NYC - Day 4

Monday was one of my favorite days of our trip. We started the morning by grabbing more coffee and visiting Macy's, which was only a few blocks from our hotel. We quickly learned that it's not really fun to shop when stores are that big. Actually, it's horribly intimidating. I did enjoy the entire floor of shoes--no surprise there.

We continued walking north and made our way to Rockefeller Center. We are both HUGE 30 Rock fans and I looked high and low for Liz Lemmon (Tina Fey). After taking several pictures we wandered in some familiar stores: Banana Republic, Anthropologie, J. Crew and the like.





Even if you're not a fan of Anthropologie, I beg you to visit their stores in Manhattan. It was a great experience. The window decorations are gorgeous and the actual store is set up beautifully. I didn't buy anything due to the size (see paragraph above) but I could have stayed in there for hours discovering the odds and ends of the store.

Enough about that. Dad, still with me? We had lunch at Tri-Tip Grill in Rockefeller Center (not bad!) and then continued walking around the area. We also visited St. Patrick's Cathedral and Radio City Music Hall.

Once we finished looking around Rockefeller Center we made our way to 5th avenue. For 2 hours we went in store after store and were ignored by everyone. I realize our appearance/attire didn't scream "rich rich rich!!!" but I figured someone would acknowledge us. Nope, not one. I blame it on my blonde hair. Regardless, the stores were incredible.

Annie told us to head over to Dylan's Candy Bar (Dylan is Ralph Lauren's daughter) because their store windows were decorated for Fashion Week--dresses made entirely out of candy. Fabulous!


On the way to Dylan's we passed a Diesel store with their latest ad campaign, "Be Stupid." Are you kidding me? I want to punch whoever came up with it. It was so ridiculous that it made me think of Zoolander's Derelicte. ("Let me show you Derelicte. It is a fashion, a way of life inspired by the very homeless, the vagrants, the crack whores that make this wonderful city so unique.") :)


We also checked out Magnolia Bakery---ohhhhh glory. Those cupcakes were amazing. Definitely worth trying. I had red velvet and Michael had German chocolate.



As we were heading back to the hotel we stopped at Midtown Comics for Michael.
And then, my friends, we went to Mood (if you haven't seen Project Runway this means nothing to you). "Thank you, Mooooood."


We enjoyed the hotel's happy hour one more time and then it was time for Michael's birthday dinner.

We took the subway to Grand Central Terminal/Station (depends on who you ask) and it was gorgeous. I don't know what I was expecting but it blew me away.


I surprised Michael with dinner at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Terminal (very good--not great). Michael is a huge fan of oysters and this place had approx 40 varieties.






Whew, this was a long day! We ended the night at the Empire State Building. The whole sharing an elevator with 5 billion people made me want to vomit but it was definitely worth it. Michael had never been to the top so I was really excited to show him. As soon as we were on the top deck I looked at his face to see his initial reaction. Michael's eyes lit up (good!), he said "Oh wow..." (better!), and continued with, "Is that a lightning bug?!" (FAIL.) I might have hit him. Once he got past the lightning bug that was 87 floors up he was impressed with the view. Not the romantic setting I had in mind but eh, it'd been a long day. We can't all be Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle (although I do know we were MFEO).


It was hard walking back to our hotel knowing this was our last night in NY....

NYC - Day 3

Sunday morning was the exact opposite of Saturday: dark, dreary, and we both awoke with a groan. Two days of walking on concrete was enough to make both of us uncomfortable (but nothing a quick shower and bit o' stretching couldn't fix). After getting dressed we were on our way to Soho.

Our brunch reservation was at 11 but we got to Soho a little after 10 so we grabbed some coffee and wandered through a few stores. It’d started drizzling by that point so I bought a hat and had them cut the tags (my hair + rain = tragic, tragic mess).

Brunch was at Five Points and was fantastic. This place was BUSY. Most diners looked like NYU students hungover from a crazy Saturday night, which made both of us smile. The food was delicious (as were the mimosas) and was perfect for a drizzly morning.

We walked so many streets in Soho and fell in love with the area (I think it was Michael's favorite part of NY). The people were nice, the shops were unique, and it had a very cool yet cozy feel to it. We didn’t take many pictures due to the weather and what we were doing. “Take a picture of me in front of this store” seemed a bit ridiculous.

This was also the day I noticed Michael repeatedly saying "we're white" each time the signal changed and we were able to cross the street. I told him that even though I understood what he was trying to say, he might want to change his phrase or else be prepared to get smacked in the head with an umbrella.

After spending several hours perusing the shops, it was time to head further south to Battery Park and Ground Zero. After two stops on the subway I realized we were on the right line going the wrong way. I was already tired and wet (neither are pleasant and together make a lethal combo) and might have been a little snippy with one Michael Haynes. We got off at 23^rd and walked around looking for food. Nothing sounded good and before we knew it we were back at our hotel and I was downright cranky. I sat on the bed for about 10 minutes, regrouped, grabbed the hotel umbrella and we were on our way again.

We hopped on the correct line this time and headed south to Battery Park. We were still looking for some food and it turns out downtown NYC is DEAD on Sunday afternoon. Every place was closed—so bizarre. We went to the edge of the park to see the Statue of Liberty and then made our way to Ground Zero. It was hard to experience but we both felt it necessary, especially since we were in NY on the anniversary of 9/11. I think we both said a silent prayer for the victims' families and, for the second time that day, I teared up.

By this point we were starving and were desperate to find something to eat. After an hour (AN HOUR!) we found a pizza shop that was actually open. Neither of us remember if the pizza was that good or if we were just that hungry. Afterward we checked out Wall Street and also Trinity Episcopal church.

One of the highlights of our trip was meeting Annie and her fiance Craig for dinner and drinks at Supper. This place was cute and the food was great. I was originally a little "hmm" about it because it was cash only and did not accept reservations but it exceeded all expectations. It was great meeting Craig and is always a treat to see Miss Annie Kate.

After dinner we decided to brave the subway at night, which we'd previously avoided. Once we were situated I looked around and thought, "What's the big deal? This is great!" As soon as I felt comfortable we came to a stop and a man hopped on that made me rethink every positive thought I'd had. He looked like he had a plan and no one was going to get in his way. Turns out his plan was to sit right next to Michael and play his keyboard for the group. If you'd given me 1000 chances to guess the song he was about to play I would have failed miserably. Because once he got the keyboard midi music going he broke into a lively rendition of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." I gawked. And smiled. And then I swayed. And then Michael grabbed my leg just a little too hard so I stopped.

Only in New York.

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.