miscellaneous monday

Hola. Monday morning following the Super Bowl is pretty rough as is, but add a quick Mardi Gras trip into the equation...AND plug in several coworkers being out "sick"... and well, you've got yourself the perfect storm of a Monday. The only thing keeping me going (besides multiple cups of coffee):

Daydreaming that I can someday be THIS awesome.

via

Bey pretty much rocked it out last night, dontya agree? Having no emotional connection to either team, she was pretty much the highlight of my night. Oh, and THIS and THIS. If that first link didn't make you tear up just a little, I'm gonna need to check your pulse. I also thought that Miz Alicia Keys did a very moving National Anthem prior to the game. And those Sandy Hook kids? So sweet. Aside from that, I wasn't very invested in the game. On one hand I was pulling for some of my Bama boys on the Ravens' roster, but on the other hand I was pulling against the recently-over-killed Ray Lewis. Very internally conflicting. Anyway, I'm glad that thanks to the blackout, it turned out to at least be a very entertaining game.

Enough about the Super Bowl, here's a few miscellaeous pictures from our weekend in Mobile. So much fun!

Brother <3>





My 3 favorite guys

Lawbreakers

Mayfields throws ice cream sandwiches instead of beads. Clearly my favorite float.

Even Phil from Duck Dynasty was feeling the Mardi Gras spirit

These Mardi Gras virigins sure had a good time!

Me and Becky

Mama

A sure-fire way to get pelted with throws

Ball blurriness

Hope you all had a great weekend, Super Bowl, etc!

christmas in the city: day three

I've been slacking this week with the holiday on Monday and various things going on, but I did manage to crank out the next NYC recap post. Enjoy!

Friday, December 7

• We headed out of the hotel bound for FAO Schwartz. Our plan was to hit it up early before the massive crowds gathered. Good idea in theory but massive crowds nonetheless.





Even big kids love a huge toy store!

• All those kids and fun toys can make you hungry. Next it was time for lunch at Burger Joint, a cool dive restaurant in the Parker Le Meridian hotel. So yummy!

• During Christmas the Parker Le Meridian also has showcases gingerbread houses constructed by local bakeries in the lobby. Very cool thing to see. 



Lincoln was our fave gingerbread creation!

• We bounced over to Bloomies next. A lot of you know that I try to collect an ornament from each of our trips, and this one was no different. After browsing all of the ornament displays, I settled on the Radko NYC ornament (shown in this post).



Bloomies!

• Tea has become a must-do for me whenever I'm in the city. It's so fun to get dressed up and enjoy a formal tea service with a girlfriend. All of the hustle and bustle from the street outside just fades away as you sit down to the white table linens, fine china, polished silver, and beautiful tray of finger sandwiches and scones. After Bloomingdales, Kat and I had reservations at the St. Regis for afternoon tea. Astor Court does a wonderful tea service that I highly recommend for any of you fellow girly-girls. Meanwhile, the boys headed to Park Avenue Tavern for something a little more manly (aka beer via self-serve taps).  

• After our tea reservation, we met up with the guys at Park Avenue Tavern then headed to Grand Central. I did not think it was possible for this landmark to be any more gorgeous but Christmas at Grand Central certainly proved me wrong. We wandered around taking in the beauty and browsed some of the holiday market shops (noticing a pattern?) before heading back to the hotel to freshen up.

• Next we hoppped on the subway bound for Brooklyn. We had dinner reservations at Peter Luger and the guys had been looking forward to this meal the entire trip. You see, Peter Luger has consistently been voted best steak in NYC and our guys love their red meat. If you are planning to visit NYC with a man, go ahead and put this place on your to-do list and be sure to order the following- Appetizer: Bacon, Shrimp, Tomato, and Onion chopped and mixed together. Entree: Porterhouse for 4 with spinach and potatoes. We got advice from a local on what to order and hit the jackpot. Our meal was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! The steak was wonderful, but I have to admit that I fell in love with the spinach most of all. 

  

  The aftermath





Post-Peter Luger = Happy Husby


• After dinner, we were ready for some fun so we headed to a flip-cup bar. While I can't remember the name of this bar, it is known for hosting flip cup and beer pong tournaments. It was a bit of a dive, but lots of fun.

• We had met up with some other NYC friends of Katharine's at the flip cup bar who insisted that we should check out a "country bar". So off to Johnny Utah’s we went. Country bar it was NOT. The presence of a mechanical bull and the occasional country song played by the DJ does not equal a true country bar. It was, however, very fun and entertaining. We had a blast here and even coaxed one of our party to give the bull a shot.

• Fun night complete, it was off to hotel and the bed for us!

Day Four (the final recap post) to follow soon!

christmas in the city: day two

Hope you all had a good week and are ready for the weekend! Another day, another NYC recap!

Thursday, December 6

• We kicked off the day with an early lunch at the famous Carnegie Deli. Nothing like a monster sandwich to engerize you for a busy day in NYC.
• Next we set out for Bryant Park – hello ice skating and holiday market shopping!

Beautiful Bryant Park

More Bryant Park

• Of course the boys wanted to visit Wall Street, so that was next on the agenda...

No trip is complete without a picture with the bull

...or the back-end of the bull

• We didn't want to spend a huge chunk of the day going to see the Statue of Liberty, so while we were near Wall Street we headed over to Battery Park. From there the guys could at least get a good view Lady Liberty.

Lady Liberty

• We had reservations at Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial next. While most of the trip was filled with fun and laughter, we all very much enjoyed this time of reflection. Such a moving experience.

South Memorial Pool

One of the new WTC buildings

• By this point, we needed a little pick-me-up, so we made the trek to Union Square to enjoy some delicious hot chocolate while we browsed more holiday market shops.

Union Square Holiday Market

• Before our reservation, we had time for a pre-dinner toddy. Since we loved Death and Company so much the first night, we popped in JBird Cocktails (same owner and trust me, the guy knows how to craft a cocktail). We munched on some of their savory popcorn and enjoyed a couple of drinks. I'm pretty sure Clint won the prize for best selection with his pineapple shell creation.

And it GLOWED

happy boy





• After JBird's we made out way to Felidia for our dinner reservation. It's a shame that you can't take pictures in nice restaurants because these Italian dishes were true works of art. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal, and while I can't remember everyone's dish, I had the Biancorneri Alla Trapanese (a black and white bavette pasta with calamari and trapanese pesto). HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

• For dessert, we decided a trip to Dylan’s was in order. A bar in a candy shop, y'all. Heaven. Of course we had a blast exploring all the candy in the store, but the true treat was heading up to the bar on the top floor. The decor and cocktail menu is all candy-themed, and it's impossible not to be happy in such a fun place. While everything we tried was pretty tasty, I think everyone was in agreement that the Pink Cotton Candy drink was definitely the best!

Dylan's

Cotton Candy Cocktails

Sitting in a cupcake. I should live here.

Kat and Matt

Me and Mr. M

• After "dessert", we had a little late night fun out and about in the city and then trekked back to the hotel to get ready for Day 3.

I'll be back with Day 3 as soon as possible. Happy Friday!!!