NYC - Day 2

Thanks for all of the positive comments so far! I realize a lot of you might prefer a short and sweet one-post-overview but this will be so great for us to have when we’re old and decrepit. Who am I kidding, I won’t even remember traveling to NYC by the time I turn 30. Stupid memory.

Day 2:

We woke up to a very bright NYC skyline and were out the door and on our way to Central Park by 9:30. We had a choice: walk 40 blocks or take the subway. Since our stomachs were already grumbling we chose the subway. We knew exactly which line to take and how long to take it, but were completely confused by the multiple pay stations for different types of passes. When I am not confident about something I lose all sense of rationale. Michael calmly took my hand and led me to a “live person” who could help us. He asked her what we needed to do and she just looked at us. Michael continued his question and was met with a glare. He finally came to his own conclusion and said, “…so I guess we should probably buy 2 passes one way…” and before he could finish she told him the amount, slid us our passes, and yelled, “NEXT!”

And New Yorkers wonder why they have a bum rap.

We hopped on the subway and were on our way. Once we reached Central Park we were in absolute awe. What a gorgeous forest in the middle of concrete and steel!

We took this exact picture on our honeymoon. Thought it'd be fun to re-live the moment. :)

We wandered around for quite awhile (halfway lost, halfway enjoying the scenery) before we found The Boathouse, a great restaurant on one of Central Park’s many ponds. I was expecting it to be a pretty laidback place but it was quite hoity-toity and, much to my delight, filled with fellow blondes. Sure they were old and the blonde was more of a light blue, but that’s neither here nor there. Great food, great service, great view. Once again, highly recommend (brunch begins at 9:30 on the weekends and they do not take reservations—we got there right around 10:30 and it was pretty full).


The flower on our table was the same as what all of the girls carried at our wedding!

After brunch we took some more pictures in the park before heading west to Levain Bakery. Kaitlin had seen something on television about this place so we made sure to stop and purchase the amazing cookies. They were huge, they were gooey, they were life-changing. I packed them in my bag and we continued walking to Lincoln Center. We were originally going to skip this area but Fashion Week moved here (from Bryant Park) and so it became a must on my list. I’m so glad—we absolutely loved this area. After finding a sitting area we enjoyed 1/3 of our cookies. I kept my eyes peeled for celebrities and designers but no luck.

Look at that cookie!!

Pretty neighborhood in the Upper West Side

We left Lincoln Center and walked south to the Modern Museum of Art (MoMA). I’d wanted to go to a museum and this one came highly recommended. Let’s start with the positives—it was a fabulous building and two of the floors made the entire museum worth the visit. (While most fell asleep during my 20^th Century Art History class in college, I fell hard for Kandinsky, Dali, Miro, and Van Gogh.) The other floors, however, were just a little too “What IS that?” to us. The longer I stood and tilted my head, the more confused I became.

This brings me to a typical “Meredith moment.” Michael and I wandered into a smaller room and on one of the walls was a plaque with the artwork’s explanation. I was more than a little confused because there was no art. Blank wall. The plaque began with, “Please do not touch.” I paused and glanced at the wall again. Um… touch what? Was this like one of those 3D images where I needed to cross my eyes until something leaped out? Just as I started to walk away one of the museum guards yelled, “Get off the art.” I looked over to see who he was talking to and he loudly repeated (to me), “Get OFF the ART.” And then he pointed to my feet. I looked down and I am not kidding, I was standing on a blob of white paint. Only it was not a blob of white paint, it was art. I jumped off the blob, grabbed Michael, and fled the room. While I was completely embarrassed, I was also annoyed that the man was so rude (seriously—put something around the stupid thing if you don’t want people stepping on it) and more than that… that was ART?! WTF.

After checking out the rest of the museum we ventured outside to see the structural art and sat down to continue eating our cookies. We were both pretty tired so we decided it was time to walk back to the hotel and change before dinner and the show.

On the way I had a run-in with one of my TV crushes.

