If January was a slow month, February was running at a full-on sprint. From crazy flight delays, to multi-course pasta tasting menus, to channeling my inner Italian Stallion, February was a month for the record books.

RECAP OF THE MONTH

It’s sort of crazy that the shortest month of the year was jam-packed with so much activity. After missing our trip to Banff in January we picked things back up with a healthy Frasier and what turned out to be a relatively warm and beautiful February here in New York. The month began with the Super Bowl where my 49ers played the Chiefs in what turned out to be a very enjoyable game even if I didn’t care for the ending. We stayed home to watch it, but that didn’t stop Frasier and I rooting for the 49ers.

A few days after the tragic loss for the 49ers I jumped on a plane and headed to California to visit Gracie. The flight to Los Angeles was nothing short then a disaster. After boarding the plane early and appearing to have an early arrival ahead of us the Captian informed us not once but three times that an error light was coming on in his cockpit so instead we waited at the gate for over two hours while crews tried to fix it. We finally took off and the worst seemed behind us. Sadly an hour into our flight a gentleman had a seizure and continued to have them about once every thirty minutes. There were a lot of doctors on the plane so he was well looked after but the Captain did make the determination to land in Denver for an emergency landing. Two hours after landing in Denver we took back off for LAX and landed about six hours after our scheduled time bringing the total flight time to a little over ten hours. During all of this Jenn was giving a big presentation at work where now a few weeks later I’ve watched her presentation and she did a phenomenal job.

After landing in LAX I grabbed my rental car, a quick lunch at a nearby In & Out and slowly made my way from LAX to Riverside. When I finally arrived I felt like collapsing I was so tired. But there is nothing like being home again and a few minutes after I arrived Ryan brought Gracie over and honestly the long day was immediately wiped away. I got to hold and feed her for the first time and it wasn’t lost on me that I was holding someone that I would know and love for the rest of my life.

The entire weekend trip went like a blur. From spending time with my parents, Amy, Gracie, Ryan and Jake to seeing Ally and Tim on my last night in Riverside, the entire trip was just perfect. I’ll never forget going out to KBBQ and it honestly felt like I had never moved to New York, that I was just over having dinner like any other week. Or Jake and I taking a trip down to my old home in Newport Beach and shopping at Fashion Island and walking at Crystal Cove. It really was the absolute perfect visit.

Luckily my flight home was far less interesting and I arrived a few hours before this year’s Oscars. More then almost any other year Jenn and I had seen almost every single best picture nominee including the winner, Parasite. Although I still didn’t enjoy the “no host” format I still love watching this every single year. I did think for a while that Jenn might steal my crown for our ballots but I once again came out victorious with a win of 14 to 11.

A few days after I arrived home Jake flew out to visit for the long President’s day weekend. We hadn’t originally planned the trips to be back to back but it just worked out that way. Jake arrived first thing on Friday morning (Valentine’s Day) and after a great Chinese food lunch at La Salle, a long nap and a workout he was ready to be back in the city and take on our extended weekend. We met Jenn for dinner at Kilo a small tapas restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen that we had been once before. We ordered a bunch of different items and from there picked up Frasier and walked him to Levian Bakery in the UWS for their delicious thick cookies. We called it a night early, but not before Frasier wanted to join Jake on the blow-up mattress.

Saturday was our big day out in the city. We woke up early and walked Frasier from our apartment to NY Tails in the UES. The walk through Central Park was beautiful albeit a bit cold, but that didn’t stop us from snapping tons of photos along the way. After dropping off Frasier we had a quick breakfast/brunch at a small French bistro nearby before hopping in a taxi and going to midtown to see Jake’s first-ever Broadway show, Book of Mormon. Jenn and I saw it probably five years ago but it’s a show that has stuck with us and we reference all the time. The second time in the front row at a matinee in New York was just as good if not better then the first.

The highlight of the day though (which was a high bar) was going to Rezdora for dinner. It’s one of Jenn and my favorite places in the city for Italian food and after our first visit, we knew we had to bring Jake here when he visited. We left the Book of Mormon and made it straight over to Rezdora for our meal. We sat down and Jake (being the wine connoisseur he is) ordered a bottle of red wine for the table. We all decided to do the pasta tasting menu (five different pasta dishes) but first started with two appetizers and finished the meal with two desserts. If that sounds like a lot, about halfway through the meal we decided on the second bottle of wine, and then we all knew to buckle up and enjoy the ride. The food, the atmosphere, and the conversation were all three things I’ll never forget. Rezdora continues to be one of the best places to eat in Manhattan.

