Living and Loving...

Yep... its been over a year...

I don't even have an excuse :)

Its been a great year, but no use going back in time too far. I recently returned from a trip to NYC for my very first time, and just a few weeks later Hurricane Sandy hit the great city. I had an amazing time and wanted to share some pictures and stories to go with it!

Here's how I got there: Last Christmas my family went on a cruise to the Caribbean for the holiday. We volunteered to be bumped from a flight in Dallas and put on a flight the next morning (it was a vote of 4 out of 5 to do it- mom wasn't so excited- sorry mom!) because we did that we were each given a $500 flight voucher that had to be used within the year. $500 free flight! So after deliberating multiple ideas with the family about different options, and being told that we "couldn't go on another trip until Jordan got home from the mish," I decided to go somewhere I have always wanted to go! NYC!

Fall Break was a Thursday, Friday, and Monday this year the 11-15 of October. October in New York? Perfect time of year! Recently my friend Lauren moved to NYC and was thrilled to have visitors. I convinced (it didn't take much) my friend Megan to come with, and before we knew it we had flights booked and were making plans to hit the big city. Megan had been before so between Lauren and her I was set with knowing exactly what to do and what not to do! I definitely suggest going with people who know the city! And well.. here are the highlights of the trip...

Layovers are great.. 1. I love airports and 2. It's always a great time to catch up on some reading, and more importantly my tv shows and movies! What did we do without technology?!

Ok just a warning.. these are pretty much in no particular order! It was a blur of a weekend!

We went to this amazing little place called UrbanSpaces. It had all these little booths and INCREDIBLE little eating places. I think between the 3 of us we had green chili macaroni and cheese, empanadas, meetballs, and a pulled pork sandwich, but the highlight of the meal was definitely dessert. Crack Pie- this amazing buttery, tastes like caramel and heaven all put on this amazing crust and served frozen! Yes its as delicious as it sounds! I took 3 home to share with people... everyone loved it!

We took a trip to little Italy. We discovered a few things. First, Italian men are very forward and flattering- to the point of making us uncomfortable. Second, we desperately needed a dose of Diet Coke and had to pay a pretty penny for that little 8 oz bottle... but it was worth it. We later found a 7-11 that we frequented on the trip :)

We made a trip down to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was crazy windy, and part of it was under construction, but it was still very cool to see it, and see the view of the city from it!

Yeah windy...

I love the picture in the left top corner of the "instagram"- our colors are fabulous!

I had to document the Subway. We became pros at the metro, but I did miss my car and the ability to get somewhere in less that 45 mins.

Time Square was fun! We were on the big screen so I, of course, had to document it! The random leg coming out of the top of the picture is from the video that was being played on the screen with us.

In the subway we got to see break dancers perform twice! I was probably more excited to see "life" in NYC than all the tourist things. It was pretty amazing to watch them dance on the hard tile floor, and they were GOOD!

Chelsea Market- another dream find in NYC. It is this adorable little market that has restaurants and candy stores, and bakeries. And this awesome pumpkin at the fruit exchange. October was a great time to go!

And now.. the highlight of my trip... NEWSIES!!!!

We got day of tickets, and it was seriously amazing! I felt like my childhood was coming to life! I always associate newsies with my youth. My siblings and I pretty much have it memorized, and sing the songs all the time. Then add to it 3 dancers from So You Think You Can Dance in the cast and I was pretty much in heaven. If only it was a sing-a-long... A definite must when in NYC!

Grand Central Station was incredible! Just like the movies! We went pretty much around the time when everyone was getting off work so it was totally packed, just like I had imagined it would be. So many movies have been filmed here, and in the city I was in movie lover heaven!

I am not a waffle and pancake kind of girl, but this was not your average waffle.. It was a dessert and it was amazing. I dont even remember the name of the spread that they put on it, but it was basically graham cracker flavored nutella and it was spectacular!

We went to this lovely little restaurant called SaraBeths for brunch on day- in the upper east side.. The fancy side of NYC. It was beautiful! They had this adorable little nook in the waiting area and I wish you could see it better, but you get the idea.

Their buildings with the vines were so pretty!

We just wanted to sit on their steps all day- play Gossip Girl or something!

There was this giant spider Halloween decoration hanging on the side of us, which you clearly cannot see in the picture, but I thought this was funny of us.

Walking down the street, headed to central park!

The Met... we didn't go inside, but we stopped to take a few pics on the way..

We went to Dean and Deluca on request from our love of the TV show Felicity. This is where Felicity and Ben worked.. so we had to make a stop... for Ben :)

More of the gorgeous buildings...

And finally the city view from Central Park! We definitely didn't take enough pictures at the park!

My friend Ladd also lives in NYC! It was so fun to get to see him!

We went to the 9/11 Memorial. It was pretty cool to see where the buildings once were, and as soon as the museum is done it'll be a really cool place to visit. Definitely proud to be an American.

This is the North and South pools that are now where the towers once were. They are pretty spectacular with all the names of the people who died in each tower engraved around the pool.

So here was my celebrity sighting in NYC, and don't worry that I didn't even know his name. I have to look him up before we talked to him. He's in the movie "What Happens In Vegas" and like a crazy celebrity stalker I am I, of course, recognized him and asked him for a picture. He is most definitely a comedian and was hilarious to talk too. My friend Lauren said she saw him again shortly after we left NYC! So fun!

We had to go visit the L-O-V-E sign!

The most incredible Banana Pudding Ever! Magnolias bakery - a must visit!

So we wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and we wanted to do it for free... so we got on the Staten Island Ferry for a trip right passed it! We were really excited because it was right around sunset and we thought we would be able to see it with a gorgeous sunset, but we got there a bit late and missed the ferry so we had to wait and we watched the sunset from the waiting area, but we got to see her lit up and the amazing city at night!

I was able to snatch this from the waiting area. I think it's still a great picture of Lady Liberty and the setting sun!

We went to this AMAZING pizza place call Lucali's in Brooklyn after seeing the Statue of Liberty. Ladd met up with us there, and it was pretty delicious. They were totally booked, but the hostess set us up a table (wooden stool) and chairs (waiting area benches) outside and we were able to eat there. I dont know if we were just starving and exhausted and everything tasted delicious, but we were loving this pizza! After we went to this adorable little diner-like place for sundaes. I believe it was called Farmacy. It was delicious! The eating in NYC is unlike anywhere I've been!

This is just a really fun part of the Subway. The tile was pretty cool.

My favorite roadside snack. They were the perfect little size of delicious cinnamon and honey roasted almonds.

We took a trip to Yankee Stadium for one of the playoff games against the Tigers. The Yankees fans are brutal! They were yelling at A-Rod the whole game. Its a gorgeous new stadium and a definite must in NYC.

I loved this and I kept it. It was my metro card that I used to go on the subway. For the most part I loved riding the subway. I liked getting to see the locals and there was always something entertaining happening!

This picture is taken on the High Line (i think thats what it was called). It was this pretty little walkway that almost made you feel like you weren't in the big city.