As we were leaving the hotel I asked the concierge to take our picture. He was sweet enough to tell me I looked nice and needed to “work it” for the picture. I told him I refused to do the whole hand on hip phenomenon, so he told me to stick out my leg. I think next time I’ll just stick my stupid hand on my stupid hip. I look ridiculous. It didn't help that he actually sat on the ground while taking our picture so we both look 20 feet tall with miniature heads. Whatev, it is one of four pictures of the two of us (that was not taken by us).

We had dinner at Sardi’s, which is near Times Square. We both really enjoyed it. It was one of my favorite meals of the trip, although I’m not sure if that’s the restaurant or just a lucky dinner choice on my part. Michael enjoyed his food but not nearly as much as me.

After the meal we grabbed some coffee before making our way to Longacre Theater to see La Cage Aux Folles. As soon as we rounded the corner I was face to butt with a 6’4” woman with the most beautiful legs. I actually gasped. And then she turned around and hellooooo… not a woman. S/he was one of the many dancers in the show and told us we were sitting in the “gay section” up front (as opposed to the “homosexual section” near the back). After we sat down s/he walked around the theater and made small talk with all of the attendees. Absolutely hilarious. Minutes before the lights went down, Patricia Heaton and her husband took their seats next to Michael. She and I made eye contact and I’m sure my eyes grew because she gave me a slight smile. I wasn’t completely sure it was her until moments later when she laughed--that gave it away.

The show was incredible. Kelsey Grammer was good, but his co-star Douglas Hodge stole the show (and this was his broadway debut)! Michael and I laughed the entire time and I can’t wait to see it again. If you haven’t seen the Birdcage, check it out (it’s a movie based off of the musical).

Look at those legs! And that waist! And holy cow I'm still so jealous!

As we were leaving the theater s/he was already out front again saying goodbye to the group. One couple brought their three kids (oldest one couldn’t have been more than 7) and s/he put his/her hand on the middle kid's head and said, “I bet you have a lot of questions...” HA!!

And that brings me to the end of day 2. I really meant to make this a 2-day post but I’m tired (my sincerest apologies). Thanks for sticking with me!

NYC - Day 1

I can't remember when Michael and I finally decided we were going to visit NYC. We've wanted to for years but have always said, "Only when we can do it right." We didn't want to stay in a hotel that had bugs bigger than Thumbs, or eat three meals a day from street vendors, or spend 2.5 days frantically walking so we could see all of the sights. As you already know, we saved and came to the conclusion that we'd go to celebrate our 3rd anniversary.

I love planning trips (please spend four seconds sounding out the word "love" because that is how much I love it). Give me a place and a time and then leave me the hell alone so I can get to work. I knew we were going to be there 5 days. I knew we wanted to see NYC as not only a tourist but also a resident, and I knew we wanted a nice hotel and great food. Michael knew these things too but that was about all he knew when we boarded the plane last Friday.

(Also--I want to throw out a huge thank you to those of you who emailed, posted on facebook, etc., with places/restaurants to visit!)

I had a three-page itinerary that included our daily plans along with every destination's address, phone number, reservation time, etc. During the flight I put each place's information in my phone so it'd be easy to locate when necessary. For anyone traveling, I highly recommend this. It saved so much time.

We stayed at the Eventi Hotel. Simply put--the hotel was amazing. I knew Times Square was touristy and therefore had no interest in staying there. Instead I found a hotel in Chelsea, which is right in the middle of Manhattan. Almost everything was within walking distance and we were next to several subway stops as well (we used the subway more and more as the days wore on). The other great thing (to us) was the age of the hotel--brand new. We love the idea of historical and quaint, but we love new and contemporary more. So with that, I bring you our hotel...

Sorry, I HATE when people post pictures of their hotel bed (conjurs up images I don't want to think about) but when you're in NYC space is minimal so the bed took up a good chunk of the room!

View from one of the windows
THIS is another reason I love new hotels. Gloooorious bathrooms!




We dropped off our stuff and then took off to tour Chelsea. I'd read that it was known for several small art galleries so we walked up and down the streets and saw several. There were also some interesting boutiques that made us realize we were definitely not in Dallas.

I stopped for some chocolate gelato and then we climbed the stairs to High Line park. It was awesome. Read about it HERE.

