{nyc day two}

We started off the day with our bus tour. I thought I hated being such a tourist on one of these buses, but turns out I love it. Last summer when I was in Chicago, I did one the last day. I remembered how much I enjoyed it and wished I had done it on the first day so I could come back to anything I would want to see. So in NY it was great. We got to see so many sites. Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Wall Street, Trinity Church, Ground Zero, United Nations, Empire State Building, Zarin Fabrics, it was a lot in such a short time. Perfect. I would highly recommend it.

 

On the boat to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty. While we were there in NY they announced that the crown will be reopened in July. It's been close since 9-11. 

I guess we will HAVE TO  come back.

Finally the New York Stock Exchange.

For dinner we went to Bobby Flay's restaurant, Mesa Grill. I don't know what to even compare it to. It was unbelievable. So good. I dream about that dinner.

After dinner we walked over to Max Brenner's. This was so up my alley. A restaurant totally devoted to chocolate. It was like Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory. They have chocolate running in pipes above your head. We got the s'mores fondue. They even bring a little fire pit to your table to roast your marshmallows. Then you dip them in one of the sauces. 

Oh it was a divine evening of food!

{nyc day one}

For my 30th birthday Chris gave me a trip to New York. I had never been there and I had a BFF that lived there. Time seemed to just slip by. I was either pregnant or had a newborn or it was tax season. Four years later we finally made out. Unfortunately Brooke moved back to California. We planned for months to use points for both our flights and hotels. And made it our 10 anniversary second honeymoon.

  

Our first stop was 30 Rock. We did the NBC tour and got to see SNL set. Justin Timberlake was hosting that week. It is so small. I tried to ask about tickets but I knew they are extremely hard to come by. No Luck. We also saw where the NBC Nightly new desk.  When we were done and just hanging out in the Plaza, who do we see, Brian Williams. I guess he needed to feel better about himself since he just was wondering around. Must be so weird to have strangers know who you are.

We were lucky enough to go to the Late show and sit in the front row center. Bruce Willis was the guest. Dave actually looked at me during the monologue because I was just laughing at everything. The page told me before we started that we had the best seats in the house, so were really had to "be there for Dave". I guess I was under too much pressure since I laughed at everything. I have some inside secrets if you ever go to help get in the front row. Be sure to ask. I will say that my ability to talk to anyone sure paid off. While we waited for the show to start we enjoyed a hand pulled turkey sandwich at the Hello Deli. Rupert made it for us. We are so easily entertained.

Our final activity of the day was a Yankee game. They played the Florida Marlins and lost after tying it up in the 8th. There was a rain delay so we left and went back to the hotel to see ourselves on TV. My Dad called and said he saw me. I guess that was our 15 minutes of fame.

{garage sale}

We had a garage sale to try to make some extra money. I have so much stuff that I hang on to but really will never use again. So it was time to let it go. I started putting stuff aside back at Christmas, so I had plenty to sell. Mimi brought over some things as well, it was quite a selection. Ashley, and her friend Kelsey, wanted to sell hot chocolate and donuts. They made a banner and called it the "Snack Shack". They also had music playing the whole time. High School Musical 3. I listened to it so much that lately I have been waking up at night singing it. I can't get it out of my head. Needless to say, we had lots of fun.

The girls hard at work. They made enough money to pay Chris back for the donuts, and to buy a doll from Mimi. They were pretty cute.

Mimi is NINE months pregnant in this picture. What a trooper. People were so funny trying to bargain with her. At one point Chris Cottrell told a guy a price on some shirts that were actually Chris Evans'. So when it came time to pay, he tried to get Mimi to give him the price Chris had quoted. Well, Mimi knew the shirts were a good quality, and still was only asking a dollar, but man he wanted to try to get here to come down. In the end, Mimi won.

Way to go Mama!

These 2 were so happy riding in here together.

And sharing bubbles.