Last Days in NYC

We had one full day in NYC before we flew home.

Unfortunately for us, it was bitter cold, so we didn't make it to Central Park, but that meant we got to ride in a lot of taxis...which made my pregnant self and the kids very happy.

We had breakfast at Tick Tock Diner, then wandered to a couple bookstores, but ended up at Strands, one of New York's best independent bookstores that boasts 18 miles of books. My friend Angela introduced it to me when she visited in November, and they have a great kid's section, so we ended up sitting there reading for quite a while. Oh, and bought some books, because they really do have the BEST prices. Curious George books for $2....everywhere else they are $4. Love it!!






After Strands, we headed back to the hotel room, and that's when all the sickness started. So we ordered room service for dinner and watched a movie in bed. Ahhh.....

The kid's favorite thing about our hotel room, other than the fact we let them jump on the beds, was that we had
an amazing view of Times' Square, and there was the perfect kid-sized ledge by the window to give them the best seats in the house. Each morning the first thing they would do is climb up there and watch the sun come up over the tall buildings.


And this was our view on New Year's Eve Day with the City being blanketed in snow. Very peaceful from 38 floors up...

Princesses, Princesses, Princesses

So we're back in New York, and actually had zero flight trouble given all the snow New York got this last weekend. Yeah!

I'm still a bit of an emotional wreck, as I'm trying to keep my head screwed on straight these next days. I'll just blame the pregnancy. Luckily there is no packing or anything to do until after Christmas, and even then, the movers will be packing everything for us on Monday. I just need to get some things washed and organized....oh, and I need to get the washing machine fixed as it decided to blow up the day we flew to Denver.

So today was Ava's last day of preschool and go figure, I was the one crying, not her. I was fine all day (Wade and I were helping parents in her class today) until it was time to say goodbye and she gave her teachers a hug. Oh boy. Do you know how embarrassing it is to cry in front of a room full of 4 year-olds with their parents waiting on the sidelines?? I ran straight for the tissue box. Oh well, let it flow. I have loved Rye and our time here. It's been hard, but I have loved it.

So I found these pictures on my iPhone that I haven't had a chance to post. A couple Friday's ago, I gave Ava an early Christmas present which was a date with me into the City to see a special screening of The Princess and the Frog. We had assigned seats and special passes to go meet ALL, yes ALL, the princesses after the movie. It was pretty cool. I used to think that Ava would be a tomboy and NOT AT ALL into princesses as she used to only play with Thomas trains, but one trip to Disney world changed that!! Thanks Grandpa. :) We love it.

We stood in line to get a picture with each princess except for the newest, Tiana, because the line was just too long and we were getting tired. It was a great night, and I think the movie was really well done, but I have to say that good vs. evil was definitely present in this movie, with good winning (of course)...but the evil was pretty evil, and may not be appropriate for some. I covered Ava's eyes a couple times.

Here's a self-portrait at our Rye train station waiting for our train. It was cold!!


And a quick stop by the Rockefeller tree...and oh my, the wrinkles are getting more noticeable. When did those happen???!!!


The movie theater...


And bring on the Princesses...let's see if you can name them all (even though their names are on the background).









And a quick peek at Princess Tiana.

Bon voyage Brad & Kendall!

Brad & Kendall leave today. Sniff sniff. They have been troopers here while Wade and I have both been sick, we're distracted with moving, and our kids are acting out because they need our attention!

You guys are saints and we love you. Lucky for us they've both been here before and they have friends in the City. It's raining hard today which kind of matches my mood since I'm sad to see them go, but I'm glad that we'll get to see them more often once we move. That will make up for our lack of quality time during their visit.

We got one date night with them on Tuesday, and ate a great restaurant in the East Village, The Smith.


If you have an iPhone, go get the Shake It Photo app. It takes your picture like a Polaroid and then you shake it to get it to develop. So fun! And it gives it a bit of a vintage vibe.

So Brad and Kendall, thanks for coming to visit us and we'll see you in a few weeks in Denver. WE LOVE YOU!!!!

All I wanted for my birthday....

...is Jude Law on Broadway in Hamlet.

My oh-so-tricky husband gave me my present at breakfast...which was an apple slicer and potato peeler. NICE!!!

But that was from the kids.

Then he gave me Hamlet tickets!!!! Oh, I love him (Wade, that is).

Since Mom and Emma are in town, we had built in babysitters and Wade took me out to dinner at Celsius in Bryant Park. This restaurant only pops up (literally) once a year at Christmas when the park installs an ice skating rink over the grassy park.

The park was beautifully lit with Christmas lights, there was Christmas music on the ice rink, and all the Christmas craft stalls were set up and open. Our table was right up against the windows and we looked down onto the ice rink. GORGEOUS!!! It was one of THOSE New York moments.

It's just amazing that in a few short weeks, all this will be taken down and Bryant Park will be back to normal.


And true to our tradition, I like to take pictures of our food. It was soooo yummy. I had a salad and Wade had steak and fries. For dessert, I had chocolate molten cake a la mode, and Wade had chocolate chip cookies a la mode. Although those cookies had NOTHING on the ones he and his Mom make.


After strolling hand in hand through all the craft vendor stalls, we made our way over to Times Square to see Jude.

His performance was unbelievable as Hamlet and I walked out of that theater emotionally drained from watching the 120% he puts into that role. Not to mention it was 11pm, and WAY past my bedtime.




So Wade, thank you for making my 35th so memorable. I wouldn't want to spend my birthday with anyone but you. I love you.

P.S. I love my apple slicer too. :)

American Girl Store

I can't believe I gave in.

