NYC!!!!! woooooo what a whirl. a whole week in NYC over a holiday! talk about this girls dream come true.
it was a wild time, lots of good food and good family time. we maaaay have over stayed our welcome a bit, we were definitely ready to come home 5 days into the trip, but eh, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
the trip did make me realize how comfortable we are in our routine. new york city way of living is totally different from ours. a double stroller rarely exists there. and people do not typically spend $200 at the grocery store. i mean i like to think of myself as a minimalist and an efficient packer, but new york made me realize how terrible i am at both. its just a different way of life. and it was never more apparent to me than after having kids. i suppose if we had lived in new york before having kids then it wouldn't be as big of an adjustment. but jumping into big city life for a quick vacation definitely had its difficult moments. but all in all it was a success.
we also got to meet williams family, who are so so lovely.
We arrived Tuesday, with nona arriving only a few hours later, to a cold and drizzly new york. you ladies were perfect on the plane. we all basically battled head colds the whole trip, and i was concerned this would make the plane ride terrible, but it really didnt phase either one of you. me, however, i lost hearing in one ear from the pressure in my already sinus-y head doubling up with the pressure from the airplane. thank god it was me and not you. Tuesday night was a treat, dad and i got to go out to dinner with ben and william at a cute little french restaurant in Harlem for some Raclette. it was my first time. nothing like a ton of cheese at 9 p.m. but it was so good. and so spontaneous, i just love that.
Wednesday was spent running errands, picking up tables/chairs, grocery shopping. your nona stayed with you ladies while dad and i got to play a little and see the city with uncle ben. we were stuck in traffic most of the errand running, but we didnt mind too much because we got to see the balloons for the parade the next day tied up and waiting in the street and got to experience uncle ben's road rage. have i mentioned yet how handy uncle ben has become? well he has.
Thursday morning, nona, Uncle Ben and us piled in a cab down to the macy's thanksgiving day parade in REAL LIFE! spider man was awesome. hello kitty, incredible. and during this outing we had some of the best waffles of my life. waffles and dinges. if you are ever in new york, just remember waffles and dinges. we all only lasted an hour, it was COLD. then we headed home to cook cook cook and watch christmas movie after christmas movie.
ben and williams place is the coolest, and set the perfect backdrop for our holiday. the food was the best thanksgiving food i've ever had. the turkey was perfection and carved beautifully, the stuffing was amazing, root vegetables made an appearance (of which i love) and the desserts were out of this world.
Friday we went to FAO Shwartz (this was a particularly bad idea on my part as it was black friday, only the busiest shopping day of the year...why not stop by a toy store?) and met up with some friends from Houston at the Natural History Museum to see some dinosaur bones. we also had a lovely walk through central park. that evening elisa came to babysit you girls and the adults all went out for ben's birthday. we went bowling, which just blows my mind that there is a 42 lane bowling alley in the middle of new york.
Saturday we went to brooklyn (DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights and Williamsburg) to ride the Jane carousel and eat at Pies and Thighs. the Jane Carousel was amazing. the views from there are really unreal. and its the cutest (and warmest) little carousel i've ever seen. we road it 6 times. then met up with william and his family at an attempt to see Ground Zero (was way too crowded) so walked to a starbucks in the financial center and thawed out for a bit. grabbed a slice of pizza on the way home and i hand fed it to you ladies on the subway as you sat in the stroller. i'm sure that goes against every rule in new york.
Sunday we saw the rockefeller christmas tree and santa ice skating. we also went over to bryant park to see their tree and have some of max brenner hot chocolate. that stuff is serious! like a shot of chocolate, no milk involved. then we drove around the city in a zip van returning rented tables and chairs, and stella and i made a quick trip through chelsea market to buy gifts and eat the most delicious home made pasta.
Monday we spent in harlem, getting coffee and an almond croissant (!!!) at Lenox and playing on a playground.
you ladies were really wonderful travelers. we did learn from the trip that neither of you are fond of the cold. and jane really, strongly prefers dad to hold her the whole time. for a first family trip i say this was a success. it was so fun to do something out of the ordinary and to have family there with us was a plus. to see the christmas windows at barneys and bergdorf goodman has definitely been on my bucket list (thank you will and grace). and to get to experience the macy's day parade as a family was so awesome. seeing you girls wave to the balloons as they went by, stella sitting on dad's shoulders, it really was a dream come true of mine.
below are too many pictures (and there are still more)...enjoy.
xo
it was a wild time, lots of good food and good family time. we maaaay have over stayed our welcome a bit, we were definitely ready to come home 5 days into the trip, but eh, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
the trip did make me realize how comfortable we are in our routine. new york city way of living is totally different from ours. a double stroller rarely exists there. and people do not typically spend $200 at the grocery store. i mean i like to think of myself as a minimalist and an efficient packer, but new york made me realize how terrible i am at both. its just a different way of life. and it was never more apparent to me than after having kids. i suppose if we had lived in new york before having kids then it wouldn't be as big of an adjustment. but jumping into big city life for a quick vacation definitely had its difficult moments. but all in all it was a success.
we also got to meet williams family, who are so so lovely.
