NEW YORK state of mind

I am back in NorCal and finally back on Pacific Standard Time. I had a wonderful trip to the East Coast. It was an amazing blessing and my body tolerated it fairly well. Our time in Washington D.C. was low-key because the travel wore me out, but my body bounced back in time to enjoy the wedding in Pennsylvania. The weather was beautiful and our friends are now married. It was one of those weddings where the couple is just perfect for each other so you are (almost) as ecstatic as they are about the marriage. Hubby got to catch up with some old friends and it was just a lovely time. We planned to catch a train to New York the day after the wedding, but found out some friends were going to be driving there, so we hitched a ride and ended up in New York at 10am on Monday. I was well the entire time we were in New York and was able to walk the miles and miles, sleep well at night, and repeat the next day. It was such an answer to prayer. I felt good and it was wonderful.

Our first stop in the city was lunch. Since I keep a pretty pure diet, I had researched raw food restaurants before our trip and Quintessence, being a 100% organic, vegan, and raw restaurant, was the first on my list. I chose the Sundried Tomato Basil Fettuccine. Hubby got the Chef's Club Sandwich and Cold Apple Cider. Everything was delicious and fresh. I definitely recommend this restaurant to those looking for someplace healthy to eat.

As you know, the place I was most excited to visit in NYC was Babycakes, the raved about vegan bakery. It did not let me down. We went there two days in a row and tried every cupcake flavor. My favorites ended up being the red velvet, chocolate, and brownie cupcakes. I bought myself a mug (actually, hubby suggested it) to commemorate the trip and of course I couldn't leave without my own copy of the new Babycakes cookbook. I am SO excited to try all of the scrumptious looking recipes out! I have to admit... I miss it already.

I don't think I have looked up so much in my life as when we were walking around New York. I felt very small. I am definitely not a fan of heights and could barely stand looking down at the ground from our hotel room 26-stories up. I can't imagine being someone with a penthouse 40 stories high. Yikes! Despite my fear, it was amazing to see so much living and business space so high in the sky!

I loved all the brick in the city. So many streets were filled with brick homes- often different colors than the one next door. The architecture was stunning. I don't know how many photos came home with me of buildings. Too many, I'm sure.

One of my "must visit" stores was MXYPLYZYK. Even though it's not very big, hubby and I spent quite a while pacing around in it and discussing all of the fun and interesting home goods. I left with a mint green double kitchen timer, but trust me- we would have loved to have come home with more. Those darn luggage rules kept us from buying any lights or clocks though. Gotta stay under the 50 lbs.

After going to see Wicked on Wednesday night (which was AMAZING!), hubby and I walked to Times Square. The lights were blinding and it was crazy to see how many people are out there at night. It definitely lived up to everything I have heard and thought about it. After seeing it in so many movies and photos, it was surreal to be standing there. Of course, I felt that way the whole time we were in New York. I felt like a character in a movie. Granted, it would be a pretty boring movie: Heidi and Hubby's Visit to NYC. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't stay in theaters after the first weekend.

Our last day in New York, we took a 75-minute "cruise" to see The Statue of Liberty. I just couldn't leave the city without seeing Lady Liberty. It was cold and windy, but beautiful. Hubby and I braved the wind and sat in the front of the boat. I took photos like a crazy woman and enjoyed singing "I'm On a Boat" with hubby for a few moments. We couldn't resist.

Other highlights of our time in New York were going to a taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (Whoopi Goldberg, Stephen Baldwin- who?, The Roots!, and Keane), lots of shopping in SoHo (I will share my purchases with you sometime this week), lunch in Central Park, dinner at Cafe Cluny (recommended by Joanna of A Cup of Jo- thank you!), and miles and miles of beautiful walking exercise. Four days in New York was definitely not enough (I already have a mental list of what I want to do next time we visit), but I am so thankful we were able to visit at all. I have been wanting to go to New York my entire life and it was a dream come true. Silly way to put it, but you know what I mean. It's New York for goodness sake! : )