After we wandered around Chelsea for a few hours, we headed back to the hotel for the wine happy hour (5-6p), which was held on their 5th floor outdoor terrace complete with glass walls. We grabbed some of the good stuff and made our way to a cozy wicker couch. We did this the first and last night of our trip and it was so fun to hear the craziness of the city below us yet be in such a relaxed setting.

Once we finished our vino, we changed clothes and walked to Bryant Park (one of our favorite sites in the entire city--it's beautiful!) before we had dinner at Koi.
Koi was really good. Almost too good--we felt like the servers were spying on us from all directions (which, essentially, they were). The second I took a drink of water my glass was refilled. As soon as Michael finished his food the plate disappeared. But hey, I’ll take great service over poor service any day!

After dinner we walked to Upright Citizens Brigade, which is an improv and sketch comedy “theater” in Chelsea. Tickets were $10 and reservations weren’t required but highly recommended (it’s a very small venue—only 74 seats). I was amazed by the one-hour show. You have to take classes at UCB (or be famous) to perform and the wit/quickness of the group we saw was astounding. Someone from the audience would throw out a topic and they just went with it. I like to consider myself fairly witty but they blew me away. HIGHLY recommend this. It didn’t seem touristy at all—the crowd felt very NYC (if that makes sense). This was also the first time I noticed I was the only blonde in the room, which was a reoccurring theme the entire trip. Sorry—no pictures of UCB.

After the show we walked back to the hotel and crashed.

(End day 1.)

Stay tuned for days 2 and 3 of our 5-day adventure. Figured I'd split it into a few posts so it wouldn't be such a chore to read!

1: Big Apple

I can’t wait to tell you more about our trip to New York City! Just thinking about the past week puts the biggest smile on my face. Will do a complete update with pictures soon, but until then here's a brief overview in numbers…

3: Years we’ve been married (a little early, October 20 is our anniversary) and the reason for this trip

5/4: Days/nights we spent in NYC

4: Celebrity spottings (Kelsey Grammar, Patricia Heaton, Mickey Rourke, Cynthia Rowley)

5th: Row to watch La Cage Aux Folles

6: Pairs of legs in La Cage that made me insanely jealous (who cares if they belonged to men dressed as women?)

1: Times we went the wrong way on the subway

0: Times we took a cab other than to/from the airport

$20,000: What our Peter Lik bamboo photograph is now worth! (We didn’t pay nearly that much, obviously.)

2: Peter Lik galleries we visited

0: Peter Lik photographs we purchased

1: Times Michael knew exactly where we were

6th and 30th: Cross-streets of our hotel

86th: Floor of the Empire State Building with the most amazing view

$0: Amount we put on a credit card. We saved for almost a year and will have nothing to pay off next month. AMAZING feeling!

6: Times we said we could see ourselves living in NYC

6: Times I immediately prayed, “But I’d rather stay in Dallas.”

1: Number of birds that touched my foot (to which I loudly yelled, “Oh my God I’m going to get Swine Flu!” I hope no one was paying attention.)

3: Lbs EACH cookie weighed from Levain Bakery (I wish I was kidding)

10: Times Michael or I said, “Girl? Guy?” and neither of us could come to a conclusion.

2: Times I got teary on the trip. One was when we went the wrong way on the subway. Other was visiting Ground Zero.

90: Average weight of a 5’7” NYC resident (male or female).

74: Average temp while we were there

1: Number of blondes in NYC (that would be me)

And one last number…

28: Age Michael turned today. Wish him a Happy Birthday!

Topic #1: Friends, Glorious Friends

When Michael and I started dating several years ago, many of his friends lived in Dallas. Each time we visited I remember thinking, “Wouldn’t it be fun if we lived here too?” Well as you all know, here we are. Only problem? A lot of his friends are no longer in Dallas. Hilarious, no?

I never wrote about moving to Texas because it was too sensitive of a subject at the time. Not in a bad way, of course--we were both thrilled for a great job opportunity and new adventure, but we’d built a lot of wonderful friendships in Tulsa and that was so hard to leave. After Michael accepted the job and moved to Dallas, I didn't cry. I knew I was an emotional wreck but for some reason the tears wouldn’t come… until the day I left Tulsa.

