Friday, December 28, 2018

{...And To All A Good Night}

I am so sad that Christmas has come & gone.  362 days until we get to do it again!  But, it was a week full of fun so here's a quick recap!

Thursday was Ugly Christmas sweater day at work...I've definitely got to step up my game next year.
On Saturday morning, I made one final trip to College Station to wrap up some last minute shopping & then came home and did this....I figured it was well deserved!  All the gifts were bought & wrapped and it was time to relax.
Sunday I clean, cooked & cleaned some more.  I spent most of Monday doing the same.  Mom & I went to our candlelight Christmas Eve service at 11:00 & it is without a doubt my absolute favorite of the year.
When I got home, Nola was patiently waiting for Santa.  Ha! =)
And he did not disappoint!  Clearly someone made the good list this year.
Of course it didn't take long & it looked like it had snowed in the backyard...crazy dog!!
Christmas Day night, I hosted Christmas at my house for the first time.  We had a full house {about 30 people} & it got a little crazy at times...but I loved it!  One of my goals this year was to open my home more to others...and I think I definitely did that.
We celebrated our last & final Christmas of the year at Mom & Dad's on Thursday night.  I think we needed a few more presents...don't you?! =)
And just like that, it's all over. =(   I still have my Christmas stuff up but will probably work on taking it down this weekend.  No big plans for New Year's Eve...I normally host a small party, but since I just did Christmas - I figured I would sit this one out.  There is currently a 60% chance of rain that night so I'm kinda thinking I might spend it at home, in my pj's watching the Aggies...and that will be just fine with me.

Here's to 2019!

Monday, December 24, 2018

{Merry Christmas}


Wishing you & your family a very Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 21, 2018

{NYC 2018: Days 3&4}

Hey! Hey!  Happy Friday!  Last day before I have the next 5 off...woohoo!!  Can't wait!!

Today is all about days 3 & 4 in NYC...you can read about days 1 & 2 here.  We didn't set an alarm on Thursday morning so it felt great to sleep in.  We left the room around 9:30 & headed to Dylan's Candy!
Next, we headed to Serendipity for lunch.  It's a fun little place...the food is ok, but they are famous for their frozen hot chocolate...and it really is delish!  We had reservations, but it's the first time that I've ever been there where there wasn't a line down the street.  It was crazy!
Whenever we have been in this area in the past - we would see a tram that went over the river.  A little research revealed that it was the Roosevelt Island Tram so we decided to try it out this year!  It's a mode of transportation just like the subway so your Metro card works on it.  Let me tell you - the views were incredible!  Loved it!!  We decided to take a free bus around the island & let's just say we won't do that again...but the tram itself was really neat!
 
 
 
 
Next we headed to another Christmas Market at Bryant Park & grabbed a cannoli at Carlo's Bakery before heading back to the hotel.
 
We had early dinner reservations that night at Serafina because at 7 - we were going to The Cher Show!!
Seriously y'all - absolutely LOVED it!!  One of my favorite Broadway shows to go to.  It was so, so good & I HIGHLY recommend it.
Friday morning we got up, finished packing & then had breakfast at the hotel....breakfast tacos in a crunchy shell - I was skeptical, but loved it!
Brenda & Taurie wanted to do a little more shopping and I wanted to see the 9/11 Museum.  I took the subway downtown & when I rounded the corner, I saw this...
There was thousands of people in line.  Ugh.  I knew there was no way I could wait in that line & take my time in the museum, so unfortunately it will have to wait until my next trip. =(
We met back up at the hotel & decided to take the bus back to the airport {much better than the train...just sayin}.  Due to rain in Austin, our flight was slightly delayed but not too bad.  We had a brand new plane & it was fabulous...seriously, the nicest I've ever been on.
We arrived back in Austin around 11:30 & despite the fact that it was raining, Brenda & I decided to drive back to Brenham that night.  My mom & dad were staying with Nola and let's face it - after being gone for 5 days - there really isn't no place like home.  I got home around 2am, got lots of puppy kisses & crawled in bed around 3am.  Needless to say, Nola & I spent lots of time on Saturday doing this...
Another fabulous trip in the books!  People ask us all the time if we get tired of going to the same place & the answer is no!  We love it there & there is always something new to do & new restaurants to try.  We did acknowledge the fact that we are definitely getting older...and can feel it!  One day we walked over 25 miles & did over 65 flights of stairs...yikes!!  I was 28 when we went on our first trip together....and now I'm knocking 40!  Definitely makes a difference for sure. =)

Not sure where we are headed next...we are thinking Washington DC might be calling our names again....stay tuned!

