On Sunday we went to church and headed to the One World Observatory immediately after. We bought our tickets ahead of time and got there at about 11am. It was a really cool experience! The best part was the elevator going up to the top floor. They had a video playing to show how the area was built over time as we were going up. It was also the smoothest and fastest elevator ride I have ever been on. So cool! When we got off the elevator, we walked to a screen and heard "Welcome to One World Observatory" and the screen shot up and the windows were revealed! We were SO HIGH! I couldn't believe how high up we were. It was an incredible view. We spent a little over an hour walking around the floor and taking pictures of the views of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Jersey City. After we left One World Observatory, Dave went home to work on assignment while my parents and I went to a book signing for Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. at Paper Source in Union Square. I am a HUGE fan girl of Anna Bond and her company and basically own all of her products. I love her floral and whimsical style in her designs and art work. I am obsessed! She was doing a book signing for the 150th version of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" that she illustrated. We got there at 1pm and I couldn't believe that there weren't that many people there! I was like, "You guys, do you know who this is?" But it was better for us so we didn't have to wait in a long line! I also hate crowds, so it was really a good thing it wasn't crowded there. I had Anna Bond sign the Alice book as well as a New York print of hers. I was so giddy and excited to meet her - I probably looked like a total dork! She was so sweet and humble. After the book signing, we headed back toward Downtown to visit the 9/11 Museum for the first time. It was so overwhelming and emotional going through that museum and seeing the timeline of events of that tragic day. I had to fight back the tears many times. It brought me back to the horror and sadness I felt that day. It also made me grateful for this great country we live in and those that protect us and keep us safe. I was also really impressed by the entire museum and the layout. It really was incredible how they built it so deep underground! The memorials outside were really cool too with the fountains that go underneath the ground. When we got back after a long day, we ate in and watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional for our church, as well as a message from President Obama regarding all the attacks recently.
On Monday, I went to breakfast at Jacob's Pickles with my parents. We headed up to the Upper West Side to spend most of the day there. This restaurant was so good. It has a southern and rustic vibe. They were even playing rock music from the 90's, such as Foo Fighters and Goo Goo Dolls. It brought me back to my high school days. The food was so good and massive. We got the biscuits and fixings (they are known for really good biscuits) and I got the veggie omelette with fried potatoes. Yum! We then headed to Riverside Park, Levain Bakery to pick up my favorite cookies, Lincoln Center, the LDS Manhattan Temple, and ended at Columbus Circle. They had a really cool holiday market there with the BEST apple cider donuts and apple cider. We decided to try them and eat them on a rock in Central Park. So magical! My parents then had to leave around 3 to catch their flight at JFK. The rest of the day I relaxed, did some laundry, and caught up on things after a long weekend.
Nothing too exciting happened on Tuesday and Wednesday. But on Wednesday night, a few friends and I had a surprise baby shower for my good friend Estee at ABC Kitchen (which I was wanting to try). She had planned a girls get together at the restaurant for that night, but little did she know that more girls would show up for a surprise baby shower for her. She used to live in New York for a while but she and her husband recently moved to Dallas. She was in town for work so it ended up being a perfect time for a baby shower, especially since she has so many friends in the city. She was so surprised which was great! We ate yummy food and played a celebrity baby name game. I enjoyed catching up with a few friends that I knew there. I had the ricotta ravioli and shared the salted caramel popcorn dessert! So good.
On Thursday, my brother Jason and his wife Annie came to town! We love having visitors. I went to breakfast with them at Ess-a-bagel (the best bagels) to start out the day. We then headed over to 5th Avenue and to see the Rockefeller tree. They wanted to do Top of the Rock so we parted ways and I went shopping for a bit. After they were done, we headed to the Brooklyn Bridge to walk it and go to Juliana's for an early dinner. The best pizza in New York! I had been once before, and was not mad about going back. We shared the pepperoni pizza and all had root beer. After we ate, Jason and Annie wanted to try and make it to the 9/11 museum, so we walked quickly back toward that direction, and they barely made it in time! I went back home to work on some things.
On Friday, Jason and Annie did their own thing for the most of the day. We met up later in the afternoon and went to Momofuku Noodle Bar for dinner. Since they had a long wait, we decided to go to the Momofuku Milk Bar and get dessert before dinner (#yolo). We had their cereal milk soft serve with corn flake crunch on top. Delish! It was Dave and my second time going there. We headed back to Momofuku Noodle Bar after an hour and got seated right away. Their Momofuku ramen is oh so good! Great comfort food.
Saturday was another fun day. Dave and I went up to Jacob's Pickles (my second time this week) to meet some friends for breakfast. We then headed to the temple after do a session. After that, we went straight to Central Park to go ice skating with Jason and Annie. This was on my bucket list, so I'm really glad we did it! It is so magical in the city during Christmas time, so ice skating in Central Park was amazing! We then went to ABC Kitchen for dinner (also my second time this week!) and got their mushroom ricotta pizza. It was heavenly! Loved it. I just love that restaurant. I think it's my favorite in the city. That night, Jason and Annie went to see Les Miserables on broadway and Dave and I went to see Mariah Carey's Christmas concert! It was SO FUN! She is amazing live. She really has one of the best voices in the world (besides Whitney Houston). She even played a few of her non-Christmas classics. We sat in the balcony section but still had a great view. We were singing to her songs the rest of the night. It really put us in the Christmas spirit!
And that was basically our week in a nutshell. Great week overall!
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