The Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of

.  So I have some life updates.

And a fun one at that.

If you don't know me personally, obviously you have no clue what's going on in my life aside from what I write here.  And unfortunately I didn't have a chance to mention a trip I was to be going on this last week due to the long President's Day weekend.

 Well guess what?  I went to the Big Apple.

Coffee was our morning ritual.  And afternoon and evening...

Yep, the Big Apple.

As in New York City.

MoMA, such an intriguing and eye opening place.  A must if you visit NYC!

Now, you may or may not be as excited as I was for this trip but I love big cities.  Plain and simple.  I've always been an extremes kind of lady, like all or nothing.  Basically in everything I do.  So I absolutely love the country [for it's peacefulness and natural beauty] and big, big cities [for the hustle and bustle, too many people, and endless possibilities].  I'm sure many people can relate though, there's obvious attractions to both extremities.

We got plenty of walking in during our trip.  And yes, that is pigeon poop on my shoulder.

But this trip was all about exploring one of the greatest cities there is.  And don't worry, I didn't travel alone.  No, I actually met two of my wonderful and lovely cousins, Tyler and Ellee.  We decided to take a chance and plan this trip, oh, about 3 weeks ago and once we finally nailed down the details,  Nebraska, Idaho, and Georgia natives all convened in NYC.  A true melting pot of a trip, I would say!

We spent Valentine's Day in NYC.  Not too shabby, huh?!  Oh, and they're single ladies and gents.

And I can't speak for the others, but every second of this trip was memorable.  For whatever reason, be it the distance, etc., the three of us didn't ever hang out in our younger years, so I'd say we had about 20+ years of catching up to do.  Let the bonding begin!

The only thing funny about this show was...nothing.  Or maybe the part when the comedian forgot what he was saying!

So what did we do while we were there?  Well...we walked.  And walked.  And walked.  In my personal opinion, there's no better way to explore an unfamiliar place than walking the streets and getting to know every nook and cranny.  I felt like I could have walked for days.

Holy awesome experience!  Bouchon's french macaroons...indescribable!  They've inspired me to try my hand at french macaroons now.

And in between walking, we drank too much coffee, shopped way too much, and ate our freakin' fair share of savories and sweets.  As in hello sushi, cookies, bars, french macaroons, seafood, 'street meat', and roasted nuts and coconut [my addiction!].  Guaranteed I left out a few things that we consumed but let's not embarrass ourselves here.

Found some outrageous eats in Korea town, including fluffy humboughs and a rice noodle dish.  Nom, nom, nom.

So what were some of the highlights?  Well...dang, what wasn't a highlight!

Okay, seriously.  What do you do when you see that crosswalk?

I'd have to say our routine coffee morning coffee trips [we're all addicts.  Starbucks...you in?], the endless shopping, our trip to MoMA [I was surprisingly in love with this place], a random trip to Bouchon Bakery where I had the most mind blowing french macaroons [probably the best thing I had the entire trip, they were that scrumptious!], stumbling upon Korea town, a complete scam of a comedy show [don't buy tickets from the people in Times Square!], and last but not least...

The last day was just Tyler and I, and we made our way to see the new World Trade Centers and the surrounding area.  Very humbling.

Spending time with my relatives.  I really can't rave enough about these two as they are some of the most hilarious, straight forward, and loving people I will ever meet.  But don't be surprised, because these qualities seem to resonate throughout my entire family tree.  Just a uniquely special group of human beings, and ones that I wouldn't ever trade for the world.

Chelsea Market, easily my favorite place we went!  I've seen this place on the Food Network too many times to count and it was awesome to finally step foot in this infamous market.

So it goes without saying that the past long weekend was outrageously delightful and a much needed vacay.  Tyler and Ellee, let's start planning the next one.  You in?  I'm in  .