Weekend in NYC!

This past weekend, we headed to NYC for AJ's cousin's wedding. Little bonus - it was our 2nd wedding anniversary, so we got to experience the city to celebrate. I always go picture crazy when I have my nice camera out, so apologies for the 100 pictures. I narrowed it down as much as I could. 

We hopped on the red-eye Friday night and landed at JFK around 5:30am. After dropping our bags off at the hotel, of course the first stop was Starbucks. 

And Times Square is so much more enjoyable at 7am on a Saturday when no one is around..

These next two pics took about a million years to get right. I just could NOT believe the size of my belly, or how awkward my belly button is, or the fact that AJ just could NOT get me and Times Square in one picture.. But, I had to get Baby P's first of MANY MANY adventures with his/her crazy parents.

AJ is GREAT with my cravings - whenever I get the urge for something, he makes it happen! When I stepped off the plane, I immediately asked for ham and cheese crepes and he had a place ready to go as soon as we got into the city. 

Age got a Croque Madame. Wish I could have had some of that runny egg. YUM

Loved the decor of this place and was SO thankful to have some shelter during the only hour that it rained that day.

We made the long trek from Times Square to Central Park. This is probably the reason I could barely move the rest of the weekend. This mama has been on the couch a LOT the past two months. Walking a few miles (in new shoes) was not my smartest idea.

My poor, poor swollen feet! We had to sit in the park for awhile before I was up to moving again.

But at least we had this awesome view..

And got to hear this guy play the sax.. 

And lots of people watching.. my favorite! 

And then it was lunch time! This was our first Shake Shack experience and oh my goodness. HEAVEN.

I think I am so in love because it is like a hybrid of a Dairy Lane cheeseburger and a gourmet cheeseburger from like Flip or Farm Burger. I loved it SO much, I had one more before we got on the plane back to LA. oops!

We headed back to the hotel for a nap and to get ready for the night. The bride and groom had these super cute bags waiting on the guests.

Lots of fun New York treats - compete with a his and her favorite.

That night we went to dinner with a ton of AJ's aunts and uncles then went to welcome cocktails for all wedding guests. I wish I would have taken some pictures!! 

The next morning we took the subway down to the financial district to see the World Trade Center memorial. I saw it back in December, but absolutely had to take AJ. 

 

This memorial is just so tastefully done - I feel like it does the best possible job of showing the magnitude of that day. It is so moving to see these two vast holes where the buildings stood.

And these thousands of names etched around the sides.. Every American should see this and see it often. We must never, ever forget. 

We passed a church on the way to Wall Street. Not sure the name or the significance, but it was so neat to see this huge graveyard in the middle of all these tall buildings. 

All my times in New York, and I had never been to Wall Street. It just wasn't what I expected. Maybe it was because we were there on a Sunday, but it was just so small and quiet and unassuming.

Then we headed over to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty. 

I was not up for a ferry ride, so this is as close as we got. (Really as close as I have ever been! Maybe one day!)

We had lunch at a famous Jewish deli - Katz.

AJ's had a pastrami Ruben and I stuck with some good old matza ball soup. 

We headed back to the hotel for some rest and to get ready for the wedding! The next few pictures are from the iPhone, so apologies for the poor quality..

These pictures do not do this venue justice AT ALL. It was absolutely gorgeous - it had a very modern/industrial feel but the flowers and all the small touches were just to die for.

After the ceremony and cocktail hour, we had a sit down dinner of heirloom tomato salad, scallops or steak, and super yummy cake selections. Each table had a bottle of wine for the guests to sign to be opened on the corresponding anniversary years.

The small details were out of this world. That tiny little button holding my name card together has their initials on it. I really wish I would have taken more pics of all the tiny things that I'm sure most people don't even notice, but the bride spends SO much time on.

The bride and groom had a special cake/candle/card sent over to our table to celebrate our anniversary. What an insanely thoughtful gesture for them to think of us on THEIR big day!?

The paparazzi family captured our kiss and well of course I had to upload it to insta. I surprisingly made it to 11:45 that night! We danced and had so much great conversation with family we never get to see.

The next morning, our for real anniversary, we headed back to the city for some last minute sight seeing and more yummy food before our flight. We went to Mario Batalli's Eatly - such a cool place. It has 7 restaurants and a section for every kind of Italian item you could think of .. a bakery, a cheese counter, a meat counter, etc. It was a the perfect place for us foodies.

We had lunch in the pizza/pasta restaurant. Fortunately we got there a little before noon, because this place gets PACKED.

Marinara mixed with fontina cheese then topped with mozzarella and sausage. AMAZE BALLS.

Then we had ravioli with spring pea, ricotta, pecorino romano & mint with butter and pea shoots. (Yes, I had to look that description up on their website!) It was SO good. There is just something to be said for housemade fresh pasta. 

And of course it's best topped with some fresh Parmesan.

This place was huge! We just kept walking and finding more and more little nooks to check out.

Next stop was Chelsea Market - a really neat place with shops and restaurants.

Found this miniture donut factory. So bummed I was too full from lunch to try a hot one.

I mean.. look at these bad boys.

The decor is gorgeous.. it feels so magical in there. 

Then we headed over to the High Line - a rooftop garden that looks out over the water. Guess I should have taken more pictures than just this.. haha

I LOVE visiting this city, but I could never, ever live here. It is just WAY too congested and just has WAY too little green space. I want the whole house, pool, fenced in yard, a dog and 2.5 kids.

Right before we got on the subway to head back to our hotel, we found this little market and grabbed some ice cream.

Love this little bump, and baby P, and his/her sweet Daddy, and ice cream, and a little weekend getaway, and getting to spend the past two years married to the love of my life. Life is GOOD!

xoxo,