Travel Diaries: New York
I checked Caroline out on Friday at 1:30, met Matthew back at our house, then went straight to the airport. This also gave Caroline a chance to change out of her school clothes into a white tank but this top is similar, this skirt (bought at the beach but found it online here), this jacket, and these shoes. We packed pretty light for the trip because we literally were only in New York less than 48 hours! I put together a travel outfit that made me feel like I was wearing pajamas! I love a monochromatic look, they make you look taller (which I need) and most of the time can be dressed up or down. I have this dressed down to travel, but I feel like I can wear this top for so much and these suede pants are a dream. My shoes can be found here, but I think since they went on sale and most are sold out. I cropped my head out in this picture because I read somewhere in a magazine that a celebrity trick is to put your tongue on the roof of your mouth when you smile for a pretty smile.....Well, don't!! Maybe it works for some, but I looked crazy! :). Caroline read her book on the plane. I usually don't take iPads for such a quick trip. She just started reading another American Girl book she checked out from the library.
With only an hour and 45 minute flight we were there by 5:00, which meant sitting in afterwork Friday traffic to get to the hotel, but who cares?!? We use a car service and have for years, called Carmel, and we love it. Even with the traffic, we were still there in plenty of time to change for dinner! Caroline talked to us the whole time on our ride into the city about what she was going to look for in the American Girl store and how she could not wait to see our friends. I love that feeling of everyone being excited as soon as we arrive on a trip!
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| Photo Credit: theplazany.com |
Our favorite place to eat dinner when we arrive is The Todd English Food Hall. At this point, we all have our favorite meal there, so it is an easy arrival place because it is so familiar and always so yummy! I love their guacamole with a glass of Chardonnay and balance it all out with a delicious kale salad. Caroline and Matthew always go for the burger and fries! Funny story about Caroline at The Food Hall this trip...About midway through dinner she told me she had to go the bathroom, so of course I hop up and go with her. We went in stalls across from each other and as she finished, she could not get out....she was locked in her stall. Luckily, she did not freak out, we were both laughing. We waited for someone to come in so we could get help. Obviously, I could not leave her in there, but after ten minutes no one came in and I had left my purse at the table with my phone. This is one of those bathrooms down a long hallway, so we were stuck. We just had to decide that she could crawl under the small opening under the door. Yes, how gross, I know!! She thought it was hilarious and I made her scrub up to her elbows after, but it really was funny! To make it better, someone walked in as we were leaving, we just laughed again (poor lady probably thought we were laughing at her)!
At the beginning of the week before leaving, I surprised Caroline with this purse. She had been wanting a "big girl" purse and I knew she would need one in New York. She has always had fun ones, but this time she had been asking for one she could carry a lot. I highly recommend this purse because the sparkles make it little girly (I don't want her to grow up too soon), but the patent leather quality makes it super durable. She wore this dress for our first night out. Her shoes are sold out, but how cute are these? I wore a midi skirt and off the shoulder black cotton Tibi top. I guess we were having so much fun, I did not snap a picture.
It is such a magical thing to wake up in the city! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love where we live, but every time we are in New York, I become more and more fascinated with all of the excitement. Caroline wore this nightgown to bed and I wore these pajamas.
We left our room around 8:30 and went downtown. None of us were hungry, as I think we were still full from the night before, so we opted to skip breakfast. We took a cab from the Upper East Side to Ground Zero. You know, this was the first time all three of us had been to the 9/11 Memorial. Caroline had just talked about this horrific historical event in her third grade classroom, so it was on the forefront of her mind and she wanted to go. I knew I would cry, and I did, especially as Caroline started reading the names on the Memorial outside the museum. She was having a hard time rationalizing these evil acts in her mind too. I think we all remember where we were when we first heard the news and remembering the images that played and replayed in all of our minds was not an easy way to spend the morning, but necessary. Caroline is so curious about our world, and while she is such a sponge, we want to give her all we can.
After the September 11 Museum, we went to Brookfield Place. I became familiar with this mall in Battery Park last year when I went with Matthew to a CLE and I just love it. It is a fairly new mall that overlooks the Hudson River. This mall has one of the best Crewcuts in the city, which you all know Caroline and I love. That was our first stop before heading back uptown. We lucked out in Crewcuts, they were having a party in the back for kids to make crafts, promoting a new company, Curated Care. The girls who did crafts with Caroline were adorable. Then, while Matthew waited, Caroline and I went into a fitting room and had a try on party. She made some super cute selections! I did not find much at this J. Crew since I like to shop local when I can and we have a J. Crew in Chattanooga, but I ended up finding some cute things in DVF!
We took a taxi back uptown to Serafina's to meet our friends, another one of our favorite New York spots. They have a spinach salad that is amazing, but the bites of pizza and pasta I have had are delicious too!
Guess where we went after lunch? Yep! American Girl was next on our list. Emily (Caroline's look like me AG doll) had an appointment to get her ear's pierced! It was an exciting afternoon!
Caroline rode on Matthew's shoulders from American Girl and the Lego store to Bergdorf Goodman. Just writing about NYC right now makes me miss it! Anyway, I love Bergdorf! Of course, I love shopping there, but I also LOVE the constant color and decor stimulation. My favorite this trip was this gorgeous wall of swans paired with the lacquered sunshine yellow paneling. Pink and yellow are two of my favorite colors together, but these shades together were simply stunning.
The basement of The Plaza for the Eloise shop is always a must when we visit NYC. This year we only spent about 45 minutes in there, which is a quick trip compared to years past! :). Then, we met up with my first cousin and her husband (Caroline was the flower girl in their wedding). We had a fabulous visit with them, just wish it could have been longer!
After our visit, we rushed back to the hotel and had 20 minutes to get ready for dinner. There was no time to waste in the room since this was our only full day!! We got ready and I wore a new dress I had picked up that morning at Brookfield Place and Caroline wore a dress she picked out in August when we went to Atlanta to shop. Oh, my earrings can be found here and my shoes are Jimmy Choo from two years ago, but I love these too!! We met our friends to walk to a new Greek restaurant, Avra Madison. It was amazing. Everything I ordered was perfect, from the greek salad to the crab cake I had from the appetizer menu. Everyone at the table loved their meal, even the kids!
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| Photo Credit: avrany.com |
We headed home Sunday morning on the 11:30 flight, which meant we left the city around 9:00. You never know what the traffic will be like! Caroline, still with her AG doll, Emily, in hand, said "it was another perfect New York adventure." Caroline wore this on the way home with these shoes. We featured these items on a previous post when we were getting fall clothes together for her! Next stop for the Moore family is Washington D.C. in just a few short weeks! XOXO
