Good to be back.

I love traveling, basically everything about it to be honest (apart from packing). I love the anticipation, getting coffee in the airport, and buying magazines for the plane. Hotel rooms are just somehow more fun than your own bedroom, and ridiculously overpriced room service somehow tastes way better than it should.

However, usually the best part of going out of town is finally getting back home. Obviously there is usually way too much to catch up on...emails, laundry, your cat whose downright pissed you left in the first place therefore has chewed through one of your favorite shirt sleeves. At the same time it's such a great feeling finally relaxing on your own couch.

I got home late Monday night from my trip to Florida and even though I was exhausted, I was able to spend the next few days sorting my life back into order. That next morning I kept finding little things that made me smile and remind me of how nice it was to be back.

My roommate's homemade granola.

My new Michigan Awesome sticker.

Coffee in bed (in my new giant mugs no doubt!)

Goodbye New York!

After a long but very busy and fun weekend, our little vacation had ended and on Monday we were headed back to the airport. We did have until around 3 pm before we had to head to LaGuardia though so Jen and I took the opportunity to head over to her uncle's office to visit with him and get a chance to see a different part of the city. We had all of our bags with us and he was so nice to let us stash our stuff in his office while we walked around and had lunch.

And! He works right next to the AIGA Headquarters. Unfortunately they were re-doing the gallery space so we didn't get a chance to check out the inside but it was cool getting to be there.

AIGA: The best organization around.

And if AIGA weren't enough, we also passed Pentagram! Jen spotted it out of the corner of her eye and we had to go up and peer inside. Oh hey Michael Beruit! Paula Scher! Ah to be in the presence of design heroes.

Pentagram building, 5th Ave.

After exploring a bit, we had a great lunch, crab cake sandwich and Strawberry Daiquiris for Jen and I. Then Brian took us to Lomography ! This store was awesome and I have been craving a Diana camera, now that I know how awesome they really are (and inexpensive!) I am definitely needing to get one soon. Jen already has a Holga which she used on our trip so she was able to get some fun little accessories for it while we were there.

Soon it was time to say our goodbyes. He sent us off in a cab and we headed back to the airport. It was such a wonderful couple of days and I know we were both feeling nostalgic as we drove away from the city. It was just so wonderful to spend so much time with Mike after not seeing him for so long and even after a few hours we missed him already. With hundreds of photos taken, blisters on our feet, and a lot of new memories made we left feeling inspired but happy to get back to our (quite tiny in comparison) little Grand Rapids.

Can you believe this was the only cab we took?

You were a doll New York! Hopefully we'll be back soon!

PS. Our trip back to Michigan did not go nearly as smooth as our trip to New York. Our flight was actually so delayed we missed our connecting flight and spent the night in Wisconsin. A huge thank you to my wonderful Mother who put us up in a hotel for the night. We at least got a chance to get some sleep and eat some truly awesome pizza before heading back to the airport the next morning.
Ah, what an adventure it was.

New York, New York (pt. 3)

Our last full day in NYC started out with a little drama and a LOT of rain. Luckily the crisis was mainly averted and Mike, Jen and I headed out to brunch! This was one of the little things I was most excited for, delicious food with mimosas included. I'm in. On top of that, it was extra special because Mike's family and his best friend Lizz were here for a visit! There was so much love at our breakfast table.

Mike and Lizz

Jen and I plus breakfast mimosas. Mmm

So after we enjoyed breakfast Jen and I decided to spend the rainy day at the MoMA while Mike and his gang went off for their own adventures for the day.

Andy Warhol.

Typography exhibit!

Van Gosh's Starry Night.
Just as beautiful, but much smaller, than I had imagined.

Picasso.

Monet's Water Lillies.

After walking around the MoMA (and running on very little sleep) we were getting quite tired and the pouring rain outside didn't make it much better. So we decided to do a little shopping and grab a pretzel...which was probably the most disappointing thing we experienced in New York haha. But! We did have a lot of laughs trying to eat and hold our umbrellas and take photos at Rockefeller Center.

