travel

about the time I went to NYC and it was magic.

November 29, 2012

I feel like something is happening to me.

Or, has happened to me, rather.

It’s like I can’t go anywhere with my camera lately without taking a bazillion photos.

And then. Then! If that’s not bad enough I can’t write a blog post without posting said BAZILLION photos.

Sorry?

Not really.

Hope you don’t mind!

Behold!

MY SATURDAY DAY TRIP TO THE ONE AND ONLY NEW YORK CITY:

Can I actually just say something before we begin? One more thing?

New York City is just so incredibly romantic.

Isn’t it?

Gosh I just want to hug it every single time I go.

Some parts I do not want to hug (Ahemm, Times Square) but most parts I do.

This particular trip brought me to the West Village. Talk about romantic. I could straight up slow dance with the West Village. DREAMY!

My main reason for heading to New York on this fine November day was to meet up with my best friend Bailey, who was visiting family in NJ and NY for the Holidays. Bailey used to live in Manhattan, then Brooklyn, and now she lives Charlotte.

(Remember when I went to visit her last spring?)

It’s only a few times a year that we get to spend time together, so I decided to take advantage of my proximity to the city to hang out with her, Luke, and Kevin.

We went to Aria Wine Bar and had small plates and wine. It was super lovely.

Mostly, I just loved being with my friend.

And isn’t Luke crazy cute??

YES. Yes he is.

After lunch we just walked around shopping and talking, catching up on things that are new and reminicing about favorite memories of old. We got cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery (the original!) and we popped into Chelsea Market and strolled through the Union Square Holiday Market, too.

I bought some handmade local gifts at Teich and Bailey picked up some adorable kid stuff for Luke.

All in all, a really great afternoon…

When I first made my plans to go to New York for the day, I just imagined having brunch, then hopping on the train back to Greenwich. But my brain got reeling and I just kept thinking WHAT ELSE can I do in this city of DREAMS?

Because, I mean, let’s live it up in NYC why don’t we.

YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE.

And so came about the fabulous idea to see if the New York City Ballet was performing The Nutcracker.

AND THEY WERE. AND WE WENT!

After saying goodbye to Bails, I headed towards Lincoln Center to meet up with my sister and my cousin Haley. We went to dinner at P.J. Clark’s in Lincoln Square– right across the street from the theatre, which was perfect (thanks for the rec, Colleen!), and then skittered right on over to watch the ballet.

Seeing the New York City Ballet perform The Nutcracker has always been a lifelong dream of mine. And going to Lincoln Center, yet another dream. Ever since this movie, circa 1993. And this movie, circa 2000. Also, I was in the Nutcracker when I was younger, and was an aspiring ballerina back in the day. SIGH. The memories.

The theatre! The costumes! The music! The dancing! THE NOSTALGIA.

It was in a word:

MAGIC.

Thanks for everything, New York.

Always.

23 Comments · Filed Under: fall, food, friends, life, travel ·

new york city in september.

October 3, 2012

Two weekends ago we took a weekend trip to New York City. Zanner had some hotel points that he’d collected (he travels sometimes for work), and so we packed our bags and left Boston for Queens on the last weekend of September in 2012.

On the first day we took the subway in from Long Island City straight to Grand Central Station. We walked over to the Flat Iron District, had some Shake Shack (LOVED!) in Madison Square Park and then made our way to the High Line on the Lower West Side. This day was all about walking and just enjoying the hustle and bustle of the city. We stopped in bookstores and markets and rode the subway when we could. A few times we jumped in taxis when our feet needed a break, but mostly we just explored the city by foot all day.

After we walked most of the High Line (a long, elevated park on an old railroad track above the city streets in Manhattan) and did a little exploring at the UrbanSpace market in Meatpacking, we then took the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge. We had dinner plans in Greenpoint with one of Zan’s cousins and my sister who was also visiting her boyfriend in the city for the weekend, and even though it was NOT in the same vicinity I still felt like a trip to Brooklyn deserved a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge.

What. A. View.

The whole experience is absolutely amazing.

You can see the Manhattan skyline and even catch a glimpse of Lady Liberty! The sun was shining on her so gloriously that day. Gave me goosebumps.

The second (and last day) of our trip we decided to ditch the subway to take the East River Ferry over to Manhattan (also amazing views!) to meet up with one of my besties from college, Kprime. I was suffering from a small case of “too-much-fun-from-the-night-before-syndrome” so I was slow to eat my grilled cheese, but the company was lovely and the ginger ale helped, too. When I think back, I believe it was ultimately the hot dog I ate from the stand on 34th street that really saved the day. And thank goodness for that.

After brunch we took a stroll through Central Park and then made our way down 5th Avenue, past Rockefeller Center, and back to Grand Central for our departure.

The weekend felt too short, but don’t all good weekends seem to work that way?

I loved every step I took and every sight I saw.

That city makes me feel like an adventurer. I just want to keep moving and see everything. I want to do it all. And when I get home, it’s wonderful and satisfying to finally take a breath, but when I’m there it sure is something special.

12 Comments · Filed Under: fall, life, travel ·

thanks for the wishes.

September 21, 2012

This year’s birthday was everything.

I had a great Monday in first grade.

I came home to balloons all around the apartment and streamers as decorations, too.

There were dinner party people with hats and cheer and smiles.

There was taco soup and root beer and raspberry chocolate angel food cake.

There was the best present ever.

And some pretty cute new outfits for school!

There was thankfulness for everything.

So, thanks! Thanks for the wishes and thanks for the love!

This weekend I’ll continue this celebration called life by heading on down to the one and only New York City. You’ve probably figured out I kinda like that place by now, huh? I can’t wait to spend a little time there in all it’s fall glory. Zan and I are staying in a hotel that overlooks Manhattan, and there’ll just be a lot of skittering around the city like I do. I was hoping to cross this off my bucket list (I got a gift certificate!), but the classes are pretty much all filled at this point, so it might have to be saved for another time. I always want to see and do everything, and there’s never enough time in one trip, so others will be planned in the near future. New York is one of my favorite cities to visit and I have no desire to stop any time soon. I’m never too stressed about not getting everything in because there’s always next time!

As far as this trip goes, I’m excited to have Zan with me this time around, and my sister is going to be there, too. The weather is going to be beautiful, which is great because that’s how I like to roll. YAY for fall weekends in awesome places.

Have a good one!

12 Comments · Filed Under: celebrations, life, travel ·

cape cod // or, the most pictures in a blog post ever.

September 12, 2012

Cape Cod really outdid itself this year.

This vacation is always the last trip I take before the start of a new school year. Every year it’s the best and this time around was no different. We stayed in Orleans, and it was the perfect amount of beach and relaxation. We were able to spend time in Chatham (our old stomping grounds) and we even spent an afternoon in Provincetown. Between the weather and the company, I’d say this summer definitely went out with a bang.

Like fireworks.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

I loved so many of them I just couldn’t choose.