An Evening in Tarrytown...

After our great visit to NYC we enjoyed some much needed rest back in the hotel which was exactly what we needed to recharge our batteries in preparation for a wonderful final evening in New York! 

We kicked things off with another dip in the pool for Adam. He crashed a 12 year old's birthday party. I think he'll thank us for snapping this photo one day. He already seemed pretty excited about the fact that he got to go swimming with all those girls! 

Once we were able to tear him away from the pool (and the girls) we got dressed and headed into Tarrytown for dinner at the best Greek restaurant that exists, well, outside of Greece I suppose! It's so good and I am happy I got to finally introduce Andy to it. The portions our pretty intense so we decided to take a bit of a stroll through town before heading back to the hotel. It's really a pretty little town and the fun part is it's where my mom went to college, so kind of like taking a trip down her memory lane. 

There was a fire station right in the middle of town and so I told Adam to go stand by the window to get his photo taken. All of a sudden there was a firefighter coming out to welcome us in for a private tour. Score! Adam got to sit in the truck, hold a helmet and the nice fireman also turned the lights on for us. What a great way to end an amazing day in New York!   

Christmas in New York!

This year we decided to bring the whole family up for my office party. Somehow the idea of taking Adam into Manhattan on the train to see all the Christmas décor was just not something I could see turning down.  We kept the trip a secret from our little buddy and boy was he excited when we surprised him the morning of with the news that he’d be tagging along.

I attended my office party on my own. Andy was just as happy to let me hang with my co-workers in the afternoon while he hung out with Adam at the pool.  We were all able to then hook up that evening at the hotel restaurant, and boy was Adam the hit of the party! My boss, Gary, and his daughter Chelsea couldn’t get enough of our sweet little guy and as he was tossed around the table he made quick friends with the rest of my crew. Stan even taught him how to play thumb wars – he’s forever grateful!

The next morning we were up early and at the Tarrytown train station in time for the 9:05 express train to Grand Central. Adam was so excited! Before we knew it we were in the Big Apple and headed for magic!

Somehow we were blessed with tepid temps in the mid 50’s. Andy didn’t have a jacket on. Hello, wonderful! It made our 6+ mile stroll through the city so much more bearable! 

We hit Rockefeller Center and the tree of course. Even in the daylight it was gorgeous and oh my the aroma of so many pine needles! Yankee Candle could do well to bottle that exact smell of and name the candle Mistletoe Rock. ;)

Then it was time for a trip down 5^th Avenue. Gorgeous store fronts and Andy promised if I just had somewhere to wear it we’d have gone into Harry Winston to buy one of the gorgeous necklaces they had on display in the window. Note to self, find a way to be invited to a State Dinner...

Then we had “Breakfast at Tiffanys” because, you know, that’s what you do.

FAO Schwartz was next on the list and somehow we managed to make it out of there without one single purchase. Adam figured Santa knew the address, so we were good. He also made friends with the resident Toy Soldiers.

Central Park was next and oh my was it beautiful. It helped they had Christmas Markets set up…hello perfection!

Lunch was a quick cab ride away in Time Square at Guy Fierri’s place. Touristy? Perhaps. But I knew from previous experience it was really good, clean, and bonus – clean bathrooms! Washing our hands after a morning on the train, opening doors, romping around Central Park and riding in a cab felt amazing…it really is the little things.

 After lunch it was a crowded walk through Time Square, a glimpse of the Empire State Building and a more extensive tour around Grand Central Station before our train departed.

The train ride back to Tarrytown was the most magical with lots of empty space to spread out and a conductor who punched an extra special ticket for Adam to keep. His “Polar Express” dream come true.

Ah New York, you truly are a wonderful city for hearts young and slightly younger. :)

New York, New York!

I travel to New York just about every six weeks or so for work, but really I'm just in the city for, oh about 15 minutes, before I head out to Tarrytown where my office is. So it's not often I really get to enjoy the city. Of course there was last year when I got to take in a match at The US Open which was ah-mazing, and then this year where I got to hit up Broadway!

A couple of us decided to take in a show and so we hit up the famous Ticket Booth in Time Square for some super discounted tickets to see Newsies. I have been in love with Newsies since High School when my volleyball team would watch it before games and sing the songs on the bus. One of those memories that even as the years go by stays strong in my mind. 

Before the show we grabbed some cocktails and appetizers at Guy Fieri's restaurant. The food was so good, I know it may seem a bit "touristy" but if you ever have a chance to go there, I'd take it and be sure to order the Ahi Tuna Tacos, woah, or as Guy would say, "winner winner chicken dinner!" 

The show was unbelievable! We all left there with the biggest smiles on our faces and all agreed we had the urge to just start dancing in the middle of Time Square (it's important to note that we did not break out in dance, but it's safe to say that had we, we would not have been the weirdest sight to see, boy are there some weirdos in NYC!) :) Seriously though, if you get a chance to see this musical, do it! You won't regret it. The singing was great, but the dancing was what really blew me away. So so good! 

Adult Sippy Cups! Ha, seriously, they sell cocktails and let you bring them into the show! Who knew?!

I definitely heart NYC! 

New Hampshire bound...

A couple weeks ago we headed up to New Hampshire to celebrate the wedding of my cousin Meghan and Rob.  In an effort to break up the trip we decided to head up Thursday afternoon and stopped over in Tarrytown, NY for the night.  It was a great excuse to pop into my office in NY so that my co-workers could meet Adam (most had met Andy) and to show the boys around the town I visit every six weeks or so.

We stayed at the Marriott that I normally stay at and Adam was loving the long hallways and the thrill of staying in a hotel.  I know I once felt enthusiasm, and to be honest, I still do sometimes, but only when my family is with me! 

For dinner we headed into Hastings on Hudson to dine at the Rainwater Grill, probably one of the best restaurants I've ever been to.  Even though there was a chill in the air, we decided to dine al fresco.  We had a fabulous dinner, and I was happy to introduce Andy to the unbelievably good lobster grilled cheese.  Yes, lobster. grilled. cheese.

It was a great evening and a great start to what would be a memorable weekend!

Bucket List...

There are lots of things on my bucket list, playing Augusta National, visting all 50 states, hitting all 7 continents, playing golf in Ireland/Scottland, and the list goes on and on.  Through the years I've crossed some items off of my list, safari in Africa, watched fireworks from a boat, went to the golf verison of the US Open and the other night I crossed off the list, the tennis version of the US Open!

I was up in New York for work and it just happened to be during the tournament (funny how that works, wink wink) and my boss was able to score quarterfinals tickets to the event.  I would have been happy to see anyone play and actually the day before I thought it would be the Andy Murray match, but as luck would have it, it was Roger Federer that we got to see play!! 

Giddy doesn't come close to describing how I felt and I loved every second of the entire experience.  The stadium grounds are amazing, filled with displays from the various sponsors (hello gorgeous Mercedes convertible) and tasty cocktails (Grey Goose, melon liquor and honeydew melon balls? umm, yes please!) and all the tennis swag you could ask for (scored myself a Roger Federer Nike visor).  The views of the city in the distant were breathtaking, I swear as many times as I've seen the city skyline, it never gets old. 

Our seats were fantastic and we got to see Serena Williams play as well.  In the stadium watching along with us was Aretha Franklin, Ryan Lochte, and my favorite, Pippa Middleton!  Pippa got lots of attention and even a few marriage proposals shouted out to her throughout the match. 

Pippa is in the stunning yellow dress...love her

Sadly Federer did not come out victorious, but he fought hard (or at least fought hard in the 3rd set) and it was fun to be able to cheer him on in person for a change.  It was a great experience and my bucket list is now one item shorter!