NYC, Take Six.

Hi folks!   I suppose I naturally assumed that once the marathon was over, I'd have plenty of free time to blog and interact with other bloggers.  But honestly, between work, Layla's first birthday, getting a mean case of food poisoning, and everything in between, my time wasn't as "free" as I would have liked.

But, I did find time to venture to my favorite city in the world, New York.

Yep.  Last weekend, I flew to NYC for a quick trip.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I didn't post much about it because a.) I was really hesitant to go.  I had a lot of anxiety leaving Layla.  b.) I assumed people would judge me for it: "You left your baby at home?" "You just ran a marathon, put your family through months of training, and then just went to NYC?", and c.) It was pretty last minute.  But, I DID go, and I have my husband and brother to thank.  I'd been itching to return to my favorite city for months, but I figured it just wasn't in the cards.  My brother Mike (aka "Mook") is in NYC for an extended period of time for work, and my husband Mike said I'd be crazy NOT to go and take advantage of the free lodging and flight (I have tons of Southwest points).

I flew in late on Friday night,  so the real adventures began on Saturday morning.  My brother had to work for a few hours, and I hadn't really planned much for this trip, so I decided to explore some new areas of Manhattan.

I started with my favorite thing to do in NYC: a run in Central Park.

The Reservoir: my favorite spot in the park.

How can you NOT love these views?

From the park, I headed west to Riverside Park, which I've never visited.  And secretly (this is just between you and me), I wanted to find the garden that Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan "meet" in at the end of "You've Got Mail".  

"Don't cry, Shopgirl…"

Since I was already so far northwest, I thought it would be neat to check out Columbia Univeristy, and I stopped to have breakfast along the way.  The campus is seriously gorgeous! (And in case you were wondering, Layla is having a hard time deciding between Columbia and NYU.)

The famous library steps.  

Cute little espresso shop in Morningside Heights!

Afterwards, I headed back south to the Financial District, where my brother's temporary condo (which was GOREGEOUS, btw) was located.  After showering, I decided to spend some time on the roof.   Check out the views!

Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island

Freedom Tower to the north

I met Mook for brunch at The Dead Rabbit, which was recently ranked as the #1 bar in America.   The food was great, and the drinks were even better.  It's definitely a hole in the wall, and honestly, I was surprised it wasn't more crowded.

From there, we decided to wander up to Union Square and do a little shopping before getting ready for our big night on the town.

If you know me well, then you know how desperately I've wanted to spot a celebrity in New York.  So, before heading to dinner at Catch, Mook and I decided to check out the rooftop bar at the Gansevoort Hotel in the Meatpacking District  I'm not really sure if celebrities hang there, but it seemed pretty swanky.

Hello, Jersey!

And while I don't have a photo (because I am super chill like that), I FINALLY SAW A CELEBRITY!  Granted, I was hoping for a Jon Stewart or a Bethenny Frankel, but hey!  This guy will do:

Yep!  The one and only LL Cool J was at the next table.  Word. 

via

After dinner, we bar-hopped a bit, and found ourselves at Bathtub Gin, which, in case you were wondering, had ACTUAL BATH TUBS!  Also, once you sit in said bath tub in public, you know it's time to go home. 

SO COMFY!

On Sunday, Mook and I ventured over to Soho for brunch at The Dutch.  We also discovered the Chobani storefront and treated ourselves to a pre-brunch breakfast.  

Soho is my new favorite neighborhood, btw.

My college friend Afrene had joined us for brunch, and we ended up wandering around the city for a few hours with her before heading off to Brooklyn!

Manhattan, from BK.  Hello, gorgeous!

Stopped for a beer at the famous Brooklyn Brewery!

We wandered Brooklyn for a few hours, doing a little shopping here and there before heading back to the Meatpacking District for dinner at The Park.  By this point, we were exhausted, and since I had an early workout planned, and Mook had to work, we called it a night.

Before I flew home Monday afternoon,  I had to squeeze in a trip to my favorite barre studio, Physique 57. I like to refer to it as the "mother" of all barre workouts because it's just as intense, but moves at a really quick pace.  I am happy to report that I was able to stick with it for the entire 60 minutes, and it was a great way to end the trip.

As much as I love NYC, nothing compares to kisses from this sweet face.  In hindsight, I definitely needed this trip - I needed that "me" time.  It also showed me that Mike and Layla are more than capable of surviving without me.   I suppose one of the reasons I was emotional about the whole thing was because Layla stopped nursing about a week before this trip, so I was already a bit sad.  And she's turning one next weekend.  She's growing up before my very eyes and I can't believe how quickly it's flying by.  But that's life, I suppose:)

Thank you to Mike, Mook and little Miss Layla for making this trip happen!