City Love

It's hard to believe two weeks have already passed since my visit to NYC, and I haven't written a word about my trip! In fairness, I got home and had one day to do laundry and pack before I got back on the road with two trips in a row to Phoenix. I had big plans of writing my blogs at night and not being this far behind, but the meetings kept me busier than I thought and I was too worn out at night to be creative. Now that I've made enough excuses, let me tell you about my trip!

First off, Michelle is not only one of my very best friends in the world, but a grade A hostess. She taught me everything I know about cooking, and every meal and snack she made was amazing. I came to New York simply to have girl time with my best friend, but she really outdid herself and came up with a whole slate of fun for the weekend.

I got in late Thursday night, and my first adventure was getting all the way from Long Island's Islip airport into Manhattan to meet her at Penn Station. Life without a car makes things interesting! And since Southwest doesn't fly into LaGuardia any longer and I was using a free ticket, I got to experience the LIRR (that's Long Island Rail Road for you non-New Yorkers). The trip was uneventful, and after a little confusion in Penn Station, Michelle managed to find me and help me drag my luggage back to her place in Jersey City.

After a good nights sleep and breakfast, we headed over to Brooklyn. Michelle had been raving about a great boutique she found over there, and you know I don't need to have my arm twisted for a shopping trip! After navigating the train and subway systems, we walked through the beautiful tree-lined neighborhoods. The store wasn't open quite yet, so we did a little window shopping in the bakeries, food stores, and cafes. I could live in Brooklyn in a heartbeat!! Everything within walking distance, nice people...a real old fashioned neighborhood!

Lee Lee's Valise was everything Michelle promised it would be. I found 2 amazing dresses and two shirts, and I've worn all of then every week since I got home. Michelle picked up a fabulous gray dress! After almost 2 hours, we left lighter in the wallet but happier than ever. Ladies, check out Lee Lee's the next time you're in NYC. Here's the website info:

http://leeleesvalise.com/

After our shopping trip, we walked through Brooklyn Heights to the waterfront, where I took the skyline photo above. Then we found a great little place for lunch with awesome sandwiches and artichoke dip, and had a chance to rest our feet before the trip back to Jersey. We spent the rest of the evening in, catching up, laughing and playing gin - our favorite thing to do together.

The next day, we slept in before heading back to the city to meet up with Michelle's friend Eileen. Michelle had been hinting since I arrived about the crazy day they had planned, and Eileen is a riot, so I knew it would be fun. We walked around the fashion district and did some jewelry and bead shopping for starters. Then I spotted the NHL store and the girls indulged me so I could have a look around. I snagged some really cool t-shirts from Alex Ovechkin's clothing line (one for me, one for Nadine). Those will come in handy for our trip to DC next year!!


(Me and Eileeen outside the NHL store)

Then we headed to the Stardust Diner, home to New York's finest collection of out-of-work Broadway singers moonlighting as waiters. Plus they have "adult" milkshakes! I got a Peppermint Patty (creme de menthe, vodka and lots of yumminess) and the girls got Mudslides!


(Michelle and Eileen outside the Stardust)


Then we headed out for the highlight of the evening....an off-Broadway show, "Naked Boys Singing." And yes, they were COMPLETELY naked during most of the show. After you get over the initial shock, it's actually a great show, and the guys are very, ummmm.... talented. Seriously.....


(Michelle and me in front of the show entrance)

After heading out for some post-show margaritas, we called it a night and headed back to Jersey. Sunday morning was all about Starbucks, card playing, and dreading the time to put in me a cab to Newark Airport. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

Thanks Michelle! Better start getting ready now for my next visit. It won't be long....