Girls Trip To New York {Part 3}

Here is Part 1 and Part 2 in case you missed them!

Days 5 & 6 were so fun and I got to meet one of my idols!

Day 5 started off with some of the best pizza I have ever had. There was this little pizza shop just right down the street from us. They had every type of pizza you could think of and the best part, it was thin crust! Thin crust pizza is my jam :)

After we sat in silence and ate (because it was that good) we headed for Dylan's Candy Bar. On the way we saw this mural and had to stop and take a picture. Not only do I love the colors and design, I love what it is saying. Instead of throwing hate around, let's spread love.

We had so much fun at Dylan's Candy Bar and felt like kids again, oohing and aahing over all the candy and suckers the size of our heads. We got our kids enough sugar to last them a year and picked up a treat or two for ourselves! They also had the best fudge I've ever tasted.

My boys flipped when they saw these suckers!

Afterwards, we headed to Central Park and saw the Waldorf Astoria from Home Alone 2. Did anybody else wish they could be Kevin when they were little?!

We walked through Central Park, watched a baseball game and kickball practice. We had such a great time and felt like we were somewhat back home. Except we don't have skyscrapers towering over the trees. ;)  

After so much walking and sightseeing we were starving. Shay over at Mix and Match Mama blogged about this cute restaurant and I knew we had to try it out. I'm so glad we checked it out because it was amazing! The outdoor seating was adorable and the food was amazing. This was my favorite dinner out of the whole week.

When our last drop of wine was gone we grabbed an Uber and headed back to our place. We knew we had to get some sleep if we were going to get up at 4:00am for the Today Show!

4:00am came awfully early, but we were so excited we didn't mind one bit. Sandy and I are HUGE Kathie Lee and Hoda fans and always talk about how we would love their job! Drinking wine, dressing up and hanging out with your best friend sounds pretty good to me!

I had a mini freak out moment when Hoda took a picture with us! I don't think the smile on Sandy's face could get any bigger! It's my favorite! Hoda couldn't have been kinder to us and everybody in the crowd. She took the time to say hi and take pictures with everyone. I thought I was a huge fan before we met her, but now I'm a super fan!

When the Today Show was over we walked across the street for some Starbucks and headed back to our apartment. While we were chugging our coffee and regrouping from meeting Hoda, we decided to get ticks for the Lady Gaga concert that night! We couldn't believe there were still tickets available and jumped at the opportunity.

After getting our coffee buzz on and changing clothes we headed our for more pizza and the Grand Central Terminal. It was really beautiful and I'm glad we decided to see it. With lots of time till the concert we decided to do some shopping. I got myself a little birthday present from Michael Kors!

After walking around and shopping we were ready for a sweet treat. When I heard that The Milk Bar had cereal milk soft serve, I knew I had to try it out. (I blogged about my love for cereal here plus 29 other fun facts about me!) The Milk Bar didn't disappoint, I was in cereal heaven!

We shopped a little more and then headed to the Lady Gaga concert! The concert was quite a ways from where we were staying and since the subway confused the heck out of us, we left super early. When we got to Citi Field we grabbed dinner at a bar that was right around the corner. After dinner it was time to relax, drink a beer and wait. And wait we did because the concert started two hours late. She came on stage around 10:30 and put on one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Her concert was worth every penny and I would go see her again in a heartbeat. If you have the opportunity, you have to go. She was a phenomenal performer and the concert had a really intimate feeling. She told some personal stories and talked to the crowd like we were at a small café and had known each other forever. All around us people were crying, at many different times during the concert. She left me thinking about love, life and how we all need to treat each other. Her message came right back to the mural we saw at the beginning of the day. 

And just like that, it was time to pack up and go home. As I was about to board my last flight Sandy gave me the most thoughtful birthday gift. She wrote these letters for me to read when I need them the most. You guys, I started crying my eyes out when she gave them to me. All of the emotions from our trip, saying goodbye, knowing I was about to see my boys and having her pour her heart into these letters made me lose it. When people go above and beyond to show me how much they care, I cry and cry. I get all choked up just thinking about our friendship and how much Sandy means to me. Every women needs a friend like her in their life. A rock, cheerleader, supporter and friend who loves you, flaws and all.

Tears fell down my cheeks half way home and when I finally saw my boys I was overwhelmed with emotions all over again. Until I found out the airline lost my luggage, but that's another story! ;) To sum it all up, our trip to New York exceeded my wildest expectations. A girls trip did wonders for my soul and I'm hoping we can make it a yearly tradition!

