now you're in new york
i just returned from a great week in new york with jocelyn and regan.
as soon as we got to the city, we checked into our hotel and then went over to times square to be as touristy as possible.
i also found the M&M store (which i had promised tagg i would) and couldn't wait to take a picture outside of it to send to tagg.
the next morning we headed downtown (waaaaaaay downtown) for breakfast at the doughnut plant. before our trip, we decided that i would come up with our itinerary. i should have had a disclaimer go along with it..... i knew the good places to go.... i just wasn't all that sure how to get there! needless to say, there were a couple of times we had to end up taking a taxi. :)
after breakfast, we headed over to century 21 (will never do that again) and then to the 9/11 site. and can i just say, that as this picture was being taken (in front of ground zero) i was saying that maybe we shouldn't have big smiles on our faces.... turns out that i look like i am laughing. couldn't be any more inappropriate if i tried.
for lunch, we went over to chelsea market for the lobsters place's amazing lobster rolls. sooooo freaking good.
then we went over to greenwich village for magnolia (YES YOU HEARD ME RIGHT. i don't care if its cliche. i love the cupcakes/banana pudding and the whole experience is very nostalgic for me) as we were sitting on this stoop, we saw a very dodgy matthew broderick scamper by.
later that nite, regan's brother and sister-in-law invited us over to their hotel in the meat packing district for dinner. ummmmm.... i didn't get the memo that the dream hotel is THE hotel in manhattan. as we were eating our grilled cheese sandwiches and tower of onion rings.... (compared to the models sitting around us with their half eaten plates of raw fish) lindsay lohan walked by. i don't think i will ever get over the fact that i was wearing day-old makeup and flats to that dinner. never said i wasn't shallow.
regan, her sweet sister-in-law and brother.
on our way back to the hotel, we walked over to momofuku milk bar for some cookies and crack pie.
me, enjoying my cookie.
the next morning we ate at city bakery and shopped around the flat iron district. then we rode the subway over to....
central park. there is nothing like central park. something is always going on (we saw two different weddings) and as i walked through, i thought of all the movies that have been filmed there.
merry christmas 2011. love, the smiths. ha! we are such idiots. after central park, we walked through the plaza and bergdorfs and then window shopped down 5th avenue.
that nite, we shopped in soho and then ate at la esquina. i don't even know how to begin to describe this place. it is a taco truck where you can get dang good mexican food... but the real appeal? there is a secret door inside the truck where new york's elite (i am not kidding. i have never seen so many loubies, filler and extensions) try to get down into the swanky lounge that is underneath the truck. we looooooved watching the "it" crowd bat their lashes to get the green light. some got in but some had to turn around and do the walk of shame back to their taxi. it was priceless!
riding high, from such fantastic people watching, we decided to make it a late night and go up the empire state building.
and this is exactly why i hate doing goofy faces. i look like i kill people....and enjoy it.
and yes. we were the suckers who bought crap in the gift shop they make you walk through after going to the top.
outside the doors of the empire state building there are a bunch of guys waiting to pressure tourists to get on their bike buggies. and we were the idiot tourists.
it was the most humiliating/exciting 20 minutes ever!
the next morning, we headed over to brooklyn.
and to the brooklyn flea! it was so fun and very hipster-ish of us.
the view of the city from across the water was amazing.
after the flea, we went over to grimaldi's to start waiting line.
we ended up waiting for an hour but i would have waited for five.... their pizza is my favorite.
jocelyn didn't mind it either.
then we went over the fulton ferry pier to have some brooklyn ice cream factory ice cream and take in the gorgeous sights.
so fun.
thats the brooklyn bridge on the right and manhattan across the water.
on our subway ride back over, we got an entire car to ourselves! so what do three grown mothers do? take weird pictures of themselves dancing around.
then we waited amongst the late nite riff raff to catch the staten island ferry.
it is worth every scary second to see the statue of liberty all lit up on the water. she kind of takes your breath away.
on our way back to the hotel, we treated ourselves to a little shack shack.
on our last morning, we went over to rockafeller center. i stopped by magnolia, of course.
then we went back over to chelsea market to get one last lobster roll. we took our lunch up to highline park and enjoyed the weeds... i mean lush greenery. (ok, i realize this picture DOES make it look like highline was filled with lush greenery, but trust. it was pretty weedy) but still pretty.
the little tourists.
on our way back to the hotel to catch our taxi to jfk, we stopped by the garment district to check out mood (can't even get in) and m&j trimmings. i loved the old advertisement on the side of that building.
and that was it. we sure did pack a lot in. i had such a great time. i loved these girls and i can NEVER get enough of new york.
