Hey you.
We’re home.
New York was amazing. Of course. That’s sort of what New York does best….be amazing.
So I probably never talked about specifics of where we used to live in the city, but we used to live in a place called Washington Heights in upper Manhattan (holla!). I always joke that it’s not the part of NYC you see on Sex and the City, it’s the NYC you see on Law and Order (seriously, they filmed that show all the time in our neighborhood). It’s somewhat in the ‘hood as they say, but it’s great and I love it.
This was the view from our old apartment.
Or if you’re more of a night owl it looked like this…
Pretty fantastic right? (That’s the Hudson river and GW bridge on the west side of the island). This was the city I came to love–even when it chewed me up and spit me out which it did was some regularity. It was a great place to live. It was the place where B and I started our lives together and where we started our family. So going back there carried some pretty heavy emotional attachments….and I’m pleased to say New York once again lived up to the hype. The trip was amazing, even more so coming back with our family of four. The whole reason for the trip was for B’s pediatric dental conference–the location changes every year and this year it just happened to be in the city. Lucky us. It’s so hard to sum up an 8 day, family vacation in a city that we love, but I’m going to try and do it anyway.
The Good
Friends, our old ‘hood, playgrounds and parks, Central Park, Highline Park, The Guggenheim, Mood Fabric, date night, girls night and even riding the subway felt like the good ol’ days.
Being with people was the best. Seeing our old friends and even some new friends is what really made the trip great. One night my good friend Andrea texted me and said, Do you want me to throw you a party? Without hesitation I said, Yes! Because the answer to do you want me to throw you a party? is always yes. It was an amazing girls night get-together and it only made me miss the city more. Other friends let us make ourselves at home at their place daily and other friends met up for playdates, lunch dates and other get-togethers.
In no particular order here are some pictures of the Good. (Why didn’t I get more pictures with our friends?)
some of PSP’s favorite and often talked about buddies
on the Subway
The Goog.
little troooper
At the High Line with Broek
parks with sprinklers
The Bad
Luckily I don’t have any pictures of the bad, and the list is pretty short but basically it entailed an all-night throwing up session for Princess Sparkle our second night there, carrying a very heavy non-city stroller up and down subway stairs, crammed subway rides with the crazies, hot sticky weather that forced us into twice a day showers (something I hate), and some while most people were super sweet and lovely to Lamp, we also encountered some pretty blatant and maddening staring and whispering.
Finally, The Tasty
We were lucky enough to hit up old favorites and some new places as well… Amy Ruths (best soul food in Harlem–get the waffles!), The Doughnut Plant, Shake Shack, The Pop Bar (overratted) and Grimaldi’s (new location in Manhattan at Limelight on 6th ave and 20th street). We ate our way through that city.
As much as I loved being in the city and traipsing all over my favorite part of NYC is and will always be the stretch from our old apartment building to Ft. Tryon Park–Ft. Tryon being a hidden gem of Manhatten. This stretch of Manhattan is where we really lived our lives. The best and the worst all in one. My old running route was from our apartment, striaght up Ft. Washington to Ft. Tryon park. I always ran to this spot before turning around and heading home:
On our last morning there, I got up at 6:00am to do my run one more time, it was sorta of my way of saying goodbye to the city. It was a good run.
I will always Heart NY.
We had so much fun with y'all. I felt like we were staycationing with you. Fun fun times. Come back soon!
P.S. When we were driving back from CT yesterday, Eli asked when we were going to play with PSP again. Awww. Just move back.
We missed you! We were out of town but I am glad you got to come visit. Looks like you had tons of fun. Hope to see you next time.
mmmmmm…the shake shack. <3
Glad you had fun 🙂
How fun! We were there las summer for my huband's internship. We were on 109th UWS. You make me wish I would've taken a better look at Washington Heights.
We're actually moving back now that the hubs is graduated. However, NJ this time around and he'll commute.
I didn't find NYC too conducive to big family livin 🙂 But hoepfully, we'll get to visit the city lots–that's the plan anyway!
You guys should check out Governor's Island next time! It has the most gorgeous view of the city, imo, and it's perfect when it gets hot thanks to the seabreeze. Incredibly family-friendly as well, you guys can rent the quadracycles/tandem bikes(the ones that can seat anywhere from 2-6 people, and you can put the kiddos in the seats in front): http://www.govisland.com/html/home/home.shtml
That picture of Noah and your girl is just heart-melting. Engagement photo for sure.
i know this isn't a style blog, BUT i find your style quite insprational. go you!
So happy you made it back to the city for a few days…you just seem to belong here…probably cause you're the first mama I met when we moved.
Everyone looks beautiful and happy!
I love this post.
You're so lucky to have those memories! If I could rewind my life by about 10 years I would live in NYC for just a year or two before having kids.
And I've never even been!
NY Hearts you back. And it misses the off the charts cute from your lil babes.
Miss you all.
xoxo
Ah, I feel the same way! Such a fun post to read, and it made me miss that city like crazy. You described it so perfectly, and I miss that crazy Ft. Wash stretch and the view from the towers, too. Having just moved to a new place makes me miss the "home" feel of NY. Someday I'll love Minneapolis, too, right?