Exploring

Saturday we met up in the meat packing for brunch at Pastis. This place is a well known brunch spot with a French background. The food was really good, very fresh, full of color and taste, but the best part of the whole meal was the bread basket. I don't have enough good adjectives to describe this. The basket had chocolate bread, croissants, cranberry walnut bread, and my favorite-the sticky buns! I borrowed this pic off the internet, but think it does a good job painting the pic

Next we girls took off and Jason went to meet his buddies. First we decidedon a little exploring/shopping in the Lower East. We hit several clothing shops-Pixie Market, Annebells, Mint Julep to name a few, and a couple furniture shops, including one vintage/repurposed place. Then we hopped on the F and headed uptown. Of course, our shopping continued on 5th Ave and Madison. So much fun going into these stores and seeing the amazing possibilities. Some of these shops are larger than life! FAO Shwarz for one. This place had boxes of candy that were over two feet big. We had to swing by the lego section to check out gifts to bring home and I found this guy-Captain Jack, made of all legos

One of my favorite views in the city is looking south on Park, Becky took this! Thanks

As we were wondering around, we saw a large crowd on the corner of Central Park. When we walked over we found this great group of street dancers entertaining. Here are a few pics of their tricks

Hard to see, but there is a guy upside down jumping over those people!

We stopped at the Gotham coffee shop. What a cute, little, local coffee shop. The best part of this, was the conversation. Becky and I have been friends for a while, but we never are at a loss for words. I love listening to her, talking about life's issues/dilemma, sharing advice-wish times like these could last forever!

After a full day of work, it was time to enjoy! We met back up with Jason and Dave for dinner at Scarpetta-classic upscale Italian. Don't think any of us had a single bad bite. The scallops were perfectly cooked, the tuna had a little kick, my cavatelli with rabbit ragu was heavenly (and very filling). Chocolate for dessert made for a perfect meal with great friends.

 I don't even want to comment on the next part, so I'll keep it brief. We went to the OU bar to watch them loose. AWFUL. The only positive thing was that we ran into one of my friends from home who was visiting and she had just gotten engaged-hours early! So fun to share in this time with her. I remember each detail so clearly of mine, what an absolutely fabulous time!! Congrats Lexie

For the night cap, we went back to Dave's place. WOW!! The foyer looks like a hotel, the doorman are the perfect combo of protective and friendly. Love it.

 His place is ultra modern. Very well decorated and every inch utilized. By the way, did I mention he has an Andy Warhol hanging??

The absolute best part was the view. His apt is on the corner so he has a 270 degree view that is to die for. No money could buy this type of beauty, water to the west, downtown to the south, empire to the east. I could get used to this!

Such a great way to end an amazing weekend with my buddies!!

Becky and Jason

As a little treat for her hard work, Jason surprised her with a trip to NYC! Neat how it all works as Jason had a little work to do, so we got a little one on one time and we got a little group time. Becky hit the ground running this trip, she went straight from the airport, to the hotel (Dream, pretty "cool" feel), to the streets to shop!

Her bathroom, even the shower curtain was metal. Crazy!

I met up with her at Chelsea Market, we wondered around and then headed north to the Chelsea Galleries. Every Thursday night they have certain galleries that are open to the public, free and usually have wine and apps for all to enjoy! We thought this would be fun to see. Our first gallery was art in Russian, the next was Chinese (who's inspiration forgot to shave in the pics), we saw a gallery with pics of the Congo (see below), another Asian one with local graffiti, and an American theme with bling-they were all so different and thought provoking! I can't forget the graphic book store we wondered upon as well. We were very entertained!

The pink congo, this one was probably my favorite gallery.

We met up with Jason for dinner at the Cookshop after our tours. He had been traveling all day (to Pennsylvania and back) and I think he was ready to sit and relax. It was great to see him! I love our conversations as they come so easily. But, my favorite part about Jason is how much he adores Becky. So nice to see that your friends are loved unconditionally and blessed with a great partner. Thank you two for always being a good example for me!

About the restaurant, by far my favorite thing was the pomegranate, habanero, margarita! It is as good as its name sounds. Or, maybe all the windows- with a great view, love to people watch.

