NYC

We had such a wonderful time in New York. And despite missing the kids, I do think we made the right decision by leaving them at home this time. We hope to return in a few years when the trip will be easier on them and they will enjoy it more!

We started the day waking up before 5 am (planning to leave the house by 6). And Cate must have been too excited to sleep so she woke up before we left. I was thankful for some early morning snuggles with her.

We drove an hour to the next town over and hopped on Amtrak. We rode it all the way into Penn Station. Oh, and did I mention my mom and step-dad joined us. My mom and I are the ones who have wanted to see the Rockettes for so many years. I couldn't see them without her!



With quite a few stops along the way and a mishap with the engine, we FINALLY made it to our hotel around 5pm. It had been a long day and we were very thankful to have arrived!

We quickly geared up for our walk to dinner at Serendipity. But not before a few pics along the way. Our hotel (Marriott Marquis) was literally RIGHT in the middle of Times Square. We chose it wisely and it worked out perfectly!

Without planning it, we stumbled upon the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center on the way. I was so excited!!

Not the best picture, but we FINALLY tasted some frozen hot chocolate.

We actually ended our first night pretty early b/c we were so tired.

We had a fun-filled day planned for the next day (our only real full day). We went ice skating at Rockefeller Center, saw The Rockettes, took a carriage ride through Central Park, and even squeezed in a broadway show. I wanted to be sure and do as much as we could while we were there!

The Rockettes show was fantastic and I highly recommend it if you ever have the chance to see them. Even my hubs (who couldn't quite figure out what they'd do for a 90 minute show) was highly impressed.

The picture below is showing the ginormous screen on the side of our hotel. I could always locate our hotel by the lit up screen!



I also took a picture of the new year's ball set up and ready to go. If you look real close you can see it on top of the 2014 sign.

We had to take a picture of The Plaza for our daughter (who loves the movie Eloise at the Plaza).

Silly pic to send to the kids!

I loved wearing my new dress to see Wicked.

And boy was Wicked a great show too!! My hubs picked it out and we both thoroughly enjoyed it!

We left the next morning and it was bittersweet. I was sad to leave but excited to see my kids.

The next day I had to send my daughter to school, but my I enjoyed some cuddles with my son.

I do hope to return again with the kids eventually. But this was definitely a wonderful trip with wonderful memories!





Christmas PJ Link Up

Happy Monday!! Sorry I took last week off, but between New York (post coming soon), school parties, dance recital, and more, it was just too busy to blog). But today I'm linking up with some fabulous bloggers for a Christmas PJ Party. 

Darci, Natasha,  Ashley, Jenny, and Julia.

Even though I have a boy and a girl, I absolutely LOVE dressing them in matching clothes. And fortunately my daughter loves it (and my son is still clueless). Jammies are no exception and a very fun way to do it. For most holidays I try ordering them matching/coordinating jammies b/c i can't just resist how cute they look. Unfortunately this year things didn't work out as plannned. I pre-ordered my sets back in October and when they finally arrived, they only sent the set for Cate. They said they couldn't supply the boy set. I almost cried, seriously! So I frantically started looking for something else. I did manage to find a pair, but am still disappointed that the original set never arrived. That being said, here are some pics from this year and the kids in their matching jammies. (I also bought a set for my 1 year old niece and i can't wait to have all 3 kiddos in them on Cmas.)

My daughter already had the pair she has on below (bday gift from her grandparents) so I had to run out and find my son another pair. Of course he picked Mickey.

And just for fun, I thought I'd include a pic from a few years past. Here is last year (in their fashion glasses on Christmas morning..lol.)

And in 2012 - which are probably my favorite ones. I had a friend make them and i absolutely LOVE the monogram. I guess I should have had her do it for me again this year. I'll have to remember for next year.

And just for kicks, I thought I'd throw in this pic from our "Mix and Match Mama inspired" Jammie Cocoa Christmas outing. :)

I can't tell you how happy I am that my daughter is on Christmas break. I absolutely LOVE having my kiddos home with me all the time. We plan to bake goodies, watch Christmas shows, stay in our jammies all day, and just have fun! I'll probably post a recap of NY tomorrow, then take off until after Christmas. Have a great day!

It's Friday, Y'all! (NYC Edition)

TGIF!!! It's been one heck of a week! Both kiddos have taking turns passing a nasty cold back and forth. I've been trying to fight back from getting sick as well.  And I've been trying to pack for our trip, make arrangements for Christmas parties at school, Cate's dance recital, Cate's church Christmas program, etc. Needless to say, I am more than excited to be slipping away for a few days with my hubs and mom/step-dad to NYC.

I figured since I have NYC on the brain, I'd do my "5 on Friday" (and a new link - Favorite Things") post based on my trip.

~ONE~

On our first morning, we are driving to the next town over and taking the train to Penn Station. Despite the fact that we will be leaving our house by 6am and facing an 8+ hour train ride, I'm pretty pumped about it. I've never ridden a train for a long period of time. Since it will be such an early start to a LONG day, I thought I'd travel in comfort. :)

Leggings, /  Sweater (old but similar here), / Boots, / Boot socks (etsy) / Scarf (can't remember)


~TWO~

We're staying right in Times Square at the Marriott Marquis. This hotel looks insane!

 ~THREE~

Our first night we have reservations at Serendipity. I am over the moon excited for some Frozen Hot Chocolate! :)

*Not sure what I will wear for this event.

photo cred: Serendipity/Facebook

~FOUR~

On our (only) full day there, we plan to cram as much in as possible. I hope to go ice skating in Rockefeller Center.

And will probably where something similar to below, just haven't decided on what color jeans and booties.

Jeans / Gloves / Vest (old) / Black jeans / beanie / leopard booties / shirt / black booties / ring / bracelet / earrings


~FIVE~

We have tickets to see The Rockettes. (This show is the actual entire reason for why we are taking this trip. My mom and I have wanted to see The Rockettes perform for as long as I can remember. I was tired of "waiting" until the time was perfect and our kids were old enough. Hence the reason we're going sans kids and for such a short period of time. We do plan to return in a few years to see them again WITH the kids when the trip won't be so hard on them. )

I am really excited to finally be able to wear the dress I bought awhile back during our trip to Charlotte.  I'm not 100% sure of which jewelry I'll wear (or which coat b/c my bestie bought me an adorable pink one for Christmas), but I am definitely wearing my new dress!

Leopard Coat (Forever 21) / Dress / Ring / Pearl Bracelet &  Earrings old / Pink Coat (gift)  / pumps (old but similar here)


We might also try to squeeze in a Broadway show that night, but we're leaving our options open so we can decide when we get there.

So now that I've realized I'm not 100% prepared with my clothes options, I better go work on my list! I'll leave you with a pic from the other night. It had been a rough day and I couldn't wait to lounge in my new favorite leggings with a cookie and some "reindeer juice". ;)

I hope y'all have a great weekend! Ours will certainly be a busy one! OOH, and less than TWO WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!! EEEKK!!

  

Christmas Card Pics

Now that I've mailed out (most of) our Christmas cards, I thought it was finally time to share our family pics that were used. I thought they turned out great! My sweet friend, Haley, took them for us one afternoon back in October.