New York City!!!!

I know it has been quite some time since I have taken the time to sit down and write, but life has gotten super busy!  I have been traveling a lot for work, and spending time with my wonderful husband.  We have been working on small projects around the house to get art work up, cut the bar for downstairs, hosting plenty of dinners at our house, and so much more.  One of the main trips that I took was a trip to New York.  After spending some time in Boston, I drove down to New York to visit my sister and brother who both live there, and cousin who was nannying for a month for baby Rose.

My cousin Jana and I were on babysitting duty for a portion of the weekend since my sister was studying for her bar exam the following week, but we also got to spend a lot of time exploring the beautiful city.  I'll try to remember all the fun we had, but the best times were spent with little Rose in the park seeing how much she had grown in the past year!  She is now pulling herself up and standing, babbling away, and eating real food while making a mess.  She is so cute and is growing up so quick.

BEAUTIFUL CENTRAL PARK

Rose with Aunt Jana

One of the best experiences we had was a boat tour.  We had not booked anything in advance, so when we got to the peer, all of them were booked but the 45 minute Beast tour.  Since we had committed to taking a boat ride to see the city from the water, we went for it, and had a blast!  It is a speed boat so you are going super fast, and you definitely get wet, but we accomplished what we wanted.  We saw the Statue of Liberty from up close, took a ride around the city on water, and saw a beautiful view!  That day we were in charge for dinner so we cooked dinner at home, then headed out to the Empire State Building to see the beautiful city at night.

We met up with Amber at the Empire State Building after exploring Grand Central Station and stood in line for quite some time before getting to take the elevator up.  The wait was totally worth it and we saw the most magnificent view!  It was a bit cold and windy but the views are breathtaking.  Jana had been in NY long enough to know what a lot of the buildings were even at night, so we loved looking out onto the city.

We also took some time to explore time square and bought some chocolate at the M&M store for my cousins.  Time Square has a crazy exhibit where they have cut ours in the body shape that we enjoyed taking pictures in.  We also took some time and walked a good portion of the Brooklyn Bridge.  It actually wasn't nearly as crowded as we thought it would be so we enjoyed walking across the bridge!  We also stopped by the 911 memorial and which was breathtaking, and really reminds you how lucky we are each and every day to be surrounded by loved ones.

Z

911 Memorial

On Saturday we got to spend some time with my older brother.  He lives in Brooklyn so we ventured over to visit him for brunch and then walked around the flee market, farmers market, and the neighborhood to see what a cute little town he lives in!  I absolutely love Brooklyn and it has so much to offer.  He lives in a beautiful apartment with some friends and we loved seeing it all.  We also went to a church on Sunday that has a Slovenian priest.  We also explored Little Italy and bargained at China Town for some killer deals. It was so cool meeting the Slovenians in NY and socialize with them for a bit before grabbing some ice cream after church in the west village.  Before I knew it, it was time to head home to Atlanta, but it was so amazing seeing my older brother and sister as well as my cousin who spent so much time with me!  I can't wait to see them again, hopefully soon!