nyc

hc, last minute, booked a trip to nyc for our anniversary…and during our trip, it was also fashion week! so, yay for me!

our scheduled departure time was early and, of course, we got there extra early. yawwwwnnn {i dislike early mornings}. we waited in our terminal after grabbing coffee and breakfast. our flight was full and we were so ready to get there!

traveling style can be tricky. who doesn’t want to be comfortable? plus, we are most likely going somewhere cold to warm and you have to make sure you’re dressed appropriately! i love layering because i am always cold, so if i get too warm, i can always peel off pieces. i’d rather be warm than cold, so a jacket or shawl is mandatory!

once we arrived, we checked into our hotel and our room was ready!!! sweet! we were worried that it wouldn’t be because we were arriving early but it was and we were super excited to settle in and start our day in nyc!

we unpacked and headed out. hc and i are methodical with setting up house in our hotel room. actually, i think hc is more ocd about that than i am! once we were settled, we were ready to do a lot of walking. when we were there last, we literally walked everywhere! honestly, it’s the best way to explore the city. you discover the best nooks and crannies of the town.

i really wanted to check out a cute little shop called sézane, eat at a place called egg shop, and just explore. most of it went as planned! but we were so open to the idea of just winging it and see where the city takes us! sézane was an adorable little boutique with the prettiest things and i loved so many of their tops and accessories! i could have spent so much money there. such beautiful pieces!

after perusing the boutique, we went on a hunt to eat at a place called egg shop. so we found it and it was tiiiiiiiny, packed, and so warm inside. i knew in an instant that hc was not going to go for this, so we went on another hunt for an eatery. we found a place called the butcher’s daughter but they only had seating inside and again, it was the same situation…it was too warm inside. so, off we went to find another place.

afterwards, we walked back to our hotel to relax. we decided last minute to try a restaurant called cote, a michelin star korean bbq establishment. that was a joke…there were not open tables at all! i was not surprised but as we were leaving, i ran back inside to see if they had an open reservations for sunday night and they did!! yay! we were excited to eat there! we ended up at a little hole in the wall restaurant but walked away well fed and happy.

on sunday, it rained, rained, rained! oh and it rained! we headed out to find our way to a breakfast joint or some sort of eatery, our goal was to land on sarabeth’s. along the way, we search for a raincoat for hc, that was a bit difficult in midtown south but we kept walking. we somehow, not on purpose, ended up at chelsea’s market. oh how i loved it! it was chock full of good things! we wandered around, found sarabeth’s and decided that it was so tiny and we weren’t feeling it at the moment. we then walked into a furniture store and found the cutest little restaurant called the blackbarn. it was so quaint and cozy inside! our food was delicious and our belly’s were full.

we then started on our journey. we walked {in the rain} towards the september 11 memorial…and shopped as we walked {in the rain}. we finally made it to the site and as hc i were walking towards the fountains, i completely teared up. the memories, sadness, pain, and devastation flowed back to me. i was so emotional. we stood there staring at the fountain in silence for minutes…remembering all who perished – the first responders, the plane passengers, the wtc victims, the victims at the pentagon. it all still seemed so vivid and fresh. it’s amazing to me that it was 17 years ago…it felt like this just happened the other year.

we stood in line {in the rain} to enter the museum. it was so solemn, respectful, and very emotional to see all of what they had collected to showcase this horrible day but completely pay respect to those involved. it was deeply moving and heartbreaking. i cried again when we entered a room where they showed pictures of those who were trapped in the buildings, and talked about those who had fallen from the towers. those images haunted me for years and still do. the unimaginable, desperate conditions inside the buildings…

after the memorial museum, we walked towards the statue of liberty just to catch a glimpse of her {in the rain}. we traipsed around battery park and proceeded to walk alllllll the way back to our hotel. i think we walked 10 miles in total that day, if not more! it felt so good though! i felt energized and strong being able to walk such distances.

we headed back to our hotel to relax and got ready to head out to dinner at cote! of course we did more walking {in the rain} and enjoy an amazing dinner at this michelin starred restaurant! we were so confused because honestly…at any korean bbq restaurant i have ever been to {mind you – not a fancy one}, you cook your own meat but who knew at this michelin star eatery…they cooked it for you? whoops. we moved the cutting board of meat and proceeded to cook it ourselves {ha!} and the server came by and practically scolded us. oops. okuuuuurrrrr, never mind. we didn’t want to cook our own meat anyways!

the next day, we walked a million miles {in the rain} to find a shake shack, ate, walked some more, shopped some more, and walked back to our hotel to chill. we were almost comatose before our reservations for our anniversary dinner but we dragged ourselves up, got ready and headed out the door for our sushi experience at satsuki, another michelin star restaurant. it was creative, well presented, and made our mouths happy!

after dinner, we walked west {in the rain} and ended up in times square!! ha! it’s such a madhouse there. soooooo many bright lights and tourists! we actually enjoyed it but hey, we’re not new yorkers who loathe this area!

the next day, we packed up our things, checked our bags at the front desk and this time headed north. we, so blindly, headed in the direction of carnegie deli with nooooo knowledge that it had closed down. duhhhhhh, no wonder we couldn’t find it on google! well, that gave us an opportunity to eat from a food truck! just what hc wanted. we found a halal truck located right next to copious amounts of outdoor seating and scarfed down our delicious street food fare.

we then headed north through central park {in the rain} and ended up in the upper east side at my favorite place…ladurée!! yummmmmmm! there we bought macarons and hc and i sat down inside the shop to enjoy the coffee and the scenery! it was absolutely perfect. ahhhhhhh. we walked back, south, shopped along the way {for cheesy souvenirs and tees for the babes and nephews}.

aaannnnndddd the end.

happy 7th anniversary my love!

[waiting to board our flight…it was toooo early for me]

[i decided to take a picture on every bench i saw in nyc {just kidding}, here i am in the flatiron district,…don’t mind the blurry pic as hc, after years of me owning this camera, still can’t focus on me as a subject]

[yup, another bench picture in soho]

[yeahhhhhh, wondering what food is like at the egg shop, yet another blurry picture]

[aaaannnnnddddd at sézane and another blurry picture]

[flowers at chelsea market]

[soooooo pretty]

[yummy sarabeth’s restaurant]

[sooooo many delicious pastries]

[i loved the cozy, warm, rustic feel of the restaurant]

[ready to manger!]

[it’s never too early for a drink, because it’s always 5 o’clock somewhere!]

[soooooooo good!]

[financial district]

[9/11 museum]

[flyers people put up of their loved ones missing…this was a projection onto the wall, changing photos every few seconds]

[the only standing stairwell in the south tower…stairwell A, where 18 survivors traveled down and where everyone else went up. it’s also know as the ‘survivors’ stairs’]

[box columns]

[no day shall erase you from the memory of time]

[FDNY ladder company 3 fire truck damaged by the falling north tower. this company lost 11 members to the collapse of the north tower]

[last standing column as the recovery site neared completion. it was then decorated by family members, first responders, recovery workers, and volunteers]