viva nyc in the winter!

New York City in the winter is one of my favorite favorite favorite things in the whole world. It's where we spent some of our best times during winter breaks in college, where we got engaged, where we spent New Year's Eve 2003, where I've had some of the greatest food on earth, where some of my favorite people live. Unfortunately, we've had a difficult time making it up there this year... plus, Ryan just up and moved to L.A. so our free place to stay is now an apartment on the West Coast (although I'm certainly not complaining). We know plenty of people in NYC but Ryan was the only one we felt comfortable enough imposing on (we love you, Ryan!)... and, unlike some finer hotels, he allows us to pay him with pizza and microbrews. So, we were pretty bummed at the possibility that we might not end up going this year. Until now.

Hello, Upper East Side! We realized that it has been awhile since we actually splurged on ourselves and decided to book a nice relaxing weekend trip. Across from the Waldorf Astoria, our temporary home away from home is a mere three blocks from Rockefeller Center and ten short blocks to our spot at the corner of Central Park where we got engaged. We're used to staying farther downtown or in Brooklyn but this will be a nice change of atmosphere. Besides, everything is a short cab ride away... and no matter where we stay we'll be visiting the usual suspects: Two Boots Pizza for a slice of Mr. Pink and a Larry Tate, Go Sushi for a teriyaki bento box, the Marc Jacobs store on West Broadway to drool and Balthazar on Sunday morning for a scrumptious brunch (and celebrity sightings, of course)... I. Simply. Cannot. Wait. To. Leave.

We had a great weekend because we got to visit Ashley in Charlottesville (love you!!) and see her wonderful face and her wonderful mom and wonderful Batman. The Blaze unfortunately lost their second game (I'm just happy they finally chose a more parent-friendly team name). We finished up our Christmas shopping and wrapped everything... and the Skins actually kept their playoff hopes alive yesterday (thanks a lot, Kansas City - WTF is 4-10???). It was nice. Now we have a (hopefully) snowy weekend full of shopping and eating to look forward to soon.