Thursday, December 20, 2018

{NYC 2018: Days 1&2}

I figured if I didn't hurry & get my trip recap done - that I would forget what we did...you know - old age! =)

Brenda, Taurie & I used to travel quite frequently together a few years ago...but it had been 6 years since the 3 of us last went to NYC...needless to say - we were long overdue!  The conversation came up this summer & before we knew it - we had a trip planned!

Our flight left at 6am on Tuesday so Brenda & I headed to Austin Monday night to stay with Taurie.  After a 2:45am wake up call, we were on the road & checked in for our flight by 4:30.
We arrived in NYC around 10:30 & took the train into the city...definitely an experience in itself.  We did try to pack lighter this time, taking my medium size luggage instead of the large one...but let me tell you - it was still a challenge to drag that thing up & down stairs and onto a train/subway!  
We checked into our hotel & not going to lie - I was a little leery....we had the hardest time finding an affordable one this time so we booked on Hotwire.  We ended up at The Skyline Hotel.  Despite it's far distance from the subway, it was really nice!  I was pleasantly surprised...and it had the best little Mexican food restaurant next to it that had a happy hour that we frequented often.  =)  And it had a fabulous "skyline" view!
 
We had decided that we weren't going to spend much time on this trip sight seeing, running from place to place trying to fit in as much as possible. We wanted it to be all about new experiences & doing things we hadn’t done before, to relax & enjoy our time there...and that's what we did!  First up was lunch...pizza of course!
We headed to Macy's to see the holiday windows {which we were VERY disappointed in}.  And while Taurie shopped, Brenda & I went to visit Santa...and I'm pretty sure we got the most UNHAPPY Santa ever.  Seriously, it was ridiculous!
We headed back to the hotel to relax & hit up the first of many....
....Happy Hours!

That evening, we headed to Harlem to have supper at The Red Rooster.  Seriously one of the best night's ever in NYC.  We had a long wait, but there was a live jazz band & the food was delish!  And we were even comped dessert!  Definitely will go back there again. 
We had big plans for that night, but after a walk through Times Square, we decided to head back to the hotel & called it a night.
We slept in a little the next morning {another thing we discussed...we were NOT setting the alarm for 6am every day} & then got up and headed down to Chelsea Market for breakfast.  I had my first crepe & we had to try the mini donuts!
We then headed up to check out the Highline...it's a mile long elevated walkway near Chelsea that was once a train rail.  I think it would be really neat in the spring or fall, but everything was dead & it was cold up there so we didn't stay long.   
We took the subway to Union Square & did some shopping in one of the holiday markets and then came back to Chelsea Market for lunch & a little more shopping.
We couldn't let another day go by without seeing the tree so we headed up town to Rockefeller Center.  FAO Schwartz {which had closed a few years ago} also reopened so we had to check that out.  And we finally found a happy Santa!

A quick trip back to the hotel for a little r&r before supper...and a stop by the bar for happy hour! =)  We also discovered that the restaurant had skee ball machines!  Needless to say, Taurie & I had to play a few friendly games {which I won most...just sayin}.
For supper that night, we decided to head to Brooklyn to eat at the Circa Brewing Co. & have cheesecake at the original Junior's.
So we get to Junior's & I order the brownie explosion cheesecake for $8.25.  The waiter comes out with this...
Ummm...not what I ordered cause clearly I knew that was more than $8.25!  But, the place was a little sketchy & the waiter was not nice so I just sucked it up...it was good, but not worth the nearly $20!!!  dollars that I paid for it. Oh well...we got LOTS of laughs out of it!

We got on the subway & headed back to the tree & Sak's 5th Avenue light show...we had to see it at night too!  Let me tell you, going earlier in the month & during the week makes a HUGE difference when it comes to crowds.  Last year, we could barely move but this year we could actually walk side by side without any pushing or shoving.
After a quick stroll down 5th Avenue, we headed back to our hotel & called it a night.  Stay tuned for days 3 & 4!