We arrived Tuesday, with nona arriving only a few hours later, to a cold and drizzly new york. you ladies were perfect on the plane. we all basically battled head colds the whole trip, and i was concerned this would make the plane ride terrible, but it really didnt phase either one of you. me, however, i lost hearing in one ear from the pressure in my already sinus-y head doubling up with the pressure from the airplane. thank god it was me and not you. Tuesday night was a treat, dad and i got to go out to dinner with ben and william at a cute little french restaurant in Harlem for some Raclette. it was my first time. nothing like a ton of cheese at 9 p.m. but it was so good. and so spontaneous, i just love that.
Wednesday was spent running errands, picking up tables/chairs, grocery shopping. your nona stayed with you ladies while dad and i got to play a little and see the city with uncle ben. we were stuck in traffic most of the errand running, but we didnt mind too much because we got to see the balloons for the parade the next day tied up and waiting in the street and got to experience uncle ben's road rage. have i mentioned yet how handy uncle ben has become? well he has.
Thursday morning, nona, Uncle Ben and us piled in a cab down to the macy's thanksgiving day parade in REAL LIFE! spider man was awesome. hello kitty, incredible. and during this outing we had some of the best waffles of my life. waffles and dinges. if you are ever in new york, just remember waffles and dinges. we all only lasted an hour, it was COLD. then we headed home to cook cook cook and watch christmas movie after christmas movie.
ben and williams place is the coolest, and set the perfect backdrop for our holiday. the food was the best thanksgiving food i've ever had. the turkey was perfection and carved beautifully, the stuffing was amazing, root vegetables made an appearance (of which i love) and the desserts were out of this world.
Friday we went to FAO Shwartz (this was a particularly bad idea on my part as it was black friday, only the busiest shopping day of the year...why not stop by a toy store?) and met up with some friends from Houston at the Natural History Museum to see some dinosaur bones. we also had a lovely walk through central park. that evening elisa came to babysit you girls and the adults all went out for ben's birthday. we went bowling, which just blows my mind that there is a 42 lane bowling alley in the middle of new york.
Saturday we went to brooklyn (DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights and Williamsburg) to ride the Jane carousel and eat at Pies and Thighs. the Jane Carousel was amazing. the views from there are really unreal. and its the cutest (and warmest) little carousel i've ever seen. we road it 6 times. then met up with william and his family at an attempt to see Ground Zero (was way too crowded) so walked to a starbucks in the financial center and thawed out for a bit. grabbed a slice of pizza on the way home and i hand fed it to you ladies on the subway as you sat in the stroller. i'm sure that goes against every rule in new york.
Sunday we saw the rockefeller christmas tree and santa ice skating. we also went over to bryant park to see their tree and have some of max brenner hot chocolate. that stuff is serious! like a shot of chocolate, no milk involved. then we drove around the city in a zip van returning rented tables and chairs, and stella and i made a quick trip through chelsea market to buy gifts and eat the most delicious home made pasta.
Monday we spent in harlem, getting coffee and an almond croissant (!!!) at Lenox and playing on a playground.
you ladies were really wonderful travelers. we did learn from the trip that neither of you are fond of the cold. and jane really, strongly prefers dad to hold her the whole time. for a first family trip i say this was a success. it was so fun to do something out of the ordinary and to have family there with us was a plus. to see the christmas windows at barneys and bergdorf goodman has definitely been on my bucket list (thank you will and grace). and to get to experience the macy's day parade as a family was so awesome. seeing you girls wave to the balloons as they went by, stella sitting on dad's shoulders, it really was a dream come true of mine.
below are too many pictures (and there are still more)...enjoy.
xo
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| ready for take off |
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| on our way to the parade! |
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| waffles! |
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| subway ride with the crazy man in the corner. |
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| how we survived subway steps |
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| brooklyn heights |
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| the jane carousel! |
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| new york stock exchange |
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| happy birthday ben! |
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| alice feeding jane leftovers, or ice cream, i cant remember |
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| crafting at 2048 madison |
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| rockefeller tree! |
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| bryant park! |
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| running around under the bryant park christmas tree |
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| harlem hooping |
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| through security at laguardia on the way home |
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| how we got home. also tv in airplanes = genius |