nyc, part one.

Happy Tuesday! I have so many photos from this weekend that I need to split it into two posts, so without further ado, here is the first batch:

My bus from Providence  to NYC took about two hours longer than expected, so I took a little shut-eye knowing the City hours are a little different than those we keep in our apartment. After being dropped at 42nd street, I jumped on the subway to meet up with {ah}, one of my best friends and bridesmaids, at her new place in Chelsea. She just moved from Dallas to NYC in late October, so it was fantastic to finally see her new digs. 


We changed quickly so we could meet {ch}, another one of my best friends and also my maid of honor, at The New French in the West Village. It was an absolute treat to be reunited again, though we missed our other partners in crime {jt} and {kj}. My yummy fare for the evening was a hearty burger with manchego. We also split a solid bottle of Albariño before heading out to a festive and fun "bad ornament" Christmas party, back up in Chelsea, hosted by {ah}'s cousin.
After the party, {ch} and I jumped in a cab to SoHo, where she moved in mid-summer. We came home to find these beautiful curtains had finally been hung in her apartment. I took this picture the next morning and it truly doesn't do them justice.


I took these shots while roaming the streets of SoHo on our sunny Saturday morning stroll. I could take pictures of fire escapes all. day. long.
{ch} lives dangerously close to the Bloomingdale's in SoHo, so we made a quick stop to remedy my "lack of gloves" situation. {I can't believe I was goofy enough to forget them...it's always something though, right?} I won't complain too much because the decorations in Bloomie's were downright festive. I wish I could have taken more photos, but I was worried they would confiscate my iPhone ;) 

We also passed my perennial favorites {as evidenced in last week's Friday's Fancies}, Vince and Tory Burch. The doors to Tory heaven were especially heavy!
Along the way, we met up with {nm}, another Georgetown grad and very close friend, who had the brilliant idea to take an impromptu culinary tour of the East Village. 


First, {nm} took us to Bespoke Chocolates, for a little dessert to start the day. We tried the pretzel-covered sea-salted caramels, the lavender honey fleur de sel caramels, and the peanut butter honey squares. I seriously don't think I could pick a favorite. The textures were out-of-this-world and we probably looked hilarious indulging in them on a street corner. 
From Bespoke, we headed to Pommes Frites, which should be translated to French Fry Heaven in English. As the name suggests, it serves up fries--and only fries--in its cozy, crazy storefront. The kicker here is that they have 26 sauces to choose from...and it is SO hard to choose. {nm} decided on the roasted garlic mayo, {ch} chose the dijon mustard, and I picked the peanut satay. 
Here's a photo of {nm} holding the massive cone of fries we beasted at Pommes Frites. Clearly, this wasn't meant to be a healthy culinary adventure, but we were all on board with that ;)

Next stop on our tour was our original destination of the day, Luke's Lobster. Funny thing is, we actually all know Luke from our days at Georgetown. He opened Luke's Lobster just over a year ago to critical acclaim. A native Mainer {just like my husband!}, Luke took his love of lobsters and filled a void in NYC: a tasty yet affordable lobster roll. Let's just say this, Luke did not disappoint.

The lobster comes fresh daily from Maine, but more specifically, from Luke's father's sustainable seafood company. We tasted a perfectly crafted lobster roll {seen above}, along with a shrimp roll which blew my mind. The rolls were just the right size to share and I enjoyed every bite. Yay for Georgetown grads doing us proud!
The final stop on our adventure was the Momofuku Milk Bar. We topped off an unforgettable jaunt of the East Village with some raspberry Lambic and a piece of "crack pie", which you truly cannot stop eating. It's literally described as having a "gooey butter filling." Another little slice of heaven. Seriously. 

After a little shopping, we decided to head toward the Union Square Holiday Market. On the way, we passed through a number of these sidewalk Christmas tree vendors. I wish I could have bottled the smell and somehow found a way to share it with you. It. was. incredible.
I wish I could've taken better pictures inside the holiday market, but people were shoving left and right...soooo, this was the best I could do. They had vendors selling  just about everything you could imagine. I now regret not picking up this fun "home brew" kit for {cv}, so he could concoct his own beer in our apartment. Maybe next year!

We said our goodbyes to {nm} and headed back toward SoHo. On our way, I spotted this fine gentleman transporting his tree via shopping cart. You have to love city living--and finding creative ways to do seemingly normal tasks.

I have more to share tomorrow...but I hope this whets your appetite. Literally and figuratively. Thanks again to {nm} for crafting such a wonderful East Village adventure--and to {ch} and {ah} for being such incredible hosts!

