Two weeks and four days ago, I hopped on a plane with a bum foot and flew to New York City!
This was my very first time in New York – I’d never even stopped here for a layover! – and it was exactly like I thought it would be but totally different, too. After landing at the airport, I met my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and my five month old nephew, Oliver, and we had the best three days exploring the city. Oliver had never been to the city either (ha!) and he was real excited about the food.
One of my favorite parts of our trip was when we stepped inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral. As I mentioned, it was raining like crazy (especially our first day there!) and I was totally smitten by the architecture inside the cathedral. And those windows!! They are so stunning and the whole cathedral just makes your heart feel warm. I loved it so much – and loved it a little extra when I spied a bridal party hanging out before a wedding. What a gorgeous place to get married!
We hit up the MoMA the very first morning of our stay and to say “I was thrilled!” would be an incredible understatement. I love modern art so much – I basically bounded out of bed the morning we headed over there – and then literally had one of my dreams came true when I got to see so many of Jackson Pollock’s paintings. His work is so amazing and I’ve been obsessed with him for, like, half of my life. It was incredible to see his paintings in real life – they were even better than I thought they would be! I love art so much and, more than art, I love when I can see a ton of art by the same person (isn’t it amazing how human beings – and artists specifically – can create so much in just one lifetime?! It’s mind boggling and amazing and awe-inspiring all at once to me!) and being able to visit the MoMA was incredible. I can’t wait to go back one day!
After the MoMA, we headed to the New York Public Library and, basically, all I want in life now is to photograph a wedding in those walls. It was the most gorgeous library I have ever seen!!
After a super rainy Saturday (ask me sometime about hobbling around an enormous city in the rain with a bum foot!), we got the most gorgeous sunny day on Sunday!
We started the morning by sleeping in (have I mentioned that sleeping in without a kid on top of you is, like, the most amazing feeling in the world?!) and, after brunch where I ate the cutest waffle ever, we headed over to the Top of the Rock. The views were so gorgeous!! I’ve never seen so many buildings in my life and, naturally, I FaceTimed my kids from the top so they could see the skyline, too. They thought it was pretty cool but really just wanted to know if I’d seen any Ninja Turtles. I hadn’t but I did send them pictures of sewer drains so there’s that.
We spent the rest of the day at Central Park freezing our booties off (more photographs to come!) and also stopped at Magnolia Bakery and had the best cupcakes and lemon bars of our lives.
On our last day, we headed to the Met and Oliver became an art connoisseur.
We ended up at the Met somewhat on a whim. Initially, we had planned to do the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge but, the night before, decided to see the Met instead. I was not prepared for how enormous – and amazing! – the museum was. We spent half of the day in the Egyptian exhibit alone and it was incredible. I’d never seen anything like it in my life!
Sidenote: BRB. I need to watch The Mummy because it’s my favorite movie ever.
You’ll see some more photographs of Oliver in the city later but how cute is my nephew?!
Homeboy barely cried the entire trip. This mostly has to do with the fact that he has a rockstar mom and that, on top of having an amazing mom, he had his grandma and his aunt there to soothe him whenever he got fussy but, still, I’m totally impressed with this boy. He’s a born traveler! Which makes sense because he’s a Chandler and Chandlers are, like, always on the go.
More importantly: Look at those cheeks!!
And last but not least! My mother-in-law and I ended the trip by going to see Phantom of the Opera. This was my first Broadway show ever (obviously, I’d never been to New York before!) and it was so amazing! Afterwards, we stopped by a cafe and got cheesecake and hot chocolate and, basically, it was the most amazing night. Thanks so much for the wonderful trip, Mom!
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Question– where did you take the first photo? GORGEOUS views.
Hey Kelsey! That one was taken at the Top of the Rock!