I worked that day and had to say goodbye to my sweet church family. At 4:30 I grabbed my things and started driving. I was doing fine until I passed the sign that said, “Welcome to Texas” and I LOST IT. I cried. And cried. And cried. Out of sadness, out of happiness, out of total fear, and out of complete gratitude. I refuse to share the song that was playing on the radio when I crossed into Texas but every time I hear it I tear up because I remember that moment so well. Let’s just say it’s not a song that would make the average person cry. :)

I had this vision of us making friends by the dozens. I wouldn’t consider either of us extremely outgoing so I’m not sure why I ever thought it would be easy. We spent hours and hours with Karen and Myers, and I panicked because they were going to have a baby in December and we'd be abandoned. Now that Owen is here we (still) hang out with them constantly and are so grateful for their friendship. With that said, they have their own lives and friends and we both want and need the same.

Last week was one of my favorite Dallas weeks to date. I’ve gotten close to several girls at work and am part of a book club, photography club, and now an exercise challenge. We’ve hung out several times outside of work (with and without our husbands) and I truly value their friendship. Last Wednesday three of us went to the park and exercised together, which was good motivation for all of us. On Thursday I had lunch with two sorority sisters who live in Dallas and caught up on both of their lives. After work on Friday, Michael and I went to Preston Hollow Presbyterian’s happy hour and 20 people our age showed up. We’ve been visiting PHPC for several weeks and a couple who also went to University of Tulsa saw us and invited us to join the group. We had a great time and met some incredible people. We left the happy hour and met up with Myers, Karen, and Owen to drive to New Braunfels for our fun Labor Day weekend trip.

I realize I just filled the previous paragraph with 50+ adjectives but that tells you how amazing it felt to spend time with so many different groups and truly feel like a part of each one. A strong friendship takes hard work and I, more than anyone I know, struggle to do my part. But after experiencing a week like last week, it absolutely reaffirmed our need to be a part of something. Of many things.

We’re so ready.

And with that, I can officially (and finally) say that Dallas, Texas feels like home.

Labor Day Weekend!

A few days ago I told Michael I have four blog posts sitting in my head. I have no idea when I'll write all of them but it's such a wonderful feeling. I've gone through months and months of blogger's block (blogger's block?) and it's great to know I'm slowly but surely coming back.

After Michael's polite suggestion, I'm writing down the ideas so I don't forget. I'm going to share them with each of you so I don't forget where I put my list of things to not forget (yes it has happened and no I'm not 98).

1. Friends, glorious friends
2. On a similar note, why the TV show Friends is change-your-life good
3. Where I see this blog taking me (or vice-versa)
4. Pictures from our Labor Day trip

Since I'm already here, I'm going to pick topic #4 for today's post. It somewhat relates to topic #1 so I'm hoping to do a ridiculously quick follow-up. We'll see how that goes.

I shall start this picture post by introducing you to my new best friend:

(Canon Rebel T2i)

I've been the proud owner for about a month and absolutely love it. I'm about to show you a lot of pictures so feel free to look at 2, 4, or heck, sit back and look at all of them. I'm hoping to share a lot more in the future as my new buddy travels with me almost everywhere.

A quick summary: Karen, Myers, Owen, Michael and myself decided to take a somewhat last-minute trip to New Braunfels to visit Tony and his girlfriend, Maureen (Mo). As you will soon notice, Owen was the subject of most of my pictures (can you blame me?) and was an absolutely wonderful baby the entire trip. This mini-vacation was exactly what we needed before the start of a crazy fall season. The only rules of the trip were to eat, relax, and have a good time. Everything else (makeup, showers, clean clothes) was optional. And when you have the option, does anyone actually do any of the aforementioned items? :) We had a wonderful time and I HIGHLY recommend visiting New Braunfels and Gruene if you ever have the chance.

A few images of New Braunfels and Gruene:



I mean seriously, how cute is this?

The trees there were so cool...


Farmer's Market
Little boy wearing a cape at the Farmer's Market!


Mo works here. I've never been so happy about someone's occupation...
Why hello there, Red Velvet.




I realize he is my husband and this is not our kid, but I still think it's reeeeally cute.
Last night we went to Mo's house to BBQ.

Fantastic couple. :)




I believe he is already tired of the, "Hey Michael, look over here!" commands from his wife.
You are not allowed to judge hair, makeup, or attire. Thank you.

Such a wonderful time.

What A Waste

My life right now in 50 words or less:

I'm alive. Barely. (3)

Hoping to share some pictures soon. (6)

Very tired. (2)

A little hungry. (3)

None of the following: scared, angry, confused (7)

Horrified because: Michael just shared with the Facebook world that I might watch a little show called Bachelor Pad. Don't worry, I'm cringing more than you are. (27)

Total word count: 48

Sweet dreams.

Not A Fan Of The Butterfly

Michael and I have a new hobby. I'll give you a hint:



Living in Texas means weeks upon weeks of 100+ weather (although it appears it's like that most everywhere right now). We tried waking up at 5 am to run and it was a cool 93 degrees. Evenings were even worse. One night after we knew all had left, we ventured to our neighborhood pool. And swam. It was glorious. My legs ached, my arms ached, my lungs absolutely hated me, yet I emerged from the water feeling like Dana Torres. Actually, I felt more like a manatee but we all have to start somewhere.

I tried swimming in one of my swimsuits the first time we went. Hello world. Then I tried switching the top for a sports bra (let's be honest, what's the difference?) but that just felt weird. So today I woke up and ventured to a foreign land: Sports Authority.

Friends, I have found something that is more difficult to put on than Spanx: a one-piece (swimmer's) swimsuit. I haven't worn one since I was 12 and after looking at it on the hanger I decided it was the same size as the one I wore when I was 12. After a brief pep talk in the dressing room, I put on the swimsuit and wouldn't you know it, that material stretches A LOT.

I looked in the mirror for exactly 3 seconds and decided black really is a woman's best friend, but it can only do so much. I took it off (possibly more difficult than putting it on) and left the dressing room. Not my best look but it'll do.

Sidenote: Is there a reason all Speedo and TYR swimsuits look exactly like they did in the 80's? I don't need neon patterns and stripes adorning my suit, people. Thank God for Nike.

As I was leaving the store I noticed some cute running shorts and paused. I decided they were too short and too cut up on the sides so I put them back. And then I realized I was in the men's department.

Those shorts need to be banned asap.

We'll see how it goes with the swimming adventure. It's good to know I can get some exercise without dying from heat exhaustion. Instead, I imagine I'll just die from exhaustion.

Florida (One Month Later)

So we went to Florida about a month ago. The whole time I was there I thought, “I can’t wait to blog about this!” and “Wouldn’t this be a funny story to share?” And of course it’s all gone. I will try to share a few highlights and let the pictures tell the rest.

Michael and I were on a “TSA regulated flight” to Florida, which meant security was extra tight. We each packed two carry-on items so we wouldn’t have to check any luggage and Michael was kind enough to hold the two heavy bags while I carried the lighter ones. Security was randomly selecting bags as we boarded the plane and Michael was one of the lucky few whose bag was chosen. Unfortunately, the bag they selected was actually mine. As they unzipped the bag and pawed through my bras and other personal items, Michael quietly said, “Those aren’t my heels.” I laughed for a good 5 minutes on that one.

It was so much fun to spend time with Evan! He immediately recognized us and was able to say each of our names (I do believe he’d been practicing with his parents). I’m still Mermi and Michael is Mickey. Evan absolutely adores Michael so by the end of the week he would look at me and say, “Mickey?” I guess it’s nice he knows we’re a packaged deal. Every time I see him he’s grown a foot (in height—not an actually foot—thank God for that).

On a similar note, he has never called my mom by her name: Gramsie. Justin and Michelle figured out he has a hard time saying the “gr” sound. A week or so before the trip they showed him a picture of mom and he said, “Susie!” So now my tiny nephew calls his grandma by her first name. It’s pretty hilarious--mom is so thrilled he calls her anything at all that she doesn’t care.

Michael and I dressed up one night and went to (what I thought was going to be) a very nice restaurant. The view was awesome and the prices were astronomical, but it was about as casual as they come. Rather than be embarrassed, I held my head high and pretended my husband and I always dress up all fancy-like to go out. Eh, what can you do.

