My Christmas present this year from Craig was a trip to NYC on the train and a weekend just exploring the city! He knows me well. We left the kids in the capable hands of his parents and took off on Friday for the three hour ride into the city. Bumpy. That's all I'll say about that! I also finished reading
"Julie & Julia" which did make me cry at the end and now I have to see the movie. Julie lives in NYC (well, a loft in Brooklyn and she works in the city... very appropriate reading for my trip.) We got to our hotel which was a very nice place to stay-- the
Hampton in SOHO-- small but very comfortable and at 10 stories up, not so noisy. We had never stayed on the south side of Manhattan so this was a new experience and I wasn't quite sure at first if I'd like it. I think of myself as an uptown girl without the means, nearer to Central Park and the Museums. I ended up falling
in love with
SOHO and it's edgy, artist vibe. The first thing we did was hop a taxi to go to
Moomah which we thought was in Brooklyn. Turns out the cabbie was from Brooklyn and gave us a little tour on the way and didn't charge us for the full fare... who says New Yorkers aren't nice? Well,
Moomah ended up being in the Tribeca area, not far from our hotel so we ended up going back to the island and at least got to say we were over the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time!
Moomah was actually better in person than I expected. The light green and blues, the very cool tech woods in the back, the art all over the walls... and the food was excellent! We were the only adults there without a child but it didn't matter. We got their version of a blt... organic turkey, greens, and brie cheese with mayo and whatever else... it was wonderful! So, full from a late lunch/early dinner, we decided to head to midtown and see what was going on.
It doesn't matter what time of year you are in New York City, Times Square is always full of people and activity. We found
Juniors Most Fabulous Cheesecake and Desserts and dropped in. We had seen a show about it on the Food Network, but it was not that great in reality. Sort of tourist-y and I just don't like tourist-y type things much anymore. I'm actually an expert at cheesecakes (self-proclaimed) because that was the only dessert I would order for years until I realized that most aren't that good at all and not worth the effort. Chicago makes some of the best, as well as my Oma whose is the absolute best if you could take out the cigarette smoke. She had the dense cakelike cheesecake, the perfect crust and the sour cream top layer. Perfect. I'm praying I have her talent in the kitchen... at least I'm trying!
I had seen billboards for the Broadway Show
Wicked and I remembered that a good friend really liked it, so we thought we'd find the theater and try to get tickets. Of course it was sold out but as we were trying to decide what to do next, the theater guy convinced us to stick around for cancellations because he "guaranteed" that we'd get tickets. So we did. And an hour and a half later, with my feet totally killing me because I just HAD to wear my heeled black boots because it was NYC afterall, we actually DID get tickets and so did the couple from PA behind us and a lot more of the line! In fact, they were perfect tickets!! Left of center and in row G on the floor. I couldn't believe it. The show was FABULOUS... I laughed out loud, I cried (the kind of tears that you try to hold back but they just come out anyway... it was just that touching). It is definitely a "must see" if you're in NYC. It is now one of my favorites. That was all we could fit in on Friday before collapsing in bed!
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Saturday we slept in since we had no kids or a dog to wake us up, missed the breakfast at the Hampton (thank G*d) and decided to explore SOHO. In a mag from the room, it said that artists were responsible for revitalizing the lofts and warehouse buildings in the area. Then some landlords kicked them out and rented the cool spaces for higher rent to dentists and the like. Looking out our hotel window, we could see people in dentist chairs getting their teeth cleaned. Maybe that mag writer had stayed in our room? hm. New York is a lot dirtier than where I live but there's a certain beauty all of it's own there... the old, antique feel. I always imagine what the places were like when they were first built. There is an abundance of very, very hip stores in SOHO. We HAD to stop in the
Toki Doki store and buy t-shirts for the kids.
Eileen Fisher,
John Masters Organics (too cool... I ordered hair products from him years ago and couldn't believe I was standing in front of his salon which was gorgeous!) and just a whole bunch of other boutiques and art galleries. We found
Balthazar restaurant and were able to actually get a table right away for
brunch. THIS IS MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT IN NEW YORK CITY. It is gorgeous inside... very French and very quaint. I don't care if it's an "it" place, I love it and the food is beyond great. We had Eggs Norwegian-- Poached Eggs on Smoked Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce... which is the next thing I will learn how to cook at home! And a salad with asparagus and a cheese which I wish I knew what it was because I loved it. Mimosas and freshly baked bread. Heaven. The only thing missing was that they didn't ask me to stay for good. Because I would have.
