NEW YORK CITY: Babymoon Pt.1

Last week, the hubs and I set off to New York City for a last "husband/wife" honeymoon before our second child is welcomed this winter; also known as a babymoon. The trip was originally intended for work, but by extending the trip a few extra days Chris flew me in and we made a long weekend vacation out it! YAY! I was so excited to spend these short days just me and him. We try to have a date night often, but a small trip was just what we needed.

Although, I have to admit my initial separation from Audriana usually gets the best of me. It's not but a few minutes after dropping her off at my parents that I get a knot in my throat, and the tears commence. Thanks to technology, we had FaceTime chats every morning and night!! Yes, I know this was a romantic weekend for me and my husband, but Audriana is still a part of us that is never put aside. Yet after the first day went by, I found myself finally able to enjoy the trip without choking up every time I saw a little family with their kids - yea I'm that sensitive, and the pregnancy hormones don't help.

I decided to divide this trip into two posts. Although I may have been able to cram it all into one, I didn't want to have an excessive amount of photos and dialogue for one entry. So here I'll be sharing Day ONE & TWO of our special babymoon adventure.


DAY ONE
Our hotel sat right on the corner of Time Square. Talk about a view! As soon as you stepped out of the lobby, on your right shined the brightest lights of the city.

The distance between us and great restaurants weren't far in between. We found a few great spots for lunch, and the best part was that they were only a block or two away - walking! Avoiding the cab rides was at the top of my priorities for the weekend. Not only do they resist the urge to stop at lights - or for pedestrians for that matter - but my back suffered tremendously from the consistent stop & go movements. Ouch.

Our first night we met up with one of our bestest friends, Sammy, at a local spot in SOHO. He made reservations at a nice, old fashion Italian joint and no words could explain my excitement for this occasion! Not only am I in New York City, but throw in some traditional Italian cuisine and I'm a happy camper.


Evening came and after a loooooooong (1 hour) car ride, we arrived to our destination to Osteria Morini in SOHO, NY. Majority of the hot spots in New York seem to be extremely intimate, so if you're not comfortable sharing your meal back to back with your neighbor then this isn't the place for you.  I decided to snap some shots of our meal to share in this deliciousness. Too good for words. For apps we got the Prosciutto, Squacquerone, and Piave Vecchio Extra Aged; aka meat and two cheeses. My entree was the delicious Stracci (wide noodles, with mushrooms in rosemary oil) and for dessert I endured the absolutely amazing Coffee Gilati, no translation needed.

DAY TWO
After wrapping up the night before, we found ourselves a little sluggish the next morning. Although that didn't mean we weren't up and at it. Unfortunately, Chris had some last minute work to catch up on for the day so I spent an hour of my morning in the fitness center - doing what I can.

After cleaning up, Chris and I headed out on the town to find some lunch. We found this neat self-serving-deli buffet of EVERYTHING you can think of; hot/cold, mexican/chinese/italian, spring salads/tuna salads/pasta salads, you get it. No pictures to share, but indeed I did take some. Sadly, due to the lack of focus, they are blurry. I guess you could say that was a result of the embarrassment I felt with all the staring eyes on me while taking such pictures - "has this girl never seen a buffet before?". Right?

Anyway, later that afternoon the hubby and I ventured down Fifth Avenue for a daily shopping spree. It wasn't a bank breaking kind of spree, but we may or may not have been dangerously close to buying a second suitcase for the trip home.

That evening (around 6:30) we met up with some old hometown friends that have been residing in New York these past couple years. Needless to say, it was GREAT to see them. I was sad - like really sad - after our departure when I realized we didn't capture one photo together. How could we not document such a rare moment; not knowing when I'll be back again. Eventually I got over my saddness, because it was special seeing them regardless of a photo. I was grateful for that in general. :)

Sadly we had to cut our visit short, and head on out to dinner (reservations at 9:45, yikes). This evening, joined by other friends, we had reservations at a Mexican restaurant, Toloache. Again, very intimate seating type of atmosphere. Nonetheless, it was DELICIOUS. Probably one of, if not the best, guacamole I've ever tasted. Mmmm. I did try to capture some of the deliciousness, but the exposure was so low it wasn't even worth it. After filling ourselves to the brim, we made our way back to our hotel and took some classic photos in front of Time Square.

