This weekend was the perfect balance of rest and play. Friday night, a coworker and I went shopping at Bloomingdales, then had a nice dinner at Patsy’s italian restaurant in the Upper East Side. We had the best time and ended up closing the restaurant down after staying there and talking for nearly four hours!
Saturday was a gorgeous day to enjoy running errands, working out, etc; it was followed by going to dinner with friends at Burger & Barrel in Soho (http://www.burgerandbarrel.com/). They have a nice selection of different food and drinks on the menu for anyone’s taste that pairs perfectly with the atmosphere of the restaurant.
After dinner, we went to a nearby sports bar called Blue Haven. It is a great place to watch several football games at once and enjoy a cold beer and good company. Could not have asked for a better way to spend a Saturday night!
This weekend my cousin came to visit for a long weekend. After living in NYC for two years, she recently moved back to Austin this past summer. Since she has seen and experienced a lot of the “touristy” New York activities, we visited some of our own favorite “landmarks” including lunch at Di Fara’s in Brooklyn, dinners at Shanghai Cafe in Chinatown and Cafeteria in Chelsea. And of course we also watched some of the LSU v. Bama game at Brother Jimmy’s Saturday night! The majority of our “landmarks” are restaurants, but those are all experiences in themselves. We had a wonderful time getting to hang out and catch up since we don’t get to as often now that she is back in Texas. Come back soon, Tiff!
Ski Bunnies!
For Halloween, we got nailed with a blizzard in NYC; so, upon the ingenious suggestion of a friend, we decided to dress up as “Ski Bunnies”….this was the best idea ever considering our circumstances. We wore warm clothes, ski goggles and bought a tail and bunny ears to complete the look.
As part of the New York experience, we decided to go to a Jets game at MetLife Stadium (formerly the Meadowlands) to watch them play the San Diego Chargers. It was an exciting East vs. West Coast match-up!
We were able to go down onto the sidelines and watch the teams warm-up before kick-off and had awesome seats about 20 rows up on the 50-yard line.
The Central Park Boathouse is nestled in the heart of Central Park, so you get to escape the noises of the streets, yet still get to see the sky scrapers beyond the trees of the Park. We had brunch there one morning and it was wonderful!
The last week of September, my parents were able to come up and visit for a long weekend. It was great spending time with them; especially considering the distance, it makes our time together even more special.
While they were here, I tried to strategically plan events and meals in different neighborhoods to make sure that we were able to cover a wide area of Manhattan. The first night of their visit, they treated my roommate, Liz, and myself to dinner at Gramercy Tavern in Flatiron; this could not have been a better way to start off their trip. The entire experience at Gramercy Tavern was top notch. The atmosphere is incredibly warm and inviting, and the food was one of the best meals I’ve had. The menu was a Fall selection highlighting seasonal fruits and veggies and each course was the perfect portion. Our waiter even surprised us at the end with a dessert made just for us!!
One night, some friends were able to meet us for dinner in Chelsea. It meant a lot to my parents to meet my NYC friends and see what amazing girls they truly are.
Every fall, the New York Junior League hosts a Homecoming party at our headquarters in the Upper East Side. It’s basically our kick-off party for the new year after everyone has returned from summer vacation. This year, the theme was “C’est Magnifique…a Homecoming in Paris”.
Some of my dearest friends are on the Astor House committee, who are responsible for the party planning of this event. Congratulations to these lovely ladies on a successful, fun and fabulous evening!!!
This weekend a couple friends came to visit NYC; separately, I was able to meet a friend from Austin on Friday night and another friend from Midland came to stay with me Saturday. It was great to see them and show them around the City.
On Friday, my friend Lindsey and I met for dinner and had one of the best All-American meals in NYC: a burger, fries and coke from Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. This is a common place for movies to film scenes (think Something Borrowed ) and is perfect for enjoying a cheap, but delicious meal on a gorgeous New York day or evening. After Shake Shack, we walked across the street to another of my favorite hot spots, Eataly, for gelato.
On Saturday, Amy came to visit, so we went to Ainsworth in Chelsea to watch college football, then stopped in at Gallery Bar in the Lower East Side. On Sunday morning, we had brunch near Central Park at Sarabeth’s, then took a walk down to Times Square.
It was such a fun weekend getting to see and show a couple of my Texas friends around!
In transition between job changes, I was able to spend a few weeks back home in Texas with my family. It was nice to get some R&R and catch up with people I don’t normally get to see. Although I failed at picture taking during most of the trip, I was able to snap a few pictures with some cousins at a family wedding; however, this was not the normal photography session. See below for more details:
