I got a big delicious bite....

...of the Big Apple for my 30th Birthday. I just got home this afternoon after 5 days in New York City. It was a truly perfect vacation. I seriously did all my favorite things in the world in a span of 5 fantastic days. My hostess, Nicole, treated me (and my hacking cough) like a princess. She is the Martha Stewart of keeping a welcoming home, and I was the lucky girl to receive her hospitality. Phil set aside hours and hours to hang out with his little sister. What a good sport he is! He is so much fun to hang out with, I almost forgot he was my dorky older brother!

Ahhh. FIVE blissful days free from nap schedules, counting ounces of milk, chopping up veggies into manageable cubes, laundry, cleaning, tantrums, negotiating a stroller while shopping, and need I say, changing dirty diapers. I thought I would relish in this freedom, but truthfully, I was obsessed with wonder. How much did he eat for breakfast? What is he wearing? I hope those shoes I left him don't give him blisters. How many dirty diapers? Oh, it's 3pm in Texas, I wonder if he is still napping? The thoughts went on and on all weekend! I realized how hard it is to leave behind the best job in the world, even for a vacation.

The pictures will tell it all. I hope you enjoy reliving my wonderful 30th Birthday vacation to New York!

SATURDAY.....

After a tearful goodbye to a sleeping Joshua, I slipped out the door to catch my flight. It was uneventful, which is a great thing when you are on a floating piece of metal. Nicole picked me up in her fancy NY car and presented me with my first birthday treat...

...A Club Orange!! My favorite Irish delicacy! So thoughtful, she is. When we pulled into her garage in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, I couldn't resist capturing a memory of the ridiculous parking prices!!!! Yes, in NYC the method of currency is the fine dollar, don't be mistaken, that IS $12.67 for ONE hour!

That night, we headed to Brooklyn to meet Phil and Anna for a fancy birthday meal. Memorable moments of the night included Anna ordering a Pigeon's Leg for her entree, and the couple next to us who brought their own Tupperware container to bring home their dessert. Hummm, I guess that is efficient, but it was a bit brazen for a nice restaurant, don't you think?

Nicole and I had a little adventure on the way back to Manhattan that night. The Subway was not kind to us and brought us all over Brooklyn and eventually spit us out in a not so friendly neighborhood. We spent almost an hour huddled under a Domino's sign waiting for a car service to pick us up. It was not fun at the time, but we were able to laugh as soon as we were safe inside the car. Thank God for Cell Phones!

SUNDAY...

It was a beautiful day on Sunday. We woke up and grabbed a bagel and jumped on a train to Long Beach, Long Island.

Who would have thought that I would get to lounge on the beach on my trip to New York? And the beach was so clean and beautiful. Sorry to say, but much prettier than the beaches I've been to in Texas. We had fun baking in the sun, but the best part of the day was the fabulous people watching (and eavesdropping) that took place. A great setting for a reality show.

Sunday night, a crispy Nicole and I saw Wall-E ( So, So CUTE!!!) and had a slice, of NYC pizza that is! So, let me recap... the beach, a movie, and pizza all in one day!!!


MONDAY....

Phil was kind enough to play hooky from work so we could hang out. We met at a wonderful restaurant across from Central Park for brunch. Such a New York thing to do! I am a breakfast girl so I was in heaven when I saw the immense menu. I insisted on sitting on the patio because the restaurant was located between The Ritz Carlton Hotel and the Plaza Hotel. I thought for sure I would have a celebrity sighting- but NOTHING! I was bummed! If I didn't see someone famous in that part of town, obviously there were no celebrities in New York that weekend.

After brunch, Phil and I walked around 5th Ave and SoHo. He was such a good sport as I popped in and out of all kinds of fun, girly stores.
Phil and I went to the awesome Apple store on 5th Ave. I took a picture, but it doesn't do it justice , so I stole this one online. It is a glass box with glass stairs that lead you down to a huge Apple store. There was a ridiculous line out front to get the new iPhone.

