Didja Miss Us? Update Central!

Hi! Its been a while! Sorry for that! So much has truly been going on in both of our lives, that blogging seems to get pushed to the bottom of the barrel! So Sorry!

But enough with apologizing, here's a mini-update! :)

-On top of his current job for Big Morning Buzz Live and the Gossip Table, Frank picked up a job working as a camera operator in the stands at Madison Square Garden! He loves it. He gets to be there for his favorite teams, and he also gets to make money! Win win for my favorite boy..He's such a dedicated and hard worker..I'm so proud of him. 

                                                      My lunch date in Bryant Park. ;)

- We secured our Wedding Venue, our new Photographer, and our DJ! I also tried on dresses in Manhattan, and have made another appt in the beginning of November! So a lot of wedding things are underway! Thank goodness :)

                                                       I haven't said "Yes" to the dress yet!

- I went to a lovely wedding Upstate with my longtime friend and roommate, Ray! It was such a sweet celebration, and I am so very happy for Mr. and Mrs. Shawn Barnes! Shawn actually proposed to Kieren in our Brooklyn apt on New Years Eve! It was fun to come full circle <3 Because of the location of the wedding, I was able to stay with Ray in his hometown and visit with his adorable family. We went apple picking, visited his grandmother, had dinner with his sister (who is also a future bride!) and spent about 5 hours in a hot tub talking and drinking wine. I would say thats a pretty darned successful weekend!

With my date!

The sweet Newlyweds! 

My good friends, Ryan, Ricky, and Raymond. <3

Raymond Apple Picking :)

                                                                        I love fall <3

- I went to see Kinky Boots on Broadway, thanks to my amazing Aunt Jenney! She accidentally bought tickets for the wrong date and didn't want them to go to waste, so I gladly took them off her hands! Billy Porter was sick unfortunately, so you could tell he was really nursing his voice and opting out of singing in the ensemble pieces..The other lead was also out, so we saw an understudy for him! But it was really fine, because the show was remarkable. Every time I step into a theatre, I feel home.. I feel like I belong.  I love to escape for 2 hours into a different world surrounded by talent and beautiful storytellers. On a side note- Billy Porter in drag looks exactly like Whitney Houston. Almost to the point where I didn't want him to take his makeup off.. I wanted him to keep it on forever so I can sort of pretend that shes alive. Weird, but true. I'm not kidding -- he looked gorgeous and exactly like Whitney. Uncanny, truly. 

- Out of all the constant hectic situations, Frank and I have officially found our new favorite Manhattan spot ! Yerba Buena on Perry Street in the West Village. We are 100% obsessed, and I 200% blame Ray for it. Haha! The night I was in Manhattan after trying on Wedding Dresses all day, Ray suggested going here, and I've been hooked ever since!! Its got such an eclectic and exciting menu..both food and cocktails!. I had a watermelon fry..yes! A watermelon FRY. Delicious! My favorite drink so far I would say is their 'Poquito Piccante,' which is tanqueray gin + jalapeño + cilantro + cucumber + cointreau liqueur + fresh lemon juice. TO.DIE.FOR. :) We went there this past Friday as well!

                                                       Three Musketeers at Yerba Buena!

                                            A lovely drink with hickory smoked salt on the rim!

-This past Saturday, Frank and I had a cute dinner and movie date. First we went to his favorite Staten Island Bar/Restaurant, Adobe Blues. They make a mean margarita, and killer corn nuggets. Dont laugh! Seriously! Their corn nuggets are out of this world! After dinner we decided to see "Judge" with Robert Downey Jr. It was a spectacular, funny, and unspeakably devastating movie. Afterwards, we both went to the liquor store and bought a bottle of wine, and went back to Franks parents house so we could hang out and talk with his mom..that always lifts our spirits.

All in all, its been a crazy and fulfilling few weeks! We have a wedding to attend this weekend, and I've got a great great friend from Australia/Vancouver coming to visit for a few days in November, so I'm sure there will be more to blog about soon!

xo

K & F

One Year

This Saturday was a special one. It was exactly one year from the day Kara and I are getting married! It was really important for us to see what the weather was like in the place we were having the reception next year, so we headed upstate to check it out.

We were fortunate to get the best possible idea of what to expect. See, it rained on Saturday and was sunny on Sunday (go figure.) So we got to see how cold the rain was and what the area looked like after a good downpour of rain. Then we got to see how GORGEOUS it was when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It mentally helped a lot because it made us ask ourselves, what do we need in case it rains like this?



