...if i kept saying that out loud that could get annoying.

Greenwich village is def top 5.

"First, I went through the seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest. Then, I went past the twirly, swirly gumdrops. And after that: I went through the Lincoln Tunnel." As we really went through the Lincoln Tunnel Shannon quoted Elf. Actually, Elf was quoted quite a bit throughout the trip. I was even compared to him when i saw a sign for "worlds greatest cheesecake!" and got excited- i'm sure like the coffee, that it wasnt...
First things first we went to our hotel [Marriott, duh] on the Upper East Side to leave our bags. Then we road the subway down to Battery Park to see the statue of liberty. We rode the ferry out to liberty island and then ellis island. We LOVED the ferry ride. It was so beautiful, relaxing and had a great view of New York.

After that we walked 12 miles...yes, 12 miles back up past Times Square. Now we could have taken the Subway or even a taxi all the way up but we didnt want to miss a single thing! But its a good thing we didnt because on the way up we saw where the twin towers used to be and we ate at the University diner [NYU] and i loved it. Being a typical college place i thought it safe to order waffles and what a good choice that was! I think i talked about that waffle the whole rest of the day. It was so picturesque as we looked out onto Greenwich village shops. It was all just so perfect. Then we walked up to Madison Square park where the shake shack is and just HAD to order from it. The line was insane but since it was from the movie Something Borrowed [that i love!] we all decided it was worth it, plus the view was beautiful. If you go to New York i HIGHLY recommend seeing this area. In all honesty the food was not my favorite but its all about the location in NYC.

We also shopped ALL DAY! Another reason i love NY is because of the shopping. They have stores i've never seen anywhere else, some i havent even heard of!..which is surprising and i loved it. On the way back up, we got so tired and it was nearing 9:30 Shannon begged us to grab a taxi so we did and it was my first time ever riding in one! As i got in i even said "follow that car!" like they do in the movies because i've always wanted to but i dont think the driver heard me...or maybe he just pretended he didnt or even worse i'm not original and people do that all the time...oh well. When we got to the hotel Shannon and i took in our great view from the window and then watching some Olympics before lights out! The next day we got up and ate at this cute little italian owned cafe where the windows opened up and we got to look out on NY and people watch. It was yet again, perfect. All three of us ordered french toast and it was amazing. We then headed to Times Square where we got our tickets for Zarkana! the Cirque du soleil show-showing at Radio City Music Hall! I got the tickets for my moms birthday and since we saw another cirque show in Orlando a few years before with my dance team andloved it i knew she'd love it. These people are so talented.

Last time we were in NY was Christmas time when everything was blinged out and the stores were seriously works of art and we saw the Rockettes!! at Radio City Music Hall so we felt like Veterans this time around. It is seriously one of the coolest places.

when we went at christmas time...

Immediately afterwards we stopped at a local bakery- Magnolia Bakery and it was SO GOOD. We got cupcakes to share and a pumpkin cheesecake.<-----OMG. Best thing ever. You see beforehand i searched a ton of places that you had to go to or that celebs enjoyed and this was one of them and i would have to agree that it was great.

Afterwards we wandered through the scenic Central Park where I referred to Friends episodes that took place there. We took pictures on some rocks and near a bridge and didnt bother to hide the fact that we were tourists here, as you can see-

because everyone sits on rocks and stares off into the distance duh

We then shopped on 5th avenue where i may or may not have spent a pretty penny on something from at one of my favorite stores. I even found my future engagement ring...

not our best picture but oh well

As the day went on i started to get cranky so mom knew it was time to feed me. We ate our last meal at Serendipity 3. A restaurant that is both a local and tourist favorite. Even though the wait was long inside it was worth it. I would describe it as doll house esque. We ate upstairs and it was so cute. After our meal we got a famous frozen hot chocolate [what its known for] and it was so good! Jackie O once tried to buy the recipe from the place a long time ago and even Marilyn Monroe loved eating there. If its good enough for Marilyn its good enough for me.

I was so sad to leave. Every half hour or so i would tell mom that i needed to live here and its so perfect. Shannon even grabbed me a local listing for an apt for rent haha. I felt so privileged eating at the nicest places and shopping at the nicest stores and not worrying about money. I felt like a celebrity. I cant wait to go back- everytime i go i fall more things and places to fall in love with.

i would move there in a heartbeat if it werent for this small fact:

neither my wallet nor my slowly growing waistline from the fantastic food can ;)

off to watch GG and miss NY!

xoxo Gossip Girl xoxo

brays photoshoot

taking pictures is one of my absolute favorite hobbies,

and getting to take them of my beautiful niece was so fun!