After a long afternoon of shopping and walking, we headed to the Brooklyn bridge area to check out the views of Manhattan and the Waterfalls Art Exhibit on the water. The exhibit didn't hold a candle to the beautiful views of the city. Phil treated me to an ice cream cone on the pier. Who's the best big brother, ever????

TUESDAY, JULY 15th

The Dreaded Day- My birthday. 30. That is a major jump. "I'm in my twenties" sounds so, so much better than that next category!!! I feel like once you are in your 30's you are required to be mature and responsible and being an adult is so overrated.

Although, I was a little depressed from the increase and subsequent leap in age category, I had the best birthday ever. I would say it was perfect, but my boys were missing from the day and that definitely left a big hole in my heart. Nicole brought me to a great place for bagels and lox in the morning. I needed some good protein for the rough day ahead!

Or not. I spent almost six hours at the Red Door Spa on 5th Ave. It was D.E.L.I.G.H.T.F.U.L!!! Chris called ahead and set up surprise spa treatments to add to the relaxing day. What an unexpected gift and so thoughtful of him. I almost got in a smack-down with the fancy lady at the counter who was insisting I had all these additional appointments, until she told me my dear husband had set it up AND took care of the bill for me. I definitely felt like a famous celebrity as I walked around in my spa attire and holding a cocktail all day! Thank you, for a relaxing and memorable day, honey!

After my spa DAY, I took a little time to enjoy the windows of 5th Ave. Not much shopping was taking place at Versace, Escada, or Tiffany's- but it was sure fun to pretend.

Before my trip, I did a lot research looking for scrapbooking stores in Manhattan. I thought, NYC is the capital of shopping, surely they have fantastic scrapbooking stores. Seemingly, people are too cool for scrapbooking in New York. I guess "crafts" are not modern enough for NYC, so they instead call them "trimmings." I took the subway to the "trimmings" district and was overwhelmed with the amount of ribbons, buttons, beads, etc. It was lots of fun thinking of all the things I could do with my new "trimmings."

The night of my birthday, I met Nicole and some of her friends in Central Park for the New York Philharmonic concert in the park ( http://nyphil.org/ ). It was a wonderful night for laying under the stars and listening to amazing music. The weather was perfect and the company was even better!
Everywhere you looked, there were people. I swear, by the time the concert was underway, there was not one square inch of green grass visible! There was an estimated 63,000 people enjoying the night with us. At one point, I tried to go up to the stage and take a picture of the orchestra, but I couldn't make it to the pathways without stepping on a few thousand New Yorkers. So, here is a picture I found on the website from that night.

Of course, Nicole went over and above to make it a special night for all of us, and brought a great spread of wine, cheese, and other snacks. You know it is good when the people around you are begging for a taste.

I had to include a picture of my new friend, Hank. He is the sweet Golden belonging to Nicole's friend. He joined us for music in the park and got lots of attention. Maybe he and Murphy could be pen pals. He's a handsome guy.

My wonderful trip (and the end of my 20's) went out with a bang! After the concert, there was an impressive fire works show with the city in the background. It was a story book ending.

WEDNESDAY...

Although, I couldn't have asked for a better vacation, I was so excited to get home and see my family. I woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep due to the anticipation of kissing Josh's chubby cheeks. When I got home, Josh was still at school and I was welcomed by the art project Gayle and Josh constructed for my birthday.

Gayle said he really enjoyed working on it! It brought a big sappy tear to my eye. I couldn't wait to pick Josh up from school. I was the first mom to show up at the door and the smile on his face when he saw me made me melt into a teary puddle of mush. It sounded like he had a great week with Granee. He slept and ate a lot more for her than he does for me (she's had four times and 32 years to practice her tricks). There was lots of playing and giggling done while I was gone, and I am so proud of him for doing so well on our first week apart.

Thanks to Nicole, Phil, Gayle, Chris and Josh for making my 30th Birthday so wonderful!