I'm not sure if the drinks were so good or I had one to many, but hard to remember the details about the food. We were given free apps because we had to wait a bit-fried hominy was delicious. We all split a pizza, which was very fresh and seemed light. I had fish with some of the best cauliflower I have ever eaten. It was perfectly roasted with a great sauce. We finished off with the chocolate mousse. Not a bad dinner all in all and I love having friends in town, sure gives me a reason to feast!!

New York Stuff

Here are a few random thoughts and pics...

Rats in the subway, they are huge! Look in the center of the pic, next to the long railroad tie

Love this statue. It's on 5th and it kinda stands out amongst all the shops.

Love apple. This is the midtown shop that just opened. They re-did the place to have single long glass panels that are almost not there, and the tubular elevators and floating stair case are eye catching.

Here's Bloomingdales! Everything in the city is getting ready for Christmas, such a fun time here.

Finally, I have been feeling a bit homesick and had a rough week. Look what my amazing husband sent! And, I have to say-they smell even better than they look. That is eucalyptus at the bottom.

Our last day as a team

We had grand intentions, but a late night slowed our start. We didn't make it out until noon-ish. We headed directly south to one of my favorites-ABC Kitchen. I cannot begin to describe how much I love this place. If you are planning to visit, let's plan on going here!! When we tried to make ressies, there were none all weekend-so, we chanced it and showed up blind. The wait was an hour, so what better to do with our time than the local fresh market. The "known" things about this city are easy to see, but Saturday mornings the locals come out in droves to support the local economy-these are the real reasons I love this city. The market was packed and we had so much fun sampling-organic chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin bread, ginger snaps, sour dough bread, drinkable yogurt, organic milk-just a few of the things! I fell in love with this florist, he had amazing wreaths/arrangements and loose flowers and plants. I want more James Durr, unfortunately-the guy working said they were just a little farm outside the city and didn't sell here other than the market.

After lunch we headed south to Soho and Canal St. Karlee loved bargaining with the people and actually got pretty good at making deals. A couple of watches, shirts and perfume later we headed up through the fun shops of Soho. No bargaining here, but did find some great stuff and a few deals. 

As we headed north, the sun had set and the moon was out. Really spectacular view! Plus, didn't hurt to admire the bridge a bit and they were filming the batman scheduled to come out this summer!

Next on the list was Empire State at Night. The nice thing about winter here is night starts around 5pm. If you want to do anything that requires darkness, you have plenty of it. So, we headed up to the top and enjoyed the view of the city. It was really cold and windy on the east and west sides and very comfortable on the north and south. Interesting what direction and elevation do for the temperature.

Not sure if the video plays, but has some great views!

For our final team dinner we decided on seafood. David Burke's Fishtail was perfect. It is close to home and cozy, warm environment. We figured we would all share food and luckily got to try a little of everything! I would highly recommend this place, I had roasted branzino (a fish from the bass family) that our waitress recommend and it was incredible. Melted in your mouth and it seemed more hearty than some fish I've had before. The seafood tower was a hit too, even Karlee liked this one!

We had a great weekend, and I couldn't have had better roommates for the weekend. Thanks guys for coming to visit!

They stayed!!!

Friday, I had to work and they group headed out. They spent all day exploring and shopping (luckily, they brought an extra piece of luggage!) We met up to hit up Little Italy. Le Mela was calling our name! This is an amazing, authentic Italian gig, note the decor!

The food here is super fun and pretty darn good. You order either three (salad, antipasta, pasta), four (add meat) or five (add dessert) dishes and that's all-nothing specific. We chose four-a caprese salad to start, anti-pasta (see pic, but already eaten off of-shrooms, fried cheese, roasted peppers and asparagus:)), a pasta dish with 3 types (spaghetti, gnocci, tortellini)  and a meat dish. We finished the pasta dish and decided to cancel the meat because it was so much food. So hearty and tasty, oh my!

The conversation was amazing and time flew by, man I miss home. Next, we headed to the lower east by way of china town to meet up with my buddy mike, his wife and their friends at Clandestino's. This was a fun, friendly, neighborhood bar. We met several new friends-the fonz, talking mike, the asian dental guys-so much fun. This bridge is called Manhattan Bridge, really pretty at night and reminds me a bit of Paris-pics don't do it justice.

