New York :: Day 3

Our final day in NYC... Once again, we definitely made the most of it. After another round of bagels for breakfast, we made our way to Chinatown to the New Nice Deluxe Green Bo to meet up with another friend from Oak Park, her daughter, Emma and two of her friends. Melissa hadn't seen Emma since she left for college back in August, so we were all pretty excited to participate in this reunion. I was also very excited to try soup dumplings for the very first time! Absolutely delicious. They may change the name on a frequent basis, but the Deluxe Green Bo is already calling my name on my next NYC trip.

Most of the day was spent wandering around Chinatown, with a quick trip into Little Italy for a delicious coffee. While shopping in Chinatown may not be my cup of tea, I've never experienced Chinatown this way, and it was so much fun participating in this adventure. After stopping in Papa Bubble to pick up some treats for the kids, it was time say our goodbyes to our Temple dancers. We had such a great day with them, and I loved the fact that it was even one of their first trips to New York!

By now, it was cocktail time. We walked the streets of Nolita, and ended up at Mother's Ruin. Perfect, right? Again, we kind of didn't want to leave ... but it was also dinner time. We caught a taxi to the Brooklyn Bridge so we could walk across it. So, so glad we did. It was one of the things I was hoping to do, and we couldn't even believe how stunning it really was. No matter where you looked, the views were spectacular. We were trying to get to a certain restaurant, but just so you know, it does make a difference if you put Ave. or St. in the address. Ha! We ended up at the Ugly Duckling. Again, things happen for a reason. It was fun watching the waiters who dressed like women (Halloween...) awkwardly serving the patrons. The Mets game was on. And they were extremely accommodating.

Sadly, with this, our day came to an end. We were hoping to grab one more donut before hopping on our airplane the next a.m.. Unfortunately, that plan didn't work out so we made our way to the airport instead. After a quick flight, it was time for me to say goodbye. I still cannot even believe this trip happened. It was so perfect -- such an amazing weekend.

New York :: Day 2

The first day we were in New York, the bakery down the street was closed for a film shoot. By the next morning, it was open for business again, so we decided to grab a bagel & coffee before heading out for the day. So glad we did, because it was absolutely delicious. In fact, my mouth is watering just thinking about my everything bagel with garlic/dill cream cheese. Our hotel was several blocks from the "G" train. Our first stop was Times Square to stop by TKTS to see if there was a Broadway show we wanted to see. Alas, it was still closed by the time we got there. But we were able to take in the sites and sounds -- and Penny and I even got our picture taken by the Revlon Love is On camera. As we were leaving, we passed by the theater where Book of Mormon is playing. We decided to stop by on a whim, and were lucky enough to score four tickets to the show that night! Yay!

After buying our tickets, we walked to The High Line. I had worked on a project a few years earlier, which was located right off it in Chelsea. It definitely was one of my favorite places to visit. We also made sure to bring the boys there during our visit a couple years ago. Melissa, Penny and Amy had never been before, and I was so excited to get to show it to them. It's really quite something. We walked from one end to the other. By the time we reached our next destination -- the Chelsea Market -- we definitely felt like we earned our delicious seafood lunch. Afterwards, we browsed some of the artisan markets then walked more before deciding it was time for a cocktail. We ended up at The Meatball Shop, where the bartender mixed up some mean Moscow Mules & Old Fashioneds. After a few of those, we decided it probably was a good idea to try out some of the balls, so split an order of four traditional meatballs.  We probably could have stayed there all night, but alas, we had a show to catch. Realizing one meatball each probably wouldn't tie us over, we picked up a slice of pizza on our way back to Broadway.