Besides seeing the weather exactly one year in advance in the area, we got to see Kara's brother Alex's soccer game and her youngest sister Brooke's softball game. We hung out with her parents and talked a lot about pretty much everything that's going to happen within the year.



At the end of the weekend on Sunday we got to see Beema (Kara's grandma) and the progress of the barn her and Bookie (her grandpa) are building for the wedding! It's moving along so quickly and looks so cool.

Beema, Kara, Frank and the Dunn Barn

We also have some other pretty exciting news in the works, but we'll tell you all about it once we get closer to it..!



P.S. A HUGE congratulations to our friends Matt and Sarah on getting ENGAGED this weekend!!! We're so excited for you two, and send all of our love your way in this amazing time in your lives!

Sarah & Matt 

(Future Mr. and Mrs. Levine!)

Stay tuned,

K&F

Wedding Fun!

On Friday August 22nd, two dear friends of ours were married in Oheka Castle. Frank and I were lucky enough to attend their wedding. Here are some lovely photos of the special day! Congratulations again, Ryan and Sharon on your wonderful wedding! We wish you all the best <3

On our way to Oheka Castle!

Entrance Way....Gorgeous!

The stunning lobby!

View from the courtyard...

Waiting for the gorgeous bride to make her entrance!

During the nuptials! Seriously breathtaking..

Adorable husband and wife!

Frank and I in our fancy garb :)

Fooling around with our besties, Alex & Omar :)

Drinks with my favorite guy <3

Snuck a pic outside while hanging out with Joanna :)

Frank the bow tie master.

Ridiculous and hysterical Photo Booth pics with some fabulous ladies <3

Being absolute goofs again with Alex & Omar

Of course, smooching with my main squeeze (clearly the photo booth was a complete hit)

The next morning.."Coffee whilst roaming the grounds." (Feeling a bit rough, but it was so worth it)

The entire wedding was phenomenal. Frank and I left pretty early the day of the wedding in order to get settled and dressed in our hotel room.  Of course when we pulled up we were told that the bride and groom were taking photos in the lobby and we had to wait. :) So we snuck in the side entrance and checked in -- but I also snuck a peak outside and saw them posing.. I immediately teared up and the attendant laughed with (at) me. Haha. Here's a super behind the scene pic ;)

Once we were all settled into our beautiful room, we showered, dressed, drank a celebratory pumpkin beer, and waited patiently for the clock to strike 6! Then we filtered down to the amazing champagne hour, where we met our beautifully dressed friends and squealed with excitement for Ryan and Sharon. After the vows, we were able to meander the grounds, drink, and eat a copious amount of amazing hors de oeuvres. There was even an "infused vodka station," that was probably the coolest thing I've eve seen. At the station you had your choice of Vanilla Infused Vodka, Strawberry Infused Vodka, Apple Infused Vodka, and...oh crap, I can't remember the last one. But seriously, it was so awesome! 

Then, we were brought into the grand reception room, where the Bride and Groom were announced and we danced like lunatics and ate phenomenal food for the entirety of the night. Frank and I still can't get over how much fun we had, and how amazing the entire experience was. It was an absolute blast and we loved every moment of the wedding.

Congratulations to the beautiful couple.. we were so glad to be there to witness your special day.

Stay Tuned for our next adventure!

XO

K & F

Engagement Party

Woah what a busy week it's been! Super sad that we weren't able to post about this sooner, but we just last week had our engagement party.

Our families had only briefly met this past december for Kara's concert, and we really wanted them to meet again before we get married. With her family going on vacation in early August, our friends wedding on the 22nd, and her cousin/bridesmaid Abby leaving for college the 25th, we narrowed it down to the only possible day! That was easy enough!

Kara and I at the party

So what to do? Let me tell you this "getting married stuff" is a lot of work. Between the booking a venue, getting food, a photographer, music, tents, decor, flowers, a dress etc., you have to do the same with an engagement party, rehearsal dinner, bridal shower, and bachelorette/bachelor party. The last three we don't really have to worry about planning, but still that's a lot of stuff for all parties involved!


So for other couples going through the same thing this was our thought process.


