This summer was a bit of a haze.
The kids were quite busy. Griffin was gone almost three weeks – one week at Boy Scout summer camp in Oregon and then backpacking for two weeks at Philmont. While he was gone, Sam and I kept busy with sleepovers at JJ’s, movies, and hikes.
I had so many work events taking up most of my July. The exciting part was that the last week was to be spent in our New Jersey office for three days. With New York only 45m away, I had to make the most of it, so that is what I did! I went three days early to live it up.
I had a lot of hopeful thoughts about what I wanted this New York trip to be. It turned out to be exactly what I needed in that moment.
I debated quite a bit on where I wanted to stay. The last trip we took was for Sam’s 10th birthday and we stayed in the middle of Times Square. This time, I wanted to branch out.
Seeing the bay and the skyline at the Standard Hotel was incredibly seductive but I’m so glad I booked it. Look at this view out my bedroom window! Floor to ceiling windows!
I have such a specific memory of sitting on the floor in the morning with the drapes open and meditating. I generally close my eyes when going through guided meditations but opening them when I was done to see this view was such a pleasure.
I spent two days walking the entirety of Central Park (it felt like!). This shot was taken by a hidden lake that I suddenly came upon and decided to do my daily meditation here.
It was perfect for the first five minutes until someone came and sat next to me watching a very loud video with no headphones. 🙂 Ahh equanimity is a beast to master.
When I arrived on Saturday afternoon, I wanted to go see Lea Michele in Funny Girl but she was sick! I was thankful I didn’t buy tickets before I came out. I ended up walking around Little Island which was right next to my hotel. It was so cool. Everyone was there for sunset, music was playing, people were lounging, and the paths were fun to wander.
I walked back across the street to explore the High Line and see the actual sunset. You can see it in my video 🙂 It was just so nice. I paused at a bridge and others gathered to watch it go down. It’s so fun when people all gather to watch the sunset. Just a lovely appreciation of ending the day.
I was starving at that point and saw STK nearby which was a perfect decision. They had one seat open at the rooftop bar (which was a gorgeous garden!) and I struck up a conversation with a retiring Air Force pilot. He was debating on going into politics or finance for his next career move but was moving to New York shortly so he was scouting out apartments. We had such a good chat. I love politics and finance so it was a fun conversation. It was one of those times where I realized I haven’t been getting out that must lately. When traveling for work or going out to socialize, this type of thing happens quite often but it had been years for me. But it was so fun to experience that. He ended up leaving about halfway through my dinner so I got to finish up a chapter in my book and people-watch more.
Since the time zone was three hours ahead of what I was used to, it must have been around 9 or 10 pm but I obviously wasn’t tired. I chatted up the host stand as I was leaving and they directed me over to Marie’s Crisis Cafe in the West Village. AHHHMAAZZING decision. It’s the “secret” bar where Broadway performers go after their show ends. It was packed. The whole bar was singing at the top of their lungs to every Broadway song. It was Disney, Song of Music, Chicago, and so many more.
I think I spent two hours there holding up a corner wall and enjoying every minute.
I walked home around midnight, maybe. I felt so safe walking from West Village back to Chelsea. The streets were packed as it was Saturday night and the vibe was amazing. If I had only spent one night in NY, that was exactly what I wanted it to be!
But I had two more nights! The next morning I got up and grabbed a taxi over to Central Park. I got dropped off near the north end as I had thought to go find the secret garden. I started wandering, found the garden (part of it was closed for renovations!) and then found the lake, pictured above.
I took a break for my Daily Trip with Jeff Warren (love him!) and then kept walking. As I was walking through a path, I then hopped into another path that opened up to this view!!
I had to accost a walker and ask them to take my photo. What a perfect day, with a perfect view, and I was out there exploring it. It made me happy.
I realized at that point that I was not keeping up with my water intake and as I tend to suffer a bit from the heat, I made that my next priority!
The main point of the day was to go see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with my friend Anisha, from work, who also came out early to visit with friends. We made plans to meet in an hour for lunch near the theater.
At that point I was 2.5 miles away so I just started walking! I think I got over 6 miles of walking that entire day, I was very proud of myself!
