I’m getting dressed today when Brook walks into my bathroom and asks what we are going to do today…
Me: “We are going to go and buy new bedding for you bedroom.”
Brook: “No thank you, it doesn’t sound like fun.”
Me: “But, it’s for your bedroom…we will have fun.”
Brook: (Rolls her eyes while saying this) “Shopping is boring Mom.”
Spoken like a true four year old!
There is so much to talk about and I don’t even know where to begin…
My husband has given me some wonderful gifts in my life; love, trust, laughter, happiness, children and security. But, there is another gift he has blessed me with, one that I probably wouldn’t have in abundance like I do today…and, that is the gift of travel.
This year, Carol and Rich watched our two wonderful children so Travis and I could spend a few days in Manhattan. It was more than I ever wanted. This trip was luxurious in every way!
We did some touristy things and then we tried to act like New Yorkers on some of our other adventures. We did the double decker tour bus which is a fabulous way to see the city. We basically saw every major landmark New York has…and boy do they have them. We went on the downtown bus the first day and then the uptown bus the second. I think I’m more of a downtown type of girl.
We stayed at a hotel one block away from Times Square which was so much fun…every day we woke up and either caught a bus or the subway there and it was like….BAM! You are here in New York baby!
Times Square In All Of It's Glory
So, as far as some of the things we did…and really I am only listing this so 20 years down the road I can look this up and remember…
We hung out in Times Square and ate bagels there (oh by the way, this really was a food trip), we had slices at Ray’s pizza (two different ones across town and both world famous 
_) and shared a mile high pastrami sandwich at Roxy’s. We welled up at Ground Zero and couldn’t believe the devastation, even to this day…We had drinks with stock brokers by Wall St. (I think it was called Stone Street) and hung around the New York Stock Exchange. We saw Lady Liberty, the Bull and ate lunch in Central Park by the rowboats.
Eating A Slice In NYC...It Seems They Are All Named Ray's!
One of the Memorials for Sept 11th. My Heart Goes Out to Everyone Who Lost Lives and Loved Ones That Day
Travis In Front of the New York Stock Exchange...The Boy Loves Being Around Money Makers!
Taunting the Bull!
We had drinks at Clo on Columbus Circle…coolest wine bar ever! We sat in the seats of the Saturday Night Live Studio 8 H. We tried to drink the 10 light and 10 dark at McSorley’s and had an amazing dinner at Del Posto’s. It was a six course pasta and wine paring meal in which after a brief talk with our waiter, he magically and swiftly took our menus away and created this tasting menu just for us. We chilled with the locals at a trendy bistro called Rauol’s in SoHo and speaking of SoHo, we bought some very hip items at the boutiques there too.
Lunch with the Rowboats in Central Park
Holding My Lights and Darks at McSorley's
Our Tasting Dinner at Del Posto's
We walked around a young designer studio where I purchased a really cool bracelet from Marc Berstein…so if he ever becomes big, I can say I knew of him when…
We danced the night away at a rooftop club in the Meatpacking District and saw a surge drill from the NYPD on our way to Macy’s. We ate at the famed Peter Lugar’s Steakhouse and got lost in Brooklyn at night which is not recommended. We had brunch at Chelsea’s Market and ate at a great restaurant that specializes in local organic cooking.
My Mecca...Where I Would Love to Spend Any Day of The Week...Can We Say Next Food Network Star?
Chelsea's Market
The Green Table Had A Fabulous Menu and Concept
We saw Wicked on Broadway and it was absolutely fabulous, walked around the diamond district drooling and hung out with some crazy drugged out weirdos on the subway. Disclaimer: Travis wants me to tell you that not everyone riding the subway are hopped on drugs…We only had two seperate experiences of individuals being high while we were in the same car as them. Really quite actually sad to see since one was only about 8 or 9.
We had $18 cocktails at the Waldorf Astoria just so we could say we were there and finally we bought the kiddies some I Heart New York t-shirts and walked around the largest Toys R’ Us in Times Square so we wouldn’t go back empty handed.
I’m sure there is more that I am not thinking of at this moment. It was so much fun and I can’t wait to go back and explore more of the city. Thank god you walk everywhere, or else I would have gained 20 pounds instead of the three or four that I did. Boy, it’s fun being a foodie in New York.
Yesterday we took Brook to Mojo’s for a treat (it’s a frozen yogurt shop). She received a positive report from her teacher this week, which Travis and I thought deserved a little kudos seeing that she was the devil child last week. For a better understanding of what I mean click here…
Anyway, we were eating our frozen treats and I looked across the way at White House / Black Market and asked Travis if we could stop in so I can look around. I have nothing to wear since the only clothes I have are maternity clothes or clothes I used to fit in before I was pregnant. On Saturday, I am hanging out with my girlfriend Shannon and I wanted to feel pretty. So, I went in totally expecting to find something fabulous.
I found a few items to try on and I got into the dressing room. Oh, how horrible of an experience that was. Same ole story, nothing looks good on the body I have now and I start to go into a serious depression about what I am looking at in the mirror. The saleslady kept asking me how I was doing and my response was, “I’d be great if I didn’t have this body…it makes all the clothes look horrible!” To that she replied, “well, at least you have a beautiful family.” My god she is right! Sometimes others have to remind me…because I tend to forget what’s really important once in awhile.