1st: Where do we have it?
2nd: When do we have it?
3rd: What kind of food do we get?
4th: What kind of atmosphere do we want?
PS Picking invitations, decor.. all that $$$ fun stuff


Originally we were going to throw the party at a location either upstate by her family or by mine. Honestly, we were going to do whichever was cheaper. The best ideas we had were an outdoor/tent gathering upstate catered by Dinosaur BBQ (one of our favorite places) or at this nice restaurant in Staten Island by my family and friends where my sister had her bridal party.

But in the middle of planning my mom and dad surprised us and insisted that they wanted to throw us an engagement party! We were so grateful, and after discussing everything we decided on the latter idea! We feel so lucky and thankful that they offered to do this for us.

Kara and I with our parents

Now, we had a date and a place! Luckily for us the venue had a really good selection of food and preconceived menus, so it literally was just picking off a list what we wanted.

The Menu

As for atmosphere, my mother took care of the little details. She really knows Kara's style and what she likes -- her decorations were spot on. The only thing we were asked to do was have a playlist and speakers for background music. We made one on Spotify and used the month long free premium upgrade so there weren't commercials! 

Some of the decorations

My mom and dad had my sister and my cousin Lauren help with what was the star of the day, the dessert table! They're all very crafty and super creative. My cousin makes these amazing cookies, displays, and other party favors. She's always designing cool party themes for her kids and her family. You could look at her work HERE and order some of her creations HERE. Instead of describing what they did, I should just show you!

The day went really well! Everyone was out of their seats for the most part drinking and chatting, exactly what we wanted for the party. It's nice knowing everyone is acquainted and they're not all meeting for the first time at the wedding. We took lots of pictures, and got to spend the day with people we adore.

If you want any ideas or advice on what we did for the engagement party leave a comment!

Stay tuned,

K&F

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

So my good friend Kyle nominated me for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. If you don't know what it is or what it's for read on.


ALS, short for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease,) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spine. It attacks these nerves rendering them useless and over time you lose all motor function and then you die. There is no cure.



This particular challenge started from a man named Chris Kennedy, a golfer who was challenged only to dump a bucket of ice water on his head and donate to a charity of his choosing, chose to donate to ALS. Eventually the challenge grew and reached a man who suffers with the disease, Pete Frates, who then sparked the trend to go viral.

Feature from ESPN about Pete and his battle

You dump a bucket of ice water on yourself and donate to ALS, or whatever charity for that matter, and challenge the next group of people if you wish to. It's because of Pete Frates that so many have given to ALS.

If that didn't break your heart please watch this video past the Ice Challenge and listen to Anthony, a man my age speak about ALS.

So I accepted the challenge and donated. Here is my video!

I did it with my friends Omar and Ricky in a local park in Brooklyn. If you want to partake but haven't been nominated, don't wait and just do it. Do anything! Pour some ice water on yourself, run a marathon, bring awareness, donate time or money to something you believe in!



Stay tuned,

K&F

Breakfast in Bed, Shopping, and Date Day!

Hi! Long time no chat! :)

*I had a post a while ago that I never finished editing, so I figured I would upload it now, before I bombard you with our massive Engagement Party post!*

The first weekend back from our vacation was spent doing lots of CHORES! Laundry, writing/sending thank you notes, unpacking, organizing, etc..One chore in particular was kind of fun though! We decided on Saturday to go to the mall in search of our lovely engagement party outfits for the following weekend! But before we did so, Frank was the sweetest guy alive and made me breakfast in bed! French toast to be exact. :)

It was delicious. Also! Theres my cutie new Outerbanks mug that I love! I'm pretty particular about mugs (just like my mom), where I like a thick handle and a large "lip" on the cup so I dont spill my coffee as easily. haha.. and this ones perfect! Love it.

Afterwards, we dressed and went out in search of our perfect outfits on Staten Island. You'll see the chosen outfits in our following blog post from our engagement party!

Outfit choosing took a very LONG time, and we were really starting to get "hangry" (hungry + angry) after about 4 hours of shopping. Finally, we just snagged up what we thought would work best and LEFT. I would be quite content with not going to a mall for a significantly long time now. We definitely had our fill. :)

As previously stated, I was getting SUPER hangry, so we decided to stop at this sort of "out there" restaurant on Staten Island called "The Lunchbox." It was really cool! Lots of exposed pipes, and bright colors, and mini tin lunchboxes adorning the walls. Not to mention, the food was insane! One of the things on the menu was a fried milky way candy bar...Like... are we for real right now? There was even a fruity pebbles milkshake! Of course we didn't get dessert because we were stuffed from our meals, but it really was a funky place and I enjoyed our little date.

