My sisters (in-law, if we need to get technical) are in New York for the long weekend. Hooray for people who will come visit me! Kera & Erin are both good sports and do not mind our severe lack of guest rooms (or even corners). Our living room gets overtaken with aerobeds (luckily we have two) and feels sort of like a jungle gym, but it's worth it. At night, I have dreams of guest bedrooms & providing my friends & family with an actual closet to put their things instead of the steps in the corner. Oh- and it's important to note that BOTH of these girls are pregnant. This makes them complete troopers for putting up with our close quarters.
First NYC subway ride for Erin & Kera.
We went to Rice in Soho on Friday night. They serve nothing but various kinds of rice dishes. We all opted for the Coconut Curry Chicken with Thai black rice. Since none of us had eaten enough rice at this point, we went across the street to Rice to Riches for dessert, choosing among the dozen + variations of rice pudding. They have quite the funny marketing scheme inside their store.
We went & saw The Producers on Broadway Saturday night. Mike & I have seen it before and loved it. I hate Times Square. I hate the crowds, the sensory overload and especially the slow walkers. It's worth it for the shows, but we didn't spend much time wandering around afterwards.
Brooklyn Bridge. It looks much warmer than it was. I don't think it has gotten above 30 all weekend, and the wind seems to be matching the temperature. It has been COLD.
In lieu of actually putting them away, we decided to stack the two aerobeds on top of each other. It reminds me of the children's story The Princess & The Pea. Am I the only person to have ever read this story? Kera and Erin have not.Other things we have done so far this weekend: We drank the BEST hot chocolate in the city. We visited the World Trade Center site and walked through St. Paul's Church. We searched for the Chinese New Year parade in Chinatown (with no luck). We decided to not take the ferry and instead viewed the Statue of Liberty from the safety (and warmth) of Battery Park. Today we went to church in the morning, baked cookies in the afternoon, and made coconut chicken curry for dinner. This evening has been spending re-watching numerous Grey's episodes from Season 2. This DVD has been such a great investment.
On tap for tomorrow: The girls will go shopping. Mike will likely stay home and study for the GMAT (also known as playing XBOX). We're going to head to the top of the rock (Rockefeller Center) and try to find some cute knock offs on Canal. We'll head to Buttercup Bakeshop to pick up some of the best cupcakes ever, although Mike and I often argue if Buttercup really is better than Crumb's or Billy's Bakery or Magnolia. (There is quite the cupcake war in NYC. We'll have to do a full taste test some day. I think this would make a fun dinner party).
15 comments:
I can't believe you posted about Princess and the Pea. I've been telling Devin that I need to order it because it is a must have for little girls to read when growing up. I need to get it for Avery.
Which bakeshop is your favorite? I haven't been to Buttercup, but Magnolia is SO, SO good. Love it. And the frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity is my next favorite for sweets in NYC.
That was one of my favorite books growing up. I felt kind of stupid when neither Kera nor Erin had heard about it! Such a classic book. This is how odd I am: for the past 2 years since I've been married, I've been making a list of my favorite children's books that I read when I was little that I will have to buy for my kids (when they come). This is definitely on this list.
The cupcake war in NYC is huge. I like Magnolia for their banana pudding, but I think Buttercup is the winner in terms of cupcakes. (The people who started Magnolia actually "broke up" and one of the women left to start Buttercup. Many lawsuits to follow!) I like Crumb's because they have such cool flavors, but they are more like small cakes and less like cupcakes (hence, I tell my husband they can't be better than Buttercup, because they aren't REALLY cupcakes!).
Mike and I went to Serendipity (waited 2 hours to get in) when we first came to New York. We were sitting there eating, and Mike nonchalantly said, "Hm, that woman next to us looks a lot like Meg Ryan." It was. That was the highlight of our trip. I thought the frozen hot chocolate was good, but definitely not worth the wait.
How lucky you three all are! I am absolutely thrilled that you get to spend this time together - No kids or other distractions, and only one husband who I'm sure is happy to see his wife so happy. I love the pictures and the commentary - I guess next time we're there we'll have to get some of the curry and test the waters for the best cupcake in town. Keep on having a great time!
xoxoMom
By the way - I just told Ellie the story of the Princess and the Pea on Saturday. I must get a copy for the family library - It IS a classic!
xoxoxMom
You know, I've never had to wait in line TOO long for the frozen hot chocolate. Maybe that's why I've always loved it so much. I actually got the packets and have made it at home too - not as fancy, but still tasty.
The banana pudding at Magnolia is probably the best there. I've had that a couple times...so good. Can't believe one of the owners left and started a new bakery! Wow.
I think you are lucky! What days of the week have you gone there? 10am on a Tuesday or something? Strange. To be fair, we've only been there once. The wait was horrendous, so I probably need to give it another shot. Have you ever gotten food there? I wonder if it is good...
There is a HUGE cupcake war in New York. In Style magazine actually did a big article about it a year ago. I don't think there is a clear front runner, although Magnolia is probably the most well known thanks to things like Sex & The City. I'll have to post about this sometime, although I'll have to do a bit more due diligence first.
Do you live near San Francisco? My brother and his wife live there. I love it. I would LOVE to live there. I'm hoping to come out in the fall to run the Nike Women's marathon. That's my goal.
I've been twice to Serendipity and yes, both at around 4 if I remember right. It's been a couple years. We hit that up before a late dinner.
I actually live in San Diego. But, I did the Nike half marathon when I was pregnant. Great Tiffany's necklace! It was a really fun race. I'd recommend it. In fact, it would be fun for a bunch of us to meet up there and do it!?
4:00 sounds like a good time to go. I'll give it another shot. There's a new place that just opened up in NYC called Max Brenner the Bald Chocolate Man. I think it might be some competition for Serendipity. Many of the things on the menu are chocolate based. It looks delicious. :)
San Diego. Sigh. I grew up on the west coast (Washington) and would so love to go back. I would choose Seattle, Portland, SF, or SD. I love the mild weather, and access to all things outdoors. In the meantime, I'm stuck on a small overly populated island. I love New York, just crave home sometimes- or at least that side of the country.
My sister in law did the half-marathon when she was newly pregnant as well. Crazy. I'd love to do it. Meet you there! I'm serious.
Do you like the I'm still commenting on the post way below? Makes me feel like we are really talking. BUT, we really should meet there! Kelli too!
Ok. What has brought you to NY so many times, Missy? Just for fun?
Kelli, how does SF in the fall sound? The Nike Women's marathon is in October. It could be a fun weekend (not to mention a great goal).
Yeah, just for fun. I went as a senior in high school with my brother Ryan and then again on my way out to London to stop and visit a friend and then I went to London a year later with Juice and my Dad and left early and stayed in New York with the same friend for a couple days.
Let's do SF in the fall. I'm writing you both an email right now.
Hmmm...considering that I haven't exercised in..a year, that could be a hefty goal. I can cheer you both on though. I would love to go back to SF. My sister lives out there so it would be a very doable trip.
1/2 marathon Kelli. You can walk that. I don't have Kathryn's email so I didn't write one today. Maybe I'll blog about it. Otherwise, let's think about it. We can't register yet so we have to wait anyway.
Record number of comments, ever! :)
Missy- I have two email addresses: most often checked (thanks to a blackberry and always being at work)- kathryn.whiting@gs.com. My personal is khwhiting@yahoo.com. I'd go for the work one, if you're hoping for a response. :)
Kelli- you can totally do this. October is a LONG ways away. A half marathon is long enough that you would need to "train" for it, but short enough that it is absolutely possible. Besides- this isn't the olympics. They have pedicture stations along the way and a "chocolate mile". :)
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