Last March I got to take a last minute girls’ trip to New York.  I mentioned it in the Free Advice post, but I haven’t shared the rest of the fantastic trip!  Now it’s about time!  So, here are the highlights of our trip to New York City.  Hopefully they’ll come in handy for anyone planning a trip to NYC.

The Surrey Hotel – I believe the place you rest your head and drink your morning coffee has a huge impact on your overall travel experience.  It’s your home away from home.  So, I prefer to splurge and bunk rather than save and sleep by myself.  We stayed at The Surrey and it was amazing!  Someone said that Oprah and Ryan Seacrest stay here and now I understand why.  It was luxuriously quiet in the busy busy city.  Four mom’s drank coffee, talked and watched the snow fall for hours in a quiet room of The Surrey and it was the highlight of their trip!:

Babbo – First and best meal of the trip.  I had a handmade pasta with mushrooms that I still think about all the time.  The wine service was special and unique and most importantly, it was so good.  Our server made us laugh and smile the whole night.  Babbo had all the makings of the perfect dinner with friends.  And this is what the restaurant looked like when we were leaving, we must have had a great time because we shut it down:

Abc kitchen and their French Toast – We had an awesome brunch on Saturday at ABC kitchen.  I’m not sure what I liked best, the TDF french toast, the mimosa, all the servers in plaid shirts with pearl snaps or the fact alone that we were eating at my favorite home store in all the land.  We had fun, here’s what the french toast looked like:

David Burke Townhouse – I think the concierge at The Surrey recommended this restaurant to us.  I loved it!  The food was so good and I loved the art surrounding us.  From the dog sculpture that welcomed us to the blown glass balloons in the hallway, I appreciated all of it.  Even the poem over the toilet made me laugh.  Here are a few snapshots from our dinner at DBT:

The picture of the poem is not very good so here it is in text to be read aloud as if you’re on a stage:

Shopping Highlights

Converse – I’ve never been a  Converse person, but now that I’ve visited the store I am!  They had me at the American Flag display, then our love grew stronger at the sight of their “Art School Is Legit” t-shirt and then we got married at the “design your own” sneaker station.  I wish I had bought the Art School tee because it’s not available anywhere online.  Pics:

C. Wonder – It was a shopping wonderland.  The store was passing out free lemonade, Justin Timberlake and Maroon 5 were playing and they were giving away gift certificates in random drawings.  We were all pretty happy in the C. Wonder store!

That’s C. Style dashing through the scene.

Kate Spade – I know we have her in Houston but I thought the backdrop to the cashier was so creative and worth sharing.  It’s actually their packaging on display!  Also, I was excited to see our “hand in hand” gold bracelet we wear in support of our cousin, Kellison, is now available in silver and rose gold.

Fishs Eddy – Never go to New York without going to Fishs Eddy.  I went twice, before and after brunch and brought home all of my souvenirs from here.  I had a hard time deciding between the blue, yellow and green creamer cow for my coffee cart, they were all so cute!  I finally settled on the green cow, polka dot dish towel and cake server and some cute fish shaped flatware for my kids. They love to eat with their “mermaid” spoon!

ABC Carpet & Home – You can’t miss this store either.  It’s a staple for a New York trip.  The store is huge and I’ll never make it through the whole store in one visit.  This time I got to see their adorable kids section.  A few pics:

Psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig jumped into the cab in front of ABC Home just before I snapped this shot.

Guess which one is real?  Ha!

It was a short trip to New York this time so we didn’t get to explore any museums or Central Park, but there will be a next time!  I found a book in our room on the last night, My City, My New York: Famous New Yorkers Share Their Favorite Places, and thumbed through it.  I will be getting it for my next trip to NYC, it’s my kind of travel guide.

tell it to your neighbor,

Erica