New York City

It has been a lovely past few days, starting with our own little Christmas back in DC and getting to reunite with our friends from London and then a trip to New York City!

When it comes to brunching, french toast is the star of the show in our household. Ben and I were so excited that Michael and Kate were passing through DC. Catching up is even better when it’s done over brunch.

After brunch and a slow morning we pretended it was Christmas morning all over again. I am all about extending Christmas. 

We stayed in our pajamas, opened gifts from one another, and listened to Frank Sinatra’s Christmas album on repeat. 

A cookbook I had my eyes on in London was a perfect Christmas surprise. 

I loved carrying over our Christmas traditions with one another. Christmas number two in the books and so many more to come!

Wednesday morning we hopped on a bus from Union Station and off we were to NYC. First stop–Chelsea Market.

I just adore markets, especially when there are hints of Christmas in the air, trendy stores, and excellent food. 

After our visit to the market we strolled through the streets as I oohed and aahed over all the Christmas lights and trees.

We passed by a bookstore that was calling our names.

The Empire State Building was looking mighty fine for the holidays.

Times Square was looking exceptionally busy and ready for New Year’s Eve.

We even saw a sneak peak of midnight the following night from Ryan Seacrest. He is a rather short guy in person. 

Ben and I didn’t spend too much of early December together so I loved the chance to extend Christmas a few days after. The lights, trees, and life size decorations were the most beautiful. 

We ended our night with cheesecake. Because why not.  New Year’s Eve morning began with a chilly run along the Hudson River Trail. Another city, another run with view. After, we were off to the 9/11 Museum.

But first, coffee. And a bagel.

The museum is absolutely worth going to. It was so well done, and such an experience to walk through. Ben pointed out that it is probably one of the first museums solely dedicated to a defining moment of our generation.

Spencer Finch’s, Trying To Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning, was one of my favorite parts of the museum. Each piece of painted paper is a shade of blue representing the memory of the sky color the morning of the attacks with the quote above, “No day shall erase you from the memory of time.”

After the museum, we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge with pizza on our minds. 

Rumor had it that Juliana’s had the best pizza, and I can affirm the rumors are true! So good.

We spent the afternoon watching the Clemson game with quite the crowd of Clemson alumni at a bar near Times Square. What a game! It felt good to be surrounded by Clemson fans again. Go tigers. #CUinArizona

 

After the game, we shared thoughts on our 2015 and dreaming up dreams for 2016 over a lovely dinner. Dinner dates are my favorite.

Due to the spontaneity of our trip, we didn’t exactly have specific plans to ring in the New Year. We realized we were a block or two from Times Square and figured we might as well. When in Rome, right? Maybe it was a bit anticlimactic if you weren’t in the heart of Times Square, but we had fun with it. While we were waiting for the clock to strike midnight, Ben may or may not have fetched a doughnut for us to share. What could possibly be more romantic than sharing a doughnut to say farewell to 2015.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1…. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I’d say we can put a check next to NYE in NYC on our bucket list. 

Friday morning we strolling through Central Park. Boy I am excited to return to the city in the spring to spend more time here.

I think we both decided we would be just fine living here for a season of life. As we ventured to each part of the city I tried to pick out “my neighborhood”. A girl can dream. 

New day, new bagel shop. We chose to embrace the whole New York Bagel bandwagon.

The air was cold and the wind wasn’t very kind, but we braved the cold to check out the Financial District, China Town, and Soho.

We had dinner with family and soaked up our last night in the city.

Also– this man was my favorite subway performer. He had one heck of a voice and was so jolly. I would literally listen to him all day. 

Our days in NYC were just what we needed. It felt so good to travel again. To hit the road, read books beside each other on the bus, go on dinner dates, stumble in bookshops, run new routes, wander through streets, and laugh and talk together.  I’ve said it several times before, but Ben, you truly are my favorite travel pal and we make one heck of a team.

 

It had been a few months since we had spent more than a week together and goodness it was so what a treat it was to have two full weeks. Here’s to celebrating 2015, and looking forward to all that 2016 holds.