my mom, sister & i took a flash trip to NYC to visit our brother ben in june and i’m just now getting around to posting about it but i want to document to remember forever! he has lived in new york for a few years now and while we don’t go nearly enough, this trip post covid lockdown couldn’t have been at a better time. it was so good for us all to reconnect and do different out-of-the-routine things. new york had also just lifted the mask mandate, so you didn’t have to wear it indoors if you’re vaccinated, which we all are, so it just made everything so much easier and more enjoyable. it was so much fun! the last time we went to stay with him was this trip…so it had been a minute. the time before that was for new year’s eve…before i had two crazy kiddos, haha- seems like a lifetime ago.
we took the full 48 hours that we had to soak NYC in (the sights, not the smells – haha, jk!), try new places, revisit neighborhoods we love & make mems. the cherry on top of it all is that we got to stay with ben! his apartment is big enough to host us and we really got to immerse ourselves in his place, live in his digs & feel the magic of his neighborhood in greenwich village. one of the days we were there, while randomly walking to his apartment after being out all day, we ran into DALE MOSS standing right outside of cafe cluny! we totally geeked out & stood at the crosswalk chatting amongst ourselves and googling his pictures to make sure it was him. he is so tall & has such a unique look, we were sure we were RIGHT! we started to cross the street to ask for a photo with him & then we got nervous & embarrassed AFTER crossing the street to even ask him to take a pic. so there we were…basically standing 2 feet away congregating to see who’s going to ask for the pic and then my mom made direct eye contact with him, smiled, and said “i’ll ask him for a pic” but he was chatting with a friend & we felt sooooooo awkward so had to immediately abort mission, LOL! it was cringe-worthy awkward but just had to share!
nyc bound!
zazzy’s pizza was where we had our lyft drop us off because we were sooo hungry & then after lunch we could walk to ben’s apt!
we made it! thanks ben for carrying my 50 lb. suitcase up the 3 flights of stairs!
he lives on the 3rd floor of a cute historic building on a cobblestone street. we entered his light-filled apt and it was so fun to see where and how he lives. we made ourselves right at home & hung our jean jackets up & took our shoes off. you walk into the living room, so to the left of the entry is the kitchen/bathroom area with the cutest reading nook and to the right is the office room and bedroom.
i loved this seat in this house! you can open the windows to get fresh air and even sit out there, which we did one night, but it was honestly terrifying.
view from the nook looking at his living room. that hallway leads to an office room (where my mom slept on an inflatable mattress) and then next to that room, divided by a wall is his bedroom with a full bed that mirelle and i slept on. he was soooo sweet to let us girls sleep back there & he slept on the couch. that’s brotherly love right there!
i thought the little stove was so cute & peep the adorbs pics of him and his girlfriend, sara, on the fridge. we love her so much!!!! if you zoom in, you can see a pic of baby atlas on there too, awww!
after getting settled in and changed out of travel clothes, we strapped our sneakers back on for a long walk through the city to chinatown. we went in vintage stores and consignment shops we had pinned on a map prior to our trip
parklets were very much a thing still & lots of places had street real estate for covered outdoor seating. each place did it differently, it was really cool to see!
meandering our way to chinatown
#ootd
shop my look:
we set up my trusty tripod on a busy sidewalk to get this stoop pic, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?!
chinatown
but wait, let me take a selfie
little italy!
how cute is this parlet at the chai spot?!
after shopping all around on broadway & through chinatown we definitely wanted to sit down for a minute & get some grub. ben recommended thai diner since we were meeting him from chinatown/little italy area & it was soo goooood!
khao soi kaa kai: northern style golden curry with egg noodles, chicken leg, pickled mustard greens & fresh turmeric
uncle boon’s khao pat puu: traditional crab fried rice with egg, cilantro & lime
beautiful evening in washington square park
gay street, which is so cool because it curves…and at the end of it, you get to…
this beautiful french restaurant
this place gave off such tulum vibes in the streets of nyc – it was so cool to walk through!
to end the evening on a sweet note, we enjoyed molly’s cupcakes from ben’s girlfriend sara (she had them at his apartment waiting for us when we landed, awwww!) YUM!
friday morning:
we walked to flip sigi for an american-filipino style breakfast and sat outside to people/dog watch
shop my look:
then, we hopped on citi bikes to make our way to the new york public library, bryant park & central park for a picnic lunch
NY public library photoshoot
we picked up sandwiches, chips & drinks from the picnic basket & found a large semi-flat rock to sit on in central park to take in the moment
traditional siblings subway pic
heading home to change for dinner & a comedy show that we had pre-booked
used my tripod again for this pic! we LOVED this beautiful stoop that was in ben’s neighborhood. also- right after this pic was when we were walking and saw dale moss & had that whole awkward encounter if you read the intro to this post, SMH haha!
after we chilled, changed & got ready at ben’s apt we walked to dinner at casa le femme, which is the most beautiful egyptian restaurant that felt like you transported to somewhere out of the magical middle east
shop my look:
our drinks are served
cheers!
we walked through washington square park before heading into the comedy cellar for a show
we saw anderson cooper’s firehouse-turned-home on our way
ready to laugh our asses off!
saturday morning:
we started off with caffeine & light fuel from kobrick coffee
then walked through the meatpacking district & a beautiful flower market to get to little island
luckily we made it to little island before noon because you need reservations after that. we stood in line to get in for about 20 minutes & since we had brunch reservations that we couldn’t push, we only got about 20-30 minutes to walk around & take photos but it was plenty of time to check it out & really cool to see! they have concerts and shows in the amphitheatre and there was a cute little kids area with fun activities going on – it was busy!
that cityscape backdrop though…
i love this “a” hat pin i scored from @fleastyle
our brunch reservation was at the stunning RH rooftop! the views were breathtaking, the weather was perfect & overcast and it was just so much fun! we got to meet sara’s sister, eva, and it was instant love!
views from RH rooftop brunch
the floral market lined the streets in the heart of the meatpacking district
#selfie
i was in heaven at chelsea flea! it was so my vibe!
we were there for a good while scouring each vendor, poking around & chatting and bargaining – we love this stuff!
rooftop views
dinner was at beauty & essex & the entrance was SOOOO cool. you go through a pawn shop & then enter another door to get to the actual restaurant. our table was upstairs and tucked away in the back which was perfect and intimate as they kept dimming the lights and turning up the music, haha!
such a cool place!
a really unique dish that ben insisted we try was the grilled cheese, smoked bacon & tomato soup dumplings. you shoot it all in your mouth & it’s like an explosion of delicious savory flavor. we all split each dish, as it’s meant to be sharable, so we each got one spoonful (someone lucked out and got two) but we loved it so much we ordered it again at the end of the meal, before dessert.
donuts with different dipping sauces for dessert & our waitress was so sweet she brought us all free banana liqueur shots to pair with it
girls bathroom selfie! even the bathroom was cool, it had all these perfume bottles and even a couch to wait for your girlfriends, haha!
when in new york…stop and get a slice of @zazzyspizza for later
we went back to ben’s & played a fun game we love before calling it a night!
saturday morning:
sadly, our last morning in NYC, but it was such a fabulous one! we got all packed up the night before so we could just get up, dressed and grab breakfast & coffee to eat by the water before taking off for the airport
sunday stroll through abingdon square to get to 11th street cafe
sara met up with us & we all walked to pier 46 at hudson river park to eat our breaky & take in these stunning city views
the statue of liberty is waaayyyy back there
walking through the streets of NYC never gets old!
aaannnnddddd that’s a wrap for NYC 2021!
thanks for reading & leave any questions in the comments – i’d be happy to answer them.
