The Big Fat New York City Post

The alternative title of this post was, “My Big Fat Ass Post New York City.”

Fact: We like to eat. And while we’re equal opportunity employers when it comes to great food, we usually seek out great Italian whenever possible. Which explains why after checking into the W Hotel Times Square (thanks for the wedding gift, Sandi!), we made a beeline for Eataly. Sweet lord in heaven I can’t wait for this place to come to the DC area. My pizza (pictured above) was straight off the boat, and I’m fairly sure Joey’s pasta with braised lamb is illegal in 48 states. Add on the fresh mozzarella appetizer and a bottle of wine and you’ve got yourself a vacation. Oh, and I can’t forget the gelato! The only other place they have gelato this good is Italy. Fact.

The rest of our trip went a little something like this: Eat, Walk, Shop, Sight-See, Get Coffee, Repeat.

In addition to Eataly, here’s the rundown of all the places we ate:

• Iguana: Great spot for mexican, huge margarita and mojito list! Definitely try the avocado fries.
• Bouchon Bakery: Right in Rockefeller Center, yes their coffee is overpriced but their almond croissant with raspberry jam was sinful, and my pistachio macaroon the following day did not disappoint.
• Mesa Grill: A Bobby Flay restaurant. They had me at the Jalapeno cornbread. The duck pancake rocked and both our entrees were spicy (not hot though) and delicious.
• Becco: RIDICULOUSLY good Italian food and a full list of wines all priced at $25. A must try!
• Josie’s: Organic, health conscious menu. Great spot for an easy, decently priced lunch.
• Nanni’s Restaurant: A ‘hole in the wall’ tiny Italian restaurant, complete with old school Italian wait staff. Pasta is as authentic as it comes. Wine list is pricey though.

And like I said, when we weren’t eating, we were shopping. I had been coveting these floral Italian wine glasses from Fishs Eddy since this trip almost two years ago. They came in a set of 6, and while the last thing our kitchen needs is more glasses, these make my heart happy. Who’s coming over for wine and cheese?

Of course we made our way back to Central Park, and yes, we did find our rock 🙂

WARNING: Cheesy self-timer portrait ahead!

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

One of the big highlights of the trip was seeing Rock of Ages on broadway. We both LOVED it, and I’m sure I’ll be convincing Joey to take me to see the movie when it comes out.

Finally, what better way to end a trip to NYC than by hanging out with NYCathy & NYCathy’s boyfriend.

Arguably not the best photo ever taken of us, but no one ever looks their best after a bottle wine and all that Guinness. What looked better was the box of Baked by Melissa mini cupcakes that the NYCouple brought us.

Yes, we ate half the box when we got back to the hotel at 1am.

Yes, I ate the other half for breakfast before we headed back to Penn Station to head home.

So there you have it, my Big Fat Ass Post New York City Post. We had a wonderful time, but man it feels good to be home.

Simple Things Sunday

Hi friends! We’re back from our trip, and while I definitely plan on over sharing details of what we did, that post is coming at you next week. In the meantime, here are a few photos from NYC to share with you while I soak up every last drop of this vacation/staycation. We’re also wrapping up the guest post extravaganza with a great post from New Mommy/New Business Owner Christine tomorrow, so make sure to stop back over for that.

 

Happy Sunday!

Going, Going, Back, Back…

…Ok, not to Cali, but we are going back to New York City in a couple weeks and I’m super excited. Although it will be hard to top our last trip in terms of the WOW factor 😉

We’re cashing in on some wedding related gifts (thanks for the train tickets Alex & Kacie, and thanks for the swank-tastic hotel accomodations Sandi!), and taking a little three night, mid-week excursion. I think we’re both desperately in need of a vacation, as well as some good ‘ol fashioned quality time together given that we’re still dealing with our two-ships-passing work schedules.

No matter how big or small, I’m convinced that having a vacation on the horizon makes life so much better. I can’t wait to eat my way through the city, go back to “our” rock in Central Park (hoping we can find it!), check out a few new sights and maybe see a show. Who knows the best way to score some moderately priced tickets on broadway? Do tell! All other NYC related suggestions and recommendations welcome below!

Holy Crap We’re Engaged!

The story of our engagement really starts way back in 1999, when the cutest guy in High School gave me his pager number (no joke!) and I paged him the next day to wish him a Happy Birthday. If you told me then that I had just met my future husband, I would have said you were crazy.

That’s where our story starts, but for the sake of time , I’ll fast forward to March 5, 2011 – the story you really want to hear about – the proposal!

