Weekend Getaway: NYC

This weekend was so much fun! We left Saturday morning and hopped on the bus to New York City. We made great time and arrived at noon near Penn Station. We walked to our hotel in Hell's Kitchen, Ink48, and they let us check in early which was great. We dropped our stuff off and relaxed in the room for a bit. The hotel was ultra modern and very cool. Then we headed out to explore the city and do some shopping. We hit up places the boyfriend wanted to go to (the Nike Store, the NBA Store, the Adidas store) and places I wanted to go to (Banana Republic, Esprit, etc). For dinner we grabbed pizza at this tiny whole in the wall place that had delicious pizza but not much space for enjoying it. Then we wandered around and got dessert to-go at this French bakery on 9th Ave and ate them in the room while watching the Slam Dunk contest.

Sunday morning we woke up early because we had to get our stuff together for check out as well get down to the Financial District to see the 9/11 Memorial. After what seemed like 12 different checks of our tickets and going through metal detectors, we finally made it inside. The memorial itself was very nice, very calming and somber. I thought it was a very well done and a great way to pay tribute to those who had perished. I also had no idea the story behind the "Survivor Tree" until I asked one of the very helpful guides what it was. She informed me that it was found in the ground but very badly burned. It was taken to a sanctuary for treatment and all of the old and burnt branches were cut off. It was re-planted (in a different location) in the memorial on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11. It is very cool how you can see the old bark and new re-grown bark. It was quite inspiring.

After the Memorial we grabbed some brunch at the Westway Diner which was a neat, fast-paced diner with delicious food. Then we headed to High Line Park which is an elevated park made from where the elevated train tracks used to be. It was very pretty and nature-filled, and gave you a different perspective of the city. It was quite peaceful up there, but I can imagine it gets very crowded during the summertime. After the park we just wandered around the city some more and then had to head to the bus stop to get back. All in all it was fun and I'm glad I was able to surprise the boyfriend with a nice get away.

Also, I spotted 3 different people in NY wearing the boyfriends' new headphones. Get them while they're hot: http://www.urbanears.com/headphones/plattan

Lunch Break

Remember this iconic picture of New Yorkers taking a lunch break:

Well, a construction crew in London did a modern take on this picture, but this time they were wearing harnesses.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2047853/Lunchtime-Skyscraper-2011-Builders-recreate-Charles-C-Ebbets-1932-photo.html

Teeny Tiny

This lady lives in a 90sq ft apartment in NYC. Wow!

Jumping For Joy

If you know me and the boyfriend then you know that we LOVE to take jumping pictures! I'm too sure why it all started, but now it's become our "thing" and we do it everywhere we go. While hard at work at home, definitely not at work, I put together this nice little collage of the boyfriend and I jumping all over the US. Hope you and enjoy, and next time you are in front of a tourist attraction, just jump!

Tuesday Tip

When we were in New York, the boyfriend and I popped into Crumbs Bakery to get a quick snack while we took refuge from the rain. Since Crumbs Bakery has opened up in DC (I know of one that opened up downtown by Metro Center, and another one is opening up very soon in Clarendon), I've heard great things about it but hadn't yet tried it. Seeing as I wasn't very hungry, the boyfriend decided to get a Black and White Cookie, and given the size of the cookie, I said I would just have a few bites of his cookie. After taking just one bite of the cookie, I couldn't stop eating it. After I devoured way more than half of the cookie, I went back for another one for us to split, and I also got some tea (pictured). The tea was insanely hot when I first got it, but that was my only complaint. It was amazing and delicious, but more importantly had this super fancy lid where there's a piece that slides over the whole for drinking, which might have accounted for the hotness. Basically, you have to go to Crumbs Bakery if you've never been before. But don't be mad at me when you can't stop eating all their food there.

My Travels: New York Addition

As promised, I have a recap and pictures from my trip to New York:

We got to the bus stop early, so we waited around for a bit:


But, we got the best seats in the house (top row, front seat). Going through the Lincoln Tunnel:


This was the view from our hotel room. Yup, that's the Chrysler Building!


Saturday morning, we rode the subway:


Hooray, we made it to our destination:


Which was the Brooklyn Bridge:


After taking our obligatory jumping pictures:



We shopped, ate, walked around, and stumbled upon this:


And then we hit up the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree:


And Times Square:


The next day, it was pouring rain, so we tried to spend most of it indoors. We went to Madison Square Garden and saw the Knicks take on the Nuggets (I'm sporting a Knicks shirt I picked up at the NBA store the day before):


I think this picture sums up the trip:


All in all it was an amazing time! Many thanks to my little sis for making it all happen, you're the best! Hope you enjoyed the recap!

Off to the Big Apple

The boyfriend and I are headed to New York City tonight after work. So excited and really can't wait! I will have updates and pictures upon my return.

Is it Friday Yet?

Ugh this week has been rough. Not anything in particular bad happened, just a whole lot of blah. After an unseasonably warm fall, it suddenly turned to winter this week - highs in the low 30s, but with a wind chill in the 10s. You feel like you are going to blown over when you are walking outside, and you can hear the wind just howling outside and shaking our house (it's actually kinda scary). My bedroom has 2 sets of windows. 1 set has the heater under it, and the other set is right next to my bed and has the A/C unit in it. Every time the wind blows, I can feel it blowing right into my room (my thermometer says its 59 degrees in my room) . I thought it was coming in through the A/C unit, so I hung a blanket up over it to help block the wind. Well, that only partially helped, but it seems to be the entire window that is actually leaking air. I purchased film for my windows that is supposed to help with this very issue, but it won't be here for a few days. In the meantime, I pulled my bed out into the middle of the room to be farther away from the draft, which made for a much better night's sleep. Needless to say, I wish I was here right now:


Tonight I'm going to my 2nd kickboxing class, and I'm super excited to kick some butt there. I just hope I'm not as sore as last time.

Also, the boyfriend and I are headed to New York City to celebrate our 1 1/2 year anniversary! I'm so excited to see the city decked out in Christmas. This is all thanks to my wonderful sister who let me use her hotel points for *2 free nights* in a hotel in downtown NYC. Can you believe this! I really can't wait!