NYC Vacation: Day One and Two

Vacation is over. We're back in Geo... er. Florida. Almost forgot where I lived for a minute there. Every weekend has been away from home for the last three weekends in a row, I'm so exhausted and looking forward to some time spent at home working around the house, and relaxing (working). Matt and I flew out Thursday afternoon for a long weekend in New York City.

He'd found a deal on tickets we couldn't pass up, and got his hands on some tickets to The Global Citizen's Festival in Central Park, featuring Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon, Alicia Keys, and John Mayer, so bam. Excuse to spend the weekend in the city. We have a friend, Angie, that lives in a neighborhood of Brooklyn called Carroll Gardens, and upon contacting her about a place to crash, maybe in her spare bedroom, she tells Matt that she will be out of town to see family, but we can stay anyways. So bam, even better, our own private apartment for the weekend! Could this weekend get any better?! We left Zeus with some friends in Jacksonville, and filled up a few bowls of food and a few bowls of water for the cats and we were off. 

Matt and I land in La Guardia in the late afternoon on Thursday, and immediately head to Brooklyn. Find Angie's apartment, where we dropped off our luggage, freshened up, and went down to a cute little outdoor bar, Gowanus Yacht Club, for a few beers and to meet up with our friend, Paige. Chatting about things to do in Manhattan and just New York chat, next thing we know, it's getting to be early evening, our tummies are growling, and the temperature is dropping the slightest bit (But the slightest drop is a lot for our thin southern blood!).

The fall chill began to set in, so we changed locations, about a half mile away, and went indoors to a cute little bar, Lavender Lake. Yummy roasted brussels sprouts and humus for dinner, a new take on the classic Manhattan, and cheap beers for Matt. We were later accompanied by another friend of ours, Yahya, we know from Augusta. He moved to Harlem 8 months ago and loves the city. Next thing we know Yahya orders a round of tequila shots. 

Agh. At least in New York no one is driving, and we're only a few blocks from our bed. The night went a little later than anticipated, as it always does when you see friends you haven't seen in a while. This is not something you never want to do on your first night of a five day vacation and especially with tequila. But ah, why not, eh? Live and let live. It was worth it since we had so much fun laughing and hanging out with our friends.

Needless to say, Friday morning we were a little slow moving. But good thing it was a beautiful day in the city. I miss fall a lot, living in the south. We don't have a whole lot of seasonal change like the north gets to see. In Florida and Georiga, it's hot, hotter, super hot, and then annoying moist cold and blah. Repeat. One thing we really wanted to do on this vacation, was check out the parks in the city, and soak up some great outdoor time, walking, more walking, and more walking. 

After some prying, we finally got out of bed, got coffee at a cute little place around the corner, while I jumped online to do a good hour of social networking, and posting a guest blog post from Alexz. We found an early lunch at Abilene, and their pulled pork sandwich was so reviving! It was nice to sit in the fresh open air, with jeans and a sweater, for once! I can't remember the last time I could wear jeans in the sunshine! We did some people watching, rehydrated, and then walked a few miles east to Prospect Park.

So, the last time we went to New York, we spent most of our time in Manhattan, and it was January. It rained, it was cold, and we couldn't really explore Central Park. Every time we made it up to the park, it would start to rain, so we'd pop into a pub and grab a bite to eat, hoping the rain would subside. Of course, that never happened and we left having somehow walked all over Manhattan. Since that previous trip was my first time to New York, and this obviously my second, we wanted to soak up Brooklyn. 

Prospect Park was very high up on my list of to-dos for this trip. When we arrived there on Friday, it was breathtaking. I'm sure it's just a park to many people, but I couldn't believe something so wonderful was in the middle of the greatest city in the world. We wandered into a big field in the middle of the park, surrounded by couples, groups of friends, runners, children, but still so much by ourselves. It was lovely. 

Laying in the grass we could see the planes descending for their destination at La Guardia, and close our eyes and listen to the city sounds. It was serene and calm, but busy at the same time. Every time I imagine myself living in New York, I think, "gosh, I don't know if I could handle not having my personal space" and I think about how close you are always to someone whom you will probably never see ever again. But this trip to the park made me see how people do it. 

If, hell, when, I'm a New Yorker, I know I will spend a lot of beautiful sunny days in a park, meeting Matt for a picnic, walking Zeus, reading a novel, or running (if I can ever seriously take up running!). I can see my life now, in my head, a busy New York girl with a vintage Puch moped, never having to drive a car, with the biggest, most handsome dog in the neighborhood, living in Brooklyn, in my dream 3 story Brownstone, with a cute front yard with a garden in the summer, and festive lights with fancy yet tacky decorations come the holidays. Ahh.. someday when I hit the big time, and my designs pay me what I deserve. Someday. I'll keep dreaming. I love daydreaming about it. And I know. It will happen. Someday.

 

We sat my camera up on a nearby rock in this secluded path for some chummy pictures, Matt's idea I might ad. He's such a romantic at the most surprising times. He's the best. We used my trusty remote, so handy for vacations like this. Not the prettiest part of the park, but one with a natural tripod nearby.

Oh, and did you notice our matching shoes? Matt kept singing, "It's Christmas time.... in the ciiiiityyyy...." as we walked down the street. One big regret: not changing out my insoles in my new TOMs. High arches + TOMs + 10 miles a day of city walking = OW! My legs will be recovering for the rest of the week, I know it. My high arches, without support, cause me to pronate when I walk, and it makes for extreme pain when walking on concrete for 10 miles a day. We literally walked everywhere, but don't worry, I'll show you more of what we did in NYC. I have a few more posts for y'all this week on NYC while I sew up a storm for upcoming shows. 

I'm hoping you all are staying busy getting shifted into this new fall groove. I'm beginning to switch over my wardrobe and sewing for colder days in my work as well. Fall is my favorite. I love the subtle color switch too, from bright summer colors to blues, neutral, and browns. 

Have a great, productive Tuesday! I must get to my sewing machine, and later today, Matt is filming a jeans tutorial for me. Can't wait to share it! Since I've lost more weight, I have to tailor my favorite pair of stretchy skinny jeans, and I'll show you how to sew your own jeans.