As you know, we were in NYC for the weekend – a trip I gave to Joey this past Christmas. After arriving we went to lunch, followed by Rockefeller Plaza and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Then we decided to take a stroll through Central Park. We made our way to the Lake, and were trying to find somewhere to sit, relax and just enjoy the weather and the park. That somewhere ended up looking a little something like this:

In true tourist fashion, and being completely oblivious to what was about to happen, I pulled out my “list of things to do” and started checking off the things we had done already. Joey asked to see the list, and started writing something on it. I assumed when he handed it back it would say something to the effect of:

• Stop making lists and hang out with me

Instead, it looked something like this:

• Check out Times Square
• See St. Patrick’s Cathedral
• Visit a Museum
• Get ring from Joey in Central Park

As I comprehended what I was reading, I looked over at Joey who had pulled a ring box out of his pocket and was down on one knee. His words were simple and perfect, “Will you marry me?” Of course I was already crying at this point, but managed to squeek out a YES.

Thank goodness for iphone cameras because it was the only camera we had at the moment! My memory is honestly fuzzy from this point forward – there were phone calls to parents, text messages to friends, and lots of “holy crap this really just happened”exchanges between Joey and me.

It was perfect.

O, and speaking of perfect, Joey, with the help of my little brother, picked out this beautiful, most perfect, ring.

It’s funny, because Joey says he had no set plans for the proposal and all his friends told him he was crazy. He says he felt like he’d just know when the moment was right. I’d say that by following his instinct he hit this one out of the park (no pun intended).

And so that’s how we turned the page on the next chapter of our story – on a rock, at a lake, in New York City more than a decade after coming into each other’s lives.

Thank you so so so so much to everyone for all the well wishes, messages and calls! We are lucky to have such an amazing network of family and friends.

Workin’ For the Weekend

TGIF everyone! As you know, I’m off to NYC with my favorite guy this weekend. My house is (not at all) ready for our dog-sitters, my bags are (not at all) packed but I’m treating myself to a mani after work anyways. Hey, ya only live once and I’ll clean when I’m dead…or maybe that’s sleep. Eh, whatever.

Fingers crossed for decent weather this weekend. Rain, rain go away.

When in New York

This weekend is “Joey & Diana’s Big Apple Adventure” aka Joey’s Christmas gift coming to fruition.  We’re off to NYC Saturday morning with little on the agenda except for having a good time. We both like to plan as we go along, Joey more so than me, but I’m learning to enjoy his ‘figure it out as we go along’ style of travel.

Of course, since this will be my first time playing tour guide in New York and Joey’s first time in the city that never sleeps, I’ve had to organize myself a little so we maximize our weekend and don’t waste time doing circles. It’ll be like a Choose Your Own Adventure book – where there’s a framework built but the story is what you make of it.

Here’s my list of possible things to do and see, we’ll revisit next week to see how much we accomplished:

• Visit Rockefeller Center (Maybe do Top of the Rock, but someone, not saying any names here, is scared of heights…so it’s a big maybe.)
• Visit Times Square
• Eat at one of Bobby Flay’s restaurants (Bar Americain is right near our hotel, I may or may not have made a brunch reservation that I may or may not tell Joey about.)
• Get a slice of authentic NY pizza
• Check out a Museum
• Go to FAO Schwarz
• Walk around Central Park (I may or may not be plotting a way to get Joey to agree to a carriage ride. So super touristy, but something you need to do once in your life.)
• Eat at Eataly (Hazlenut Gelato here I come.)
• Try and score cheap tickets to a show
• See St. Patrick’s Cathedral
• Visit Little Italy
• See the Flatiron Building
• Get a Gray’s Papaya hot dog

Should I start fasting now? Stay tuned for more!

O Christmas Tree

Here’s the reason Pam101 is awesome.  She’s a mover and a shaker. I swear this girl is bopping off to a different city/state/country every other weekend! Which is why I love that less than 24 hours after impulsively inviting myself over to her apartment yesterday, I have now booked a train ticket to NYC the week after Thanksgiving. We’re going up for the day – just the day – but Pam101 is making sure we get our money’s worth! She talked me into booking a 5:25 AM train there (she promised Venti starbucks) and an 11 PM train home.

I hate to admit that I’ve never seen NYC at Christmastime, but I haven’t. I’m super stoked to see the big tree at Rockefeller Plaza! Best part is that we’ll also get to see NYCathy while we are there (fingers crossed she gets a good shift at work)! Stay tuned for pictures of the big adventure.