We ended up meeting at O’Donoghue’s at Time’s Square which was near the Lyric Theater.
The food was fine but it was wonderful having lunch with a colleague who I had not spent too much time with on a personal level so it was so fun to get to know her better.
We were both huge Harry Potter fans and were completely awed and amazed at the show too! Great seats, the choreography was so cool, and all the magic effects were inspiring.
After the show we parted ways and I went to go meet my husband’s cousin over at Bryant Park. I had an hour to kill so I wandered through Time Square and had to get a picture of the amazing marketing that Barbie the Movie did.
I heard they spent more on the marketing than they did the movie. It was an impressive campaign. The movie was awesome too!
My evening was capped off by meeting Lindsay at Bryant Park Grill. It was sprinkling a bit as I walked up but it stopped so we sat outside. The ambiance was perfect, it was quiet, and we spent two hours gabbing about life.
I was so happy to be able to catch up with her. She’s doing some amazing work with the heart association and has a Children’s book coming out next year!
As we walked out, she guided me over to one of the main streets and hailed a taxi like a New York native.. which she is now! I made notes for next time…
Then I tucked myself away for the next morning.
I have to mention the amazing lobby at the Standard. I obviously had to get my OOTD snapped every time I walked past. I did manage to get up to the gym twice (in addition to all my walking!) so that one is thrown in there!
My Monday plans were easy. I had dinner with my step-brother and his new wife but other than that, I was open to exploring. I thought about getting a little work in but quickly abandoned it!
I decided on The Met. I heard Vincent van Gogh and Picasso had some amazing pieces there so I wandered over. As I walked up, the line was around the block because of some fire alarm testing that prevented the opening. I realized that I neglected to buy a ticket so I ended up buying a timed ticket for an hour later and walked back over to Central Park.
I had a chance to explore the north end the day before so this time I wandered around the south side. I got my meditation in next to yet another lake, saw a few more sights, and then wandered back.
Somehow I got lucky and figured out the best way to view the museum was going straight up to the top floor and coming down. Which is what I did!
My eye was immediately caught by this painting. I studied it for awhile and then realized the title was “Still Life with Liqueur Bottle” which… makes sense why I liked it, I guess? ha ha
I was just captivated by it though. So interesting.
Then there was a whole room of water lillies! From Claude Monet in Paris. I had to sit down and stay awhile (and wait for the perfect photo with no one in it, obvs). We are planning our France trip next year for Sam’s graduation so I want to be able to see those in Paris but this was wonderful too.
These panels were amazing.
After the Met, I wandered for a bit. I was hungry and thirsty. I kept telling myself that I would find the next place that looked good and stop for lunch. I almost stopped at one place but it was so windy outside that I ended up walking in and then straight back out.
Which was just an amazing decision and I felt like the universe was sending me to all the places I needed to go because I kept walking another 10 minutes and saw this place across the street.
Loulou, a gorgeous French Bistro.
Seriously! A French bistro, oh la la! I tucked myself away on the left side patio you see there and had an amazing hamburger and veggies while reading a few chapters in my book.
It was lovely.
I then walked the rest of the way back to my hotel, and stopped at the Chelsea market and wandered in a few stores. I didn’t see anything I really liked but it was fun looking around.
I took a nap and relaxed and then got ready to meet Brett and Olivia for dinner. Brett is in the restaurant business and it was Restaurant Week! He had a few suggestions and we decided on Temple Court.
It was at the bottom of a hotel, the decor was amazing, and was a great night. We haven’t spent much time together since they live in New York so it was really nice to catch up. They have some awesome stories.
I had taken the metro once the day before and went the wrong way. So I decided to brave it again going home which was a good decision. (I also figured out I went the wrong way the first time because construction prevented me from seeing the entrance!) But I loved being able to take the metro and also ran into an Australian family and made sure they were going the right way too and had a nice chat.
I then had a great night, meditated in the morning, and grabbed an Uber to meet Anisha and head off to New Jersey.
It was time to go back to work!
Smile 🙂
“Peace begins with a smile.” — Mother Teresa
“You shouldn’t never regret something that made you smile.” — Bei Maejor
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
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