After a quick pit stop at a chocolate store for hot chocolate and coffee, we went back to our apartment, watched the movie What-If and called it a night. The next morning we were back on the road to the UES. We stopped off at one of Jenn and my favorite brunch stops The Penrose and had a delightful brunch. We picked up Frasier afterward took a lot more photos through Central Park and made it back to our apartment. After an hour of taking photos of Jake in the gym, we were back in our apartment resting. That evening we had ramen at Momofuku Noodle Bar at Columbus Circle and then enjoyed drinks at The Aviary in the Mandarin Oriental. I’ve wanted to go to the Aviary for a long time because they’re known for fun quirky drinks. They were great albeit incredibly expensive.

On Jake’s final day in the city, we went off to Soho and had breakfast at Le Coucou. If you haven’t noticed by now his visit was part social visit and mostly an excuse to eat amazing food. Le Coucou has more then amazing food and that continued for breakfast which was phenomenal. After breakfast, we went shopping and both Jake and Jenn bought items at Patagonia to wear when we go to the real-life place in late-May. Jake headed home that afternoon and we got ready for the week.

The following weekend brought on another momentous moment, Frasier’s first birthday. We took Frasier all over the city, for long walks, and gave him bones and new toys. He had just got a haircut the day before so he was looking like a brand new one-year-old puppy. I genuinely cannot imagine our lives without Frasier at this point.

The month ended with Jenn and I taking a weekend trip to Philadelphia where we spent the weekend exploring and enjoying a few days out of Manhattan. I wrote up an entire blog post on our weekend there which I encourage anyone interested to read. Long story short, the Rocky Steps are as exhilarating to run up as you might imagine. And that ended February a complete 180 from January. A month with family, amazing food, small getaways, and the coolest little Labradoodle we could have ever asked for.

TV WE WATCHED

I know we had a busy month but February 2020 might have been the lightest month of TV watching for us in years. We did get some TV in but by far the most memorable thing we watched was the conclusion of one of my favorite shows, BoJack Horseman. As has been the case for most of its run the final part of the final season was truly gut-wrenching. I will really miss that show. The other show that will last with me was Mythic Quest a 30-minute comedy about video game development that was far better then it had any right to be.

BOOKS I READ (OR LISTENED TO)

2020 has been a great year for books so far. Every book I read at worst was a 4/5 and even those were quite good. Starting from left to right I began the month with Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow which details his real-life investigation into Harvey Weinstein and later Matt Lauer. It reads like a thriller and was just an unbelievable read. Then to lighten things up I read Nothing Ventured a new book by Jeffrey Archer which although not his most original work was incredibly entertaining.

The book that will haunt me for a long time was Voices from Chernobyl an oral history of the tragic event. The accounts in this book of the tragedy and aftermath of this event are so horrifying but also grounded that I had trouble reading this book. And then I finished up the month with I Will Teach You to Be Rich a book about personal finance. Every year I try to make sure that Jenn and I are setting ourselves up for both short and long term success and so I try to read and consume as much info on how to be better at personal finance. Although I don’t love everything in the book I do appreciate some of the more holistic strategies laid out in the book.

MOVIES WE WATCHED

What an odd string of movies we watched this month. What If was a movie Jake recommended when he was over so we watched it and it was actually quite good. A very simple fun romantic comedy. We also watched the Taylor Swift documentary on Netflix which was fine. But really the best movie of the month was JoJo Rabbit what a brilliant, odd, and quirky movie. I loved it.

THEATER WE SAW

The Book of Mormon is the first Broadway show I’ve seen twice and I hope I get to see it a dozen more times in my life because it is that good and that clever. We took Jake to see it (it was his Christmas gift) and it was just as good if not better then I remembered it. We were in the front row and taking in everything from that close was something I’ll never forget.

GAMES I'VE BEEN PLAYING

I finally have made it through (for the second time) Uncharted 2 and now moving onto Uncharted 3 in the collection. I’ve also gotten the FIFA bug (like I do every year) and have been playing that when I have 15 minutes to spare.

2020 GOAL TRACKING

Goal #1: Read 40 Books: I've read 9 books and am currently ahead of schedule to hit my goal.

Goal #2: Run 300 Times: I’ve run 51 times so far in 2020. On track.

Goal #3: Keep Weight Under 140: I've yet to go over 140lbs

Goal #4: Eat at 13 Tasting Menu’s: 2 so far, on schedule to hit 13.

Goal #5: 12 Monthly Recaps: 2 for 2.

A Look Back - February 2020