If you are planning a trip to NYC and have any questions please email me or leave a comment. I would love to help answer any questions you have!

XOXO

Don't forget to check out Part 1 and Part 2!

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Girls Trip To New York {Part 2}

If you missed yesterday's post, check out part one here.

Days 3 and 4 weren't nearly as crazy as the first 2, but just as much fun! We started our day off by sleeping in (what's a girls trip, with no kids, without sleeping in?!) and then headed to the Statue of Liberty.

Here are a few tips we learned:

1. You have to buy your ferry ride ticket at least the day before, a couple days before if you looking for a specific time.

2. If you want to walk up to the pedestal, you need to buy tickets at least a week in advance.

3. If you want to walk up to the crown, tickets need to be purchased months in advance.   

4. Our tickets came with an audio tour and that takes about 30 minutes.

5. There is a restaurant at the Statue of Liberty.

6. If you get motion sick make sure you bring something with you.

The Statue of Liberty was amazing and I'm so glad we decided to take the ferry ride out to see it. They did such a wonderful job with the audio tour and I got teary eyed a few times. To think about all the people coming to America for a better life, and one of the first things they see is the Statue of Liberty, gives me goose bumps.

Afterwards, we walked to the Shake Shack and it didn't disappoint. Their fries were some of the best I've ever had. We were both starving (since we slept in we only had a hot dog before getting on the ferry) and ate our burger and fries in record time. There was no talking at our table! We then walked across the street for a pick me up, grabbed an Uber, and headed back to our place to get ready for the Yankees game!  

This was my first time to a professional game and I was so excited! From never seeing a pro game, to seeing the Yankees play was super fun. The really funny thing is Sandy's husband and family are HUGE Red Socks fans and the Yankees are the only reason J.D. would ever go to NYC. So my husband was all, "What!? You are going to the game!!! I'm so jealous!" and Sandy's husband was all, "Really?! Don't bring home any souvenirs." Ha! To make the night even better it was Star Wars night. Both of Sandy's boys and Kona LOVE Star Wars. When we sent them pictures they were blown away. So basically we were in trouble with everyone back home! Ha!

Baseball, beer, a hot dog, and my best friend sitting next to me. It doesn't get much better than that!

We rode the subway, for the first time, to and from the game. That was quit the experience! Thank goodness there were so many nice people who helped us navigate and show us which train to get on. We were so confused!

The next morning we got up bright and early so we could have breakfast and coffee before heading to the Lion King on Broadway! We had breakfast at The Smith and oh my goodness it was amazing. The restaurant was right around the corner from our place and we both loved it. The food and drinks were amazing and the atmosphere was really fun. We both loved it!

After breakfast we walked a few blocks to Irving Farm Coffee. We both got a mocha and I was in heaven. The gentleman that took our order sang to us, the décor was beautiful and the coffee was amazing. If you are in NYC or visiting I can't recommend The Smith or Irving Farm Coffee enough.  

Seeing the Lion King on Broadway was a must for both of us and a major highlight of our trip. I had never been to a Broadway show, and have been wanting to see the Lion Kind forever, so I was over the moon with excitement. The show didn't disappoint and was even more amazing than I thought it was going to be!

Since we were in Time Square we decided to do the touristy thing and go to the Disney Store, M&M store, and Hershey Chocolate World. We walked around and saw the New Years Eve ball and Ray's Pizza from the movie Elf.

Sorry about the blurry pictures. My camera was zoomed in as far as it could go.

For dinner that night we ate at Dos Caminos and again it was a total hit! It wasn't too far from where we were staying and every time we walked by the food looked amazing. We sat outside and it was such a beautiful night. Good food, drinks, and the best company. Win,Win,Win!!

After dinner we waked around, popped into a few bars and ended the evening having drinks at Rockafeller Center. P.S. Their fries were amazing!

Well that's a wrap on days 3 & 4! Don't forget to check out Part One and Part three!

XOXO

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Our Girls Trip To New York

I've been back from New York City for 2 week's and I feel like I'm just now caught up. This was one of those vacations that I needed a vacation once I got back. Have you ever had one of those? Our trip was beyond amazing, eye opening and to be honest, a little life changing. It's hard for me to put into words exactly how wonderful our time was. New York was everything I was expecting and nothing at all, all wrapped up in one. I went with my best friend from college, and it was both of our first times visiting the big apple. We were there for 6 days and we fell in love with the city. The people were great, the food was amazing and the atmosphere was electric. We can't wait to go back and are already talking about our next trip! It probably won't be for awhile, but hey girls can dream!

