Last night Darren and I met up with his brother Kenny to check out his new apartment in the Archstone Chelsea.  He lives in a gorgeous 3 bedroom, doorman building complete with roof deck, gym and beautiful corner views of the Empire State Building.  This is hardly the typical post college living experience for most recent grads.  The apartment is great and has everything you can think of.  I can’t imagine though what this beautiful apartment will look like after a few months of three 22 year old guys living there – but they are certainly living there in style! 

After checking out the new place, the three of us headed over to Sushi Twist on Madison and 27th.   A cute place in the middle of the street, the food was surprsingly good and definitely a good value.  For about $20 a person we each ate a serious amount of sushi and salad.  I had the shrimp shumai that was delicious followed by a tuna and salmon sashimi salad with a sweeet and spicy dressing.  The portion was huge – a full plate of salad with a generous portion of fish.  Darren had the sushi deluxe and Kenny went for the spicy miso soup which he said was great and a spicy tuna roll.  Overall, for a neighborhood sushi restaurant this place is worth a try. 

After dinner, Darren and I walked up to Grand Central.  While walking we both were thinking how much we miss Manhattan, its not to say that we don’t love our new house and the change of scenary, but we certainly miss the energy of the busy streets, the endless choices of restaurants and cuisine, the little corner place that you can grab a quick drink at outside or just strolling the streets of the most incredible city in the world.    Of course it is summer time also, when the city is alive and welcoming.  I’m sure comes winter with the fierce wind, the snow and ice and the empty streets, we won’t feel like we are missing anything, especially when we are curled under a blanket with a fire going in our fireplace sipping some wine and watching the snow fall on the trees in our backyard. 

This weekend the entire Herman clan packed up, boarded planes and headed to the midwest to celebrate cousin Dean’s wedding to Meghan.  After a two hour flight Saturday morning, we arrived in Milwaukee ready to celebrate their special day.  We had several hours to spare before the wedding so we walked around the city to see what Milwaukee was all about.  We were joined by cousin Caron, Johnny and Samantha and headed down to Lake Michigan where we soaked up the sun sitting at an outside restaurant enjoying the view and tranquility of the lake.

By nightfall, we were all ready for the wedding and looking forward to helping Meghan and Dean and the family celebrate this special day.  The celebration began with cocktails where we mixed and mingled with the guests and for me, it was a great opportunity to meet the rest of the Herman family.  After a few drinks we headed to the ceremony where we witnessed Dean and Meghan officially tie the knot and then it was on to the reception where we celebrated the rest of the night.  A fabulous time was had by all and we are all looking forward to our next big celebration – our August wedding! 

After a busy week of work, meetings, stuffing invitations for the wedding and doing some sightseeing with Darren’s friend Cristi who is visiting from Romania, we all decided to take a break from our hectic schedules and head to the lake house on Sunday for some much need fun in the sun and relaxation.  We celebrated our first ‘Kepner/Herman’ family Father’s Day together at Judy & Bob’s house on Greenwood Lake with everyone in attendance including my brother, sister-in-law and my nieces.  Even Kenny, Darren’s brother, found time in his busy post-college life to make it up to the lake and hang out with everyone.  The day was filled with boating, tubing, sunning, and barbecuing.  We all took turns going out on the boat, watching Darren, Cristi, Ed, Mark, Leslie and even Abby fly through the water, bouncing up and down on the tube having a great time.  Click here to see some more pictures of them in action and to see what a great day we all had!   We can’t wait to go back again.  Thanks Judy & Bob!!!

Saturday, Darren and I, along with his parents and grandparents, attended Skidmore’s Alumni Weekend, where Darren was honored by receiving the Palamountain Award for Young Alumni Achievement. Darren accepted the honor from the school’s president during the Alumni Awards Ceremony. Way to go Darren! We are all so proud of you!!!!!

While in Saratoga for the festivities, I had the pleasure of meeting Darren’s advisor, Roy Rotheim. He shared some great (and funny) stories about Darren including their first introduction. I am so glad I had the pleasure of meeting him. We also had the opportunity to meet up with Ryan and Caroline again, as well as Ryan’s parents. A great time was had by all this weekend.

