NYC Trip Recap

Happy Thursday! This week has been a bit of a blur! I got back from my NYC trip on Monday evening and the rest of the week has flown by as we had to prepare for listing photos which were taken on Wednesday. To be clear - we are not listing our house now. We decided to get the listing photos out of the way before we start to accumulate lots of baby stuff. Now we'll be able to list the house as soon as we find a house to buy. Add in a painful RA flare that required a steroid injection (my 8th of this pregnancy!!) and it has been a hectic week...

But let's talk about something more fun - my trip to NYC! I planned this trip back in April as I had some American Airline miles that were expiring. I had enough miles to pay for the flights so it made this trip inexpensive.

The reason for the trip was to visit my friend Alli and meet their new baby! Alli and her husband moved to an adorable neighborhood in Queens called "Sunnyside Gardens." I had never been to Queens before but was completely charmed by their neighborhood. It's full of brick row houses and mature trees. It has a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline and you are just a quick subway ride away from midtown.

I arrived on Thursday evening and checked into my airbnb. I opted to stay in an airbnb instead of with Alli and her husband as I knew they'd be adjusting to life with a newborn. Plus it's kind of nice to have your own space to return to at the end of each day! I highly recommend the place I stayed in. It was only $110/night so it's very economical. The unit is a small studio but had plenty of room for 2 people. Sunnyside is an easy 20 minute subway ride into Manhattan so it's a very economical way to visit NYC!

I went over to Alli's on Friday morning and soaked up time with Alli and her adorable son Aaron! I got lots of opportunities to cuddle their sweet baby! Holding him made me even more excited for the arrival of our little one!

Is there anything better than holding a sleeping baby?

Aaron and his momma, Alli. Aaron loves to give side eye!  ;)

On Friday we went out for a yummy lunch and then spent the rest of the day at their house. It was very cold outside for NYC - in the 30s! I was more than happy to chill with Alli and the baby. Alli made dinner + homemade GF chocolate chip cookies! Can you say supermom??

On Saturday I went into Manhattan for the day. I started off by meeting up with a friend that I met when I worked in Colorado the summer after my sophomore year of college. I hadn't seen her since 2009 so we had a lot of catch up on! I enjoyed a decaf latte.

After gabbing for 2 hours, I took a subway down to the Soho area and had lunch at Senza Gluten which is a 100% gluten free Italian restaurant. It was amazing to be able to order anything off the menu! My pasta was delicious!

After lunch I stopped by Laduree to pick up some macarons to share with Alli's husband, Chris, who is also a Celiac. (Alli is allergic to tree nuts so can't have macarons.)

Then I meandered down to the 9/11 Memorial. I was hoping to go to the museum but the line was obnoxiously long. The memorial was beautifully done. They have 2 different pools that are surrounded by the names of the victims of 9/11. The memorial indicates where the victim was or what fire department or police department they were a member of.

There is also a "survivor tree." Here is an explanation of the tree:

"In October 2001, the tree was discovered at Ground Zero severely damaged, with snapped roots and burned and broken branches. The tree was removed from the rubble and placed in the care of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. After its recovery and rehabilitation, the tree was returned to the Memorial in 2010. New, smooth limbs extended from the gnarled stumps, creating a visible demarcation between the tree’s past and present. Today, the tree stands as a living reminder of resilience, survival and rebirth."

After that I headed back to Sunnyside. We went out to dinner that night at a restaurant in their neighborhood. I had a delicious burger on a GF bun! GF buns usually suck but this one was so good!

Sunday was another low key day. We got brunch in the morning, checked out an art fair, and then headed back to Alli's to soak up more time with baby Aaron.

It's exhausting being this cute!

 I got him to smile and managed to capture the moment on my phone!

Aaron is just the sweetest baby. He only cries when he's hungry or needs his diaper changed. I hope our baby is as good-natured as baby Aaron! But fussy or easy going, we'll love him or her no matter what!

Alli made one last meal - a delicious pasta dish with sausage, peppers and onions.  It was so good!

On Monday morning, I took my time getting ready. I was feeling especially exhausted that morning - I should have known it was a sign that a flare was coming as I tend to get extra tired before having a flare.  And sure enough - I came down with a flare during the night on Monday. Womp womp!

My trip to NYC was the perfect getaway for me. It was great to spend so much time with Alli and her husband and to get so many baby snuggles from sweet Aaron!