The view from our hotel lounge was pretty neat as well. Worthy of some blogging photo documentation. Although from our seats I couldn't get the direct view out of the window, but it faces directly into Time Square. We were told this room was once rented out by Bruno Mars for a New Years Eve party, given its spectacular view. I could definitely see why! Gorgeous.

Oh! And I noticed you could see our hotel lounge when I was watching GMA. The black space in between the two jumbo screens. That's us! Haha. 

Well that concludes Part 1 of our NYC Babymoon!!! It's looking like two separate entries was definitely necessary to avoid a potential snooze fest.  

To be continued...

Surprise! There's a kid at my door...

Where's this post title leading to? I'll get to that. First, I want to wish my bestest friend a:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! 

I have explained our years of friendship and have possibly overused this plug in on many many posts, but here it is once more for good measure... why she is indeed my best friend.

So, Saturday evening I decided to host a small dinner. Originally the idea was just a party of four - myself, Chris, Jess and her husband, Blake. But I wanted to make it a little more special, so I reached out to her sister's family and another best friend of ours. As luck would have it, a party of 8 was now in effect.

Trying to decide on that evening's dish was easy peesy, given Jess is never too difficult to please. I asked, Italian? She said YES. Sweet. I already had the menu set. Homemade bruschetta, Caesar salad, and miniature breadsticks for the apps, then dinner would consist of two different baked lasagnas; meat/cheese/mushrooms/peppers, and meat/cheese (for our plain Janes; or should I say Joes). Sadly, the only display shots I had of the evening were of the appetizer and salad.

After successfully prepping all the food, stress free I might add, the birthday girl had arrived. Originally, I had the other parties arriving beforehand, but I figured she would recognize the cars while driving up to the house. With that said, we had everyone else arrive afterwards; and it couldn't have been a more perfect surprise entrance. This is where my appropriate title comes into play.

Prior to their arrival, her sister and I thought it'd be hilarious to have Jess' nephew stand outside of the door and ring the door bell, just him standing there. From inside, I was going to stay busy where I'd need Jess to answer the door for me. It almost didn't work out as I found myself standing in the living room when the doorbell rang... I just stopped. Jess says, "Megan? Your door bell just rang..." and there I am just standing there as if I didn't hear a thing. Smooth, I know. Yet I dashed away as if I had something I needed to do and she offered to open the door. WHEW! From around the corner I begin filming, to capture her reaction. However, it didn't quite go as planned in the first few seconds. Instead of opening the door and recognizing her nephew, she just looks out the small window and replies confused, "...oh it's like a... it's a kid." She was stunned and waited about another few seconds, until she finally opened the door!

The look on her face said it all... it was a successful surprise!!!!

  With everyone arriving, it was now time to dig in. I tried snatching a few candids, but I was a bit sloppy with the timing. Regardless, everyone seemed to enjoy their meal thankfully. Gavin made have enjoyed his more than anyone else. ;) He's sooooo stinking cute!!

 And then there was the traditional surprise... the birthday cake! I've explained the meaning of the birthday cake in my previous plug-in above, so to say it's a surprise isn't quite accurate - however I switch it up every year, so she never knows what it's going to look like. :) This year I may have topped them all!

 Sweet Stuff Bakery, truly outdid themselves again; fourth year in a row. Our stomachs could certainly agree on that as well. We were stuffed to the bone! Not to mention leftovers for days. Score! 

Finishing off where we first began, I'm sending out lots of birthday love to my bestest friend, Jess!!!! I'm always grateful for our friendship, and can't wait to share many more memorable years!!! Love you!!!!