After Clandestino's, we went to "The Skinny Bar", as the name mentions-I immediately felt out of place. We had to sneak Karlee in as the door man didn't buy the fake id after she got her year born wrong! Luckily for us, this place was terrible. It was small and gross and offered nothing fun, so we made one loop through and left. Back home to the safety of my neck of the woods for much needed sleep!

The White-rs

I used to call her Tate-r, but now she's married and white-r doesn't sound the same...Anyway, Ashley, her niece-Karlee and mom-Terri came to visit. What a fun girls trip! I will start with the fact that we survived an entire weekend with four girls and one bathroom, really didn't know it was possible. We had a blast and even better, think they officially conquered this city. Loved that they were so savvy, even when I had to work. And, that they loved on my lil man!!

Their first day they spent shopping and walking and exploring. When I got home, we headed out for dinner at Nizza. Great little Italian place on the West side. We started a fun weekend tradition that basically all of us ate all the food together. We each ordered something and it was truly communal plates. I'm lucky to have buddies that want to try new things and don't mind sharing! Plus, I realized how nice it is to have friends from home visit-people who know me, we don't miss a beat and can talk about things that matter-easily. I've been missing that!

 Cool bar and view our front window (and Karlee's head)

Next we walked from the restaurant to the Wicked theater, which consisted of less than ten blocks and had several interesting NYC experiences. First, we are all together, minding our business when a gentleman standing off to the side said, "Um, Um, Um, wanna hold my jacket?" to Karlee. I must say she was looking good with a fancy dress and heals, but let's be honest-she is a teen! We all laugh it off and keep walking. On the next block, the next interesting gentleman rides by us on his bike (pink mind you) and we yell, "hey, we want your picture". He stops and poses with ease, almost like dressing this way was his job???

So, we take the pic and walk off. He is not pleased, but he doesn't seemed to be able to communicate.  He grunts and points to the little basket on his bike (I assume he wants money and I'm not paying). So, I try to take charge in my city and say no sternly and walk off. Next thing I know, we have crossed the street and he grabs Karlee's arm and starts grunting like nobody's business. It became uncomfortable for a second, but I held fast that I wasn't paying and he stood his ground trying to get his money. This went on for probably 2 minutes, but it seemed like 30. Finally, Terri gave him a dollar and we went on about our day. I was seriously wondering if my friends were going to pack up and leave given my first NYC impression was not super awesome or safe! They actually stayed and we enjoyed Wicked for the remainder of the evening.

Show was really good, stage was amazing-probably a little long for an early to bed bird like me though...As we left the show, we attempted to get a taxi and it started to drizzle, as it does here frequently, and we had no luck. So I encourage more walking, next street there will be a taxi, 5+blocks later, no taxi-so we opt for the subway-and they are closing the doors as we watch. Finally, we walked to a hotel in midtown and got in their taxi line. It took over an hour to get home that night, in the rain nonetheless. I'm not kidding when I say, I was worried-are they staying?? UGH...

NYC MARATHON!

The ING marathon was this past weekend, and I had to experience what it was like in real life. Luckily for me the path literally ran past my building (kinda). Bryan and I watched the start on tv, so we knew how to time it to see the front-runners as they passed. The city had first street blocked off, so only people that lived on my side or traveled from far away were watching on the east side, on the west-literally people 4-5 deep cheering everyone on. I have to say this was one of my favorite experiences here, being outside with the perfect man, great weather, and people supporting this city and each other was pretty inspiring. Not to mention, running 26 miles was a bit inspiring also. Great day!

We saw some great sites, here are a few...Don't have pics of Apollo Anton Ono who literally ran 5 feet from us or the homeless man who was pretending to run in his dirty wife beater and full on beard-drinking the water provided! Hilarious.

This is Mary Keitany, who lead huge for the entire race until the last couple miles. We were around mile 16 and she had a 2 minute lead at this point. The cars/entourage above were the only company she had because her lead was so big!

 This was the view from where we were.

These are the men's pros that ran by so fast we could barely get the pic. Can you imagine running 26 miles at a 5 min pace? The guy that won set the course record. I totally believe some bodies (not mine) were meant to be stealthy and run like this-others, 5k will do!

Can't say enough good things about this day, makes me motivate and plan for my next race. Thinking I'm going to try my hand at a half in Dallas in the spring. Can't wait!