NYC x 2

(I did finally purchase a laptop and was excited to blog more often. But the dang anti-virus and spyware is SO good that it won't even accept my wireless card. I have a love/hate relationship with tech support and we've been chatting every night. I hope to be caught up on all my posts very soon. Until then, here's what was happening with me four weeks ago.)

It has been great to be able to take quick trips to New York. It's even better when you have friends there for work and you have a great (and free) place to stay!

A couple of weekends ago my friend Robin was in town for a conference for the Communications industry. One of her sessions was called "Taking a BYTE out of your company's website"...or something like that. So we tried to cram in some fun before the real fun began.

I met her at her hotel (53rd and 6th, Robin) and we grabbed a quick lunch so that she could register for the conference.

Then, cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery of "Lazy Sunday" and Sex and the City fame. The line was around the block, but we knew it would be worth it. And it definitely was!



a little too eager about my cupcake



That night we went to a comedy show at Upright Citizens Brigade. We saw Mother, an improv act that uses the audience's cd's and iPods. It was hilarious and for $8 we were highly entertained.

After the show we went to dinner at China Grill. It was great, but one thing I could never get used to: 11pm dinners. And because we're cool kids we went straight to bed after dinner!

Sunday morning we woke up (had another cupcake for breakfast) and went to the Ground Zero Museum. This tiny museum houses the only photographs taken at the World Trade Center site after 9/11 and items recovered from the site as well. It was so moving and emotional. Click on the link for the museum and you can view some of the pictures. And if you're in the NYC area I definitely recommend this stop.

After the museum we went around the corner for brunch at Pastis. I love love this place. We went a few years ago on our girls trip to NYC and saw Mark Ruffalo. No celebrities this time, but it was just as good.



Next up was the Metropolitan Museum of Art--or as I shall snobbily (made up word??) refer to it: The Met. I had read about the latest installation of the Costume Institute and was so excited to see it.



Now, it's not like I would get excited about Comic Con or anything else superhero-related. But this was amazing--runway pieces from the past few decades that mirror some of the latest costumes from superhero movies. I know...I'm a dork.

We had to race through the rest to see a few of our favorite painters. Robin and I both posed in front of the real life paintings that hung in our college dorm rooms. Gotta love the stylish poster decorating in college.

Robin and Van Gogh



me and Monet



The next weekend Coleen was in New York for a conference and I was back on the bus for another quick trip. I met Coleen and her co-worker, Jackie, in Chinatown for some shopping. And I finally found a cute store to replace my favorite store in Dallas, Ciel. I just have to go to Chinatown for it.

We stopped for pizza and some air conditioning in Little Italy. NYC, and especially Chinatown, has to be the worst place in the heat of the summer. Sweaty people pushing into you from all sides. Ugh. Miss...Coach, Chanel, Gucci? In a creepy back room with no ventilated air? No thank you.

We dropped everything off at the hotel and went to wait in line for half-price tickets. We ended up getting Legally Blonde, our first choice!



The musical was great. Funny, cute, entertaining. I still have some of the songs stuck in my head...Omigod, omigod you guys...



We had sushi at Ruby Foo's. Another 11pm dinner. We walked around Times Square for a while and then back to the hotel.

Coleen and Jackie had an early flight on Sunday morning, but I got to sleep in. Then I went to see the World Trade Center site. We went there on our trip in 2005, but after seeing the museum the weekend before I had to go back. It's strange and sad to think that we have this moment where everyone knows exactly where they were and exactly what they were doing. Our generation's 'Where were you when Kennedy was shot?' And it's crazy that 7 years later it still looks like this.





And as Matt Lauer would say...on a lighter note...here are some pretty pictures walking around New York.