NYC Treats

Once upon a time, Andrew and I went to NYC. Actually it was a year ago this week, and it was such a great trip that I wanted it documented forever on the interwebs. So here's to getting around to things a year after you do them!

It was everything you would expect of a good New York trip: good food, broadway, the statue of liberty, museums, more good food, so much walking. 

I tried getting tickets to the Tonight Show before the trip to no avail, but I did manage to snag some stand-by rehearsal tickets. We landed in NYC, took a very long bus ride to our hotel, and booked it over to Rockefeller Center to wait in line, and we barely made the cutoff! We got official tickets to come back and see Jimmy Fallon in action. It was awesome, and of course, there was a Mormon/Mitt Romney joke. 

lovers in time square!

I had always heard about people entering the lottery to win broadway tix, so we decided to go for it. Also, Andrew is the luckiest human in the world so he should enter every contest anyway. There were 15-ish names that would be picked and after 14 difficult to pronounce, foreign sounding names, I could not believe my ears when I heard "Andrew Barrett??" WE WERE SO PUMPED. And we got killer tickets for about 1/16th the price. And we had just enough time to go eat some PIZZA.

LOTS of Pizza.

Andrew's first Broadway show!

The next day we had bagels for breakfast, of course, then went to the new World Trade Center building and 9/11 Memorial Museum. It's always difficult to relive such a horrible moment in history, but the museum is beautiful. I'd highly recommend it. Then we walked the Brooklyn Bridge and took the "scenic" route to get some pizza DUMBO at Grimaldi's. Super, super yum. Also... cannoli. 

Strangely great lighting in the pizza place...

okay... really loved this lighting.

And what could be better than more walking, black and white cookies, and experiencing sunset in Central Park?

And then around 11:30 PM, we decided we needed a few more steps and walked to the Empire State Building and made our way to the top. It was empty, and freezing, and windy, but a fun little touristy thing to do. Afterward I totally crashed, but the BYU March Madness game was going on so Andrew went to a nearby Irish Pub, by himself, on St. Patrick's Day. Kinda bummed I missed that experience.

Day 3 started with Doughnut Plant (YUM), a walk down the High Line, and a jaunt around Chelsea Market. I loved all these things. Andrew got some awesome handmade bowties at the market which was probably the highlight for him. We also had some way tasty tacos for lunch.

Next up, the MOMA. Always fun to check out a museum, modern art can be funky but there were definitely some sweet pieces by Van Gogh, Mondrian, Warhol, etc. Also, Anj and Marilyn... doppelgangers? After the museum we got some classic food truck eats at Halal Guys/Chicken and Rice Truck and some banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery (don't skip Magnolia Bakery).

For Christmas, Andrew's parents gave us a gift card for Broadway tickets, and we decided to use them on Les Mis. Let's just say it was a very, very good choice. Thanks again Ruth and Blair! Considering we were in the city that never sleeps, after the show we made our way to some diner for a late night cheesecake snack.

Day 4 we had to go see Lady Liberty. This whole trip was my Christmas Surprise from Andrew, but he totally tricked me on Christmas Day by first giving me a massage gift card that I then realized was at a spa in Brooklyn (whaa???) followed by plane tickets. Today was massage day, so we decided to take the ferry to Ellis Island over on the Brooklyn side. Fun to mix it up. Today was also the day that it snowed. Statue of Liberty was awesome (my first time actually going up to her/going inside), and Andrew let me buy the $2 crown headband which made the experience that much more enjoyable. Also, the massage was heavenly.

Melanie and Michelle, this one's for you.

We wrapped up the night with some DELISH BBQ and, of course, an NBA game. Can't take Andrew anywhere and not somehow get to some sort of athletic event. The Nets' Stadium is huge and awesome, and the game went to double overtime so that's always a thrill. I really don't remember much beside the fact that we were sitting next to these super drunk fans that realllllly loved getting all up in our grills and talking to us.

Our last day consisted of more eating, more walking, more desserts, and more enjoying each other's company.

 If you go to NYC, do not leave without one of these cookies.

I have NO idea what this picture is of but it's here...

Yes, that is a bubble blowing man in central park in a Jazz jacket.

Naturally we finished with $1 pizza slices, which were deliciously cheap. 

It was a perfect New York adventure, and we crammed in all kinds of great things. The food was divine, the shows were moving, the walking was intense. I love NYC!

Most of all, I just loved being there with my love. Here's to many more travels together!

bumpdate - 27 weeks

i am: 27 weeks, 2 days

baby is: 1.9 lb. and the size of an acorn squash, apparently

feeling: very tired. lots of energy goes into this growing a human thing. and calf cramps!!!! holy cow.

seeing: sunshine and happiness. every time i mention that i am due in june to someone down here, they bring up how lucky i am that i won't be pregnant throughout the hot and humid summer. i can't lie though, i'm excited for the weather to warm up a little!

listening: spotify. how did i just discover this? i was using songza before but they got bought out by google, so my alliance has turned.

craving: more time with andrew. he's in full-fledged study mode for his first board test "Step 1," which is an 8 hour long multiple choice test that basically determines what residency he will be able to apply for. he's currently studying from 8 AM to 10 or 11 PM. literally all day. i've been reading a lot. and sleeping a lot. if you are curious about how "choosing" a residency works, this article about the match says it all. 

