{A Taste of the Big Apple}

Our New York trip was everything we hoped it would be. We ate amazing food, met new friends, saw a great show, and of course we had to go shopping. No really—we HAD to. Here’s why…

As we headed out the door for the airport on Friday evening Brittany said, “I hope I didn’t forget anything.” Emily replied, “Well, whatever we forgot we can just buy when we get there…” This got her thinking. “In fact,” she said, “why don’t we leave EVERYTHING here!” (…crickets chirping…). After a solid 60 second-stare down while we tried to gauge each other’s level of interest in the impulsive idea, we concluded that yes, we would leave all of our clothes in California and purchase new ones to wear in New York! Our bags this leg of the trip consisted of nothing but makeup and shoes.

We arrived in New York in our PJ’s and headed straight for the shopping splendor to outfit ourselves in the finest fashions the Big Apple had to offer (at a reasonable cost, of course). Two girls walking around New York City wearing pajamas and HUGE backpacks (they shouldn’t have been quite so full this time, but we brought a lot of shoes) don’t scream TOURISTS! at all. Nope, not in the least bit. It reminded Emily of her first trip to New York with her family when she was a freshman in high school. She was absolutely mortified that her dad was wearing a camera case on his belt. Didn’t he know that totally made us look like tourists?? Right, like her white socks + Doc Martin sandals and Gap logo T didn’t tip people off right away (in her defense, that style was totally cool in Billings at the time). Luckily, we came across some great finds to slip in to, lessening the “we’re not from around here” vibe we were so emitting.





That afternoon we saw the Tony Award winning Broadway hit In the Heights (which we highly recommend). It’s the story of a neighborhood in Manhattan’s Washington Heights area. The music was upbeat with a hip-hop feel that was different from any other show we’d seen before. We were very happy with our selection (thanks for the suggestion, Adam!).






That evening we had a lovely dinner at Patsy’s (which is currently tied with D.C.’s 2 Amy’s) with new friends that were nice enough to take us on a stroll to see some of the less touristy parts of the city. Later on, we met up with our long lost roommate January! She is spending a few weeks in the city doing training for work and we’ve missed her dearly. We were so happy that our time in the city overlapped with hers. We had dessert at Max Brenner where everything on the menu is chocolate. Literally. It’s a cocoa wonderland that could satisfy any craving—as long as it’s white, milk, or dark chocolate related. (You will notice that there are no photos of people to document this portion of the trip. You can blame John for that).






The next morning was the highlight of the trip for Emily. Why? Because she was reunited with her first love. Before there was Zach Morris or Daniel Larusso, there was Josh Black—the heart throb of Mikey’s Preschool in Billings, MT. Emily and her friend Ashley would often fight over who got to sit by Josh or which one of us he liked more. He moved away when we were about 10 years old, so we were reunited for a scrumptious mid-morning brunch after the 15-year separation. It was fun to catch up on the last decade and a half, give updates on our families, and laugh about the good old days. Thanks to Brittany and Thomas for putting up with the walk down memory lane.





The highlight of the trip for Brittany was seeing her best friend Carissa. She and her husband recently moved to the city with their adorable baby to attend school. They live in an amazing place in the financial district and seem to really love their new life in the city. They are such cute family! After not seeing each other for two years, Brittany and Carissa were able to see each other twice in the past month! It was so great to visit with them!



Next, it was off to church. We felt right at home since we’d made so many friends the night before and had fun chatting with them before we had to leave. NOTICE: Below you will see some of the lamest pictures of all time. What makes them so lame? We are in the heart of Manhattan where there are endless photo opportunities and magnificent backgrounds, and where did we choose to take pictures with our new friends?...In front of a solid white wall. The only thing lamer than having this white background would have been not getting pictures with our new friends at all, so at least we captured the moment.







The trip ended with some running through the airport (again). The trip just wouldn’t have been complete without it. This time we were wearing church dresses and carrying shopping bags which added to the amusing spectacle. Oh, and we were accompanied by our new pal Lloyd, a fellow All-You-Can-Jet pass holder that we bumped in to going to and from New York. After a whirlwind 36 hours, our time in the city had come to an end and we headed back to our lives on the west coast.

A special thanks to Adam & Co. for putting us up for the night and serving as personal tour guides around the city, for the hot dog vendor at 46th and Broadway for providing us with 2 meals on Saturday (one of those meals may or may not have been breakfast), for all of the stores that we shopped at for preventing us from having to prance around the city in our pajamas, and for Paul, our knight in shining armor, who waited at the airport for two hours because Brittany neglected to mention that our flight had been delayed.


It’s sad but true. This weekend is the final trip for our handy little passes. We plan on finishing out the month strong, so look forward to a recap of our adventure in Salt Lake next week!



B&E




Soundtrack from this trip: Boots are Made for Walking and Material Girl