This weekend, Darren and I headed upstate to attend his brother, Kenny’s graudation from SUNY Albany and one of his closest friends, Ryan, from Albany Law.  I was really excited to head north for the weekend, despite the rainy forecast, and help them both celebrate their incredible achievements.  Kenny graduated Magna Cum Laude from the business school will be joining the rest of us in the working world. when he starts his new career as a producer for Next New Media in a couple of weeks.  Congrats Kenny!!!!  

Ryan’s study days are not quite over as he is studying for the New York State Bar Exam in July.   The perpetual student that Ryan is, we wonder will he actually join the working world, or try to earn yet another degree?!  Either way, we were so happy to celebrate with him.  Best of luck Ryan!  We’ll be rooting for you in July. 

Spending the weekend in Albany was extra special for both me and Darren since we both went to school in the area, Darren at Skidmore and me at SUNY Albany.  I had not been back to area in quite a few years, so it was great to see all the familiar places like our favorite bar “T’s” and the former Lampost – aka “The Post”, even Ginger Man was still there as well as Bogies.  I was feeling very nostalgic reminiscing about all my college adventures with the girls as we drove down familiar streets.  It was as if I was there yesterday.  It was a great weekend and fabulous trip down memory lane. 

Congrats again to both Kenny & Ryan!!!!!

This week is a week of embracing our heritage….and Darren and I have two very unique backgrounds. My family is from Greece and his family is from South Africa – and yes, we both celebrate passover! That certainly piques the curiosity of most.

My great-grandparents, Ida & Louis, came to the US in 1909 from a tiny lake-side village called Ioannina, in the northwestern mountains of mainland Greece. They first settled on the Lower East Side of NYC where my great-grandfather, along with his family, owned and operated a fruit and vegetable store. Our greek heritage has remained strong through the years with many recipes and traditions passed down through the generations. Growing up, my grandma would spend weeks preparing a sephardic seder which included the standard brisket and matzoh ball soup but also a lemon and matzho soup called manestra, spinach pie made with matzoh instead of philo dough, several cheese souffles, stuffed cabbage, and a variety of stewed vegetables in tomato sauce. My grandma has passed down these recipes and slowly Mom and I are learning how to make these dishes so we can continue the tradition. This week I have started Darren off slowly, introducing him to my matzoh ball cooking skills but over the coming weeks and months, I will introduce him to the many other wonderful dishes of Greece.

For anyone interested in learning more about our family’s unique heritage, visit the Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue & Museum website.

Last night was yet another first…..my family and Darren’s family met for the first time.  Darren’s aunt Judy warmly welcomed us all into her home for a fabulous night of dinner and drinks.  I was a little nervous going into the evening, hoping everything would go smoothly, and it certainly did.  My nieces who I consider the toughest of critics, warmed up quickly and before long were ‘working’ the room, socializing with everyone.  Conversation flowed easily, there was a lot of laughter and we enjoyed a great meal of matzoh ball soup, a delicious roast and lots of yummy sides, including the most incredible sweet potatoes I’ve ever tasted. 

Thank you Bobbie for helping to prepare such a fabulous meal and to Judy and Bob for graciously hosting the evening.  A great time was had by all and we look forward to many more holidays and special occassions all together.  

144 days until our big day!!!

Darren has just won the 2007 Skidmore Palamountain Award for Young Alumni Achievement. This is given out to an alumni who has demonstrated outstanding achievement within 10 years of graduation and Darren was voted by the Board of Directors at Skidmore and the entire school unanimously to receive the award this year.Â

We will be helping Darren celebrate this amazing achievement the first weekend in June 2007 by attending Alumni Weekend at beautiful Skidmore and take part in this amazing ceremony in front of thousands of Skidmore Alumni.  Darren may even dazzle us by giving a speech!  I am so excited to celebrate Darren’s incredible accomplishment and honor.  Congratulations Darren! I am so proud of you!!!!   Â