Ava has been talking about an American Girl doll for a year now...ever since we moved to NY. Both my nieces have one (or three), and while I think they are great, they are spankin' expensive!!!

BUT, I told Ava we would get her one before we left New York, since the big mega store is here in NYC. Of course I was planning on buying her one for her 6th birthday (in 2011), but since our NY stay has been cut short, we had to do it now!

Since cousin Emma is in town, we booked a dinner reservation in the American Girl Cafe, met Mom and Emma after they saw the Rockettes, and we bought Ava her blond-hair-green-eyed doll.

We dined, with the dolls of course, in a pink dining room and enjoyed yummy appetizers, pink lemonade, chicken pot pie, chocolate mousse, cakes and cookies.

This is a must do for every little girl in NYC. And I guarantee your little girl will go home happy...mine did.

Time to put my feet up!!!

Angela flew back to Alabama today after 3 straight days in the City. I feel like I checked out of my life for 3 straight days to run (ok, waddle) around Manhattan taking in all the sights with my friend.

My feet hurt, my belly aches, but it was good.

It's time to put the feet up.

Pictures coming!

Brooklyn Bridge & DUMBO

After the Brooklyn Flea, we drove to DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) to hop on the Brooklyn Bridge boardwalk. Did you know when it was first built, NY residents were hesitant to go across it for fear of safety, so in 1884, a herd of 21 elephants were taken across to demonstrate its strength?






This was on the Manhattan side looking down towards the South Street Seaport. One of my favorite things about New York City, or any large city for that matter, are all the "hidden" places that you never see from the street. Rooftop decks especially. How fun to have your own quiet oasis in such a loud and busy city!


Then back to DUMBO and an amazing playground right on the East River. It was such a great day, but probably a bit too much walking for my pregnant self. No wonder I spent all of Sunday afternoon with my feet up!

Happy Anniversary Wade

Today is the day. Nine years ago we said our I Do's. Can you believe it? Who would have dreamed we would be where we are and expecting baby #3?

So we celebrated last Saturday night with dinner at Balthazar's in Soho, and then I surprised Wade with a trip to the top of the Empire State Building. It was a gorgeous clear night, and you could see for miles. It would have been a bit more romantic if we didn't have to share our time up there with a couple hundred other people, but it was still amazing.

Can you tell we were both in the mood for steak?? Fabulous.




I love you Wade for always keeping me grounded, even when I fight it. Thank you for your committment to me and the kids (and Presta). I love you for making me laugh even though you sometimes have to work a little harder at it. I do think you're funny....I really do. I love you for letting me plan our vacations as long as there is a golf course near by. I love you for cutting your own hair so I can spend a little more on mine. I love you for teaching Tyson how to play baseball because I am extremely poor at it. I love you for sticking with Ava on her bike even though she's scared of falling. I love you for letting me buy a van even though every ounce of your being didn't want to (I think we ended up with a good one). I love you for working so hard to provide so I can stay home.

Bottom line...I love you. Looking forward to the next nine...

Manhattan.....YUCK!

The drink, not the city.

So you may remember this post here. What an awesome girl's weekend. We each drank a Manhattan, and they were not so good. Ugh. But we drank them anyway because they were $20 each!!

So Janna sent this to me in the mail last week and it cracked me up! I don't know if this was in this month's Martha Stewart or not, but man, why do people like these drinks?


Why such an amazing city has such a horrible tasting drink named after it is beyond me.

Hot Dog Heaven

One of our last days with Mom and Audrey was spent in Central Park. It was an absolutely gorgeous day...not too hot!

We had a picnic just outside the arena where Whitney Houston was giving a free comeback concert, so we ate while listening to her belt out "I'm Every Woman". Go Whitney.

We opted for the best and cheapest New York lunch. Hot dogs from a vendor. $2 (or $4 for me because I had two) of hot dog heaven.



Oh, and I saw someone famous as I was heading back for my second hot dog!!!! Patrick Stewart! Don't worry, I didn't know his name either. But he's the very nice looking bald older gentlemen who played Captain Picard in Star Trek the Next Generation, and he's in most the X-Men movies.

I love seeing famous people...I watch to much E! channel.

Date Night

One of my favorite things about having people visit, other than seeing our guests of course, is having a date night.

Typically if you come stay with us, you get the privilege of watching my beautiful and well behaved and perfect (OK, exaggerating JUUUUUSSST a little bit) children so Wade and I can have a night out.

Mom and Audrey were gracious enough to stay behind one evening. I got to ride the train in BY MYSELF, ALL ALONE, SOLO, and I even took a book with me. WOW!!

I met Wade and work and then we headed to NYC's Little Italy on Mulberry street and ate at Il Palazzo (151 Mulberry Street). ALL their pasta is homemade. The food was fantastic, and we sat in a little courtyard in the back which had a glass ceiling and a view of the surrounding brick buildings. Very "Rear Window" - esque.

Just check out our food. Man, I could only eat about 1/3 of it, but it was phenomenal. And yes, you see two glasses of wine in the last picture. BAD pregnant lady, BAD!!!! Don't worry Mom, I only drank 1/2 of it. Baby Gus is just fine.





PS. If you want to eat on Mulberry Street, I would recommend two other restaurants that have semi-outdoor seating right on the street so you can watch everyone walking by. The store fronts open up completely, so you're dining inside, but a bit al fresco.

Caffe Napoli,191 Hester Street (Hester & Mulberry)
Da Gennaro Ristorante, 129 Mulberry Street

Then head just a block down to Ferrara's (est 1892) for some of the best Gelato and coffee.

Ciao!!