She wouldnt sleep at all and kept watching everything i did

Bray- 7 days old- 6lbs 10 ounces

ah sorry about the picture overload!

except not really- shes so beautiful i had to.

xoxo cait xoxo

Sometimes

Sometimes you tell your best friend youve lost weight and you receive a text saying "i could tell you were skinnier through that text!
" Sometimes your dad wakes you up and tells you hes made breakfast and you realize you'd be okay if you were made breakfast every single morning for the rest of your life. Sometimes i get $80 abercrombie jeans on sale for $8. NO JOKE. and sometimes i love them and wear them to work and sometimes my manager is not happy but loves me so much she just lets me wear them even though sometimes they have holes. Sometimes i realize i am not very forgiving when it comes to receeding hairlines or settling.
Sometimes i write you on your mission and you write back and then sometimes you come home thinking youre too cool for school and then consequently sometimes i improve myself and dont plan on giving you the time of day. Sometimes i have dreams about people and i just have to tell them even though we arent even that good of friends but i just gotta so sometimes i text you telling you i had a dream that you were gonna get in the NBA because sometimes if you do i want you to know im psychic and i want my own show on TLC.
 Sometimes you are so lonely when youre family is out of town for almost two weeks that you find yourself talking to your dog and sometimes you ask her if she thinks you look skinny and then she walks away. And sometimes that is not a good sign. Sometimes the two of you are best friends until you come home from work one day and she has torn up the basement carpet.#enemies...Sometimes i want to delete girls on fb when they say they ate dog once because what kind of person eats dog?! Sometimes your sister tells you that when she was watching Lifes a Tripp that she thinks you look a lot like Bristol and you LOVE that because you love Bristol. Sometimes a cute guy at work who speaks practically no English asks you on a date to Macaroni Grill and you have to say no because sometimes i dont like to be mean to boys at work so sometimes i tell them all i'm their girlfriend...whoops.
 Sometimes you are the only person in DSW who is trying on boots in the middle of July and sometimes you dont even care. And to even worsen this boot addiction sometimes you order 4 pair of boots in the middle of July because you want the cutest fall wardrobe possible. Sometimes you go to Nordys because they are having a semi annual sale and you almost have a heart attack in the shoe department and then sometimes a girl swoops in and picks up the LAST PAIR of neon yellow nike running shoes that clearly had your name on them and then sometimes she also takes the last white northface in your size too and sometimes you seriously think about following her to the parking lot because if this was a movie you would have had a knock down dragout over a pair of shoes in the middle of Nordstroms. But sometimes you just end up getting over it because at least the girl has good taste right? Sometimes you ask your sister how many calories are in her chicken and rice and your 4 year old nephew responds with "mm 4 or 5.." If only...
Sometimes your cousin gets his mission call to San Diego California and you are so thrilled for him!! And sometimes he leaves on Halloween and you know he is going to be great. Sometimes you find yourself saying "i enjoy this ribbon or i enjoy that" and your mom thinks its such a funny phrase. Sometimes i go through food phases and sometimes the latest one is chocolate milk and anything that needs syrup...sometimes you wonder if you could write a diet book with that. Sometimes i go on and on about how skinny bella looks and she feels great but then she gets fat again. #poordog. Sometimes i like to make up my own words to songs and sing them to my dogs....hahaha esp that cher lloyd one and they love it. Sometimes i secretly love when boys compliment my hair and then sometimes its not so secret anymore. Sometimes I find out i missed out on National cheesecake day and Luke Bryans birthday and now you are feeling slighted by missing two opportunities to throw a party...So sometimes you feel terrible so here ya go Luke, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

xoxo CAIT xoxo

Baby Bray

I woke up at 5:30 today and headed over to Megs to stay with the babies while they headed to the hospital to get induced. I got to go back to bed for about 2 hours until i awoke to Cassady calling for daddy on the monitor. I stumbled out of bed and into her room and shes silent. Then out of her 2 year old little mouth comes "oh, its you." How could i not laugh? Once both of the munchkins were up we went down to our "special breakfast" of donuts!

 [since it was baby brays birthday]

[[SO happy]]

After breakfast we watched cartoons as i got them ready.

brushing teeth, getting dressed, doing hair, etc

playing mommy for a day isnt easy! Babies first then you. but by then theres no time for you.

After that we headed to the hospital to meet this angel

Carrigan Bray Mcgovern

7lbs on the dot.

Do you think shes irish or what? However in all honesty I am not in love with the name Carrigan. To me she is Bray and Megs is all for it so good because thats the only thing i plan on calling her...I am so in love with her!! When we walked into the room she wasnt there so we had to wait for her. When she came in i was dying. I got to be the first person to hold her too :)! Shes the tiniest little thing ever. I LOVE tiny babies. I know some people are all for the chubby babies but i am not one of them and i can be biased because i was one of those huge babies so i dont feel bad saying it.

uh we will not even discuss how huge i was as a baby...

CJ is so in love with her already. He was so great when Cassady was born and even better now that hes gotten older. He kept wanting to hold her and he even tried to get me to put her on the ground to see if she would walk to him. After pappaw told him she wouldnt be walking for a while he responded with "well lets just see." haha Cassady however acted scared of her and wouldnt hold her. She was always aware of where Bray was in the room though. On the way to the hospital the second time [later in the day] i ask them if they were excited to see Bray and ask Cassady if she was gonna hold her. Cassady said "i no hold her." and got upset so i dropped it. Later i overhear this conversation in the back. "Cass you be nice to our baby. You have to hold her and you kiss her and love her." He went on for a bit telling Cass proper ettiquette for their new sister. Cass responds with "okay bubba."

When Cass went in the second time she held her and kissed her and loved her.

I plan on spending every second possible with her that i can before i head off to school again. As soon as i said it out loud that i was leaving so soon i burst into tears which then led mom and dad to also. I am so sad about it. But we still have lots to look forward to- like little brays photoshoot on Sunday. Expect to see a lot more pictures of her...

xoxo a very proud aunt xoxo