reading: i just finished all the light we cannot see. definitely a 5 star read. it drifts between several different perspectives, which can be confusing, but the story was so sweet. i also recently finished miss peregrine's home for peculiar children, which was a total page turner! i'm currently reading the seven habits of highly effective people and a book about hynpobirthing. i'd also highly recommend the continuous conversion if you're looking for some spiritual uplift to add to your day. like i said... reading a lot.

wearing: bathing suits! i found two cute maternity suits, and i'm loving my pool days. 

lowlights: my gestational diabetes test. the. worst. (i don't have it though, so hooray!)

highlights: this rapidly growing belly. having (most of) my family in town for valentine's day and working on the nursery together. seeing baby move. putting together our little gender reveal video and getting lots of sweet and tender responses. we're so excited for our little baby boy! 

in case you missed it...

and just a few pictures from when the family was in town...  :)

our adventures in the everglades.

we took an airboat ride just for kicks and then rented bikes at shark valley and probably saw 20 gators? you ride literally right next to them which doesn't seem safe, but they are pretty content to just lay in the sun. only one looked like he wanted to eat us... however, if you want a gator experience, shark valley is the way to go.

 can you see the gator?

 there's a gator somewhere in this picture too..

sunday was valentine's day (one of my favorite holidays because i love love!), which of course meant breakfast for dinner! peach marba!

 and my mom's famous sugar cookies! the best!

and lots of wearing pink and red!

 we also took a lovely little stroll (and nap) on the beach.

 my mom gave me this adorable shirt so we had a little photoshoot.

their trip also consisted of a trip to ikea, setting up lots of ikea furniture, many trips to home depot and target, exploring the girls u-pick strawberry patch/bird sanctuary and boys market, eating lots and lots of tasty food, a temple trip with my momma, more beach time, more favorite restaurants, and lots of morning walks followed by morning runs.

while i was at work and andrew studied, my dad fixed all the little things around our house we hadn't gotten to yet (thank you!!!), mike built lots of ikea furniture (thank you!!!), and my mom brought us lunch, cleaned our house, and made sure we had brand-name ziploc baggies (thank you!!!). it was such a treat to spend time with them and have them spoil us and future grand-baby.

 these are timeless classics:

 mom & me in a strawberry

 it's a boy!!!

happiness.

 sneak peak of the nursery

we loved having them here. come back soon!

bumpdate - 20 weeks

hi. i'm halfway through this journey (what???), so i figured i'd do a little update. i've been wanting to document this pregnancy in some way... this seemed like a good way to do it.

i am: 20 weeks, 6 days

baby is: 11 oz. and the size of a banana

feeling: movement! it's absolutely wild, and it didn't feel like i expected it to... just lots of little spurts of movement throughout the day. still waiting for andrew to be able to feel the babe in action. i'm really starting to feel pregnant. i know i have a long way to go, but i'm starting to feel very aware that my body is changing.

seeing: a bump, finally! i feel like it has finally popped.

listening: serial podcast. this has nothing to do with baby, however, it's awesome.

craving: fast food. we're talking gross, nasty, greasy fast food. i saw a commercial for mcdonalds mozzerella sticks, and i think for the first time ever i legitimately considered going there. i resisted though. instead i try and eat healthy, although today i finished a whole box of mike-n-ikes... i even ate the yellow and orange ones. yikes.

reading: i just finished the boys in the boat, and i really enjoyed it. it took a while to get into it, but by the end i couldn't put it down.

wearing: leggings for days. i wore jeans this week, and it was a huge mistake. maternity clothes, here i come!

highlights: feeling the baby move. having our 20 week ultrasound and seeing little tiny, perfect baby feet. morning walks with andrew when we talk about the future. traveling to Maryland to visit my cousin mallory (more on this below).

for christmas, andrew surprised me with tickets to go visit my cousin mallory and her little family. they recently moved to a new home a little outside of baltimore, and i got to be their first guest. it has been way, way, way too long since i'd seen her, and i had never met her adorable daughter kennedy, so it was about time. i just wanted to share a few pictures from the weekend.

when i arrived, we headed to D.C. to see the sights. the national mall was amazing. i guess i had never realized that all the monuments and the white house were all just right there (daniel told me i need to re-watch national treasure). it was the perfect place to be for MLK weekend, and we actually saw his monument on his actual birthday. #winning

we also went to the holocaust museum, which is a very emotional experience. the museum is very well done, but of course, the stories and the history are heart-wrenching. kennedy was amazing and barely made a peep the whole time we were there! i loved meeting her and getting to know her little personality.

lincoln memorial was probably my favorite. 

the whole gang!

the rest of the weekend was laid back, which was a perfect break. we went to library time, checked out some local fare, tested air mattresses, ate many brownies, i tried crab cakes (worst decision of my life), and we had lots of good conversation. there is tons of catching up to do after 2 years apart! 

it was such a fun little trip, and it was especially lovely to see mallory and daniel as parents and grill them on everything baby-related. i can't wait to have a little munchkin of my own!