I would have been happy seeing pretty much any show, but have to say, Book of Mormon was the one I wanted to watch most. I was pretty excited we were going, and let me just say, it did not disappoint. It definitely is not for everyone (hi, Mom & Dad), but I thought it was absolutely hilarious. After the show, we walked across the street for a cocktail, and as we were leaving, had a Rumer Willis sighting. We headed back to Brooklyn on the train with a bunch of Mets fans, after realizing it was really difficult to get a taxi to take us there. No big deal. But by the time we got home after our long day, we were absolutely exhausted. Granted, it was after 1am by the time we set foot in our room. But what happened next still makes me laugh -- we got a noise complaint! Can you even imagine? A bunch of moms, drinking water and eating grapes. We sure are a wild bunch. Hilarious.

New York :: Day 1

I just got back from the most amazing girls weekend in New York. It was Amy, Penny, Melissa and me, and we had such a great time. We flew out of Chicago early on Thursday. After a dramatic flight (lots of turbulence = I've never come closer to getting sick on a flight my entire life), we arrived in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at the Henry Norman Hotel. Our room was really spacious -- perfect for the four of us. We decided to stick around the area the first day, so had the complimentary car service drop us off at Esme for lunch. The cocktails and sandwiches were amazing, but the highlight was the Beet Salad with Brussels Sprouts, Potatoes, Dill & Horseradish Sauce. I need to recreate it. So good. Despite being extremely full, we didn't get too far before we found ourselves in front of the Peter Pan Donut Shop. I'm usually not a huge fan of the donut, but seriously, my coconut donut was the best donut I've had in my entire life. It was that good. We did a little strolling then headed back to the hotel for a bit before it was dinner time already. I'm not sure any of us were that hungry, so went to El Born for tapas and enjoyed some food and gin & tonics before calling it for the night. After all, we had the entire weekend ahead of us.

Spring Break Day 4 :: New York City

When we left on our road trip, I made sure to pack hats and gloves, but didn't bring many warm weather clothing items. All weekend I was commenting on how funny that was. But then, it all turned on us. Tuesday was raining and cold -- and guess what? I had left all the hats and gloves in the back of the car. In New Jersey. Oh well.

We met the gang at the subway and headed to the 9/11 Memorial. The museum itself opens next month, but the site is amazing. Brian pointed out that names of people who were pregnant said "and unborn child" after the name. Just five days before 9/11, I had started announcing that I was pregnant with H. Those people were just like me. While Brian and I didn't personally know anyone who perished, we did find the name of the person Jesse knew. It's heartbreaking. Just a tip when visiting the memorial -- bathrooms are extremely hard to come by in this area. We had two emergency situations that made some of us pretty miserable for awhile. Hopefully, this will change once the museum opens, but even the visitor center didn't offer a port-a-potty. Anyhow, after the memorial, we went for lunch at Tacombi -- Brian's favorite lunch spot. So good.

Jesse, Kim and kids had to leave us at that point, and Brian, H, C and I continued onward for a cupcake at Little Cupcake Bake Shop (we had celebrity siting there -- Gabriel Byrne) and the Tenement Museum. One of my work-out friends had suggested a visit there, and she was right. It was awesome. There are a ton of different tour options. We did the Sweatshop Workers tour, but I'd love to go back and do some of the others. Afterwards, we walked around until the boys could take no more, then headed back to the hotel and rested. Oh, we also went to Dean and Deluca, where the boys got to pick out some treats (C got some yogurt candies and H picked out three exotic fruits) and I stood in line next to Meg Ryan. She was buying coffee beans. It's funny, because I had looked at her and thought, "Oh, that looks like Meg Ryan." But it always takes Brian to point out that someone actually is the person I think it is. I just never think I'm running into someone famous. Funny.

After we rested, we went headed out to dinner. We took a cab to Momofuku Noodle Bar and had an amazing meal of mayan prawns, kimchi, pork buns, brisket buns, momofuku ramen, ginger scallion noodles and pb and strawberry sweet cracker soft serve. It was 40 degrees and raining at this point. Great for ramen. Not great for wandering. None of us wanted to do anything but hop back in a taxi and head back to the hotel for the nigh (which we probably needed anyhow after a jam-packed few days).