We flew in late Wednesday afternoon, grabbed an Uber (my very first ride in an Uber!) and took off to our apartment. We rented an apartment from Airbnb in midtown and loved it. The location was perfect and made getting around really easy. There were amazing restaurants, coffee shops and shopping around every corner. If you are a first time traveler to the city, I highly recommend staying in Midtown. I did a ton of research, talked to a few travel agents, and they all recommended staying here.

When we finally got to our apartment, both Sandy and I looked at each other and said, "Okay we're here, now what?!" We were a little overwhelmed, but so excited to be there and wanted to do everything. Since it was almost 5pm, we decided to grab some coffee (I had been up since 2:30am) at Starbucks and map out a plan. We soon learned there were no tables to sit at and map out our next move. So we did the next best thing and just started walking. Two small town girls, walking around the big apple for the first time, was quite the experience. Here are a few things we learned right off the bat.

1. Everybody is so dressed up. High heals and beautiful fashion is everywhere.

2. People don't wait on the sidewalk when waiting to walk, they crowd on the street.

3. Cars that are turning come right up to the crosswalk as you are walking. That took a little bit to get use to.

4. We looked like total tourists.


As we were walking we ran into Trump Towers and popped into H&M for some shopping. We both got some really fun pieces and had the best time trying things on and actually taking our time. (A total luxury when you're a mom!) After shopping we were both getting hungry and stopped at Redemption. We didn't know anything about this restaurant, but it had outdoor seating and good music so we stopped. I'm sure glad we did because the food and drinks were really good!

After dinner we headed back to the apartment to settle in and figure out the week ahead of us. We laid out a huge map on the floor and I got out all the notes I took from other blogs and the recommendations from you guys. Notes everywhere, pj's on, hair up, and us laughing till we were crying took me right back to our college days. :)


The next morning we got up early and hit the ground running.

Our first stop was breakfast at Sarabeth's. We absolutely loved this restaurant and highly recommend it. The food was amazing, our waiter was the nicest and the place was beautiful. I can't say enough good things!
After breakfast we walked over to the 9/11 memorial and museum. I was completely blown away by the 9/11 museum. It was very emotional for me and I cried several times. I cried for those who lost their lives, the families who lost their loved ones and for all the people still affected today. The museum was stunning. Every detail was laid out in the most thoughtful and beautiful way. From phone call recordings, to the steal that was first hit by the plane, fire trucks that were destroyed, the survivor staircase, and a dedication to all the lives that were lost. I'm so glad we went and I encourage everyone to go.

 

Afterwards, we walked to the Brooklyn Bridge and did a little sight seeing. The walk was so fun. There were tons of beautiful buildings, statues and little parks everywhere.

From there we walked through China town and Little Italy and ate at Ruby's. The pasta was amazing and atmosphere was fun. I recommend it!!

After dinner we grabbed an Uber and headed to Macy's on 34th. I was in love the minute we walked in the door! We didn't stay for long, only because we still wanted to see the Empire State Building, but I could have spent hours here!

Up next on our jam-packed day was the Empire State Building. This was something I didn't have my heart set on doing, but oh man am I glad we did. It was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip. We went around 8:00 and the timing was perfect. There was almost nobody in line when we got there so we were able to get right in. Now it does cost money to go up (which I had no idea) so just be aware of that. We saw families leaving because it was too expensive for everyone to go up. 

 The view from 80+ stories up was spectacular and I found it to be incredibly peaceful. It was quiet and gave me sometime to think. When you are standing up there, looking over a city with millions of people, you sure do feel small. You realize you are such a small part of this world, but that everybody together is apart of something bigger. I thought about 9/11 and what the people of New York have been threw. I thought about how resilient and strong they are. They have faced something a lot of us can't even imagine and yet the city keeps building and getting stronger. I want to put this type of resiliency into my life. To grow, change, and love life no matter what is thrown my way.

After the Empire State Building it was time for a treat! We got ice cream cones and saw some more amazing sights on the way back to our apartment.

  One of my favorite shows!

Our first day in the city was huge! We walked over 21,000 steps and were on our feet all day. I will probably say this a million times, but good walking shoes is a must. Both Sandy and I got a pair of Allbirds and loved them! They are amazing and the only reason our feet and legs weren't killing us by the end of the day. I don't think I've ever loved a pair of flats as much as I love these shoes. 

 Make sure to check out part 2 and part 3!

XOXO

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