After checking out NBC Studios and Rockefeller Plaza we decided to get some dinner and happened upon the most authentic little Italian restaurant. I'm pretty sure everyone that came in that place was related to one another and the food definitely had that home-cooked meal appeal, perfect for a rainy Sunday evening. Afterwards we headed to Magnolia Bakery for some dessert. It was such a perfect way to end the night.

Vanilla with vanilla frosting.

Red velvet with buttercream.

We couldn't help but joke that we matched our cupcakes.

Even the packaging was lovely.

Our walk back to the subway to head to Mike's Brooklyn apartment lead us through Times Square one last time. Even through the drizzle the lights were breathtaking and I was glad we got to see it at night again before we left.

New York, New York (pt. 2)

Miss Liberty in all her glory.

Saturday was definitely our most packed day here in New York. Mike didn't have to work which was great because he could spend the entire day with us! We decided to head down to the South Street Seaport for the day and it was such a good decision, us mid-westerners couldn't help but compare it to the Chicago Pier though!

South Street Seaport

They got the memo about the nautical theme.

Harbored ships

We decided to grab lunch at a brewery right on the street. I love local craft brews and a simple burger sounded great. I've got to hand it to you Heartland Brewery, we were not disappointed.

Summertime Apricot Ale.

Farmer Jon's Oatmeal Stout.

Turkey burger and fries.

From there we decided to walk along the water to get to the Staten Island ferry. Because Jen and I were only there a short amount of time we weren't able to get tickets to head over to Ellis Island and this was a simple (and free!) way to get as close to the Statue of Liberty as possible.

Governor's Island Ferry entry.

The Statue of Liberty
Just as inspirational as ever.

Our last part of the journey took us to Ground Zero and the new 9/11 tribute museum. This was something we knew we wanted to stop and see, despite the construction and there not being a whole lot to look at. I was actually in New York just a few months after 9/11 occurred and was able to see the walls and walls of flowers, photos, and everything memorial-wise that you can imagine. I know I was quite young but it was a very emotional visit and it being back there again definitely stirred up some feelings for me.

The current memorial installed.

Thank you to all those who risked their lives that day. God Bless.

From their we headed to SoHo (didn't I say it was a long day!) for window-shopping and dinner before heading back to Mike's apt. and getting ready for a night on the town. I don't think I have laughed that hard in a long long time. Let's just say there was a lot of dancing, running in the rain, 4 a.m. pizza, and as the four of us crawled into bed as the sun was rising we all agreed we had a great night.

Two days down, two to go!

Central Park

Alice in Wonderland statue close-up.

Central Park deserves it's own entry in my opinion. It was one of the places we stayed the longest and there was something about being there, I can't quite explain.

However, I'm not going to lie...the first thing we did upon entering was try and relive all the on-screen moments that had been filmed here over time. I may have also burst into song a few times...

How romantic...we really hoped to see someone pop the question out on one of these little rowboats.

There were two things I knew I must see while in Central Park; Strawberry Fields, and Alice in Wonderland. The Imagine tribute was beautiful although I couldn't help by be saddened that there were so many people walking on it or attempting to take photos with it. When I saw the names of the countries listed on the stone carving underneath "Imagine all the people living life in peace..." I couldn't help but tear up a bit.

Strawberry Fields forever.

Performers in one of the courtyard areas. These guys were amazing at street dancing and gymnastics.

It took so long for us to find the Alice in Wonderland statue! We finally broke down and asked a few police officers to direct us haha, it was worth it though (Anyone who knows me very well knows how much I love Alice in Wonderland). We were able to snap a few photos in between all the kids climbing and playing on it, which there is most definitely allowed and encouraged!

Quotes from the original story lined the bottom of the statue.

A mad, Mad Hatter.

We could not have asked for a more gorgeous day for a stroll in the park.