NYC Wrap-Up

Thurs Night:
Tiffany & Chris took me to this Italian restaurant in their neighborhood called Fragole. It was so good. After dinner, they introduced me to Bandit, their favorite boxed white wine. It was surprisingly good & quickly became a staple throughout the weekend. I'm hoping I can find it somewhere in Nashville.

Fri:
Shopping. We started at Houston & slowly worked our way down Broadway. In no particular order: UniQlo, H&M, Top Shop, Madewell, CB2, Crate & Barrel, & Kate's Paperie. UniQlo is new. I was too fat for it, but they had really cute stuff -cheap, too. I only bought 2 things in H&M, but I really like what I got -grey sweater cape & navy knit dress. Top Shop was not for me. Again, too fat for everything in there, plus it's kind of expensive. I did get a necklace & a bracelet from their bargain jewelry bin. (I'm wearing the necklace in all the Fri night pics.) I loved Madewell. I didn't buy anything because it too was a little pricey, but there was a $48 scarf in there that I really wanted. I wish I had bought it. Oh well. I didn't buy anything in CB2, but I did buy some Christmas ornaments at Crate & Barrel. I also bought a box of cute Christmas cards at Kate's Paperie. Love that store.

We had lunch at this awesome place in Soho called Le Pain Quotidien, translation: Our Daily Bread. It was sooo good. We shared a piece of pumpkin pie for dessert -amazing.

Once we got back to Brooklyn, Tiff took me to this cute shoe store called Something Else where I bought a pair of black, flat jazz shoes. They look like what your wore to Tap when you were little. Everyone in NYC is wearing them. I'm pretty into them.

Fri Night:
How I Became the Bomb was playing at Union Hall in Park Slope. Melissa came over & we pre-partied a little with Bandit, went to dinner, then on to the show. I can't remember the name of the place where we had dinner, but it was French & it had the best hamburgers. Yum! How I Became the Bomb played, then some horrible Seattle band, then...... karaoke dance party. Melissa & Katie sang a duet, John sang Charley Pride, then "We Are the Champions" with his friend Brad, & I think Melissa sang again. It's all a blur. All the girls were there, plus Caryn & Rob. We had so much fun. I don't think we got home until 4am.

Sat:
Understandably, Sat got off to a rough start. Chris, bless him, went down the street to Mazzola bakery & brought back two loaves of lard bread. That's right, lard bread. It's this amazing bread with little pieces of salami (we think) baked into it. OMG, it's so good. We licked the platter clean. I didn't really have any other business in the city, so Tiff showed me around her neighborhood. I love where she lives. We shopped a little, got our nails done, got chair massages, had a late lunch at Bar Tabac, picked up some dessert at The Chocolate Room & headed home to get ready for How I Became the Bomb's Manhattan show. While we were out shopping, Chris, John & the Bomb guys went to Staten Island to find this old ship graveyard. The trains weren't running all weekend (of course), so it took Chris forever to get back home.

Sat Night:
Once Chris got home, we ate at an Indian place called Curry Spot in Brooklyn, then went to Piano's for the Bomb's second show. Caryn met us there. It was an awesome show -much better sound than the previous night, & a lot of people were there. Sadly, we were all still exhausted from Fri night, so we pretty much went straight home after the show. Plus, the LES is really annoying to me now in my old age. It was only midnight, but people were already falling down drunk. No, thank you. Once we got back to Tiffany & Chris' apartment, they all stayed up talking, but I promptly fell asleep on the couch.

Sun:
John was riding home with the band, so he got up super early & headed home. We slept in a little, then got up & went to brunch at this amazing Cuban place in their neighborhood called La Cubana. It was just what the doctor ordered. Spanish omelette with chorizo, peppers, & cheese? Yes, please. We had some time to kill before I had to leave for the airport, so we strolled around their neighborhood for awhile. Again, I LOVE where they live.

I had an awesome time & was sad when I had to leave. Tiffany & Chris lucked up & found this great apartment in an area of Brooklyn called Columbia Waterfront. It's within walking distance of Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, & Red Hook. I'm usually ready to leave by the end of my NYC trips, but this time I wasn't. I had such a good time. I can't wait to go back. Thanks Tiff & Chris for everything! And thanks to Caryn for coming out to see me all weekend!

Full NYC photostream here.