After floating out of there on cloud 9, we decided to try to find
Eileen's Cheesecake and we did. It was a tiny little place but we decided it WAS the best cheesecake in NYC hands down. By then I had my fill of cheesecake. So after good food, I craved good art. We took a crazy-I might die today-taxi car ride uptown to the
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum which is housed in a gorgeous old building and I was in awe of that alone. The show was of all the design winners through the decades... everything from fashion, architecture (they showed
U.C.'s DAAP building... my alma mater), Apple Ipods, Nike shoes, landscape design... just about anything very cool that you can imagine and more. We have to bring the kids back to see it. It's only a block north of the Guggenheim. We ended up walking south along Central Park all the way to the end and then took a taxi back to the hotel room to clean up for dinner. That evening we ate at a sushi restaurant in SOHO that one of Craig's friends from work suggested. It was a posh little place that had no real signage so we almost walked by... so NY... you just have to KNOW. It was okay but really no better than my favorite
mojo here in Lancaster. We wandered back into the neighborhood and saw some art, then ended up back at Balthazar... my favorite restaurant in the world right now... and sat at the bar this time. I was tired and we couldn't get a table for dessert, so when the bartender asked what I wanted, I just kind of looked at him like "I have no f***ing idea and I don't want to think". My feet hurt because I put those stupid boots on for dinner again. Craig asked him what his favorite drink to make was (as I was rolling my eyes) and he knew just the thing. He made us something only they make called a Water Lily and it was one of the best tasting mixed drinks I've ever had... perfect for me, really. Amazing how this restaurant keeps getting more perfect. It was a combination of Ruby Red Grapefruit, a little bit of lime juice, simple syrup, vodka and very fresh mint leaves. So now I am happy again and we order dessert at the bar... I got creme brulee which if you really know me, you know I love that. That's my new cheesecake.
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Sunday morning we took one more walk to a little
bakery to get coffee and fresh baked goods before we had to leave. We caught the train home again. We had the perfect weather on Friday and Saturday... sunny and warm for January. Sunday was cold and rainy and fine if you're on a train reading magazines and daydreaming about picking up and moving to a loft in SOHO to become an artist and be a regular at Balthazar. I wonder how much a tiny studio would go for? We thought it would be cool to rent a little place to get away to any time we were in the mood for the city (which I have to say is quite frequently). I wish I could have gone to
agnes b. and some other shops but that's something to look forward to next time. And we're taking the kids to see Wicked as soon as we can! Everyone had off work and school on Monday so we caught up with laundry and each other AND I was back in my own kitchen, making steak tacos from a recipe out of Cooks Illustrated which turned out SO good! I made my own pickled red onions which the German girl in me LOVES. Today I baked chocolate cookies which I can't begin to describe how good they are... just suffice it to say that Craig has found his new favorite cookie. I was going to do all kinds of illustrations for this post but I'll have to scan some of the sketches later. I decided not to bring the camera (mistake) so I want to draw everything before I forget it!
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So... thanks for reading all of this, if you did, and now I'm late to make dinner tonight!! But it was worth it, wasn't it? ;)
Well, Caroline went to the movie, enjoyed it and had a great time afterwards getting pizza with all the girls. I think they had a better time after the movie, laughing until they couldn't laugh anymore! I think she is smart enough to understand when something is fictional in relation to being the way things really are. But... I will be checking out a couple websites the next time she or Nathaniel want to see a movie I haven't seen before. Terri suggested this one: plugged in which is done by Focus on the Family and Craig remembered this one: the USCCB site with movie reviews. I always wonder if the reviewers bring in paper pads and make tick marks for each bad word said. I think they do! I appreciate knowing exactly what's in the movie so we can talk about it if it's something I think would be wise to discuss. Actually I think movies and books are a good way to discuss life issues with kids. It's a neutral story that is easier to talk about the pros and cons of actions and decisions versus talking about something that really happened and is harder to be frank about. There can be direct parallels. It's funny that Olivia suggested that we get sushi and rent a movie ourselves and that's exactly what we did! We ended up watching "Slumdog Millionaire" (I always see things way after everyone else!) and it was good but honestly it disturbed me. It's easy to forget about all the suffering of children in third world countries. I guess that's why the earthquake in Haiti was such a wake-up call. It just made me remember when Craig went on a mission trip there, how much devastation he saw before the earthquake. It is one of the poorest countries in the world and they had barely anything prior to this terrible tragedy. "Slumdog Millionaire" ended up being a love story, showing how love brought Jamal through many life tragedies as he searched and found his childhood love Latika. This movie portrayed a better ideal of love than "When in Rome" and the two sites I mentioned would agree with me, but I don't think my kids will be seeing Slumdog anytime soon for it's violence. 
Baby New Year came in like a wild child this year! I guess I ended my year with a bang too... literally, as my Jeep was hit while I was driving through a parking lot, which made the end of December a little more hectic while it was in the shop during the last few holiday shopping days. Luckily I didn't get hurt but accidents always make you a bit more leary to be on the road. We took off for Ohio to see my family the day after Christmas and somehow I managed to hurt my back by the time I got there, only to also find out that the wheel bearings on my Jeep needed to be replaced before we could drive the 8 hours back home! We were able to get it fixed and still see one of my good friends and her family while we were there and also spend time with my Dad and Stepmom. New Years Eve was a quiet family affair back home... well, sort of quiet because we broke out the Rock Band and I learned to play Bass! ;) I thankfully said good-bye to 2009 and greeted 2010 with more optimism. My Mom and Stepfather came to visit from Ohio on New Years Day and again, an eventful first day spent in the emergency room because of my Stepfather's medical condition and then being leary of any complications for the rest of their visit. You really start to appreciate good health and realize that uneventful days are very appealing! We took them to see "Avatar" and they loved it, as did we the second time around. I got to cook a lot and we said good-bye to them this morning just before Craig's whole side of the family came to celebrate Christmas together! It was nice to have the house full of kids and see everyone again. Now, for the first time in this new year, it seems very quiet and I actually am sitting here in my new studio and blogging! I promise to take photos real soon... I just need to put up a couple things on the walls (and put away a couple more boxes of stuff) and it will be ready to use! 