Spring Break Day 3 :: New York City

What a day! H has been wanting to visit New York City for as long as I can remember, and we were so excited to finally bring him there. We piled in the car, and headed to the ferry to visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I've always wanted to do that, so was pretty excited. It was a bit long for the kids -- especially with the lines and lack of snack packing on our part. I did find my great-great grandfather's (Angelo Toson) immigration records, which was pretty cool. He came from Varmo, Italy and arrived on April 16, 1912 when he was 39 years old. I never knew him, but my great-grandfather, who we were very close with growing up had arrived a few years earlier when he was just 15. Since he was sponsored, he didn't need to pass through Ellis Island, like his father did a few years later. The Statue of Liberty was also quite amazing. H, who is petrified of heights, out of the blue had a panic attack on the stairs. But other than that, it was awesome. Afterwards, we checked into our hotels (we stayed at Hotel Indigo Chelsea -- which turned out to be in a really great location for us -- and Jesse, Kim and family were around the corner) then headed out for a late lunch/early dinner in Bryant Park. After refueling, we walked over to Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and Times Square by night. Wow. This city is just amazing.

New York City :: Exploring

Friday afternoon, after the show, after we were done taking everything down, it was time for a little exploring. I'm going to start by saying, I absolutely love New York. But I was totally done on Friday. I probably wasn't the best of company, but we still had a great time. After lunch at Tacombi, we just wandered and wandered and shopped. My favorite find was the Etsy holiday store. Friday was also the day we met up with our friends, which was awesome.

After a good night sleep, I woke up feeling a ton better on Saturday and was ready to hit the town again before we flew out that afternoon. We started with breakfast at Pastis. In typical form, it turns out I was sitting right by Heidi Klum (we think), and had no idea even though I was about two chairs away and facing her. I kept looking at her, checking out her ring and thinking how pretty that person was. But her hair was a little darker, and I really wasn't expecting to see Heidi Klum while eating a croque madame. It wasn't until after we left that Brian was like, "Do you know who that person was?" But of course I didn't. He was sitting closer to her -- albeit, with his back facing her (in fact, her butt brushed his shoulder as she walked by to the bathroom) -- and had heard her accent and part of the conversation. Which we later confirmed based on this and this. I'm such a dork. After brunch, we went to the rag & bone sample sale, browsed Chelsea Market, and walked the High Line. Unfortunately, we had to leave to catch our flight in the early afternoon. Our trip coming to an end.

New York City :: Friends

I didn't get a ton of free time because of the event, of course. And the last couple times I was in New York, I didn't have a minute available. But Brian -- who flew in Thursday before the show -- and I did get to see a few people this time around. Friday afternoon, we met up with my friend Cece for a drink. She and I were exchange students in Germany in 1987. We were always so good about keeping in touch -- we even lived in the same city for a little bit. But it's been at least 16 years since we've seen each other last, and it was so great catching up. That evening, we met up with Chris & Anne, and with David & Anne, for dinner at Raoul's. Chris & Brian were high school locker partners, which just cracks me up. We had a great dinner and it was so much fun seeing each other. Love it, and cannot wait to see all of them again.

New York City :: pART PROJECT

Since May, I've been working on a super incredible project called the pART PROJECT. As Project Manager, I handled artist communications and art shipping logistics. I also worked with the design firm, a New York City event planner, and of course, SRAM. It's kind of doing everything I love, and honestly, in my entire career, one of the most exciting things I've ever worked on. Last week, the big event at Cedar Lake Theater finally came. I arrived to NYC on Tuesday, and starting first thing Wednesday morning, it was all hands on deck. Watching the show come to life was incredible and the end result was nothing short of spectacular. I wish my photos did it justice, because it was an amazing night and the show was stunning. One of the highlights for me though, was the fact that these three made a girl's trip and came to the show:



(I had to steal the photo from Melissa -- thanks!)

How exciting is that! To say that it meant the world to me that Amy, Penny and Melissa were there is an understatement. It was incredible. Unfortunately, working the show didn't leave a ton of time for me to spend with them, but it was simply awesome.