..I took a "Lunchbox Selfie." 

Once we finally made it home, we popped some popcorn, poured a glass of wine, and watched some of our favorite T.V. shows in bed. Perfect ending to a very interesting day :)

Stay tuned for our next adventure!!

K & F

Outerbanks Edition: Pt 2

As you may know from Frank's previous blog post, that we have just gotten back from a week long vacation in the Outerbanks! It was amazing to say the least. On Friday the 25th we packed our car at midnight and left in the wee hours of the morning for our adventure. We met up with the rest of the family at a Rest Stop in New Jersey, where we exchanged walkie talkies for the 8.5 hr drive. My dad always makes inappropriate and hysterical jokes on the walkie talkies, and the whole family just chats the entire ride down. 

View from the back deck

beach strolls..

but first.. let me take a selfie? lol.

Once we arrived, and unpacked our bags, we ordered pizza, went to my favorite place ever: the BrewThru, and chilled at the beach. I shared a room with my cousins Kasey, Abby, and Bridgett, while Frank was in the boy room with my cousin Kieran, my brother Alex, Abby's BF Will, and a family friend James. It was funny, Frank and I haven't slept a part from each other for that long in a REALLY long time.

That night, I was really too excited to wait, so I asked some of my cousins to be in my bridal party. It was so cute, and I am so happy to share this special moment in time with them.. there are a few other girls to be asked, but so far we've got my cousin Kasey as the Maid of Honor, my cousin Abby and Bridgett as Bridesmaids, my future SIL Nikole as a bridesmaid, and my two sisters Megan and Brooke as Jr. Bridesmaids! Yay! Here's two samples of how I asked them: I ordered these adorable knot rings from Etsy, and inside each box I wrote, "Will you help me tie the knot and be my ... " They loved it! :)

For the entirety of vacation, we really just CHILLED and played a ton of games. It was awesome. Here's a shot of us playing a good ole game of "Asshole." 

Haha.. I was an asshole for at least 10 games that night, and Frank was President for a while until Kasey took over. Loved playing.. it was so fun!

Basically, all day/night long we drank, ate, and chilled at the beach.. Couldn't have asked for a better time!

Franko catching some waves..

smooching on the beach..

beach selfie

my favorite beach bud <3

Frank and I were the designated cooks for Friday nights dinner so on Thursday while it was overcast, we snuck out for a bit to go out on a date for lunch, do some grocery shopping, and shop for some goodies.  

We ended up going to a sweet little restaurant in town that was right on the water. Very romantic :) We shared some Fried Green Tomatoes, I had a grilled chicken sandwich for lunch, and Frank had a burger. I didn't get a pic of the food because we were ravenous, but heres where we were.. 

View from our table

Afterwards, we went to WINGS where we both bought some cool looking coffee mugs and cozy shirts. I'll insert photos of them later. 

While driving to the grocery store, I noticed a sign with big letters that spelled out SALT WATER TAFFY! Needless to say....

I got some. 

Friday was a rainy day, so the adults went out to a fancy lunch and the older kids decided to go out for a copious amount of junk food.

#TacoBell #DairyQueen #KFC #foodcoma #diabetes #sorrynotsorry

 Dont judge us. Then we went back to the house where we pigged out and watched The Truman Show in the Movie Theatre Room. After that, Frank and I made our dinner! For dinner we made our "Crack Pasta," which is bowtie pasta with a creamy alfredo sauce, with peas, bacon, white onion, and spicy peppers. For dessert we served angel foodcake with butter pecan icecream, and macerated raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries..and whipped cream :) The family loved it and a majority even asked for recipes, which is hysterical because I actually didn't like the way it turned out..Normally I make this dinner for two, not 24,  and I felt like the spices were totally off! Either way, I'm glad they really liked it.

Saturday was another rainy day, so we just spent time relaxing and playing games. Later on in the day I had my mom take a few engagement photos for our upcoming intimate engagement party. Sneak peek!

These aren't our official photos, as we'll most likely take them in the fall to match with our wedding foliage! 

 By around 10:30pm on Saturday night we decided to hit the road back home. We arrived at 7am on Sunday :) Back to the grind at work on Monday! Woo! lol.

Loved spending time with my amazing fam. OBX '14!

Stay Tuned,

K & F