Hope your holiday prep is going splendidly! Until tomorrow! xoxo {av}

P.S. Thank you all SO much for your sweet words about our engagement story--it really warmed my heart :) 

29 comments:

  1. looks like you had a great time!! all the food sounds like it was delicious--esp the pomme frites! love that they had so many dipping choices. also LOVE framboise! that stuff is the best. can't wait for more trip photos. xoxo jcd

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  2. what a fabulous, fabulous trip! i would have died at that chocolate store! salted caramel ANYTHING is heavenly. and those curtains! too amazing. there's just something romantic and beautiful about spending time in a big city, isn't there? from fire escapes to the lullaby of traffic at night, i love to visit the city so much. thanks for sharing a little taste of your trip:)

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  3. Love these pics!!!! Those curtains in the apartment are divine!

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  4. Oh my gosh, there are so many things about this post that make me want to write my comment in CAPS-lock. Such as, do you take these photos with your iPhone? They're absolutely beautiful! Secondly, ROASTED GARLIC MAYO FRIES? Be still my artery-clogged heart, that sounds delicious. Thirdly, I loveeeee framboise lambic beer! I ordered it on a whim in Belgium and it tastes like juice. I'm so happy you had fun -- it sounds like you really made the most of it. I'm at work in Times Square right now and it's so lovely to see the city through others' eyes. :)

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  5. so completely and totally amazing. i can't wait to see more from your trip! nyc is just such a magical place. i look forward to being able to travel there again ♥

    can i just say that those fries look delish...totally wish i was eating those right now!

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  6. Awesome photos! Those fries sound amazing right now!

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  7. The images are amazing and tell how great a time you had. I am still so excited about your engagement!!

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    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  8. What a fun trip!! Love the pics! My son and his wife live in Brooklyn, after 2 yrs. of living in the East Village. My daughter is making plans to move the NYC soon, too. It's inevitable - I am going to have to learn how to navigate the subway :-) haha. xoxo

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  9. LOVE the look of these photos - is that a photoshop feature or camera setting? Looks like you had an awesome time - can't wait for post #2!

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  10. The food sounds divine, and the photos are charming-so glad your New York weekend was such a success!

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  11. Sounds like you had so much fun. I love the pictures! You're such a lucky girl- I love NYC but live so far away!

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  12. SIGH. These make me all nostalgic and missing NYC so bad!

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  13. The food sounds heavenly, can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!! I am glad you had a great time in NY.

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  14. If any city in America has my heart it's NYC. This time 2 years ago I was there, and I can't wait to go back. Thanks for sharing all these awesome pictures...looks like you had the BEST time!

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  15. so glad I found your blog too! I'm looking forward to reading through some of your old posts and learning more about you! :)

    PS - all your pictures are so cute! i seriously need to take a trip to NYC soon!

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  16. Ahhh, loving this post! I miss NYC, and this reminds me of so many fun things to do there! Glad you had such a great time!

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  17. I just love the city near the holidays! It is so gorgeous. We go every year, but didnt make it this year :(

    xo Lynzy

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  18. Sounds like a great trip...and next time I'm in the city I'll have to stop by Luke's for a lobster roll. I love me some authentic lobster rolls!!

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  19. looks like you had a great time and thats only part one! i must say i'm a tad bit jealous of all the yumminess you got to experience while you were there. next time take me with you! lol.

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  20. great pictures! i'd love to go to nyc around the holidays. :)

    i wander, i wonder

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  21. Oh my goodness, this makes me want to visit NYC so bad!! The food looks and sounds delish!! Can't wait to read the next part!!

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  22. Oh I just adore that last photo of the Xmas tree in the shopping cart :) Sounds like quite the trip!! I need to visit NYC so badly!! xo

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  23. Looks like you had a great trip!!! xoxo

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  24. what a beautiful trip... your pictures are great and have such a great effect! have fun!!!

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  25. i loved reading this! sounds like such a fun trip...the food descriptions had me salivating! i've only been to NYC once...i know, i need to get back...with a tour guide! and soon! you're so lucky to have a couple of your best friends there just a hop, skip & jump away from prov!!

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  26. My goodness, I want to go to NYC so badly! You have documented it in such a lovely light. AND I love how you label everyone, {av}! Too neat. Your blog is starting to become one of my favorites. Can't wait to see part deux.
    XoXo

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  27. Great pictures! Very creative angles.

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  28. The photos turned out great! And I'm totally jealous of all your food adventures! :-)

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