Two years ago my sunscreen of choice was baby oil. This year I wore a hat and spf 30 the entire week. Getting old is a bitch.

By the end of the week Michael looked hmm… how do I put this? Let’s just say I’m glad we weren’t in Arizona.

Rather than spend an entire paragraph explaining something that .02% of the population would find funny, I will only say our entire family had a conversation about gastropods (biology translation: stomach foot) and I ended up laughing so hard I was crying. Just typing this made me laugh out loud. Say it with me: NEEEERDS. Poor Michael.

This was, by far, my favorite vacation spent at Sanibel (this was our 25th anniversary of going)! It was Michael’s first visit and while past years have been wonderful, I always felt a bit empty. This year was just perfect. Cramming seven people into one condo can be frightening, but we all got along and had a wonderful time.

Conclusion? I am looking forward to many, many more years of visiting our home away from home.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES!

A Post About Luck

I still need to write the Florida post but right now I want to tell you a story.

I've been wanting a brown handbag for a long time and have had a humongous crush on Kooba bags ever since I worked at Nordstrom. Only problem? Their prices START around $600. I can't justify spending that (or even close to that) on a handbag.

Michael is Mr. eBay (seriously--he is either shipping or receiving a package three times a week) and has always had wonderful luck so I figured it was worth a shot. A month or so ago I began my search by simply typing in "handbags" and was overwhelmed by the results. After looking around to make sure no one was watching (I was home alone, not sure why I was so paranoid) I slowly typed in "K....O..." and then hurriedly typed "OBA" and hit enter. A few dozen handbags appeared and I audibly sighed. Took a sip of my coke and took a tour of the goods. I found one that was exactly what I had in mind: big, brown, and beautiful. It was in excellent condition. The best part was the price--no one had bid on it so it was a faaaantastic deal. I figured there was nothing wrong with "watching the item" as the auction wasn't over for several days. I shut my laptop and went about my day. When Michael came home I casually told him what I'd found and he said I should keep an eye on it.

Believe it or not, the next few days passed and I was able to think about things other than the bag. I have NEVER had luck with eBay and figured this would end the same way. On the last day of the auction I searched for the handbag and noticed it was still very big, very brown, and very beautiful. The best news? It had yet to receive a bid. Before I knew it, I bid on the bag. (I had no choice!) I started to send Michael an email to tell him the news but before I hit send I'd already received an email telling me I'd been outbid.

Have I mentioned I've NEVER had luck with eBay?

Furrowing my brow, I went back and bid higher. Outbid. A little higher. Outbid. I finally settled on the final "end all be all" amount and went for it. And waited. And waited. No one outbid me this time. I was back in the running with a little more than three hours left. At that point I started thinking of all of the outfits that would look great with my new friend.

Next thing I know, there's five minutes left and I'm a computer refreshing fool. With 15 seconds left I'm outbid. I decide, "what's an additional $5?" and up my bid one last time. I'm outbid by one person, who is then outbid by someone else and... it's over.

I lost the bag.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't severely disappointed. Michael knew when the auction was over and emailed to see how it went. I told him my sad news and even he was bummed.

Tonight we watched a few episodes of Mad Men and then I pulled out the laptop to read some blogs. Michael said he was going to grab something upstairs and came back with an item behind his back. With a sheepish grin he placed the Kooba bag in my arms. I was completely confused and said, "This is exactly like the one from the auction," to which he replied, "This IS the one from the auction." Apparently he knew my luck with eBay so he watched the handbag for the last 5 minutes of the bidding war. As soon as he saw I'd been outbid he bid on the handbag to make sure I'd win.

The moral of this story is not that I'm now the owner of a gorgeous bag (although that is an extremely pleasant sidenote). Michael was sweet enough to find out the bag I wanted and then got into a bidding war with a bunch of crazy ladies just so I could have a stupid handbag.

Actual moral of the story: I am one very, very lucky lady.

My Home Away From Home

Want to know who I spent the last 8 days with? I'll let Evan (with Michelle's help) tell you...



More on our fantastic trip to Florida later, I'm still enjoying the last few hours of vacation. :)