i vividly remember the summer of my forth year of life. a time when i was carefree and things were simple. and the only thing that mattered was the height of my ponytail and how my purple shorts looked with my pink all star converse high tops. i was getting fanced up for our neighbor chad, or am i confusing him for his brother, robbie? god, they were so cute.

as my sister and i rode in the back of gramps’ red datsun on our way to little beaver camp, we threw pebbles from the rear, watching them scatter away as we drove along the highway. we were in an innocent rush to play with our friends on the jungle gym, ride our horses, and do whatever it is that kids do at summer camp. once, leah caught me right as i was about to eat a worm to prove to chad/robbie that i was the coolest girl in town. i can’t believe i was going to do it. she actually had to talk me out of it, says the pescatarian.

and in the midst of all this happiness, little did i know that my grandmother was experiencing the last weeks of her life. after being washed in the sink by the softest, sweetest smelling, best sniffer and kisser in this world,  i stood in front of the box-shaped, bunny-eared contraption that streamed the latest on the new sensation, mtv.

as bubbie lie in bed being eaten by cancer and my mother and sister flank her,  i remember shaking it to the most popular song, whitney houston’s i want to dance with somebody. i stood in front of the tv imitating whitney and her two dancers as they opened and closed the doors of the changing rooms. as i swung my hips and twirled around, the four of us sang together, happily off tune. and in that moment, nothing mattered. we were engulfed by love, wishing to dance with somebody, somebody who loves me.

in the wake of whitney houston’s recent accidental death, it’s only appropriate i share i wanna dance with somebody. after all, it did inspire this post.

lately, i’ve been catching stunning sunrises from the comfort of my home. i’m on a constant quest to make each moment count so when i saw this view, i had to climb up my fire escape and shoot the above picture from my roof. i stood up there and took it all in. breathed in the air. there’s just something exhilarating about getting up with the birds. it makes me feel refreshed, energized and motivated. as corny as it sounds, it was a carpe diem type of moment and it reminded me that there’s no time like the present. and the time is now.

when i first met krissy and cat, i realized my life would never be the same. with these two, i’ve experienced all THE milestones and most momentous occasions that shaped our lives and the people we are today.

krissy and i met when were 18 at the rutgers entrance exam. we were roommates through college, we interned together at rolling stone, majored together cause we had no clue what else to do, studied abroad together in florence, lived together in nyc, experienced first jobs/careers together, i was there when her oldest sister got engaged and even share my birthday with her nephew.

while catherine and i met our freshman year of college (she doesn’t remember this but i do:)), a former mutual friend of ours brought us together our senior year of college when we lived together at 60 ray street in new brunswick. our roommate status gave us the opportunity to experience a lot of “togethers”. together, we interned in nyc, burned pots + pans, sprayed the fire extinguisher over our backyard, experienced first break-ups, the trials + tribulations of first jobs in our careers, and first bachelorette parties to name a few.

i was there when they met their fiancees. and now i’m here when they got engaged.

during these “firsts”, we’ve laughed, cried, danced, talked, smiled, drank copious amounts of wine, but most of all, we held hands. this constant connection has created a bond that will allow us to experience more firsts. but at this point, i think the firsts equivocate to life.

congratulations, krissy + cat. all my love to you and your families. xo